• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, May 22, 2014

Arguably betraying the MINI brand -- and the environment -- not everyone loves the company’s 4-door Countryman, a.k.a., “the Big MINI.” Tom Salkowsky, Department Head for MINI Marketing at MINI USA faced one such critic at OMMA Video on Thursday. Salkowsky, however, was prepared to defend the “jumbo MINI” -- noting that, since its debut in 2011, it has become the company’s second best-selling model. “It was a natural evolution for [the MINI] brand,” he said. What’s more, “That segment [of smaller crossovers] is exploding globally … so I think we timed [the Countryman’s] launch perfectly.” Oh, and relatively speaking, the Countryman is still very small, Salkowsky added. “Every MINI that we create is always the smallest in its category.”