I'm happy to announce that the Chicago MINI Motoring Club is sponsoring a screening of the original Italian Job October 7th scheduled for 7pm at the Wheaton Grand Theater.

All those interested in the Chicago MINI Motoring Club and the original Italian Job are welcome! The event will be free for all Chicago MINI Club members (be sure to bring your membership card!) and will cost $5 for all non-members.

We'll have the theater all to ourselves and concessions will be served! Hope to see everyone there!

It looks like the South Bend Tire Rack tour and auto cross has been pushed back from the 4th of October to the 19th. It also looks like that change may allow the actual auto cross to take place. Good news for those who wanted to do the track event, bad news for those who can't make the 19th.

Please keep in mind that this is not a Chicago MINI Motoring Club event and you'll need to contact Jeff (who is planning the event) for more information.

Just wanted to give everyone an updated on what took place at the meeting lastnight. I talked briefly about the MINI world and then fielded questions about everthing from the Chicago MINI Club to the car itself. Quite a few of the BMW folks there also had MINI's and a handful of others were considering getting them. It's really amazing to see how popular this car is with the BMW faithful.

It was also nice to meet such great people who are into their cars as much if not more than we are. I think that the Windy City BMWCCA will be a great asset to the Chicago MINI Motoring Club in the future especially as we discuss co-hosting events.

Thanks to everyone who came out lastnight!

From Kumho PR:

FONTANA, CA?The Kumho Tire Challenge will be at the IKEA store in Schaumburg, IL, from October 14-17. The event teaches consumers how tires can make a difference in the way a car performs by giving them the opportunity to drive MINI Coopers equipped with different wheels and tires.

The event will be staged in the parking lot of the IKEA store (located at 1800 E. McConnor Parkway). Participants will drive the cars through an autocross course on the lot.
The Kumho Tire Challenge is a national tour that was launched by KUMHO Tire USA in July of 2003 as a means to educate tire dealers and consumers about how different tires affect the performance and handling of a car.
??Unfortunately, most people don?t give much thought to their tires,? said Rick Brennan, high performance brand manager for KUMHO Tire USA. ?They know they?re round, they?re black, they?re rubber and you have to put air in them.

?But when you give someone a bit of information and then put him behind the wheel of a car and turn him loose on an autocross course, he?ll quickly learn that tires play a huge role in how a car performs,? noted Brennan. ?After going through this exercise, most people are amazed to learn that there can be such a difference between tires, and they?re also usually surprised to learn just how well the tires perform.?

Kumho uses three MINI Coopers for the Kumho Tire Challenge. The cars are equipped with automatic transmissions and a variety of aftermarket performance products, and each car is equipped with a different Kumho tire. ?We use MINI Coopers for our Challenge program because the MINI is one of the best-handling cars in the world, which makes it the perfect vehicle to showcase the performance of our tires,? added Brennan. ?And the MINI is a people magnet. The cars attract attention wherever they go.?

The Kumho Tire Challenge at IKEA will run rain or shine and will be open on a first-come-first-serve basis to the general public on the following dates and times:

• Tuesday, October 14, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Wednesday, October 15, 11 .m. to 7 p.m.
• Thursday, October 16, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Friday, October 17, Noon to 7 p.m.

The MINI Car Club of Indiana has some info about the upcoming F1 event:

Info About Late Ticket Purchasing

If anyone wants to purchase tickets?plenty are still available.?Simply call the ticket office at 317.492.6700.?If you are a MINI Car Club Member and want to participate in the Car Corral, then tell them on the phone that you are a member of the club, and that you still want to be part of the Car Corral.

Info About the Car Corral

If any members still want to be a part of the car corral, they will need to call the ticket officeat317.492.6700?at this point and identify themselves as being a member of the Mini Car Club and then order tickets straight from them (yes?you must have a ticket to be in the car corral).? The cheapest seats anyone can get are the $45 1st Turn Terrace Seats.? Then, they can sit in their seats, sit in the infield if they want, or enjoy the festivities in the car corral.? But make sure anyone calling about tickets identifies themselves with the club so they can get the car corral hang-tag.? Any MINI Club members that would like to be escorted into the car corral with other MINI club members should read the section on the ?Police Escort to the Car Corral.??Otherwise, check your car corral confirmation materials on how to enter the infield and park in the car corral.

Info About the Police Escort to the Car Corral

The MINI Car Club has 20 spots reserved for an 8:00 AM police escort.?Any MINI Car Club Member who has car corral access (the hang-tag) can participate in the police escort.?The escort will depart the Indianapolis Zoo (downtown) at 8:00 AM, and then drive into the car corral together.?If you will be participating in the police escort, please arrive at the Indianapolis Zoo (West Washington Street, Downtown) at 7:45 AM.?

Thanks,
David H. McKee
Treasurer, MINI Car Club of Indiana

This news is from the organizers of this South Bend event:

IMPORTANT UPDATE!!! The South Bend Mini Event will be held without the autocross. We were not able to arrange for a better insurance package, and fell short of the 50 pre-registrations required. All who registered for the autocross event will get their checks back. WE ARE STILL HAVING AN OCTOBER 4th EVENT!!!
Our new, (loose) agenda:

9-10:30 AM — Meet at The Tire Rack, meet Mini owners, meet Alex, tour (parts) of this amazing performance facility.

10:30-Noon — Road Rally Course, includes Notre Dame campus

Noon-2:00PM — Lunch at Hacienda Mexican Restaurant at the historic Kamms mansion. www.haciendafiesta.com Order off the regular menu, all your food will be FREE! For your margaritas, Coronas, whatever-you-want-to-drink, you are on your own.

Come share a wonderful autumn day with Mini enthusiasts!

While this news is certainly disappointing for many of us I'm still planning on going and having a great time. In fact I'm probably going to come home with some tires from the TireRack. Who can still make it?