2011 Mini Countryman – Road & Track

Note: This contest is now closed! So, our November contest? Well, think about this. We all have those stories, those used-to-haves or near misses. We all can tell tales of “the one that got away.” Sometimes they are cars that would now be worth wheel-barrows full of money. Sometimes they are cars that saw us through tough times or good times or were just near and dear to our hearts. There are cars that we had that we had to let go of due to growing families, or career changes, or simple changes in fortunes. There are other cars that we almost bought but that slipped through our fingers or were snatched from our grasp. I used to have a yellow Triumph TR250. Sure it needed work, but it was solid and fun. But this was 1987 when I was […]

The BBC’s Chanel 4 News is reporting that thousands of jobs at two UK car plants could be at risk as a result of a worldwide sales slump. General Motors, the world’s biggest car company which owns Vauxhall, said it will be bankrupt within months unless it gets an emergency cash injection from the US government to help it during the global financial crisis. The firm said it had called off merger talks with Chrysler and was asking the government for help after using up $6.9 billion (£4.4 billion) in the third quarter of 2008. The company employs around 5,000 workers at plants in Luton and Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, which produce around 215,000 vehicles a year. Meanwhile, German car giant BMW announced that production of the Mini was to be curtailed, with workers at plants at Oxford and Swindon told […]

West Midlands car industry activists are poring over the fine detail of the government report into the collapse of MG Rover to establish whether there are grounds to bring a civil action against the so-called Phoenix Four, the executives who bought the car company from BMW for £10 in May 2000. MG Rover watchers are said to be angry at the extent to which the Phoenix Four benefited personally while overseeing the demise of Britain’s last volume car manufacturer. They believe the report, compiled after a four-year investigation by two government inspectors, has opened the door to civil action. “Company law on fiduciary responsibility is complex and unclear,” said Nick Matthews, an academic at Coventry University and car industry analyst for 15 years. “The inspectors agree that it is uncertain, particularly in respect of the deal to buy MGR Capital. […]