British Extravaganza at Buttonwillow Raceway – May 5th and 6th

May 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

It’s a spring time tradition and for over a decade, May has meant “Honoring the Brits”for the Vintage Auto Racing Association.  Each year,   the hallowed marques and their proud owners and drivers, make the pilgrimage to the Buttonwillow Raceway.  MGs, Austin Healeys, Austin Healey Sprites, Morris Minis, Mini Coopers, Triumphs of all designations, Ginettas, Lotus’ and  others – in both race and street trim –are featured at this once-a-year event, for all to see and appreciate. With a full array of VARA Euro and American iron added, VARA’s “British Extravaganza” makes for a colorful and competitive race weekend.

This year marked the 16th anniversary of this two-day event, which was held on Saturday and Sunday, May 5th and 6th. Classic cars frommany different manufacturers were featured, spread throughout several different classes. This was a great opportunity to watch the competition between classic race cars such as Mini, MG, Triumph, Lola, BMW, Porsche, Camaro, Corvette, Mustang, Formula Ford, Super Vee, and many more at this well-known local venue. There was a two-day car show, celebrating 50 years of the MGB as well as a Saturday night BBQ.   Our very own Steve Phillips raced his Mini this year and Jon Brothers was able to snap some great pictures.  Steve won the Mini – Sprite – MG Challenge race on Saturday and he was also the fastest qualifier for Sunday’s race, but due to an oil pressure issue chose not to run the Sunday race. Better to be safe than sorry, as they say…..

Check out the Club Phone Album, British Extravaganza by clicking here.

The Raceway Park is located at the Lerdo Highway exit off Interstate 5, approximately 40 miles south of Kettleman City (I-5 and Hwy 41).

For more information about VARA, go to their website at Vintage Auto Racing Association – Home Page.

Filed Under: Announcements

Vintage Racing at Buttonwillow Raceway / May 5th & 6th

April 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Although not an official MidCal MINIs event, the Vintage Auto Racing Association (VARA) British Extravaganza is a fun and exciting car happening and includes Classic Minis.  Our very own Steve Phillips will be racing his Classic ’62 Mini in the C Sedan class against fellow competitiors from Southern California and areas beyond.  The event, Saturday and Sunday, May 5th and 6th,  is back at Buttonwillow Raceway Park this year and is celebrating the 16th anniversary of this two-day event.  Each day kicks off at 9:00 am.

The cost is $40 per person which includes the $10 gate fee, track drive during lunch on Saturday and Sunday, the Saturday evening BBQ, High Speed Slalom with instruction and paddock parking.  Kids under 14 are admitted free.

Classic cars from many different manufacturers will be featured, spread throughout several different classes.  This venue provides a great opportunity to watch the competition between classic race cars such as Mini, MG, Triumph, Lola, BMW, Porsche, Camaro, Corvette, Mustang, Formula Ford, Super Vee, and many others.

The event features a full food bar and merchandise shop at the track.  Lodging is available close by for those interested in making this a full weekend.  In store this year for those in attendance will be a two day car show, celebrating 50 years of the MGB.   

Buttonwillow Raceway Park is located at the Lerdo Highway exit off Interstate 5, approximtely 40 miles south of Kettleman City (I-5 and Hwy 41).

More information and car show entry forms may be obtained by going to the VARA website at Vintage Auto Racing Association – Home Page, or by calling 1-800-280-8272.

 

Filed Under: Announcements

Don’t Miss It! MTTS 2012

April 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Have you signed up yet?  You don’t want to miss MINI TAKES THE STATES 2012.  It is more than an event, it is a celebration of the MINI community and our love for the road. Registration for MINI TAKES THE STATES is open now! This grand event, which only takes place every two years, is about to happen once again and you don’t want to miss it. GO FORTH. GO WEST. GO MINI.

Filed Under: Announcements

Registration for MTTS 2012 opens April 5th

April 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

MINI TAKES THE STATES 2012 is more than an event.  It is a celebration of the MINI community and our love for the road.  Registration for MINI TAKES THE STATES opens Thursday, April 5th.  This grand event, that takes place every two years, is about to happen once again and you don’t want to miss it.  GO FORTH.  GO WEST.  GO MINI.

