One of our readers is the proud owner of a 2013 Mini Cooper JCW which, as part of its package of goodies, gets a set of paddle-shifters mounted behind the steering wheel… except Mini forgot to attach them. Their hilarious apology for this oversight blames an overzealous car and the Mayan calendar.


While the exclusion of shifter paddles are sort of a major oversight on the part of whomever manufactured the extra sporty compact car, it's not anything that seriously impacts the performance of the vehicles. Flappy paddles are great but, in most vehicles, rarely used.

Their apology for this is classic Mini.

"Your MINI was so revved up to make an appearance that it motored right past the John Cooper Works steering wheel department. It forgot to tell us that it never picked up its shifter paddles and left without saying goodbye. We were shocked to receive a postcard from it letting us know that it crossed the Atlantic and landed on US Soil."


The owner of the vehicle assured it was no big deal and said he found it funny. Here's the full letter: