So I was loading groceries into my Mini the other day, and this man comes along and complements me on the car - asks if he can look inside - very cordial nice guy. Afterwards, he says to me, "It's a nice car - I always see chicks driving these things." WTF? So now I'm driving around checking out who I see driving Mini Coopers. OMG.

 

Ignore "cordial nice guy" who has his head in the clouds.

 

Well, when I had a fancy Jag XK, macho men would steal glances and, on rare occasions, approach me at the gas station and sort of quickly mutter, "nice ride." More envy, or rage, than praise.

Now attractive younger women approach me and check out my MINI and giggle and say, "That's such a cute car!!" I'm too old to pretend they're flirting.

But, given the choice of dudes grudgingly admiring my Jag or having attractive women telling me my MINI is cute.... I'll just say real men drive MINIs 'cause women love these cars.

And, besides, my lovely wife actually kissed me in a parking lot after I skillfully executed the swift under-the-rear-bumper kick move to auto-open the rear doors on my Clubman. I take it where and when I can get it.

 

HAHA! Awesome!

 

You're right. And I am ignoring him. It was just felt like a handshake and then a unexpected slap in the face. LOL.

 

When I see another MINI on the road, I'd say that the driver is more likely to be female. This really isn't based on anything, but just the stretches of roads that I drive on. Maybe the "cuteness" of the car is an attributing factor? Or small = less manly? Who knows?
It's okay since I'm enjoying my F56S.

 

My question is, do you wave when you see them? The enthusiast's wave is slowly becoming a thing of the past I fear.

 

I married my wife cause she's cute and I always thought MINI's were cute, that's the main reason I grabbed it (and her). If your "parking lot buddy" has a "problem" with it tell him he can discuss it with me by the dumpster of my old middle school (Perry Middle school in Providence).

 

No I never do. No one has ever waved at me, and I've owned 3 Minis so far - working on getting #4 this Saturday.

 

Haha - I'll remember to pass along that suggestion next time this happens.

 

Like it or not, many more minis are driven by women. Nearly every single one I have seen in Central Florida, and Bogota for that matter!
If that bothers you, then you have other issues that will not be worked out on this board.
And this comes from a multi Miata owner...as well as a current owner of the famous car that was originally marketed to women...67 Mustang.
Same cuteness as a Miata, Boxter, or XK8 Roadster... which is prolly what attracts them to it. Matters not how much fun to drive they are.
Troy

 

Facts? Other than observational - I see mostly women driving them. Here is one link https://www.truecar.com/blog/truecar...registrations/

 

Here is SoCal on the coast I see a fairly even mix of male and female MINI drivers. But I notice the females more.

 

A few years back, one of the major automotive magazines did a story about Guy cars and Chick cars.

For each, they did a list of 10 attributes or characteristics. For the Guy car list, the final one was "well, its a Mustang". For the Chick car list, the final one was "well, its a Miata".

My point for this thread, is that for a Chick car, the 10th attribute was not "well, its a MINI".

I'll add that I do know a couple of professionally successful woman, and yes indeed, their 2nd "for fun", weekend car, is indeed a Miata.

 

Was at a Shell station and had a problem with the card reader. The woman (PC, she was young girl) came out to reset the reader, she said, "Oh, cute car." I replied "thanks." A guy in a jacked up, wide tire truck in the next pump smirked. When I was finished and fired up the S (JCW tune, flap open exhaust, lowered) his smirk went away. Blank look on his face when I passed him later on the interstate as he tried to keep those wide tires between the stripes and seeover the hood
My theory: The increased size of the truck engine, the size of tires, and the higher it's raised= size of the owners male appendage. Negatively.

 

I own a MINI (also a Jaguar and a Harley) so this morning when I took a shower I confirmed it. Yep, I'm still a man.

 

I’ve ran the gamut of cars styles and I’ve never considered about what gender “should” be driving it when purchasing. It’s just about how much fun and engaging it is to drive. Wife currently drives a 400 hp Explorer and I have a tiny Cooper... No insecurities here.

 

Bought an s for my 16 old DAUGHTER. LOL.

 

Ah, my dear friend Keith - proprietor of "Loose Nut Garage" where my son worked.

I stopped by, and then leaving I noted Keith pop out of the shop door as I fired Gollum up.

Keith: "Wow, that sounds angry!"...

Me: Waits. knowing his sense of humor...

Keith: "I'd be angry too, if I was a Mini!".

Thanks Keith...

;-)

Cheers,

Charlie

 

I wave, but no one ever waves back... or even looks.

It's unfortunate.

 

51% of licensed drivers in the US are female. Found this stat while checking out new insurance companies. No further comment.

 

I myself wave everytime but I’m not sure if they wave back, really strange as back in the Caribbean they still wave.
Minis are also not chic cars in the Caribbean.

 

The guy likely meant nothing by that comment. Just a conversational point to turn a short conversational exchange into something a bit longer. People oftentimes do not have a filter on what they say or how it can be interpreted while others hear things in a comment or conversation that are really not there. Certainly the guy was not questioning your masculinity because you own and drive a Mini. He could have said "it's a nice car - I see a lot of these around town but never up close". If he intended to to insult you he would have said "nice car - but you have to feel a little like a ******* driving a chicks car, no?". I hear people misspeak quite often. In nearly all those instances no ill was intended in the comment. Sometimes you can turn the comment back on them in a lighthearted way so they realize how their comment could be taken the wrong way "Trust me, I'm not a transgender" and laugh.

As an aside - the Mini is marketed as a tight little community of owners that share the fun of owning the car. I have not seen this unless you are at a Mini rally or a cars and coffee event. Unlike a Corvette or a Jeep, there is rarely ever a friendly wave from another owner. Having owned a few Corvettes over the years, lately, even that community has lost much of the "wave" mentality.

 

Im in north FL but what I see driving around skews female and 40+. Who shows up to club/enthusiast meets are more 50/50

 

Meh, people's pre-conceptions are just that, nothing more than loose electrons bouncing around a hollow cranial cavity...

I drive a Mini & 4-cyl Mustang, while my wife drives a Wrangler Unlimited...and I get a whack in the arm if I don't wave to a passing Wranger when in the driver's seat. I tried the wave thing with Mini owners when I got mine and got more head-turn looks than waves back, so I gave up on that.