Rally I'm thinking in many peoples minds the term Ricer is used to describe something that is in bad taste. Not saying I agree with that.

Man this thread is sort of swirling downhill. We all should be able to coexist. If one wants to mod the carp out of their MINI or leave it stock well, so what. They are both MINI's after all.

 

Yes, It is headed off track. Next time I am going to keep my mouth shut and the keyboard under the desk.

 

If it helps, I'll wave back at you from the window of my riced out clubman when I make my way back to Jersey for the summer

 

Rally are you going to get one of those Pep Boys park bench wings?

 

I'm thinking maybe 2 or 3 wings if I can fit them. I've gotta see how many LED's I can fit on them

 

With apologies to all. Here is the history of MINI waving "as I see it"(Starbucks?)
From June of 02 to June of 03 not only did every MINI owner wave but a lot of other cars would wave or at least acknowledge the MINI. Remember it would be weeks on end between seeing a MINI on the road. ( I took a 900 mile trip in 10/02 and only saw 2 other MINIs).
Until the end of 04 90+% of MINIs would still wave back. By the end of 04 I would see 1 or 2 MINIs a day on my 50 mile a day drive.
From 05 to mid 06 the number of waving MINIs decreased rapidly with the the increase of MINIs on the road.
I moved in 06 and found the number on waving MINIs was even less here than where I moved from.
Anyone that thinks their "special" MINI is the reason why other MINIs don't wave back is seriously deluded. It is just most MINI owners just don't care.
A MINI is a MINI it does not matter if it is Modded or not.

 

I thought the term ricer was only applicable to vehicles of Asian descent.

Wikipedia:"Rice Burner is a pejorative used initially to describe Asian-made — particularly Japanese-made — motorcycles and automobiles. Many variations have also been used, such as rice rocket for Japanese sport bikes.
More contemporary use of the term rice burner, along with the prefix ricer, has taken on an alternate pejorative meaning for an automobile that has been modified to give impression of high performance, but does not necessarily have any high-performance capabilities."


Apparently, in the trend towards political correctness, the use has been diluted to include all no-go showboats.

 

There are ricers and ricer wannabes: most often represented by Ford Focus ZX3s

 

It has transcended to other car makes from various companies but it doesn't fully encompass all "no-go" cars. "Euro's" for example. They're mostly about show in many cases, but their mods are very clean and subtle unlike the eye catching large CF spoilers and cheesy neon lights associated with "ricers". Like Crashton mentioned earlier it's mainly used to describe cars that have been modified in poor taste, with cheap low quality parts, and a loud/flashy manner.

 

So how did eveybody find out about "the wave"? Seems it was folded into early MINI marketing packages, and so perhaps owners had at least a clue that it was "a thing." I'm not sure waving has even been mentioned for many years, so it is possible new owners have no idea whatsoever about it (aside from the common courtesy of returning a friendly gesture). Any owners of newer MINIs get the waving message at all??? I did on my '03, but I saw nothing on it when I got my '07.

 

Thats basically it.

Most people that buy cars, any car, buy it to just drive it. The majority of MINI owners may as well be Toyota Corolla owners. They bought the car because they like it, or it serves their needs, and no more. It fits the parameters of what they wanted in a car, whether it was size, fuel economy, and they happen to like the way it looks, or they get some thrill of being peripherally associated with the BMW name.

Most people are also not particularly into a conscious group mentality. Like, 'I bought this car, and everyone that owns one is so wowee-cool!' Doesnt work that way.

And of course, after a while, even many of the enthusiasts get tired of waving and getting no response, as has been stated here, so they'll wave back if they get one. That translates into even less waving.

I live on Lawngyland and people here generally basically dont give a crap about anything. No one looks at anything except a train wreck. That, theyll stop for. Or better yet, a police car and a civilian vehicle, completely off the roadway, they'll stop across 3 lanes of traffic to look. Makes the morning commute into Brooklyn just that much more fun. But I digress.

 

yet another reason not to live in California

 

The wave is a long time tradition among enthusiasts. There was a time early in the last century when all drivers waved to one another. I can remember a time in the early to mid-60's when all the Mercedes drivers were waving to each other. As the marque grows, the wave is just destined to fade away.

 

I didn't know MINI drivers wave, thats cool though. People take the Jeep wave a little too serious sometimes, I love it when people wave back. I guess all the people who don't wave don't know and just drive their MINI because its another car to them. I think almost everyone knows about the Jeep wave though, and the Harley wave.

I'll make sure to wave to you all when I get a mini then haha.

 

I rember back when I got my 02 MC there was a little booklet that was sent out that had different expressions in it one was flashing the headlights to say "hi" to other MINI's it also came with a bingo game some cards and stickers for the toggle swiches as well as a stainless steel coffie mug that fit in the front cup holders!! I still have the bingo game around here somewhere!

 

here in GA the Jeep wave is more of 1 finger lifted off the steering wheel! I miss my Jeep!

 

You're saying I won't get another stainless steel coffee cup with my new '09? Bummer!

 

I think MINI only sent out the stubby coffee mugs after EVERYBODY complained about the useless cup holders .
MINI USA originally tried to make the MINI a BRAND like Harley Davidson.

 

And that doesnt happen overnight.

 

I pretty much always get a wave or a flash, especially a flash if it is one of my fellow Philly Mini members. Sometimes I wave and people obviously just aren't paying attention. I think it really is a person to person case, hard to generalize those who don't wave.

 

I've stopped initiating waves at "stranger" MINIs. (Meaning I'll wave if the MINI's got a club sticker.) I'll return one if offered. I've decided on being a "stealth" "enthusiast"...

 

This past Sept, I was in the Rockfish ("Waltons Mountain") area of VA, and lots of people (not in MINIs) were waving to me. I think they probably wave to everyone, though.

I wave (and occasionally flash) to every MINI I pass, though there are probably lots I don't even notice. I've caught many a MINI only as we've gone past each other.

 

I always wave. Most times I get a wave back and a smile.

 

I'm on a military base here in Spain, and there are Minis everywhere. (We get them at a special deal over here) anyway, i see a mini everytime i come on the base. So i don't wave to them despite having the urge to 1, because we are in our own little world over here and they probably dont know the whole mini wave. Heck, the only reason I do is because my mom has an r53 cabrio S. and 2 because these people arent enthusiasts. The only mini out of maybe 50 on base that is modified is this dude i work with. Soon to be 2 modified
I think i'll give the wave a try though around here!

 

Well I must say in western NY, it seems we have wavers. I wave / flash lights at most MINIs I see and most respond. When I was considering a new car about a year ago, I checked out website after website of various car manufacturers. Most were what translated to bad TV-- flashy irritating 'commercials' with a ho-hummish feel (and boring cars with relatively poor mileage). Then I remembered I'd been curious about the MINI at one time. I gotta say, they've got their marketing down pat. It sucked me in, for a couple hours. Then I found this site and learned first-hand of the MINI community. By the time I finally ordered my MINI last June, I was totally hooked on the community and hoped the car would live up to its (good) reputation (realizing that wasn't always the case). I love the MINI--both for how it drives and for 'how it all started' for me (see link in sig). The community is fantastic! I've met some great people and found what it is to truly enjoy a car. So I wave whenever I see another MINI. No response? No problem...there may be another MINI around the next twisty...