Gina Koutros from MINIUSA took time away from getting ready for the New York Auto Show to give us some more detail on MINI Takes the States 2008!
We find out the reasoning behind selection Miami, Boston, Chicago and LA for this years event. Plus a sneak peak into the reasoning behind separate weekends. For those of you that missed it, there was a poll conducted late last year as to what type of event owners would like to see, and the four regional events won hands down!
Again, those dates for those of you that haven’t put it into your calendars yet.
- Miami: June 13-15
- Boston: June 20-22
- Chicago: July 25-27
- Los Angeles: August 1-3
Everyone is invited, even if they don’t own a MINI! Of course, there will be something special going on for owners only as well. Registration should be open around the 2nd week of April. Don’t worry, we’ll be sure to let you know when as soon as we know!
Keep an eye (and ear) out here and Motoringfile for all the news and updates about MINI Takes the States 2008. No need to look anywhere else!
Event Update: MTTS
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Caught in the recent rains in New Zealand is this lonely, Liquid Yellow MINI, desperately doing the dog paddle to get back to shore.
Now we know Gabe isn’t a fan of LY, but even that tough Chicagoan will feel sorry for this little guy!
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The MINI Vaughan West (Toronto) launch party on March 31 that I mentioned in an earlier post just got a lot better! Believe it or not, if you mention WhiteRoofRadio to Motoring Advisor Cosmo this Saturday you’ll get $500 off a new MINI. Special for WRR fans only!
(FYI - you have to tell him before you negotiate your purchase price that you’re a WRR listener).
This dealer is fantastic! They even created a special MINI Canada-like themed e-vite. Check it out at http://www.minivaughanwest.ca/2007mini
6 test drive MINIs are going to be available, so everyone will get time behind the wheel. And I’ll bet the co-pilots won’t be slouches, either!
This will be a real launch party, not some dumb champagne swilling affair, but a real driving experience. See you there.
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If you’re in the Toronto area, one of our 4 or 5 local dealers (yep, we have that many) is hosting their New MINI Launch Party on March 31.
RSVP to ahiggs@minivaughanwest.com.
I know you’re probably not in this ‘hood, but I wanted to share the invite with you. Very cool graphic.
Maybe I’ll see you there. You’ll know me - I’ll be the guy with the WRR fake media badge!
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I’ve mentioned that Toronto is littered with new MINI billboards, but this one tops them all.
The sentiment is right on, and the poster is seen by thousands of commuters every day. The apartment building that hosts this poster is at the intersection of two major highways that cut through Toronto.
The building is often used to announce movies. Spiderman has adorned it numerous times. But not now. Spidey has left the building!
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Caught in the act. Members of the Southern Ontario MINI Club out on a Sunday stroll, pulled over for driving too slow!
Yep - true. And it doesn’t snow in Canada, eh?
Happy New Year, and Very Happy Motoring.
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robertintoronto@gmail.com
Now this is something you won’t see in your home town, but in Beijing they’re driving real stretch MINIs. This is not your Clubman or your Traveller, that’s for sure.
Check this baby out. How ’bout the bath tub option?
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You heard it on WRR this past week. MINI Canada and MINI US each entered a ready-to-rock MCS in the Targa Newfoundland Rally. You also know that for the second year in a row MINI stood out from the crowd.
Here’s a great pic of the MINI Canada entry, coming into the home stretch. Only in Newfoundland, eh?
See you on Episode 100. It’ll be a blast.
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This is the loaded hatch that I mentioned in my voice message on the ‘Cleanout’ episode.
It’s tight, but comfy, I’m told!
And Todd, have a fantastic week. I cannot wait to see and hear the pics, the vids and all the podcast fun. Being in Canada, there’s no GP envy here. Those front bumpers just don’t pass muster in the True North!
Have a Grand Prix of a time!
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Well, they’re actually not here. They’re there (in magazines, in the U.S.). The super secret kit is not available in Canada, but the first ad is now appearing in the August issue of Business 2.0.
Check it out:
If you have a spy kit, can you translate for your WRR friends around the world? We hate being left out of anything MINI!
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I was back in Ottawa, Canada this past weekend. Check the license plate I spotted on a Cooper. (Note: the pic was taken with the lousy camera on my MOTO SLVR. For such a great phone, you’d think they’d toss in a halfway decent camera. But, no!).
But it’s a terrific license plate for a Cooper. Guess what it wants to be when it grows up?
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The Canadian ‘Special Edition’ MINIs are arriving. The ‘Rallye’ version is an S with Sport and Premium packages. The ‘Competition’ version is an S with those packages, factory JCW and Aero Kit. And we were told there would be no more factory JCWs in Canada. Surprise, surprise, eh?
Oh, the wheels on the Rallye are, as Gabe told us, FLAME SPOKES (sometimes affectionately called The Horeshoe Wheels).
Nice badge on the door pillar. And nice shot of me in the reflection. And nice shot of Howard and Bart, the sales guy, waving to all the nice WRR listeners
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Now this is cool:
A video blog by MINI in Denmark. Well worth checking out. Scroll down to see some pretty good stuff, MINI and otherwise.
Gabe, you know all. What’s the story behind this? It’s worth yakking about on the podcast, methinks.
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Well, this is interesting. As you may know, 6 mos. ago I traded in my ‘03 LY/B MCS (known as ‘My Sharona’) for an ‘06 AB/S MCS JCW (Checkmate). The ‘03 had Randy Webb all over it: pulley, intake, hot wires, the whole shootin’ match.
I was at my dealer yesterday (for some reason ‘MINI Woodbridge’ changed it’s name to ‘MINI Vaughan West’ during a location move) helping with an MCS sale to a friend of mine (you remember the guy with the big, honkin’ Lincoln pick up truck? Believe it or not he’s ordered the last Checkmate package in Canada. Getting rid of the boat. Isn’t that a hoot?).
I learned that my ‘03 had sat on the lot for the last six months (a hard sale - out-of-warranty, and all the mods), but it just sold. And it sold to a guy who is going to give it rubber and wheels and take it Targa Newfoundland. And he chose my MINI ’cause the mods had already been done. The car is good-to-go as is! I knew that car was ready to enter it’s golden years.
What is Targa Newfoundland?
It’s the only annual event of its kind in North America. It is a 2200 km long, high quality automotive adventure, held over a seven-day period in September, on the paved roads of the eastern and central parts of the island of Newfoundland. MINIs have done exceptionally well the past couple of years.
The site is: http://www.targanewfoundland.com/
Now, isn’t that a fitting retirement for a MINI? I feel like a proud father!!
(Oh yeah, Gabe? It’s Liquid Yellow, and proud of it!).
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Amidst all the WRR server issues, and db’s dedication to getting us back to normal(!), I thought you might enjoy a little MINIart.
This weekend is the Canada Day long weekend (our national 2/4 Beerfest). Enjoy these typical Canadian winter scenes!
And Happy Birthday, Canada. (Oh, Stanley, what are you doing in Carolina??).
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