Anyone else?
(stepping onto soapbox)

I understand the need to differentiate between a Cooper and an S...but calling it "justacooper" sounds so MINImizing! (I think the person that originated that phrase should be forced to drive something else!)

(stepping off of soapbox)

Let's come up with another way to distinguish between the two.

The easiest is MC -vs- MCS. Wonder why more people don't use this one?
Other thoughts:
I call mine a Cooper and refer to the "other one" as an "S".

Put on your thinking caps and let's get creative!

 

onlyacooper - merelyacooper - thelowlycooper - justplaincooper - cooperperiod (just a start)

 

I believe former Admin Dave Bunting came up with that phrase and it was actually an affectionate name for the Coopers. He went from a 2002 Cooper S to a 2006 Cooper, and was one of the fastest autocross cars everytime we went out--despite the super fast MCS's that he competed against. I also had an '03 Cooper at the time, and we used the term because Coopers are always given a bad rap for being slow, and non performance oriented--yet driven hard and fast---will keep up in any canyon driving or event that favors handling over raw speed. Being a "justacooper" was actually showing the you knew you WEREN'T Just a Cooper but something much more.

 

Have you looked up team justacooper? Might give you a new outlook on the name. Also if you take a look at the MINI line as a whole, the ONE is the base cooper, so being justacooper, also means driving the factory hot rodded MINI. And isn't MINI all about being less anyways?

I typically use the R designations now, and when it comes tot he 55s and 56s just use the MC or MCS.

Just be glad you don't have all that craptastic JCW stuff on your MINI!

 

x2 - 'justacooper' translates to something proven. Don't screw with it lest you end up with my above post.

 

i dont mind the term at all. I think it is very fitting.

 

What a great, thorough, and well-resolved thread! Bravo.

 

Justacooper is not a Bad moniker, it is a compliment. Now if you want a car with some real HP under the bonnet.......................OH sorry (Just Kidding) I am a former MC owner and I think they are all great cars. The MC had plenty of giddy up and it was better on gas, and it had a much smoother delivery! Justacooper is way better than no cooper at all and if you are a MINI owner, regardless of the model, you are always welcomed to NAm and any other club around the country with open arms. So, Lighten up and enjoy your car as we will all enjoy your MINI experience with you and every other MINI owner out there.

 

Yah....if anyone deserves to drive a cooper, it's the person that originated the name, Dave. Do a search and read up on the significance and meaning behind 'justacooper'.....I think you'll find that it's anything but "MINImizing" No need to knock him for creating the word that empowered the Cooper owners.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ht=justacooper

 

Never heard it before. Sorry

 

I didn't know all that extra stuff about "JustaCooper," but even so, I liked the term beforehand anyway.

It may be "just a" Cooper, but it's still a Cooper. And all Coopers are "juuuust a bit outside" in any case. And besides, the Cooper was "just" the first of them!

 

I certainly didn't know about the history either, but as a newcomer to the car, it just struck me as a term an "S" owner coined!

Now I know better (though I still don't like it any better!)

 

I like the JCW stuff... Not that I wouldn't like justacooper, I especially like CVT...

 

regular cooper-justapooper

 

I had no problem with the term, even before I heard the story behind it.

 

I'm wondering why "justacooper" is so bothersome to you, if you in fact own one??

 

Craptastic (or anything relating JCW to the word crap) is the same as justacooper, it's a humble way of showing the pride in function of MINI supplied fun! If you run a search you should be able to find the thread explain such

 

I like it... I like what it stands for... I like that those in faster cars underestimate what a JustaCooper is capable of with the right driver behind the wheel.

I am proud to own a JustaCooper.

 

Since Dave B is currently without teh interwebz here's a summary of our phone conversation about this thread...

I've adopted Dave B's justacooper as my 2nd MINI, and although we sometimes refer to him as "justapooper," I have to say that the name fits him perfectly. Out on the autocross course he was a little bad ***, despite the fact that he was a "stock" car (although Dave did run with sticky tires and the MINI had a few suspension mods). It wasn't about having a silly name, but was mainly about showing that you could keep up with the MCS even though you were underpowered. Justacooper has hung up his racing shoes temporarily but he will most likely be back sometime in the future.

 

Haven't read the history yet, but what occurred to me was: Just less $ up front and for every mile driven; just a useful spare; just tires I didn't need to replace; just a prettier bonnet. Just right for me, right now.

Just more distinctive to be in the minority.

 

Justacooper, yes. But it's MY cooper and that makes all the difference.

 

MIB was "justacooper". It broke my heart none the less.

I wanted a "Craptastic" MCS. But then the "Craptastic" R56 came out and wasn't all that and a bag of chips like the MINI Cooper S JCW Grand Prix was.

Alta-Tastic?

 

i actually love the term...justacooper.


To me, it just sounds awesome..I actually own an S but I ocasionally look at the cooper and say.....yeahhh....years from now I'm going to back out of a 350Z again and get a cooper...


but then I think about it, and I wouldn't have it any other way


I wish the S had a cool nickname like that..or maybe they do and I'm just a noob at finding things.

All in all, its the twisty roads that show what a car (and its driver) are really made of. Justacooper's are VERY capable of holding their own, even to their 'older' siblings

 

And, there are craptastic justacoopers out there. Not many, but it does exist.

I've only got the JCW suspension on mine. But there was a JCW engine kit available for the Cooper (not the sound kit, a full engine kit).

As people have mentioned, the idea behind "justacooper" was that you could take a "slow" car, and by learning how to drive it, you could runt faster autocross / track times than the people in the "fast" version of the car who do not have the driving instruction to help them. Such people would come over after seeing how fast the "slow" car is, asking what you've done to the car to make it so fast, and you'd say "it's justacooper".

 

Justa Cooper is a cool way to differentiate from the S and now the JCW. Has some panache to it. Though on some threads I've referred to mine as MC coupe and to those drivers not lucky enough to be inhabiting the MINIverse, I call her "da MINI" (Jersey accent).

Justa Cooper - Just Perfect

CROC 411