[louisthethird]

Just read an american article on the launch of the new MCD and the MO and the general gist is that it's faster/sportier but also more frugal!

Interesting quote from their forum on the fact that they would NOT be getting the MCD in the USA.

'So we don’t get the MIINI diesel here in America … land of the five and six liter diesel engined pickup truck. Sounds like politics to me. I live in Texas where it seems 50 percent of the vehicles on the road are pickups … and 95 percent of them have nothing in the cargo bed. Most haul nothing more than groceries and kids. Heck … I am ashamed I am from Texas … much less W. When will we wake up?'

They are finally getting the point!

Louis III

[Paul]

Our friends from the West have been posting on here for a long time how they wish they could get the "D" models over the in the USA. It's sad that even with the Cooper D it's not been offered to the states. Hopefully MINI, who are selling themselves as "trail blazers" of a sort with their small car in the states, could actually try and make genuine in roads into the compact diesl market too.

[louisthethird]

It seems TOTALLY unreasonable that they can't get the Ds in the USA. Especially as the MINI offers performance too.

World's gone bloomin mad.

(Sorry - having a really dull day today - man-flu - debt - want a MCS (plus a DBS - one day) - NHSitis they call it)

[AprilWhine]

Yes, I regularly regret selling my Beetle TDI.

[eflowt]

I just had to look up what 'seppos' meant, not very nice.

MINI seems to be on par with most manufactures as far as diesels. VW has offered TDI versions of the Beetle, Jetta, and and Golf (Polo) over the past few years. The Jetta was the only one they offered last year, and they just took that off the market. Other than that I can't think of any small diesel cars being sold here in the last decade, people simply just don't buy them.

Personally I'd love to see the D over here, 60 mpg is sounding pretty nice right about now, but I've gotten the same standardized reply that everyone else who's emailed them about it got.

[paul.w]

Ever thought about personal import? You would stand out from the crowd if you had the only one !

Paul

[eflowt]

No, I wouldn't be doing it to stand out. I'm in college right now, It'd be for the fuel economy.

Seems anything I'd save in fuel would be out-weighed by the cost to import.

I don't know how to explain it, there's really just a stigma over here about diesel cars, that they're just kind of dirty, not that powerful (None of which I believe). We complain all day about fuel costs, but everyone still buys SUV's and trucks.

I was thinking though, as most MINI's are ordered individually, that it wouldn't be that hard to have the option, it'd probably just kill resale value.

I'm still about 2 years away from ordering a MINI, so I can still hope, I guess.

[MINImeat]

I think Americans remember the diesels the domestic car companies attempted to market in the 80's that weren't well designed at all and produced a poor reputation.
Americans also don't seem to warm to the idea of driving something for economy and compromising on power.
Basically, we've all lost our freaking minds and we're lining up behind all the other idiots to get our new, bigger, land barges.

[ABG]

Quote: Originally Posted by eflowt (original)

I just had to look up what 'seppos' meant, not very nice.

Me too - I was thinking Marx Bros.