Get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, Mr. mhhoff?

 

First of all....interesting phrase!

Second, while I've always been a waver (and a Cooper owner) I, too suspected the wave was dying around here....'til the other day. It was a nice springtime day...and I got 5 out of 6 wave-backs...in one day!!! Mighta been 6 out of 6...windshield glare obstructed my view. I'm sure there are different realities out there, but the wave is still alive and well in Arlington, Texas...it was just subsumed for a time.

 

I am always busy looking at their car....thwn wave too late...

 

I do the same thing--just forget which car I am driving...old age I guess.

 

Back in '02 the market was flooded by real Mini enthusiasts who had probably been lusting after one since it was a concept. When it became a reality the wait was usually six months or more from deposit to motoring. Everyone had a significant emotional investment in ownership and once on the road Mini sightings were infrequent.....so we waved giddily when we spotted each other.

Today, 50% of owners buy their Mini's right off the lot.....basically no wait involved, no agonizing over specs, not much dreaming involved. For many of these people, it may very well be just a new car.....with no significant emotional connections. In large cities, they are likely to see 3-4 on the road before they ever get it home for the first time. When mine was new in 9/02 I saw one every few days and a sighting was exciting, so we expressed that feeling to one another.

This morning someone waved at me and I reciprocated.....but I generally don't initiate unless there is some kind of eye contact first or if I see a dark
silver like mine. It's no longer a big deal to see another one. Waving Mini enthusiasts are largely a thing of the past. While the loss of this phenomenon is disappointing to many of us, that's just the way it is. Oh, well. Wave because you want to share your enthusiam.....not because you want anything in return. Be cool.

 

Oh, and mhhoff.....I hope for your sake as well as for those around you that
this is just.....not one of your better days.

 

I'm a relatively new MINI owner in Los Angeles, and I was really looking forward to the waves/honks/flashes. I've only had 4-5 wave exchanges in the last 6 months that I've had the car. Funny you made the "stare" comment...I do that too sometimes now! Or I make a very weak attempt at waving to see if I get any kind of response. Last few days I have had no luck at all.

 

 

 

My co-worker is an early-adopter, and still has her '02 Cooper S after nearly 4 years. She was just complaining yesterday that nobody waves back anymore. She's so frustrated, and figuring she's been a MINI owner longer, instead of waving, she now pre-emptively gives other MINI drivers the finger.

I think she was joking.

 

Waving still happens in Miami, although not as much as it used to be 3-4 years ago. There are too many MINIs down here. On a single day I can count 40-60 of them and a couple of classics every week or so.

Couple of weeks ago I was in San Francisco, CA and same as Miami I saw tons of MINIs in that wonderful city but not much waving action either.

While I enjoy waving to other MINI drivers, that is not a crucial aspect of the car's enjoyment for me. I see folks getting overly frustrated over the lack of response from other MINI owners on the road, but then again so what? This is human nature.

Rarely women wave back to men. I think most women find the waving and honking intimidating, specially coming from stranger males.

In my experience, the group of people that wave less are the Cabrio owners.

 

Hey sndwave. Were you coming out of Sam's Walmart yesterday? blue mini? I waved and honked. Red vert mini

 

I actually still wave, but after 115,000 MINI miles and increasing "failures to respond" it's a pretty half-hearted effort.

 

I dont know but here in Rockford, IL people still wave, I know ive only had my MINI for only 3 weeks and ive only seen 2 other MINIS driving around while I've been driving my MCS and I'm 2 for 2 so far!
And i get a lot of people giving "Captain" the stares and great comments all the time, maybe its just the region some people are at that they just dont care anymore

 

Hey capnmini Are you part of CMMC? Come check us out!

I wave all the time.. I look like a lunatic but who really cares anyways

 

I'm still waving. Of course I don't expect silver-haired grannie to respond. When I can, I really look at the other driver, and sometimes they nod at the last second. Thinking of raspberry'g those I recognize who haven't played nice before.

 

Had my 06' MINI for about 5 weeks now, and I wave at every MINI I see.
The ratio of wavers to non-wavers is about 50/50 here in Orange County.

If I do get a wave back it's usually very enthusiastic though!

 

I am in Austin and wave everytime. Sometimes I am driving my wife's minivan, with the kids, and catch myself waiving to a MINI. That is when they look at me really funny. MINIvan waiving at a MINI. You can see the connection, can't you?

Bomboasy

 

that stuff can get u shot in cali

 

This topic comes up on a regular basis. Merging it into a pre-existing thread.

 

yeah, may have looked at me weird or just plain ignored me with their tunnel vision.

But, that's not stopping me from waving

 

mhhoff.....I do understand your cynical attitude toward waving.....just not your initial way of expressing it. If you have motored 115,000 mi., you have seen it all and the present state of waving surely would feel deflating. Nice to hear from you again.

I'll be visiting my granddaughters in San Francisco next week. It is without doubt the Mini Capital of the USA. Too bad I won't have one to test the
dynamics of this issue while I'm there.

 

I got a nice reaction last week. I was on my way to work in the morning and waiting to make a right turn onto a busier road when I saw a DS/DS coming down in the right lane towards me. Flashing lights, slowed down to let me in etc. I had the sunroof open and gave them a big thumbs up and flashed my hazards. I was gonna slow to let them pull up. When they passed he and his co-pilot gave thumbs up and then banged a hard right away from me. It was cool.

 

Isn't that what it was all supposed to be about in the first place? - - m

 

I'll admit, I didn't read through everything on this thread, but I'll just put in my two cents: I always at least wave or flash my headlights at MINI's that I see that I think can also see me. (And I'm a girl) And I've also had women wave back to me.