OK, Tonight my wife and I were out in my MINI. We are tooling down the road (yes tooling, it translates into motoring in a different dialect) and we caught up to another MINI. As we past my wife went to put the window down and wave. But, once again, nothing. My wife remarked "It's just another old fart" as she rolled her eyes at me one more time.

No big deal, I am use to going past other MINIs and not getting a wave or anything like that. And it's not just "Old Farts" either. So I got to thinking about this and noticed that when I get a wave it's from another MINI that has decided to "Stand Out".

What do I mean "Stand Out"?

My MINI has custom stripes, modified exhaust, rally window clings that almost cover the drivers side passenger window and I have a grill badge on the grill. Not that I think this is attention grabbing but it does "Stand Out" from the crowd.
These other "Non Waving" MINI drivers don't have anything other then stock on their MINI.

So, tonight it came to me as I passed this other MINI that my MINI might be intimidating him/her. And I guess the question is , How do they perceive us enthusiast? Are our MINIs intimidating?



Not that it matters, but I hope so .

 

I don't know about the intimidation part, but I agree that I get more waves from MINIs that are modded in some way - stripes, custom plates, roof graphics, etc, than those that arent!

 

Yeah, when I got my first one I got waves all the time. Now I'm lucky if I get any. Most of them are indeed from other owners with mods.

 

waving is cool

 

My car is stock and I wave! No one has waved back though.
It's only been a couple weeks, so I will try to be patient.

 

I waved a lot during the first month of ownership. Gave up because no one in the SF Bay Area waves back (at least San Jose/Milpitas area). Mine is not modded at all. Not even stripes. I call it Sporty yet conservative.

 

Stock and wave...
Saw a nice PW Sidewalk in Swansea, MA last Saturday.
We all waved!

 

I have to admit that I noticed the same thing a while back and because 99% of the no-wave-returns seemed
to come from the stock no-frills MINI's I have sinced saved my energy on these types and I no longer
initiate the wave at them but I will quickly return one if they send a wave my way.

Where I live there is a BMW manufacturing plant and many of the employees live and drive their
MINI Company leased vehicles around town.
I sometimes feel that they took the lease from the company because it was cheap and not because
they really wanted a MINI.
I have rarely gotten a return wave from any BMW (Uniform visible) employee driving a MINI.

 

I don't think it's an issue of standing out for enthusiasts. I just think its an issue of just being different. I've gone the other way from standing out. No JCW badges, debadged the Cooper S on the boot, reverted to the JustaCooper side scuttles. Gotta know what to look for to determine than mine is something other than a Justacooper . (front scoop and JCW exhaust tips)

I used to wave and flash my lamps all the time a few years ago when nobody but us enthsiasts were driving them, but I gave up when the Gen2s arrived, non-enthusiasts became the norm, and no one was returning waves. . Now I'll only return a wave when offered one.

 

im not sure if its because the car has graphics.. i get waves from modded and non modded mini's.. and even from non minis... maybe its the day they are having.. or they arent thinking, or didnt see you.. i wouldnt stress it.. enjoy your car... i think with the economy alot are turning to the mini out of necessity not because they completely love the mini.. not all of us can be cool all the time

 

Gawd, I hope so... would hate to think that I spent all this $$$ for NOTHIN.

 

 

Hey, I'm an "old fart" and I wave every time I see another MINI. No one, I mean NO ONE, has ever waved back and near as I can tell the drivers were all much younger than me. Now, I must admit that there is a dearth of MINI's were I live - we see maybe one or two a week . . . but we always wave.

 

After not getting any returns the first few weeks after I got my MINI, I quit waving... until a few days later. I was at a red light and a nice woman in a cabrio making a left waved and grinned at us. I was encouraged to make more effort!

 

I don't wave when I see a mini I do wave back

 

I'll have to go with the folks who get plenty of waves...maybe more...from non-modded MINIs. From my experience it'd be hard to draw any conclusions about a non-waving demographic, so I recommend against it. It's all about the owner and where they are at. I've also found that almost all MINI owners are enthusiasts on some level if you have a chance to talk to them.

I had a weird one the other day....a lady driving a MINI on the other side of the road saw my MINI and totally lit up in a big ol' smile. So did her passenger. I waved...she didn't....but she sure looked and smiled a lot. Perhaps she never heard of waving, who knows??

 

Give yourself some credit... maybe she was smiling (or laughing) at you, not the MINI.

 

Always a possibility!!!!

 

I always wave too.....out of 20 I may get 1 or 2 and I am fine with that. I know I am like others who don't always see another mini until it is too late to wave. I will keep waving though.

 

I'm going to do better in the future!

 

I wave, flash headlamps. There aren't many here, so my response it good. Last week a classic Mini came past me horn blaring! I wasn't in his way, so I have to assume it was his way of saying "hi".

 

Speaking as a slightly miffed "old fart," you have to remember that the initial enthusiasts buying frenzy has been overtaken by the "sold my SUV/Pick-up/big car because of gas prices, to get something economical, and it's just a conveyance to get from A to B," crowd. And there now seems to be more of them, than enthusiasts.

 

+1

You hit the nail on the head, Gromit801. It is unfortunately true; the early-adopters of the MINI Brand share the enthusiasm and camaraderie of MINI ownership. They get together for group rides, rallies, car shows, and national events like the Dragon, AMVIV, MINIs On Top, MINIs In The Mountains, etc.

Sadly, that enthusiasm is waning now, as we freaks are an ever-shrinking minority among all MINI owners.

 

I've always got the impression of arrogance when I see other MINIs in the area. It's almost like some people are upset because others have "butchered" a car. You'll see people turn their heads or whatever. I have one of the few modified MINIs in the area. The only other seriously modded MINI around my area is owned by Snd Wave on here.

 

KEEP THE FAITH!!!

Maybe some of the non-wavers are SUV converts, but the price of gas is down and it won't be long before they are selling the MINIs and driving the hogs.

I always wave, and whether they return the wave or not I'm always smiling as I go by.

Motor on