A dog ran out in front of me on a two lane highway, I jumped, jerked the wheel, broke the rear wheels' grip and it started fishtailing all over (Firebirds are so good at that....) In the end, the car slid around sideways, passenger side mostly forward, the passenger side front wheel ended up in the ditch on the wrong side of the road, which stopped that corner of the car rather abruptly, so that the rest of the car's only option was to go upward and over. I rotated the car two or three times whilst in the air according to witnesses and came down with a frightening thud and crunch on the passenger side roof, which collapsed down to about the top of the door. I'm VERY glad I didn't have any friends with me, because I would have been short one friend, as anyone in that seat would have had their head crushed and neck broken without a doubt. My side of the car was intact, and I was fine. I always wear my seatbelt. It saved my life that day.

I also have had a Suzuki GSX-R 600 Telefonika Moviestar Special Edition totaled due to a dog, but I hit that dog. That dog pooped on me as his final act of revenge. Actually, I think I knocked the *Eh-hem* out of him... Again, I was ok. Helmet was totaled, as was my Joe Rocket Phoenix Jacket. Safety gear is very important.

And the darndest thing is, I LOVE dogs!!! Why do they have it out for me?

 

I hadn't thought about it but the white color line would look good too...

 

Your configuration is nice

The Lightning Blue looks almost identical to my former MINI, which was Hyper Blue. With the white roof and bonnet stripes, you will have a happy-looking MINI!

My first MINI did not have the driving lamps, but Dusty (see below) does. I love the look of them, and am glad I got them.

Just go with your gut when speccing your MINI. You really can't go wrong!

 

So now I have to think about that white color line- but I think it looks best with the piano black dash... Endless options are nice, but can be exhausting!

 

Oh I missed that you weren't getting the Piano Black. They definitely go hand in hand

 

Were you getting the black lounge leather seats w/ the white piping then the white color line (and the piano black dash) would be truly excellent. With the carbon black...eh...I think I still like the idea of the blue color line and the alloy, but that's just me.

 

Yeah, I am mostly looking still at the blue. I like the brushed alloy a LOT, and the cream looks washed out with it- cream needs the piano black. I will have a kiddo and/or dogs in the car quite a bit, so I would have a lot of fingerprints and noseprints I am afraid, with the PB.

 

If you don't do a lot of night driving, especially on back roads, then yeah, the driving lights are a little much. But I so love the look of them. And, along with the xenons, you can really light up the night. With deer season fast approaching around here, it's a major plus for me.

The interior color line is a must. Life is too short to not add a splash of color!

And the silver spokes are mad easy to clean. And, like others have said, the MINI kicks off a bunch of brake dust and would probably be a nightmare with white ones.

 

Oh dear, Spectral Glider, you DID have to remind me about deer, didn't you! There are whitetails everywhere here. Well, I guess it is one more thing to think about... I end up driving in the dark a decent amount in the winter. Having all the lights really helps getting the deers' eyes to shine I imagine. Thank goodness for tapetal membranes... (that is what makes critters' eyes light up at night)

How do you turn them on? Do they come on with the headlights/when you flip the lights on to bright?

And where are the photos of the clubman with the blue colorline that someone told me about? I haven't found them yet.

 

Check on MotoringFile here. Scroll through the pics and you'll see some of the interior. It's hard...or nobody has tried...to get a good shot of the interior and body color, but flipping between these pics may help. btw, MotoringFile has a wealth of into on all things MINI...a nice compliment to NAM.

 

Ok, I can't resist! I HAD to get the cute little driving lights! We were able to negotiate with the dealer, and they dropped a lot of the installation costs for us. ( I hate spending retail, but love those little lights!)

Drove the car before the lights arrived. OMG, when they were installed, it was as though Scoop came to life! Best 500.00 I've spent in a long time!

Look at your time and hobbies. . .is car mod on the list? If so, install later. If not, just go for it!

 

Great color for the car.
Drop the chrome on the interior
Grey Colorline.
You won't regret the webspoke wheels.

 

The crown spokes are passe. No one wants them anymore and they look dated. Either get the webs or just the standards and buy some aftermarket with non runflats. I drove an automatic loaner and it almost drove me crazy. Sort of like driving on valium prophylactics. No match for the feel of a manual. I have a bad left knee to and it doesn't bother me to drive an automatic. Ditch the chrome and stripes. I have both and am replacing them with aftermarket stripes and blackout....look at modification pictures of other cars....the chrome makes the car look like a floating whorehouse. Ditto the carpet mats....I sold mine after a month and bought rubber which is much more consistent with style of the car. Upgrade to JCW suspension...the standard S suspension is marshmellow and will disappoint all except fans of the camry ride.

