I was wondering what the consensus was across America of MINI Clubs versus Mini Clubs. I know in some areas there's a separate clubs for classic Minis and for new MINIs. I was wondering how many other cities have a club that caters to both classic Minis and new MINIs. I was also wondering if there were separate clubs, why?

 

We decided that with mini5280 we wanted to have a separate club for the new MINI for several reasons:

1) MINI was being welcomed by a lot of groups in our area: BMWCCA, the classic Mini club, and a British car club, but we wanted there to be a home for new MINI enthusiasts to gather.
2) Some MINI owners don't want to really be associated with the Mini.
3) Some Mini owners don't want to really be associated with the MINI.
4) In light of (2) and (3), we didn't want to totally overrun the classic car club (8 cars would be a big event for them), with new MINIs and take over the show.
5) MINI had the enthusiasm and the numbers to justify it's own club.
6) The MINI owners that got involved in the mini5280 leadership wanted to autocross. We chose to do this at the BMWCCA autocross series in Denver, because it was an excellent organization, and the events offered a lot of seat time (6-7 runs in a day), in a friendly atmosphere. We could root for our MINI breathern as they took on the BMW's (the MINIs won almost every event they were entered in).
7) MINIs were more of a year round car in Denver, where as the old MINIs were garaged in the Winter. The classic club did garage tours, while the new MINI could still do group drives or ski days.

In the end we came to the conclusion we were trying to cater to a totally different audiance, and rather than dominate the classic club, we should have our own club that was uniquely MINI.

 

>>In the end we came to the conclusion we were trying to cater to a totally different audiance, and rather than dominate the classic club, we should have our own club that was uniquely MINI.

To me, Minis are MINIS and MINIS are Minis......club members come in all stripes, some like AutoX, others rallying, others drifting, some have MINIS, some have Minis, some might actually have Ford Probe GT's but LOVE MINIS, etc., etc,.....ALL new clubs should be openly welcome of classic Minis and new MINIS and everone else who shares a liking to either marque. You are correct however, in that it would not be cool for a bunch of MINI owners join and overpower an established Mini club.
My three pesos worth....

 

We are lucky in Southern California to have two wonderful clubs:
Mini Owners of America, Los Angeles welcomes MINIs.
So Cal Mini Maniacs also welcomes Minis.

 

Is this a geographic issue where the MOALA takes care of LA and SCMM takes care of the rest of towns?

 

Team MightyMiniz is global and welcomes the classics as well as the new mini. We have had a few very nice classics at some of our G2G's.

 

In its infancy our local MINI club had some connections with the state-wide classic club. This is back when, at a British car event, two MINIs would show up. The classic group was awesome....real loosy-goosy on formality, structure, by-laws.....all the stuff I'd rather do without.

Over time the MINI group grew and separated because 1) the # of MINIs was growing and 2) because the issues of the two groups were just so different. The Mini owners were looking for places to mount tires on 10" wheels and how to rebuild engines, waterproof electricals, and fight rust. MINI owners were just busy smiling and waving and discussing roof graphics....that's about it.

Some of the Mini owner's group got into MINIs, including me. We all get along great although never get together formally. As awesome as our MINIs are, the allure of the classic is ever-present. If a classic shows up at a local event, it's treated like a visiting dignitary!

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'03 IB/W Cooper

 

Nice to hear!

 

Andres and I agree (for a change! :lol) on this point. My club is all for both types. I don't see much difference between the two. The new models are just a progressive, needed thing thing that happened to the oldbies. Many of us here in NE Ohio strive to own classics as well. My friend Tim and I might pick some up when we go to the UK...
A local guy named Colin Greenan has a gorgeous purple '97 Cooper S with 13" minilites and wide fenders. That's *my* wet dream, but I'll probably wind up with a 60's model. Probably a 1000.

 

>>Is this a geographic issue where the MOALA takes care of LA and SCMM takes care of the rest of towns?
There appears to be quite a few dual memberships. There is also MOA San Diego. Each has its own great events offering quite a variety to members and visitors. A search would most likely reveal other clubs in Southern California. SCCA is BIG in the region but not, at least to me, as much a player as other areas of the country.