So I was at the auto show in the MINI section (Obviously ) checking out all the new MINI's (specifically the JCW). One of the MINI workers there approaches me and says are you looking for the price? And I said sure and he said its right here $29,000. Then he said, "Yeah, this is the top of the line model, it's supercharged, and the regular MINI Cooper S's are turbocharged. So I thought to myself, the new JCW MINI's aren't supercharged, everything went turbo after 2006. So I try telling him that but he insists on telling me that I am wrong and he runs away to look at the Cooper S chart to see if it's turbocharged and comes back to tell me something that I already knew (that the Cooper S's are turbocharged). I told him I know that and that the JCW ones are also turbocharged. At this point the guys face turned red, he was stuttering, and didn't know what to say. So I told him to go do his homework and walked away.

The guy was a moron and thought he knew everything about MINI's when he clearly did not. It shocked me and made me think as to how he managed to get a job like that... and at the auto show.

 

That guy probably works with MINI for a pay-check, not for the love of the car.

 

Uh-oh. All this time I thought my wife's 2008 Cooper S convertible was Super-charged. It's not?

 

Yeah I've made many an embarrassment out of the MINI reps at autoshows around the country, albeit on much more detailed knowledge matters. And well the MINI reps tend not to handle the disagreement all to well.

The highlight of the 2009 Chicago autoshow for me though was when I went to the smart exhibit next to the MINIs and Educated them on the discontinued roadster, and the engine change, and some of the factory tuner house availiblities out there.

2nd Generation MINI Ss are Turbo Charged, 1st Gen Ss are Supercharged.

1st Gen for the hard tops ended in 2006, with the 2007 model year usering in the R56
1st Gen for the Cabrios followed a few years later, with 2008 being the last Model year for the R52, and the 2nd genreation convertible R57 starting just recently n 2009.

 

No worries Gluhwein. 2009 is the first year for turbocharging in the Cooper S convertible. Your Cooper is supercharged.

 

I think you were a little hard on the guy. Jeremy1026 is right he is probably just doing it for a pay check. All though there are many of the car show workers that are truely in love with the MINI not everyone is. His brain was probably so full on MINI information that they threw at him the day or two before the show started. They most likely kept telling him to mention how all the new MINIs have turbos and not superchargers. He just got mixed up thats all.

 

A lot of those kinds of "employees" might be production company employees and not MINI employees. I think for MTTS, they hired extras probably from an ad or meeting production company to help and they looked and acted like real MINI employees.

 

yeah i actually did this one time for acura... and i pulled into the venue which was outside with my mini..parked got out.. started work... and a few hours later i was asked to park my mini out back away from the actual venue.. because she drew too much attention to the mini and not the crappy acura ..

 

You know the Chicago Autoshow was back in February right?