Come celebrate Spring with us and toast the marking of the Vernal Equinox — and the impending motoring season — along with great food and MINI fellowship at our 3rd Annual “Spring has Sprung” Meet-n-Eat. It will be hosted on Saturday, March 20th at the Granite City Restaurant in Cedar Rapids. Rendezvous time in the restaurant parking lot is 10:30 am.

Details including times, address, phone, map, and links for restaurant info and RSVP sign-up, are available in the EIM Event Calendar Entry on NAM.  Please let us know you’re coming so we can arrange sufficient seating for everyone.  Exact headcounts and anticipatory chat may be made in our NAM Event Thread .

If you’re new to our group or don’t yet have a NAM identity, you can RSVP by simply leaving a comment using the comments link above.

All are welcome…hope to see you there!

We continue to plan for our group’s participation in the High Plains Motoring Society (HPMS) Run for the Ozarks (R4TO). This event is being held on the twisty roads of northwest Arkansas in the area of Harrison, AR from 13-16 May (the first and last of these days include transit time).

We already have a nice contingent of our Iowa MINIs planning on attending, but there’s always room for more! Coordination among our members is occurring in the associated NAM Planning Thread –> EIM at the 2010 HPMS R4TO

Anyone interested in more info is welcome to post in the aforementioned NAM thread, send a NAM PM (private message) to Gil-galad, or simply leave a comment to this post using the comments link above and we’ll get back to you ASAP.

The HPMS motored to the Black Hills of South Dakota last year, and most of us felt like it was the highlight of our year. Check out the pictures in our EIM in the Black Hills photo gallery if you want a taste of the adventure!

Thanks to the well-connected folks over at MotoringFile.com for access to this first-of-it’s-kind promotional video of the MINI Cooper Countryman crossover vehicle. The Countryman is expected to debut in the U.S. early next year and will include a version with intelligent all-wheel drive based on BMW’s xDrive technology. The Countryman is only 5″ longer than the Clubman and expected to be near 3000 lbs weight making it a true “mini” among comparable crossovers.

MINI Cooper Countryman Promotional Video

This video is really nice played in 720 HD if your bandwidth can support it.

Check out all of the fun pictures from our Eastern Iowa MINIs Meet-n-Eat at the Blueport Junction Bar and Grill in Davenport!  You can access them in our Gallery or directly using the following link:

Photos from Blueport Junction in Davenport 2-20-2010

Great times together with great people, and a great showing despite the winter weather. Thanks to Linda for the pics, to Denny and Sandy for the venue, and to all of our MINI mates for coming out and joining us.

See you in March at Granite City!

With the promise of fair weather motoring not far away, our next Eastern Iowa MINIs Meet-n-Eat is on the docket for Saturday, February 20th at the Blueport Junction Bar and Grill in Davenport. Rendezvous at 10:45 am with an 11:00 am lunch start time. The food here is all homemade and, we understand, quite good — the perfect solution to the winter motoring blues.

We welcome all local MINI enthusiasts to join us. You can find details and the RSVP listing on the associated NAM Event Calendar Entry (<–link). New folks and those without NAM identities may RSVP by simply leaving a comment to this post.

See you there!

We hosted the inaugural 2010 Eastern Iowa MINIs Meet-n-Eat on Saturday, January 23rd at the Wig and Pen Pub in Iowa City. Thanks to all of the Iowa MINI faithful who were able to join us!

Please check out the photos from this event — they are available via the Gallery link above and directly here: Photos from Wig and Pen in Iowa City 1-23-10

There is also a photo of the subject of our “guessing game” in the Gallery…
Curious? Keep reading…

(more…)

Many thanks to our good buddy IowaWRX over at MINICooperIowa for sharing this cool YouTube video clip of a KCCI TV news report on the new MINI franchise at Willis Auto Campus!

KCCI News Report on new MINI Franchise at Willis Auto Campus

Sounds like they’re as excited as we are!

UPDATE: Willis Auto Campus has made this exciting news official in their latest newsletter. Read and enjoy! –

Willis Auto Campus eNews – January 2010

———————

Eastern Iowa MINIs has confirmed via independent, authoritative sources that Willis Auto Campus in Des Moines will soon become the first dealership in Iowa to be awarded a MINI Cooper franchise!

Look for an official announcement from MINI USA in the coming weeks!

Willis Auto Campus
2121 NW 100th Street
Des Moines, IA 50325
800-568-0497
http://www.willisautocampus.com/

Go ahead. Ask your question about Eastern Iowa MINIs at our new formspring.me Question and Answer page. We’ll do our best to provide you with a prompt reply.

See the link just below the Search feature near the top of the right-hand column on this page.

Your friends at Eastern Iowa MINIs extend our sincere best wishes to all for a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Please be safe and sane over the holidays. We’re looking forward to a great year together in 2010.

Happy motoring!