It all started for me in the early 70's when I first saw a Mini in "The Italian Job" on late night TV. In the late 90's I looked into having an original Mini Cooper rebuilt and sent over from the UK, but never pulled the trigger. When the new Mini came out I was tempted, but again didn't act.

When I first saw the photos of the new '07 models online, I decided it was finally time to act. I'm sure there are lot's of improvements overall, but I wasn't thrilled with the new style dash or some of the exterior styling changes on the '07. So I have just purchased a DS/B '06 Cooper S. I was to late to custom order (I would have wanted a PW/B, but the dealer only had it in Auto), but Dark Silver is a good second choice for me.

Thanks for the great website!

 

I hate to even admit I saw Michael Caine and his blue, blue eyes in the movie that year...showing my age. I too fell in love with the itty bitty cars and have wanted one for years. Now I own one and am the envy of my small town....only MINI around!!! Congrats on your car, nice pics. Welcome to NAM and Happy and Safe Motoring!!

 

Welcome to MINI world!

 

I did the drooling thing as well. I too just pulled the trigger and bought a used...ahhmm.. preowned 2004 MCS that looks almost exactly like yours. The funny thing is that our family has a 1 year old labradoodle and his name is Cooper as well I am 44 years old and my MCS shows that I am mentally about 28 years old!

 

Welcome Amy, I'm new as well and just made nearly the same choice (taking an 06 DS as my back-up color choice). I hope it's ok to admit I really like the Italian Job remake - both movies though are great selling points for these cars.

 

Grats the car looks awesome.

 

congratulations and welcome. great looking MINI, i think you made a fine choice. and a great choice of lens for your interior shot, too.

edit: - oh yeah, i see you have the panther leather seats... nice

 

Welcome to NAM...nice DS MCS!

 

love that fish-eye interior!

 

Welcome to NAM, very nice looking MINI.
Happy Motoring.

- KP

 

Welcome. Great car!!!

 

Me, too!!! I was busy considering my options in this regard (and had a lot of fun watching the original TIJ) when I perchance saw my very first '02 Cooper (PS/B). Hmmm...air bags? ABS? AC? I was sold and placed my order. From there the love story just continued....and it's funny how so much of my attachment both to my current R50 and now to R56 still relates directly to the classic Mini features. It will never be "just another car" to me.

 

Nicely done on both the DS MCS and the fish eye photos.

 

Congratulations, Amy. Well, you FINALLY took the plunge. Over 30 years of waiting! Is there an award for prudence? Thanks to you I went looking for a copy of the movie, and found a gift set of both the new AND the old on Amazon for $12 & change. I have never seen either, so once they get here & I get some popcorn, I will be all set for a rainy day

 

Thanks for the welcome everyone. If we ever get some sunshine here in Minnesota, I'll be taking some more fisheye photos (that lens was my "other" Christmas toy).

Dirk, you are in for a treat when you watch your "The Italian Job" double feature. The new one is not really a remake of the original, but I enjoyed it once I got over that.

Just to set the record straight, I'm a Tom not an Amy. Amygdaloid is a geological term!

 

I first feel in love with the MINIs when I first saw one in 2002, and finally took the plunge in 2006. I am not old enough to have seen the original TIJ when it was made, but I did stumble on it in a video store last year. It is now one of my favorite movies. I love it when they dive the minis up on top of the airport, but I hate the part where they shove them over the cliff at the end.
Welcome to NAM and Happy Motoring!!

 

i agree with you on the '07 changes. welcome to the club and happy new year!

 

We do TIJ double features often at my house. Although I must admit to watching the original on a bi-monthly basis. Its the whole reason for having a projector.
My mini obsession started when I first saw one in Hong Kong. From then on I had to have one.

Happy Motoring!

 

Welcome and checkout Sota MINIs

http://www.sotaminis.com/

 

My Dad is a retired geologist , and all our vacations included a lecture on whatever rocks we saw . Somehow we managed to miss amygdaloids . Now I know they are lava that has inclusions (thanks, wikipedia). Sounds pretty cool-looking , but I don't think I have ever seen one . I know we never went to the island in Lake Superior by that name. What made you choose that for a name?

 

sounds like a good choice to me...!

 

I'm 43, going on my early 20's again. This car is awesome!

 

Welcome! I'm a newb here too. Love that interior shot.
Nice car!

 

Well, I have been to the island in Lake Superior with this name (it's very cool by the way)! I spend a lot of time in the Keweenaw peninsula of Michigan, I went to school there and have a cabin there now. It is a copper mining area and "amygdaloid" is one of the formations with the copper, another is conglomerate. Anyway, I just like the word and have used it as a screen name for years.

The Keweenaw has some outstanding roads for Mini driving that I can't wait to try this summer.

http://www.keweenaw.info/locations_71_scenicdrives.aspx

They run a Pro Rally on many of these roads every year at the Lake Superior Perfomance Rally (formerly Lake Superior Pro Rally, and before that the "Press On Regardless" Rally). One of the coolest stages is on Brockway Mountain Drive, see this link for a glimpse.

http://www.cableamerica.com/Michigan/brock1.shtml