Yesterday while gassing up (in a hurry to boot) a woman (say, oh 50ish, but the 'active' 50ish look...) told me that she liked my car. To which I replied "Thanks.". She then asked me how they handled in the winter, and I told her that I wasn't quite sure, because the just came out at the start of summer. She seemed confused and was wondering If was a MINI Cooper, and didn't they make them in England for some odd 20 years? Well, I tried to explain as my tank was getting full, yes, the origonal Mini has been around since the 60's, but these ones just came out this year. I think she started to get ticked because she thought I was giving her the run-around.

Conclusion:
It's cool when you meet someone that knows about MINI's... (and well, Mini's..)
It's not cool when they can't tell the difference between the Mini and the MINI.

Not that i'm trying to be down on Mini's, i'd LOVE to have one, but they are two different cars...

Rocketboy_X

 

I learned the hard way with Land Rovers myself.

I bought a Defender 90 8 years ago and fell in love with it just like I am falling in love with My Mini that is still on the boat.

A few years and several thousand Land Rover magazine pages later, I decided that the best thing to do was to also get a classic Land Rover from the 60's.

Although my 1968 Series IIA looked just like my Defender, and it was a capable off-road vehicle, it simply was NEVER going to match the technology of the new vehicle despite the incredible classic appeal of the original item.

So this time, I will NOT go out and buy some old Mini to provide an older sibling for my new MINI.

 

One of the attendants at the local gas station loved the car and knew all about the original and new Minis . We were so busy chatting the other customers had to pump their own gas which is a "no no" in NJ.

It really feels great to talk to someone who is as excited about the car as I am.