The club is hoping to have a small event showing the original Italian Job at a local dealer sometime in October. The only issue is we'd be very limited in terms of space due to dealer seating. That is unless someone else has a better idea for a location.

As reported on Roadfly the Times Cinema in Milwaukee is showing the original Italian Job tonight the 19th at 7:00 and 9:00 pm. If you're in the area and are looking for a fun Friday night this may be the ticket. Here's the info:

Times Cinema
5906 West Vliet Street
Milwaukee, WI 53208
(414) 453-2436

Here's some news from the Airzona MINI Owners. I'm not sure if anyone from Chicago could make it but I thought I'd at least let everyone know about the event:

A MINI Vacation in Vegas 2004
Friday February 6th, 2004 – Sunday February 8th, 2004
Las Vegas, Nevada

Hello fellow Mini/MINI owners!

For a couple months now there have been rumors going around the Internet of a huge gathering of Mini/MINIs in Las Vegas, NV. This is to inform you this event is an official Arizona Mini Owners (AMO) event. AMO club membership is not required to participate. Both classic Minis and new MINIs are welcome! Each participant is responsible for their own expenses, including, but not limited to, gasoline, lodging, meals, tolls, park fees, show admission, etc.

The fun is starting Friday February 6th, 2004 and continuing thru Sunday February 8th, 2004. Turn this event into your family vacation. Make new acquaintances. Make it a long weekend of fun.

This is not your typical gathering in Vegas. There will be no key-note speaker, no name-tags, or the things you associate with conventions in Vegas. The Mini owners I know are much too relaxed to put up with that. What there will be is plenty of group motoring activities and tons of great company amongst Mini owners! Schedules will be flexible. This is supposed to be fun, right? Remember, there?s something for everyone in Vegas! In addition to things to do while in Vegas, other activities may include group picnics, drives to local attractions and some fun site-seeing drives.

Group rate accommodations have been arranged for this event at the Stardust Resort & Casino for only $75.00 per night for Friday and Saturday nights. This is an excellent rate for a hotel right on The Strip! Thursday and Sunday nights will be at non-peak rates meaning they will be much lower. You will need to make your own reservations by calling 1-800-634-6757 and mention group code ?MINI206?. The cut-off date is January 7th, 2004 to make reservations under this group code. Room tax, telephone, energy surcharge, and other charges may apply. When making your reservations your credit card will be charged immediately for the first nights stay. This is to secure your room. You can cancel your reservation up until 48 hours prior to arrival time, but there is a cancellation penalty. If there are fewer than 15 rooms rented per night for either Friday night or Saturday night, they will remove the discount for everyone. Be sure you understand Stardust?s reservation policies prior to making your reservation. You are not required to stay at the Stardust for this event. Feel free to make your own accommodations. However, all fun-runs will start from the Stardust?s parking lot. There are some off-Strip hotels that aren't as cool as the Stardust, but may have a better price. Contact agro@ragingbull.com for further details.

We encourage regional Mini clubs organize their own group drives to and from Las Vegas. Contact your local club to get the ball rolling, or if you don?t have a local club, I'm sure you can find other like-minded Mini/MINI owners to motor with from your location. It?s been rumored that people as far away as Florida are planning to motor out to Las Vegas for this event! Don?t miss out.

Happy Motoring!
Arizona Mini Owners

Web Site: http://www.aMiniVacationInVegas.com

Message board: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/aminivacationinvegas/

Contact E-Mail: < ahref="mailto: info@aMiniVacationInVegas.com">info@aMiniVacationInVegas.com

I'm happy to announce that we have now launched the club forum on MINI Cooper Online. This will allow members to communicate easier among other things. You can check it out here: CMMC Forums.

(This post replicates the email that was sent out to everyone recently)

Chicago MINI Motoring Club Update

I?m happy to report The Club now has almost 60 official members. ?Our website is up, our stickers are printed and club welcome packets are being sent out every couple of weeks to new members.

From this point on the vast majority of events the CMMC will sponsoring will be member only events. ?So get your membership applications in soon!

Upcoming Events: ?South Bend MINI AutoX and Rally
October 4th 9:00pm at Tirerack in South Bend IN.

Our friends in the South Bend area and Tire Rack are holding an Autocross event on October 4th. ?This is a great way to get your MINI out on the track for a minimal fee, check out the largest tire seller in the world, and meet ?MINI owners from all over the midwest. ?Our Chicago group will be tentatively leaving from the Planetarium at 7:00am – the same place we met for our July Rally.

You can check out all details at this geocities.com/southbendmini/

Cost to participate is only $20 per person! ?This covers all equipment, track and insurance for the autocross. ?To register, print the registration form, ( http://www.geocities.com/southbendmini/reg.html ) , and mail with your check to: South Bend Mini Club, 1501 Ironwood Drive, South Bend, Indiana, 46635. ?You must register by September 20. ?Don?t miss this chance to get out on the track for such a low price!

Upcoming Events: ?Fall Foilage Rally
October TBA

I also wanted to let everyone know that the CMMC will be sponsoring a Fall drive similar to what many of us participated in last year most likely in the latter half of October. ?The exact date and times haven?t been decided yet but all the info will be posted on our website very soon. ?Stay tuned!

Past Events: The CMMC Baseball Rally Wrap-up

I'd like to first thank everyone for coming out – what a great time! ?I'd also like to thank both Knauz and International MINI for donating our giveaways and for being great hosts. Photos have been posted on the club website here.

Past Events: Thoughts on the Midwest Driver Trackdays

For all those who missed Phil Wick's Driving Academy at Gateway International Speedway club member Maxwell Heathcott does a great job in his post on the CMMC website recaping the say and what was learned. ?You can read it here.

Future club email updates will be more geared towards club members rather than those simply on the email list. ?Again if you like to join the Chicago MINI Motoring Club and haven?t had a chance to fill out an official club application yet I?m attaching it to this email. ?

If you have any questions about it or regarding the club don?t hesitate to contact me at: gabe@chicagominiclub.com.

Happy Motoring!

You can now have your very own Chicago MINI Motoring Club signature in the MINI2 or MINI Cooper Online Forums. At this point we have two to choose from:

For information on how to add these to the end of your posts at MINI2 or MINI Cooper Online read on>>