The surf set gets a new ride

The silver cocoons of summer could be targeting a new market. Airstream Trailers, noted furniture designer Republic of Fritz Hansen and Mini, an arm of BMW, are teaming up to build a special trailer/car combo that could have the designer cognoscenti making reservations at the nearest campground.

The project will make its debut at the upcoming Salone del Mobile show in Milan, Italy, and will run from April 21 to April 30 .

It combines three icons of style, the new Mini Cooper Clubman S, a smaller version of an Airstream trailer and the trailer's interior design ...

New Mini convertible -- more dash for more cash

What happened to the roll hoops? This is the all-new 2009 Mini Cooper convertible. Here's what BMW, the car's maker, has to say about it: "Evolutionary development of the car's design ... cues clearly link the new convertible to the Mini family." Which is PR-speak for not having changed things very much. Except that a rollover protection bar has been cleverly concealed behind the rear seats and will pop up when the onboard computer senses things going seriously awry.

The car also has an "Openometer" that records time spent traveling with the electrohydraulically actuated top down. Thank goodness, as it's always a worry that manufacturers might start adding useless things to successive generations. Of slightly more importance is the engine. It's a 1.6-liter four that kicks out 118 horsepower in the basic Cooper (up from 115) and uses a turbocharger in the Cooper S version to produce 172 hp (up from 168).

Whereas more power and a tidier rear might be the good news, the price is something else. The Cooper version starts at $24,550 and the Cooper S at $27,450 (both figures include $650 destination and handling charges). Compare that with $19,837 and $22,942 respectively. Then again, the new model is stronger yet lighter (by 22 pounds) and has a little more cargo space. And aren't those wheels cool?

-- Colin Ryan

Photos: BMW/Mini

Top 10 turkeys of the L.A. Auto Show

The L.A. Auto Show runs through Thanksgiving weekend, which seems appropriate, because there is a lot of turkey on the show’s menu. From Honda’s hydrogen-powered hypercar -- a guess that’s tofurkey, of a sort -- to a huge, steroid infused, poultry-yellow Rolls-Royce that is lacking only a wattle, the show’s collection of large, flightless birds is certainly worth a, um, gander.

I know, I know. You’re stuffed. You’ve loosened your belt, maybe even undone your trousers … ahhh. But perhaps there’s room for one … more … tiny …morsel?

>>Click here for the complete list: Top 10 turkeys of the L.A. Auto Show. After-dinner chit-chat can commence in the comments section.

-- Dan Neil

Photo: Honda's tofurkey, er, FC Sport concept. Credit: Gabriel Bouys / AFP / Getty Images

L.A. Auto Show: Mini E gets 156 miles on a battery charge

Evoking the 1972 Olympics may not be the best way to warm up a crowd, but BMW Chairman Norbert Reithofer nevertheless unveiled the Mini E with such a reference.

You see, an electric BMW drove alongside runners in that Olympic marathon (won by German-born U.S. runner Frank Shorter) -- an early start, Reithofer said, to the engineering of today's electric Mini.

The electric Mini, which shares the Cooper body, requires about two hours to charge its battery. It will be leased to 500 customers in Los Angeles and New York City. Lease terms and applications are on the Mini website.

The car will do zero to 60 in about 8.5 seconds and has a 95-mph top speed. 

-- Peter Y. Hong

Photo: Danny Moloshok / Bloomberg News

For more photos of production cars from the show, click here.