R50/53 Portland Oregonian article about our local MINI Club
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From: Portland, Oregon
Portland Oregonian article about our local MINI Club
Article:
http://www.oregonlive.com/living/ore...650.xml&coll=7
Mini mania
Few cars on the road cause such fervor among their owners as the lovable little Mini Cooper
Tuesday, September 20, 2005 JOHN FOYSTON
There's scant wasted space on a Mini Cooper's diminutive hide, but it might be a good place for a big caution sticker: "Warning -- Exposure may turn you into a car nut."
Don't believe it? Consider the curious case of the Gresham elementary school P.E. teacher who bought her second Mini -- a hotter "S" model -- after realizing her exit speed on corners was not all it might be.
"I never in my life thought I'd be the kind of person who worried about that sort of thing," said Laura Henchman, who pulled into the Oregon Zoo parking lot last Saturday morning with 17 other Minis from the PDX Mini Cooper Club (www.pdxmini.org) after a bracing drive on twisty Skyline Boulevard and Germantown Road.
"This is the most fun car you'll ever drive," said Henchman, who wore an expansion charm bracelet replete with Union Jacks and mini Minis. "I thought my first Mini was awesome; then I went on a couple of runs with the Mini club, and I noticed that other people were coming out of the corners faster than I was. I never thought that would matter to me. But then, I never thought I'd be the kind of person to join a car club, either. And now I'm president."
The PDX Mini Cooper Club roster now numbers 140 people and about 85 cars, including Henchman's "Mini Bee" (yellow with black stripes and roof).
It's a safe bet that Mini-club cars are more likely to have names and/or custom license plates than almost any group on the road. Sure, Chrysler PT Cruisers are apparently required by federal law to have vanity plates, but most seem to be variations of MUFFYS PT and the like.
These were inventive, such as XQQQ ME on an electric-blue convertible (excuuuuse me, right?); MNI MSE on a red Mini with white stripes; and LTZ MTR on Henchman's "Mini Bee." Insurance claims adjuster Craig Kincaid had a long euro plate reading ACTUAL SIZE on the front of his dark-green Mini (sorry, it's actually BRG, or British Racing Green). And her name is Constance in honor of the constant cossetting bestowed upon her.
Melody Ortiz had a plate that said ITLN JB on her red-and-white Mini Cooper Sport, "Mr. Big." The car is indicative of Mini owners' devotion to making their own automotive statements. She made over her Mini to look like an MC 40 -- a special model celebrating the marque's win at the 1964 auto rally in Monte Carlo -- with custom-made trim, big competition number 37s on each door, Union Jacks on both mirrors and a giant one on the roof.
Financial planner Yunny Dang had an actual MC 40 model -- her second Mini, which she bought from a dealer in Cleveland who could get the car without the 13-month wait she faced elsewhere. Sure, she then had to have the car delivered by covered truck to a Wal-Mart parking lot, but so what? "These cars are so much fun," she said, "even just driving to Albertsons for a quart of milk is fun."
Or Maine. John and Diane Rockerhousen are event coordinators for the PDX Mini club. One day they drove to Everett, Wash., hooked a right and kept going until stopped by the Atlantic Ocean. "It was the trip of a lifetime: 32 days and 9,842 miles," Rockerhousen said. "We spent less than 300 miles on interstates and never ate fast food. We always tried to eat at mom-and-pop places and usually sat at the counter."
"We never had motel reservations, either, so our plans were loose. One day we were in New Hampshire, following a pickup that had a sticker for a local bluegrass festival -- so we went to the festival for three days and had a ball. We made friends that we're still in touch with."
Having owned Porsches for three decades, test engineer Rockerhousen is a confirmed car guy. But Minis are raising a whole new crop, he says. "Minis have a lot of bang for the buck. Porsches are sophisticated and refined, but they're no more fun to drive than Minis. These cars are very affordable, and they're attracting the whole gamut, from people in their 70s to teenagers."
LeeAnn Williamson, who teaches first and second grades in Salem, takes advantage of club-run technical courses and Mod Days, where members learn to maintain and modify their cars under the tutelage of experienced mechanics.
"I used to own a Subaru," she said, "and I never thought of myself as a car person, but these things bring out even latent tendencies. I change my own oil now, and I even put in a rear sway bar with a little bit of help."
