I have a Mini on order and my salesman says they're made in Oxford. Is that true or are they made in Oxfordshire and not necessarily the city of Oxford? Where, exactly, is the Mini plant?

 

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...38581&t=h&z=15


Zoom in and you can see all the minis!

 

It is actually in the City of Oxford itself. The locals would call that end of town "Cowley", not the most salubrious part of Oxford. The plant always used to be just called "Cowley" and was pretty infamous in the BL days. Its BMW that's putting on airs calling it Oxford.

 

Thanks. Surprisingly, MiniUSA couldn't answer that question. They referred me to the Mini plant tour website but they're closed until 6 Jan 2010. I lived near Oxford in the early 80s and just wondered exactly where the plant was.

 

If you know Oxford any, I'd say on the ring road, a little was south of Headington/the A40. If you get to the new Tesco, you've missed it.

 

I thought they were made in Cooperstown, NY; no?

 

Mine along with 1999 others were actually finished in Turin Italy.

 

I've been to Oxford many times but that was 20yrs ago. It was a nice town to visit and shop. Perhaps my new Mini will give me an excuse to go back and reminisce.

 

Nope not in Cooperstown. MiniUSA is in Bergen County New Jersey.

However if you have been following our friends at MotoringFile, some mini production (maybe the speedster and coopster) may be moved to Germany with the rest of BMW's. So this may all change soon

 

Roll Tide

 

Agreed. Roll Tide! Saw-em off!

 

In case anyone would like a factory tour, this is the information I got from MINI:

Thank you very much for your interest in MINI production. Every year we get requests from more than 65,000 people from all over the world to see MINI production live. This is by far more than we can accommodate. Our tour capacity depends on production planning and is extremely limited. Therefore, we unfortunately cannot always offer the requested place on a tour. To request a plant tour please send an email stating who you and your tour group are (e.g. company, organisation, individuals), how many people you would like to bring, the purpose/background of your visit (general tour or specific interest) and the time(s) and date(s) when you wish to visit. We then can get back with availability. Please also provide full address and contact telephone number details. The following guidelines apply to all tours:All tours must be pre booked through oxford.plant-tours@mini.com
maximum number per tour group is 25
individuals and small groups may be merged into one visitor group
minimum age is 14, any underage (14-18years) must be accompanied by an adult
people with heart pacemakers will not be able to join the tour
visitors are not able to buy food and drinks at the plant
photography is strictly not permitted on plant
visitors can take pictures at our exhibition and events venue
mobile phones, handbags and cameras cannot be taken on the tour
visitors must wear comfortable shoes. No open-toe shoes or high heels are permitted
there is a charge of £12/ concession rate £10
no third party bookings
We finalise our schedule three months ahead and recommend booking at least two months prior to your desired date. Please understand that availability is very limited.
We reserve the right to cancel, restrict or modify tours at any time depending on production requirements
Best regards,
Kat Thackray
Plant Oxford
Plant tours
oxford.plant-tours@mini.com

 

AF at UH? Drop me a pm if so, I'm curious. I was an SP at UH 87-91.

 

Well as you can see the welcome mat is not exactly out at the MINI assembly plant and at 12 pounds not exactly cheap entertainment. However I thought the MINIusa video factory tour was excellent and saved me a lot of walking!