Indeed it is Monday. I don't like Monday's much. Most of the time I wake up and just wish I could roll over and hit the snooze alarm again. The bed is comfy and Kimba (the cat) is curled up keeping me warm. Sadly GF Unit is to far away and worse is already at work. I am lucky in that I just live about 5 miles from work and I don't really have to be there until 9am.

I take my shower and pull on clothes. At least I can drive the MINI today. My motorcycle is 50 miles away afterall.

I go out and open the garage door. Sadly my garage door opener is not working so well despite my complaints to the management here. I use my key to open the garage and there she was--MINI waiting for me.

I open the hatch after the car chirps at me when I press her unlock button. I throw my laptop into the back, close the hatch and jump into the car.

I start it up.. pull out. I jump out of the car long enough to close the garage door again. I am off.

Ut oh. What is this light?

Let me rant here a second. Why do we have to have icons that are supposed to convey messages on the dash? I don't think I would have made a good cave man. I just never get the symbols. Perhaps part of the reason is that I don't see well and that causes me some difficulty when I am trying to figure out what a particular idiot light means. Why is there one on? Hmm..

The light looks like a car wrecked. The hood is up and the hatch is up. Yet the car seems to be in one piece and both the bonnet and hatch seem secure. Yes, I get out and check these things.

Ok. Where is the manual? Crap! it is in the house. Hmm.. wonder if I have my insurance card? Nope. It is in the house too.

I turn off the car and run back up to my apartment. Up the stairs I run. Kimba squeals as I tear past her. I get the insurance card and the user guide. As I am heading back down the stairs I am thumbing through the pages. Hmm.. index.. idiot lights... nope... ah page 36.. I get to the section that shows me the symbol. It says either that the hatch is open or the bonnet is. Ok. So I now am back at the MINI I proceed to unlock the hatch and close it again. The light is out. Phew!

I motor on to work. It was not really eventful. I had to swerve around a socer mom unloading her precious cargo in the middle of a lane that is marked "No Stopping at Any Time". I guess that sign did not apply to her.

I got to work and had to park the MINI. I have a nice plae to park it where the SUVs will not get it. I learned my lesson with the ever hit S2000 in the parking lot. I now park on the street. Fortunately it is one of those streets where the lane is wide enough to support parking and a bike lane. I pull the MINI to a stop and unload the laptop and head in.

Time passes.

Now those who know me in real life know that you can set your watch for noon by me. If it is noon I am on my way to lunch. My work buddies have for the last couple of years taken me in their car. An advantage of a S2000 is its ability to only hold one other person. Since i only holds one I find that I am not the right candidate for the lunch wagon driver... until MINI.

"Fine! I'll drive!" and off we go.

Now I admit weakening. I got to show some true colors of this vehicle. I heard mumblings of "cute car" all day. What I wanted to hear was "hot car" and "boy is that cool." not cute. So.. after it warms up a bit I let it out a little bit. I mean the tach could have failed over night right? I need to know it is ok.

Boom. I slam through third.. and my passengers are loving it. Now I have a MCS and don't have the JCS upgrade (yet!) and my friends were impressed. The S2000 is just not that torque oriented and to get a kick I have to get it to 6500 RPM. This MINI educated my passengers and impressed me. It just didn't feel this good yesterday.

What I really liked is how the engine sounded. Sure I could stand to have it sound a bit meaner but honestly I loved the whine of the turbo charger. My buddy who is a bit of a car buff was quick to chime in how cool the Turbo was and he went on to educate the other guy in the car who asked about how power comes on with a Turbo.

They were impressed. I was impressed. The love affair grows.

The drive home was uneventful. The soccer moms were all safely tucked away shoving food into little Johnny's mouth getting ready for another day. Me.. I am motoring home my last 5 miles regretting that my commute is so short.

Tomorrow is Tuesday... another MINI day.

-mark=

 

Great story, Mark. But that torque and power that is so readily available when you mash the pedal is not provided by a turbo...it comes courtesy of a supercharger.

Happy motoring.

Sean

 

I was going to point that out... But Mark, this blooper is really great for you: now you can go through the entire affair again today, and have the passenger explain to the others how the supercharger provides power.

 

I LOVE reading your new experience with your MINI, keep posting!

Here on NAM we call the "hatch" the boot. It will impress your friends, just FYI!

 

Hey wait.... are you the guy that crashed his S2000 and the insurance company were gonna fix?

So you finally got an S I assume? Thats excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!

So whats the story with the S2000? No fix?

 

Yikes, don't say "turbo" around here or you will suddenly be faced with a horde of buzzing MINIacs like a swarm of angry hornets from a kicked-over nest. Read threads on 2007 model predictions to see what I mean.

 

Great story though, you're good at making us feel like we're in the moment :smile:

 

Just curious... if you're never used the words boot and bonnet to describe anything but articles of clothing, why start now?

My friends would consider me a poseur, and I'd be inclined to agree with them.

 

What's all the fuss I am hearing about a Turbo Charger in a Mini? I mean where is the Turbo? Where is the Charger?

"Ella.. there is no Turbo charger in a Mini"

Oh? Well.. Nevermind!



-mark=

 

The S2000 is still in intensive care. I don't know what the doctors will say. I decided that if they fix it--great. I can have two cars or I can sell it. If the total it--well perfect.

-mark=

 

I'm still in the waiting stages for my January Build MCS. I've made a couple of beginner mistakes in the postings here, so I can understand the 'turbo' faux pas. Doesn't take away too much from a very enjoyable read.

Interesting thread about the bonnet and boot titles. Isn't this a bit of 'When in Rome'? I think it depends on the audience your are addressing. Just my opinion.

 

You could move farther away from work, or quit and get a job in another city.

 

If your friends accuse you of being a poseur, the just tell them that using bonnet and boot is de rigeur in the MINI community!

 

Couldn't have said it better myself! Thanks ogrady!

 

My 100 mile round trip daily commute was great today
Love your posts MarkM
And if your username is your name,we have the same initials:smile:
MarkMc

 

Details, details.... I love reading your posts....

 

No one is asking you to be a poseur, or pretend.

Those terms are what they are called in the USER MANUAL FOR THE CAR. QUite frankly, that is the proper term, for that part, for THAT car. Nuff said.

If you have a car parked next to your MINI, then THAT car has a trunk and a hood... unless of course it has a user manual that says otherwise.

 

I don't mean for this to get personal...but thanks for your back up camelpilot. I always love reading your posts!:smile:

 

My hood,is a bonnet and my trunk is a boot,but I'm willing to pose for pics

 

Thanks for the blow by blow of the maiden voyage. Too bad you didn't have a camera with you. Hope you post some more experiences.

 

Great Post! Veeeery Funny!