The wife and I ordered an 05 MCSC a couple of months ago and expect delivery sometime in the next 60 days. I'm pretty excited about it (who wouldn't be?) so I am talking about it with my firends/coworkers/shipmates. I have received a LOT of responses like, "I couldn't drive that, it's not a manly car" and such BS like that. I usually come back with "I'm secure enough to realize that my manhood/sexual preference is not dictated by the car I drive" but I was wondering if anyone else has had the same response from SUV-driving redneck idiots (or any other color neck).

I just thought it was interesting is all. I can't wait to get my Cabrio S and whip past them on the winding mountain roads around here :smile:

 

Your shipmates have been brainwashed, that's all there is to it.

Don't sweat it, enjoy your new MINI. When folks begin to prove more receptive to the MINI's charms, take 'em for a spin.

Had a kid (first-term PO3) in my TAP class say he "hates MINI's".

He was honest though, he hates 'em because a bumblebee MCS pulled on him about a week ago, while he was out in his hopped-up lil' Honda or whatever have you.

Took him for a spin in mine, and let him peek under the bonnet. There's a huge parking lot next to our class, where he could give it some gas, and now he understands why he got his tail handed to him by an MCS. Of course, I've got JCW kit installed, but I made sure to tell him that a 15% pulley is one of the single most popular mods for MCS owners.

I had a few of my shipmates give me some crap, but they all change their tune after a pull around the lot. I usually remind them it has horses to match my old Nissan Pathfinder, and they just gape at me.

Cheers,
Matthew Z.

 

They are just jealous!

I am just a few hours of ferry-ride away from you, and over-here I've had no stupid comments directed at my choice of cars. There are about 5-6 U.S. Spec MCS's running around Gaeta, which is a lot for a tiny American population. There are about a million other Euro spec "Ones" and Coopers. So far I've only seen a couple of MCCs or MCSCs.

I owned a VW Cabriolet when I was in Texas. When people teased about it being a "chick-car", I'd just reply "yep, sure is, and it sure is fun."

PS:
I am expecting a phone call today from Pentagon Car Sales to see if my scheduled delivery of my MCS for NEXT WEEEEEEEK is still on or not!

 

Oh, if they only knew . . . "Chicks Dig the MINI". I cant even count how many cute girls have stopped me to check out my package (uh, and by that I mean sport package, yeaah, thats the ticket).

I've said this before I think...it seems that for every hater there are 10 admirers:smile: (I'm referring to the car. In reference to each owner, well, thats another thread altogether)

 

Don't sweat it at all. I am also in Italy and had two Italian females come up to me just last week and give me lots of comments and smiles.


Take them for a ride...especially in the mountians. Have a Corvette try and keep up. That will quiet the masses.

 

to doubt you, but in my short 51 years of life I've never heard any man say that a car was not "manly" enough to drive.

Why would you even care about an opinion that, if really made, is so obviously trying to get a rise out of you?

 

Hey do you manly friends drive a stick

A MCS with a stick is very manly. Ok I don't have the stick in my MCS, does that make me unmanly?! NO!! The MINI is a very unique car. I think there just jealous

 

Drive the car and watch their expressions in your rearview mirror Enjoy the ride!

 

Do like I did. For everyone who made fun of it, I let them ride in it. If they were impressed with the handling, speed and enjoyed the ride, they'd buy me lunch and give me an appology. I havent had to pay for lunch for two weeks .

The only downside is people want to ride with you to lunch and you have to pick one or two out of the group (I dont like driving with a full car)!

 

Screw em, who cares what they think and they dont know what they are missing !! For me I have both ends of the spectrum, imagine how much crap I hear. We have a dodge ram quad cab, 4x4 with a hemi lifted 6" with 35" tires and the other car is the mini. Where I hear crap is the wife drives the truck to work and I drive the mini ! She drives the mini sometimes but 99% of the time she drives the truck.

 

What are ya'll talking about? It IS a girly car... when i drive it (note pinwheel spinning on the antenna)

I have gotten the occasional "your car is gay" or "girly" on both of my last two cars. Then i look the riceburner driver in the face and say "you're gay for failing to realize i'm a GIRL."

 

Oh, jeez, not this again...

 

Brainwashing and "group think" does have something to do with it I'm afraid. Guys (in general) really need to get a life and think about something more substantial than their frail egos, imo.

On the other hand......when anyone raises questions about the choice of a MINI (for whatever reason) I tend to switch the conversation to the topic of MINI evolution from the classic to its present form. Then I start in on it's prowess as a racing icon. This gives the MINI instant credibility....and even celebrity!! Most people go away with a whole new appreciation for the car....or at least they don't ask any more stupid questions.

