Not specifically - I do have the photos I took when I picked up Polly and some more I took this morning from approximately the same angles which show the difference in drop. They are posted in my gallery.

 

I haven't been able to get in the proper Christmas spirit for the last few years - this morning I realized what I had been missing - now I'm in the right holiday frame of mind after hearing Joan's stirring rendition of Little Drummer Boy...

I'm sure she'll be touring Germany opening for David Hasselhoff by next spring...

 

Ooooh! Anthracite pledge paddles with MINI written in Greek letters. You only get them after your MINI is broken in and has been redlined 16 times.

 

Can you translate the W3606 logo into Greek? What if you translate it into binary -- would that be geek?

IF (othermini AND (finger1 AND finger2 AND finger3 AND finger4 AND thumb)) THEN (wavehand AND smirk)

 

I've been practicing the MINI handshake with my other half. When you cover said gripping fingers and touching thumbs with left hands, at the exact moment the left hands touch (who's on top?) the smirk comes naturally. Just can't help it...

 

abuvazi, kissmys

You guys are cracking me up. I needed that little bit of humor.
Yeah lets make our pledge paddles a little different. Binary Geek letters and numerals for sure. If kissmys and her husband can do that with a handshake just imagine what they do when they play MINI footsies.

 

My box of "MINI spy gear" came today. The marketing is just so darn clever...

 

Waaah! I want my MINI spy gear box! No cake, no cute marketing thingies (and marketing is my bag, for cryin' out loud!). But I did get the MINI parking only stencil. I think I'll mark most of the garage floor for Minx. Here, there and everywhere... I'm up to 4 official MINI waves so far...

Going to go ice my shoulder after a lot of twisties today to Sonoma and back. It's kinda ironic. I'm going to Sonoma for the PT to work on my lame shoulder and then mess it up getting there and back because I can't HOLD MYSELF BACK from driving those back roads the way they're meant to be driven! Ergo it is going to be two steps back for every three advancing. At this rate, I'll still be a patient until late spring!

So, JJ, is there a special MINI footsie dance? I know, anything in (or near, or around, or under, or about) a MINI is special...

 

Man, I am not feeling the love. I haven't even gotten junk mail from Mini, much less a box of sweetness.

I have my suspicions that mine will be a Mini-themed holiday from the family -- easy theme to expand on and shop for. Nothing wrong with that!

(Oh, and the MA did score us a bottle of it's-not-French-so-let's-not-call-it-champagne-so-let's-call-it-sekt, which we haven' had yet.)

 

Oh, and I forgot to mention. Tess goes in Monday for new rims & winter tires, and to get aux gauges installed (yes, I worry about engine temp -- that comes with having driven an old Chevy V8 for years). I also had them orderme a Euro Parcel shelf, even though they could not confirm that it would work with the '06.

If it does, well, maybe I'll go into the exporting business!

 

I know its x-mas time but I have bought way too much stuff for my Mini since I've brought it home. I literally have a mound of mods waiting to get installed on my car. Someone stop me before I'm broke!

 

Abuzavi — seriously, I would be honored to be your first Euro Parcel shelf customer. I'd ship you some oh, so precious Dry Creek Old Vine Zinfandel as a thank you for your efforts (along with the shelf's cost and shipping, of course.)

I've noticed n two occasions on early mornings this last week that a quiet bell rings in my MINI and the indicators that shows the outside temp flash a few times (one on the speedo, and one on the nav.) It has been 32° or less when it happens and it coincided with my zipping out pretty fast. Do you think it is a warning to let the engine warm up longer?

 

supposedly this ding happens when it gets below 32 or so to warn about the possibility of ice. there have been some posts about this in Mini Talk, I think. fortunately, i've yet to hear it. i'm surprised you have... i didn't think it got that cold in petaluma.

 

Hmm.... At 32, or around 32? Our volve does that in the sub-36 range -- it's the freezing warning, to have us be on the look out for black ice and other threats to American freedom and democracy.

Because if the ice wins, the terrorists win (they have cold hearts, don't you know?)

And KissMyS, let me get the parts and get it installed and see if it works. IF yes, THEN we can talk.

 

It is an Icey Road Warning and mine kicks on at 36° F.

 

.... and it's well covered in the freakin' manual - you all DID read the manual - twice - cover to cover before attempting to operate this precision piece of equipment, didn't you?

I know, I'm a sicko, but I got the manual pdf and DID read it twice before I ever saw my car... (actually once before I ordered the car...) - sick.

'cause I know there was no freakin way I was going to take time out from motoring to read it once I HAD the car in my possession...

 

I was out on the autobahn today, heading off to deliver a briefing out on the French border. Got stuck in a construction zone, behind a bright yellow Carrera 4 (no, not the naked chick -- thanks, Google). Well, the construction zone ends, the speed limit is lifted, and off he goes. And off I go. I doubt he went faster than about 130 mph, and I sure didn't break the Mini-advised limit of 170 km/h / 108 mph, but damn if I didn't run him down in a few minutes!

It.

Was.

Awesome.


Seriously, I need to carve up an old tripod so I can mount my video camera to my seat and take more movies of driving on the autobahn. I just plain rocks.

Anyone else getting a hoot out of their averages from the onboard computer? My MPG is in the tank -- low 20's -- but I comfort myself in knowing I get to legally drive my Mini like it's stolen. I did manage to raise my average speed up to 32 mph today, from 29. I've got a 600 mile saga next week -- I may reset the computer to try and capture what that run is like, see if I can post some insanely high average speed, and to really gauge what autobahn average fuel consumption is like. Weather might be light rain, but if I'm driving odd hours, it should still be, well, awesome.

 

The Autobahn! Now that would be cool. Watch out for those Formula I cars doing a little test drive though.

 

Mea culpa... I haven't yet even cracked the manual, except to check how much gas the tank holds. You, Abuzavi, are a very smart man. I should have read it before I took delivery. Now I can't be bothered. I'd rather ask these dumb questions to my new best friends... and yes, I, along with I'm sure the rest of the gang, am green with envy of your autobahn privileges. I've ridden on it before, but never driven it, and OMG I can't imagine how exhilarating that must be in your own MINI!!!! I've only had mine up to 95 on Hwy. 101 (not smart; too many CHPs) and as shocked at how smooth the ride was and how much more power was still obviously under the bonnet.

 

I really wished I had had my video camera yesterday - there was one nice stretch, nice and straight and flat, where I was doing about 95 mph, right alongside one of those panel van / delivery vans! He was just zipping along, minding his own business, keeping up with traffic.

And you're right - it's awesome to be zipping along, have the traffic open up in front of you, and to be able to put your foot down on a responsive throttle. I smile a damn lot when I drive.

 

You. Lucky. Bastard.

 

So, by the time I drive home from work today I should pass the magic 1500. So what do I do then? Floor it and wait for CHP to pull me over? Don't go above 4th on the freeway?

David

 

I recommend you keep it below 4500 RPM for an extra 10,000 miles or so - just to make sure it's *really* broken in before you push it. You never can be too careful...

(not)



I did 70 in third and it was WONDERFUL...

 

My outside temp guage has been pinging at me every morning for over a week... I'm like "hurry up and rain already, so it can warm up"... us California girls are not made for cold....

BTW the ping has been occuring at 37 and below


On a side note re: pings... why does my car ping at me every time I take out the key or get out of the car? (well not everytime but quite often and for no apparent reason)... and yes I read the online manual 2x before Moe ever arrived.... might have forgot some of the lesser things....

 

Are you telling your MINI how much you appreciate him/her? MINIs have feelings too, and need positive interaction or they will ping from time to time. A little loving pat on the dash board should do the trick.