The Independent American Magazine for all Mini Owners
Issue link: http://mc2.epubxp.com/i/33536
Segler Takes Over Management of MINI Brand The current managing director of BMW M GmbH, Dr. Kay Segler (56), will be responsible for MINI brand management in the future. Dr. Segler has been with the company since 1988, mainly in manage- ment functions within the Sales and Marketing division, both in Germany and abroad. He previously managed the MINI brand between 2004 and 2008 and is well known throughout the MINI Community. Kiss Joins With Mini At New York Auto Show MINI USA launched their "MINI Rocks the Rivals" competitive test-drive tour in the USA with the help of Gene Simmons and his legendary glam rock band, KISS to raise money for UNICEF to help children in Japan and emergencies around the globe. KISS band members made the announcement live as four turbocharged engine and getting the R56 platform to install it in is certainly a logical move. It would be a win for SAAB, and for BMW/MINI, as they will be able to further profit selling the platform when they replace it in late 2012 with the all-new MINI 3, which is currently codenamed F56. Of course, at this point, the deal is still conjuncture. Ever since the brand was dumped by General Motors, it has been struggling financially, so the question remains where will they get the funding to buy the R56 platform? A Rocking MINI by DSQUARED² Canadian twins, Dean and Dan Caten, better known as the de- signer duo DSQUARED², yesterday presented the initial sketches of the MINI they have designed exclusively for the 2011 Life Ball. Dean and Dan have been dedicated MINI fans for some time. Last year – freely based on the motto “Time to pack my… MINI Countryman” – they kitted out the newest MINI model MINI Countryman vehicles with KISS-inspired designs made their debut at the New York Auto Show, and each represented one of the KISS band member's iconic faces. All four vehicles will be auctioned after being custom painted with the revealed design and signed by all four KISS members. Fans will be able to bid on the vehicles during a special Father's Day eBay charity auction. In addition to the vehicle charity auction, MINI USA will sell MINI vehicle wraps of the KISS designs revealed at the New York Auto Show. Vehicle wraps are MINI Motoring Graphics applied by an authorized MINI dealership, like the Union Jack Flag that can be applied to a MINI's roof, but the vehicle wrap can cover the entire vehicle. MINI USA's proceeds from those sales will also be donated to UNICEF. While MC2 certainly lauds MINI and KISS for this unique charity drive, it does make us once again wonder at the demographics of it all. MINI continually tells us that they are marketing to a younger demographic – roughly 32-45 years of age, but they continually use rock bands and other cultural icons more associated with the 55-70 year old buyer. Saab May Buy R56 Platform From MINI If you like the MINI platform and mechanicals but aren’t wild about the body, you can always buy a SAAB. The UK pub- lication, AutoCar, reports that Spyker Cars, the Dutch parent company of Saab, says that it is in negotiation to purchase the rights to the outgoing BMW MINI platform. The Swedish auto manufacturer is looking to nail down the rights to a small-car platform to use on their new 9.1 that would allow it to compete in the booming market for premium compact cars, which was defined by BMW/MINI. The company already has a deal to buy MINI’s 1.6-liter 16 www.mc2magazine.com and Prestige MINI (www.prestigemini.com).Choose the dealer closest to you to save on shipping costs. Personally, we can’t think of a better bicycle to strap on the rack. with their selection of essential travel accoutrements. The broth- ers have long cherished a desire to design a MINI Cooper S in their very own style. Dean and Dan are thrilled with the assign- ment: “If we were a car, it would be rugged and robust. Our MINI ‘Red Mudder’ is an accurate reflection of that. With the maple leaf on both doors and the DSQUARED² logo on the front shield and wheels, this is unmistakably our style.” Cooper Bikes Now Available in US Some months ago, MC2 announced that Mike Cooper of John Cooper Works fame had gone into the premier bicycle manufacturing business. One of his first models is named after the famed Formula I victory in Belgium and called the SPA 19.6 1960, after the place and date of the Mini-Cooper victory.These bikes, Mike says, are engineered for life and built to a very high standard. They are available in the US through Seattlel MINI (www.seattlemini.com) in the Pacific Northwest mini news