Mini's preparing a Detroit edition of its Traveller concept, versions of which have appeared in Frankfurt and Tokyo. In fact, the Tokyo rendition is the very car that got TopGear host Jeremy Clarkson in trouble for making references to the Nazis; the question posed being essentially, "If the Germans think putting a tea set in a Mini emphasizes the very Britishness of the car, what would a truly German car be like?" Which is something we thought we'd point out, seeing as the context of the whole thing hasn't really been considered in the media coverage we've seen of Clarkson's comments. Now, on to what makes the Mini Concept Detroit especially American:
A Sports Utility Box! According to the press release, it's "a multifunctional, additional interchangeable storage box hooked into position behind the open rear side window. This unique box features flaps on either side for convenient loading and unloading from both outside and from the passenger compartment, and for handing through objects just as easily and conveniently."
Actually, that's the only thing we could find that made it especially Detroit-esque and it served as the location for the tea set in the Tokyo model, so it's not even US-specific. Other suggestions would be gunfire, decreased fuel economy, crappy interior materials, and a wheezy V-6. But I guess the Minis didn't want to alienate meat 'n' potatoes-types too much. Still, an SUV box in a car that's positioned itself as the antithesis of the SUV? That's not just a reach, that's dumb.
Related:
Frankfurt Premiere: Mini Concept Frankfurt [Internal]