MINI Cooper

Base price: estimated below $18,000
Best feature: So little and cute you want to
pick it up and hug it.

This little two-door radiates personality. All-
new from the ground up, BMW's baby tod-
dles in the footsteps of the original 1959
Austin Mini, a British icon that was banned
from U.S. shores by 1967 safety and emis-
sions regulations. At a length of 10 feet, 4
inches, (park that next to the Cadillac
DeVille at 17-plus feet), it was conceived as
the smallest possible car that would still
accommodate four adults and luggage. The
MINI Division of BMW of North America
claims "motoring in a MINI feels more like
riding a motorcycle than driving an
SUV....it's for taking the long road home, just
for the fun of it." It puts its 16-valve, 1.6-liter
four-cylinder engine's power to the ground
through the front wheels. The Cooper and
the 163-horsepower supercharged Cooper S
are MINI performance versions.

8 •

JANUARY 2002 • STYLE AT THE JN

For more information before it arrives at
MINI dealers in March 2002, check
www.miniusa.com

Jeep Liberty

Base Price: $17,035
Best feature: Rugged off-highway capacity
(good for on-highway potholes) and good
looks with a sweet and smooth ride.

Ever since this nifty compact SUV debuted
by rolling down a mountainside to a waiting
turntable at the 2001 Detroit auto show, it
has earned compliments and customers for
itself. It just received the Popular Mechanics
Award for excellence in design, engineering
and innovation. It's a two-wheel-drive vehi-
cle with a part-time or full-time four-wheel-
drive system available. It gives drivers the
command-of-the-road seating that makes
SUVs popular. The engine range is topped
by optional 3.7-liter engine rates at 210
horsepower and 235 lb-ft of torque, mated
to a five-speed manual or a four-speed auto-
matic transmission. Tows up to 5000 pounds.

Ford Thunderbird

Base price: $35,495
Best feature: Harkens back to original two-
seater T'birds that cruised Main Street.
Ford fills the roadster niche and earns a
Motor Trend Car of the Year Award. Editors
chose it for "design, engineering, quality,
interior, special features, fun, everyday liv-
ability, safety, performance and value." A V-
8 engine makes this bird fly with a power
convertible cloth top. Who wouldn't be
enchanted by the porthole-shaped rear
quarter window on the optional hardtop? If
you want one, better get in line. Ford's
maintaining exclusivity by limiting the
annual run to 30,000.

Toyota Matrix

Base price: To be announced.
Best feature: This cross between a sports car
and SUV is designed for an affordable fit
with young new-car buyers' active lifestyles.
Built on a car chassis (similar to the Corolla),
Matrix resembles a SUV with a high roof