One of our readers is the proud owner of a 2013 Mini Cooper JCW which, as part of its package of goodies, gets a set of paddle-shifters mounted behind the steering wheel… except Mini forgot to attach them. Their hilarious apology for this oversight blames an overzealous car and the Mayan calendar.

Like their corporate parent BMW, Mini has been on an expansion binge in recent years, adding new cars and SUVs to their lineup as if the automobile itself is somehow on the way out and they need to make as much money as they can before they have to find new jobs. Now they're realizing they may have gone too far.

When you make energy drinks, it's not enough to just sell them to the general public. You have to sponsor crazy activities so people know you're serious about the energy in your drink. Red Bull has a couple of Formula One teams and once made a guy jump out of a space balloon; now Monster Energy had a rally driver do…

If you don't follow the news in Europe, you may not know that the Old World is embroiled in a scandal where a growing amount of beef has been found to contain horsemeat in it. Never ones to eschew clever and edgy advertising, Mini has something to say about it too, and it's great.

Parking must be really bad in Houston, because they're giving out tickets to cars parked on walls now. At least that's what happened at 3303 Kirby Ave in Houston, where the City posted a red tag on the building demanding "Remove car from front." Why don't they just put a boot on it if they're so angry?

Have you ever wondered how many people would fit inside a MINI? Me neither, but November 15 being the eighth anniversary of Guinness World Records attaining best-selling copyright book status, people have been doing all sorts of kooky things to gain entry.

Today, MINI announced that toward the end of the month, they will send a convoy of their diminutive cars to the Arctic circle with a load of children's letters for Santa Claus.

I love cars as much as you do, but I am cognizant of their main two limitations: they cannot drive on water and they cannot fly when you drive them off cliffs. Both of these things are a real shame.

A little more than a week ago, our own Bill Caswell expressed his displeasure at how BMW has been diluting the M brand with special editions that mean nothing and cars that no longer have anything to do with the word "Motorsport."

The Mini Cooper was born in 1961, a collaboration between legendary road car designer Sir Alec Issognis and legendary race car designer John Cooper. Minnie Cooper was born on January 19, 1919. She passed away last Saturday, 42 years older than the peppy cars that happen to share her name.