how come to all my friends and to everyone i know that i will be getting a mini they say its a girls car or a girly car? what makes it a girly car because its small??

 

you need a better class of friends

 

I hear this too. While it'll be my wife's car I NEVER thought of minis as a girls car. We went up to a guy in a parking lot when we were thinking of getting one to ask him if he liked it. He was real hesitant to tell us it was his car first saying it was his wife's. Then when he heard we were thinking of getting one he relaxed and raved about the car. He then went onto say everyone in his neighborhood thinks its a chick's car.

I think of the Vdub as chick car and all the small BMW sportscars. I would even say a Miata is more of a chick car than a Mini. Personally I could care less. They obviously don't know what they're missing.

 

Miata is known as a "chick car" but it's also one of the most capable club racers around. It's a great car. The Mini is much less of a "chick car". I live in SoCal and see more men than women driving Minis. Our Mini is my Wife's main car. But I drive it almost as much as she does.

Besides? who cares what people think?

You could go the way and get a "big man truck" jack it up, huge tires. But then again, people would think you're compensating for a lack of something else.

:-)

 

It's the cute factor...forget about it and take them for a ride when you get it... Then again, tiger cubs are cute too, 'til you wrestle with one.

The "new class of friends" idea is a good one or just help them evolve to where you are. An "oh ****" handle could do it.

edit: Wow, censored. Sorry saw that here https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...85#post1555185

 

I think they've based their opinions on the NYT article which listed the MC as a "girly" car and the Subaru Forester as a true "lesbian" car. I say ditch your friends and make new ones on NAM.

 

Sometimes when I'm driving my wife's car (PW '06 MCS Cabrio) for whatever reason, I'll get some funny looks. I'll tell them "oh, this is my wife's car", and they get the "okay, that makes sense" look on their face.

Of course, I follow it up immediately with "Mine's identical, except it's blue with a blue top".

 

Your friends have never seen these MINIs:

MINI Cooper S JCW


MINI Cooper Works in the UK


Drag Race MINI


MINIs on the track in South Africa

These are hardly what I would consider to be girly cars.
How about a VW Beetle or Pontiac Solstice?

Thinking of any car as being masculine or feminine is just someone's thought about that car largely based on their impression or stereotypes.

I don't have any friends and I don't run into people that call my MINI a girly car.

 

I get it from time to time.

On of my female friends constantly calls me "f*ggot" now (I think she's jealous). Even though she's playing, we're not that much of friends anymore due to that.

At a stoplight a guy in a 300C asked me "Nice car, does it come in a guys size". I guess to him, the bigger the car, the bigger the man you are.

Half the guys on another forum I'm a member of called it a "chick car" or "girlie" (The other half loved it). Pretty much any car to them that's small is a chick car. Scion TC, S2000, Bugs, miatas, solstice, etc. I'll be happy in my 207hp girls car, while they go and drive ecoboxes.

The rest of my friends drive highly modded WRXs and if theres girls with us, they usually want to ride shotgun in my car. No complaints here

In the end, I love eveything about my car (except those cupholders!) and I couldn't care less what anyone else thinks.

 

yeah some guys think its a girls' car.. i dont know why or sometimes they say a MC is a girl's car and a MCS is a guy's car!

its funny how people think.. like some say a beetle is a girls car and i see alot of girls driving beetles all over SoCal..

we dont care what people think if we are enjoying our MINIs :P

 

I hate to say this but these friends are only demonstrating that they are not very bright...or at best not very informed. I'm embarrassed for them!!! They seem to know little about stereotypes and since (the MINI has been out for many years) even less about cars. Such a narrow view and weak-minded behavior is pretty sad.

 

Hmmm... My wife drives the WRX. Does it count toward my manhood that I'm selling a 930 for the MCS?

 

Again, from one of the women in the MINI community, what is the deal with using "girly" or any other femme reference to cars as a SLAM? Ask them about Danica Patrick, why dontcha? These types of "worries" and threads have popped up regularly since the MINI was introduced and all I can say is enough already! MINI men have nothing to overcompensate for...

 

I guess he has a need to compensate. You do know that the size of the car is inversely proportional to the size of ....

(Oops. I better watch out or the mods will get me.)

 

Take them for a ride on some good twisties and as their intelligent end begins contracting on your seat surfaces and they are holding on for dear life...tell them to stop being such a girl and shut-up...

 

Not at all...we are on the same wavelength, Anne.

That usually "ends up" selling more MINIs, eh?

 

--It's american culture. We like things big and huge and wasteful. Men are big and bulky, macho and muscular. Women are small and dainty and cute. So naturally small brained creatures make that association.

Real car lovers will know the difference. I don't think the MINI is a girl's or girly car. I think it IS cute. So maybe that is why people think it's feminine.

I wouldn't sweat it. I won't drive a honking huge V-8 gas sucking SUV just to fit in, and I don't think anyone else should have to either. I also don't think my car is a representation of my masculinity or of my body either. It's a representation of my tastes. Which include off the beaten path, unique, original, finely crafted pieces of engineering.

~p

 

...I'm also rather tall and people question how I "fold in" to fit in the car.

And ye s- I saw scared faces when getting out of the car, too (the roof is at elbow level when standing...).

Still - car = phallic symbol is a staple of our society.

My initial "excuse" was that I don't have to overcompensate, and my car is the smallest in the parking lot. That got old pretty quick, and now I just ignore the question...

MMM

 

Miniclo, I'm hoping most of the posters on this thread are doing so with tongue firmly imbedded in cheek. Clearly there are too many mouth breathers out there(not NAM guys) who's identities are tied up in their cars/body parts.

OT warning: BTW, Patrick's inside pass of Whalen(sp) at Indy was awesome, don't you think? That woman can drive!

FWIW, my wife, daughters, and I routinely kid each other about 'girly and manly'. At our house, it's a joke. Didn't mean to hit a sore spot, tho I could understand the lack of reference might do so.

Cheers,
Mark

 

It's not a "girls car" or a "girly car."

It may be a Grrrrl-car or a Girlfriend.

In either case, it's a very good ride

Just grin and drive. Maybe your "friends" will get it . . .

someday.

 

As in all such situtations, when people make remarks like that, they are expressing their insecurity. (If I have a cool car, I am cool. If I hang out with cool people, I am cool). This comes from their inate belief that, on their own, they are inferior. SO, best thing to do is knowingly smile and do what you want. Scares the hell out of them. And don't be surprised a few months down the road if they want a "girlie" car too.

 

Around hear the women drive the huge SUV's and the guys drive Porsche,BMW M3 or M5, Suburu WRX ,GTI or Mini cooper S .I think there over the SUV's.

 

One might assume that the OP, thestiguy, is used to running in crowds accustomed to comparing cars and their prowess in a competitive manner. In this case, any dig is probably fair game...true or not. If queried in a less testosterone-charged setting, I'm sure these jolly jesters would be able to have a more substantive discussion on the merits of MINI motoring.

 

Alas, not going to happen. The fact is people's perceptions are their reality and nothing you can say is going to change that.

 

It aint about the size of the dog in the fight, its about the size of the fight in the dog.