NorCal MINIs' Upcoming Events And Reminders

We hope to see you this Saturday, March 20, 2010, for the Daffodil Hill Run. Meet up at MINI of Concord at 9:30 a.m. Check the sidebar for more information.

On Sunday, May 2, 2010, NorCal MINIs will motor to Buster's Southern BBQ for lunch and then on to Castello di Amorosa for a Tuscan Castle tour and wine tasting. The cost per person for the tour is $33.00 ($31.00 for the tour and $2.00 per ticket Paypal charge) but must be purchased before April 1, 2010. We have set up this Paypal Button for your convenience.

Come out to the Davis's beginning at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 17, 2010 for food, socializing, and help with washing, waxing, glazing, sealing, paint touch up, and dent repair at our End Of Winter Detailing Day. Bring your own detailing products. If you choose to use the PC please bring your own 6 inch foam application pads as each such pad should be exclusively dedicated to one product. This is the perfect event to get ready for Pacific Dream Machines.

This is a Club Members and their guests only event.

NorCal MINIs is going to Pacific Dream Machines on Sunday, April 25, 2010. The event features 2,000 magnificent driving, flying and working machines from the 20th and 21st centuries. The world's coolest cars of every era and style, model-T fire engines, vintage buses, custom motorcycles, tricked out trucks, sleek streamliners, one-of-a-kind antique engines and tractors and historic military aircraft will be among the mesmerizing displays. The show benefits the Coastside Adult Day Health Center. Spectator admission is $20 for adults, $10 for age 11-17 and 65+, and free for kids age 10 and under. Tickets are available at the gate only. We can park together if we register our vehicles for $30 before April 15, 2010 which also includes admission for the driver and one passenger. Please complete the Entry Form prior to April 15, 2010 and RSVP to your email invitation. 

Russian MINI Mayfair

While you may not understand the language it appears to be a man that falls in love with his MINI Mayfair and, like many Russians, uses it to pick up firewood, and vodka and fish, but, he actually shares it with his MINI. Just watch and you'll see.

[Source: K2KNEWS @ YouTube]

Truck Feels A Bit Sluggish . . .

. . . and the car passengers are absolutely terrified.

[Source: HCTelevision @ YouTube]

Didn't See It Coming?

[Source: via CarDomain blog]

Citizen Issued Parking Ticket Form

Go ahead print it and use it! Also, check out the tutorial at YouParkLikeAnAsshole to become a more courteous driver.

[Source: YouParkLikeAnAsshole via Jalopnik]

One Way To End Up In Jail For A Speeding Ticket

[Source: via RideLust]

Goodwood Festival Of Speed Promo

Dougie Lampkin has crazy motorcycle handling skills.

[Source: via TopSpeed]

Dump Truck Versus Cement Barrier - Who Wins?

We do since we get to watch -

[Source: via autoblog]

Car Choice Is Governed By Your Reptilian Brain

HowStuffWorks discusses how car choice is governed by the reptilian portion of the human brain, the part of our brain that likes power and sex; how that led to the popularity of big SUV's; and what we want now that new big SUV's are almost extinct.

The MINI Museum At The Oxford Plant

[Source: wbarnhill @ YouTube]

Auto Ink

rpmgo.com posts a gallery of automotive related tattoos.

High School Junior Jumps A 'Vette

[Source: via CarDomain Blog]

Interior Colors & Trim For The 2011 MINI Refresh

MotoringFile reports for 2011 MINI will change the heating/cooling interface and radio controls on non-Nav equipped cars. MINI will also upgrade silver interior finishes to either a matte or gloss black. The plastic around the controls will be of a higher quality material. MINI Connect will also be an option with and without the navigation.

Only Those That Don't Drive The MINI-E Have Range Anxiety

Tom Moloughney, writes on the edmund's Inside Line blog notes that, at first he had trepidation about the MINI-E's range. However, now that he has driven one for more than 23,000 miles, he finds that it is his friends who are more concerned with the range than he is. Since the vehicle runs over 100 miles without recharge Moloughney says he never has had an actual range problem.

