Well, this post will probably be a bit long, but seeing that it is my first one and that I have been lurking around for a *long* time (in fact I belonged to whatever the predecessor site was to this one all those eons ago!) I figure I can impose a little bit !

My Grandfather, who, unfortunately, passed away when I was 5, was an SCCA racer (a Mustang called "the Old Nag") and had gone from driving coal trucks in West Virginia to owning a few trucks himself and indulging in his love for all things mechanical. Some of my earliest memories consist of going to races in his camper. There was a room off the basement in his house in which he stored racing tires and such and I can still vividly remember the smell of rubber and the cool dampness of that room. He also kept his trophies down there and, to a 5 year old, there certainly seemed a lot of them. One of his presents to me was a little pedal car racer of my own--another was an entire little garage full of matchbox cars. If the racing and little car related presents weren't enough, then there was his own car--a black Daimler SP250 that, to my childhood self, looked like the Batmobile--how cool could it be that your grandfather raced cars AND drove the Batmobile!

That should have been sufficient to drive a boy into a car crazed future...but there were other things. My father, naturally, though a computer tech, also is a car nut. He has owned (and still owns) a 1965 Sunbeam Tiger for almost my entire existence. Other cars that had come and gone while growing up: an Austin Healy Sprite, Datsun 240Z, a mid 60s vintage Mercedes...and a large assortment of less distinguished cars in various states of decrepitude. Then there were the car magazines--collections of Sports Car Graphic, Car and Driver, Road and Track, Motor Trend and others I can't remember off the top of my head stretching back to the early 60s. I read them all--chocked full of exotic and now defunct names--Bizzarini, Simca, Hillman, Studebaker and so on.

I had the misfortune to come to car driving licensure age in the early 80s--not exactly a banner time for cars and car lovers. But with such a quirky car related upbringing, naturally I ended up with a quirky and 'often needing repair' car: a 1967 Opel Kadett Rallye. The most hilarious aspect of this car was the fact it came equipped with air conditioning. The compressor was about the same size at the 1200cc (if I remember) engine--even though I lived in AZ at the time, I never switched it on for fear the car would combust. That tiny little motor with two thimble sized carburetors sticking out made for a wonderful car to learn to drive stick in--lots of shifting required! It was also like driving an emergency simulator--you never knew what would go wrong next--the brakes went out once; the hood flew up; a water hose popped off the block between Tucson and Phoenix...a cracked wheel bearing race locked the car into a turn once. How thrilling.

The car did not join me when I left for the Army--but with a bonus check burning in my hand and being 18 I had to buy a car, but a rare fit of responsibility overtook me and I bought a used Mustang GL 4 cylinder (82). A perfectly nice, beige car which was how I’ve thought about it ever since: beige and bland in every sense. I kept it a year before deciding to buy my first (and until now) only new car when I turned 19--a 1985 VW Scirocco. I loved that car and despite VWs reputation for occasionally unreliable products that car was bullet proof. Unlike some models, it was built in Germany and performed wonderfully till I sold it, regretfully, 9 years later. At that time I was living in Washington, DC and fretting over parking the car in the streets--plus I really did not need it to get to work and having a car was such a hassle there. I lived in DC and NYC and as a result was carless for almost 6 years ( tragic for a car nut--car magazines subscriptions took the edge off).

I had just finished a MA in history at UMass and was going to be moving south for PhD study in Virginia and needed a car again in 1999. Being a student type this dictated a used car and I bought a dark brown 1995 Saturn SC2. While on paper it had more horsepower than my Scirocco, the thing was never as fun to drive and never came close to being as reliable despite being a generation ahead in terms of technology and mechanics. It has functioned, more or less, but in a few weeks and 7 years of ownership it is being gratefully disposed of by donation to public radio.

So, if you made it this far you might have guessed that I’ve been following the MINI. Since well before it made it to our shores I’ve kept up with every jot and tittle of news, have built dozens of MINIs over the years on the website and, sadly, never been in the position to be able to actually buy what I knew would be the car for a nut like me (not to mention a spiritual successor to my beloved Scirocco!). Well, with a new job offer in sight and a 40th b-day staring me in the face, I’ve put in an order for a MINI--only the second new car in my life!

So, I’m thrilled and forgive the overly long post--but after, what 5? years of lurking and reading about the MINI, I figured that getting an order in (and production number) deserved an epic post.

Oh, the specs

 

LOL. Good story, and congrats. You might want to revise the html out of your spec list though.

 

Nice story. Brought back a lot of my own memories: Sports Car Graphic was a great magazine. I started driving in 1973, and my first car was a 1975 MGB, which I still own (sad shape though it is).

 

This is like oldtimer's memory days here today. My first car in 1973 was a 1969 Kharmann Ghia convertible, heady stuff for a 16 year old. My father helped foster my interest in cars, we owned our share of quirky vehicles growing up. One of my last visits to my father before he died was over Labor Day weekend of 1999. I took him driving around the Hill Country in my Audi TT, me showing off my new car, him showing me his 20 years of retirement memories. The MINI is like that for some of us, it evokes a time gone by, and yet has its feet firmly planted in the present and future too. I don't have any kids of my own, but I've mentioned several times here teaching an 18 year old cycling teammate how to drive manual transmissions in my MINI and other cars. I hope he looks back someday and remembers those lessons when he's pondering his automotive past and future.

 

awesome story. I wish my family car history was as colorful as that. But I'm really the first car lover in my family. Congrats on finally getting your MINI, you'll love it.

 

After reading (for years!) of people checking the status of their orders or agonizing over their options it sure is nice to be be able to do some waiting and agonizing myself!

 

Great read! The only suggestion I want to make is that you add the Sport Suspension Plus to your order, if it's not too late. The extra handling ability is always a nice addition, especially in a car that is famous for it!

 

Great story and I can certainly relate to the quirky or arcane car ownership (owned a Fiat X1/9 and Renault 18i sportwagon at one time). Welcome to the club - you'll love the MINI.

 

Cool--a Fiat X1/9--you know, though, for that period that was a pretty great (if not, umm, reliable!) car. With all the smog and new safety regulations that were going into effect, there weren't really that many small interesting cars!

 

My first car was a Fiat X1/9. I loved that car like I love my MINI, but it was a lot less reliable! Finally decided it was cheaper to buy a new Eclipse than to fork out $200 every two weeks a the mechanic's. I've been thinking a lot lately about tracking it down and buying it back.

 

A lot less reliable? How about Fix It All the Time (FIAT), our X1/9, I will have to admit, lived with the local mechanic. It is, without doubt, the most unreliable POS ever created by man making MINIs look like Toyotas