https://minitogether.miniusaevents.com/?bid=249116317&nspid=204370ce40160e32912838696c3bb0b4&mi_u=128a8695af9b17f2ec7335e79e499506&mi_ecmp=421321060121011#details Apparently the registration for this event opens today, but I don't see a way to actually register. Has anyone attempted this?
If you're planning on doing this, I suggest you register soon. I noticed my dealer only had 34 spots open for the 9 am and 10 am slot each.
My dealer only had 12 spots left in each slot (24 total), whoa. But I'm all signed up. Going to be fun to see if the SE will require any charging during the event, especially considering my dealer is 30 miles away.
Wow, my dealer was full for the 10am and had 2 spots left for 9am. Not sure how many were available originally, but that filled up fast. Thanks for the heads up!
4 hours of driving, will almost certainly require a charging stop. I hope there is a DCFC convenient to your route!
I don't think all four hours of the scavenger hunt will necessarily be driving, although it is a MINI event. I'm looking forward to whatever charging challenges come up. According to PlugShare there's a dearth of DC fast chargers in the 10-mile radius area around my dealer, so depending on where the event leads it could be a six hour event. Good summer fun!
Just finished the event, it took six hours and over 100 miles (note: my dealer is 30 miles away) but it was pretty fun (for the first four hours, for sure). The SE worked great! I stopped at a DC fast charger and added 35% SoC in under 15 minutes. The A/C is extremely consistent in the SE (better than an ICE A/C, I think), which was appreciated since we're in the 90s temperature today, and I had my dogs (and a copilot) with me. It was great to see everyone at the dealership, and I came away thinking my MINI is under-customized. I really need to stick more things to it.
We enjoyed it as well, though I thought it was going to be a little more structured. Had a nice drive up to Sandia Peak and drove around on some back roads. Nice reason to get out of the house away from all the home improvement projects. I spotted my first SE in the wild. The yellow mirrors caught my eye sitting in someone's driveway. If you live in Albuquerque on Ridgecrest and drive an enigmatic black SE, I saw your car, whatever that's worth.
I did not see any other SEs, since it was a register & drive off on your own event, so I didn't see everyone. But I also didn't see any other SEs. I left mine parked (backed in, naturally) right in front of the registration pavilion for about half an hour to show it off. Which brings up an observation: I saw a whole array of MINIs at the dealer, and the SE (pre-2022 SLC) has a unique grille. It stands out like the special JCW grille. I think it's a shame all the 2022 SLC frontends are looking so uniform.
I also did not see any other SEs on my drive today. However, I also surprisingly so very few MINIs as well, even at the dealer where I picked up my bag of goodies. I'm wondering if my MINI dealer ended up not signing up as many people. When I showed up at 9:15, there were 2 other cars there, and nobody at the dealer showed until 10 am, and by then there were only 6 of us total. After that we all drove off and I hardly saw anyone else, but I'm also in the dense Los Angeles area where there was a ton of traffic in general. The scavenger hunt program was fun, but it did feel a little strange doing this essentially all by myself. They did post a lot of the photos on the MINI USA Instagram page, and it looks like some east coast car clubs actually got people together so those folks look like they had fun. In fact, nearly all of the photos look like they were from the north-east part of the country. All said it was definitely worth the $10 entry and it was a fun Saturday diversion. And my MINI had absolutely no trouble with the day - I ended up only going down to 50% battery by the end.
Well, what was in your bag of goodies? If there was any SE swag, I'll be very jealous, but I'm certain there was no SE swag. Two years ago, I wrote a letter to MINI's head of US marketing, begging for any SE swag they might come up with. I said that I'd even be willing to pay for it. No response and, AFAIK, there's been no SE merchandise from MINI, a company that used to understand marketing. If I was MINI's head of marketing, I'd make lots of SE merchandise that emphasizes the unique nature of the SE, the only compact, sporty BEV on the market. MINI knows who owns these cars so the target market is well-defined and easily accessible. The company would make more money and get the free advertising such merchandise would provide. For example, I've posted this T-shirt idea before; it re-interprets what some consider to be a bug into what it really is, a feature. A feature so basic to the brand that it is MINI's raison d'être. I'm sure more creative people could come up with better ideas.
Like I said, more creative people...that was actually a sign I made to put on my SE at the last Drive Electric event
On the one-hour evening live video there were positive signs along those lines. They stressed the all-electric future, the return to MINI's irreverent marketing (as exemplified by the Rules of the Road), and strongly hinted at an electric convertible.
No SE swag, Here are the contents of my bag 1. Mini Tote Bag 2. Mini Magic Interior Wipes 3. Mini Rules of the road postcards ( my favorite item in the bag) each card has some decent illustrations that explain each Mini Rule. 4. Mini Kind Snack Bar 5. Mini Branded Gum 6. Mini Socks (promoting Mini credit card) 7. Mini connected waypoint face frame 8. Mini branded hand sanitizer 9. Lots of printed material, some of what is available at dealerships a. Mini Connected printed card b. Printed card that talks about mini mechanic services c. Printed card that provides overview of mini track driving events - which includes a 20% discount d. General printed card with crossword puzzle One of the Mini postcards has the nucleus of a great ad campaign. In a world of white, black and grey crossovers and suv's Mini's have inherent advantages being different and small!