 

I am a 21 year old guy who is into nice cars and has some knowledge on working on cars. When i wanted to get rid of the subaru and get another new subaru, well when i found out that insurance was going to be sky high in nj becuase of my age, i started to look at other cars. My brother suggested to look into the MCS and at first i told him no way i would ever drive that thing. Well for s**ts and giggkles I test drove one twice. let me tell you my opinion has changed completely!! I told all of my friends that i was thinking of getting a mini and some of them liked my choice and many of them did not. I got remarks like, "thats a girl car" or "that thing is tiny and has no power!". One of my good friends has a lexus IS300 that he had turbo charged and modified out of this world. This thing is a 11sec car. Well he was one of the people who did not like my choice and would joke with me about it. But when i picked up that car, that same day i let him drive it around. Lets just say his whole opinion changed completely. Not only did he love the handling, he thought it was quick as well. Obviously not as quick as his Lexus! But every time we go out in the car, he keeps telling me that it handles better then his Lexus and how he his jealous of the stock suspension on my car and how he spent a lot of money on his and his car does not even come close to offering the handling of the mini. My other friends also did not like the car, there opinions have changed and always ask me if they can drive it here or there when we go out. The moral of what i am saying is, you can not judge the car until you drive it. I know I am very happy with it and can not imagine i will ever get tired of the car. I am sure once they test drive one, they will change their opinion on the car completely. Oh yea, I have a few whole want to buy one now, including my dad!

Garrett

 

Why should you care what other people think. Don't worry about it, just be happy with your choice and enjoy it. I owned corvettes to civics and never had a problem with what other people thought of my cars.
The MINI is very unique.. It has lots of character and class. It is a sophisticated design with solid engineering and build quality. Not to mention the fun factor.
You chose a car with all these attributes for a very reasonable price. They are the ones who should be questioning what they drive...

 

Well, I'm assuming you're in the Navy (thank you by the way) and from what I've heard from my husband who was in the Navy, you can get a large number of guys that consider themselves to be "manly men" that firmly subscribe to the "no replacement for displacement" mentality. Once you get your car and can drive circles around them, they might shut up. But for those that talk about "why do you care what others think" - when you're on a ship, it can be hard to get away from people that you may not agree with, so you tend to try and get along as best as possible.

One of the guys in Cincy that is a paramedic and works at a firehouse said that his coworkers picked on him too. Once they saw it and got to take some turns in it, they were rather impressed...albeit they apparently one night put his MINI in one of the firetruck bays and covered it with the throw our dealer gives out. They said that it was hiding under the covers b/c it was afraid of all the big trucks

 

It is a commonly known fact that men who drive BIG cars like Hummers are trying to compensate for a lack of size elsewhere in their hmmm ... life. This being true, what does your driving a MINI say about other areas of your ... life?


Motor on and live large

 

Sure they'll laugh .............Once!

But when you blow them into the weeds on a mountain pass or zip by at 200 kph on the Autostrada they'll quit their yapping.

 

I recently caught a re-run of an early episode of "Home Improvement." Tim Allen was all excited about the Corvette he had just bought. (Not sure if I have this verbatim, but it's close.)

"You know, Tim," his mother said, "A car like that's just an extension of your *****."

Tim comes back with, "I WISH!"



I recall seeing a bumpersticker (or license plate frame or T-shirt?) quote that's something along the lines of "I drive a MINI - what are you compensating for?"

 

i couldn't get that sticker... the mini IS a big car compared to me :/

 

The only reason they don't like the car is because they have only seen -

At best a parcial side view at a stop light and only when the light is red.

Once the light turns green they only get to see it from the back. Its hard to appreciate it from the back since it juts keeps getting smaller and smaller .

What you need to do is give them a chance to appreciate the car - PARK IT and let them see the car from all angles. Then tak'em out in the car and look for a victim (honda, ect.....).

Anyone i have done this to - sings a different tune these days.

 

I helped my friend appreciate my car on a country road the other day. He was complaining that I was taking the turns too aggressively and I actually had him scared

 

Don't feed the Neanderthals. Let them beat their sticks on rocks and think they're evolved.

Idiot comments from dumb hicks don't even deserve a verbal response.

 

I wasn't complaining or feeling inferior or inadequate at all. I was just saying that I thought it was funny, in a stereotypical way, that I was getting reactions (sometimes almost confrontational) like that from full grown men.

To respond to a couple of the posts in here:

Doc, we are looking forward to cruising the Amalfi Coast once the MCSC gets here. I'm on the tender so I may see you some day.

I'm not sure my wife would be too happy about me giving a couple of local women a ride in any car, much less "her" new Mini. :smile:


On a side note, our other car is a '00 BRGS (Buick Regal GS...I am trying to fit in with the lingo here) with a supercharger and about 260 hp. I am also used to ricers who don't give my car a second look because it is a four door Old Person's Car. I like surprising people.

Thanks for all the great responses.

 

Oh and I can't help but feed the neandrathals...it's too much fun.

I constantly use the "If my ***** was smaller I would need a (Insert_vehicle_here)" line. Only problem is, my goal upon retirement in 6 years is a 'Vette. I want to get "Phallus 3000" airbrushed on the back.