Consumer Reports Says...

Most Reliable Sport/Sporty car*
http://money.cnn.com/popups/2006/autos/reliable/5.html

(Best score first)
Lexus SC ($65,455)
Toyota Camry Solara (4-cyl.) ($19,930)
Subaru Impreza WRX ($33,495)
Honda S2000 ($34,250)
Mitsubishi Eclipse ($19,99)
2006 Mini Cooper hatchback ($20,900)
*Best and worst predicted reliability, according to Consumer Reports survey research.

(I added the prices for comparison. Source: cars.com)



10 best and worst cars for depreciation
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/news/october-2006/top-10-best-and-worst-cars-in-depreciation-10-06/overview/0610_top_10_best_and_worst_cars_in_depreciation.htm
TOP TEN:
1. Toyota Prius
Ongoing demand for this thrifty gas/electric hybrid and excellent reliability give the Prius the best depreciation rating among all currently sold models. In addition, many owners are hanging onto them, so good luck trying to find a used Prius. $22,000.

2. Mini Cooper
This trendy, fun-to-drive retro-hatch/convertible has generated a cult following reminiscent of Volkswagen’s Beetle. While the reliability of early models was below average, it has improved to average in recent years, according to CR’s Annual Car Reliability Survey. $17,500 to $25,500.

3. Scion xB
This boxy wagon has love-it-or-hate-it styling, but it provides a spacious interior, stingy fuel consumption, good reliability, and a low price. Scion is Toyota's youth-oriented brand. $14,000 to $15,000.

4. BMW M3
The limited-edition, tuner-developed M3 is the perennially popular high-performance model in BMW’s 3-Series line. A fanatical following and legendary performance mean that used M3s command premium prices. About $49,000 to $56,500.

5. Lexus RX
Among the top SUVs in Consumer Reports Ratings, the RX is plush, quiet, and comfortable while providing better-than-average reliability and good crash-test results. The RX400h hybrid is among the most fuel-efficient SUVs we’ve tested. $36,000 to $46,000.

6. BMW 6-Series
Available as a coupe or convertible, the 6-Series is based on the 5-Series platform. But its more limited production helps keep its resale value high. $72,000 to $79,000.

7. Lexus GX
A different SUV from the Lexus RX, the GX is a traditional truck-based, off-road-ready vehicle. It has above-average reliability, a well-appointed interior, and good frontal offset crash-test results. But resale values might not continue to hold up as well for the GX as demand softens for body-on-frame, V8-powered SUVs. $46,500.

8. Acura TSX
Providing a nice balance of sportiness and comfort, the well-rounded TSX provides above-average reliability, good crash-test results, and a long list of standard safety equipment. $28,000 to $30,000.

9. Scion xA
The small xA hatchback looks much different from the larger xB but shares its low price, good reliability, and excellent 30-mpg fuel economy. $13,000 to $13,500.

10. Honda Civic & Civic Hybrid
A longtime Consumer Reports recommended model, the Civic offers outstanding reliability, good fuel economy, and good crash-test results. While the Hybrid version returned an excellent 36 mpg overall in our tests, even regular Civics do well in our fuel-economy tests, with 29 mpg for the automatic. $14,500 to $24,500.

source: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/news/october-2006/top-10-best-and-worst-cars-in-depreciation-10-06/overview/0610_top_10_best_and_worst_cars_in_depreciation.htm

Morbid Fascinations

More dented MINI surface after describing the events of what I'm calling "The Curb Incident".

This owner writes, "You're lucky to have gotten in a crash that fast and not have that bad damage. I hit a wall at 80mph sideways and my car was in shambles..."

And then yet another MINI owner adds this to the discussion:

"i owned handsome rob for 44 days and someone smashed into me..."

Kind of sickening, isn't it?! But still, no reports of deaths or major injuries. More than we can say for Ford F-150s....

How Do I Put This? - Episode III

And now, the continuing saga of, "How Do I Put This?"...

I'm a pretty patient guy, but it's officially been "one week without the MINI". So I put on my best, "considerate and patient" voice, and call the good Dr. Wyatt...


me: "hey good morning- i just wanted to see if you thought you'd be done before or after the long weekend?"

dr w: "we're still waiting on the parts- and we're closed on thursday and friday. once we get those in it should be about 4-5 working days... so, yeah, after the long weekend."*

So, how *do* I put this? How about "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHRRRGGGHHHH!!!"

Sure I've got "partial rental reimbursement", but who's got (partial) money for a rental car for another week- or longer?! *I'm trying to be patient, but "Express Service" my ass. (She should have never said "in and out-in about a week". )

Tune in for the next episode where you might hear Bushfinger say, "So- does this come with a CD Player?"

