Mara...I saw a Mini Cooper today...

[door knob solitaire]

It had a sticker on the back that read...SHOWN ACTUAL SIZE

Well, I suppose I was lacking in sleep or some sort of mineral, because I thought it was the funniest thing I had ever seen. I started laughing and well, I couldn''t stop. I guess I got it...hubby just rolled his eyes at me (oh brother, here she goes again).

When my tears stopped flowing...I thought of you and your Mini...Do you display yours in actual size? arh arh arh...

 

[strmrdr]

One of the funnyist thing Iv ever seen was a guy that was about 6''5" get out of a mini cooper that was sooo funny!

 

[monarch64]

LOL, storm you;d be surprised how much space there is in those things! DH and I test drove one last fall (he''s 6''5") and he fit just fine! I know greg (Mara''s hubby) is over 6''...and I think he was the first to get a speeding ticket in her Mini actually!

For the record: DH said he wouldn''t feel comfortable driving around with me in one...I''m 5''10"...he said we''re just too big and need a bigger car, LOL! But we live in the midwest, land of the ginormous SUV''s...so go figure. I like MINIs!!! If I were single...hee hee.

 

[Erin]

My bf absolutely loves Minis. He''s only 6''
I was thinking this summer I would try and rent one for the weekend just so he could drive it and have fun.
It''d definitely be a far cry from his Ford truck

 

[Delster]

I''m itching soooo much to get one of the original Minis - there are special editions that come with CD player, air con, leather trim and, eh, airbags (always useful). I must confess, part of the allure is the prospect of watching my 6''2" BF trying to get into it!!!

 

[Mara]

lol DKS...yeah the mini jokes are funny!! i have a cutout hanging in my cube that my coworker gave me that says ''mini parking only'' hehhe.

you guys WOULD be amazed at how much room is in these things. i am 5''7" and greg is 6''1" and we both fit nicely in it, our heads don''t hit or anything hehee. and we have had ourselves and another couple who is also about our size in the car with us and fit fine. and one other couple who is larger than us and the gal was preggo and we all fit!! it''s a little tight with 4 full grown people in there but it''s doable for rides under about 1 hour...which is mostly what we do with the car anyway!! oh and i have had myself and all my coworkers in it...so 5 gals total. that is when it gets interesting!!

and they are SO fun to drive. i LOVE my car. it does need to be serviced as there are some weird lights going off every once in a while but nothing horrendous...they don''t want you to really bring it for service until you absolutely need to which is one thing i am not loving about the mini dealerships. oh strange red light? well if it doesn''t STAY ON then don''t worry about it! um okay. the car is ''smart'' so it also logs everything that happens to it in your key pod. along with the mini we automatically got this roadside assistance thing from BMW or mini or whatever and so we know we are covered in case we need it, but would rather that not happen actually!!

we were in buffalo ny recently and saw a few minis and i was like gosh they seem so tiny out here...i think if i lived out there i''d want a big SUV or something to feel more safe. so i could see how in the more snowy cold regions people might not want something so small, but out here in CA it''s perfect. and i LOVE my sunroof...the mini is so small that the sunroof literally is almost half the car''s top, so it''s almost like a convertible hehe. seriously i could rave about this car forever. it''s been YEARS since i had a car payment but this car makes it worth it.

 

[lumpkin]

Date: 2/7/2008 11:24:56 AM
Author: Mara
lol DKS...yeah the mini jokes are funny!! i have a cutout hanging in my cube that my coworker gave me that says ''mini parking only'' hehhe.

you guys WOULD be amazed at how much room is in these things. i am 5''7'' and greg is 6''1'' and we both fit nicely in it, our heads don''t hit or anything hehee. and we have had ourselves and another couple who is also about our size in the car with us and fit fine. and one other couple who is larger than us and the gal was preggo and we all fit!! it''s a little tight with 4 full grown people in there but it''s doable for rides under about 1 hour...which is mostly what we do with the car anyway!! oh and i have had myself and all my coworkers in it...so 5 gals total. that is when it gets interesting!!

and they are SO fun to drive. i LOVE my car. it does need to be serviced as there are some weird lights going off every once in a while but nothing horrendous...they don''t want you to really bring it for service until you absolutely need to which is one thing i am not loving about the mini dealerships. oh strange red light? well if it doesn''t STAY ON then don''t worry about it! um okay. the car is ''smart'' so it also logs everything that happens to it in your key pod. along with the mini we automatically got this roadside assistance thing from BMW or mini or whatever and so we know we are covered in case we need it, but would rather that not happen actually!!

we were in buffalo ny recently and saw a few minis and i was like gosh they seem so tiny out here...i think if i lived out there i''d want a big SUV or something to feel more safe. so i could see how in the more snowy cold regions people might not want something so small, but out here in CA it''s perfect. and i LOVE my sunroof...the mini is so small that the sunroof literally is almost half the car''s top, so it''s almost like a convertible hehe. seriously i could rave about this car forever. it''s been YEARS since i had a car payment but this car makes it worth it.

