Month: April 2012

A rusty Mini sold for 40,250 pounds ($65,382) at auction by Bonhams on Monday, April 30, — beating the price of a shiny Pontiac convertible once owned by Keith Richards. The corroded 1959 Mini was described by Bonhams as the oldest surviving unrestored car of its type. It beat the 37,950 pounds paid for a dark-blue 1950 Chieftain Silver Streak used by guitarist Richards at a time when the Rolling Stones recorded “Exile on Main Street” at his south of France home in the early 1970s. Both cars were bought by private U.S. buyers at an auction at the RAF Museum in Hendon, England. Classic cars often get a premium if they have interesting stories attached to them, such as famous owners, years spent in storage before being discovered in original condition. The Austin Mini Se7en De Luxe Saloon, registration […]

The curse of the British tea break strikes again. Just as BMW announces record sales, its Mini factory in Oxford is threatened by a first strike since 1984 over alleged incursions into workers’ break times. The renaissance of volume British car making is well known. Likewise that of America’s car giants Ford and General Motors. The reasons for the two countries’ re-emergence as global automobile powers are different but, one way or another, they have dealt with their common problems of structural decline in the face of fierce overseas competition. BMW’s experience in the UK captures much of why we are once again a leading exporter of cars – and the risks of losing that status. First the UK has great car brands – Mini and Rolls-Royce owned by BMW, MG Rover by the Chinese SAIC, Jaguar Land Rover owned by […]