Herb Chambers MINI

Posted on by Ian C.

Herb Chambers MINI of Boston will once again support MINIsOnTop and our charity fund-raising, with another donated two year MINI lease (previous years support: 2005 – pickup, 2006 – pickup, 2007 – pickup).
To celebrate the launch of the MINI Cooper Clubman, Herb Chambers MINI will be providing a MINI Cooper Clubman lease (two years, 10,000 miles per year):

The car is well spec’ed in Lightning Blue with Silver roof/mirrors/C-pillars, Pacific Blue colorline / Piano Black interior, equipped with Cold Weather Package, Multi-Function Steering Wheel, Sunroof – a beautiful car with a sticker price of almost $23,500; maybe yours with the purchase of a $25 raffle ticket!

Raffle tickets are available at Herb Chambers MINI of Boston, or by mail from MINIsOnTop, PO Box 617, Essex, MA 01929 (please include your email address!); tickets will also be sold at MINIsOnTop (June 27/28) and you don’t have to be present to win (see MINIsOnTop for more details)

MINIsOnTop has chosen to support two charities in 2008: The Mt Washington Observatory will receive 6.288% (honoring the mountain’s elevation) of the total raised with the rest going to support the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of New Hampshire. See the MINIsOnTop website for more details.

I also want to take the opportunity to welcome Herb Chambers MINI new Motoring Manager Giovanni Tosti, replacing the wonderful Kerry Masone (who will now spend more family time at home!); I met Giovanni today and he seems to be the perfect replacement – very enthusiastic about MINI, just like Kerry, having worked at Prestige MINI from the MINI launch back in 2002 (although he took a non-MINI sabbatical for a while!)
I’m sure Giovanni and many of the Herb Chambers MINI team will again attend MINIsOnTop this summer – look out for them and say “thanks” for their support of MINIsOnTop 🙂

Too cold to close?

Posted on by Ian C.

It really wasn’t drastically cold this morning – 13f – but GPMINI didn’t like it!
I loaded some stuff in to the trunk and when I closed the hatch, it didn’t feel properly closed; it rattled slightly and when I re-locked the car, the alarm didn’t “beep” – which indicates that not all doors are closed.

When I started the car, the hood/trunk warning light was on. I had to open and close the hatch quite a few times before I got the light to turn off – basically by giving an almighty slam to it, which is scary! It was fine after re-opening it at work, so apparently it was just unhappy with the cold weather.

The engine & gearbox didn’t like the cold either … the engine turned over really slow and sluggish for the first couple of seconds, almost but not quite stalling; and I had to push hard to get in to first gear, both the cables and the box itself seemed stiff. Again, the gear box was back to normal after half a minute or so.

I don’t remember having trunk hatch issues in much colder weather before (although the engine/gear box has been stiff) – but I suppose I don’t often use the trunk so I’m not likely to notice.

Jason – if you’re reading up there in Burlington, VT … how does your R56 MCS in cold weather compare with your original R50?

Late to the Club(man)

Posted on by Ian C.

Finally found time to visit MINI of Peabody and check out the Clubman; there were a few there – and one was unlocked so I could try the extra leg room …

I adjusted the front seat to give me lots of comfortable leg room, then sat in the back – the fact that I could sit there, although leg room was tight, demonstrates the effectiveness of the increased size (in a regular MINI, the front seat would be touching the back seat!).
More appreciated was the extra side / shoulder room, presumably because the rear wheels are further back so intrude less.
I didn’t think there was much extra trunk space, although rear door storage pockets might be useful for something …

I do think the Clubman will be successful, although it now has to compete more directly with other small but not MINI cars; that market might be more sensitive to price than to the styling and (hopefully) performance benefits that the Clubman offers. However I don’t see a Clubman in my future since, like the R56, it can’t offer the connectedness that I am used to in my “first gen” MINIs …