When I was test driving my mini last week the dealer said he had a mini and to be prepared for other mini owners waving at you as they drive by. Kind of like the motorcyclist peace sign they give each other. Well I've passed several mini owners since then and not a single wave from any of them. Is there even such a thing as the mini wave?
There is a MINI wave. Some enthusiasts wave, while others who bought the car for "good gas mileage" do not get or do the wave.
Yes, there is a wave. It's getting harder to catch year by year but it's there. It's part of the social side of this car and I think little by little the percentage of people who buy it because they just want a car is growing and catching up with those of us who like it because it's quirky and fun and enjoy the community. My guess is the "it's just a car" crowd probably don't want to be associated with the crazy rest of us and are more likely to shake their head and roll their eyes if someone in another car waves at them. I think the wave is contagious, just like when I'm walking around my neighborhood. Used to be I waved first and my neighbors seemed surprised and took a second to even think to respond. Now my neighbors are as likely to wave at me first. I say wave at other MINI drivers, if they don't wave back either they missed it or they just don't get it. Keep waving anyway. If it doesn't pick up where you and your MINI roam, at least you tried.
:cornut: The more that we wave and the more ostentatious the wave( ie. both hands through the roof hole if one can safely do it), the more likely one is to see the other driver smile and wave back. Jason
On the return trip yesterday from the Mothman run, We passed a red MINI and the driver waved at us guys...... And the driver was a gurl..... Soooo nice to get one back.... I kept expecting Nathan to do a "U" turn, chase her down, and hand her a "Nice MINI" card.....
I'm not quite that aggressive. I did meet a group of ladies outside the Mothman Museum that were eyeing up Dark Helmet. One of them is from Marysville and owns a Countyman. She got a card. The wave is not as prevalent as it once was now that MINIs are more mainstream, but don't give up. Keep waving, people do wave back now and then.
I tend to always wave first..... Keep in mind, you may never see them again so there is no justification for you feeling weird..... You want weird.... It's when I do a "U" turn and chase them down and yell at them.... WHY U NO WAVE.... The look on their face.... Now that's weird....
I wave, then smile and wink at them if I can make eye contact, that really throws the non-wavers...:wink:
I think it has already been said, but.......there are a whole NEW group of MINI owners, who have come to the brand for the gas mileage, and the " CUTE" factor. They might not know about the wave. To some of these NEW MINI owners it is just a car, They might not be fully aware that to some of us this is a lifestyle, not just a car.
JAC MINI owner's Yep many new MINI owners see MINIs as Just A Car. Sad but true.:frown2: I wave at all of them & rarely get a wave, more often odd look. It's fun to see the dumbfounded look on the JAC owner's faces. :confused5:
Sometimes I don't think they see me, as I often don't see them until the last moment. Not sure about the JAC part. My wife has always felt that a car was just a car, until she got the CMS. It has changed her all on its own. I have met MINI owners who are not as caught up in the MINI movement as we are here, but never one that did not love the car. Jim
Jim you have indoctrinated your wife. She saw your unbridled enthusiasm & couldn't help but drink that Kool-aide once she got her own.
I wave. I wave first, hoping for a wave, and with some hope that non-wavers will see enough of us wave to think..."that's the 2nd or 3rd MINI driver who's waved. Is there a cult of MINI waving? Must be..." and then start waving back next time. I'm currently at 2 for 25 or so, so sort of a slump by most standards. Hard to predict, too. Shiny Chili Red convertible, top down, sunny day, dapper young-ish male driver with photogenic passenger: no wave. Road-grimey R50 piloted by middle-aged woman: enthusiastic wave. We do better with the Corvette crowd, 8 of 10 or so return waves (of any kind, you have to factor in too-cool-to-wave hand-salute movements or slight head nods). About 9 of 10 on the motorcycles too, other than H-Ds (my experience being they rarely return waves to non- H-D riders, and I've sorta stopped trying).
Nope, that is not true at all. She gave me a hard time about all the baths, parking in faraway spaces and driving too fast. She did her research and found the CMS to be the best buy (fuel and money wise). She was never completely sold on a MINI prior to the purchase. I said NOTHING after she bought it. She developed all my traits, all on her own. The car did that, not me or Kool-Aid. It was actually very amazing. Jim
Jim your enthusiasm is infectious. Don't understand how she ended up with a turbo though? :smilewinkgrin: Babs when from a turbo to a justa, go figure? :wink: