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Mini Convertible (2009): the new R57 cabrio

By Simon Stiel First Official Pictures 28 November 2008 10:46 Mini has just issued the first photos of the new R57 Mini Convertible, which rolls into dealerships in March 2009 and follows the lead set by the latest hatchback. So it's cleaner, a little bit more polished inside and out, and there will probably be evidence of some middle-aged spread when we drive it in 2009.So what's new on the R57 Mini Convertible?All the changes are in line with the Mini hatch, so you get the latest PSA-shared 1.6 petrol engines, BMW group Efficient Dynamics – now redubbed Minimalism in Minispeak – stop-start and intelligent alternator control, helping to contribute to a 22% jump in fuel efficiency, Mini claims. The 1.6 Cooper pumps out 137g/km of CO2.

2013 Citroen C3 Facelift

A new Citroen C3 will debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show with the usual facelift of new bumpers and lights and revised engine range. Astonishingly – for the Citroen C3 is a bit bland – it’s much the same car under the skin as the brilliant DS3, but the C3 is the DS3 with the sparkle missing. And it looks like the sparkle of the DS3 will still be missing from the C3 as it gets a mid-life facelift, with nothing much going on except the usual facelift fodder of new bumpers and lights, a tweak or two to the trim and a bit of fiddling with the engine range.

How to be an EV Evangelist

It was called a webinar but it seemed more like EV evangelism to us. Electric car advocacy group Plug In America spent an hour this week on the Internet telling 91 true believers how to spread the message of the kilowatt to those who still believed internal combustion was the only way to go. “People need to be convinced that they will like a plug-in vehicles,” said Plug In America board member Chad Schwitters online.