by Jonathon Ramsey

The market for MINIs is huge, affirmed today as MINI announced the production of its one-millionth car, a Cooper S hatchback, at BMW’s Plant Oxford.

When the MINI first went on sale in 2001, predictions were for 100,000 per year to find new owners. By 2005 there were more than 200,000 zipping off of dealer lots, and last month, March, a record 7,854 MINIs were sold. The seven-figure MINI, made-to-order for BMW’s Mobile Tradition heritage division, wore a pepper white paint job and a custom color for the roof called almond green, with matching interior leather. A special graphic on the hood keeps everyone aware of the milestone.

With the new Clubman coming, MINI sales are expected to reach 240,000 per year – enough to keep Plant Oxford’s 4,700 workers going round-the-clock building 700 cars per day. For BMW, that means the future looks small, but bright.

[Source: Just Auto]

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by Chris Shunk

Many radio stations have been advertising HD Radio for some time, but until now BMW has been the only volume automaker to implement the technology in production vehicles. Jaguar has decided to enter the fray, offering HD Radio as an option for the 2008 XJ. The suggested retail price is a hefty $500, but we don’t think many XJ owners will buckle at the price.

Within the radio industry, HD Radio is gaining momentum, with 1,200 AM and FM stations broadcasting with digital signals, and 550 of those stations being subscription-free, FM multicast channels. The main stumbling block for HD Radio right now is the cost of the hardware, which is why luxury automakers are the first to adopt the technology.

We got a feel for the power that is HD Radio with some of the cars in the Autoblog Garage, and we are blown away at the quality. We found the quality of the HD radio signal to be extremely clear, and the crispness of talk radio surpasses by far anything offered by XM or Sirius. Hit the jump to read Jaguar’s press release.

[Source: Ford Media]

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Once you’ve decided the old Locomobile or YT-1300 freighter simply isn’t on the cutting edge of technology anymore and are ready to take a mallet to the piggy bank in order to upgrade your motoring experience, you may want to peruse this list from Forbes, which list’s Figrin D’an Lienert’s top technological vehicles. Watch out for Greedo, though. We he hear he hangs out ’round those parts. Dude’ll carjack your Veyron sure as shit. – Davey G. Johnson

Acura RDX
Audi R8
BMW Hydrogen 7
BMW M6 Convertible
Bugatti Veyron
Lexus LS Hybrid
Mercedes E320 Bluetec
Mercedes S600
Porsche 911 Turbo
Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead

[Forbes]

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by Damon Lavrinc

In the inane world of automotive advertising, there are few things more enjoyable than a healthy bitch slapping between automakers.

We’ve seen what happens when three manufacturers enter into a pissing contest about the awards they’ve won, but this newest ad is a stellar illustration of what lax trademark enforcement abroad can create.

The ad speaks for itself, but we’ll ask you to provide a caption in “comments.”

[Source: EGMCarTech]

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by Scott Davis

BMW has been working on this deal for some time now, and with the level of involvement in design, engineering and testing steadily increasing, the inevitable has become reality. In a deal set to become effective in January 2007, BMW has acquired the rights to the John Cooper Works name to further strengthen the MINI brand.

In what could easily become MINI’s equivalent of the BMW “M’ brand, JCW now has the engineering and development resources of BWM at their disposal, ensuring the John Cooper Works models a pivotal role in the overall MINI brand strategy well into the future.

[Source: Forbes.com via MotoringFile]

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