Well, got my first unsolicited comment on the new MCS.

Getting gas and the station clerk stuck her head out of her cash register kiosk to yell: " Cool car, I love those things! " and a big smile and thumbs up.

Kinda of surprised me, but was fun to get a positive reaction.
I wonder how many Acura owners get that...

Just add to the fun factor of the MINI!

------
Amazing how the car either gets a total Thumbs up, or ...

the slow, polite response from my curmudgeon buddies ( age 50 and over ) that they're surprised then comment anywhere from:

1) Oh...? you did???
2) I hope you don't get hit by a Suburban
( where I don't even bother to use the logic to ask: If you get hit by a suburban in anything but another suburban - and what's the difference? )

 

Yeah, it is fun when it happens, the Mini does elicit feedback, congrats on your first I always get the proud parent feeling when my cars, which always end up modded , have gotten love from strangers

 

My wife drove Gromit to work today, and called to tell me she was driving along with another Mini, and when she had to take her exit, they waved at each other before going their own ways.

 

You are talking to over 50's crowd from the wrong side of the pond!
I was raised on Mini's. Single carb 800cc!
Now promoted to 1600cc MCS-JCW!
Vroom, Iam outer here....Turkey time.
Enjoy the ride.
Buang

 

I've had more comments, positively, than I can now recall... June '05 was the first time I drove her. Get used to it!
:-)

 

I think the only way to get more positive car comments would be to drive a very unique supercar that costs as much as 10 minis. Probably equal amounts of comments from a lotus elise.

 

Over the summer I was driving my MCS in a parade. A friend of mine was running for political office in a rural county. Folks there didn't see too many Minis. The stares, smiles, waves, etc. during the parade were really pretty cool.

The best part was at the end. I pulled over to pull off the magnetic signs on the car; just so happened that I pulled right behind the beauty pagent float. So a bunch of teenage girls, all dressed up for the pagent, run up to the car and ask to have their picture taken with it! Needless to say, this made an impression on my teenage son (17 at the time) who happened to be my navigator.

Funny, he has been asking to drive the Mini whenever he can... I don't get it...

 

The person I know (that used to be my friend until the day) looked at my brand new MCS and said:
"Someone ran a red light and hit my car last week, good thing I didn't drive a Mini".........
He drive a Civic. :impatient

 

We have had only "postive" comments on the Cooper and they are all from the over 60 group.

It is a great car to drive.

 

Not trying to start an argument here, but make an observation: I wonder if the R56 will elicit the same responses from the masses. My daughter and her friends don't think the face of the new one is as 'cute' as the current one.
I guess we'll see.

 

My husband and I were parked next to each other and many, many people slowed down to take a look at our cars side-by-side. One guy almost got into an accident because he wasn't paying attention. Would we have been liable (sp?) ?

 

yah, i too agree that the new ones don't look that great to me (yet?).

 

Maybe I should qualify what I meant.

Everything is personal taste. When the new MINI came out in 2002, its face was different than anything else on the road. The closest car I can think of to it, concerning the headlight shape, were the pre-1967 VW Beetles. People thought those cars were pretty cute, and distinctive, back then, too.

When people see a car, they often see it as it is coming at them. The shape of the headlights, and the front end, is what makes the first impression a good portion of the time. The front end is, essentially, the car's face. The new front, with those sideways headlights, doesn't look as completely different as the current car. Someone had mentioned a while back, in another of the many threads on the R56, that the headlights resembled those of the Dodge Neon. So I kept an eye out for Neons, and sure as s#it, they do resemble each other.

Again, I'm not knocking the new car. I'm just clarifying some of _my_ ideas on its visuals.