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Over 3,300 Mini Owners Nationwide Hit the Road to Drive Cross Country in Their Minis for 'Mini Takes the States'


August 2006
 Filed under: MINI Car News | MINI Headlines

- The 2006 MINI TransAmerican Motortastic Road Trip to End All Road Trips Rally
- The MINI Takes the States Rally Kicked off in California, Following the 33rd Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races and Ends 3,123 Miles Across the Country at the Lime Rock Vintage Festival in Connecticut

MONTEREY, Calif., Aug. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- More than 3,300 enthusiastic MINI owners nationwide are getting behind the wheel for MINI Takes the States, a two-week cross country road trip open for MINI owners and enthusiasts. The road trip kicked off at the Monterey Historic Automobile Races in Monterey, California today and concludes on September 4 at the Lime Rock Vintage Festival in Lakeville, Connecticut.
When online registration closed, a total of 3,347 MINIs were registered for the drive, 175 of which signed up to travel the full length of the trip -- from Monterey to Lime Rock. For the first leg from Monterey to Santa Barbara, CA, 754 have registered to participate. The most popular leg of the journey proved to be Jersey City, New Jersey to Lakeville, Connecticut, where nearly one thousand MINIs are expected to join the rally.

MINI Takes the States is being held to celebrate MINI's vibrant owner community, the launch of the MINI Cooper S with the John Cooper Works Kit ("MINI GP") and the fact that The Cooper Car Company is the featured marque at the Monterey weekend. In contrast to MINI's size, the event has the rather large secondary tag line of "The 2006 MINI TransAmerican Motortastic Road Trip To End All Road Trips Rally".

The start of the MINI Takes the States rally will follow on from a special customer delivery event for the first "MINI GPs" to arrive in the country. The "MINI GP" is a limited edition high performance MINI Cooper S that made its North American Debut at the New York International Auto Show this past April. A total of 415 "MINI GPs" will come to United States with the first 42 of these cars to be scheduled for a special early delivery in conjunction with the program -- The first 32 cars will be delivered in Monterey with the remaining 10 to be delivered when the event arrives into New Jersey.

"MINI owners always bring an unparalleled level of enthusiasm and energy to whatever they do, and I am excited to spend two weeks on the road with them," said Jim McDowell, Vice President of MINI USA. "We are currently planning a number of surprises and activities for participants along the route, and I encourage everyone -- MINI owner or not -- to keep an eye out for us in August and join in the fun for a day, a week, or even the full trip."

Let's Get Up and Go

MINI Takes the States launched today -- Monday, August 21, 2006 -- at Pirate's Cove Beach & Pier in Monterey, CA after the Monterey Historic Automobile Races. A kick-off celebration was held on the beach, complete with live entertainment from 7:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Over 750 MINIs departed on the first leg of the 15-day, 3,123-mile trip.

Participants were encouraged to register online at www.minitakesthestates.com where they were able to select any or all sections of the cross-country drive in which they plan to participate. Registrants were provided a registration kit complete with a special wristband -- one for themselves and one for their co-pilot -- that entitles them to special MINI surprises and VIP access to special events along the way.

The route involves an estimated 5-6 hours of driving each day with scheduled MINI-branded stops along the way geared towards the interests of MINI owners and enthusiasts. Anyone interested in the event should check the event website on a regular basis as new information will be updated daily.

Let's Party Along the Way

MINI USA will be hosting along with its dealers and advertising partners, multiple MINI-branded attractions and events along the route. In addition, larger regional events will be offered in key cities to participants of MINI Takes the States. A full listing of the cities and events along the way can be found at www.minitakesthestates.com .

On Day 8 of the journey, MINI will bring together a group of live entertainers for a MINI Music Festival in Nashville, Tennessee with John Hiatt as the headlining act. This free open-air music festival in Nashville's Centennial Park will celebrate local music styles (including jazz, country, blues, and rock & roll). Other local bands and food vendors will also be participating in the event, which is expected to draw over 1,000 MINI enthusiasts.

The following day, MINI will host a tailgate party outside of the Busch Stadium for the St Louis Cardinals vs. Florida Marlins Baseball game. An estimated 500 MINI owners will enjoy authentic tailgate concessions prior to the game and will have the opportunity to watch the game on giant screens. Many lucky participants will be randomly chosen to receive skybox tickets for the game.

When the MINI caravan reaches Indianapolis, IN, more than 250 MINI owners and enthusiasts will be given access to Indianapolis Motor Speedway & Hall of Fame Museum. MINI Takes the States participants will be invited to a unique behind-the-scenes tour of the track, full access to the museum and a private reception. The event will conclude with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for participants to take parade laps around the speedway.

Let's Wrap It Up

On Day 14, before driving up to Connecticut for the Lime Rock Vintage Festival in Lakeville, CT, MINI Takes the States participants are invited to the official Wrap Party in Jersey City, New Jersey. The location at Exchange Place Plaza, which offers spectacular views of the Manhattan Skyline, will be the site of an open-air music and art festival along the Hudson River with the band Everclear as the headlining act.

New Jersey will also be the site where MINI USA will specially deliver the remaining 10 MINI GPs to their lucky owners. The next day, the rally will end in Lakeville, Connecticut at the Lime Rock Vintage Festival where MINI USA will have a large hospitality tent with displays and concessions. MINI owners will also be given the opportunity to participate in a special parade lap around the Lime Rock circuit.

MINI in the US

MINI is an independent brand of the BMW Group. In the United States, MINI USA operates as a business unit of BMW of North America, LLC which has been present in the United States since 1975. ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand, the MINI brand, and the ROLLS-ROYCE brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, an industrial design firm in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group's global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all Z4 models and X5 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 339 BMW passenger car centers, 334 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 143 BMW motorcycle retailers, 80 MINI passenger car dealers, and 30 ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group's sales headquarters for North, Central and South America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Information about BMW Group products is available to consumers via the Internet at:

www.bmwgroupna.com
www.bmwusa.com
www.bmwmotorradusa.com
www.miniusa.com
www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com

Source: MINI USA

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