What magazines out there are devoted to the Mini besides the expensive Go Mini?

 

Expensive is right! Almost eleven dollars for a magazine is ridiculous.

I haven't seen any cheap ones, (3-4$), devoted to the MINI so I just get the one issue I have of GO MINI out and re-read it occasionally. I'm 61 and don't remember reading it before so this works fine for me.

 

MINI World is another excellent magazine. Minis of Miami has been featured there a few times before.

 

It's not devoted to Minis but European Car has a project Mini that they have articles on every few issues.

 

All the Mini magazines are imports. Go Mini and Mini World (Or something) are the only two I know of and they are both imports.

 

I pay 3.95 (pounds) ~$8 for the GO MINI mag here in the UK. If I got paid in pounds, life would be so much better here in the UK !

 

GOMINI was once one issue every two months. It was just barely worth the money and the read. Now it has gone monthly and I don't think they will find enough to fill the magazine to make it worth reading by a North American reader. They will need much more North American content.

 

I agree. I've let my GoMINI subscription pass w/o renewal....the added features on driving destinations in the UK and Europe were losing me...even more so with issues EVERY month. The first two years (more or less) of GoMINI were the best balanced content-wise, but even then it was a stretch for the US audience although the publisher DID try. SUPER mag for the UK though...and I loved the early interviews!

These changes at GoMINI perhaps leaves even more of a vacuum in the US, but I don't see any publications on the horizon. NAM, MotoringFile, and several others great web sites are still the best resources here.

 

I've cancelled my Go Mini after two frustrating years. I've complained about their lame coverage of mostly mildly modded Minis (mostly from their backyard) while overlooking the big guns over here. It's as if they don't bother to surf NAM much. My latest Sport Compact Car magazine has a very nice detailed article about SPI's Twincharge and Hubie.

BTW...you think they'll notice the 300+ Minis at the Dragon this year? Heck, even the Great Detroit to Dragon caravan is worthy of publication

 

All this begs the question...when will someone produce a US based MINI magazine???

 

When someone comes along with more money than sense.

I just don't see the market for it.

 

Where can you get MINI WORLD? I would buy an issue (to sample) if it were available at local book stores.

 

There will be a US based new MINI magazine coming soon. Check out NAM and MotoringFile for details in the coming weeks and months.

 

That is GREAT news!

Thanks for the heads-up Gabe!

 

MINI issues their own quarterly magazine called MINIInternational. Only the last handful of pages are about the MINI, although each issue has a CD with music, MINI games, videos, and screensavers. 16 euros per year (4 issues).

http://www.mini.com/com/en/mini_international/index.jsp

James

 

JeffS, I don't know about Gabe's money or his sense, but I'm darn happy to see him belly up to the bar. I'll be there with dollars to buy the publication. As for a market, I think you're way off base (nothing personal). Mini sales and aftermarket stuff abound. There's tons of opportunity for stories, features and advertising. Just go to any book store and see all the speciality magazines. Many of those are focused on markets considerably smaller than MINI. I think a US based magazine, if it's done right, will do very well. Heck, I'll bet the Brit's will buy it too!

ripley.

 

Just to be clear... this will not be "my" magazine but developed by someone within the publications industry (who is also a MINI fan). I may be involved in some way.

 

Gabe - I hope your involved in the design phase of it... because I respect and very much like your sense of style and graphic designs. I wish the project much success!

 

I agree that them UK Mini magazines aren't worth the price.

I find them fun to look at and read what is there but there really isn't enough reading materiel in them to justify the price. I don't mind that it's all UK oriented, but I do mind the fact that I'm basically paying to read tackey advertisements.

Vanity Fair, for instance, is all ads as are many other magazines but at least in those magazines the ads are worthwhile. The ads in them Mini magazines are just ugh, and they all look the same. And the Mini's they do feature usually are mildly modded... Nothing special, at least not compared to mine. And the people who drive them are ordinary.

 

I doubt we will see a mainstream magazine here on the Mini such as GoMini, because the marketing and distribution costs probably aren't worth it for maybe 100,000 people. With that said, I would definitely pay for a speciality magazine even if it was only mail order. GoMini started out nice, but it is getting extremely lame. How many times do we have to read about a new chip manufacturer that is making 30bhp for their chip, or some company talking about their 15% pulley upgrade. They don't really review their cars either. They don't say what works or doesn't work. The magazine seems to be split between trying to review things, and trying to do a Mini lifestyle magazine, and the whole thing doesn't work for US people.

 

Gabe, great news.

All, thanks for the replies. I'll wait for the US based mag...