How come people driving other cars can't seem to give Mini's any respect. I always hear people calling our cars cute! How did this all start. At my old job they used to call my car a "clown car". Tonight driving home from work I was being urged (however you would call it) by a Toyota Corolla to a race on a highway. Are our cars so slow in the opinions of other car owners that people driving compact economy sedans feel like they have a chance to beat us in a race? This frustrates me and I wish there was a way we could overcome the cutesy and slow label that everyone has given us. To anyone who has read this, thanks for listening to me rant!!

Steve

 

???

the cute part i understand. just look at it. same can be said of the classics. and miatas

other than that, mini's are pretty well respected and recognized as quite good pocket rockets. if you get dissed, the people who dissed you obviously don't know anything about cars. if they tell you to buy a corolla to *race on a highway,* it's equivalent to telling you to fly cross-country in a refrigerator. as in it's absolutely nonsense

and just for the record, i don't even consider corollas (and camrys) cars anymore. i think of them more like driving appliances

 

Why let it bother you?

 

I once worked for an architect who was short, about 5'-2" probably. He was well-known as a rather mean-tempered person. I wondered (alot ) if it was because he was short. Maybe it was a form of compensation. I'll never forget watching him and a short contractor get into it - two of a kind. I was thinking that that might be part of the drive to mod these cars (which I never had before), trying to get them past cute to the point where they get the respect we know they deserve.

 

I'm with daflake. You shouldn't be bothered by what others think about anything.

 

I respect you

 

Mine is often called a clown car or a rollerskate. But it doesnt bother me. What bothers me is when people ask me what kind of MPG I get. I tell them around 30mpg and the normal response is "Is that it!!!!!" What are they expecting??? Its not a Prius!!!

 

OK Steve, slow down, take a deep breath, hold it and slowly exhale.

Don't worry yourself over what others think of the MINI!

Realize one thing, that the general motoring public is truly ignorant of what a wonderful car the MINI is! Do you really care what these automotive dunderheads are thinking? Comments such as the one you mention your co-workers using (clowncar) show you the depth of their ignorance. They have closed minds and have never ridden in a MINI. As suggested many times over, on this forum, offer them a ride in your MINI (if they are so inclined to accept) and then let the fun begin! After a "spirited" drive you just might see a change of mindset upon the conclusion of said "ride".

Oh, & btw, a Toyota Corrolla v. a MCS! That truly shows you the level that some people are functioning at. Racing on the street is juvenile and dangerous!

Let those of the same ilk rev their engines and make all the noise they want... You on the other hand just motor on serenely, confident in the knowledge that your MINI is heads and shoulders above him.

As for the "cutesy" label, well the MINI is an attractive auto and you should be confident in it's abilities. Remember, it's what you think that matters, not what other say. You own a MINI, my friend, and that among the motoring cognescenti speaks volumes of your good taste and expertise in choosing a true automotive gem!

Life is too short to be distraught over such things!

Now, Steve, get out there and enjoy your MINI!

Motor On!

 

YEAH!!!

And do you think they have as Huge a Following as OUR Minis?? You've shared your "rant" with intelligent and caring people...I KNOW they can't say them same.

 

Thanks Mooch I feel much better

I felt the same way, even at midnight the highway was totally crowded and this guy actually wanted to race...what a total moron. Well thanks everyone for the comments

 

You could get a Smartcar..

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...41112610385808

Bill in P.G.

 

If you think clown car and cute is bad you should hear what people say about my classic. I have people laughing at it all the time and saying they can pick it up and put her in their pocket and I had one guy come up to it and put his arms around my Mini and said "i caught a car and it was this big". But everyone shuts up when I tell them she gets 45mpg.

 

First, FTW for quote of the day!

+1 - Toyotas and the bazillion other roadgoing appliances really have no soul... at least compared to a MINI!

 

Ya know, my 'other car' is a diesel Dodge 4x4 pickup truck. Where I learned to drive (Boston), tonnage rules. There's a lot of those little aluminum-foil fart-can death traps out there I have very little respect for. When the new Minis came out, I was driving a BMW M5 and my neighbor that sold me that car worked at BMW of Darien in Ct. He told me BMW had bought Mini, and they were gonna start selling them again. I always thought the old classic Minis were cool, and the fact BMW was gonna be producing them could only mean great things. What I mean to say is, I am inclined to have no repect for a lot of small cars, but Minis are definitely on my 'cool list'.

 

...hah, I love those drivers with the Corollas with the "S" badges on 'em. For some reason they feel this little "S" on the back of their econo-cars makes them faster than anything else on the road

 

nah, what is scarier is an old Chrysler mini van that thinks he is fast and tries to prove it by going 100mph, in those cases just let them go.

But yeah, I think there really is only one person at work that doesn't give the MINI its respect, but I don't care, I like and enjoy what I drive. I also feel its the best car I have ever had in my life.

 

Hey guys! Ya'll are taking it the wrong way! Think about it...every time someone "urges" you to race, they want to see how fast the Mini is! THat means deep down, they really want one too.

You guys should check out these threads. There are some really good responses! (Although the "I caught a car and it was THIS big" WAS kinda funny...) Post #22 of the second thread is my PERSONAL favorite!!!

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=136771

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=139075

 

Oh, and I forgot to add: there's a Tshirt out there by "OutMotoring" that has a silhouette of a MIni, and on it it says, "It's NOT cute. It's MEAN." I have one, of course.

 

Well this Corolla wasn't just an "S"....this was an.....wait....everyone grab something to hold onto cuz you might just lose your seat when you read this....wait....wait...an "XRS". Holy crap I almost fell off my couch and I'm sitting here typing it out. He was all set to race in three lanes of traffic starting at 75 mph...pure genius I swear!!!

 

I can't forget the idiot who was driving his beat up old early 90's nissan sentra and must have been inspired by some voice in his head to take his toilet car up to and over 100 mph....hmmm not sure if that is the smartest thing to do especially on the Southern State Parkway (for those who are familiar - very winding road) Well I guess that just means we can't complain about how high are car insurance rates are here in NY cuz we have all these people flying around in toilet nissans and toyotas thinking they are michael schumacher(spelling???)

 

HAHA UhOH that story about the condoms is freakin awesome....that's great too how he pumped his whole tank and those morons were still sitting there pumping away at their big *** truck, its times like that when you wouldn't want to own anything other than a Mini...great story thanks for the link

 

Hahaha! The "S" on the Corolla is probably the most overrated "S" I've ever seen slapped on a car.

Might as well made a Ford Pinto S too...

 

Except for Hyundai's, which do have Seoul.

 

Lack of ignorance, they don't know anything about the car, never driven it... so i would just smile and go on my way...
Just for the record, I'm a female and I have told 3 males that i ordered one and all 3 of them said "too cool- I love those cars!" One races cars! they others ask if they can drive it when it comes in!

 

see that's the thing..it seems like people who are into "modding" cars or just plain having fun tinkering with them have no problem giving mini's the respect they deserve which is great. I went to a Subaru car show last week in NC with a friend of mine and everyone there complimented me on my car and seems genuinely interested in it. I love that and get such a kick out of it...its like gemgirlpa said...ignorant people look at it like a joke of a car