MINI to Wine and Dine Car Mag Scribes in Leiperâ€™s Fork TN on Friday 9/23

Nathan · Sep 22, 2011

MINI USA is introducing the 2012 Coupe to the auto journalists in Nashville. As part of the events there is a drive out to Leiperâ€™s Fork.

Auto enthusiasts, particularly those with an interest in a certain pint-sized ride, will swarm the bucolic roadways of Leiperâ€™s Fork on Friday as part of the unveiling of the 2012 coupe from Mini Cooper.

For several days already, writers and reviewers from dozens of automobile magazines have been test-driving the newest model of the loveable little car on the streets of Middle Tennessee, and will gather Friday to compare notes over lunch at Puckettâ€™s Grocery. The eatery, of course, is a mainstay in Leiperâ€™s Fork.

Rob Robinson, of Puckettâ€™s, said he met with scouting crews interested in using Leiperâ€™s Fork as the backdrop for introducing the new model and did his best to make them feel welcome.

â€œI filled them full of barbecue and lots of good banana pudding, and walked them around,â€ Robinson said.

Nathalie Bauters, manager of corporate communications for Mini, said that writers participating in the test drive will leave from a Nashville hotel on Friday morning and follow a circuitous route that should bring them to Leiperâ€™s Fork in about three hours. Bluegrass performances and local owners of the Mini Cooper will greet the caravan.

â€œThere will be a whole bunch of Minis,â€ Bauters said. â€œItâ€™s just going to be one big party.â€

As surprising as it may seem, the aw-shucks appeal of Leiperâ€™s Fork has been used more than once to charm international businesses. One of the early visits made by executives scouting new locations for Nissan North Americaâ€™s headquarters included a stop in Leiperâ€™s Fork where buck dancing, bluegrass and Southern cooking were used to put a friendly spell on the auto maker. The company put its roots down in nearby Franklin.

Last year, representatives from Chinaâ€™s business community here for a meeting with then Gov. Phil Bredesen were also treated to an old-fashioned hoe-down. China is one of Tennesseeâ€™s strongest overseas business partners.

The festivities in Leiperâ€™s Fork are expected to get under way around 11:30 a.m. in downtown Leiperâ€™s Fork.
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Source - Leiper's Fork welcomes big party of Minis | The Tennessean | tennessean.com

Nathan · Sep 24, 2011

More coverage from the Tennessean

It was quite the day, even for a quirky place like Leiperâ€™s Fork.

Mini Cooper automobiles were lined up outside Leiperâ€™s Creek Gallery like fine pieces of art. Puckettâ€™s Groceryâ€™s â€œpatioâ€ dining area (once part of the parking lot) was host to the funky Hog Slop String Band playing vintage American roots music, cloggers were clogging in Hee Haw-esque outfits, and local horseman J.R. Root, with his 10-gallon cowboy hat and signature handlebar mustache, rode up on a horse.

And then the 2012 Mini Coupes started rolling in, piloted by automotive journalists from across the United States and Canada in Mini Cooperâ€™s official launch of the snazzy new two-seat coupe.

The only Mini Coupe launch in calendar year 2011 had journalists from an array of publications, websites and TV stations settling in at Puckettâ€™s Grocery for a buffet of barbecue and all the fixinâ€™s, after having spent three hours on Middle Tennessee roads testing the spiffy coupe that tops out at 140 miles per hour.

And according to Yvonne Malmgren with the Mini USA communications team, it was Puckettâ€™s barbecue that made it all happen.

â€œWe were looking at two cities for this launch: Nashville and Seattle. Our logistics team came to Nashville first and ended up concluding there was no reason to visit Seattle,â€ she said as she stood in Puckettâ€™s parking lot, surveying the scene.

The scouting team sent here checked out places like Puckettâ€™s and Loveless Cafe.

Accents draw attention
Rob Robinson, owner of the Leiperâ€™s Fork Puckettâ€™s, noticed that team one day several weeks ago having lunch in his venerable eatery â€” a striking group of women, he called them.

â€œYou donâ€™t hear a Eastern European accent around here that much,â€ he laughed, â€œso I went over and introduced myself and we talked about why they were here at Puckettâ€™s.â€

The mild-mannered Robinson pulled out his guitar and started playing for them on the spot.

â€œI fed them plenty of barbecue, then took them walking through the village, visiting the art gallery and the shops. They seemed to love it all,â€ he said.

Indeed.

Malmgren, a New Jersey resident, said she has found Nashville and Leiperâ€™s Fork to be an â€œamazingâ€ place.

â€œThe hospitality here is so generous, and genuine. And Leiperâ€™s Fork is such a perfect place to launch this car,â€ she said. â€œMini buyers are a creative sort, and this place certainly has that in spades. This new Mini Coupe is a perfect match for this area â€¦ itâ€™s a creative, unique vehicle, a racing vehicle a bit akin to the beautiful horses we see in fields out in the countryside. And our customers for Minis are people who enjoy places like this â€¦ the beautiful art gallery and shops.â€

Test drive includes rural roads
In addition to Puckettâ€™s and Leiperâ€™s Fork, she said the Middle Tennessee area offers great roads for journalists who are testing the new Coupe.

Those journalists left Nashville this morning and drove to places like Fairview, White Bluff, along Highways 48 North, 49 West, 45 South and the Natchez Trace before coming to the all important lunch stop.

So how did it all stack up, the Q and the area, for these journalists?

According to Malmgren, Ken Gross from Playboy, who had come to an early lunch so he could catch an early flight out of Nashville, said it was the best barbecue heâ€™s ever had, and he considers himself an aficionado.

Fred Diamond, with Motoring TV in Toronto, said he has found he loves the people in these parts.

â€œTheyâ€™re so nice, so friendly,â€ he said.

As for the Coupe, the vehicle which brought him here, he said â€œItâ€™s the best Mini theyâ€™ve built, though I suspect it will be polarizing. People will either love it or hate it.â€

Emillio Lezcano, from the Miami Herald, called the area a wonderful place.

â€œIâ€™d like to live here,â€ he said.

The Cuban native said adding to the allure is that heâ€™s â€œa good fan of country music.â€

As for the Coupe, he called it a wonderful car ahead of its time.

Jon Wong of Detroit, Americaâ€™s Motor City, praised the car and the area, but said this trip is better than his last he.

â€œThe last time I was here, I was testing a car and got ticketed on my first five minutes on the Natchez Trace,â€ he said. â€œToday is a better dayâ€¦.no tickets.â€
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