How many MINIs?

[Michelle]

This picture is hanging on the wall of a MINI Service Advisor at my dealer:



The advisor knew the name of the ferry, so I did some goggling around and found a thread on the North American Motoring website.

Here's the story (from 2004):

A group of MINIs from The Eastern Shore of Maryland converged on the small town of Oxford recently to find out how many could fit on The Oxford-Bellevue Ferry. By the time it was over and the photos had been snapped, a total of 18 MINIs fit on the ferry. The ferry service is the oldest privately operated ferry service in the US and was established in 1683.

A local paper ran the story:

18 MINI Coopers crowd onto ferry

By: RAY STEVENS , Special to The Star Democrat
08/05/2004

OXFORD - At 7:30 a.m. Sunday, there were six MINI Coopers in line to board the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry. Was this a strange coincidence? Not really. The popular little English car from the '60s was brought back by BMW two years ago and has become wildly popular around the world. Even after two years of production, new owners may wait several months for a specific car.

There are nine MINIs owned by people who live in Oxford, ironic, as they're produced in Oxford, England.

So what are six MINIs doing at this early morning hour in Oxford with more arriving every few minutes?

This was the idea of ferry owner Tom Bixler. Tom and his wife, Judy, own and operate the Oxford to Bellevue ferry, the oldest privately owned and operated ferry in the U.S. And, as Tom said, with a twinkle in his eye, "it just seemed like a great idea to get as many MINIs on the ferry as we could and take them for a ride."

How many MINIs fit on the ferry? Until Sunday morning no one knew for certain. After measuring Ray Stevens' chili pepper red and white MINI Cooper S, it was estimated by the Bixlers, about 15. Then Capt. John Pepe arrived to say that, with good planning, 18 would fit. Turns out he was right.

As the sun peeked in and out of the clouds Sunday morning, 18 cars arrived by 8 a.m., the appointed hour, and began loading. Thirty minutes later, after careful maneuvering and a lot of laughs, 18 MINI Coopers with vanity plates like "MININME" or with names like "Harriet the Chariot" (with flames on the sides) had been loaded on the ferry. MINIs loaded two by two - jockeyed for position on the ferry, organized by Tom and Judy Bixler, John Pepe and Sandy Orem. The last two backed on and parallel parked. People exited through sunroofs and out the back hatches they were parked so tightly.

Friends, family, dogs and kids stood on the dock watching. To record the moment, Henry Hale, Oxford fireman and Town Commissioner, provided a fire truck from the Oxford Volunteer Fire Company to allow professional photographer John Bildahl to photograph this event. Bildahl lives in Annapolis but his father, Wayne, is an Oxford resident with a British racing green/white topped MINI. Bildahl was fascinated by the idea of a ferry load of MINIs and has contacted the manufacturer, BMW, about commercial uses of the photos.

After a short trip on the Tred Avon, the ferry returned to unload 18 polished, loved and unscathed MINIs on the dock once again.

I googled the photographer and found the picture:



Edit: Here's another picture of the sign I found:



Hey SG or Scottie -- Could you post the picture of the cars on the ferry in this thread... they wanted to see pictures from the event.

[LeMansX5]

Good find. Very cool. So the "big" MINI dealership is open?

[SuperGreg]

Hey SG or Scottie -- Could you post the picture of the cars on the ferry in this thread... they wanted to see pictures from the event.

Ha Ha Ha
It's an archived "read only" thread, so no can do.
BTW Michelle, I just got a new MINI dealer here in Tempe, about 20 min. from my home. Just the second one in AZ. The other one is in North Scottsdale, about 50 minutes away, woo hoo

[Michelle]

Originally Posted by LeMansX5

Good find. Very cool. So the "big" MINI dealership is open?

The store will be opening on Monday, April 19th!

The moving flyer is really cute... it's a picture of a MINI with black and white cow print. Above the car it says, "WE'RE MOOOOOOOOOOOOOVING!" I'm sure all of the MINI stores that have to move (because they're currently with a BMW dealership) will use the same one. It's adorable.

[Michelle]

Originally Posted by SuperGreg

Ha Ha Ha
It's an archived "read only" thread, so no can do.
BTW Michelle, I just got a new MINI dealer here in Tempe, about 20 min. from my home. Just the second one in AZ. The other one is in North Scottsdale, about 50 minutes away, woo hoo

Well that stinks about the "read only" thread. Oh wells.

Very cool about the closer dealership! How many miles does the MINI have on it? I'm sure it's not as much of a garage queen as the X5 was!