2005 Mini Cooper S Dark Silver Metallic Super Charged W/ Warranty on 2040-cars

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2014 Mini John Cooper Works Countryman All4

The standard Mini Countryman is a bit of an odd duck against the backdrop of 'normal' small crossovers like the Mazda CX-5 and the Ford Escape, but I sort of get it. Apply the same winning Mini formula to a CUV, and you get a smaller-than-average entry in the segment, one that is far more entertaining to drive than the norm, more stylish inside and out and pretty expensive when cross-shopped. That list of qualities doesn't appeal to all crossover shoppers, sure, but it intrigues a big enough list that the Countryman has reason for being.
Now, add the expensive John Cooper Works package to the Countryman's already niche goodies list, and Mini starts to lose me. So, I'm getting the softer suspended, taller, generally less dynamically joyful version of the brand's core values, but now you're charging me at least $35,000 ($13k more expensive than the basic, front-drive Cooper Countryman and $7k more than the MSRP of the Cooper S All4 version)? What's that? You're going to make it look like a garish, tippy-toed tuner car in the process? Take my money.
Or, actually, let me keep it. I can swing with a lot of the weirdness that Mini has to offer, but this car pushed me past my limit.

Mini knows how you take your coffee after a test drive

Mini Netherlands wanted to give its countrymen a good reason to test drive its cars, so it threw in a free cup of coffee with the spin - but not just any old cuppa joe. Cars were fitted with a sensor that analyzed the driver's style. The chip was then placed in a special coffeemaker that produced a blend to match the driving; middle-of-the-road test pilots would get a lungo (long) coffee, test-the-rollcage types were given a ristretto (short, and stronger).
The knock on the head for U.S. drivers? Milquetoast test drivers were given an Americano - a watered-down espresso. You can watch the unique promotion at work in the video below.

Mini apologizes with chocolate rose after spamming customer's inbox

If you're a manufacturer, there are only so many ways you can say "sorry" after your automated e-mail system goes berzerk and spams everyone on your mailing list with hundreds of the same message. Mini recently found itself in that very spot, and rather than respond with a sheepish mea culpa, the company's PR team took a different tack by sending owners a very unique gift box. How unique? Inside, one owner found a set of chocolate roses, a roll of duct tape and a genuine can of Spam.
In an accompanying note, the company said it hoped the sweets would help patch things up between the company and the victims of the e-mail barrage, but in the event that wasn't enough to do the trick, the duct tape was there to help out. And the can of Spam? That tagged along just for stress release. Apparently the canned meat is squeezable. We wouldn't know. You can check out full photos of the gift box here.