Filed Under: Announcements

PDQMINI – Robert and Diane in London

April 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The “Adventure” has begun for Robert and Diane as they headed to London this week to catch up with family and friends  and to make the pilgrimage to the MINI birthplace.  Follow along as Robert and Diane send back pictures of their “Most Excellent Adventure” to the Motherland.

London is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area of the country and among the most populated in Europe.  Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who called it Londinium.  London’s ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its square-mile medieval boundaries. Since at least the 19th century, the name London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core.  The bulk of this conurbation forms the London region and the Greater London administrative area, governed by the elected Mayor of London and the London Assembly.

Enough with the history lesson; keep sending us those pictures!

 
 
 
 
 
Filed Under: Announcements, Featured Member

PDQMINI to Visit the MINI Production Triangle

March 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Have you ever thought about what it took to make your MINI come to life?  How many parts go into your car; how many workers it took to personalize it just for you?  What did your MINI see before the two of you saw each other?  Have you ever wanted to visit the birthplace of your car or even pick up your new baby from the MINI birthing center?  Well one of our very own is going to the birthplace of the MINI!  PDQMINI is off to England in late March to visit the Triangle!  Rob will be posting to his Facebook account and allowing all of us to live vicariously through his adventure, so watch this site for links to QDQMINI’s Excellent Adventure to the Homeland.  To set the stage, just a bit of introductory information is presented as follows:

BMW’s 2nd generation R56 MINI Cooper is produced in what is called the MINI production triangle. There are now three plants involved in the production of the new MINI and they are located in what appears to be three points of a triangle on a map. The top of the triangle is the Hams Hall plant, with the right leg of the triangle being the Oxford plant and the left leg being the Swindon plant.
 
The Ham’s Hall plant builds the engines; Plant Swindon is where the body pressing and sub-assembly manufacturing is done. and Plant Oxford is the body shell, paint shop and final assembly plant.  Body pressings at Ham’s Hall  grew from the bonnets, doors, side panels and rear panels, to now include all the body shell sub-assembly work, of which after completion is delivered to Plant Oxford where final assembly is done. The Swindon plant makes 280 of the 350 different pressed parts for the R56 MINI Cooper.
 
 Plant Oxford, where the MINI Cooper is actually put together and tested, consists of a mixture of robotics and hand assembly. The plant works in 3 shifts, 20 hours a day, which means there are 2 hour breaks in between shifts. Shift times can be adjusted within 25% ranges of each other.
 
The final assembly plant is capable of producing MINI Coopers in an extremely vast amount of configurations – the possible variations are said to be in the thousands of trillions!  For starters, there are the 4 body types pf the Cooper, which are left hand drive with sunroof, left hand drive without sunroof, right hand drive with sunroof, and right hand drive without sunroof. Then you also have two engine options. Multiply all of that with all the other customisation features – 372 for interior and 319 for exterior – and the number gets very high.  MINIs are built to order, and once you’ve ordered your MINI, you can actually still change your configuration within 7 days of the day the car is expected to roll off the production line.
 
In 2006, the MINI Production Triangle employed 6,350 people, which was expected to increase to nearly 6,800 people when production was hiked to 240,000 cars a year from 200,000 cars a year in 2006.  Hams Hall employed about 1000 people, about 4,700 were employed in Oxford and 1,100 in Swindon. The location of suppliers is also crucial, several suppliers have actually moved operations to within an hour of the plants they are supplying to, as MINI production is very time crucial – orders always exceed production capacity.   (From an article written in 2006)

http://www.mini-production-triangle.com/static/en/

Filed Under: Announcements, Featured Member

MidCal MINI’s Monthly Meeting – March 16

March 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

MidCal MINI’s Monthly Meeting: 

When: Friday, March 16 at 6:30 pm

Where:Yosemite Falls Cafe – 4020 North Cedar Avenue, Fresno, CA

Directions: 168 East to the Shields Ave exit. Make a left on Shields Ave. Then take the first right on to Cedar. Travel 0.7 miles and and enter Granite Park. Make a left from the main driveway, Yosemite Falls Cafe will be on your right.

