Proving once again that there are many factors which impact an automaker’s plans on how many vehicles to sell is the fact that the U.S. isn’t likely to get an additional supply of Minis any time soon. Despite the fact that Mini literally cannot keep enough cars on its dealer lots (there is only a five day supply of unsold cars in the U.S.), BMW is not planning to increase production. While it would seem to make fiscal sense to build as many cars as can be sold, it’s not quite that easy. Apparently, the plant in Oxford, England where the new Mini is still produced is already running at capacity. It could take years for the necessary expansion at the facility to produce more cars, and it is difficult to forecast just how long the sales boom will last.

What may be in for an adjustment, though, is the current Mini’s sticker price. An increase may be coming due to both high demand and the weak state of the dollar.

Popularity: 1% [?]

While not the highest-mileage car on the road, the little MINI has got style to go with its 37mpg (U.S.). Maybe that’s why MINI USA is announcing that Americans are showing more interest in MINI than ever before. Visitors to the MINIUSA website were up almost 89 percent in May compared to a year ago. People are doing more than looking, too, with sales in the first five months of 2008 up 36 percent compared to January-May of 2007. MINI USA’s vice president Jim McDowell said in a statement (available after the jump) that a lot of new people “who haven’t thought about a MINI before are checking us out. We’re thrilled to have them - and hope they join those of us who discovered a long time ago that you can have a hip, cool car that’s fun to drive - and still save at the pump.” Sure, gas prices might have something to do with this, but let’s not discount the power of the MINI Weinermobile.

Popularity: 2% [?]