NEWMINISCOTLAND IN THE NEWS

MINIS ON PARADE TO MARK FILM'S LAUNCH Aberdeen Press & Journal 09 September 2003 A Cavalcade of Minis will hit the streets of Aberdeen this week to mark a film premiere. At least 20 cars Minis will head through the city to the UGC Cinema at Queen's Links where a remake of the classic 60s film, The Italian Job, is being screened. The film - whose 1969 original starred Michael Caine - is about a daring robbery in Turin carried out by crooks driving Minis. Thursday's Mini Cavalcade was the idea of the Aberdeen group New Mini Scotland. Member Tony Yule said: "We had heard stores of the runaway success of early screenings of the moving in the US. "Hundreds of Mini owners were turning out to watch the film on giant outdoor screens." Aberdeen car dealership John Clark became involved in the premiere. Proceeds from ticket sales will go to charity. At least 20 cars will be taking part including some from the Aberdeen Mini Owners Club, which is mainly for classic Mini models. The cavalcade starts at 7pm and follows a route from the park and ride at Kingswells and head into Aberdeen along Queens Road to Union Street, before turning into Broad Street, along the Gallowgate to Mounthooly roundabout and along West and East North Street down the Beach Boulevard to the Beach Esplanade and Queen's Links. The remake of the Italian Job, starring Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron and Edward Norton, is set in Los Angeles.

MINI CAVALCADE MAKES BIG IMPRESSION Press & Journal 12 September 2003 A Mini cavalcade hit the streets of Aberdeen last night to mark the premiere of the re-make of classic British film The Italian Job. Local Mini enthusiasts from throughout the North-east converged on the Kingswells Park and Ride car park before driving through the city to the first showing of the American blockbuster at the UGC Cinema at Queen's Links Leisure Park. The rally was organised by local members of online community New Mini Scotland. Member Tony Yule said rumours had been circulating on the Internet for some time that something special would be organised for the premiere of the movie. He added: "We had heard stories of the runaway success of early screenings of the movie in the USA, where hundreds of Mini owners were turning out to watch the film on giant outdoor screens. "The result was that we contacted John Clark Mini who were involved in the premiere and it was decided to make this a night to remember." The Aberdeen Mini Owners Club, which caters primarily for classic Minis, also participated, bringing a reminder of the original film. The route took the drivers along Queen's Road on to Union Street, Broad Street, Gallowgate, Mounthooly roundabout, East and West North Street, Beach Boulevard, Beach Esplanade and into the Queen's Links car park in time for the 8.30pm screening. The Minis were parked together in a section of the car park which was set aside for them. The remake of the Italian Job features three new Minis performing spectacular stunts on the streets of Los Angeles. John Clark Mini, the local dealership, was inundated with requests for tickets for the screening and in less than two hours all tickets were gone. The motorists raised money for Whizzkidz, the nominated Mini charity while celebrating the launch of the film. The original 1969 film starred Michael Caine as crook Charlie Crocker. He puts together a team of villains who go to Italy, get the better of the Mafia, and pull off a massive heist before making their getaway in Minis with 4million. The film ends with a literal cliffhanger - the crooks are on a bus laden with gold, making good their escape, but end up hanging precariously over the edge of the cliff with the gold at the bottom of the bus, and Caine utters the infamous line: "Hang on a minute lads, I've got a great idea . . ." The US version of the film stars Mark Wahlberg.

NMS AWARDED MINIWORLD CLUB SITE OF THE MONTH November 2003 NEWMINISCOTLAND was selected as the club website of the month in MiniWorld Magazine's Webwatch. Click the image on the right to see what they said.

NMS REVIEWED in MINI Magazine Web Watch November 2003 Founded by a group of Scottish New Mini enthusiasts, this slick forums based site caters for all Scottish New Mini adventurers. Similar in content to the Mini2.com website, it features reports, pictures and movies of past events, as well as details of up and coming fixtures on the New Mini Scotland social calendar. It's an unoffiial site, but full of information for Scottish new MINI owners.