2012 Mini Cooper 6speed Pano Sunroof Heated Leather 24k Texas Direct Auto on 2040-cars

Auto blog

BMW, Sixt carsharing making money most places

The DriveNow carsharing service, which is a partnership between BMW and Sixt, is growing quite rapidly. "We've been surprised about the explosion of new subscriptions, which has helped boost revenue," says Sixt CEO Erich Sixt. The number of DriveNow users has increased from 215,000 at the end of last year to 300,000 today. Sixt says that DriveNow has been profitable in cities in which it has been established for over a year. Perhaps encouraged by its unexpected success, DriveNow is set to expand even further. The service is currently available in five German cities, as well as in San Francisco, California, and the involved parties are considering a five-year plan to expand to 25 more cities in Europe and the US. Still, Sixt expects DriveNow to report a "small-to-medium, single-digit" loss for this year, according to Sixt CFO Julian zu Putlitz. It's no big deal, just the result of startup costs in new areas. Sixt, which is Germany's largest car rental company, also reported that its own second-quarter income rose 12 percent to $37.7 million, while sales rose 7.6 percent to $585.78 million. DriveNow uses a membership and pay-per-minute model that allows customers to rent BMW and Mini vehicles as they need them. The service also acts as a way to let potential customers try out the vehicles and familiarize themselves with the brands before they buy cars of their own at some point. Depending on the location, DriveNow's fleet includes the BMW 1 Series, ActiveE and X1, as well as several Mini vehicles like the Cooper, Clubman and Countryman. Featured Gallery 2012 BMW ActiveE: First Drive View 31 Photos News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Copyright 2014 AOL Green BMW MINI car sharing profit revenue drivenow sixt

The electric Mini SE crushes its EPA range estimate in our real-world test

The range meter of my fully charged 2020 Mini Cooper SE reads 110 miles as I fasten my seatbelt, which is hardly a surprise because that number matches the official EPA-certified range of this all-new electric car. But then I turn on the climate control system, at which point the range prediction promptly falls to 103 miles. “Uh-oh. This could get interesting,” I say to myself. My range test course, you see, is a vast loop that measures about 105 miles around. I donÂ’t really think IÂ’ll end up walking, though. I remind myself that most electric cars IÂ’ve tested — the Porsche Taycan among them — routinely outperform their rated range. But “most” is the operative word in this train of thought, so I ease out of my driveway to begin the test under a tiny cloud of uncertainty. Will the Mini Cooper SE prove to be one of the outliers? Will I encounter any low battery warnings? All will become clear in the next three and half hours. None of my initial hand-wringing should be taken to mean the MiniÂ’s rated range of 110 miles is somehow insufficient. ItÂ’s not, in my view. The length of my course has no special meaning. It doesnÂ’t represent the “right” number of miles. How the test was run My loop in Orange County, Calif., represents what I call typical suburban city driving. ItÂ’s not as dense as the notorious gridlocked areas found in West Los Angeles or certain big-city downtown environs, so itÂ’s applicable to the vast majority of drivers. It features suburban residential and arterial streets, with speed limits that range from 25 mph to as much as 60 mph. But thereÂ’s no pure freeway mileage, and the entire route is peppered with more than 310 signals. As for elevation, it ranges from sea level to just over 600 feet. I run with the automatic climate control system set within the range of 72 to 75 degrees, aiming to settle on one specific setting throughout that delivers adequate comfort. IÂ’ll try whatever Eco drive mode there is, but if throttle response is anemic IÂ’ll use the normal setting. Here, the default mode is the “green” mode, and IÂ’m sticking with it because the SEÂ’s driveability is totally agreeable. As for speed, IÂ’m running mid-pack between the leadfoots and the slowpokes. I wonÂ’t try to out-drag anyone leaving signals, and I look far enough ahead that I can choose the best lane and anticipate when the next signal is going to change. In short, IÂ’m aiming to land halfway between hypermiling and hyperactive.

Mini brings back the six-speed manual for certain 2023 trims

Mini has good news and some steep price increases for the 2023 model year, the cars available to buyers once production switches to the coming year in November. The good news for enthusiasts is the return of the manual transmission to more trims after a pause in deliveries caused by supply shortages. The six-speed manual becomes a standalone option on two-door Minis with hardtops, meaning the Cooper, Cooper S, and John Cooper Works variants. The bad news for enthusiasts who wanted to pair that gearbox with a base Mini Cooper Classic is that the Classic is gone. As other automakers are doing, Mini culled the entry-level trim for the new year, automatically raising the price of entry by a non-miniature amount. Product planners played a bunch of presto-change-o with standard features, packages and standalone options for various trims. For instance, the hardtop two-door Cooper, Cooper S and JCW in Signature guise get power folding mirrors and auto dimming rearview mirrors. The Cooper S and JCW in Iconic trim pick up Mini's Parking Assistant. On the other hand, the Cooper SE in Iconic trim loses the alarm system and active cruise control, while certain trims of the Countryman Cooper S and Cooper S All 4 drop the alarm system and dynamic damper control. If you're interested in a Mini, look closely at the small print about the feature set. The Resolute, Untold and Untamed special editions in Iconic 2.0 fettle expand their options menus. The Resolute adds Enigmatic Black Metallic as a primary body color with a Pepper White roof, or a Nanuq White body and roof. The carbon black Mini Yours Lounge Leather can be optioned for $750. The Untold expands availability from just the John Cooper Works Clubman to the Cooper S and Cooper S All4. Its exterior hues will now include Midnight Black Metallic with black spats. As for the Untamed, its paint palette adds Nanuq White, partnered with the standard black contrasting roof and mirrors, and graphics in Matte Bluestone. For all Mini Hardtops, Pepper White, White Silver and Moonwalk Grey body colors will retire at the end of October. Replacing them are Nanuq White, and Melting Silver III that becomes available throughout the range. Pricing goes way up for base versions now that the Classic is gone, with four-figure jumps on every trim compared to pricing Mini released in February of this year.