After I ordered my MCS, I was telling a friend about how excited I was. He said, "I hope you enjoy talking to strangers in parking lots!"

 

My son and I were driving down the freeway one night, coming to the point where the freeway dead-ends and turns into a 270 degree turnoff ramp...always great fun with a MINI. Most traffic takes it at around 30 mph, but we routinely navigate at +50 mph comfortably within the speed limit. Anyway, I can see a car approaching quickly from the rear and can tell it's some kind of a sports car due to the arrangements of the lights. Soon this car is riding tight to our rear bumper. I continue to drive at the posted 55 mph speed limit but once we hit the turn, where everyone else hits the brakes, I'm on the throttle. As we complete the full 270 degree turn, I see the light turning yellow in front of us, signal the turn, brake to a stop and pull out onto the deserted road. Watching my rear view mirror, I see the car that was following us ignore the now red light and slide through the turn...hard on the throttle...but, about a hundred yards or so behind us. As he passed us (we are still driving within the law), I notice that it was a late model Corvette. We still joke that he probably has sold the vette and bought a MINI.

 

One of the old school civil engineers I work with struck up a conversation with me about 'The Italian Job', and how he watched it the other day. Through a little confusion I realized he was talking about the original movie.

"They made a new, Italian job?" He looked a little confused and there was an awkward silence.

 

Like many good stories I had to go the bathroom. the snag was I was on a virginia byway with few if any stores.. I knew there were some caverns 10 miles up the road but i was going to explode. I hit the gas and tried to keep a steady clip, it was a hilly road but striaght.. I caught up to a caravan of abtou 8 car/trucks and they were goign way to slwo for my bladder... after abtou a mile I came upon a stretch of the road that was valley shaped... so I could see all the way to the other ridge.. no one was comming. I floored it.. 1..2..3..4....5..6..7..8.. cars and a lot of googly eyes later I was ahead of the feild and I hit the limiter on my cvt mini 135mph I think it was... felt like it could have gone faster but really I had NO idea I was going that fast..until my co-pilot aka Wife let me know. I swear the car feels like it's alwasy doing 45mph. I made it to the bathroom before exploding. PS.. I once took a honda civic to 125 (closed conditions) and it felt like it was going to fly apart at the seams, this mini was so much smoother.

 

Two new ones:

1- This past weekend I'm driving down the freeway heading towards Pearl Harbor. We've had some really bad rain the last couple of months and the freeway and highways are filled with potholes. The Oahu MINI folks know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. Anyway I was doing about 65 mph in the right hand lane when I see a pothole probably 2-3' in diameter coming up. Thank God for the MINI's excellent handling! I make a fast left/right swerve around it without slowing down. I did it so fast the Corrola station wagon behind me didn't have time to react, hit the hole, and I saw the front passenger side hubcap take off like a frisbee into the bushes !

2- Last night I pull up at our local Foodland store in Liliha to pick-up some grocery's. The parking stall is right next to this really nice 2000 Pontiac Firebird. When I get back to the car the FB owner and his very pretty girl friend are loading shopping bags. She walks over and starts talking to me about how cute the MINI is, she "loves" the moon roof, etc., etc.. Then she starts to complain about the Firbird because it's too small to take friends out in, there are FB's all over the place, it's hot even with the AC on. Needlees to say her friend is not amused, he was cool, but DEFFINATELY not amused with the attention I was getting. Since I had the boot open I offered her a current MINI catalogue from the selection I keep with me. And . . . she took it and I got a really nice smile to boot ! I can imagine the conversation those two had on the way home!

Aloha!

JCW04

 

No Mini stories yet but many close encounters with Michigan's finest:

1-I'm cruising along doin 80 in the second lane of a 4 lane highway at dusk. Far away in my rearview mirror, I observe a Michigan trooper coming up FAST in the fast lane...no lights, no siren. He wizzes past me at a guestimated speed of at least 120mph Nearly sucked me into that lane! I jump down two gears and let the Supertrapp sing and went after him. I kept him in sight as I passed the 130mph mark when my mirrors suddenly filled up with flashers and spot lights I'm tost As the trooper walked up to retrieve my papers, he asked me what's the emergency? I laughed and told him, "you've got me fair and square...I was just trying to chase down your buddy to see where the fire was". Without going back to check my plate, he replies..."we're trained for high speed persuit, you're not...slow down and have a nice day"

