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The wife an I went from Fairfield CA, just north of San Francisco to Fontaina Village NC with two 45 LBS Basset hounds and everything we needed for the two of us. That was over 5000 miles and no problems.

 

Take him to some Mini events. Let me catch the Mini vibe from other Miniacs.

 

I just got back from a 450 mile trip to the beach with two adults and 3 dogs in my Mini. I lowered the rear seats and placed a Papasan seat cushion in the rear area. Plenty of space for the dogs and 2 bags back there.

I also play keyboards in a rock and roll band on the weekends. We played last saturday evening and had to carry my rig home in the back of my Cooper. I managed to get my entire keyboard rig in the back (not including the emense keyboard). This is quite a bit of gear and everyone around the load in laughed that I could get it all in and still have room for another adult and more equipment.

I'm 6' 3" and go around 260 so your husband is fish food in my estimation. Go find yourself one that really appreciates your fabulous tastes! A Sabb, give me a freaking break!

 

Three, yes three Saint Bernards ride in the back of my MINI quite happily. The fourth one would have to ride in the front seat, but I haven't tried that yet.

Oh, and I'm a scientist too!

 

I have really really enjoyed reading the replies to my post. I especially like the pictures of the puppies- thanks Bumble's Angel and PGT! Someone should start a post with pictures of their dogs in their MINIs. I'll post Archie inside of Sir Max as soon as he arrives (I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!)

So, the dear husband (DH) read the posts and his comment was, "I want to see all your MINI people test drive a Saab." My first thought was, "Wow, my MINI people- my DH has already subconsciously accepted me into their group!"

Actually, what came out of the responses is I started to get super excited about my car rather than super nervous that he wasn't accepting it. My car is going to be in my posession by the end of the month. I'm driving a 1997 VW Jetta right now so this is going to be a serious upgrade for me.

Thank you everyone!!!

 

I learned how to drive stick on a 900 Turbo and my buddy has an '05 I drive quite often. Tell him 'no thanks, rebadged GM crap isn't for me' Besides, "Born from jets" has to be the weakest marketing slogan this decade. Saab hasn't had anything to do with jets in decades

 

If those are his complaints i don't think you will ever convince him to love it as much as you do. To each his own. What matters is you are excited about the car. You should convince him that since you are excited, he needs to be excited for you, no matter what car you want.
Basically convince him that he needs to be happy for the fact you will be happy.
Don't worry though after you get the car and he gets to spend time in it, he'll turn his thinking around. I bet he'll want to drive it more and more.

 

I have test driven a SAAB..... *yawn*

 

I learned how to drive a stick on a 1975 BMW 2002. My first car! That car was a blast to drive, too.

Guess who taught DH how to drive a stick??? I did (and I don't let him forget it either ). His drive at the time was a 1981 BMW 320i.

I do think he'll get over this- but he's already planning his "revenge". In 5 years it will be his turn to get a new car- we alternate every 5 years and keep our cars for 10 years. He's threatening a motorcycle, and keeping the Saab for skiing and camping. I don't know if the Saab will last that long- it is true that the reliability has not been stellar on it. That was one advantage to the MINI, their reliability ratings are very good.

 

work the investment $$ angle: tell him yr new MINI wont lose 30-40% of its value when U drive it off the lot, and that it will depreciate an average of 8-9 percent a year over its first five years, only Lexus finishes anywhere near close.

In the car biz, that is exceptional for *any* car under $60,000, and certainly better than a Saab...

 

I picked up Sir Maximilain today. I'm officially motoring now.

The hubby was in town just long enough to sign the necessary paperwork with me and then he left for work. This led to a situation where he got to see Max before I did. He was still trying to pop my happy bubble when he left.

But then I got to drive my new car all by myself without his interruption all day long!!!

I am SOOOOOOO happy!!! Too bad he's not here to experience my happiness iwth me. But that means more motoring for me!

So here's my stupid first gear confessional- I was SO excited by my new car that I was bound and determined to wave enthusiastically at every MINI driver I saw. Well, I didn't see any . But I did find myself waving at some pretty stupid cars that don't look anything like MINIs once I got a better look. I mean, really, a VW Cabriolet with hood stripes???? What was I thinking????

 

Morris08- Congratulations! What a joy to have an entire day of solo driving in Sir M. Happy Motoring!
(Don't worry about the wave. . . I wave to MINIs from my other car, the Saturn, all the time!)

PS- Sir Max is BEAUTIFUL!

 

Thanks Scoopmama! I just set up my signature so now Sir Max can be seen when I post.
Every time I walk in the garage I smile and giggle giddily.

 

Congratulations. I have had my MINI around 4 years now and still smile sometimes when I get to drive it.

 

I missed the pre-posession discussion, but if he's not happy, I say trade him in for a Asian Dude, like myself. We fit in just about anything...we're small and flexible! HAHA! Don't let the name "french_toaster" fool ya. It's a long story.

Anyway, just wondering if you did attempt to put your bike inside. I am a cyclist, but would never dare put it in the MINI because it may cause damage to both your bike and MINI interior.

If I may, I suggest getting the OEM Fork Mounted Bike Rack. One thing though, on my R53 MCS, the spoiler hits the back of the bike tray when the tailgate is in the fully open position. I hated this! (BUT, maybe the it's not an issue with the R56, since the body is a tad bit longer.) I tried looking for other alternatives, MINI and non-MINI products, but eventually came back to the OEM roof rack and fork mount system. I put up with holding the tailgate down, when accessing the boot, for a while and came up with a real easy MOD to keep the tailgate from raising all the way up. Let me know if you go this route and I can share the solution with you.

CONGRATS! AND LET THE DH EAT YOUR DUST!

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The MiniFini bike rack would be the only way to go: http://www.minifini.com/ShopDetail.aspx?id=8