I am in total agreement with MichaelSF on the use of the 'C' word and pasted below from Answers.com
would indicate that you might apply the term "inadament" to a car that you name.

Quote:

What inadament objects do you talk to?

or

 

Oh, poor Engender..... Yes, the MA is supposed to tell you, and it IS included in most pamphlets/guidebooks from the dealer. You ARE supposed to wave.

Anyway - first: MichaelSF...It depends. I personally consider myself (and refer to other girls) as a "chick"....but only in the sense of it's the female counterpart to "guys."

I WOULD agree with you, however, about the females-waving-invites-harrassment in some areas of the U.S. and maybe the world....but I do it anyway; I don't think I'm your typical "girly" girl. I figure I could kick most harrassers butts anyway or at least scare the LIVING DAYLIGHTS out of them!

That being said, there's nothing wrong with females giving "wavers" a cool head nod of acknowledgement....Means hands are kept on the steering wheel, and doesn't take much! And does not promote "negative invitations."

But I do have to caveat my postings with the sad thought that nobody pays attention anymore. I am thoroughly disgusted at the constant and rampant use of cellphones while driving. Normally, I'm a pretty courteous driver (goKartRide would be proud of me) and will let folks get in front of me, etc......EXCEPT if I see them on the cell phone sans bluetooth. They don't deserve courtesy.

 

Is it really? I must have missed that.

Poor me? Do you feel sorry for me? It must be because my car is still on order, right? My comment was astute and thought-provoking, right?

 

WHOA.... that's a coincidence. I was 9th & Mission, I think, about a month ago. There was a red MINI convertible in the lane next to me. I had my top down. Pulled up next to him at the intersection.

I said "nice car" he looked at mine and said "I concur."

Would have thought it was you, except his was a PW.

 

Yes, dear...absolutely. Just kidding. You're great.

 

Got pho? What an awesome name. I had some pho tues!

San Diego chcks are probably less ruthless than OC chicks. My mini is on order, but I plan to wave to everyone, even the blue haired grandma I saw the other day who was an inch from the steering wheel. Maybe give her a big honk, instead.

 

I think most of this is the natural tendency for CA drivers not to wave. Let's face it: it's pretty hard to see a wave when driving on a CA freeway, what with 8 or 9 lanes of 75+mph traffic. I know I'm guilty of missing a few waves while driving in Mission Valley myself simply because I missed seeing it, and that's while I'm actively scanning for traffic.

I've encountered the exact opposite in Kentucky, where it's almost a minor offense not to wave at everyone when you're driving.

Another experience is I just drove my Mini from San Diego to Portland, OR. Got the most waves in the SF Bay Area, least number of waves in LA (while on the freeway), and found out the Mini is a great conversation starter. Had four or five people come up to us to ask about the car, including a passenger in a pickup truck who rolled down her window while were were crossing the Williamette (sic?) River in Oregon on a ferry.

 

The two nubile females that waved to me the other day was nice. A smile and big hand wave was returned. My fiance was not as amused.

 

...while putting on makeup and talking on a cel phone.

 

I've stopped waving unless it is to return a wave. I drove a Jeep before my MINI and most jeepers wave so I was used to waving.


In the 9 months I have owned a MINI I have received 4 waves. All were women in their late teens or early 20s and pretty. All had big huge grins on thier faces which leads me to believe they were new MINI owners. I guess I reminded them of their dad.

Anyway, who really cares if a stranger waves. Nothing to lose sleep over.

 

Okay, I may be waaaay late on this post, but I most certainly do wave! (...and I'm a girl...) if you see a laser blue/black mini with bonnet stripes and I do happen to see you, wave and I will wave back! My normal route is 94 e/w and fletcher pkwy/amaya and neighborhoods through there!

 

It wasn't me, but I do have a PW! Check my gallery. Mine is somewhat unique and recognizable by its aftermarket wheels, aero side skirts, and black front grill.



I started a new job where I commute by MUNI/Caltrain, and my wife is currently the primary driver of the MINI.

 

I have a PW too and I guess it's a little bit unique, So if you see a PW/B with black stripes, checkered mirrors and red interior around Mission Valley, 163, I5 all the way to TJ Mexico lol wave and I'll have 2, lets take waves and smiles back to MINI drivers around the world ! That should be a national agenda haha

 

Haha. That's gotta be a great area to rip around in. Downtown SD is fun. I used to do Audi runs down there when I was into Audi's. Downtown is like a little race course.

Soon, you'll see a PW/B with black wheels. I'll wave!

Stoked!!!

 

Cool I'll be looking for ya, nice combo by the way

 

Better than driving a Miata, only old men and gays wave at you Elise/Exige owners always wave, probably cause we only see another one once in a blue moon.

 

They probably weren't waving at the car...

 

Yup, I think this is the case. Most people don't know it is expected.

 

Yours is the only post that really hits the nail on the head. Outside of NAM, and perhaps other MINI forums, no one knows about the "MINI wave."

In fact, it's probably not correct to call it the "MINI wave." It's more like the "NAM wave." Correctly identified as a wave that NAM members might give to each other, there's not going to be many of those. This is because out 1 million + MINIs in the world, how many owners belong to NAM and know about the wave. I suspect not many of those 1 million MINI owners.

Sidenote: On my superbikes most other riders on superbikes do give an acknowledgment to each other. In fact, one is considered odd to not wave or use some other signal to acknowledge back.

But superbike riders are a different crowd than MINI owners buying the car for reasons other than becoming a member of a "club" they know nothing about.

 

I disagree. I have encountered many MINI drivers who have either initiated or returned waves who would not be active readers of Internet forums. (Because otherwise I'd be seeing them gush here at having gotten a wave back. )

 

Lots of female Mini drivers around here. With what I did to my car they snap their neck to look as if I'm looking at them walk down the street.

 

Nothing wrong with you considering your personal experience to make assumptions on on which of those wavers is on the Net, who is a NAM member, who would be gushing about getting a wave, etc.

But from everything I have seen on NAM and elsewhere, I suspect 99.9% of those 1 million+ MINI owners are NOT waving or acknowledging each other. I think it's because of any number of factors pointed out in here, the main one being that outside of NAM and other Net forums, no one knows about it.

Perhaps if MINI had some type of marketing plan that included a "make sure to wave" campaign, the idea would catch on. But we are never going to see that because MINI could get sued for encouraging unsafe driving [I won't go into all the ways that waving could create an unsafe condition, but some have been mentioned in here.]

 

I don't know if this is still sent out to new MINI owners, but the Unauthorized Owners Manual does include a section on waving (see page 26/PDF page 28 on "Essentials of Good Motoring Mojo"). So there is (or at least, there was) a campaign to keep the wave going that is outside of Internet forums.

 

Yeah, I have that. I will look it up when I get back from my bike ride. As I recall there was a disclaimer in it that said the whole thing was a joke and not to do anything in the manual. Lawyers obviously had their hands on that part. Seems there was some other controverrsy about it, but I will have to look it up. MINI, as I recall, was worried about liability over it. I have read so much stuff about the MINI can't recall where I saw it. But we are using this manual as a case study in tort law class this semester. Talk about ruining the fun.

Wish I could get my hands on an original of it, it's cool. Been looking on eBay, but nothing. So PDF printout will have to do.

 

Damned lawyers, always pooping on our fun!

(disclaimer: I have many friends who are lawyers... it's scary.)