Go Forth. Go West. Go MINI.

Woodcliff Lake, NJ,  January 26, 2012. The biggest official MINI road rally is scheduled to take place again this summer. The bi-annual MINI Takes the States (MTTS) rally will kick off on the east coast Wednesday, July 4th and will make the cross-country trek to the Pacific Ocean concluding on Sunday, July 15^th.

“MTTS is perhaps the brand’s greatest demonstration of our commitment to the MINI community,” said Jim McDowell, Vice President MINI USA. “During MTTS, MINI USA acts on its promise to deliver a motoring experience unlike any other brand, engaging owners and their families and ensuring they enjoy their MINI to the fullest extent possible.”

As MINI celebrates its 10-year anniversary this year in the US, thousands of MINI owners and enthusiasts will join the cross-country rally, or a leg of it, dotting the horizon with a gleaming caravan of MINIs. Along the way, MINI USA will provide its loyal owners and enthusiasts with genuine, once-in-a-lifetime motoring experiences. The 2010 event included a run on the Bonneville Salt Flats and laps on the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in addition to other engaging daily activities. MTTS 2012 route details and adventures are still being finalized; full details will be provided in the coming weeks.

During the event, media will have the opportunity for:

• Sneak peeks and early test drives of all-new MINI vehicles and technologies
• Interviews with MINI executives and owners for unique feature stories
• Autocross experiences demonstrating MINI’s performance and handling
• Immersion in the festive, cheeky MINI culture and the lifestyle the brand offers
• Interaction with the charity partner chosen to receive net proceeds from the registration fee

Participant registration begins in April, but owners and enthusiasts can sign up now to receive updates at www.miniusa.com/mtts. Media with questions about the event or interested in participating should contact the MINI USA Communications Team directly.

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 of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, a strategic design consultancy 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 X5 and X3 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 Sports Activity Coupes. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 339 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 139 BMW motorcycle retailers, 110 MINI passenger car dealers, and 36 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Information about BMW Group products is available to consumers via the Internet at:www.bmwgroupna.com
 
Journalist note: Information about the BMW Group and its products is available to journalists on-line at the BMW Group PressClub at the following address: www.press.bmwna.com. Additional information, images and video may be found at www.miniusanews.com.