I miss my sunroof. I traded my 325I with the best sunroof (BMW knows how to do a sunroof) for a mini without one. A mini VAN, that is. I do like my minivan, but there are times.....

The mini coopers are so cute and they must be roomier inside than you''d think. I didn''t think you could get much smaller than a mini cooper, but at the grocery store yesterday I saw a smart car. Now that''s tiny. We live in SUV and minivan country out here, so I hear you about driving where there are large vehicles. I''d be a little afraid in that one.

 

[VRBeauty]

Hey Mara -- another MINI owner chiming in here. I can''t claim to have had five adults in mine though, four is my limit. The tallest person I''ve had as a passenger is a 6''10 former co-worker. Do I even need to mention that he''s also a former basketball player? He fit right in and claimed to be perfectly comfortable, but as the driver, was a little nervous about the 1" space between the headliner and the top of his head...

As for the "Actual Size" stickers... I''ve had my MINI long enough (since 2002) that I tend to forget how small it looks to others!

 

[LitigatorChick]

Where do you put the people - I have an Infiniti G35 coupe, and I can''t fit 4 people in it!!!! But I have more horsepower... vroom vroom.

 

[Mara]

we have the cooper S and according to my car techy husband, he says we could basically whup anyone's butt on a curvy road but we'd lose to SOME high performance cars (aka porsche) on straightaways. i don't really care about any of that stuff as long as it goes where i want it to, as fast as possible hehee. but yeah, because it's so small, it's immensely powerful for it's size. we have fun taking it for stomach-turning drives on the curvy california coastal roads...greg loves to drive it then (and try not to get tickets!).

miniMS...re the size, recently we went to SF and did this little touristy go-car thing, these tiny yellow 'cars' that seat 2 people and are GPS enabled and you drive around to tour the city. we pulled up next a mini and it seemed huge compared to being in this tiny little car. it was so hilarious and freaky at the same time!!

 

[LitigatorChick]

Date: 2/8/2008 11:10:26 AM
Author: Mara
we have the cooper S and according to my car techy husband, he says we could basically whup anyone''s butt on a curvy road but we''d lose to SOME high performance cars (aka porsche) on straightaways. i don''t really care about any of that stuff as long as it goes where i want it to, as fast as possible hehee. but yeah, because it''s so small, it''s immensely powerful for it''s size. we have fun taking it for stomach-turning drives on the curvy california coastal roads...greg loves to drive it then (and try not to get tickets!).

miniMS...re the size, recently we went to SF and did this little touristy go-car thing, these tiny yellow ''cars'' that seat 2 people and are GPS enabled and you drive around to tour the city. we pulled up next a mini and it seemed huge compared to being in this tiny little car. it was so hilarious and freaky at the same time!!

I''ll take your husband, Mara. My specs - 300 hp, 0-60 in under 6 seconds, awesome sport handling. Your specs - 118 hp, 0-60 in 9 seconds. The Mini is awesome, but a performance sports car, it ain''t.

 

[Mara]

Date: 2/8/2008 11:19:03 AM
Author: LitigatorChick

Date: 2/8/2008 11:10:26 AM
Author: Mara
we have the cooper S and according to my car techy husband, he says we could basically whup anyone's butt on a curvy road but we'd lose to SOME high performance cars (aka porsche) on straightaways. i don't really care about any of that stuff as long as it goes where i want it to, as fast as possible hehee. but yeah, because it's so small, it's immensely powerful for it's size. we have fun taking it for stomach-turning drives on the curvy california coastal roads...greg loves to drive it then (and try not to get tickets!).

miniMS...re the size, recently we went to SF and did this little touristy go-car thing, these tiny yellow 'cars' that seat 2 people and are GPS enabled and you drive around to tour the city. we pulled up next a mini and it seemed huge compared to being in this tiny little car. it was so hilarious and freaky at the same time!!

I'll take your husband, Mara. My specs - 300 hp, 0-60 in under 6 seconds, awesome sport handling. Your specs - 118 hp, 0-60 in 9 seconds. The Mini is awesome, but a performance sports car, it ain't.

Welp, specs aren't everything...it depends on the driver.

But it's okay. You win.

Yours IS bigger than mine.

 

[LitigatorChick]

Date: 2/8/2008 1:36:48 PM
Author: Mara

Date: 2/8/2008 11:19:03 AM
Author: LitigatorChick

Date: 2/8/2008 11:10:26 AM
Author: Mara
we have the cooper S and according to my car techy husband, he says we could basically whup anyone''s butt on a curvy road but we''d lose to SOME high performance cars (aka porsche) on straightaways. i don''t really care about any of that stuff as long as it goes where i want it to, as fast as possible hehee. but yeah, because it''s so small, it''s immensely powerful for it''s size. we have fun taking it for stomach-turning drives on the curvy california coastal roads...greg loves to drive it then (and try not to get tickets!).

miniMS...re the size, recently we went to SF and did this little touristy go-car thing, these tiny yellow ''cars'' that seat 2 people and are GPS enabled and you drive around to tour the city. we pulled up next a mini and it seemed huge compared to being in this tiny little car. it was so hilarious and freaky at the same time!!

