The MINI on the iceberg shot is funny.

My MC should arrive at the dealer (Rasmussen in Portland) tomorrow and I should have it later this week.

 

Just found out that my DS/B "S" is on the MODERN DRIVE which left Southampton on 3/24. It's due to arrive in NY on 4/1. I live in IL so I have no idea how long it takes from the facility to the Dealer.
Anyway, it's getting harder and harder to wait. No choice though. Anyone else in the Chicago area in (or on) the same boat?? :wink :smile:

 

>>Just found out that my DS/B "S" is on the MODERN DRIVE which left Southampton on 3/24. It's due to arrive in NY on 4/1. I live in IL so I have no idea how long it takes from the facility to the Dealer.
>>Anyway, it's getting harder and harder to wait. No choice though. Anyone else in the Chicago area in (or on) the same boat?? :wink :smile:

I'm on the same boat! I mean, my MINI is! I know how hard it is to wait....I've been tracking mine like I'm obsessed or something ever since it went into production. Actually, my co-workers DO say I'm obsessed about this...but they've never driven a MCS so they obviously don't understand! I have a map of the Atlantic ocean hanging in my office at work with a little pointer indicating roughly where the ship is along the journey to NY. OK, MAYBE I'm a little excited about this. Some people think I'm going to go to NYC to see it arrive on the boat! (not a bad idea, really...)

For what it's worth, my dealer (in Buffalo NY) says I should be motoring in my MINI before Easter arrives so hopefully you will be also!

_________________
2004 EB/W MCS to be delivered mid-April 2004! It's sailing! White bonnet stripes, Sport Package, Premium Package, H/K Stereo w/Acc. port Black/Grey Space Cloth, Silver dash. Oooooooooooooo I can't stand the wait!

 

I'm gonna assume I'm on the same boat as you guys. I haven't talked to my dealer, but the MINI people said my MCS arrived at the docks on the 22nd of this month. Damn, the waiting is kiiiilllllling me, KILLING ME I TELL YOU!!!

The good news though is that I finished typing my thesis tonight! Woohooo!

 

Anybody on the Freedom?? I'm not sure if mine is (wonderful WW tracking), but I've decided to track the Freedom for now. Here's a pic of the daily observations made by the Freedom plotted on a map. The red dot by Florida is our target! Enjoy.

 

Courtesy of Brad Emerson..here's some more information regarding the Freedom.

Distances from the Freedom to various locations:

Charleston SC 3072 miles
Hamburg 1417 miles
Hong Kong 6809 miles
Honolulu 6768 miles
Long Beach 4706 miles
New York 2474 miles
Panama Canal 4287 miles
Port Hueneme 4683 miles
Southampton 888 miles
Southampton Bay 979 miles
Sydney 11261 miles
Thessaloniki 2301 miles
Tokyo 6435 miles

 

To verify what ship your MINI is on go here and click on AUTO, then enter your VIN and the next page will show you the status of your car. It's safe to assume that once your car is loaded onto the ship and it's set sail that your MINI is on the way! You can click on the voyage name to see that it's left port.

_________________
2004 EB/W MCS to be delivered mid-April 2004! It's sailing! White bonnet stripes, Sport Package, Premium Package, H/K Stereo w/Acc. port Black/Grey Space Cloth, Silver dash. Oooooooooooooo I can't stand the wait!

 

>>To verify what ship your MINI is on go here and click on AUTO, then enter your VIN and the next page will show you the status of your car. It's safe to assume that once your car is loaded onto the ship and it's set sail that your MINI is on the way! You can click on the voyage name to see that it's left port.
>>

I wish it were that simple. My MINI was scheduled to depart on Sat on the Andes Highway. Well on Friday WW (Wallenius Wilhelmsen) showed that my MINI was on the wait list for the Freedom. As of right now (Monday) it still shows that my MINI is on the wait list for Freedom. So my MINI is either on the Freedom, the Andes Highway, or at port in Southampton. Like I said early I don't know where my MINI is.

 

Welcome to the Where is my ship club.

I remember last year about this time most of the ships just disappeared with the war in iraq and all. I guess they were afraid of posting their positions. You know how fearsome the Iraqui navy was.

Hang in their April clubbers, your ships will come in. Meanwhile, enjoy the wait. It's worth it.

Andy

 

The Can't-Wait-For-The-Boat-Club was almost as much fun as the Where-In-the-VDC-Is-My-Car-Already-Club

I couldn't stand it anymore and put my summer wheels and rubber on. Ahh... grip, wonderful grip! Admittedly, it's not so easy to swap between over-and-understeer at low speeds on the rotaries around here, but it's so much more fun to have a REAL contact patch now!

Track event all set for the end of April! I'll give the mini that last event on the stock suspension (and probably my street wheels and tires), then switch to the H-sports and 16" wheels and tires for the next one. The horses are keeping me poor the past few months.

Rachel, trying to figure out what's living under the space-bar on the keyboard....

 

Just got word, my IB/B is on the Eijin and, barring VDC disaster, will be at my dealer on or around April 17th.

I'd call this the home stretch.

