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Mini Clubvan axed after just 50 sales

Well, that didn't last long. According to Green Car Reports, Mini has discontinued the Clubvan from its model range in the United States.
Nathalie Bauters, Mini's US communications manager, cited "relatively low demand and the effect of an excessive 25-percent tax on vehicles for commercial use (known as 'the Chicken Tax')" as the key reasons for axing the Clubman from our market, GCR reports. The 2013 Clubvan launched in the US earlier this year, and to date roughly 50 examples have been sold.
The Clubvan, based on the Clubman model, features a flat load floor behind the two front seats, with blacked-out (well, body-colored) side windows. This nifty little cargo wagon could carry up to 33 cubic feet of goods, which while useful, pales in comparison to more capacious offerings like the Ford Transit Connect van.

The original Mini Cooper still has universal appeal

It sold over five million units. It was voted the second most influential car of the last century, bested only by the pioneering Ford Model T. It counted among its owners Steve McQueen, Enzo Ferrari and Peter Sellers. It is the classic Mini.
The tiny, two-box, four-seat hatch is an automotive icon of the first order and it's high time it featured in an episode of Petrolicious. Of course, the video gurus did it right, filming this handsome 1971 Mini, which has been modified to accommodate the 1,275-cc four-cylinder from the Mini Cooper S of the time.
Its owner, Sumner Norman, describes life with his right-hand-drive, UK-spec Mini. Naturally, he points out some of the idiosyncrasies inherent with a car built under the guise of British Leyland, including some of well known reliability woes, which he says is the car "going British." Mostly, though, he just seems to have a good time with the little hatch.

2014 Mini Cooper rockets into view

Here it is, all but undisguised. We've been clocking the 2014 Mini Cooper for months now, but engineers' well-placed camouflage has meant that our views have been very limited. Today, though, the disguises have been cast aside and the new Mini has been revealed in both standard and Cooper S form during a photo shoot, and there are some real surprises afoot.
For one, we had no idea that the Cooper would adopt the LED daytime running lamp corona headlamps from the much-loved 2011 Rocketman concept, but there they are, looking both unique and a little frightened. The front grille has been resculpted and and is now more rounded, integrating the bumper strike face in matte black. In fact, the entire nose looks a bit more rounded to our eyes, with all variants carrying a small but noticeable power bulge (shown here on the S model above the intake slot in the hood). The profile looks largely unchanged save for a slightly faster windshield, but the rear picks up a set of oversized taillamps that we'll likely have to see in person to get comfortable with. Our spy shooters tell us that the 2014 Cooper, codenamed F56, appears to be slightly larger in the metal than its predecessor, as expected, with much of that length coming in the form of a longer front overhang (perhaps to assist with pedestrian safety regulations).
Expected to ride atop the same UKL architecture shared with the upcoming BMW 1 Series GT and MPV, the entire line of Coopers may move to an all three-cylinder lineup, including BMW's 1.5-liter I3 that features a twin-scroll turbo, direct injection and variable valve timing, a combination good for anywhere between 120 to 200 horsepower. Eventually, higher-performance models could generate up to 300 horsepower out of this tiny engine. Our well-connected lensmen suggest that at least one four-cylinder engine might carry over to the launch of this new generation, but it may only be available for the first model year.