2006 Mini Cooper Base Convertible 2-door 1.6l on 2040-cars

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Mini Cooper Hardtop 4-Door configurator is open for all

The Mini Cooper five-door hatchback, which the company insists on calling the Mini Hardtop 4 Door, doesn't start arriving at US dealers until January 2015. However, if you dig the latest model's styling but can't live without the two extra doors, you can start speccing one right now in the recently launched configurator.
The new five-door hatch isn't just the standard model with extra doors squished in. It rides on a 2.8-inch longer wheelbase and is 6.3-inches longer overall. That means more room for rear passengers and extra space to haul stuff in the boot. The engine options are shared though with a 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder with 134 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque for the Cooper or a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder with 189 hp and 207 lb-ft in the Cooper S. Both are available with a six-speed manual or automatic.
Prices (including destination) for that extra space starts at $21,450 for the Cooper or $25,100 for the Cooper S, which is $1,000 more than the three-door in both cases. However, like any modern Mini, these guys are extremely customizable from the factory. There are an array of colors, 10 option packages and a ton of other add-ons to choose from.

Mini reveals refreshed Paceman in Beijing

It was just a few days ago that Mini unveiled its refreshed Countryman at the New York Auto Show, and now it has followed up with the revised version of that model's coupe counterpart, the Paceman. Revealed today at the Beijing Motor Show, the new Paceman adopts all the changes applied to the new Countryman - which is to say, not a whole lot, but maybe enough to keep it current for the masses of customers in the market for a three-door version of a vehicle that's bigger than its stablemates but smaller than most other crossovers.
Pictured here in Piano Black (one of three new shades on offer alongside Midnight Grey and the Jungle Green in which the new Countryman was featured), the mildly refreshed Paceman has, like its five-door counterpart, been so subtly updated that we can scarcely tell the difference... even after sorting through the press release below. There are some minor revisions to the exterior, the cabin features slightly updated equipment, and the Cooper S gets an extra few horsepower. And that's about all she wrote, folks.
Mini will offer the updated Paceman worldwide with a wide array of four-cylinder engine options. With no budget-oriented One model, the Cooper is the base model with a 122-horsepower version of the brand's ubiquitous 1.4-liter four and the John Cooper Works sits at the top of the range with 218 hp. The two diesel specs are present as well, and buyers cam choose (on most models) between front- and All4 all-wheel drive.

Mini recalls nearly 100,000 cars for potential electrical fire risk

Mini is recalling more than 97,000 cars to address a potential fire risk. The recall covers the 2008-2014 Mini Clubman (including Cooper, Cooper S and John Cooper Works models) and the 2007-2013 Mini Hardtop 2 Door (again encompassing Cooper, Cooper S, John Cooper Works variants). In both models, a control module beneath the driver-side A-pillar is susceptible to water intrusion under certain circumstances. If the electronics inside are exposed to water, a short circuit may occur, which Mini says could lead to a "thermal event" — engineer speak for "fire." While Mini says there are multiple circumstances under which the module can become compromised, the recall is currently limited to models sold in climates where the use of road salt is prevalent. In this environment, road salt entering the cabin via normal means (read: your boots) can accelerate corrosion if water is getting into the cabin. How might that happen? Mini says a common culprit is its own sunroof drain. Here's the full explanation, lifted directly from Mini's defect report: This safety recall involves the Footwell Control Module (FRM), an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) which controls various lighting and power window functions, and is installed near the bottom of the driverÂ’s side A-pillar behind an interior trim panel. Due to several contributing factors (environmental, certain US StatesÂ’ wintertime road treatment, vehicle design configuration and age), over time, the FRM could become susceptible to corrosion. For vehicles equipped with a sunroof, after a multi-year period involving large temperature changes, multiple freeze/thaw cycles can cause the vehicleÂ’s sunroof drain hose to become damaged, loosen and eventually detach from the drain pipe within the A-pillar, which could allow water to enter the vehicle interior. In certain US states, large amounts of road salt may be utilized during their wintertime road treatment activities. If water were to enter the interior, then in combination with road salt that may be present in the footwell, this could create an electrolyte solution. If this solution were to contact the FRM then, over time, this could lead to corrosion, possibly resulting in a short circuit. In rare cases, this could lead to a thermal event.