[Source: via gas2.0]

How Slow Do You Go?

TomTom compiled this navigation data to determine average highway speeds by state. Based on our freeway experience all this map proves is that TomTom drivers tend to drive slower than everyone else.

[Source: via WSJ via Jalopnik]

Drifting Mulholland Dr.

In L.A. it is a sports car aficionado's desire to carve up Mulholland Dr., a twisty, rolling road that skirts the top of the Sepulveda Pass. It is a favorite of the local street racer scene, but, there is almost always a heavy police presence. So this video of Tanner Foust drifting Mulholland (the road was closed for the video) depicts the dream of many a L.A. motorhead.

[Source: autoblog]

Don't Drink And Drive In The Parade

Here's a little St. Patty's Day Parade troop of 1/5th scale cars. Watch the fifth car right until the end. Definitely too much green beer.

[Source: via Left Lane]

Ain't Bank Technology Wonderful?

A hacker, alleged to be an arrested 20-year-old Omar Ramos-Lopez, a former Texas Auto Center employee who was laid off last month, used a web-based vehicle-immobilization system run by credit and repo companies to remotely brick about 100 vehicles sold by the center in what authorities believe was an act of revenge. The hacker set off the vehicles' horns and rendered the cars undriveable.

[Source: Wired]

Can't Drive 65?

Neither can most US drivers. An analysis of speed data gathered by TomTom determined that Americans with an open stretch of interstate highway tend to drive at about 70 miles per hour—whatever the legal speed limit happens to be.

[Source: via AutoSpies.com]

MINI Night Arts

Nice drawing but what is she saying?

[Source; carollinalauriano # YouTube]

Maxi Snow Globe MINI

[Source: piledson100 @ YouTube]

MINI - Is It Love?

A tribute video -

[Source: MinistryofRICH @ YouTube]

MiniWorld Launches NewMINI.org

 A mew website for everything new MINI.

Car Show Babes From 4Tuning Days in Bucharest, Romania

Carscoop has a rather complete photo gallery.

Canadian Officials Seize And Destroy Street Race Modded Cars

[Source: via CarDomain blog]

What BMW Expects From MINI

Dr. Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, at the Annual Accounts Press Conference 2010, made the following statements about MINI:

The Countryman, due out in September, will be the next addition to the MINI family and the first MINI with four-wheel drive.

. . . with MINI, we have successfully established a premium brand in the small car segment.

MINI is not a miniature version of another model series. MINI is and will remain the Original – with a signature face, a unique tradition and over 1.5 million fans around the world.

We will launch more MINI and BMW models and variants – also in the small car segment. This segment is expected to grow further. And we will take advantage of this opportunity. We are exploring the possibility of developing a joint architecture for the front and four-wheel drive systems of these cars. In other words: There will be front-wheel drive BMWs in the smaller vehicle classes in the future. We all know that the cost structure in the small car segment is different from that of the larger model classes. We intend to grow profitably in this segment as well.

Customers are currently testing the MINI E for us. Some drivers have told me that they would love to keep their MINI E. Our annual report actually includes a section on customers and their experiences with the MINI E. BMW will follow suit in 2011 with a customer test fleet based on the concept study “BMW Concept ActiveE”. This test fleet will be built at the Leipzig plant.

[Source: BMW Group PressClub USA]

In Honor Of St. Patrick's Day

They say don't drink and drive. How about driving your drink?

[Source: That Will Buff Out]

This Guy's Airfoil Fetish Is Out Of Control

[Source: You Drive What?]

Tired Of Brake Dust On Your MINI's Wheels?

This new wheel protectant product from Armorall may be just what you are looking for. Check out the video - simply amazing if true.

[Source: via The Garage]

Automaker Says "Give Peas A Chance"

[Source: You Drive What?]