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Electric cars are nothing new. Once the horseless chariots of upper class society women, they are now back en vogue thanks to a renewed interest in achieving zero-emissions, minimal-compromise driving. Enter the 2010 Mini E, an electrified Mini Cooper that will go on limited lease availability to select customers early next year.

First things first, the Mini E is not a mass-market electric car. Five hundred applicants mostly in Southern California and the greater New York City area - get your name in now - will be selected to lease Mini Es at $850 a month for a year. That fee includes all maintenance and an in-home charging system , as well as all the gasoline required to fuel the Mini E for the year (just checking to see if you are paying attention).

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BMW is getting on the electric-car bandwagon with perhaps the most stylish alt-fuel vehicle to date. Yes, it looks just like a regular Mini Cooper, but is that such a bad thing? This is the type of exercise the industry truly needs to execute: a popular gasoline-powered car with an electric powertrain trim level.

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Now on display at the Design Museum in London, MINI has announced the debut of the MINI Aldridge Special. Designed by legendary artist, illustrator and graphic designer Alan Aldridge, the MINI exhibit entitled ‘The Man with Kaleidoscope Eyes’ recreates the iconic cover of the Sunday Times Magazine, which in 1965 featured a classic Mini painted in his own inimitable style. The updated interpretation of this image, using a new MINI One as the canvas for Alan’s design, has again been featured on the cover in the 12 October 2008 edition of the publication.
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The much-rumored Mini SUV is here. Dubbed the Mini Crossover Concept, this 4×4 vehicle is the biggest Mini yet, measuring more than 3 meters long (that’s more than 156 inches for those of us not on the metric system). That’s just slightly longer than the new Mini Cooper Clubman, but still nearly 20 inches shorter than your standard Honda Civic sedan.

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According to Bosch, this Mini will achieve fuel economy numbers in upwards of 50 miles per gallon, which will shame many hybrid offerings currently sold in the States.
Chris Paukert
Editor-In-Chief
In this business, it’s commonplace for people to pull up to you in a nice car and ask questions like “How fast does it go?” and “What’s she got under the hood?” Well, the times, they are well and truly a-changin’.
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