I'm getting ahead of the game here. I have decided that my next MINI will be a coupe and to me, a coupe should have a "boy" name. Well, we have been watching reruns of all five seasons of the old T.V. show "Alias". One of the main characters is a old school CIA agent, who is so cool. He still wears a tie to work, he never yells freeze, he just shoots. He asks a bad guy a question once, shoots them in the knee cap and asks again. When he gets the answer, he kills them. He never uses judo or karate, like the younger agents, he sucker punches them with a knife or a pipe. This guy is my "hero', so my next car will be named "Jack Bristow". Jim
Among family and friends it's just "The Mini." They don't quite understand the whole naming thing. Yet between the car & I, it's been christened "James" after actor James McAvoy. One of my hobbies is creative writing and about 2 years ago I came up with my first original idea in ages. The way my mind works I visualize the story as though I was watching a movie. So I tend to "cast" actors to give me a physical reference. Through a series of inspired developments, Mister McAvoy embodies a character that is very dear to me. He's also rekindled my fascination with all things Scottish. Hence why the car's colors match the country's saltire flag. More importantly he helped me achieve my goal of Mini ownership in a roundabout way. Initially I was saving for a trip to London to see him perform in a play. When it didn't work out, I used the money as a down payment on the car. The name seemed fitting then.
When I was a kid I read the book Nicholas and Alexandra, about the last Russian Tsar. They had a summer home referred to as Catherine's Palace in Tsarskoe Selo. I figured when I grew up I would name my house Tsarskoe Selo. Well, I never ended up with a house worthy of the name, but then I got my roadster. Hmmmmmm - perfect. So I have something over the Russian Tsars - I can drive my Summer Palace.
That is perfect, on at least 2 levels! You will be throwing Money at your MINI and it will be more than a "Penny". Second is "Shaken not stirred", which also fits a MINI:biggrin5:
I'm largely of German and English descent. However, my maternal Grandmother from North Carolina is all Scottish. Her full maiden name, set forth in the birth certificate, is "Mary Baxter Bell". If you're familiar with Scottish clans and their underlying septs, you'll see the Baxters and Bells are the largest septs attached to Clan Macmillan. I faxed a copy of the birth certificate to Clan Macmillan and mentioned her family's origins in the Borders (Scottish land area abutting England). They ultimately offered me official membership status in Clan Macmillan. Just thought you might find the story interesting.
My Mini's name I named my clubman S BLAZE after an American Gladiatior (anyone remember that show?). She was small and tough but you couldn't take it too seriously!
This, mostly original, little car has a lengthy history which began in January of 1970. After a brief Cameo return to the San Francisco dealership in 1997, during their 50 year anniversary celebration, it seems as though it suffered a little mechanical damage and engine compartment fire during a late night spin through the City... Subsequently, yet begrudgingly, it was purchased back from the then current owner and taken to Huffaker Engineering for a bit of freshening, so to speak. As such, and being a former career firefighter, I thought it fitting to call it "The Phenix", having been given new life - rising again from the ashes, as the legend says...
Beautiful color combination on a truly gorgeous vintage MINI. Yes, you detect a slight case of envy....
After buying my Pure Silver 2007 Mini Cooper S about a month ago, I searched for videos throughout the Internet and came across the series of Hammer and Coop videos, and saw the Dawn of Silverfox episode. It just struck me that my car should be called Silverfox. I had named it so in my garage almost a month ago. Today, I got personalized plates, and came up with SL7RFOX in homage to the Austin Mini SE7EN
The origin of our mini We named our third mini after the "S" of our Countryman S and our cat Sam. We named our mini "Sammy Lee":devil::beer:cornut:
Sorry I missed this back when you posted. That is very interesting to hear as my surname is Baxter. I'm also primarily English & German descended. Yet that gives me a little hope there is some Scottish along the lines.
Baxter is a common name along the Scottish-English border. You probably have relatives from both sides.