[apexchaser]

(Apologies for the repetition to those who may have read this post on the Roadfly MINI forum. I figured I'd cross-post to "share the wealth" a bit.)

Well folks, I'm back in Austin, TX after an adventurous weekend, having flown up to Buffalo, NY to pick up our new MINI Cooper S. Here are a few pictures of the new toy, and some notes from the trip. Needless to say, I'm absolutely ecstatic!

Here it is! I flew in to Buffalo Friday night, but arrived after the dealer had closed. That didn't keep me from stopping by the dealer anyway to get a first look at the car. Unfortunately, the best I could do was this picture through a window. But still... WOW!


Here it is in the light of day... Saturday 8/31, 9:00 am. the dealer has just opened, and I'm chomping at the bit to take the keys and get on the road... I'm feeling like a little kid at Christmas time right about now. :-)


The MCS and its proud new Motorer:


A little glamour shot: Gotta love that wide bulldog stance!


Self portrait of the new owner... (ok, ok... really just the owner screwing around with camera.)


Odometer after the first day of driving. Left Buffalo at 11:00 am, pulled in to Jackson, on the outskirts of Memphis, TN, at around 11:30 pm. 12 and a half hours, 858 miles driven. This car LOVES to travel!


Posing with Old Man River... the Mighty Mississippi. Taken in Memphis, TN, Sunday morning at 9:00 am. About to get on the road again...


Soon after I crossed the Mississippi, going from Tennessee into Arkansas, a little caravan of cars passed me at a "respectable" speed, so I decided to join them. We ended up doing an impromptu "Cannonball Run" all the way from Memphis, TN, to Texarkana, TX. Non-stop all the way through Arkansas! This picture was taken about 4 miles from Texarkana, as the MINI hit 1200 miles, the end of the official break-in period (during which you're supposed to keep the revs under 4500 RPM). So... about 26 hours after I picked up the car, the break-in period is complete! Time to open it up and let it rip! :-))))


Soon after entering the "Republic" of Texas, I saw Xenon headlights in my rearview mirror. As the car approaching got closer (and it was approaching VERY rapidly) I noticed aero mirrors, a biiig front air dam and kidney grills. "Hmmm... wonder what THIS is?" I thought. As this BEAUTIFUL carbon-black M5 blows by me, the guy nails the brakes, sits next to me in the left lane, and gives ME a big thumbs-up! :-))) I of course give HIM a huge thumbs-up right back (hey, the MINI might be super-cool, but this is an M5 we're talking about here!). Then he drops it down a gear, nails the throttle, and takes off like a rocket. I figure what the hell, the break-in is complete, so let's dance! So off we go, the big black uber-cruiser, and the little red MINI. (I plead the fifth on the speed we were traveling at). So, after about 10-15 minutes of very rapid transit, this guy must've gotten bored or something. All of a sudden I see little puffs from the quad exhausts of the M5, it squats a little as the driver floors the throttle, and he is GONE! I didn't even attempt to follow...


At this point, this guy was moving waaaay beyond my comfort zone for a public road. Besides, I'm sure he must've been going faster than the MINI's top speed limiter (the MINI is electronically limited to 135 mph. The M5 at 155... although that can be defeated courtesy of several tuners). So, about 20 minutes later, I go over the crest of a hill, and see flashing lights. Oh oh! Texas State Patrol hard at work. As I pass the trooper, guess who is enjoying the hospitality of the Texas constabulary? Yup, Mr. M5! Major bummer for him. If he got caught at the speed I saw him disappear from my view, he'd be looking at some pretty painful consequences. Oh well....

Then, maybe 45 minutes after that, as I approach Dallas in heavy traffic, guess who passes me AGAIN, still travelling at autobahn speeds, and now weaving back and forth across 3 lanes of traffic to slalom through the slower cars? Yup! Mr. M5! Man, this guy must've had VERY deep pockets, very large brass ones, or not a whole lotta brain cells! (or perhaps some combination of all the above.)

Finally... 6:10pm Sunday, September 1 (around 31 hours after leaving Buffalo): MINI is HOME! Woo Hoo! Here it is wearing its requisite Cowboy attire, now that he's a Texan. We're thinking of calling it "Trigger", after Roy Rogers' faithful horse (yeah yeah... it's pretty corny... so shoot me.)


All in all, this car has already proven itself to be an AMAZING little beast. I highly recommend it. I can't wait to really play with it on twisty roads around here!

Cheers,
ApexChaser

[lotatoys]

Loved the trip commentary and great pics as well! I'd like to see some pics from the Austin area (featuring your MCS of course) as I used to be stationed at Bergstrom in the 80's. Is HWY 2222 still a good road for the twisties? Enjoy your car and get a V1 so you don't end up like the M5! I'll be posting my trip pics later this year when I pick up my MCS in Salt Lake City and travel to Colorado, Oregon and then home to California...

[Kupa]

Great post, great pics and a great looking car. Pleased to see you are enjoying the car. Keep it up!

[Paul]

Very cool.

[BruceK]

Great story and super pictures. Nice to have another Cooper S (and like mine from a NY dealer!) here in Texas.

[apexchaser]

Quote:

Originally posted by lotatoys
Loved the trip commentary and great pics as well! I'd like to see some pics from the Austin area (featuring your MCS of course) as I used to be stationed at Bergstrom in the 80's. Is HWY 2222 still a good road for the twisties? Enjoy your car and get a V1 so you don't end up like the M5! I'll be posting my trip pics later this year when I pick up my MCS in Salt Lake City and travel to Colorado, Oregon and then home to California...

