Just wanted to post a thread to let people unload their favorite memory they have of their MINI so far.

I have had my MINI since January 2009 and I have to say its been all smiles since that day.

The moment that I knew I was in love with my MINI was when I took a turn rated at 25 doing about 35. I was stunned by the handling, not just because of the stickability of the car but the fact that I have a plain ol' Cooper with no sport tuning. Just me, the wheel, and the sport button. Also the look on my friends faces when I pop the hood. I usually save this for after I take them out in the car. I actually had a friend think the engine was a V6 but he was shocked to see the tiny inline 4.

 

Took a drive from Central Texas to Lake Tahoe and back.

Anywhere along the route.

 

One of my favorites was driving around the movie theater parking lot in 2003 after a showing of The Italian Job in my IB/W Cooper. MINIs weren't too common back then and kids got all excited. So did their parents, although w/ a bit of concern that this MINI might also jump the sidewalk as the movie-versions did. Good stuff!!

On my 2nd gen car....well aside from driving it (pure bliss), I did have fun being up at the dealership (just around the corner) back when there were no Oxygen Blue MINIs around at all. Potential owners, thinking it was for sale, would walk round and round it, pointing and gawking. Another great moment was my first use of the OBC to track my MINIs mpg only to find I was getting 45 mpg!!! I have been exploring this unexpected performance advantage ever since.

 

Driving my then new 06MCC down the Big Sur Coast with my sweetie, top down ,80 degrees, whales frolicing near shore, on Valentines day.

 

Lol we have the winner of the man of the year award.

 

Well sure, we all have that memory.... *jealous*

 

AMVIV6. 2700 total miles with a couple of buddies stuffed in my MINI. Good times.

 

I have two, one for each BRG MCS I've owned:

'04 MCS: I loooved that little beastie. We tootled (ok, FLEW really) around the autobahns in Germany, but the best was when I had to go from Baumholder on the very western border to Graffenwoehr on the very eastern border one night. I got out of work really really late (say, 10pm) and had to be in a class by 7:30 the next morning. It was about 275ish miles, and normally took over 4-5hrs to drive. I made it there in 3hrs, 15 minutes and only used 3/4 tank of gas. Another night coming home late from work, the poor beastie and I hit a deer - didn't even realize I'd hit it (thought I just clipped it as it escaped) until the green goo splashed on the windshield. The only damage was a punched-in front license plate, but I had to call my duty desk to call the German politzei to register the report...from then on, my soldiers nicknamed the car "The DeerSlayer." The name stuck - i had to sell it to someone (who was required to love it, and fortunately DID!) before I left, and the name conveyed.

In my '07 MCS, my favorite moment was during my two-day, 1,200 mile road trip with the Tar Heels club -- Blimey's Tour of Terror II. Great friends, and we worked around finding the TWISTIEST roads possible, hit five states and the Dragon (my first time.) My car and I bonded and become ONE! - it was beautiful. And then we kicked butt on the curves.

 

The 40-some mile drive from the dealership after picking up my 06 JustaCooper. My other half had just picked hers up about 10 days before, so we had our own little MINI convoy.

Two new MINIs, mine brand-spanking new, two smiles on two faces for 40-some miles, lots of stares and smiles from other drivers.... good times !!

 

Favorite memory (memories) so far are the ones I am making with my son. He loves to go on the club runs and participate in anything involved with the Mini. I am getting some great bonding time with him and glad he has such a great interest.

Honorable mention is the first trip in the new Mini last summer from Phoenix to Springfield, IL and back. Made 23.5 hours straight through each way, just me and the iPod. Racked up about 4000 miles in a week. Things that were a bit fuzzy before the trip were crystal clear by the time I was back home.

But I'm sure that's just the tip of the iceberg of what is to come...

 

Your stories have been really fun to read! This is a great thread! My most memorable experience so far didn't involve me driving. I was shopping with some friends in a small town (where they don't have MINI's apparently and most have never seen one). When I came out there were a half dozen ppl around my car taking pictures with it.

It was such a cool sight I just sat on a bench talking with my friends and watching them. I didn't want to interrupt!

 

I am enjoying it too. I am surprised that nobody posted something like this before. Nice memory too. I have a friend who has a red S and a white Cooper so the three of us can make our own chase scene.

 

That's so cool! I was watching a dramatic re-enactment from the original Italian Job on Youtube with two professional drivers. There were comparing the Mini and the MINI. Suffice it to say... the old Mini won! It was much more nimble and the turning radius was soooo tight. It was totally fun to watch though. The guys driving the cars were having a hoot!

 

Ooooh!!! Can you find it and PM it to me please?

 

I dont know what my favorite Mini Memory is, but i can tell you that yesterdays is one of the worse. Yep i got pulled over and got a ticket.
DARN PIGS!

 

~30 Mile Drive on US1/Biscayne Blvd From Pinecrest(a nice suburb) up through Downtown Miami past and over to Aventura/North Miami Beach. 80+ degrees open moonroof and windows down with Everclear blasting.

 

Now I really really want a moonroof. Regret sucks.

 

The thrill of driving it home. The thrill of first using the Sport Button. The thrill of driving it hard for the first time.
I bought it in late autumn, I've only just enjoyed the windows down & roof open thrill on the highway with the music blasting. I thought I'd regret not waiting for a Cabrio but this is just fine

 

It took me 6 years and 2 MINI's but, I finally made it to Mini's on the Dragon '09 and it was absolutely great. If you haven't been I highly suggest you attend. Very well organized, great new people to meet, and the Dragon, oh, the Dragon. There isn't a road anywhere in North America that can compare. This road seems to have built specifically for the MINI. Listen up people, you have to attend MOTD '10! You won't believe the experience of 318 curves in 11 miles. So choice.

 

Gotta say my best memory was driving Siva for the first time. That night we had a bunch of fellow MINI owners who joined me for the delivery, and we went and had food and ice cream. A great time, and my grin still hasn't faded!



See?

 

I want to go next year sooo badly. The Nurburgring is such a long shot to get to but to me The Dragon is the American version of the infamous track. I have been dying to see what my MINI can do.

 

Every day is a blast, it'll be even better once Ferris gets back from the body shop, I'm starting to go into withdrawal.

My favorite memory though is a toss up between getting into a controlled drift at Roebling or the time I took a back road a little too fast and got all four wheels off the ground on a hill. I felt like Super Cooper!