Today while having lunch with a friend, I noticed that when she was talking about her friends car, she referred to it as her "cooper". I generally refer to my car as my "mini" or "sally". Is "cooper" more correct than the "mini" or vise versa??
Thanks for you help.
M

 

I guess you could consider it like this.......either I have a Ford or an Explorer.

Just depends on how you like to call it.

 

I don't really think it matters, I know I yell "Cooper" everytime I see a mini...I think it just flies off the tongue faster...lol

 

In all four of my cross-country (and back) road trips in my MINI, whenever I've been with MINI friends and we see another MINI, we always shout "MINI!" I've never heard anyone yell "Cooper!"

 

I've seen the term "Cooper" used in NAM to refer to the non-S version. But that might be an esoteric distinction. The close friends and relations of mine who own such cars refer to them as MINIs. Non-owners have asked me about my "MINI Cooper", but no one has mentioned "Cooper" on its own.

I agree with ScottinBend that if MINI is the make and Cooper is the model then it's similar to calling a car "Explorer". It asssumes foreknowledge of the subject. I believe there are other models of MINIs not available in the USA--such as MINI 1 or MINI D--not sure which.

 

Hey MINIclo, that's cuz I've not been with you!!

But we're a mixed up family... we have the Highlander, Falcon, Porsche, Dodge, Toyota (not the highlander) and Ford (not the falcon!). and soon enough - 6 days- a Cooper.

Of course part of me yelling COOP instead of of MINI is because Cooper is my last name and it's FUN to associate ME with a MINI!!!

To each his own!!

 

Good to know... I always yell, Mini!! When I see another one on the road. Right before my big smile and wave.
I hadn't really thought of calling it a cooper before lunch today.
But then I am usually confused anyway... we have a Nissan pickup and a Nissan Maxima, my hubby will say can you go move the Nissan? I will of course say which one. He then says the Nissan is the car and the pickup is the pickup, so who knows really I guess it is different for everyone.
Thanks for the input!!
Happy Motoring!
M

 

I've heard it both ways.

To me a Cooper is just that a Cooper so it drives me mentally nuts when someone calles a Cooper S a Cooper as they are different it would be the same as calling an apple, "orange".

I typically say MINI as not to sound like too proper, MINI just sounds more slang.

Just get it right whatever you say, and don't tell me S stands for sport or supercharged or that I have a Turbo.

Think its time for me to go take Pearl out.

 

I agree.

It doesn't really matter in the end, but I call her Nell, short for Schnell, it's funny because I was talking to family the other day. In the middle of the convo my dad asked how Nell was? I laughed cuz I had just told him the week before about her name.

I guess it depends on how original you want to get, I like names for my cars.

 

In the olden days it mattered. A Morris was a Morris Minor and a Mini was a Mini Cooper which was the same thing as a Cooper and that meant HOT. Today there is no Morris Minor, only the Mini Cooper or Mini Cooper S. I have heard on this forum some people call the non S "Only a Cooper". It's still hot. We all claim to be MINI people. Let's face it "S" owners, there is a certain element of environmentaly correct people who distance themselves from us by calling their little babies a "Cooper" and that is OK with me, because we all know that everyone of us has that "MINI" smile on our face when we slip behind the wheel. I like to think of it as a form of logical diversity. If you know what I meen.

 

Could your friend be differentiating between her "Cooper" and her "S"?

 

Does she know her S from a hole in the ground?

(sorry....had to do it )

 

We always yell MINI, never Cooper when we spy another on the road.
So what does the S stand for? I know I read it somewhere but can't recall now.
Annette

 

My kids like to yell, "MINIMINIMINIMINI!" a lot more than they yell, "CooperCooperCooperCooper!"

I also hear a lot of younger folk say, as I let off the gas and let the exhaust putter, "Wow, that is one mean Mini Coop!"

Personally, she is my "baby Fayt."

I agree. I know plenty of Cooper drivers who keep up quite well with the CooperS. (Just like some of us CooperS drivers can keep up quite well with all you JCW drivers.)

 

maybe it depends on the gender of said speaker.

generally women get away with more than men do. heheh

 

Thank goodness for that! My husband waited three years before he bought his baby. After he had his for 3 months, I got jealous and went to the dealer on a whim and got mine.

 

A better analogue, in my mind, would have be to say that they are different types of apples. After all the only difference is the SC

 

Um...not really. A Morris Minor is a totally different shape than any Mini. There were Morris Minis, Austin Minis, Leyland Minis, BMC Minis, Mini Metros, Mini Coopers, Mini Cooper Ss, plus a few other varities, but they were all "Minis".
If I'm talking to a non-MINIac, I just talk about the MINI. If my wife or I spot a MINI while we're out and about, the call is ALWAYS "MINI!!!", because you can spot a MINI from a distance or angle that you can't tell if it's a Cooper or an S.
In my garage, we have the MINI, the classic and "your car"/the Subaru.

 

Americans huh, lol.

 

I always yell "MINI!" Never "Cooper!". I call mine the MINI, the car, or Malibu Stacy. If someone asks what I drive and they appear to not know a lot, I say a "MINI Cooper." I can always follow up with, "It's an S" if need be. If I'm talking to someone who is likely to know the difference, I say a "MINI Cooper S."

I always try to avoid saying, "It's just a Cooper" when talking about someone's MINI Cooper. It's more polite to say "It's a non-S" or "It's not an S" (at least I think it is ).

 

This is an interesting question.

We have had many different people coming to the house doing work (e.g., laying flooring). Inevitably they see they car and ask if its a mini cooper or cooper.

For friends when I have discussed the car always refer to it as a Cooper, a few ... the mini cooper.

Ppl who actually own the car call it a MINI.

Its all a matter of perspective.

 

This topic is gonna be a lot more interesting here in a few years when MINI comes out with the "Traveller" (or whatever they end up calling it.)

We may all have to alter our exclamations to "Cooper", "Cooper S", "JCW GP", "Wagon" and "WTF?" (ya know, for '07 Cooper model )

 

I think it has more to do with status, while a lot of normal cars are described by their model (ie Explorer, Malibu, Stratus) More premium brands are often described by their make only (Porche, Ferrari) or a modified version of their brand name (Bimmer, Jag). The MINI sorta stradles the line, it's not exactly an exotic or premium car but it's a lot more exclusive than just any old economy car.

 

Mini!! I always call out MINI! whenever I see another MC. My husband just shakes his head when I yell, point out the other MC and wave like a nutcase.

 

It is a stange conversation over here in the U.S. because we don't have the MINI One or the One-D. Technically, yes, one would refer to a MINI as a generic term for any of the models. "Cooper" should refer specifically to a MINI Cooper. However since both models we get here have Cooper in the name (Cooper and Cooper S), folks get confused. If we had all the variants, it would be less confusing and more clear to the casual observer.

So if your friend has a Cooper, then referring to it as a "Cooper" is spot on. If she has an MCS, then she is confusing things a bit. She should say "Cooper S" or "S" to communicate more accurately. I think that's only fair.