Sorry it's taken so long, but now that most of the warranty is history, I figured I'd sign up here and start contributing.
Tonight for a 20,000 mile celebration the car got a full tank of petrol (winter blend ethanol *garbage* as it may be, it's all I can get) and.... a trip to the laundromat. How exciting.
Anyway, I purchased Nigel as a replacement for a 1988 Saab 900 killed by structural rust. That's the pre-GM era when they were made to be kept 20 years or at least 250k. I'm ashamed to admit I only made 230.
Nigel is a horizon blue Clubman S with cold weather and premium (the premium ended up being "free" for the February 2010 promotion), blue roof and mirrors, cloth seats, a rear fog light I use to communicate with other Mini owners, DTC, driving lamps and the "Mickey Mouse" gauge pack.
Despite setting the car up to be easiliy upgraded to a "sleeper" JCW, most of the time I push the boundaries of the direct injection and the clutch release bearing. I've averaged a little over 36 MPG lifetime on this car, despite occasional runs to clean out the injectors and combustion chambers, which brings me back to the winter mix E10 garbage I'm forced to burn.
As time goes on, I will look to this board for advice on a few upgrades: rear sway bar, engine air intake, front brake cooling and anything aerodynamic short of fender skirts. I want to fiddle with the interior (most likely deleting the rear seat in the process) and maybe reduce the chrome content on the front end.
I bought the car because it was one of the few that still weighed less than 3000 pounds, performs well, gets reasonable mileage, is weird, and my bike fits in the back. The GTI was too expensive and came with xenon headlamps and blue instrumentation as standard, and I can't stand either of those. I considered a Volvo C30 but it just didn't do anything special, was too thirsty, and was not practical enough, so I looked at a hardtop. After that, I saw the Clubman and was hooked. Only 150 pounds more to be able to fit human adults in the back without first severing their legs at the knees, or the ability to fit the bikes inside. Bikes inside means the bearings and drivetrain don't get pressure washed if you get caught in the rain, and it's mostly difficult enough to break in that no one will bother.
As it turns out, the footprint dimensions of the Clubman S (track, wheelbase) are almost identical to the classic 900 I dearly miss. Just omit two feet of front overhand and three in the rear, and drop the roof a foot and a half.
I hate to not type any more but it's late and I need to catch up on sleep. I look forward to some healthy interplay on the boards here. I'll see about sticking a few pictures up over the next few days.

Cheers!
Jefff

 

Welcome - great intro!

 

Show us how your bike fits inside :-) !

 

It's about time you joined! Welcome.

 

Which bike do you want to see first? Unfortunately the eldest Raleigh is temporarily out of commission, but I've got the folder in there now. They're all pretty simple to stow after you remove the utterly useless "flat load floor" and get the rubber boot mat inside.
I never really understood the appeal of bike racks, regardless of their mounting method and location, aside for the convenience. With the cycle inside you don't pressure wash your bearings in the inevitable rain, and it becomes much more difficult to steal. Part of my purchase decision was comparing the fuel mileage penalty for the extra 150 pounds (mass) over a hardtop versus the loss associated with wind resistance from an exterior rack.
I did get my road bike in the back with the rear seats up, but it was just an exercise. It rested pretty heavily on the rear derailleur hanger, and one wrong bump and the pedal would start scratching off defroster bars, so I smiled, then put the seats down and stowed the bike normally. Even after that, there's room for a second bike and passenger, or lots of extra gear for a weekend visit with family.
I hope to take a few pictures soon, stay tuned!