Mini will showcase two new vehicles on its display at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California this week. First up is the Mini Inspired by Goodwood we previewed back in April. The second is the new Mini Coupe – and its first U.S. public showing.

Gordon Murray, chief design engineer behind the McLaren F1 and several championship-winning Formula 1 cars, has revealed his microcar. The T25 is a demonstration for a new-car construction method. He says his new method can take 25 percent out of a car's weight, whether applied to a sedan, sports car, or minivan of any given seating capacity, without compromising safety.

Debuts in Geneva

After months of speculation, MINI has officially introduced the new SD lineup.

Mini has recently touted its “carfun” footprint in its ads. Now, in an effort to reduce its carbon footprint, the company is building a fleet of approximately 500 plug-in electric vehicles that will be made available to select companies and individuals in California, New York, and New Jersey by early 2009.

Fifty years ago, the original Mini was shown to the public for the first time, thus beginning the long history of a little car that continues to strike joy in the hearts of many to this day. To celebrate, Mini has built a chopped, two-seat super-Cooper called the Mini Coupe Concept for the Frankfurt auto show.

The Mini lineup will enter the 2011 model year with an array of visual and equipment upgrades for the Cooper, Cooper convertible, and Clubman. The visual changes include a redesigned front bumper that helps the Mini meet new pedestrian-safety regulations in Europe. The lower grille and new fog-light surrounds have more pronounced, contoured borders. Base (non-S) models feature a new horizontal bar in the lower air inlet, while S models sport prominent (and functional) brake ducts that can be trimmed in chrome. There are five new wheel designs in 15-, 16-, and 17-inch sizes.

BMW plans to expand the Mini range even further when the next-generation model bows in 2013. And it plans to offer smaller engines: new 1.2- and 1.5-liter gas and diesel three-cylinders that, like the new Mini's platform architecture, will be shared with the forthcoming sub-1 Series front-drive BMW.

I'm parked alongside the road to Castellet, España, in a spanking-new 2007 Mini Cooper — an S version, for the record — when Officer Jose Lopez of the Policía Local de Catalunya rounds the corner. Instantly, his roof lights snap on as he angles his cruiser across the one-and-a-bit-lane road, ending up nose-to-nose with my Hyper Blue example of the freshly redesigned two-door hatchback.

Mercedes-Benz Classic will be featuring several highlights at this year’s Retro Classics 2011. Being that 2011 marks the 125th birthday of the motor car, the German manufacturer will display four fascinating milestone vehicles from its collection. All four of these models are representative of automobile mobility: a Benz Patent Motor Car, the world’s first automobile dating from 1886; a Mercedes-Benz 500 K special Roadster (model series W 29) dating from 1934; a Mercedes-Benz 220 SE Coupé (W 111), model year 1961; and finally the latest research vehicle, the F 800 Style, which premiered in 2010.

At the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, Mini unveiled two concepts that looked a little too daring for production, even by Mini standards. Called the Coupe and Roadster, they went on to receive such a warm welcome from both media and potential buyers that Mini pushed the concepts along into development vehicles. Now, we are seeing actual production ready versions running around Germany expected for a release later this year.