Mini, perhaps more than any other automotive brand in the world, is defined by the style of its vehicles. Sure, Minis are decent performers and score pretty well on the fun-to-drive quotient, but the initial attraction of the brand is often due to the brand’s excellent execution of “the look.” And, beside Alec Issigonis, the [...]

Henry Ford, Ferdinand Porsche, Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler. All pioneers in the automotive world. But this list would be woefully incomplete without the inclusion of Sir Alec Issigonis, the man most responsible for the design of the original Mini. Issigonis once famously said, “When you’re designing a new car for production, never, never copy the [...]

Filed under: Car Buying , Coupe , Hatchback , Fiat 2011 Fiat 500 – Click above for high-res image gallery Break out your wallet and start learning Italian, the 2011 Fiat 500 configurator is attivo e funzionante! Pricing for the 500 starts at $15,500 for the base model, which is referred to as the Fiat 500 Pop. The 500 Sport is priced at $17,500 and the top-shelf 500 Lounge will cost you $19,500..

Filed under: Car Buying , Coupe , Hatchback , Fiat 2011 Fiat 500 – Click above for high-res image gallery Break out your wallet and start learning Italian, the 2011 Fiat 500 configurator is attivo e funzionante! Pricing for the 500 starts at $15,500 for the base model, which is referred to as the Fiat 500 Pop. The 500 Sport is priced at $17,500 and the top-shelf 500 Lounge will cost you $19,500…

Filed under: Auctions , Hatchback , Mini , UK , Celebrities Mini Cooper by Paul Weller – Click above for high-res image gallery Every year Mini teams up with some of the top fashion designers to create special one-off art cars. These are subsequently auctioned for the benefit of HIV/AIDS research and awareness. This one, however, is something different.

Filed under: Convertible , Budget , Europe , Volkswagen It looks like we finally have a rendering to go with the rampant speculation about the introduction of a Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet .

Filed under: Concept Cars , Budget , Hatchback , Ford , Rumormill Ford Start Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery If the rumors circling the internets concerning the Ford Ka are to be believed, the tiny three-door may be looking at the end of the line… eventually

Filed under: Convertible , Coupe , Crossover , Mini , Rumormill Mini Beachcomber concept – Click above for high-res image gallery Remember back in the day when BMW revived the Mini and there was just one version? That was the three-door hatchback, but was also a long time ago in product lifecycle terms

Filed under: Hatchback , Audi , Luxury 2011 Audi A1 1.4 TFSI – Click above for high-res image gallery Less than a week after complaining about the A1 ‘s lack of a U.S. visa comes word that Audi is considering bringing the second generation entry-level hatch to the States. Speaking with Automotive News at the Paris Motor Show , Audi AG board member Peter Schwarzenbauer said the chances of the next A1 coming to the U.S.

Filed under: Europe , Paris Motor Show , Hatchback , Audi 2011 Audi A1 1.4 TFSI – Click above for high-res image gallery Despite the success of the Mini Cooper and America’s newfound love of hatchbacks , Audi continues to deny us the all-new A1 . There are a variety of reasons for excluding the pint-sized hatch from the U.S. market (marketing, brand image, average transaction price, etc.), but the introduction of the twin-charged A1 here at the Paris Motor Show has us questioning all of them.