A great write-up on Autoblog (thanks for the link, Ricardo) …

… The event is called Minis on Top, and the 2011 running represents the 9th year for these passionate fans of the brand … That’s nine years running, without any direct support from Mini USA. Not that the automaker hasn’t been paying attention. In fact, Mini President Jim McDowell has been attending MoT for the last six years. This year, McDowell brought along a KISS-edition Mini Countryman, a Cooper Coupe prototype and a basketful of balloons to toss randomly at other cars. If you’re going to run a fun brand… you’d better be fun yourself, and McDowell seems like the perfect person to helm this ship …

This great picture of GPMINI (and me) was uploaded to Flickr by Alex, and he kindly sent me a higher resolution version …

Thanks, Alex!

A nice picture summary of the weekend viewable on memolane right now!

Now that the Coupe embargo has lifted, I can post pictures from my “Kingly” ride up Mount Washington in the passenger seat of the Coupe – a very enjoyable ride, chatting with a great guy (Thomas) experiencing his first trip up the mountain, and taking pictures of the drive instead of my normal driving!

As for the Coupe:
Initial thoughts seeing it from the outside were somewhat disappointing, as without the “boxy” rear it looks very un-MINI-like; however like the Countryman, it has perfect MINI styling inside and of course handles and sounds like a MINI too (though of course I don’t know what it’s like to drive!)
The Coupe felt much higher quality that MINIs I’ve owned – I noticed that too with the Countryman test drive, but the Coupe seems improved again. Great looking / feeling leather, and generally a nice finish. Good job, MINI.

OK, now for some pictures (or visit the Gallery):

GPMINI follows

Loads of little MINIs down below!

It’s getting foggy:

NOTE: for those wondering how I got to ride in a pre-production, un-released, car: MINI USA fabulously offered this “prize” in a fund-raising auction during MINIsOnTop, and my high bid goes to Make-A-Wish and the Mount Washington Observatory.

Now that the Coupe embargo has lifted, I can post my Animoto-created video from MINIsOnTop 2011 (which includes pictures taken while riding to the top of Mount Washington in the Coupe) … Enjoy!

UPDATE: A higher resolution mp4 file can be downloaded from here

MINIsOnTop 2003 was a long time ago! 70+ MINIs had gathered for mid-summer at Mount Washington, from a forum discussion on MINI2 – I remember talking to someone afterwards who said that they had seen the discussions, and sent a check off to someone called Steve Barnatt, with no idea who Steve was or if he even existed. They figured, worst case they had lost the money and would have a nice weekend in New Hampshire!

As it turned out, all of us had a fabulous weekend, with spectacular weather and when we finally reached the summit of Mount Washington, clear sky, warm air, and an amazing sunset. Few of the 2003 attendees are still present so for everybody new to MINIsOnTop, here’s a quick video edit of that first year, courtesy of Animoto and YouTube:

Hmmm … video capabilities like this were non-existent in 2003; how curious will our MOT2011 activities be in another decade?! Hopefully at least the cars and the camaraderie won’t have changed too much.

Another lovely “fridge magnet” beautifully made by Todds Mods (Motoring Badges):

There were many “splats” driving back to the hotel from Mount Washington last night, but only this morning did I see the carnage of that 20 miles …

At various times during MINIsOnTop, Brian had a “three shots” camera set up for anyone to take pictures of themselves – with assorted props to make things more amusing. I expect soon that Brian will upload all the snapshots for everyone to check out, but meanwhile I photo’ed a few of them during last nights slideshow …

Fun

Now a tradition thanks to sponsorship from MINI USA Eastern Region, the after-the-top gathering offered snacks including various tasty pizza:

However, liquid refreshment at the bar was more popular!

A great time for everyone to relax after a fun day…