thanks... yeah we've already had hail twice, luckily i was at work both times so i parked under the awning...

 

I love covered parking!!!

BTW, MINIclo mentioned (whilst visiting in Santa Fe) that Electric Blue is a great color for showing less dirt, and since EB was not offered for Coopers and OB was...I think OB is a winner in this category, too. I will say it definitely looks better for longer than my IB/W.

 

Howdy OB folks!

I had to sit in our office last week and watch the hail pummel Romi. I had no idea it was coming. And no one in the office had the heart to come tell me it was hailing. I just heard this rumbling noise and ran to the window.

I thought I was gonna die. Luckily it was nickle and smaller sized hail. Romi came through with only some minor marks on her paint which I carefully buffed out yesterday. She is as good as new.

I think the two coats of polymer sealant and two coats of Pinnacle Soveran on her helped a lot when it came to buffing it out.

As a result I make it a priority to catch the weather in the mornings. Our weather has just been stupid lately. This is June and we are having April and August weather all mixed in. Stupid. WHO THE FRACK IS IN CHARGE!?!?!? ARRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!

 

just polished her up and found 4 extremely small nicks in the paint on the bonnet... neone found out about the touch up o2b paint yet?

 

Yesterday I finally placed my order for an 07 Oxygen Blue MC. I've lusted after a MINI for over two and a half years; read NAM religiously and subscribe to MC2 magazine. I've held off test driving the 07 because I just knew that if I did, I would want one. Well, of course, I placed my order.

Here's my dilemma. I have an 07 Honda Civic EX coupe I just love. Rock solid reliable, fun to drive, great gas mileage and sweet lines. She'll be paid off in 2 years. I don't want to sell her! I want to be a little piggie and have BOTH cars. I can afford BOTH cars. I foresee keeping Sky Blue (the MINI) for many years. I think she will be a real collector's item with her unique color R56 design. She'll be in the garage and won't be driven in nasty weather. She will be my baby.

I guess it's weird asking advice from strangers, but I feel so at home on NAM (never posted, but read for a couple years). Ya'll get the car fever. My kids are grown....no college tuition, mortage well on its way to being paid off.

My dad was a car nut. Always had wheels around, and I think you truly do only live once. And, I've hit the 50 year mark........

So, should I be a little piggie?

 

Definitely you deserve to have two cars and if you can afford three cars get three! You only live once! :-) If you're a car nut, we're in the golden age of cars.

 

Yes, absolutely!!!!! If you enjoy it so much, then do it...especially if it's a connection to fond and meaningful memories. I had a Spitfire I never got over...that's my excuse.

Nice first post, btw!!! OB is truly a stunner!!!!!!

 

Thanks, guys! It is the meaningful memories that are so important. My Dad gave up his driver's license at 80 last year. For a car nut, that was a sad moment. So, I think I'm carrying on the legacy. I've had some beauties in my day. Gokartride, your OB is stunning.

A few questions on my specs:

I chose the black roof. And, the carbon check black cloth seats. Love the leather, but my two weiner dogs love to travel shotgun. I'm torn between getting the piano black, fine white silver or brushed alloy. Does anyone have any interior shots of your OB to post? Gokartride, I love your oak, but it isn't "me".

I am keeping her lightly speced (so I can have TWO cars) and to keep her clean and simple. No sunroof, heated sport seats (nippy up here in the PNW), rear and front fog lights (foggy, too) and DSC (love the hill assist feature). I am torn about the Xenon lights. I've heard pros and cons. My production number probably won't be available for about 4 weeks so I have time to think some more.

Suggestions welcome. And, thank you for the warm friendly welcome.

 

Definitely get the Xenons.. they're fantastic. :-)

 

Hmmmmm....tough call. I did oak because I was going for a particular "quintesseltially British sports car" vibe....and that is really my advise...go for the vibe you want. Piano Black would create a lucious, darker interior, and would look stunning w/ that roof. Silver would be more fun, cheery, carefree. Brushed alloy would be brighter, too, but with a different feel...maybe a bit classy? I dunno....the good news is that you can't go wrong, but getting it "right" is just too much fun. See if you can norrow it down to black or silver...that'd be a good start.

