Test drove an R56 MCS

[SARAFIL]

Originally Posted by JST

Black would be OK with a white top, I suppose.

Silver has never been a popular color for us.

Our #1 color is Pepper White, and while at first thought white seems bland, the shade of white that MINI uses is not a pure white so it has a sharp look to it, especially with black top and black stripes.

Our #2 color is Chili Red. It's an attention grabber, very bright, and very "fun". It looks good with white or black top, and even though I've only seen a few, it also looks good with a matching red top.

I've become quite fond of black, mostly because I am a huge fan of Astro Black. Whenever you see one clean and under light, it looks like a shade of dark blue. It's a very nice color. I also think Astro Black with white top, white stripes, and if you want to go all the way, white wheels, looks really nice. To compliment this, Black Lounge Leather, which includes creme piping, with the Creme White color line, Piano Black trim, and Anthracite Headliner. I have a car on order like this, and I'll post some pics once it comes in.


I'm a big fan of the white roof... I think Lightning Blue with a White Roof also looks really nice.

[Sharp11]

Originally Posted by Plaz

So if I get an MCS, I definitely see myself staying in it for the long haul... for at least as long as I stayed in the E46.

That's the plan, anyway.

I'd still be driving my 2000 323i if I didn't get the idiotic idea I could make it "handle" better by murdering its suspension.

The only other car I kept longer than the 5 years I had that one, was my 1987 Accord LXi hatch - bought new, I had 9 years and just under 100k on that car when it began to rust - that was the impetus for getting rid of her .... otherwise, buying another car never really entered my mind as, to quote Flo and Eddie, we were "so happy together"

Ed

[Sharp11]

Originally Posted by SARAFIL

Silver has never been a popular color for us.

Our #1 color is Pepper White, and while at first thought white seems bland, the shade of white that MINI uses is not a pure white so it has a sharp look to it, especially with black top and black stripes.

I just read recently in one of those "lifestyle" articles white was becoming (or had become) the color of choice for automobiles - they called it the "new silver".

Blue was the number three choice, but for the life of me, I can't remember what was number two, black perhaps

The theory behind white as number one was buyers were "cleansing their palette" before embarking on the next wave of bolder colors.

Ed

[Sharp11]

Originally Posted by Plaz

Wow, didn't know that... that must be PITA with some software packages.

Can you tell when a track is record-enabled in DP, for example?

The odd thing about color blindness is it's variable - depends on the light and the shade of color.

I can see most any color as long as it isn't brown. However, complex shades baffle me with mixes of green and red the most difficult.

For instance, a sweater vest that's dark blue will look black to me in anything but bright light. With traffic lights, the red light is red, but the green light is white.

When I was a kid, I could never get more than three pages or so in with those test books, the ones with the circles that have other colors embedded in them. To me, it all looked like pea soup.

Oh yeah, I can see the record button, it flashes at me

I do prefer the restful gray shades of DP over the more colorful Pro Tools. In PT, the track-grouping sometimes assigns colors I can't see - I've never bothered to see if I can set the colors, I just sort of go with it.

As a kid, I was a good painter, but my color palette was so messed up, I eventually went to charcoal and pencil drawings, like B&W photography.

Ed

[Rob]

Originally Posted by Plaz

Also, as antithetical to carmudgeonly philosophy as it is, I tend to like my vehicles fairly optioned-up... (Please don't burn me at the stake)

Don't look at me to start the burning. The only things I didn't order on the e90 were things like the nav (b/c it isn't very good and comes with i-drive and the double hump or I would have gotten it), park distance control and Sirius radio (which you would have gotten, but I did get HD to make up for it). The rest of the non-camudgeonly stuff like the premium package and comfort access, I got. And I will be HAPPY to have rain sensing wipers again. Even if i do hardly ever drive in the rain.

[equ]

Originally Posted by rwg

The rest of the non-camudgeonly stuff like the premium package and comfort access, I got. And I will be HAPPY to have rain sensing wipers again. Even if i do hardly ever drive in the rain.

The rain sensor on the e90 is ok but not that great. It has trouble with certain drizzles (where you can't turn it down enough), certain light snow (it doesn't see the snow), and requires manual intervention for quick reaction anyway. The auto lights are a different story and work well in my experience. Dimming mirrors and lumbar do come in handy.

Comfort is important for those non-tearing around times. Stuck in traffic or on a very long trip that is not timed a la Gumball, the secondary features like stereo etc. begin to matter.

How does comfort access deal with the following? You drive to the airport, leave the car to your passenger (while it's running) and walk off with the key in your pocket. Presumably it alarms at some point, but that could be too late.

[SARAFIL]

Originally Posted by equ

How does comfort access deal with the following? You drive to the airport, leave the car to your passenger (while it's running) and walk off with the key in your pocket. Presumably it alarms at some point, but that could be too late.

When you get out of the car, there is a warning chime and it shows a picture of a key with a line going through it which should send you the message "the key is no longer in the car!"

How do you deal with this? if you know that you're driving to the airport and that your passenger is taking the car back, give the key fob to your passenger at some point before you leave the car? Or before you even leave the house? Or give him/her the extra key??

[Sharp11]

Originally Posted by SARAFIL

When you get out of the car, there is a warning chime and it shows a picture of a key with a line going through it which should send you the message "the key is no longer in the car!"

How do you deal with this? if you know that you're driving to the airport and that your passenger is taking the car back, give the key fob to your passenger at some point before you leave the car? Or before you even leave the house? Or give him/her the extra key??

I never thought about this, but eq's question brings up other scenarios as well (the garage attendant); yet another "new" problem for the new age....

Ed

[Plaz]

Originally Posted by Sharp11

I never thought about this, but eq's question brings up other scenarios as well (the garage attendant); yet another "new" problem for the new age....

Ed

I've got this feature on my 8... I just use the valet key when I'm driving into the city, so I don't forget.

[Plaz]

My wife's lobbying efforts have made a dent in me... I'm starting to seriously consider the silver, mostly for practical reasons (looks better dirty, masks chips and scratches, will probably hold up better over the long run).

We're going to go look in person again today to hopefully come to a consensus.