1972 Mini Cooper Pickup 4 Speed Manual 2-door Truck on 2040-cars

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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.

Mini teases high-performance electric hatch as a safety car

Mini has made it clear that it's working on some sort of high-performance electric Mini. It even released photos of such a prototype back in December. Now it seems we may get a look at a more finished example in the near future. The company put out the above teaser on Twitter. The teaser is quite light on information, but the hashtag "#ElectricThrillMaximised" makes it pretty clear that it's not running on gasoline or diesel. Playing with the image in Photoshop, we were able to brighten it up enough to see that there aren't any tailpipes, either. Instead, there's a rear fog light in the middle of the diffuser. What's also interesting is that from what we could make out of the fender flares, they're very wide, but they don't look like the unusual carbon fiber pieces from the John Cooper Works GP. So Mini has done some work to make it a little more than just an electrified GP. Of course, we've skipped over the obvious part of this teaser, and that's the bright lights that seem to identify the Mini as a pace car or safety car. We think this Mini might become a safety car for Formula E. Not only would an electric car make sense for the electric racing series, but BMW has provided i model cars as safety cars for the series for a few years now, despite the company no longer competing. Certainly BMW could also use something like the new i4, but with Mini going fully electric a few years down the road, why not start associating the brand and the alternative fuel now? We're not sure when the car will be revealed, though. The teaser didn't provide any pertinent information, and the Formula E season is already underway. But hopefully it won't be too long, since it looks like the car is finished, at least for pace car purposes. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

7 major automakers to build open EV charging network

A new joint venture established by BMW, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis will build a new North American electric vehicle charging network on a scale designed to compete with Tesla's industry-benchmark Supercharger network. The 30,000-plus planned new chargers will accommodate both Tesla's almost-standard North American Charging System (NACS) and existing automakers' Combined Charging System (CCS) options, effectively guaranteeing compatibility with the vast majority of current and upcoming electric models — whether they're from one of the involved automakers or not.  "With the generational investments in public charging being implemented on the Federal and State level, the joint venture will leverage public and private funds to accelerate the installation of high-powered charging for customers. The new charging stations will be accessible to all battery-powered electric vehicles from any automaker using Combined Charging System (CCS) or North American Charging Standard (NACS) and are expected to meet or exceed the spirit and requirements of the U.S. National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program." Critically, the automakers involved will have a say in how the charging tech is implemented, guaranteeing that the hardware will play nicely with each automaker's in-house charging systems. Hyundai and Kia, for example, were hesitant to jump on board the Tesla NACS bandwagon earlier this year over concerns that the Supercharger network is insufficient for powering the two automakers' 800-volt charging systems; similar tech is used by Volkswagen and Porsche.  In addition to providing much-needed capacity and high-output charging for America's growing fleet of electric cars and trucks, the new network will integrate seamlessly with each automaker's in-app and in-vehicle features, rather than forcing customers to use third-party tools and payment systems, as is the case with some existing public charging infrastructure.  "The functions and services of the network will allow for seamless integration with participating automakersÂ’ in-vehicle and in-app experiences, including reservations, intelligent route planning and navigation, payment applications, transparent energy management and more. In addition, the network will leverage Plug & Charge technology to further enhance the customer experience," the announcement said.