Praise for the generosity and passion of the MINI community

As MINI TAKES THE STATES 2018 concluded with a huge end-of-rally party in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, this weekend, MINI USA Head of Sales, Tom Salkowsky, took time to share his thoughts on the ongoing success of this epic event supported by the MINI community.

As many of the 3,600 people that had participated as the rally celebrated the conclusion of their cross-country journeys in Keystone, Colorado, he told MINIUSAnews.com: “MINI TAKES THE STATES is all about MINI USA being accessible and thanking our owners for their passion and support for the brand and that’s why we do it.

“We want our owners to know that they also share ownership of our brand and without them we wouldn’t be where we are today,” he added, “It’s about showing gratitude and that we are with them every mile of the way.”

Speaking about the new format where two separate rallies departed from the east and west coasts of the USA, he said: “Having two routes gave our owners the opportunity to engage more with other MINI enthusiasts and also meant it was a shorter journey for them. It can be hard for some people to be away from personal and business lives for two weeks so I think the new format worked well for many.”

Praising the efforts of owners and their friends and families in their participation, he said: “It’s been startling how many of our owners chose to travel across the country to join the route on the opposite side to where they live.”

He said that the logistics of moving up to 1,500 vehicles and large numbers of organization staff from one place to the next over an eight day period threatened to be challenging but in fact, it couldn’t have gone any better.

“We’ve also had a very good mix of MINI models which has been great to see,” he added, “This is the first MTTS where we had three of our latest models present – Convertible, Clubman and Countryman – and it was very pleasing to see so many of them with us this time.”

He also praised the ways in which the MINI community supported MINI USA’s chosen charity partner, Feeding America, during MTTS, raising sufficient funds to provide over one million meals for those in need (and counting). “It has been amazing,” he said, “We have heard so many stories of the creative and generous ways in which people have been raising funds out there on the road. The generosity of those people is second to none.”

In conclusion, he remarked: “We say that MINI is the only car that comes with friends as standard. We are so blessed and grateful for all that our MINI owners do and how they contribute to our car company and our brand, as we have seen once again on MINI TAKES THE STATES”