Should I build more?

Posted on by Ian C.

Back from an interesting trip to Kissimmee / Walt Disney World where we lucked out with 3 days of 80+ degree weather (although yesterday it was only around 70, and rained intermittently throughout our time at Magic Kingdom).

Anyway, I come back to numbers of folks saying “I need an auto-up windows MINI circuit”.

Auto-up-windows MINI circuit, V6

I’ve sold all my stock, and as before planned to build no more because interest is quite low … but once again, as soon as I say “no more”, it seems those folks who hadn’t got round to getting one suddenly all get in contact! For example, this thread on NorthAmericanMotoring.

Problem is, to keep the cost at $45, I have to order a batch of circuits – 128 is my standard order. And because I’m “just me” and not a business with advertising budget, etc, I don’t sell many, just a couple a week.

So, should I order another batch? Is there enough demand still out there? If you’re interested, please get in contact and I’ll maintain a list (I’d likely wait till I had 50+ names, so contacting me is no guarantee of any quick response). Alternatively, if you’re an aftermarket company that would like to sell it and prepared to back up your interest with a commitment (not OutMotoring), then again please contact me.

Meanwhile …
Happy New Year everyone!

The 2008 NorthAmericanMotoring calendar

Posted on by Ian C.

Did you get yours yet?

Another fine calendar, although unlike last year I didn’t recognize any cars 😉

As well as the June picture above (and note the list of events on the right!), other great pics include January (view from inside a MINI on the track), September (trees & MINI) and December (snowed MINI badge).
Thanks, NorthAmericanMotoring (head over to their store if you want to order one)

R56 storage

Posted on by Ian C.

We all know our MINIs are small, so it’s hard to find places to store things … given that, you wonder why the R56 designers decided to make it HARDER! Maybe they’re hoping to trigger sales of the forthcoming Clubman 😉
So while the cupholders grew in size, the door pockets shrunk dramatically – and are harder to access due to the tiny gap between door panel and armrest/handle; more frustrating is the shrunken glove box – it’s apparently been designed to hold the MINI manuals, and nothing else!

 

I tried a couple of aftermarket glove box organizer “solutions” – many thanks Peter at MinSpeed – but really there’s no great solution, the R56 glove box simply isn’t suited as well as our favorite R50/53 GBO. Anyway, this is how GBMINI#5’s glovebox looks at present:

This shelf is sturdy and looks practical, but there’s no way to attach it to the glove box – it sits loose, resting on the MINI manuals. Maybe it’s because GBMINI#5 has so many manuals (with navigation, iPod, etc) … or maybe the designers simply forgot that people have stuff, even when they drive a MINI 🙂