MINI Brother

Seems MINI is the latest to jump on the reality show bandwagon. Let's take a look...

www.MINIBrother.com

How Do I Put This? - Episode II

For those just joining us, you missed a lot in episode one of "How Do I Put This?"...

Today I got my repair estimate from the body shop (had to bicycle over to the P.O Box!)

All I can say is, "Wow!" I've either got great insurance, or the body shop is seriously padding the tab! (Then again, this is my first accident in 15 years of driving and the shop is "five -star" rated!) With 62 items on the list (yeah 62!!!!) I'll note a few things I didn't expect to see:

Remove/Replace:

• Right Front Tire*
• Right Rear Tire*
• Right Front Wheel*
• Right Rear Wheel*
• Front Center Bumper Air Deflector
• Front Right Bumper Air Deflector
• Front Bumper Filler Panel
• Front Center Bumper Trim
• Front Center Bumper Moulding

Remove/Reinstall

• Fuel Tank (wtf?)

Repainting front/rear fender? I really didn't think anything needed to get painted! Lets hope it matches! (does it ever?!)

*(looks like they're replacing my aftermarket wheels/tired with OEM ones? I really didn't expect my insurance would be covering aftermarket wheels!)





Graphical representations courtesy realoem.com and may not depict actual parts used.

MINI - 0 , Tree - 1

Seems I've got a recurring theme here on the "BUSHFINGER MINI" MINI-blog as of late: Wrecked MINIs! (er... "crashed MINIs" may be more accurate.)

In the spirit of Red Asphalt, the latest entry into the crashed MINI gallery is our dear dear "Hector"...

Let's Be Careful Out There!

Okay, How Do I Put This?

On Sat. afternoon Mr. Bigglesworth and I were playing "Extreme Irresponsible Driver" on a local back road we often drive irresponsibly on.... Yep. You already know the rest! For the curious...

Somehow the back end lost traction and spun a 180, finally slamming into a curb on the other side of the road at about 70mph. It managed to hop off the street, over the curb, and into a dirt field.
No humans or curbs were hurt. Mr. B on the other hand...

The uninvertible MINI remained upright where other cars probably would have flipped over. There













is almost no body damage that the average person would notice ( (front right a-panel, plastic body moulding, front right fender, rear right fender... *I* notice!); The curb took a chunk out of the rear rim and severely tweaked the front one; alignment is non-existent. All passenger side plastic body trim sustained damage.

The rear tire is rubbing against the frame so hard it made a pile of "rubber dust". The hit was strong enough that the wiper fluid reservoir apparently cracked upon impact. The jack stand support and who knows what other under-carriage bits got torn off and flew into the dirt. I didn't take inventory. I got home before my non-runflats went flat!

It got towed to the body shop recommended by the insurance company this afternoon. I'm fully covered (or so they say). While mild and a yawner in comparison to other recent MINI-crashes, my instincts tell me it's going to end up much worse than my untrained eye can see. I don't have a repair timeline yet. My fingers are crossed.

Here is an opportunity to share a learned lesson: Even in one of the best handling cars on the market, there is no excuse for driving like an idiot. Please spare the sympathy. It was totally my fault and a blatant reminder that the world is not a race track.

At the expense of my reputation as a good driver, I'll be chronicling these events for posterity on my blog and gallery at irieman.com/mymini.

PS: I apologize to the MINI community for contributing to higher insurance rates.

Skidding and Hydroplaning in Rainy Conditions

Driving Safety Tips -Skidding and Hydroplaning in Rainy Conditions*

Losing control of your car on wet pavement is a frightening experience. You can prevent skids by driving slowly and carefully, especially on curves. Steer and brake with a light touch. When you need to stop or slow, do not brake hard or lock the wheels and risk a skid. Maintain mild pressure on the brake pedal.

If you do find yourself in a skid, remain calm, ease your foot off the gas, and carefully steer in the direction you want the front of the car to go. For cars without anti-lock brakes, avoid using your brakes. This procedure, known as "steering into the skid," will bring the back end of your car in line with the front. If your car has ABS, brake firmly as you steer into the skid.

While skids on wet pavement may be frightening, hydroplaning is completely nerve-wracking. Hydroplaning happens when the water in front of your tires builds up faster than your car's weight can push it out of the way. The water pressure causes your car to rise up and slide on a thin layer of water between your tires and the road. At this point, your car can be completely out of contact with the road, and you are in danger of skidding or drifting out of your lane, or even off the road.

To avoid hydroplaning, keep your tires properly inflated, maintain good tread on your tires and replace them when necessary, slow down when roads are wet, and stay away from puddles. Try to drive in the tire tracks left by the cars in front of you.

