Here's a link to aNY Times article comparing Mini owners and Hummer owners.

And here's the paragraph quoting our own Mark Ferguson:

Not surprisingly, both cars have vehement, sometimes violent, detractors. Marc Ferguson, 37, of Lafayette, Colo., races his Mini Cooper S part time and operates Mini cooperonline.com, a Web site for Mini enthusiasts. Mr. Ferguson said that "trolls" on his site bash the Mini. "It inflames people," he said. One e-mail message from a man planning to buy a Hummer called the Mini a "Death Trap Gadget!"

 

link doesn't allow reading the article without registering first

 

beerbrewer;s comment makes me think...

"is this /. or.. MCO?"

heh.

 

>>link doesn't allow reading the article without registering first


I thought that might happen.

At the risk of copyright infringement, I'll cut and paste the whole thing. (It's not very long).


Tale of the Tape: Different Sizes, Similar Passions
By BONNIE ROTHMAN MORRIS

Published: October 22, 2003

HUMMERS and Minis. These specialty cars, which are relatively new to the marketplace, are driven by two very different kinds of customers, right? After all, the Hummer H2, which is like SpongeBob SquarePants on steroids, is not playing the same game as the Powerpuff Girl of the Mini Cooper.

Not exactly. As it turns out, drivers of the gas-guzzling, flashy, 6,400-pound behemoth H2 and the fuel-efficient, equally flashy but teeny-tiny 2,314-pound Mini have more in common than they would probably like to admit.

They both want to stand out in a crowd, and they both really like to drive.

Melissa Griffin, 27, has put 36,000 miles on her yellow Hummer H2 in the last 11 months. "Driving is my life," said Ms. Griffin, the owner of a screen-printing company in Washougal, Wash. "I did a 7,000-mile road trip at Christmas and a 3,000-mile one on July Fourth. Holidays are one more excuse to hit the road and go." She said she took her car off-road, something the Hummer is designed to do, although only about 10 percent of Hummer owners ever try it, car dealers say. Some Hummer advertisements do not even show the vehicle on a road.

Just as the Hummer is promoted as the king of the hills, the Mini is known for its speed.

"I'm not going to tell you what I do on the parkway, I'd get arrested," said Penny Berg, a New York City schoolteacher who bought her Mini in August after seeing the movie "The Italian Job." The film features characters zooming around in Minis. "When you're doing 85 you don't realize it," Ms. Berg said, revealing her highway speed.

Whether driving too fast or bouldering on mountains, owners of Minis and Hummers say their cars are social magnets. Drive them in town and strangers give thumbs up (or down), gawk and ask questions. The attention suits the owners of these cars; after all, they bought them for their distinctive qualities.

Trend analysts say that although both groups want to stand out, they differ on where and how. Owners see their cars as "social filters," said Irma Zandl, the president of the Zandl Group, a research company in Manhattan. "Hummer 2 owners project `Bling!' while Mini drivers are more quirky, cerebral and antimarketing."

Both cars reflect a certain status, said David Kozatch, the owner of d.i.g., a marketing research firm in Manhattan. "The Hummer is about separating yourself from society," he said. "It's the ultimate extension of fear with an overlay of status. Mini is the opposite. It's status, but it's social and sharing."

Not surprisingly, both cars have vehement, sometimes violent, detractors. Marc Ferguson, 37, of Lafayette, Colo., races his Mini Cooper S part time and operates Mini cooperonline.com, a Web site for Mini enthusiasts. Mr. Ferguson said that "trolls" on his site bash the Mini. "It inflames people," he said. One e-mail message from a man planning to buy a Hummer called the Mini a "Death Trap Gadget!"

In the world of niche marketing, where these two cars reside, vehemence is not necessarily bad, said Scot Eisenfelder, a partner at Accenture, a global automotive consulting firm.

"You've got to give both credit," Mr. Eisenfelder said. "Successful brands have to choose what they are not. Hate isn't the opposite of love, apathy is — and they are not apathetic."

Passionate owners agree.

"The Hummer or the Mini are at two ends of the spectrum, it's a matter of the personality of the person who's going to be driving it and the statement they're trying to make," said Dr. Darius A. Holmes, a pediatrician from Hauppauge, N.Y., who bought his red Hummer H2 in August after his father bought a sunset-orange H2 last year.

"People try to be unique in one way or another," he said, laughing. "I chose to be unique in a big way."

 

>>link doesn't allow reading the article without registering first


So register!

 

Yeah I'd highly recommending registering with the NYT - it's simply one of the best news sources in the world. And in 4 years of being registered I've never once recieved any spam from them.

 

Registration is free....

I love the media....they mispell my name after asking for it to be spelled several times and the quote that had for me...I have no recollection provide a quote like that. Geez...

One thing I've learned over the years is that no matter how hard you try to provide accurate information it appears that only 20% of what you provide is reported accurately. In this case they didn't even get the 20% right....my name.

Oh well...what can you do?

Mark

 

That Melissa would drive me crazy. I
bet she calls herself "Missy" and keeps
the windows up so it doesn't 'muss' her hair.

 

I'm a native New Yorker and I avoid the NY Times at all times. It's not their politics, it's the 'attitude'. "Powerpuff Girl" MINI? Is this dingbat Times reporter throwing gasoline on the fire that is the endless "It's a girl car" argument? Frankly, the Times is infamous for hiring people from out of town who have no clue whatsoever about daily living in NYC - unless Mommy and Daddy have money. If it isn't on the Upper East [or Upper West] Side of Manhattan, these pompous suburbanites consider it "out of town". I'd call them horse's asses, but I'd be insulting the horse.

 

Whoa, Michael! Calm down there, big guy!