2-My buddy and I were heading over to his house one day. As we accelerated down a long straight on-ramp, he was drafting the butt of my Probe with his modded Escort. It was dusk and nearly dark. I'm going to teach him a lesson, I thought and went WOT. As I merged/passed a dozen or so cars, I was once again at over 130mph. I looked back and noticed that all the headlights were getting smaller and smaller as if they'd all stopped or something. A few miles down the highway, the lanes split to merge into the intersecting highway. I let up on the gas and coasted around this long bend and merged into the middle of the only three cars up ahead. Looking back in my mirrors, I see a pair of headlights coming up fast. Thinking this was my friend, I waited for him to slow down next to me. Nope...something blue went zooming past all of us...no flashers again. You guessed it...Michigan's finest Another pair of lamps came up and as my friend lined up next to me, I could see that he was laughing his *** off. What had happened was that I had blown past the officer in the median without my radar doing over 130. While everone else let off the gas, I was WOT. He was in hot pursuit but couldn't identify me because I went by him so fast in the dark (my Probe was black too). If I had known that I was nailed, I'd let off the gas and be riding in his back seat that night

Wait...I do have a Mini story. Last year, while entered in the local "Battle of the Brits" car show, two ladies were looking over my Mini. As they whispered and chucked to one another, I noticed that they were staring into my interior at my hand brake. As I was sitting in my lawn chair only a few feet away, I commented out loud..."no, it doesn't come with batteries" They both turned red as a tomato

 

My boyfriend (TULS) was outside washing his MCS when this older couple in our complex stopped and asked him the normal "funfactor" questions. We didn't think much of it because as we all know it happens a lot. 2 days later he went to the dealer (we're dorks so we hang out there) and who do you think he runs into? Yup, you guessed it. The very next day after that they stopped by to tell us what a blast they're having and how they can't believe the stares and comments they're getting from people about their New Red Cooper convertable and they were so jealous of us and our Minis they had to have their own. that's one big heck of a thanks if you ask me. Infecting people with the Mini state of mind is a good thing.

 

if it did come with batteries maybe we wouldn't need the antinag accesory thread

 

Hey, way to go! Spread the MINI mantra world wide! Here in Honolulu at MINI of Hawai'i there is a finders refferal fee. You should check with your MA to see if they do the same. Nice to get a little "walking around" money sometimes!

Aloha!

JCW04

 

Lizz and I went to the British Car Festival in a Chicago suburb last summer. It was a 70 mile drive, it was hot, and we had only had our classic Mini a few weeks and did not trust it yet. We decided to chicken out and tow our classic to the show, instead of driving it.

Comming home on the expressway at about 65 MPH I thought a couple of drivers were going to run off the road from staring at us instead of the road!

Several pulled along side and gave us the thumbs up.

John

 

I was coming home from my parents late one night. It's about a 1 1/2 hour drive and to break up the trip I like to wind up the MINI from time to time. I moved into the left land and cruised at 125 mph for just over 20 minutes. Out of the blue I decided to ease up and pulled into the middle lane behind a white sedan. As soon as I made the move the white sedan lit up like a cherry and took off after the guy trailing right behind me still in the left lane. Lucky night.

 

THAT'S AWESOME.... HA HA HA HA HA

 

I second that motion! Ultra cool tow set-up. I bet a lot of the classic Mini folks would rather see the towing done the other way around ! Goes to show that the MINI tow capacity is pretty darn good!

Aloha!

JCW04

 

Well don't try this in Honolulu, the brakes would complain comming down some of your hills!

 

This morning coming to work in St. Louis, MO I had a new 06 mustang come up on my in a two lane road, and try to pass me. As he started to move to the left lane I push the throdle and moved away from him. I looked back to see his face with a stunned mullet look as he moved back over to the right lane. I think he was a little surprized, I guess more like shocked!

I was probably still getting 10mpg better then him with my foot in it.

 

On one of the only nice days since I got my car at the beginning of Dec. I had just finished washing the car and was on my way to the store... cruising along in the slow lane and came to a stop light next to 3 bikers on harleys. I look over and admire the one guy's custom chopper... look up and he's staring at the car. we catch eachother and he gives a big smile and thumbs up. he then proceeds to tell one of other two guys that 'that little car is faster and handles better than your f*ing mustang'. the second guy chuckles at the third and he turns and says 'your vette too moron'. I just smiled and gently pulled away when the light turned green...

