Found on NorthAmericanMotoring.com...
"I get good comments like 'that can't be stock!' 'what do you have in that thing?' I'm pretty sure most of those guys think I'm a liar. My answer always is 'look at the ride height, if It wasn't stock would I have it riding so high' ..."
Saw this one on NAM today:"Today on my way home on the LIE eastbound I was stopped in traffic then got rear-ended by a Ford Explorer which was rear-ended by a person who is in the assigned risk insurance pool. Explorer because its high plowed right into the boot lid and the left rear quarter, I was pushed into the car in front which got pushed into the car in front, in all a 3 car and 2 SUV collision. The cars in front of me took off before the cop arrived..."
A NAM* member writes:
"...my key stopped working in that the remote lock/unlock feature is not working... Can I fix this myself, or must I take the key to the dealer?"
"The problem is that one of your keys lost it's association with the car. It is not a dead or defective battery. It has happened to me twice in the past year. You need to have all the keys with you when you get in the car. Step 1..."Sure I could copy, paste, and repost the whole breakdown here, but that would be a) rude, b) stealing (sort of), and c) not giving our buddy Steve his "props" (my staff make me say that).
A post on my favorite MINI-related Forum sheds more light on the MINI Cooper's utilitarian prowess:
^^^ 61" TV ^^^
^^^the TV stand that goes with it. ^^^
I was reading an interesting post on NAM this morning (IB4TL!). I had a similar incident recently but I didn't think much of until I read the post. Borrowing from the OP's text:
"I am sitting at a stop light (on an abandoned airstrip with no current traffic laws
) and a brand new (looking) Nissan 350z pulls up next to me. Funky goldish color, dealer/paper plates, big shiny rims, aero kit, Nismo stickers, the works.
...The dude driving quickly looks over at me and then turns to say something funny to the cute girl sitting in the passenger seat who starts laughing a little...
While he is running his pie hole, I am casually and non chalantly pretending I don't see what's coming up on my right, about 1/4 mile behind us.
....As soon as the traffic light turns yellow for the crossing traffic (uh... old abandon airport equipment ), he starts reving his big V8. "I knew it" I yelled to myself in my MINI. The Meat Head in the Nissan wants to show off for his chick and pick on the little guy...
I politely turn down my stereo and increased my revs, acknowleding the invite to an unsanctioned contest of speed.
The light goes green; he punches it through the intersection, I pause for a moment before letting the clutch out and ease through the intersection "granny style". A police cruiser "appears out of nowhere" (
), lights up the red and blues, weaves through a few cars, and pulls over the Nissan before he reaches the next light.
I *really really* wanted to roll down my window and give him a thumbs up as I passed. I mean, really! Alas, my faith in karmic justice would not allow it. (Does posting it on my blog count?)
I love my MINI, and my MINI knows his place. (It may have been a different story had I not satisfied my need for speed earlier that day, on the twisty backroads of North San Diego County.)
See you on the twisties! 
While at AMVIV it was discovered that my poor MINI has fallen victim to the much discussed "Cracked Strut Mount and Strut Tower Mushroom". No- not a delectible Mediterranean dish fried over an open-flame, but a plague like design "issue" in the front-end suspension. (You can read the never ending thread on NAM here, here, and here- yeah- i told you!)
One thing I noticed in my research however, is a lack of photos of the fairly obvious symptoms. Fortunately, I have a digital camera!*
For those playing along... We got back from "A MINI Vacation in Vegas" on Sunday afternoon, with minimal traffic. That's what you get when you're already on the road by 8am!
I took about 400 photos this time around as well as about 2 hours of video. I hope to have everything edited and posted in the next couple days but in the meantime, here's a brief recap of AMVIV from my perspective!
For the record, this year's event was totally awesome. Last I heard there were about 450 and
about 600 people. There were twice as many vendors as last year and a little something for everyone- well except for ladies' t-shirts in small. The product I noticed "flying off the shelf" the most was the M7 Strut Brace. Even with 4-5 vendors all selling them, I think they each sold out of them! Heck even *I* bought one! I didn't get it installed though due to some minor suspension issues I wasn't aware of. :(
The North American MINI Cooper Challenge race was fun to watch despite a pretty significant fender-bender in the first race. Even more fun to watch were the Bikini All Stars from MAV TV! (raaar...)
I didn't do any of the runs this year. One reason involved the installation of an ALTA 15% Pulley! (Yeah baby!). Other reasons involved me not getting up at 8am every day while on "vacation". The Boot-n-Bonnet Show was spectacular this year as well. Many of my favorite MINIs were back, along with a lot of really really nice ones I'd never seen before. I didn't win anything but I wasn't trying. It was great meeting new people and people I "know" from NAM but never met in real life. Ironically, many of the folks I know "IRL" ("in real life" that is)- I didn't get to spend much time with.
The Strip Cruise had about 260 cars involved this year. An awesome sight to behold. So much so someone felt a couple rounds from a BB gun into some cars was warranted.
This year marked the first time DB, Todd, and Gabe from WhiteRoofRadio were all in the same 
room. Their MCing of the banquet was well done and I hope they recorded it and just post the whole thing as an episode.
Overall, not a bad extended weekend, and worth every penny. I'll have more detailed recounts of particular events as the days and editing of photos and video progresses!
I know when I've been one-upped. Sometimes I don't care- especially when *I* benefit from it too! Take for example, when ImagoX (NAM) one-upped my Intake Screen with his more aesthetic Honeycomb version (gotta love it any time you can deface Dodge RAM parts)!
In between homework, working off the clock, and the occasional semblance of a social life, I've taken to creating banners for my signature on NAM*...