 

Blue Skies...def get the Xenon's...you won't regret it and it's worth it to get from factory! OB/B is pretty awesome! And the name, "Sky Blue"...where'd you get it from? I'm a huge Peter Gabriel fan and he's got an awesome song called Sky Blue! Great!

 

went by the mini place today... no go on the touch up paint... :-( they don't have it in stock yet...

 

I remember "Sky Blue" being one of my favorite color crayons from the big boxes we used growing up. Blue Skies, do you remember that color too or just a coincidence? I grew up in beautiful, hilly Seattle. Now I'm down in flat, hot Houston.

 

Gokartride, I like your color analysis. Silver is what I'm striving towards...cheery. Dennisd63, I had an old 74 Pontiac LeMans that was a very similar color. She was called Sky Blue. I drove her from Texas to the Defense Language Institute in Monterey. What a beauty she was. Of course, the crayola plays in, Brad_HouTx. As does my love affair with the blue skies in Puget Sound and New Mexico. Everything to me has to flow and meld together symbolically.

I am hooked on the Xenons then. I'm thinking that they would be safer on the back mountain roads when I take her to and fro from Puget Sound to New Mexico. In April, my SO and I took the Honda Civic and had a blast roaring through Bryce, Zion, etc. I can only imagine how fun that route would be in Sky Blue!!

Actually, I am going to be in Texas this summer. The parents live in Fort Worth. Heard good things about Moritz MINI. Huuummmmmmmmm.....a road trip from Texas to Puget Sound?

Gokartride, where did you get your little beaut?

 

At Moritz!! In fact, I live around the corner from there. If you are coming to the area, maybe you'd like to come visit Estella's, the little Mexican food restaurant I frequent....or maybe Kincaid's. It is fun to meet up w/ fellow MINIacs.

In any case, yes, Moritz in a great dealership.

 

Well, Blues Skies...now you have a theme song too...look for the song Sky Blue, it's on Peter Gabriel's CD 'UP' and the Blind Boys of Alabama sing back up on it...pretty awesomes!

 

Did they say they would get some in soon, ms? MINI paint has been frightfully difficult to procure...seems a problem with environmental packaging/shipment. In any case, there is a paint code that any paint shop could use (theoretically) to match. If it were me I'd try to wait/check for the MINI stuff...exact matching can be tricky.

 

What a hoot, Gokartride! My sister and I ALWAYS go to Estella's when I come down. I try to replicate the refried bean/fried potatoe/salsa recipe here...not bad, I must say. She lives in Euless.

Off the top of your head, do you know the wait time for an order through Moritz? I can envision just cancelling my order up here, putting an order through at Moritz (any MA recommendations?) and having Sky Blue ready to roll sometime in late July for a road trip. I teach, so most of the summer is mine!

 

It will definitely be on my inagurual CD for Sky Blue) Way cool

 

6 weeks and it's yours!!! Very funny about Estella's...

 

yeah imma wait for the real stuff... i asked them if they could call me when some came in and he looked at me like, 'You want me to go out of my way for you?'.... i dunno how hard it is to get a piece of paper and write down names of numbers of people that need stuff and then call them when it comes in... but nehoo... whichever one of us gets it first should buy a few extras in case other dealerships don't get it in at the same time... take care of our own and such... :-)

my SA has left and my MA has changed 2-3 times in 2 months...

they DID however say that they were gonna send out letters when emissions sensor fix comes in...

 

That sounds good...I can be on the lookout here!!! I'll be checking on the MINI alarm so why not stalk touch-up paint, too!!! NAM is a great place for checking on the buzz from a variety of dealers across the country...I fully expect to find out about the CEL fix here (of MotoringFile) before I hear anything from MINI (which I do also expect).

 

*our powers combined* lol...

 

Wow, another NFR lurking in here? Are we trying to take over? Just sharin' the love for another new color!

I'm waiting for touch up as well. Lemme know when there's any good news!

 

Will do...that's right this affects both colors!!! The nice thing is that while we can share our love of our new, unique, and blindingly gorgeous colors, we can also share our love of motoring in a Cooper, and that's equally special!!!

BTW, I was out on the open roads a good bit the other day and that 6th gear is a very nice addition for Coopers, dropping revs at 70 mph about 6-7K. ( edit: okay...make that 600-700!!! )