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Following on from confirming BMW and MINI would be backing the UK Government’s so-called “scrappage scheme” MINI UK have come over all patriotic and are urging consumers to take advantage of the scheme to buy British in the form of any member of the MINI range, all of which are currently constructed in the UK.

Would be MINI owners sat at home sipping a cuppa below their favourite portrait of Her Maj could be heard scurrying for their savings and old banger’s MOT certificate as Andy Hearn, MINI UK General Manager tugged at their patriotic heart strings with the following statement:

With close to 150 UK dealers and manufacturing bases in Oxford, Swindon and Hams Hall, I am certain that British people will recognise the importance of MINI to the UK economy, particularly as this year we are celebrating half a century of MINI in Britain.

There must be something in the air lately, as transport Minister Geoff Hoon, recently seen behind the wheel of an all electric MINI E, was also encouraging British motorists to fly the flag by announcing the UK Government had come good on previous promises in legalising the displaying of UK flags on number plates. As of last week the Union flag, Cross of St George, Saltire or Red Dragon of Wales are all permissible, but will not be enough if you travel to other European countries where only the European flag or an additional oval GB sticker displayed on your vehicle will do.

Meanwhile, Briton’s favourite red top, the super-soaraway-Sun featured a pull out feature on the MINI this week, including more implausible Photoshop interpretations of the allegedly forthcoming MINI roadster, and free tickets to this years MINI United event. On the future direction and expansion of the MINI empire Ian Robertson, head of global sales and marketing at BMW is quoted as saying

There is a lot of scope to extend the Mini family and stretch the brand with exciting new models – we can promise more new models in the near future.

Speaking of Photoshop, MINI has revealed details of a MINI Convertible designed by New York based designers Phillipe and David Blond in honour of singer Katy Perry who will be performing at this years Life Ball charity event in Austria. The MINI is nothing if not bold, clad in pink leopard-skin.

The Life Ball MINI 2009 will be offered in a prize draw at this year’s event. Tickets can be purchased at any Life Ball event, BMW and MINI dealers in Austria or directly from Life Ball. All proceeds will go to Life Ball and projects fighting HIV/AIDS.

Finally, talking of fashion, MINI have just announced a new range of clothes and accessories available to buy online and via the MINI dealer network under the banner of the “MINI Fresh Up Collection”, which apparently “features a wide range of materials and accessories to ensure that you have the perfect outfit for the warmth and sun”, the official press release further enthuses

Devotees of good taste will find all they require for anything from an urban stroll through the city to a refreshing trip into the countryside. This stylish collection offers cool graphics, sporty and functional styles, logo basics and much more besides.

Look out for a few people clad in items from the collection at MINI United, now only a few weeks away. The proximity of MINIs big birthday bash is made ever more apparent by the MINI PR machine switching up a gear and several national and regional papers having a go at summing up 50 years of motoring history in features varying from several pages to a few paragraphs in length. All good news for the MINI brand, which is not something we can often report in the current economic climate.

Tags: department for transport, flags, life ball, mini e, mini united, scrappage scheme, union jack

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 2nd, 2009 at 3:52 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.