There are rumors that the next version of the popular MINI will be an SUV. This fall MINI is going to release a third version of the MINI called the Clubman, which is essentially a stretched MINI. BMW is considering other models of the small car, such as the MINI SUV that could be named the Colorado.
Currently the MINI plant in Oxford, England is running at full capacity, so it will not be possible for BMW to build another version at that plant. Magna on the other hand has extra capacity at its Graz, Austria plant where the Chrysler 300 was built until recently when Chrysler decided to move the production to its Brampton, Ontario plant. Also the next BMW X3 will not be built at the Magna plant as it is switching to BMW's South Carolina plant. The Magna plant built 26,400 Chrysler 300s and 113,000 X3's last year. The company is trying to work with BMW to build 65,000 MINI Colorados to make up for the loss of the X3 and 300 sedan.
Full Story: Autoblog
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Comments (4)
Isn't Colorado (GMT355) already taken? What's next, the Chevelle M3? Maybe the Luminia M5?
Posted by J.D. | July 20, 2007 1:58 PM
Posted on July 20, 2007 13:58
I too find it strange that Mini might adopt the Colorado name. And why Colorado? I would have never expected a British car company to name a car after a state in the US, much less one that's already taken by GM... Or is Mini forecasting that the Colorado will go out of production before the Mini will be released?
Posted by Eddie | July 21, 2007 3:50 PM
Posted on July 21, 2007 15:50
Shouldn't it be called a Maxi?
Posted by kw | July 23, 2007 10:25 AM
Posted on July 23, 2007 10:25
The Colorado name is already owned and used by GM on the Chevrolet Colorado pickup (as I just noticed a previous respondent pointed out).
Many will remember that the Volkswagen Touareg was originally supposed to be called the "Volkswagen Colorado" but had to be renamed. I hope when they do decide on an official name they pick something off-roady, yet also very British-sounding. MINI is, after all, the quintessential small British car. Calling it the "MINI Colorado" would have been an awful mistake.
(First Side Note: Volkswagen has an apparent penchant for gawd-awful names. Not only did they go with "Touareg" over "Colorado" but they're apparently also going with "Tiguan" over "Marrakesh" on the smaller SUV. What gives?)
(Second Side Note: Wouldn't "Marrakesh" make an excellent name for the MINI SUV? ... "MINI Marrakesh" has a nice ring to it. And the folks at Volkswagen aren't using it ... They're too busy researching uglier names ...)
Posted by James McGarity | September 30, 2007 6:20 AM
Posted on September 30, 2007 06:20