New York International Auto Show

MINI was nice enough to send me two tickets to the NY International Auto Show. I went after work on April 15 and got my first up close and personal look at the MINI E. You can click on the photos to see them full size.

In the driver's seat of the Mini E

The car was getting a lot of attention at the show. Visitors were allowed inside and were able to open the rear hatch but were not allowed under the hood. That is because of the high voltage control box located there. I had a nice chat with John Genese from Prestige MINI of Mahwah, NJ. He said this was the first one he’d seen as well. (My dealer is Habberstad MINI in Huntington, NY, by the way.)  Apparently, this is the only one to visit the east coast.

It’s not one of the cars in the field trial as evidenced by the humongous lettering on the side. Those cars won’t have it but John said it can be applied if desired. With all the money I’m spending on this lease, I think I’ll pass on adding custom lettering.

Here are some more pictures from the show. I’d like to thank my friend Raj for snapping a few pictures of me with the MINI E. I’d also like to give honorable mention to Nik Software for their Photoshop plug-in, Viveza. Without it, you’d never be able to make out who was in the driver’s seat at all.

I’m now looking forward to two events. My electrical inspection is scheduled for April 25 and MINI invited the east coast “Pioneers” to an orientation meeting in New York City on the evening of May 13. We’re supposed to get an introduction to the car at that time and it will be my first opportunity to meet the others involved in the field trial.