My wife just showed me this item from the June 4 edition of
the "North Macomb Voice", a local Macomb County, Michigan, newspaper.... This item was listed in their "Police" section, which lists various police incidents which
have occured in the past week:

"A MINI COOPER beloning to a Livonia man was keyed sometime between
noon on May 25 and 12:30 p.m. on May 26, according to police. The
complainant told Algonac Police he parked the car and when he
returned to it the following day noticed several areas around the car
that had been scratched with a key."

Some recent threads on MCO have also noted incidents of vadalism and
even harrassment on the road..... I don't get it. Envy? Do we all
drive like the crew from "The Italian Job"? Why do some people react
this way to the MINI?

I did find it interesting that the paper made a point of identifying
the type of car that was keyed. Normally, they don't do that, simply
referring to a "car" or similar description. Of course, we know the
MINI is much more than just a car!!!!

Anyway, hope this MINI got fixed quickly.

Satchmo

 

I like to think that people hate MINIs because they are threatened by them, but one can never really know for sure.

That was a sad story to hear about and I hope whoever that MINI belongs to gets the problem resolved quickly. People are SO RUDE.

 

The people who hate MINI's are the same people who hate everything else.

You'll never figure it out - even they probably don't know why they're mad.

 

I'm thinking I came across a Mini hater yesterday. Atleast I can't think of anything I did to deserve the finger. I was turning from one road to another yesterday and a truck was behind me. This was at a red light intersection that had it's own turning lane where if you don't see a car coming then you keep going. Next thing I know is this Dodge truck goes by me and I am almost positive his passenger gave me the finger. First thing I thought was I may have not seen him and cut him off. That was quickly dismissed as the truck that had been directly behind me was still behind me so he followed me without stopping at the intersection also. I don't know what happened but oh well, maybe it was his way of showing me that the Mini is #1.

_________________
home.mchsi.com/~mini/index.html

 

I've had several interactions lately such as what SB describes. Also, just horn blowing...like I've had a few people speed up to get behind me and blast the horn, or people coming the other direction who will lay on the horn and do a little serve toward my lane. Jerks. As long as they don't try to mess with me or my car physically, I'm fine.

I chalk it up to the fact that if you're going to attract attention (and we know the MINI does that), then it just figures that not all of it will be positive. I think that there are some folks who can't tolerate difference -- perhaps more of that nowadays than in the not-too-distant past -- and the MINI simply inspires their particular brand of peabrained ire.

 

For the same reason people dislike other people based upon the soil they were birthed on. Or to which parents they were born to. Or for the color of their hair. Or ... the list goes on and on. Nothing new for the human race.

 

I say *** um

 

Well, I'm sure us MINI owners don't like certain other cars right?? And for what reason? Simply the way they look or drive or whatever, it could be a million different reasons

Chow!


Donna

 

>>Well, I'm sure us MINI owners don't like certain other cars right?? And for what reason? Simply the way they look or drive or whatever, it could be a million different reasons

Well that's true, but it's not like we are even driving French cars. We don't even have French engines yet.

I think there is something to the sense that a Mini is the anti-SUV. Even if not expressed directly (and in some cases it has been expressed directly), it's so in your face obvious that possibly SUV owners already feeling "persecuted" in the media for driving their behemouths feel even more "threatened."

L was right. They're just miniphobes.

 

Because we're different, and the design really thumbs it's nose at everthing most people think they know about the way a car should look and perform. I've had quite a few run-ins with, not necessarly MINI haters, but people i've 'offended' because I was just driving my MINI the way it's meant to be driven. I out accelerate most people, and I always seem to fly past them on turns (or get way ahead of them)... I don't get ticked if you take your SUV off road, or if you load up your minivan with cargo or people, so don't get ticked at my MINI because we can zip around a lot quicker than you...

Rocketboy_X
(And then, there's the ricers, but that's another matter...)

 

I think that's right on target. I recall being asked by a state trooper several weeks ago "How do you like driving something that SMALL?" (aggressive, negative, emphasis his). Like, there was something wrong about my car because it was smaller than his Crown Vic or the locomotive-sized SUVs parked around it.

Of course, this particular cop had the exciting duty of directing cars onto a ferry boat -- no doubt looking for Al Qaeda operatives attempting a water-born invasion of Delaware via the Cape May ferry -- so I guess he was pissed about everything that day

 

just wanted to share a different twist on a mini-hater's logic ...

i was at this gas station a few weeks ago when an elderly fellow started talking to me about my mini (he didn't even know what the car was). i almost could kinda tell that this was not the typical enthiusiastic curiosity we generally get from strangers-- he had a grumpy way about him.:smile:

 

I was just reading this thread and had to respond.I don't own a Mini Cooper but I am a fan of the car.I own a PT Cruiser Turbo and I love it a lot but you always get some people who like to voice there opinion on the car we get a lot of people at the PT Cruiser Forums who have stories of vandelism to their PT Cruisers.In one case a guy went to a dance club with his wife and when they came back out somebody smashed the windshield and actually scratched PT SUCKS on the back of there car.One persons PT got run off the road by this guy driving a Chevy Suburban and you get a lot off people tailgating too.I can definitely understand where you are coming from.I know the PT may not be as refined as the Mini but these cars have a style that you either you like or hate.Thats what makes these cars such as the Mini Cooper or the PT Cruiser so cool.They are not average styled cars with bland cookie cutter styling.Or the standard box on wheels like a lot of SUV,s All that matters is that YOU like your car.
I love the new Mini Cooper and I love my PT Cruiser too.Now lets cruise !!!!!