I''ll take your husband, Mara. My specs - 300 hp, 0-60 in under 6 seconds, awesome sport handling. Your specs - 118 hp, 0-60 in 9 seconds. The Mini is awesome, but a performance sports car, it ain''t.

Welp, specs aren''t everything...it depends on the driver.

But it''s okay. You win.

Yours IS bigger than mine.

It does depend on the driver! My husband and I left the house at the same time to drop the hot rod off to get an oil change. I was in the SUV, he in the car: I beat him. By a lot.

 

[VRBeauty]

Date: 2/8/2008 1:41:33 PM
Author: LitigatorChick

Date: 2/8/2008 1:36:48 PM
Author: Mara

Date: 2/8/2008 11:19:03 AM
Author: LitigatorChick

Date: 2/8/2008 11:10:26 AM
Author: Mara
we have the cooper S and according to my car techy husband, he says we could basically whup anyone''s butt on a curvy road but we''d lose to SOME high performance cars (aka porsche) on straightaways. i don''t really care about any of that stuff as long as it goes where i want it to, as fast as possible hehee. but yeah, because it''s so small, it''s immensely powerful for it''s size. we have fun taking it for stomach-turning drives on the curvy california coastal roads...greg loves to drive it then (and try not to get tickets!).

miniMS...re the size, recently we went to SF and did this little touristy go-car thing, these tiny yellow ''cars'' that seat 2 people and are GPS enabled and you drive around to tour the city. we pulled up next a mini and it seemed huge compared to being in this tiny little car. it was so hilarious and freaky at the same time!!

I''ll take your husband, Mara. My specs - 300 hp, 0-60 in under 6 seconds, awesome sport handling. Your specs - 118 hp, 0-60 in 9 seconds. The Mini is awesome, but a performance sports car, it ain''t.

Welp, specs aren''t everything...it depends on the driver.

But it''s okay. You win.

Yours IS bigger than mine.

It does depend on the driver! My husband and I left the house at the same time to drop the hot rod off to get an oil change. I was in the SUV, he in the car: I beat him. By a lot.

LC, it looks like you''ve found both the right profession AND the right car!

 

[LitigatorChick]

Thanks???

 

[Dee*Jay]

One of my clients has one and she and her boyfriend ended up driving one day because my SUV was getting serviced. The car is SO CUTE and there is a lot of room in there... but I insisted on sitting in the back seat so as not to invconvenience them and getting in and out of that thing was like a yoga class. I felt like I had achieved a triple lotus every time I made it safely back onto the sidewalk and managed to stand up straight.

 

[door knob solitaire]

Don''t worry Mara...I won''t stand for anyone trumping you and your little speedy mini. My hubby''s got your back. He has quite a little corral and can put any challenger in their place. I asked him if the BAD BOY was available to regain your honor. He said for Mara, why the heck not. Greg has been approved to ride side saddle.

So tomorrow, Hubby is getting the car cover off the bad boy...you will begin to feel ground

pounding thunder after lunch...

It''ll toast Litigator Chick and her little coupe-heck in 6 seconds we will be in the next county-she will be standing still. Performance...will have a new meaning for her.

Litigator...you better get ready to rumble

. You''ll have to learn you don''t mess with our beloved Mara and her mini.


ps...when class returns we will have a test on the subject of torque

 

[Mara]

Oh my gosh DKS I am dying laughing here....seriously I am almost in tears. I can't wait to hear the rumble of the Bad Boy tomorrow....it'll be just like a good ole CA earthquake!! I love me one of those.

I told Greg about this thread and the odd turn that it took, he just smirked. He's raced a few contenders in our Cooper S (without my approval or presence, of course) so he'd love to ride side saddle with your hubby....but me...I'm too old for 'mine is cooler than yours'. I just like zipping around....and the sunroof....ahhhh blessed sun. Today it was 70!!

 

[LitigatorChick]

I know exactly where my "little coupe" fits in the car pecking order. It ain''t taking some other high performance cars in terms performance, but it sure as hell is taking the mini (acceleration or torque or any other stat - I picked 1). That''s not good, bad or otherwise, just a fact. I was simply responding to the post that the mini was taking performance sports cars and relating it to my own experience.

Sheesh!

 

[VRBeauty]

Mara: If you and your DH haven''t already discovered it, NAM (northamericanmotoring.com) is a great forum for learning and chatting about all things MINI. Like PS, it''s a basically friendly and well-moderated forum -- though of course there''s a lot more testosterone flowing because of the subject matter, so there do tend to be more minor skirmishes. NAM was my main source for MINI education when I first got my car.

 

[Allison D.]

I dunno.....

I'd have to give the Cooper the edge in this particular situation since Mara doesn't have to worry about driving at safe speeds with children in the car.

Anywho, speed is overrated. It's better to ride leisurely and enjoy the journey!

DeeJay.....have to agree with the yoga-lotus thang! One of the gals who used to work with had one, and after driving a Highlander, it felt very odd to be getting out so close to the ground! LOL