When you are showing a friend your MINI, what do you do to get the most reaction, do you 1. Take them for a ride and at 40 MPH make the Supercharger work. 2. Find the best set of twisties 3. Let them drive it 4. None of the above, tell them to go buy one and find out for themself.
:lol: ^ If twisties are nearby, I make them puke (after they get out of the car). If not, I make them invoke the Lord's name while I slide around an unannounced 90 degree turn at speed. If in the city, I go 0-90-0 between stoplights and demo torque, tires and brakes. In no case do they drive my car. Ever. Why would someone do that? :confused5:
No one ever tosses me their keys and says have fun, They tell me "Step back son your drool is gonna ruin my paint job". .....I need to start hanging out with Nate.
I have insurance... Besides...would you want to be the person I write about that wrecked my car? Most people turn down the offer. I don't know why.
Justa Jim..... The Gnatster is a monster..... I've been in it with Chad , and I now know what death looks like.... MOTD is not the best place to try Nate's car.... Trust me, the Gnatster is not justa S...... It's biblical.....
Unannounced? Nah. I find the anticipation more entertaining. While driving through town at legal speed (give or take) calmly mention the corner where you're going to turn, use the turn signal, change lanes, etc, all the normal indicators that you're going to turn, nothing unusual to indicate anything devious on your mind. Then note the tension in the air and listen to the voice from the passenger seat rising at least an octave as you get closer and closer without touching the brakes and your foot still on the gas. It's amazing how fast people feel like they're going all the sudden (and how much danger they feel) not because you're accelerating but because the corner is rapidly approaching and you aren't slowing down. Make the turn -- hear the expletives -- and when they ask why you didn't slow down (with still clenched fists and in a voice that strongly suggests between the lines that they think you're insane) the correct answer is some version of "Why use the brake pedal if you don't need it?" :biggrin5:
^^ Very good. I am always seeing the passenger going for their break imaginary pedal on a turn, when I don't use mine. Good point, I would have to pack up and leave the site, maybe the country. Grow a beard and buy a Fiat. Are you saying I'd scare myself, just starting it up? You could be right, but I at least I wouldn't be able to hear myself getting scared. Jim
Jim might like this, but I actually do it too. Good great fun at another's expense. I've had some want to do it again or even "can I do that?" "Not only no but he!! no" and I've had some never speak to me again which in some cases is just fine.
I just tell them that it gets great gas mileage, calmly drive them through some twisties, explain how nice the radio sounds at highway speeds, demontrate the efficiency of the Automatic Climate Control......NOT......strap em in and scare the hell out of them, this ain't no stinkin' economy car!!!!!
...those two together with the apparently purposeful lack of an efficient 'Oh S**T' bar just might be part of that inscrutable German engineering?
Fiat On Thursday, I saw an almost brand new Fiat Abarth that had just been traded in on a new MINI (don't know what MINI they purchased)at a popular dealership in NC.