 

My MINI is on it's way across the pond. PW, chrome bumper inserts, cold weather package, sunroof (and that pkg), sport seats and driving lamps. I am wondering if anyone knows anything about Bill Jacobs MINI in Naperville IL. I've read a lot of nasty dealer comments. After reading the Consumer Reports I almost backed out and bought a Toyota, but my daughter, the greatest MINI fan, said I had to buy something fun, not boring. She's hoping to drive it in two years. Slim chance.
The forum has really calmed my fears. thanks.

 

Welcome mltth.

Sounds like you have a smart daughter. Pay attention to her, but don't let her drive your mini. Mine just turned 16, and she fits in the passenger seat or back seat just fine.

Enjoy the experience.

Andy

 

>>My MINI is on it's way across the pond. PW, chrome bumper inserts, cold weather package, sunroof (and that pkg), sport seats and driving lamps. I am wondering if anyone knows anything about Bill Jacobs MINI in Naperville IL. I've read a lot of nasty dealer comments. After reading the Consumer Reports I almost backed out and bought a Toyota, but my daughter, the greatest MINI fan, said I had to buy something fun, not boring. She's hoping to drive it in two years. Slim chance.
>>The forum has really calmed my fears. thanks.
Hello neighbor! I, like you, was a little worried at first (to the point of going to my dealer - Patirck MINI - and asking about problems I found about in this forum). I must say that after reading Consumer Reports long-term test on the MINI and listening to the fellows in this forum, my fears have subsided :smile: I cannot wait to get my hands on the thing! My 30 year old said she'd like to drive it, but the one I'm really worried about is my wife! She learned to drive stick on my '69 Roadrunner and went through a set of tires in 5,000mi.

 

My new S should be rolling off the truck in my driveway next wednesday!

 

Well April clubbers, I took delivery of my DS/B MCS today. Is JPL still keeping the list, or is he too busy motoring?
After all, I have 1170 miles to put on this weekend. (Break in miles are supposed to be done all at once right? )

 

Congrats, syanapticfire! I think you're actually supposed to cover the break in miles within the first 24 hours.

 

According to the website my MINI is now "En route." I checked it on that shipping website and it said it was aboard the ship Modern Drive, which says it hasn't arrived yet, but that it was loaded on vessel on the 24th. Have to do some more investigating to see when the ship is scheduled to hit port.

 

Should I let my husband drive it? -- he just bought a Toyota Solara. It's very nice, but...... It looks huge compared to the MINI that's coming for me. Maybe we'll be able to get both cars in the garage finally. I guess his car will be the family car.

 

My MCS is on the Modern Drive and I'm in Chicago, too!! My birthday is tomorrow (April 1st, and I'm not kidding) what a great b-day prezzy that my car hits port on my birthday! Maybe our cars are next to each other....

So excited!!!

 

>>Should I let my husband drive it? -- he just bought a Toyota Solara. It's very nice, but...... It looks huge compared to the MINI that's coming for me. Maybe we'll be able to get both cars in the garage finally. I guess his car will be the family car.

For sure let him drive is just so he knows what he's missing

 

Thanks for keeping the sanity, Andy! I'm basically unavailable this and part of next week, so glad to see one of the "last generation" holding hands with the newb's

Quick summary - I did a set of Dyno pulls on Saturday. Bottom line, I'm getting 182HP at the wheels, and 167lb-ft at the wheels. For the "at the crank" junkies, that's about 203 and 187. Bad news - my runs were rather erratic, and I'm not quite sure what it could be. Heat soak wasn't the issue, as the curves aren't parallel, but all over the place. Don't want to point fingers at parts until I nail it down for sure. I'll be going back to the dyno better equipped soon!

Cheers, and Motor-On,
Ryan

 

I'm leaving Saturday to go to Maui for a week. Rachel, Red, Cheffie, Wags anyone hanging around?

April is going to be another great month for Miniacs. Hang on next generation April people. The ride is just starting.

Andy

 

I'm still around...just not as often...

You old farts surely remember the drill:

Chef=high school teacher
Spring=insanity at school
Chef+spring/insanity at school = no time to post
but hey, summers coming!!!

Won't be able to make the dragon (sorry Rye) as long as it's in May...too much school stuff...
My local club is joining in a rally on April 17 sponsored by the Texas Viper Club--we actually ended up with more MINIs (9) than Vipers (7) entered. We also have a MINI time+speed+distance rally scheduled for early May with 30+ cars registered...good times ahead

Congrats to all new (and soon to be) owners. Burnie just turned 1 on March 20 and I've had him home 11 months as of yesterday with just over 12K on the ticker...what a ride!

best to all...

-chef

 

Status update - sorta
Well I think my MCS is on the Andes Highway. It went through several different ships showing the dreaded "Wait listed" status but now is showing "loaded" on the Andes. Funny thing is it shows that it was loaded on the Andes on 3/30 however it appears that the Andes left the port on 3/27. So either they screwed up on the date loaded, or perhaps they helicoptered my car onto the boat 3 days out to sea (nice to have such preferential treatment of course - but unlikely). I'm just hoping it doesn't suddenly show up as "wait listed" again - my liver can't take much more of this waiting...

May have to go buy some accessories to keep my sanity, hmm I will need some Azenis...

-WebWerker
EB/W MCS located somewhere between here and there - I hope...