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BMW and Mini getting GoPro integration

The small, high-quality and relatively inexpensive GoPro camera has been revolutionary for Internet video, especially of cars. Imagine how much awesomeness and hilarity we would have missed without them. Finding ways to integrate the cams into performance cars is becoming increasingly popular among automakers, as well. For example, the 2015 Chevrolet Corvette has its Performance Data Recorder, and Volkswagen is giving GoPros to early buyers of the 2015 GTI. BMW Group is going straight to the source for its rendition, though, with a new app that allows drivers to control a GoPro from inside of some BMW and Mini vehicles.
In July, owners with 2012 or later models equipped with BMW Apps or Mini Connected can download the new app. There are a few hurdles to jump over, though. Not only do users need a model with the infotainment system, a WiFi-equipped GoPro camera is also required. The app also must be installed on an iPhone connected to the vehicle.
Once all of those stipulations are met, the app can configure and control the GoPro through iDrive and display a nearly live image on the infotainment system. Menus are simplified on-screen but still allow users to select among six camera modes, aim it and start and stop recording. While filming, it shows recording time, battery life and signal strength. While BMW's approach isn't quite as nicely integrated as the Corvette's solution, it's interesting to see automakers working to make filming easier. Scroll down to read the full announcement.

The original Mini Cooper still has universal appeal

It sold over five million units. It was voted the second most influential car of the last century, bested only by the pioneering Ford Model T. It counted among its owners Steve McQueen, Enzo Ferrari and Peter Sellers. It is the classic Mini.
The tiny, two-box, four-seat hatch is an automotive icon of the first order and it's high time it featured in an episode of Petrolicious. Of course, the video gurus did it right, filming this handsome 1971 Mini, which has been modified to accommodate the 1,275-cc four-cylinder from the Mini Cooper S of the time.
Its owner, Sumner Norman, describes life with his right-hand-drive, UK-spec Mini. Naturally, he points out some of the idiosyncrasies inherent with a car built under the guise of British Leyland, including some of well known reliability woes, which he says is the car "going British." Mostly, though, he just seems to have a good time with the little hatch.

Mini Hardtop next generation shown in first official photos

Undermining the work of spy photographers around the world, Mini gave us our first official look at the next-generation Hardtop by publishing a series of photos that show the hatchback wearing full camouflage. While the finer design details remain hidden, the shots are revealing enough to provide a very decent idea of what to expect — and what not to expect — from the fourth generation of this British icon. What's immediately clear is that the next Hardtop looks like a Mini; or, at least, like the German reinvention of the Mini. Designers haven't significantly changed the hatchback's proportions, and they kept defining styling cues such as round headlights, a nearly flat roof panel, and vertical rear lights. One interesting detail is that the headlights are no longer integrated into the hood; the Mini seemingly loses its clamshell hood in favor of a more conventional unit that stops at about the same level as the A-pillars. Mini also mounted the door handles flush with the body. We're guessing more details will jump out when the camouflage come off, but we're expecting mostly evolutionary changes. "What you'll see in 2023 is that we've clearly modernized it by taking a big step — the biggest step in the last 20 years — but it will be unmistakably a Mini," said Mini boss Bernd Korber in December 2020. He added that the project's motto was "don't screw with an icon." Mini hopes to become an electric-only brand by the beginning of the 2030s, but we're not there yet. While the Hardtop draped in camouflage runs on batteries, gasoline-powered models will continue to be part of the range in many markets around the world. It's too early to provide technical details, but it's reasonable to assume that both the EV and the gasoline-sipping models will benefit from drivetrain improvements. Front-wheel-drive will continue to come standard, like it always has. Will the stick-shift survive? We're keeping our fingers crossed. More information about the next-generation Mini Hardtop will be released in the coming months, and the model is scheduled to make its debut in 2023. It's one of several new models the BMW-owned brand has in the pipeline. The next-generation Countryman is scheduled to enter production in 2023 as well, an electric high-performance John Cooper Works-branded model is on its way, and Mini pledged to release a crossover it described as "small" (which is highly relative, even for Mini) that will exclusively be offered with an electric powertrain.