 

I owned my MINI for 9 months, and was never pulled. In fact, cops WAVED at me. Oh, i've been followed around, but i drive like normal, and they leave me alone.

I owned a thunderbird for a year, and was pulled over a few times, given warnings.
Then i bought a miata. Owned it 8 months, and was pulled over a few times, even had an accident, but only got warnings.
One day i'm forced to pass through a checkpoint in the MINI, and i get a ticket.

What are the odds.

 

Driving the classic Mini back to Vegas from Ohio was interesting. There were a number of "fun story" moments.
Like pulling up to the toll-booths on the Ohio turnpike and having to lean over and roll the passenger window down to get the tickets and pay the nice ladies.
All the waves and smiles I got from adults and kids in everything from sports cars to SUVs to pickups.
The 8 or 9 people I met at various stops who knew what a Mini was (a vanfull of them I met at a petrol station in Denver were on their way home to Vegas too).
The cop in Iowa pulling me over for 81 in a 65 zone, walking up to the wrong side of the car, so that I had to stick my arm out the window and say "This side!!", who eventually let me go on the speeding with a warning, though he did ticket me for driving an unregistered car, which doesn't hit my insurance coz it is a non-moving violation, and coz I gave him my Australian license.
When I finally got too scared about the tire rubbing on the wheel arch to keep driving (it had been about 1000 miles by that point) and gave up, I rented a 14' U-Haul truck, drove the Mini into the back and drove the truck home.
Those were all from the 1 trip.

 

that's awesome

I'm so glad you guys revived this thread, I had forgotten about it...now I'm going to have to think of some more of my stories

 

My MINI has made me almost incapable of driving other cars. Last week I had to borrow the SO's Chevy Malibu (automatic) and I turned into an idiot. I hit my head on the steering wheel when I slammed on the brake thinking it was the clutch, and when my right hand flew out for the non-existant shifter, I switched on the radio and almost deafened myself.

Then there is the issue of the speedometer. I had no idea how fast I was driving. The whole time I drove the car, I looked at the vents in the middle of the dash and wondered why Chevy Malibus don't come with speedometers.

 

couple of weeks after i picked up the mini. i decided to show it off went and picked up a frend and went to the movie theaters. when i pulled up, a girl in a kia shouted out "your car is ugly!", i quickly replied "your ugly too!!," and she didnt have a come back, so i drove off and laughed.

 

One of the first 02 MINIs in FL doing the first classic Mini tow.....



Best story...
driving down a freeway in the passing lane, a Lexus 430SC runs up behind me (I'm @ 80mph or so) as we come up to tollbooths. Luckily, I had correct change in hand and beat him out of the blocks. He chases me around 100+mph until the freeway divides into two ramps. One is a downhill 360'. I "slow" down to 70 as I enter it and he crowds my back end. I then floor it cutting two apexes. He thinks he can keep up and follows suit....about 1/3 into the curve he finds the 430SC sliding perilously towards the outer guardrail while the MCS disappears around the bend on the inside shoulder....he definitely needed to change underwear after that.... Lets see MCs was 22K, Aa 430SC is what 60-70K???

 

Pulled up to the drive through Window to get some fast food. The young girl (15-16 or so) looks at my car and asks:
"Did you have them make your car?"
"Yes. Yes I did. It's a MINI."
"Cool."
Then she handed me my change. Still the best compliment anyone has given my car.

 

I was driving down in North Carolina trying to find my way back onto the highway after stopping for lunch when I hear a frantic beeping. I look to my side and there is another MINI owner giving me a BIG thumbs up and waving like his arm was on fire. I waved back and tapped the horn. We then proceeded to keep side by side with each other until we split going onto different entrance ramps. I still laugh about how REALLY engergetic this guy was when he saw us....never saw him before haven't seen him since but man he was HAPPY.

 

I was in Newport RI on business with my MINI. When we broke for lunch I took my two managers (sort of like Lays chips "Can't have just one") out in the MINI. Watching the oldest of the guys getting into the back was enough to keep me laughing for days but later while waiting at a light a garbage truck pulls up next to us. He motions for me to wind down the window and says what a cool car the MINI is and how much do they cost. After talking with this guy for at least a minute (it was one LONG light) my boss in the passenger seat turns to me and says does this happen a lot? OH YES IT DOES