I sent a note to MINIUSA, requesting updated information on the availability of 3 items:

1. HK audio system
2. Nav System using DVD storage (rather than CDROM), &
3. Auto-dimming mirror option.

As my "order" date will be mid-to-late November, anything that is not available by Dec '02- Jan '03 will probably not be installed on my MINI (ie, "short strokes" time....).

Right now it looks like MCS, Indi Blue outside (Lapis inside), white top & 17" wheels, Premium/Sport/Cold, HK (!?) audio, auto dim mirrors, and "CDROM"-based Nav System (DVD looks like too late).

It's still going to be 5 more months... (oh, well)

Their response follows:
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Hello David. Thanks for writing into MINI.

Regrettably, none of the three options you inquired about are available at this time.

As of today, the roll out for the Harman Kardon sound system and auto-dimming rear view mirror is December 2002. The DVD based navigation system will not be available until much later in the model year.

Please stay in touch with the sales team at your authorized MINI Dealer and us at http://www.miniusa.com for updates on the availability of the Harman Kardon, auto-dimming rearview mirror and the DVD navigation system.

As soon as details are known we release this information at http://www.miniusa.com.

LET'S MOTOR.

James Frost
MINI Division
Customer Relations
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Thats pretty diconcerting. My dealer told me my nav will be DVD and is just being ordered now so it should be delivered by mid December. I guess we'll see in a few months what the real story is.

 

I just ordered my mini cooper with the nav system yesterday. Can someone tell me how this CD ROM nav system works? Do you insert the CD into the cars audio CD player and transfer tthe maps? Or do you have to hook in a computer to it or what?

 

The CD goes in a unit that is under the passenger seat. There are several CD's for parts of the country..your dealer will get you the correct one..If you go out of the covered area, it will still work but you will not get all of the surrounding roads..we bought ours in NY and we live in Dallas. We put the CD in the car before we left NY, plugged in our home address in TX and never looked at a paper map. We relied on the NAV the whole way home..somewhere in western Tennessee the whole map was displayed with surrounding roads..it really worked wonderfully...and the brittish accent was a hoot.

 

Having got the Nav system I am very dissappointed with the FM radio reception. I think it is so bad that it probably breaks the trades description act by using the word 'radio'.

I would suggest if you go for the Nav then you order a Mindisc and CD Changer as you will be listeneing to anything but the radio.

D i c k

 

What does the NAV have to do with the radio system and why would there be reduced reception?

I'm about to place my order tomorrow and I want ALL the options also (HK, DVD, Auto-dim mirrors). It looks like a build date of early December so I'm hoping that's about right in terms of availability of those items (except DVD). I've also heard a rumor that the Navigation system actually has a DVD drive, but is only using CDs right now, mat least in other BMW models. So maybe when the DVD software comes out, we just pop in a DVD?

I was wondering on the way home today about the HK system. The more powerful a system is, and the better you want it to sound, the more you have to worry about interior buzzes (plastics rattling from the speakers) etc... Maybe they haven't been releasing the HK system until the 2003 model year so that changes can be made to the Cooper itself so that the HK system will sound ok and now be marred by interior noises? Just a thought as it seems rediciculous to be waiting on new speakers and an amp....

 

I've also heard a rumor that the Navigation system actually has a DVD drive, but is only using CDs right now, mat least in other BMW models. So maybe when the DVD software comes out, we just pop in a DVD?

No from what I understand the CD ROM and DVD systems are not compatible. You can't just put in the DVD from the new system.

 

>>What does the NAV have to do with the radio system and why would there be reduced reception?
>>
So maybe when the DVD software comes out, we just pop in a DVD?
>>
>>
>>
>>

I haven't HEARD the FM in a Nav-equipped car; but the difference is likely due to the antenna (s). The standard MINI has the Bee-Sting antenna, used for radio reception. The Nav car has a "shark-fin" antenna in the same location; FOR THE GPS. The antenna for AM/FM reception is on the RH side window; it looks just like the "heating element" for demisting the rear window. These "window-antenna" set-ups are rarely as good as a standard antenna.

From what I've heard, the DVD & CDROM versions of the Nav system are NOT compatible. As noted by another poster, the "reader" for the maps is under the passenger seat (NOT in the car CD player). The CDROM's will hold maps for one or more states; the DVD's will hold ALL of the continental US!

The good/bad news is that there are two conflicting storys circulating about the date of DVD/Nav availability. My DEALER says that the cars ordered NOW will come with the DVD units (for Nav). The MINI.COM "factory" rep says that they will be available "much later in the (2003) model year".

Since I'm ordering in late November, I hope that my DEALER is right!