Richard II

 

They hate 'em cause they don't have one..

 

IGNORANT ( uninformed, unaware, showing lack of knowledge or training. )

Webster's Dictionary

A lot of people hate things that they don't understand or think that are different!!
And then there are people who are jealous and violent :???: :???: !!

I met a gentleman who sold his Ferrari 355 and bought a Yellow/W MCS because the Ferrari would get keyed if left in a parking lot for any length of time - sad !!!!

So far we have had many smiles, thumbs up and happy curious folks !!!

Best Regards,
Ron

 

I second Ron, people hate what they do not understand.

 

<Texas drawl> Play nice with the MINI Virgil or Momma's gonna hafta get her gun!

 

I found a real hater, just read my "you have to read this" thread.

 

Or don't forget the classic owners who hate the "BIMI" as they like to call it... what pretentious jackarses... sorry, not everyone can spend the time and money for a car that is rare, can require constant work, and is really unsafe and limited in its praticality...

Rocketboy_X

 

All these posts make me sad!
Yes, there are cars I dislike - some intensely, such as the H2, but there is a huge difference between merely stating your views - as I do, and acting rude, discorteous, and threatening to others, especially on the road where road rage actions endanger all people on the road!
It is sad to see how much energy some folks spend on their hatreds, such as the MINI review thread posted by SuperMINI03, or the whole website dedicated to I hate MINIs by a classic Mini fan. The MINI is so much the opposite, it is about positive energy, loving a car or a lifestyle.
I agree with some of you here, that unfortunately to some the MINI seems threatening, maybe because by it's style and size it makes other units appear so banal, boring, and oversized.
Hhhhmmm.
I'm glad I have my MINI!

 

The problem is Standard American Hypocrisy. It's like this; in America, you can be an individual - but not TOO individual. In America, you can have your own opinion -as long as it doesn't disagree with everyones else's opinion. In America, you can live your life the way you want to - unless someone objects, of course.

Sadly, the country that pioneered democracy, individuality and opportunity for all, has become a nation of old farts who feel it necessary to try to crush anyone who isn't exactly like themselves. THIS is what vandalized MINI owners are dealing with.

 

>>The problem is Standard American Hypocrisy. It's like this; in America, you can be an individual - but not TOO individual. In America, you can have your own opinion -as long as it doesn't disagree with everyones else's opinion. In America, you can live your life the way you want to - unless someone objects, of course.
>>
>>Sadly, the country that pioneered democracy, individuality and opportunity for all, has become a nation of old farts who feel it necessary to try to crush anyone who isn't exactly like themselves. THIS is what vandalized MINI owners are dealing with.

I'd be careful about statements like 'country that pioneered democracy,....'. The concept of democracy is FAR, FAR older than the US of A, in fact, by several thousand years. Let's just keep our facts straight here (just a friendly reminder).
:smile: :smile: :smile:

 

Forgive me, I meant REPRESENTATIVE democracy; I am quite aware of the Greek contribution to world history. However, what they had was nothing comparable to what we have here; the opportunity to rise beyond what was given you at birth. Remember, our system of government was called "The Great Experiment". Other 'democratic' nations still have an extremely rigid class system; you were born a ditch-digger because your father was a ditch-digger, because his father, etc....

 

Don't know if this counts but twice in a week, I've been called a *** while driving my Mini.

First time was by a bunch of highschool kids in an Oldsmobile. I was parked and walking to a store, they saw me on the road earlier (I saw them too) and as they drove by me someone in the car yelled ***. I didn't even flinch. Just kept on going.

Second time I was at a stop light when a, what looked like a beat up decommissioned former Chevy Caprice taxi, driven by a few more high school age Mexicans (sorry, best way to tell the story) yelled ***. I looked over and saw who they were and what they were driving and just ignored it.

Anyway, nothing wrong with being gay but I'm not. Best way to deal with that stuff is to just pretend you didn't even hear it and ignore it. Especially in my case when I would have been outnumbered.

I chalk it up to jealousy and stupidity. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

I grew up outside Detroit as a kid and , man, if you weren't a Chevy, Ford or Mopar fan you were some kind of freak. My favorite car was a Jaguar XK-E. I guess I was a renegade.

Best Regards,
Ron