MINI Takes The States 2026
Whenever, Wherever, Whatever
Those people who know me, know that when I like something I kinda go overboard with enthusiasm. I may not be religious but I do get evangelical about things. Comics, Geocaching, LEGO, Robotics? Just a few things that I have gone over the top on. MINIs are one of those things. I’ve gone to so many MINI events across the country, heck around the world, in the process I’ve met so many wonderful people and made so many friends.
In 2005 I purchased my first MINI Cooper. It was after what I considered a horrible board meeting that, being board chair, I was in charge of. I decided when I left, I would go to test drive a Mini Cooper S and afterwards I contacted Sue to let her know I was putting down a deposit. Since then I’ve been a member of the MINI Community- or as I like to consider it, MINI is one of the only cars that comes with a family full of weird aunts & uncles. I am one of those weird uncles.
One of the first big events I attended was part of the very first MINI Takes The States in 2006. I had owned a MINI for a little over a year and MINIUSA decided to celebrate the last model of the first generation of the “New Mini” by planning a cross country rally and inviting every owner to join. Monterey, CA to Lime Rock, CT driving together and having fun. It happened at the beginning of the school year and therefore I could only attend one “leg” from St. Louis to Indianapolis. Since then Sue and I have attended at least part of every single one. Every two years if you ignore the COVID hiatus, MINI has arranged things for this event. The event has morphed over the years being more and less ambitious, but no matter what a great experience and an excuse to see the country. The biggest problem is logistics and patience.
You see to put on something like MINI Takes The States requires a lot of moving parts. So we don’t know where or when until MINIUSA makes their announcement. Those dozen or so folks who have done every one or most of them just sit back, pop some popcorn and watch everyone else freak out.
The announcement should be soon (rumor has it sometime in February) most likely the dates first, then the route. There will be people upset about both, second guessing dates and cities. People are already grumbling about having to put in vacation requests without any idea if they will fit within MINIUSA’s grand plan. I understand their frustration, but it is something no other automaker does, and with the current political climate in the United States I can understand how MINIUSA has to be cautious and consider the wellbeing and safety of everyone involved. Let’s not even get into how tariffs impact sales of a small European car.
We are currently dealing with people making guesses from social media posts made by MINI. Am I willing to bet on what will happen? Nope. Will I attend this year? At least part, but I have made some other commitments that haven’t announced their details yet either so there might be some overlap. I just need to attend one day of MTTS to keep my streak going.
Things Cecil and I Have Learned from MTTS
While I attended in 2006, Cecil didn’t attend his first MTTS until 2008 and then headed to England for MINI United in 2009. He made some great friends in England - the first “MINIons.” In 2010 he started to organize and then things took off. Since then many other owners have made buttons, traveled with stuffed animals, and ramped up their “Not Normal” behavior. Like many of those things I’ve been passionate about I reached a point where I had to take a step back. Too many requests, too much of a rinse and repeat. I have realized in my old age that I don’t want to be a leader. I don’t want to be in the spotlight. I’ve been in charge, and frankly don’t like the stress involved. I like lurking in the shadows and just doing stuff, not for recognition, but because it’s nice. Cecil’s MINIons was a group that grew and grew and finally I had to take a break from, even with a year between events. The introvert in me likes to just drive and not worry about if everyone is together. I’m fiercely independent so I like to do things on a whim. Sadly I’ve lost some of the camaraderie because of this, but it’s a choice I’ve made. I don’t want to spend every morning trying to make sure my group is all together, or that I have passed out SWAG to everyone. This combined with my desire to not be a burden to others and I’m happy to be on my own, although I do like getting together for lunch or dinner.
MTTS to me is just a more organized Whimventure. More organized because I know when and where breakfast will be and they give us a map that we can follow if we want. MINIUSA provides a safety net to make sure we have a good time, so no need to worry. It’s pretty much my AAA card on steroids for the length of the event. Before and after, I’m on my own, which is fine.
Do I care about what I pack? Nope. There are stores if I need them, and this being America are pretty much the same ones I have at home. I might make sure I have a few MINI t-shirts. It’s like going to a comic-con and not wearing a geeky shirt. If you don’t wear a MINI shirt on MINI Takes The States when would you? Do I worry about my car and service? I’m not an idiot. My car goes in for regular service at the dealership and before this Mega-Whimventure Alfie goes in for a once over, along with an oil change (and if I remember a detail) the week before I leave.
What about SWAG?
“Ugh” is all I have to say and with the invasiveness of AI I’m dreading it even more. In 2006 I think there were only a couple a people who had homemade vinyl and someone was selling a rubber keyring. MINI had SWAG including grill badges, shirts, and a CD of music from local bands from some of the stops. They also had roadmaps… yes, paper roadmaps. Mine is still my MINI, with the speed at which infrastructure gets updated in this country, it still works twenty years later.
MINI gave out buttons at each stop and in 2014 Cecil added his own button in competition with the one Jim McDowell (VP of MINIUSA) handed out. From that point it seemed everyone started to exchange SWAG. Buttons, stickers, bracelets, keyrings… so much SWAG. I have a large box in the basement filled with stuff from MTTS, I’ll probably be buried with it.
Then came the ducks. Don’t get me started on ducks, I’ve talked about this before, it doesn’t matter who started putting them on cars, they have become synonymous with Jeeps. You can’t drive past a Jeep without seeing a duck or twelve somewhere on the dashboard. A MINI owner may have started the trend, but for me… It’s now a Jeep thing. I worry more about tire pressure than ducks.
That said, you do you. If you want to hand out ducks, or bulldogs, or wombats- go ahead. You want to make a button to give out- Great! Whatever makes you happy. I just hope you actually make it and don’t have AI create it for you. For me I’d much rather have a simple design done by a human than one that was created from a prompt.
What will I bring? Not much. It isn’t a requirement. It can be an icebreaker, but you don’t have to do anything except say “hi” while in line to check-in instead of tossing out stuff. I want to spend my time with people (even as an introvert) not trying to hand out stuff to people. I will bring a stack of Munchkin “Duck of Doom” cards to put on some cars as I walk past them each morning. I will probably make a sticker or a button, but only a few for friends. I feel in 2024 I wasted too much time worrying about SWAG and missed out on time with people I only see every two years.
Basically, MINI Takes The States is a wonderful experience, if you own a MINI you should try an attend. If it sounds like fun and you don’t own a MINI… sorry, that’s your choice. “One-half of knowing what you want is knowing what you must give up before you get it.” - Sidney Howard
I wrote a bit about MTTS in 2024 before switching over to SubStack here are links to those posts -
Not much has changed in what you need to prepare.
Your soul resonates with mine. Thank you for putting this song into words.
Final update:
https://youtu.be/V3PbvY5v5g0
meh. Not what was expected… by anyone.