 

Ok, so flacid, you feel my choices equate to a dissapointingly boring, passe floaty camry whorehouse on valium. Thank you for so kindly ripping my choices.

Are you an orthopedist? Have you examined my knee? How do you know my knee is ok enough that it is not going to give me problems over the entire period during which I own this MINI?

You don't have to like my MINI. I am the one that has to like my MINI. Everyone else has managed to give me their opinions without being rude. I am sorry my car will so offend you if you ever see it driving around.

 

Minerva Louise - Don't waste a minute worrying over the automatic transmission.

I went from a manual '05 MCS to my current '07 MCSa, and I absolutely LOVE it! I have problems with my feet that forced the transition to the automatic. I was hesitant at first, and thought a lot of the fun would be gone, but I was so wrong!

 

Thanks Pennyw, I am not a bit worried about the auto being "good enough". I test drove one and liked it quite well. I just didn't like being taken to task over my choices by someone that has no clue. There are politer ways of saying everything he said. It is just one of those internet things, people will say things to you that they'd not walk up and say to the face of someone they just met, or possibly they meant something in a different way from how it came across typed.

 

Have you checked out the Flamespoke wheels? I went to a rally at the Scottsdale dealership where 50-60 privately owned Minis were parked to look at. The webspokes and crowns were rampant, but the flames were few and far between. I call them the "horseshoes". Pretty easy to clean too.

 

As many people have said, white rims can be a nightmare... but I still stick with my own opinion (to each his own) - the White rims look SO GOOD with white theme roof mirrors and stripes. I had white wheels on 'Rex' previous MINI and while they were more work than normal wheels, the white was so niiiice.
It's all a matter of personal taste really, but I enjoyed the matching white wheels VERY much- and despite horror stories, they're not impossible to take care of
Brake dust will be on any wheel, unless you go on strike against using brakes and then just use your heels to stop the car like Fred Flinstone....

But I digress...

 

Yes, I am still thinking on the wheels- I'm still thinking about many parts of it. I have seen the flame spoke wheels, beautifully displayed on a PW-checkered theme S that was for sale - it was on the corner of the lot at a Buick dealership, up on a pedestal. You are right that they are less common. It is something to think about...however, they don't seem to come with the sport package, so that would be a little extra money. Ultimately, someday- but that is probably like at least a couple of years off, I'd like something aftermarket and that applies to the wheels an possibly the stripes as well. BUT I want to like the way the car looks between now and then, too! I will figure it out.

 

Oh, I like the white too. I especially think they look great with the astro black. But, I do think the silver matches up nicely with the bits of chrome that are on the outside too.

 

They do not cost 1 penny extra for white wheels!!! When you order the sport package, instead of paying the extra 500 for the Webs- if you select Crown spokes, then on the next section where it says "Wheels"- when you click on that it will have automatically of course the crown spokes as part of the sport packag, and there is a check box for silver OR white! Upon ordering from the dealer, you just say, 'Hey, I want white wheels..."

 

very true very true. I'm not a big fan of all the extra bling bling chrome So I just stuck with the white/red scheme + white wheels

--
Minerva: are you getting the chrome?? I forgot what you put about that .... I thought I remember a chrome Interior.. i think. anyways, perhaps the silver would go better with chrome outside! BUt then again it gets rid of white mirror caps and replaces them with chrome, and I like white mirrors more

 

Just my personal taste, but I do like the flames more than the webs. I don't know what it is, but the webs just don't do much for me at all. There are some other sweet looking wheels you can get, but man, the price really skyrockets. I liked the crowns well enough so I stuck with them. The fact that lots of MINI's have them didn't bother me as in my location, MINIs are few and far between anyway.

 

Sorry to offend you...it wasn't my intent...i was just sharing thoughts from my ownership of some of your choices and hoped to give you some ideas, however brutally honest so to say....i'm a little jaded because my car has been in the shop weeks waiting for parts more than i've driven it and the dealer put a big gouge in my $400 spoke wheels changing a runflat tire which cost $400 to replace (a simple flat - just be forewarned)...i am sure whatever you choose will be fine and i hope you enjoy it and have better luck than I have had!

 

Yes, I like the white mirrors better than the chrome --- but --- I like the chrome piece on the back above the license plate. I like how it breaks up a field of solid color. So everything is compromises of course. If you could have just that one bit of extra chrome and leave everything else from the extra exterior chrome package off, it would be nice. Maybe that option is out there aftermarket? Where to look?

I am going to go play with the configurator in a bit to see the white vs regular-color wheels. It might be tomorrow or so before I get to do that however. It is definitely a thought.