myMiniCooper

I received the pictures Global Imports took the night I finished up the paperwork and brought Maddy home. I picked her up February 16, 2007. Below is a picture of Me, Maddy and my MA, Veka handing over the keys.

MINI Waterloo got the R56 2007 MINIs on February 15th! Just a day shy of Valentine's Day! I've been really excited to see the reactions of everyone, especially the customers! The Toronto Auto Show has definitely been bringing more people into the show room. This past Saturday, we were very busy!! Now is also the best time to get your hands on a 2006, as stock is definitely limited!

Since the 2006 and 2007 MINI look so similar (to non MINIacs!) but there's definitely a lot more standard features on the 2007s. MINI Waterloo decided to put some graphics on it to make our gorgeous 07 Cooper S stand out a bit more! These pictures are courtesy of Bev, as I haven't had a chance for some good pictures yet! Don't worry, more will come :D We also have a Cooper in the showroom: sparkling silver with a black roof!


Feel free to drop by the showroom (especially on a Saturday, since that's when I'm there!) and see the 2007 MINIs for yourself!! I am very impressed with them (but I still LOVE my Stella - a 2006 R53).

PS: if you can't already tell, I simply LOVE these slideshows from slide.com! It's an easy way to show a bunch of pictures at once without taking up a lot of space or having to open another window. Please comment and tell me yay or nay. Should I keep them? Are they loading properly for you? :)

So, this post is at least a tad bit late!! The Toronto Auto Show just passed (I didn't go to it) and I still haven't posted about the Detroit one! Ohhhhh noooo! Well here goes!

I went with a few members of SOMC and we took one MINI down. I sat in the back right and I further affirmed the fact that yes me, all 5 feet 11 inches of me, can fit quite comfortably in the back of a MINI. Those Brits (and Germans) sure know how to make a car!

We stopped in at Detroit Tuned on our way to the show to see Chad and the elusive Detroit Tuned garage! His MINI is spectacular and he had a large assortment of MINI parts. Another awesome thing was his COUNTERFEIT MINI(van)! Of course we had to pose for a picture infront of it:

After Detroit Tuned, we headed to the show. It was hard to find parking (well, a parking place that looked a little less sketchy at least!) but finally we did!

Here are the pictures from the MINI display at the 2007 North American International Auto Show (aka the Detroit Auto Show). Enjoy!


More pictures from the show can be seen here, as well as bigger versions of the MINI pictures!

Today was Maddy's first event with the Atlanta Minis club. On the agenda was a nice and easy ride to Social Circle, GA to eat lunch at the Blue Willow Inn www.bluewillowinn.com then on to the Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum in Madison, GA www.microcarmuseum.com
Little did I know, we were going to go for a nice 3 hours drive on the back roads of GA, passing through at least 5 counties (no joke). I suppose I could have done the math between the time we met up and when lunch was but apparently that escaped me (not that Im complaining!). It rained all morning and made things a bit interesting at times. I got a chance to really see what Maddy could do in the rain and am unbelievably impressed at how well she handles on the wet roads. GA is notorious for terrible road construction, here they just aren't worried about standing water on the roads. She busted through the water without hesitation and I only felt her begin to hydroplane once and that was only for a moment. Anyway, on to the pictures of the day:

Here is Maddy by the side of the road waiting for the rest of our group to catch up followed by a couple shots of the group and a peek ahead from the back.

Last week I bought Maddy some accessories for her shoes. I think they fit her perfectly!
Here are a couple pics of the group another stop we made along the way. The cars are parked 3 deep...

Because time was tight and I accidentally left my camera in the car, I didnt get pictures of the Blue Willow. I did however get pictures at the Microcar Museum. Everyone lined up outside:


and inside the museum:
Parked outside were some incredible Lamborghini's. I personally liked the gray one, it matched Maddy
And, last but not least...a picture of an incredible Lamborghini that was parked inside away from our reach. I wonder why!

First, it started out with a billboard near a Tim Horton's. Quite a few of my friends called me and said "What is up with the new MINI? They're making airplanes now?" Haha. Apparently in Toronto there are different variations on this one, with different "fast" things turned into counterfeit MINIs!

EDIT: This billboard has been recently replaced with this one now that the R56 has officially launched in Canada:


These were taken today when I was on my way to fill up with gas. It was hard to get a good picture of them since I had to literally stop on the side of the road with my emergency flashers because there was no driveway nearby. You get the idea though. The pictures used are phenonmenal! Very shiny, glossy MINIs in bright colours! I hope we see the results of this advertising in terms of more customers visiting the showroom :D

There are a few terms you will see me use that you may not be familiar with. They are with their definitions:

* Motoring - Driving
* Bonnet - Hood
* Boot - Trunk

My son & I took Maddy out for some around the town motoring. Ill definitely need to adjust to scoping out a parking lot for good spots. Ive gotten spoiled being able to park wherever I wanted before. While out motoring around we decided to take some better pictures of Maddy to share:

Here are some interior shots:
This is the center stack. From the top is the speedo with the integrated radio display and controls, CD slot, volume knob, the climate control knobs & buttons and at the bottom the toggle switches for the windows, fog lights and the door locks.
Next up is the key fob slot and the slot where the key fob goes. The Mini does not have a key, it is controlled by the fob that also has buttons to lock and unlock the doors and to open the boot. If you dont have the comfort access system you have to slide the fob into the slot in order to start the car. I do have it so it can sense when I am near the car and will open when I approach and push a button. I also don't have to put the fob in the slot, it senses that I am there with the fob and will start. As you can tell, the car is push button start/stop. I love it but it does take some getting used to. There is a close-up of the brushed alloy interior I chose. Yes, its real metal!

This is the tachometer. It sits just behind the steering wheel and includes the onboard computer. You can also see another shot of the brushed alloy again.
Here is a shot of both the tach and the speedo along with the stick shift, the arm rest and you can see the gas peddle.

This is a partial picture of the panoramic sunroof that I absolutely had to have. I had it in my Eclipse and loved it so much I had to have one again. The front pane tilts and opens all the way and covers the back pane. The back pane only tilts.
And, in case you were wondering, the car is not as small as it really seems. It does have more room than you think. Here is some shots of the boot complete with 8 bags of groceries with room for a few more plus my son's big blanket stuffed in. Not bad! Plus there is a pic of his booster seat in the back as well.