Why we don't have 2 MINI Coopers

Well, James (Sutton) requested to know why we don't have 2 MINIs, and since Andy has been too busy playing with photos, I'll respond.

1. Grandpa Palone didn't work for MINI, he worked for Ford. No discount means a LOT more money goes to the car dealer and a lot less stays in our pocket.

2. A MINI only has 2 doors. Have you ever tried to put your friends (or parents, for that matter) into the back of a MINI? It's not as easy as it sounds.

3. A Mazda 3 has a real trunk that will hold more than groceries. So when my parents come to visit, we won't have to take 2 cars to pick up their luggage. In case you didn't know, my parents have forgotten how to pack light. We used to go camping in a VW Beetle. Not exactly a lot of trunk room in one of those.

4. I liked the Mazda. Now, it's not as sporty as a MINI, and I'm actually surprised that they call the Mazda "sporty," but I guess it has more of a sporty feel than a Corolla. In any case, it has some good features, a bit of a kick, and an input jack for an MP3 player. One benefit of a less sporty car is a slightly softer ride, which does feel nice on a few of the bumpy roads around here.

5. Sometimes you want to blend in. Everyone stares at you in a MINI. We don't always drive in the nicest neighborhoods, and I'd rather that I wasn't quite so noticeable. However, every 3rd car isn't a Mazda, either, so at least I can (sort of) find it in a parking lot.

So I think Andy would probably still love to have 2 MINIs, but sometimes you have to be practical. We got a good car for a great price (thanks Grandpa!), with good gas mileage and enough space to hold 5 adults and a whole lot of luggage (as we discovered when we took a wrestler and his friends to the airport). Oh yeah, and we got it with a manual transmission. That saved us a lot of $, and it's a lot more fun to drive.

Maybe this will inspire Andy to add his comments.

Merry Christmas everyone!