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MINI Connected: Is it magic? Or….

Sherwinville — Fri, 04 May 2012 16:02:20 +0000

Through the power of MINI Connected…

MINI Connected - Web Radio App

Listening to a Punjabi Internet Radio station originating from Norway, coming to me via 3G ~~in a moving car~~ at a stop light, by way of MINI Connected. Is it Magic? No- It’s technology!

MINI Mod of the Week: Chromed out Scuttles

Sherwinville — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 20:13:59 +0000

As the song goes, “the best things life are free”… Take this reasonably unique chromed out “S” on the MINI side-scuttles. Sure you may remember this same mod on my previous MINI, but other than that, I’ve never seen it elsewhere….

Chrome S Turn-signal Scuttles

Sticker removal: 5-minutes

Excess sticky stuff removal (via “Goo-gone”): 15-minutes

Total cost: $0

Not a bad day.

MINI Swag!

Sherwinville — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 02:58:50 +0000

Holy crap! That’s a lotta swag!

Thank you MINI USA!!

Mod of the Week: White Turn-Signals

Sherwinville — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 13:52:07 +0000

After a deal fell through on some Sylvania SilverStars, which are apparently only available online these days (no- really- I tried!) I dropped $6 on some replacements for the stock amber bulbs. FYI- swapping out turn signal bulbs on gen2 MINIs are ridiculously simple!

European charm? $6.

Note: Anyone who doesn’t opt for the “white turn signals” on their MINI build at MINIUSA.com, is totally missing the boat. IMO.

Open Source MINI!

Sherwinville — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 11:42:37 +0000

Apparently my new MINI Roadster comes with a GPL license!

2012 MINI Roadster Photos (finally!)

Sherwinville — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 04:33:22 +0000

Finally after approximately two weeks of ownership, the sun comes out long enough to grab a few photos of my new MINI COOPER S ROADSTER with the top down. Now if only I had a real camera…

Not too shabby, considering I was at the mercy of the iPhone 4S camera!

SPY CAR II: Son of SPY CAR – Week One Mods

Sherwinville — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:32:17 +0000

Introducing, Son of SPY CAR!

Before I could even really enjoy it (due to a rainy couple of days) I’ve managed to get a couple low-end mods done already. Specifically,

• Tinted Windows from Mr. Tint in San Jose, Ca. (they didn’t cut me break, but got the job done in record time, considering it was raining)

• Grill badge holder and rubber floor mats from MINIofStevensCreek.

• Oh and I removed the front plate holder.

Not bad for just under one week of ownership! More pics and info to come!

Cooper S Roadster In The Wild

Sherwinville — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:20:33 +0000

Took delivery on my Cooper S Roadster last week. Here’s a first look…

SPY CAR II: Son of SPY CAR

Some details (direct from the ordering brochure):

EXTERIOR:

White Silver Body Color • Classic Black Soft-Top • Front/Rear Fog Lamps • 16″ 4-Hole Spoke Runflat Tires • Black Mirror Caps • White Turn Signals

INTERIOR:

Dark Gray Color Line • Black Checkered Dash • Carbon Black Door Panels • Leather Sport Wheel w/Multifunction • Center Arm Rest • Carbon Black Sport Seats (Leatherette) • Standard Floor Mats

INSTRUMENTATION
AC & Air Filter • Openometer • 6-spkr AM/FM/HD Radio w SIRIUS/XM Satellite Radio • CD Player • MINI Connected with Navigation System • On-Board Computer

PACKAGES
Cold Weather Package: Heated Front Seats, Heated Powerfold Mirrors & Washer Jets

PERFORMANCE
6-Speed Getrag Manual Transmission • Start/Stop Button • Turbocharged 16-Valve Alloy Engine • 4 Airbags w/Side-Thorax Protection • Dynamic Stability Control • Sport Button

*Interesting note: everything except for the few highlighted options are Standard on a MINI Cooper! Yup- you get what you pay for!

The Big Reveal: My New Cooper S Roadster

Sherwinville — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 18:59:41 +0000

Not to brag but, I’m pretty good a keeping secrets. I mean, unless you count all those times I swore I would be one of the first people in the U.S. with a Roadster, I’ve been pretty quiet about it. That is, I didn’t mention when I went to the dealer and plopped down my deposit, or when I actually put in the order, OR the two and a half months I waited and tracked its progress from the UK, across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, onto a truck and to my local dealer. Heck, I didn’t even publicly post the photo of my Motoring Advisor handing me the keys. And, it was a full week of ownership before I mentioned it briefly within close circles.

Which leads to my first public post- the “big reveal”, my 2012 MINI Cooper S Roadster Convertible. Don’t hate.

Filed under: "I told you I would own one of the first Cooper S Roadsters"

Intro to “MINI Connected with Nav System”

Sherwinville — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:44:49 +0000

This weekend I battled the rain to make it down to my local MINI dealer for two reasons- The first, to get some “seat time” with the MINI Connected with Navigation, in-car system.

I have to say, it’s actually better than them fancy, scripted videos! Even after years of being retrained to a touch-screen interface, I almost instantly figured out the turn-the-joystick-and-push controller (see- I just taught *you* how to work it!). I scrolled right past the AM/FM channels because who listens to the radio anymore? I went straight to the Bluetooth features and paired up my days-old iPhone within seconds.

Sadly, my iPhone is so new, I have no music on it (I know, right?). I couldn’t control my playlists or any of the other neat music-related stuff; I do however, have a few contacts on it. Getting to the Address Book and recently called numbers was simple enough. It wasn’t until hearing a three week old voicemail from my BFF played through the HK stereo system, and me squealing “I know that person!” like a 12-year old, that the deal is all but sealed on this option. (NB: I swear I saw a “conference call” option at one point, but neither I or my MA could find it again. Just as well- who wants to be on a three-way while tooling down the highway, right?)

"up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, start", right?

I’m not a big Pandora or MOG Radio fan- yet. I was not able to check out the Pandora or recently announced MOG radio apps within MINI Connected, because neither of these are on my phone; I do however, totally appreciate and *get* how and why MINI (and other auto manufacturers) are setting the pace for in-car “apps” as a reality. I mean, you’ll be able read and reply to tweets and Facebook updates! Why you would want to, I don’t know, but you can. That will be the last thing on my mind while driving this particular vehicle. (For a look at BMW/MINI’s long-term app strategy, follow the link to this in-depth article at MotoringFile.com, “Inside BMW’s ConnectedDrive Program: Past, Present & Future“) Oh- and if you don’t have a smartphone, the car comes equipped with a USB port *and* old-school, AUX input for you analog types.

What’s meh? Well, quite frankly, I wasn’t overly excited about the GPS system. It doesn’t suck, but is pretty straightforward as far as in-car navigation goes. (Talk to me when it’s voice-activated.) Additionally, as a techie surrounded by 27″ computer screens, iPads, HD TVs and Retina Display iPhones, it took two seconds to know that the MINI in-car visual display, is… well… not HD. That is one thing everyone should consider before adding the option, since there is not an app for that and you can’t swap it out.

Bem-vindo ao Salzburg! (*Not* HD!)

Overall, I was impressed with it enough that if it comes down to it, I’ll probably slap down the extra $1750 for it instead of the awesome five-spoke Black Star Bullet wheels that I’ve drooling over. Which brings me to the other reason I went down to a dealership on a rainy Sunday…

Ah, the ol', "Interest List".

I am officially “on the list”, as they say. And now, we wait…