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2022 Mini JCW Convertible Road Test | A champion of fun

The 2022 Mini John Cooper Works Convertible just wants to have fun. It’s not the best performance bang for your buck. Beauty isnÂ’t its strong suit. And the interior isnÂ’t making up for other shortcomings — LOL if you want to make use of the trunk or put an adult in the backseat. But dammit. The JCW Convertible sure knows how to spread a smile across your face. It all starts with the little 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder under the striped hood. Mini attaches one of the shoutiest exhausts available on any car to this engine, and itÂ’s literally popping and crackling with character. Lose the roof, and youÂ’re simply that much closer to the theatrics. Nobody expects this tiny car to make such angry sounds, but no matter what mode or setting youÂ’re in, the JCW makes it known that the drive is about to be an experience. We knew all of the above from driving past JCW models, but Mini made a number of changes to the 2022 JCW lineup that applies to both the Hardtop and Convertible. WeÂ’ll start with the looks, as theyÂ’re easily the most controversial of the bunch. Mini gave the JCW a totally new front with updated LED headlights and a much larger grille with squared-off openings for greater engine cooling capacity. It all looks drastically meaner than the previous JCW. What that car's grille was still ensconced in honeycomb, the face had a playful and friendly demeanor. The new JCW face is looking at you with a bloodthirsty hunger for air and incoming bugs. We will say that photographs donÂ’t portray it in the best light, as even though it may appear tall and menacing without scale, the MiniÂ’s small overall size dampens the grilleÂ’s effects. Beyond the changes up front, Mini has fitted the JCW with a new rear diffuser and retained its signature Union Jack taillights that are oh-so-fun to see at night. It all hangs together well enough, but we canÂ’t be calling the Mini cute anymore. Instead of resembling a soft, friendly rabbit, itÂ’s much more of a rabid raccoon now. Another important change for 2022 is a newly-tuned and optional adaptive damping system. Mini says new frequency-selective damper tech allows the car to ride a hair smoother on poor roads. Meanwhile, its stiffest setting is 10% more aggressive than before, increasing agility even further on the track, Mini claims. However! Our test car was not fitted with these dampers, and instead had the standard, fixed JCW Sport suspension.

Mini Oxford gives birth to 3-millionth car [w/video]

With the latest generation of Minis having only recently launched a few months ago, the company's Plant Oxford has found another reason to celebrate as it reached two major milestones almost simultaneously. Since production of the new, BMW-revived version began there in 2001, the factory has produced 3 million of the retro-looking models and 2 million vehicles exported outside of the UK. Just four years ago, it was celebrating building 1.5 million of them.
The three-millionth model was a Mini Cooper S five-door hatchback with a special Union Jack paint job. At about the same time, the factory hit its two-millionth exported Mini to leave there, as well. It was a standard Mini hatchback in Volcanic Orange heading for a buyer in Japan.
UK Transport Minister Baroness Kramer attended the ceremony and said: "I congratulate the workers at Mini Plant Oxford on reaching this remarkable milestone. The Mini is a British icon and is a major part of a thriving automotive industry spearheading the growing British economy."

New Zealand SPCA teaches rescue dogs how to drive a Mini

No, this isn't an April Fool's joke or some sort of wacky car commercial. It's the SPCA Auckland (located in New Zealand) coming up with an innovative way of proving that it's possible to teach a rescue animal new tricks. Monty, Porter and Ginny are all dogs rescued by the SPCA Auckland, and each was taught the ability to drive a Mini Countryman around a track.
After being strapped into the driver's seat, the dogs are able to use their paws to start the car, steer it and work the gas and brake, which have been modified similar to a car setup for a special-needs driver. These dogs aren't being trained to drive on the street as any sort of driving-eye dogs, rather it is just a demonstration of how smart and docile rescue dogs can be regardless of how they ended up there. Porter was found wandering the streets, Ginny was abused by her owners and seized by the SPCA and Monty was surrendered by his owners to the rescue. Ironically, Porter and Ginny initially got carsick during the exercises, but have since gotten over this.
Think it's a joke? Scroll down to watch four videos showing the dogs in action and another to see what mods were made to get the Mini ready for canine duty. In the first video, you can also see that Porter does a better parking job than most humans!