I'll definitely be taking pics around the Texas hill country, enjoying some of the fantastic twisties we have around here. 2222 is still a fun road for the twisties, but it's gotten a bit crowded, and the local constabulary likes to keep it "well supervised". I don't know if you're familiar with 1431 out to Marble Falls, or Lime Creek Road on the east shore of Lake Travis. AWESOME driving roads!

Stay tuned for more pictures, and thanks to all for the kind words. I'm finding more and more that the MINI is not only a blast to drive, but it also attracts a real fun bunch of folks!

Cheers,
ApexChaser

[OUSOONER]

Apexchaser...great picks. I just got back from picking up my Red/Black S from Memphis. How did you like that highway construction on I-40? Have a great time in your MINI...it looks fantastic.

[apexchaser]

Quote:

Originally posted by OUSOONER
Apexchaser...great picks. I just got back from picking up my Red/Black S from Memphis. How did you like that highway construction on I-40? Have a great time in your MINI...it looks fantastic.

Hey, so we crossed paths? Where were you driving back to?

That construction SUCKED... those loooong loooong stretches of one lane highway were interminable. The only positive is that during those one-lane stretches, I was able to unplug the V1 and plug in my cell-phone charger to refresh the battery and make a few brief trip-update calls to the family! :-)

Great choice of colors for your car, btw. I was tempted by red/black, but ended up going with red/white in a nod to Texas summers...

Cheers,
a.

[OUSOONER]

I was heading back to Oklahoma, Norman in particular. Do you make it to the OU/Texas game in Dallas? Attached a pic of my Red/Black S outside of Graceland in Memphis. Happy Motoring!

[OUSOONER]

OK...now the image!

[apexchaser]

OUSOONER:
Fantastic picture... and very cool location, too! I was tempted to take a slightly more sedate trip back, and hit some more landmarks with which to photograph Trigger, but the need for speed (and the desire to get back home to wife and baby girl to show them the new toy) got the best of me.

No, I haven't been up for the Texas/OU game in the past (I'm only a recent transplant to Austin; since '99) but I may have to sooner or later. Do you come down for the game?

Again, great pic!

a.

[wdfoto]

I had to go to West Palm Beach Florida to pick up my MCS. 1200 miles and 18 hrs to get home.

[apexchaser]

another great pic, wdfoto.

It's remarkable how many of us had long pickup roadtrips... I guess that speaks to the popularity of the MINI, and the lengths to which we will go to get our hands on the little beasts!

So, wdfoto, you picked yours up in West Palm Beach... and where did you go back to?

[ficcion]

Is that a Cannon G1 or G2 I see in the reflection of the Mini emblem?

I use the G2... Love it.

Great car... congrats!

I've had my Red S since the end of May and the engine is only getting better with time. Much to look forward to!

[wdfoto]

I live in Jonesboro, Arkansas and was on vacation in west palm beach shooting some glamour photography and decided to see if a dealer had any S's that were not taken. A customer had ordered 2 S's and decided not to take the second one, so I did not have a choice of color or options. DS/B sport,premium,black leather,17" performance tires. The dealer wanted $1000.00 for a graphic roof, I did it myself the weekend after I got home for $20.00 and 2 hours of my time. By the way can anyone believe I gave up a couple days of photographing beautiful women to get this great car.

[apexchaser]

Quote:

Originally posted by ficcion
Is that a Cannon G1 or G2 I see in the reflection of the Mini emblem?

I use the G2... Love it.

It's a G2. Likewise, I love it. It makes me look than a better photographer than I actually am!

[apexchaser]

Quote:

Originally posted by wdfoto
I live in Jonesboro, Arkansas and was on vacation in west palm beach shooting some glamour photography and decided to see if a dealer had any S's that were not taken. A customer had ordered 2 S's and decided not to take the second one, so I did not have a choice of color or options. DS/B sport,premium,black leather,17" performance tires. The dealer wanted $1000.00 for a graphic roof, I did it myself the weekend after I got home for $20.00 and 2 hours of my time. By the way can anyone believe I gave up a couple days of photographing beautiful women to get this great car.

Hey, DS/B is a VERY nice combo, and your roof looks great! & You're a lucky guy to have picked up a MINI with no wait like that! No 2-3 month period of agony as you follow your car through production and delivery...

Regarding the beautiful women vs. car: The women you only get to photograph... the car you can actually put your hands on and play with whenever you want!

[R53W11]

Apexchaser

Love the photos! Nice looking car - great color choice ;-) That was a great write up on your trip back - I've been wanting to send you an e-mail from work to ask you about the trip but I've been to busy!

OUSOONER

I picked up my car from Roadshow on 8/24! I went the other direction - drove back to Columbus, OH.

[Legion242]

Please advise as to the metioned constrution on I-40. I will be picking up my MCS in November and driving back to Dallas. I was considering a more scenic (i.g. less beaten) path like 61 down through Mississippi to I-20 ad then across to Dallas or 79 runs nearly parralel(sp?) to I-40 and I-30 through Arkansas. I know nothing of these alternate routes, but though they may be more interesting then just staying on Interstate the whole way. Thanks for any info you can give.

[OUSOONER]

61 South would be a good run and a much better alternative to I-40. Consider taking HWY 1 South @ Clarksdale and following it to #465 South all the way to Redwood where you get back on 61. HWY 1 and 465 follow the banks of the Mississippi and provide some great photo opportunities. Getting back on 61 South at Redwood will take you right to I-20. Take tme to enjoy the ride....it's worth it.