If you find yourself hydroplaning, do not brake or turn suddenly. This could throw your car into a skid. Ease your foot off the gas until the car slows and you can feel the road again. If you need to brake, do it gently with light pumping actions. If your car has anti-lock brakes, then brake normally; the car's computer will mimic a pumping action, when necessary.

A defensive driver adjusts his or her speed to the wet road conditions in time to avoid having to use any of these measures. Reprinted with permission from the National Safety Council.

*Borrowed from: The Weather Channel? Who knew?!!

Another crashed MINI

It was only a couple days ago I posted photos of a badly wrecked MINI after a head-on collision with an un-named object. Today we get more photos coming in of a badly negotiated left hand turn...




In the owner's own words, "...As you can see from the last pic, the crumple zone did what it was supposed to do, the passenger compartment protected me and I was not injured. Nor was the driver of the other car, thankfully. I was making a left turn on a four-lane highway and was behind a large truck, so I could not see very well. We had a green light, but we did not have the green arrow, apparently. He made it, I didn't. I was given the ticket...."


Okay- say it with me: OOOOWWWWWWCCCCCCCHHH!!!

Let's be careful out there!

Blog Plug: motoringfun.com

One of the coolest results coming from MINIUSA threatening to sue anyone with "MINI Cooper" in their website name, is that it has fully entrenched the word "motor"- and it's grammatical variations, into the MINI community. Welcome motoringfun.com


When posed with the obvious question, "why another MINI site?" Proprietor Pedro proudly posts:

"...[to] put up a site as sort of a collection of
my personal favorite fun and cool MINI stuff...
and make it easy to find in one place..."

Audio, Video, Images, Cool MINI Ads (my personal favorite), and the only "MINI Chat Room" (that I'm aware of anyway), this may be the next "big thing" in the online MINI Community!

www.motoringfun.com

Do you have an independent, MINI-related blog or website you'd like to link up with BushingferMINI? Click Here!

Head-on Collision, Driver OK?

I found these photos and accompanying dialogue on another site...
As they say, a picture spawns 1,000 words...






A couple comments:
"The engine is hanging out of the bay, and sideways. Ouch. Something that is comforting is that the passenger cabin look almost undisturbed. Except the airbags, of course..."


"Holy #$%@ did that car take a hard hit. Man like everyone else said it's obvious that the person lived and I'm glad to see that but jesus to rip the engine all the way out like that takes a substantial amount of force..."


Looks like this poor chap hit a pole at high speeds. Hope everyone is okay.

Itsy Bitsy...

I was about to wash the MINI this evening when, wouldn't you know it, along comes another stranger wanting to check it out... *sheesh* ...










they never wanna actually help you wash it, do they?

Many MINI banners...

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*...

Enjoy these and more classy MINI photos on my NAM Gallery*.
(Made using Adobe Photoshop, or, *duck* MS Paint?)


*You mean you've never heard of "NAM"? (northamericanmotoring.com)

MINI MPG Update...

Since gas prices started to go down a few weeks ago*, it is now actually more difficult to track and log my miles per gallon! Before, I could wait til my tank got to E and consistently put in $40. My how the numbers change when varying the actual amount of gas per fill up....


*Right before an election... Imagine that!

Phantom Park Subterranean Garage Lift

Perhaps the coolest garage accessory I've ever seen! I sooo want one!

(wait for it... wait.... it's comin'... no, really...)





All I need is a big house, and an extra $60,000.


aclifts.com

New Toy Inside! New Toy Inside!

they say it's your birthday!
it's my birthday too yeah!...
(In honor of that fateful night...)

I rarely impulse shop, and my latest toy is no exception! Thanks to Internet, I've only been looking at "all-in-one portable GPS navigation devices" for three or four months. Based on anticipated needs, features, and mostly price, I narrowed my selection to the TomTomGO300 and the Garmin StreetPilot C330. Almost identical in features and size, either one would do, and after some pseudo hands-on use (i.e. in the bigbox store), TomTom beat Garmin, by about $100 and a Bluetooth option which will probably never get used... :)


Barely put to the test, I'll just point to the CNET review (TomTomGO 300) for now...



Mounting:
Technically, I shouldn't mount anything on the windshield due to California Vehicle Code something or other... Yet another use for the "American" cup holder.

My prototype "American Cup Holder Nav Mount":

I cut out a piece of plexiglas to fit snugly into the base of the cupholder (I knew I grabbed that piece of plexiglass out the street 2 weeks ago for some reason!); The suction cup sticks to the plexiglas. I've had this for about 5 hours, so we'll see how it goes...

• TomTomGO300
• Plexiglas found in the street