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Driver in the UK moves an ambulance just to free up a parking space

Finding a parking spot in a populated area can be a huge hassle. Drivers will circle a parking lot or a street a half dozen times, sometimes following a pedestrian like a lion hunting its prey in the hopes that that person will free up a spot. That said, there is no excuse for the guy who allegedly moved an ambulance in order to free up a parking space. According to Yahoo News, a driver in the UK got behind the wheel of an ambulance while paramedics were treating a victim in the back so he could park his Mini Cooper in a space that was being blocked. According to the paramedics, they didn't communicate at all with the Mini driver. The patient suffered "distress and discomfort" but was otherwise unaffected. Unfortunately, police are still trying to find the driver. While we can't do much from Michigan, we can provide a brief description. The suspect is a white male with dark hair in his 50s that stands about 5 feet 10 inches tall. The Cooper had a license plate that starts with RJ60. If you have any information, call the police in the UK at 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Related Video: News Source: Yahoo! NewsImage Credit: Getty Read This MINI

Mini goes zany with latest accessories catalog

Driving a Mini is most definitely an individualistic choice - one that not everyone would get on board with. So if you're going to go with such a fashion statement, you might as well give it your own sense of style. That's where Mini's new line of accessories come in.
Available for the new third-gen Mini hardtop, the accessories offer buyers the opportunity to customize their retro hatchback as best they see fit. There are roof graphics, accessory lighting, wheel upgrades and mirror caps (like the cartoonish ones pictured at right) just like you would have found in the parts catalog for previous iterations of the Mini, but now the brand is offering four appearance kits it's calling Mini Design Lines.
The kits are color coordinated in either Vivid Green, Speedwell Blue, John Cooper Works Pro (in black, red and grey) and Essential Black and include everything from the interior trim to exterior graphics. They might not be to everyone's taste, but that kinda strikes us as the point. Scope 'em out in the extensive high-res image gallery above and the details in the press release below.

Mini Clubman to get the 'Works,' four-door Hardtop not so much

Performance sub-brands are expanding faster than leftover marshmallow Peeps in a microwave. And Mini's John Cooper Works line is not likely to be an exception. Mini's stand at the New York Auto Show was somewhat low-key, with the debut of the Clubman All4 all-wheel-drive variant on one end and the expected John Cooper Works Convertible on the other. And for the foreseeable future, the Mini lineup will change through redesigns of existing models and the introduction of more derivatives – like a John Cooper Works version of the new Clubman. At least that's what some of Mini's product guys indicated. "The Works is always our top model. John Cooper Works is not just limited to small cars, it's also for compact cars," said Ralph Mahler, Mini's head product manager, in an interview with Autoblog at the New York Auto Show. "Therefore, I wouldn't see anything against bringing the Works to the Clubman. I think it would be a perfect match." Though one was offered in the last generation, a Works model may seem at odds with the new Clubman's mission, as the company has spent considerable effort pitching it as the grown-up Mini, something to rival premium-branded compacts. Yet Mahler sees a possible Works Clubman as the ultimate in the lineup and an exclusive model, especially since he said take rate for the rest of the Works Minis is around 5 percent. Patrick McKenna, Head of Product Planning at Mini USA, said that since the Clubman went on sale early this year, ordering has included mostly highly optioned models, and customers are notably cross-shopping the Audi A3. Loaded up, a Clubman Cooper S All4 pushes past the $45,000 mark. Currently, the most powerful Cooper S produces 189 horsepower from its 2.0-liter turbo four. That's more power than a front-drive A3 1.8T, but less than the A3 2.0T Quattro – and way less than a cheaper Volkswagen Golf GTI. Consider that the engine in the just-released John Cooper Works Convertible produces 30 more horses than the one in the Cooper S and a Works Clubman starts to make more sense. Strangely, the four-door Mini Hardtop, released last year, doesn't appear to be destined for the Works treatment. McKenna said the four-door will continue to offer special appearance packages that offer Works-like touches and offer dealer-installed accessories such as exhausts and horsepower increases.