UKPylot’s MINI Blog

There are many differences in driving style between US and UK drivers but the one that causes me the most grief comes when overtaking. In the UK the roads are smaller, the traffic is more bunched up so typically you drive up quite close behind the vehicle you want to pass before pulling out. However, here in CA people pull out to pass you about a mile before they get to you. Very often I’ll be coming up to a car, waiting to get close enough before pulling out and then before I can, the car behind me pulls out and blocks me in. I suppose I could pull out earlier but I just feel stupid sitting in the outside lane long before I need to be there.

And this situation is compounded by the first law of CA freeway driving: if traffic in the slow lane looks like they are going to pull into the gap in front of you, increase speed so as to prevent them from doing so. And the second law: if someone follows the first law and blocks you off, flip them off or just force your way into their lane and make them brake.

Last couple of weeks I’ve noticed some vibration in the steering wheel when I’m driving along. A little inspection showed that the front right tyre was quite worn and should probably need replacing. Today I go to lunch with the intention to get it replaced afterwards… just before turning into Carl’s I hear quite a pop and my steering gets much more wobbly. A little look after lunch and the front left tyre is now quite flat – time to get two new tyres.

Of course no one carries runflats in the Valley so I decide to switch to regular tyres. There seems to be a large movement of MINI owners who think this is the right thing to do anyway so I don’t mind. If I get a flat I’ll call AAA (there is no spare on the S).

Strewth! Another new MINI has been spotted around town, I passed it coming down the grade on I-8 during the week and others have seen it at Vons and other locations around Brawley. This one is a brand new (only has Brecht plates) all gold MINI Cooper, looks very shiny. So that makes 5 MINIs in this little town, must be a per-capita record?

Well, the MINI driver up the street seems to have swapped MINIs. There is no longer a burgundy MINI in their driveway, today there was a red MINI with sunroof. It still has Utah plates so I’m really not sure what is going on. I was too busy checking my eyesight over the colour changing to notice whether they also went up to an S. Maybe they didn’t like my display of supercharger power the other day and went back to Utah to get another?

Here are some neat pictures of the forthcoming Cooper S Convertible to drool over. Yes, they are from the SCMM message board, I guess I didn’t resign from the club like I said. However, the level of ego and arrogance from the club clique is still very annoying and so I don’t know that I will go on any runs with them; I really can’t be bothered with some of the attitude that one reads there on a near-daily basis.

[Update] Well, both MINIs are there and the red one is an S after all. The odd thing is that it appears that the red one has the burgundy’s licence plate and the burgundy one is sporting a new one, still from Utah? A scam to get out of paying CA registration fees?? Who knows, but definitely odd.

Pretty much every MINI owner I’ve met (actually, I think every one that I’ve met) is friendly, keen to check out each other’s vehicles, share the joy of motoring. Even owners I’ve never met but seen on the road give a wave and a smile. So its odd that the owners of the other MINIs here in Brawley don’t seem so friendly. For instance, the driver of the burgundy MINI has never waved, smiled or even looked up from her steering wheel. Today we were number 1 and 2 at a traffic light and I waved in the mirror but not a hint of recognition. Maybe she doesn’t like that I have an S, or she doesn’t like the Union Jack? Who knows but, when the light changed, I did the only sensible thing and left her in the dust

Now the owner of the red MINI (or rather the owner’s mother and frequent driver) was telling my wife the other day that she wishes there weren’t other MINIs in town, she wants to be the only one. This doesn’t seem like motoring to me, the more MINIs the better I say. And, anyway, she still doesn’t have stripes on the MINI and if she is to be the only one in town then it has to have stripes, the red just doesn’t look right without a stripe.

In other news, the temps are now over 100F (37C) but the MINI is still running strong.

As much as I enjoy my XM Radio I am not much enjoying how I mounted it in my vehicle. See elsewhere in this blog for my description of how I installed it but whatever you do, don’t copy it in yours. Its taken a while but the mount point has gone all floppy and the unit just swivels around as I drive, making it impossible to see the display or push the buttons without holding it. So I need a better solution. I got this one from the MINI forums so perhaps the person who recommended it to me has now found a better idea?

In other news I’ve been suffering from back and stomach pains for a couple of weeks and finally saw a doctor about it Wednesday. Xrays were taken and were inconclusive other than to show an unusual compression of my thoracic T-4 vertebrae. I’ve had no falls or accidents that I can think of (and presumably would remember!) so I am thinking this is perhaps an old injury. Maybe years of ballroom dance competition not only ruined my foot (which currently enjoys a Morton’s neuroma but my spine as well? Thousands of dollars well spent!! I used to get bad back pain after practice and some competitions, even as much as 10 years ago, so this idea doesn’t seem that far fetched.

So, in the meantime I had a CT scan of my abdomen today and get to enjoy an MRI of my thoracic spine on Monday.

What does all this have to do with my MINI, you ask? Well, the pain is made worse by sitting down so when I’m driving in my MINI it can be quite painful and that is not how I want to feel when out in my pride and joy.

Took Sarah to Brecht’s for an ’emergency’ appointment. They were able to fit me in and have me out of the door in just over an hour. The problem was a loose connection on the headlamp unit which they tightened and now everything works. Now… can I make it to the next inspection in 5000 miles time without having to go back? My fingers are crossed!

Hey, there’s an idea… a real-time counter on this page that shows the number of days trouble-free motoring…. I’ll get on it…

Well, I had 39 days trouble free motoring, how many cars can say they get that kind of reliability??! Coming home late last night my wife said ‘you only have one headlight working’ and sure enough the left one is out. My MINI has the xenon’s and apparantly it is very unusual for those bulbs to blow, more likely another failed module. So if I take it back they will take a look at it on an emergency basis. The annoying thing is that I was just in San Diego and had I known I could have done it yesterday.

I do love my MINI, I do love my MINI… if I repeat it often enough I will believe it!

Can’t say much more than that, I just don’t get it.

Driving a distinctive vehicle has its drawbacks, if you piss someone off they know what car to mess with whilst you eat your Classic Single Combo. I had the same problem when I first got my Jeep, there weren’t many yellow ones out then and after the odd altercation in a car park I’d worry about what I’d find when I get back.

Now, I’m not an aggressive person but sometimes when you are cut up or otherwise inconvenienced on the road you need to let the other person know that they are a dolt. In particular here where I live there is a hospital nearby and the people coming out can’t see around the parked cars when they pull out: I have to swerve out of someone’s way or slam on the brakes almost daily when I go past it. In the old days, such incidents would be met with a wave “I’m sorry” but these days you get the glare, or even a gesture like it was my fault. Whatever happened to good old fashioned courtesy?? I know you can’t see and just have to go for it, but if you get unlucky and almost hit me, at least try and look sorry about it.