John Foyston: 503-221-8368; johnfoyston@news.oregonian.com
http://www.oregonlive.com/living/ore...650.xml&coll=7
Mini mania
Few cars on the road cause such fervor among their owners as the lovable little Mini Cooper
Tuesday, September 20, 2005 JOHN FOYSTON
There's scant wasted space on a Mini Cooper's diminutive hide, but it might be a good place for a big caution sticker: "Warning -- Exposure may turn you into a car nut."
Don't believe it? Consider the curious case of the Gresham elementary school P.E. teacher who bought her second Mini -- a hotter "S" model -- after realizing her exit speed on corners was not all it might be.
"I never in my life thought I'd be the kind of person who worried about that sort of thing," said Laura Henchman, who pulled into the Oregon Zoo parking lot last Saturday morning with 17 other Minis from the PDX Mini Cooper Club (www.pdxmini.org) after a bracing drive on twisty Skyline Boulevard and Germantown Road.
"This is the most fun car you'll ever drive," said Henchman, who wore an expansion charm bracelet replete with Union Jacks and mini Minis. "I thought my first Mini was awesome; then I went on a couple of runs with the Mini club, and I noticed that other people were coming out of the corners faster than I was. I never thought that would matter to me. But then, I never thought I'd be the kind of person to join a car club, either. And now I'm president."
The PDX Mini Cooper Club roster now numbers 140 people and about 85 cars, including Henchman's "Mini Bee" (yellow with black stripes and roof).
It's a safe bet that Mini-club cars are more likely to have names and/or custom license plates than almost any group on the road. Sure, Chrysler PT Cruisers are apparently required by federal law to have vanity plates, but most seem to be variations of MUFFYS PT and the like.
These were inventive, such as XQQQ ME on an electric-blue convertible (excuuuuse me, right?); MNI MSE on a red Mini with white stripes; and LTZ MTR on Henchman's "Mini Bee." Insurance claims adjuster Craig Kincaid had a long euro plate reading ACTUAL SIZE on the front of his dark-green Mini (sorry, it's actually BRG, or British Racing Green). And her name is Constance in honor of the constant cossetting bestowed upon her.
Melody Ortiz had a plate that said ITLN JB on her red-and-white Mini Cooper Sport, "Mr. Big." The car is indicative of Mini owners' devotion to making their own automotive statements. She made over her Mini to look like an MC 40 -- a special model celebrating the marque's win at the 1964 auto rally in Monte Carlo -- with custom-made trim, big competition number 37s on each door, Union Jacks on both mirrors and a giant one on the roof.
Financial planner Yunny Dang had an actual MC 40 model -- her second Mini, which she bought from a dealer in Cleveland who could get the car without the 13-month wait she faced elsewhere. Sure, she then had to have the car delivered by covered truck to a Wal-Mart parking lot, but so what? "These cars are so much fun," she said, "even just driving to Albertsons for a quart of milk is fun."
Or Maine. John and Diane Rockerhousen are event coordinators for the PDX Mini club. One day they drove to Everett, Wash., hooked a right and kept going until stopped by the Atlantic Ocean. "It was the trip of a lifetime: 32 days and 9,842 miles," Rockerhousen said. "We spent less than 300 miles on interstates and never ate fast food. We always tried to eat at mom-and-pop places and usually sat at the counter."
"We never had motel reservations, either, so our plans were loose. One day we were in New Hampshire, following a pickup that had a sticker for a local bluegrass festival -- so we went to the festival for three days and had a ball. We made friends that we're still in touch with."
Having owned Porsches for three decades, test engineer Rockerhousen is a confirmed car guy. But Minis are raising a whole new crop, he says. "Minis have a lot of bang for the buck. Porsches are sophisticated and refined, but they're no more fun to drive than Minis. These cars are very affordable, and they're attracting the whole gamut, from people in their 70s to teenagers."
LeeAnn Williamson, who teaches first and second grades in Salem, takes advantage of club-run technical courses and Mod Days, where members learn to maintain and modify their cars under the tutelage of experienced mechanics.
"I used to own a Subaru," she said, "and I never thought of myself as a car person, but these things bring out even latent tendencies. I change my own oil now, and I even put in a rear sway bar with a little bit of help."
John Foyston: 503-221-8368; johnfoyston@news.oregonian.com
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