Parking: After turning into the main driveway turn left to the parking lot area (Victory Grill will be on your left and Yosemite Falls on your right. We will park along the very back row (toward Ashlan – north) as this location gets very busy as the night goes on.

RSVP: Go to the Club Calendar tab and select March 16th. Once the date opens, complete the RSVP.  Be sure to account for each individual that will be in attendance.  Reservations are by person, not by car or by couple.  (You must be a registered member of this website to RSVP).  See you at the meeting.   ;)

Filed Under: Announcements

MINI Takes the States 2012 – Update

February 27, 2012 By 1 Comment

MINIUSA released information today on its Facebook page regarding the route for MTTS 2012.  The message was as follows:

“Here’s your first look at the route for MINI TAKES THE STATES 2012. Starting in New York on July 4th, the route will head West (sorta) with 13 stops including 4 MINIcross courses (Philadelphia, Nashville, Chicago and Los Angeles) where you and your friends can come test drive the family of MINIs. GO FORTH. GO WEST. GO MINI.”

Filed Under: Announcements

MINI Takes the States 2012 Update

February 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment

MINIUSA dropped another hint today related to MINI Takes the States 2012 by adding just a few more morsels to its website:

July 4th is the kickoff of our cross-country road rally. MINI TAKES THE STATES 2012 (MTTS for short).  From July 4th through the 15th, a caravan of MINIs will traverse the country, stopping to eat, sleep and have a blast at stops along the way.  With special events such as MINI Autocross courses in Philadelphia, Nashville,Chicago and Los Angeles, this will be no ordinary road trip.

Visit the official MINI Takes the States 2012 website

Filed Under: Announcements

Featured Member – Sandra Lee Scott, Author

February 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

“Bloomin’ Boomers is insightful, thoroughly researched, entertaining, and inspirational.”  “Bloomin’ Boomers comes at a time when we are wont to look back a bit at the landscape of our journey.”  

These are just a few of the reviews of a new book written by our very own Sandra Lee Scott (known to the MidCal group as Sandee Archer, Ken’s better half).  Sandee has highlighted the lives of 191 leading-edge Baby Boomers* “Bloomers” and their profound impact on popular culture as well as the planet.  The book covers their insights on life, success, aging, mortality, and creating legacies.

Just a few of the Bloomers highlighted in Sandee’s book include Diane Keaton, Dolly Parton, Donald Trump, Sylvester Stallone, Cheech Marin, Linda Ronstadt, Bill Clinton, George Bush, Sally Field, Ben Vereen, Patty Duke, Steven Spielberg and Jimmy Buffett.  Sandee’s latest book includes a concise decade review of 1940 – 2010, which is sure to evoke nostalgia while providing the world context in which the Bloomin’ Boomers bloomed.

Sandra Lee Scott – Archer

Sandra is the child of two World War II veterans and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area.  She graduated from UCLA and holds a masters degree in Counseling from CSULA.  Helping people who are emotionally hurting has been the focus of her life’s work,  Her first book, Reflections of Evil, a novel, called upon her knowledge and experience working with child sexual abuse victims.  Her next creative venture was the inspirational video Healing Images: A Journey Through the Seasons.

Sandee lives with her husband Ken in the Sierra Foothills of California not far from Yosemite where she offers workshops such as “Finding Inner Peace After Loss” and “The Write Retreat.”  She enjoys nature, music, rafting, hiking, photography and spending time with family and friends.  And of course hanging with the MidCal group.

Bloomin’ Boomers: Pop Culture Legacy of the Vanguard Baby Boomers by Sandra Lee Scott. Order your copy at http://bloominboomers.com.

*A Baby Boomer has been defined as a person who was born during the demographic Post-World War II baby boom between the years 1946 and 1959 and by the U.S. Census Bureau as the years 1945 through 1964.  Seventy-six million American children were born between 1945 and 1964, representing a cohort that is significant on account of its size alone.  As a group, they were the healthiest and wealthiest generation to that time, and amongst the first to grow up genuinely expecting the world to improve with time.

 

 

Filed Under: Announcements, Featured Member
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