A friend just stopped by with his new car. It’s an ’85 Cadillac Fleetwood. (He has different taste in cars.) He parked it side by side with my Mini and I realized that the Mini isn’t that small after all. The passenger compartments are within a 6” of each other in length. The only difference is that the Cadi has 4’+ additional in the hood and 5’+ in the trunk. Other than the excessive overhangs on the Cadi they were surprisingly similar in length. There is a considerable difference in the width, probably 2’ on the inside and 3’ outside. I thought this was amusing and hopefully someone gets a kick out of it. Oh yeah, and when I mentioned the news stories about gas prices reaching $3+ / gallon this summer he said he’d be buying a bicycle.

 

I park in parking lots all the time (no garage) and I am constantly amused by my MINIs length compared to other cars. Parked nose to nose, my neighbor's rear seats begin where my entire car ends. Lots of huge pickups in another lot...very funny! Once, at Best Buy, I was at almost (I'm not stupid!) surrounded by big SUVs. I felt like I was in a freakin' canyon.

PS: I have been accused (...to my face) of being easily amused. I took that as a compliment and I still don't know to this day if that is how it was meant.

 

While the space for people in a MINI is good the small overall size makes it really fun to park.
I took my daughter out in a MINI for a driving lesson to do parallel parking and it was easy to find room to park.
To make it easier you'd need a motorcycle.

I guess a Smartcar would be easy too or a tri-cycle.

 

One area where the MINI shines is in interior volume. Whenever people get in, they are amazed at the space inside. One co-worker of mine is 6'7" and close to 400 lbs (all muscle...he also works as a bouncer) and he had plenty of head and leg room in the front passenger seat.

 

I have to remember not to park tood deeply in a slot. Too often it looks like the slot is empty when there are other cars or especially minivans or SUVs next to me. I'm afraid someone will try zipping into the seemingly empty space and rearend my car. I watched it almost happen once.

 

Check these out. They are a bit misleading due to perspective, but you get the idea. Please excuse my dirty wheels. They normally aren't like that. LOL





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Octane Guy

 

>>I have to remember not to park tood deeply in a slot. Too often it looks like the slot is empty when there are other cars or especially minivans or SUVs next to me. I'm afraid someone will try zipping into the seemingly empty space and rearend my car. I watched it almost happen once.

I had the exact same thing happen. Saw it unfold before my eyes....twice. And who knows how many times that I missed. Once coming out of the liquor store. Biga$$ Dodge Ram parked beside me. Bascially my MCS was lost in the parking lot at that point. Sure enough, as I'm walking toward it, this older Olds Cutlas comes ripping into the same stall that I occupied, and then she hits the brakes full force as the car does a major frontal dive. I just about dropped my beer in a panac. Didn't hear a crunch, but ran to check. She JUST missed the **** end of my baby. I came close to losing my MINI and my beer that day. MINI abuse is bad enough. Alcohol abuse on top of that would have made me go postal.
So yes......a reminder not to park too far into parking stalls. Ya never know what vehicle will dwarf your MINIs presence in a stall, and then have your MINI's backside violated worse than a convict picking up the soap.
Cheers,

 

[quote]

and then have your MINI's backside violated worse than a convict picking up the soap. Or should I say ops: ?

 

>>Check these out. They are a bit misleading due to perspective, but you get the idea. Please excuse my dirty wheels. They normally aren't like that. LOL
>>

Those pics are great -- the mini isn't smaller, just smarter. Well I guess it is smaller....but you get what I mean!!!

 

The Amazing thing is... is that we are so in love with the Mini and what BMW & JCW has done for us that we forget it is just a car. I love it for it's size, ability to get around in tight corners, and it's power.
A friend of mine has the Mustang 5.0, yes, I would love foro the Mini to have an exaust sounding like that, but it's not the Mini's style. I enjoy it for what it is.

A small car with power & very much personality!

Have you ever purchased a car and treated it like you do the Mini?

 

Thanks MINIdreamer! I love my MINI!! It is sooo much fun and practical!

And Kramseib, never! The MINI was the first car I've ever treated where I wanted him clean all the time, to be shiny and kept up when he goes in public with me!

I drive my MINI hard, as can be seen from my front wheels after just a few hours of driving and the fact my tires are almost worn at only 13,000 miles, and I've loved every single mile!

Some more pics that my MINI isn't so small!







>>The Amazing thing is... is that we are so in love with the Mini and what BMW & JCW has done for us that we forget it is just a car. I love it for it's size, ability to get around in tight corners, and it's power.
SNIP

>>
>>Have you ever purchased a car and treated it like you do the Mini?


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Octane Guy