Since the status changed from "Scheduled for Production" to "Awaiting Transport," nearly a month has passed. Concerned after reading a post on a forum of a possible safety concern that prompted BMW to put a hold on deliveries, I sent a query to MINI USA. Here is my question, and their reply:

My Question: My Cooper S has been on "Awaiting Transport" status for over a
month. I read in a forum on another website that MINI S's are on ship hold
due to a safety issue. Is there some kind of delay??

Their Reply: Hello Theodore. Thanks for writing into MINI via the Owners Lounge. Welcome back.

It has been brought to our attention that there have been a high number of MINIs sitting at the port of exit as you describe.

There was a problem with the booking confirmations of these passenger cars. Please accept my sincere apologies for this matter, it was out of our control. We have already discussed this with the shipping line and with the port of exit in Southhampton. I assure you that these passenger cars will be on the next scheduled vessel to make their way to US shores and then delivery at your authorized MINI Dealer.

Again, we apologized for the frustration this has caused. If you have additional questions, please stay in touch with us at http://www.miniusa.com.

LET'S MOTOR.

James Frost
MINI Division
Customer Relations


Although this reply avoids a direct answer somewhat, I hope this bit of information is of help to those of you who have been waiting eagerly for their MINI to arrive here in the US. It seems that a whole batch of them literally "missed the boat".

 

My girl sat in the Port of exit for 20 days! Now it's 2 days away from New Jersey! I swear, all i find myself doing is thinking about taking the car out for hours on end!