Counted 5 on my way home from work this morning (too dark/deserted when I go to work), including one Silk Green (a rare color to spot here), and two PW/Bs within 50 feet of each other in my neighborhood (one an R50, the other an R56 S).

That's a lot less than I used to be able to do on my old route home from my old job, where I could easily get 10-12 without batting an eye.

 

I saw a MY/B in PA and a DS/B near D.C. coming back from my business trip. Considering we were on the road for at least 10 hrs, I thought I'd see more...

 

I saw easily at least 2 dozen or so.

(I guess I was kind of cheating, as I was at the Solo 2 Nationals this morning...)

-Ben

 

I've seen 7 in the last day and a 1/2 and none waved at me. I'm getting pissed

 

I popped into central Mountain View for lunch, I saw a CR/W MCS with Union Jack mirrors, a Hot Chocolate/Silver Clubman and a Dark Blue MC, all in 3 blocks.

 

Saw and exchanged waves with a CR/W, PS cabrio, OB/B and CR/B today. There were a couple of parked ones too, CR/B Clubman and CR/W.

 

I saw three today at a Austin-Healey get together today near Lynchburg, TN.

Two were Cabrios S's (DS and LS), one was a '62 Austin Mini 1100, similar to the ones I drove 30 years ago.

Today was a good day.

 

My wife and I where in Austin, TX for the UT-Rice football game and we counted 12 Mini's. Majority of them were around the UT campus. I have never seen so many Mini's that was not a meeting of some sort in such a small area. I was the only Clubbie in town that I did not see. No waves or stare's.

 

Sorry to hear that. I enjoyed seeing your photos of many familiar streets, and I know it took a ton of work.

Something I want to mention is that for all the MINIs I see daily in San Francisco, modding is practically nonexistent. From NAM (a tiny percentage of MINI owners), you get a distorted view that everybody mods their MINI. On the street, "in the wild" (car events don't count), almost every MINI looks bone stock. Over the past 3 years (in San Francisco where MINIs are everywhere), I've only seen a handful of aftermarket wheels and one aftermarket exhaust. On very rare occasion (a couple of times a year) maybe something different like painted arches or custom graphics. Heck, even the OEM aero kit is extremely rare.

For the record, I do have a huge number of mods on my own MINI -- suspension, engine, lighting, electrical, interior/exterior trim -- although many are subtle and not easily noticed (a few of them shown in my gallery).

 

rkw & MichaelSF,

Come on up to Redwood Empire Mini Enthusiasts. We have a ton of active Minis and enjoy runs throughout the bay area. Most of our club members have modded their Minis. It's free to join. www.redwoodempiremini.com

 

Hmmmm... Saw too many to count at Mickey and MINI....

 

Thanks for the nice words.

Yes it did take a lot of work, but the thread had its critics.

Sidenote: Taking down the pics.

 

And you guys have a great newsletter! My service advisor at Niello is a big supporter and member of REME. I've toyed with the idea of joining myself.

Michael, I enjoyed seeing the fruits of your labor and can appreciate the time and energy you devoted to documenting your MINI "head count." I enjoyed the scenery and seeing the impact MINIs have had on your fine city.

So, THANK YOU!

 

Who criticized??

Anyway, before the SF pics were taken down, it looked like a lot of the MINIs didn't have any "flair" either (re: rkw's comment on modding) - like motoring badges, or decals, or anything. I wonder if that came from drivers-for-MPG only owning MINIs, or from a societal thing in the area? Most of the regular MINIs I see here belong to a more or less "transient" population, so the "mods" or the "flair" vary greatly.

 

There's no doubt great fuel economy weighed heavily in my decision to purchase the MINI, however, the test drive is what sold me!

I sometimes feel there is a bias towards those MINI drivers who choose not to modify their rides. It's ironic, since many of us have built our cars to order, including many "mods" right from the factory. Are they any less significant than someone who chooses to debadge their cars, custom paint the trim, add CAI, or swap out the wheels? I'm just as proud of my MINI as any heavy modder out there! I can certainly appreciate the MINI serving as a "blank canvas," but I do feel there is a disdain for those who choose to leave their cars bone stock.

I modded my '07 Mustang to death, but could appreciate the ordinary driver's approach to ownership. They drove their stock Mustangs with pride, and were just as happy as those who tricked out their cars. The mods I plan to make to my MINI are modest in comparison to my former car, but I enjoy the car as it is too!

 

Ditto. I haven't seen any quantifiable / single-snapshot data on it, but I DO wonder what the demographics are on the topic of mods & flair. And what causes it - local society trends, MA and local dealership, clubs, or what.

 

I think a post that was intended to be teasing and joking didn't come across that way over the Internet, something which happens quite often.

In San Francisco, MINI is popular for being practical (parking and MPG) as well as being more stylish, upscale and hip than the typical small car (factors just as important for many people). The rarity of mods is probably just a reflection of MINIs overall -- most buyers don't turn MINI into their "hobby". There are over a million MINI worldwide and hundreds of thousands in the US. Just a tiny percentage have anything more than factory stock. As I said, I think looking at NAM gives a distorted view of the MINI population.

 

I've been following this thread a little bit, being that I bought my MCS from the Bay Area. I thought it was the perfect place to find a used MINI because of the sheer number of them over there.

I don't recall seeing any criticism that would have offended me enough to take the pics down. :( I really enjoyed seeing the SF MINI reports.

What happened?