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1 |
7 July marks MINI's first birthday. The most desirable small car
around has enjoyed a whirlwind first 12 months with critical and
sales successes exceeding all expectations. Both MINI One and
MINI Cooper enjoyed a warm welcome
from day one with Auto Express awarding MINI its coveted Car of
the Year title in the 2001 New Car Honours Awards just ten days
after it went on sale. The trend continued through the year with
MINI also picking up Driven's Car of the Series and numerous 'Best
Car' awards in newspapers and magazines. |
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2 |
Two of MINI's wheels are sufficient for the UK's top stunt driver
Russ Swift who has perfected the art of driving a MINI on just the
driver's side wheels. |
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3 |
MINI Cooper S
became the third member of the MINI family when it went on sale
on 8 June 2002. Public and critics alike are raving about the car.
All of 2002's allocation has been sold and the S has already won
its first award - Best Sporting Car at the recent Auto Express New
Car Honours 2002. |
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4 |
The MINI range
is due to grow further when the diesel version hits our streets
next year. The 1.4-litre diesel engine will be sourced from Toyota
Motor Corporation and modified for performance and physical fit
into MINI's engine bay. Production will be between 10 - 20,000 cars
per year. |
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7 |
There are 148 MINI dealerships in the UK. All are associated with
existing BMW franchises, 7 of which are bespoke MINI dealerships.
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12 |
A 50ft Christmas tree made of 12 life-size fibreglass MINIs was
floated on the Thames for two weeks last Christmas. |
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13 |
As part of MINI's guerrilla-marketing activities, 13 life size
MINIs were seen driving up landmark buildings across UK cities last
year. |
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25 |
The John Cooper Challenge has tempted 25 MINI Cooper owners to
compete in their own cars through a season of hill climbs, sprints
and races. The flagship meeting takes place at Silverstone on 28
July. |
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50 |
By the end of 2002 MINI will be available in 50 markets worldwide.
The biggest markets are expected to be the UK, the US,
Japan and Europe, but MINI lovers in Guadeloupe and Bahrain will
also be able to buy a Cooper. MINI-mania swept the US with dealers
selling all 20,000 of their allocation for 2002 before the car officially
went on sale. |
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81 |
The oldest known MINI owner is an 81 year old lady in Japan who
traded her classic MINI for a new red MINI Cooper. |
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98 |
The MINI tlc service package has enjoyed a take up of over 98%
with new MINI customers. The ground-breaking offer provides full
service cover for up to five years/50,000 miles for £85 plus VAT. |
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350 |
MINI Customers have been keen to personalise their cars with new
roof decals including St George and Union Jack flags.
350 MINI Coopers are currently sporting the British flag and a new
range of designs is in the pipeline.
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500 |
Plant Oxford, the only home of the new MINI and the birthplace
of the original Morris MINI Minor in 1959 is now producing 500 cars
per day with around 4,500 workers employed by the factory. As
a result of such high international demand for MINI, further recent
investment of £50 million will help to increase production at the
plant. |
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2,500 |
The 'It's a MINI Adventure' roadshow covered 2,500 miles during
September with 822 people getting behind the wheel of a MINI, producing
the 'World's Most Driven Car' according to the Guinness World Records.
The MINI advertisement 'Film' was certified by the British Board
of Film Classification and subsequently also granted a Guinness
World Record as the 'Shortest Feature Film'. |
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9,900 |
The retail cost of a MINI One is £9,900. Getting your MINI on the
road adds a further £400 for road tax, delivery, registration fee
and plates. |
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21,950 |
Is how much one new MINI Cooper S owner in North Yorkshire has
paid for her car. |
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22,822 |
Not to be outdone, a MINI Cooper owner from Rochdale has ordered
a car totalling £22,822.20. |
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27,757 |
As MINI celebrates its first birthday, total registrations to date
reach an impressive 27,757 in the UK. |
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50,000 |
On MINI's launch weekend last July, over 50,000 people visited
the dealerships. |
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325,000 |
Sales of
MINI merchandise for the first half of 2002 totalled £325,000 with
an extended range of fleeces, t-shirts, toys and gadgets.
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