 

Not to get too far away from topic, but a comparison between the Mini and the Powerpuff Girls is a favorable one. Cute, huge eyes and superpowered (or supercharged as the case may be). I'm a big fan of the PPGs. If you haven't formed an opinion on the girls, try and find the episode called "Meet the Beat Alls" and tell me it wasn't hilarious.

 

As cool as the show may be, I really dont want my car be called the "powerpuff girl on wheels". As for the Hummer, how can anyone who likes to DRIVE own a Hummer? Its probably the car the seperates you THE MOST from the driving experience.

 

I know! I found that really odd too. I mean--who wants to go on a freaking road trip in a Hummer??? That sounds horrible. I mean, a Land Rover or a Benz, Bimmer or Lexus SUV is one thing...but with a Hummer, you get the bulk without any creature comforts!!!

 

>>As for the Hummer, how can anyone who likes to DRIVE own a Hummer? Its probably the car the seperates you THE MOST from the driving experience.


I think the lady mentioned in the article must like to go places. We MINI owners like to Motor. Yep, Motor with a capital M.

 

H2: it's a chevy thing...nothing more.

 

>>Registration is free....
>>
>>I love the media....they mispell my name after asking for it to be spelled several times and the quote that had for me...I have no recollection provide a quote like that. Geez...
>>

How hard IS it to spell "Mark" anyways? It's freakin' phonetic! Bollocks...

 

I imagine driving a H2 is somewhat akin to driving my dads conversion van. EEECH, 700 miles driving that thing and I'm ready to drive off a bridge.

as for papers i'm partial to the Chicago Tribune, its a pretty solid paper and better than the sun times which is written for stupid 5th grade kids and i don't mean stuid as in bad i mean stupid as in extremely dumb. The other really funny thing about the trib is that its pretty much a center-right leaning paper, however, everyonce in a while they pull something so far right out that makes me think of the scene in Dr. Strangelove when the dude yells "mien Furher i can walk!!!".

 

_________________


clover@northamericanmotoring.com | "Wicked Wanda" '03 All Jet Black MCS!!!

 

>>>>Registration is free....
>>>>
>>>>I love the media....they mispell my name after asking for it to be spelled several times and the quote that had for me...I have no recollection provide a quote like that. Geez...
>>>>
>>
>>How hard IS it to spell "Mark" anyways? It's freakin' phonetic! Bollocks...


The problem obviously comes about in the NY Times lame attempt to classify Mark's geneologic heritage from his surname. Is Ferguson from the Scottish - Gaelic - Anglo-Saxon branch, whereby the proper spelling would be Mark, or is it of the Gallic - Francophone linguistic group, where all the letters preceeding the second vowel on back are silent, invoking to their Latin based root, and thus making Marcus...Marc (and incidentally Ferguson ...Ferg).


Just my 2 francs

_________________
BLUBELLE - 2003 MCS IB /W Premium, Sport, Cold pkgs, Lapis blue interior, Magnecor wires, Alta Pulley, Moss Skid Plate, Chrome Trim Interior

 

First we get the "Metrosexuals" article in the NYT, then this...
interesting indeed...

My dad works for GM and he get's a variety of cars, he
borrowed an "H2" for a weekend last year. I decided
to go Cleveland in it to see the relatives. My expierence-

*Horrible on fuel economy (~11MPG @ 74), in making even
400mi a pricey trip
*Walks around in the wind, steering is like mush
*Ride actually isn't that bad, you just can't feel anything
*Visibility is HORRIBLE with the tiny windows
*Seats felt like they were park-benches (no lateral support,
but do you need it in that?)
*Brakes were ok, considering how bulky this thing is
*Acceletation above 75 was slow, tho I was afraid to
exceed 85
*Interior looked cheap

I can do 11 hour drives in my Vette and feel only a bit tired, but
not stiff or anything. After 3hrs in the H2, was tired and
my lower back hurt... Good riddens to that thing... A Tahoe LT,
itself a barge, drives 100% better and consumes...

Moms reaction was "I think theirs an oil refinery in Cleveland,
you might want to stop by"

MGCMAN- Those had BETTER be 2 BEF (Belgian Francs :smile:

caio,

-Matt

 

>>The problem obviously comes about in the NY Times lame attempt to classify Mark's geneologic heritage from his surname. Is Ferguson from the Scottish - Gaelic - Anglo-Saxon branch, whereby the proper spelling would be Mark, or is it of the Gallic - Francophone linguistic group, where all the letters preceeding the second vowel on back are silent, invoking to their Latin based root, and thus making Marcus...Marc (and incidentally Ferguson ...Ferg).<<

Can't we just call him Fergie?

 

I guess some people like the high up seating position above all the traffic along with the 18 wheelers.
11mpg? No social responsibility over saving fossil fuels! Probably thinking- that's not my problem then plunks $45 to fill gas every week. I know of at least one H2 owner that for the fun of it had an audio shop spend two months installing a big big big custom audio system into the H2 with the final bill that exceeded the cost of the entire car.

It had the full audio and DVD setup on the dash with four 6x9s and four 12" sub woofers, more than 6 powerful amps and two huge 15 amp CAPs and four Odyssey batteries (they charge $250 each in my area). The subs and amps were mounted on a custom metal rack that fit on the inside of the rear compartment similar to a roll cage and they did the mock up first in wood to get the measurements all right before going to metal. I'd have to check if there are multiple screens. You can do alot for $60K of audio/video upgrades. I asked if this was a show car or something and they said no it is just for the owner. He wants it this way. I guess if you park it and run the stereo really loud you are getting something for your 11mpg! There is not much off road allowed in my area so I guess he is rolling around in traffic or is stuck on the hwy in rush hour like the rest of us.