Parc 77 : confirms the known stereotype of the BMW coupe driver (usually an old model) driven by a Phil Mitchell lookalike usually wearing a Football shirt. Cars with a tarnished reputation because of the drivers - like old Subaru Imprezza drivers.

Lol I used to have an E36 318ise but to be fair that was back in 1999 (it was a 1997 model)
before the likes of the stereo typical Phil Mitchell look alikes got hold of them (no im not a snob so no false assumptions please), you know the ones that just give off the vibe look at me in my BMW im rich and successful (with 18 soverign rings on there fingers a football shirt smoking roll ups) when in actual fact it was £4995 from Dazza's car lot down some dodgy back street. Have to agree with those and the old Impreza's - you got it spot on there Vron :)

Perhaps what might work would be a projector, pointed rearward, projecting a horrific scene of an SUV tailgating, and then crashing and burning. That would probably work, too bad it's illegal...

The Mini in Australia has a very fond place in the heart of the people who remember it as a giant beater from the original muscle car era. The reappearance of a modern Mini at the same time as we are having a resurgance in local muscle cars such as the Monaro and Ford Performance cars makes for an interesting road. Problem is that the Mini here seems to attract a lot of attention from sales rep wanna bes driving base model Commodores and Falcons. I find that they have an annoying habit of wanting to race and cut you off and other aggressive road behaviours. I have seen them do some really dumb things to get in front of me when there I am driving like an old lady not doing anything at all provactive. If one of these half wits starts their crap, I just sit back, drive very slowly and do nothing at all to indicate that I have any interest in responding to them.

I have also recently encountered some of the most stupid behaviour from truck drivers that tail gate. As people that drive professionally I can not understand why they carry on like some of them do. How f***ing stupid is it to tailgate a small car when you are driving a truck. If i were forced to brake suddenly I would be crushed by a truck carting dirt. If I were a police officer that witnessed this I would take them off the road for good.

I hate tailgaters, it can be very frightening having some idiot just behind you :mad:

But I think that everything seems closer, as the MINI is significantly smaller than any previous car I have owned.

It's not just tailgating. I find that when I stop my MCS at a stoplight drivers, especially those with big SUV's and 4WD trucks, seem to make a point of "rabbiting" up to my back coming to an abrupt halt merely inches from my rear bumper. There have been times that the speed at which they approach has caused me to prepare to be hit from behind and slowly inch the MCS forward as they approach. Is this a**hole driver phenomenon noticed by any of you elsewhere? I own two other vehicles, neither of which is a MINI, and this behavior does not seem to occur as often when I'm in those vehicles. Is this a MINI centric problem? :confused:


I agree. Just picked up my 05 MCS and it seems everyone has to pull right up to my rear at lights. I leave space in front of me to continually pull up and the folks behind me always take up the slack. Very annoying when all I'm doing is trying to protect my car from negligent lousy drivers. I think the reasons we notice this are because of the size of the MINI, the rear visability and the fact that MINI owners care more for the protection of their cars then most other folks. I just wish the careless, negligent and malicious would just stay away from my new pride and joy.

the fact that MINI owners care more for the protection of their cars then most other folks. I just wish the careless, negligent and malicious would just stay away from my new pride and joy.
This is the part I agree to and not really the small part. I notice people stopping close to me in my old camry too but i didnt care as much... still annoyed me but not as much.

I like the bumper Sticker "WARNING, I BRAKE FOR TAILGATERS" A separate washer system filled with something other than water (from the junk yard and mounted on the rear bumper of a car that did not have a rear wiper) also gets noticed.