Prologue

Hi! My name is Mr. Salt.  Let me take a few minutes and tell you about myself.  I was born in Oxford, England in April of 2012 at BMW’s Mini factory located there.  I was conceived in 1959 by a gentleman named Alex Issigonis, who later  became Sir Alex Issigonis, after Queen Elizabeth knighted him. He was knighted because of the little car he created the Mini.  Sir Alex’s Mini was the first modern car with a transverse engine, was the first three door car, not the first with front wheel drive but it made front wheel drive practical, and it introduced a whole new kind of suspension.  In 1959 the car was known as an Austin Seven or a Morris Mini Minor.  In 1999, the Mini was voted the second most influential car built second only to the Model T Ford.  There were nearly 5.4 million of these Classic Minis sold around the world that is until BMW ceased production of the car.  BMW redesigned the car and introduced it back into the world in 2001.  BMW made sure that the new design remained the tough little car that the Classic was and that the redesign still kept the same look.  The Mini was reintroduced to the US shores in 2002.

Well I guess that is enough history, now let’s talk about me. I like to do that.  I told you when I was born above, but I was born unlike the other Minis at Oxford.  Although I have to admit that almost all of the 2 million Minis produced at Oxford are unique, I am really unique.  What is different about me is that there are only 999 others like me in the whole world.  Oh, did I mention that BMW owns Rolls Royce and began their production of Rolls Royce models in 2003.  The Rolls Royce production facilities are located in Goodwood, West Sussex, England.  But, I’m digressing!  The reason for this background is that I am a Mini Goodwood.  Only 140 of the 1,000 Mini Goodwoods produced were shipped to the US, the rest went to the Middle East or China; I am also the most expensive model Mini ever produced.  But why was I expensive and why did I talk about Rolls Royce, after all I am a Mini.  BMW wanted to build a special model of the Mini.  They spoke with Alan Shepard of Rolls Royce and created a Rolls Royce Mini.  I have Rolls Royce paint on my exterior, which sparkles red blue and green in the sun.  I have Rolls Royce Cowsilk matched grain leather interior, no vinyl for me.  I do not have a sun roof because the heat from the sun would destroy my leather.  The dashboard and door pull wood grain panels are real walnut veneer, no printed plastic for me!  My floor mats are two inch thick real lamb’s wool.  The mat in my boot, “trunk” to you Americans, is real leather, no embossed vinyl for me.  My headliner is cashmere.  My wheels were only available on the Goodwood model.  My 4 cylinder engine is 1.6 liters, turbocharged and produces 186 hp.  The engine was manufactured by Peugeot in France.  You can see from below that I know my name because Rich put it on my license plate.

Ok so why I am writing all of this?  In January 2013 after sitting months on the showroom floor of Mini of Morristown this nice couple named Rich and Carol bought me.  I overheard the sales lady tell Rich that I was special and that I should become a “garage queen”.  Rich told her I would not be a garage queen but I would enjoy my life and be well taken care of.  I was not sure what that meant, but I had little choice in the matter so I went away with them.  So far it has been fun.  In May, 2013 Rich and Carol took me to a three day ride called “Minis on the Dragon” on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee.  The road is 11.8 miles long and consists of 318 turns. Wow!, what fun I had going around all of the mountain roads there.  I said to myself; “This is what I was born for.”  Here is a picture of me on the Dragon, notice the motorcycle right behind me,

Rich and Carol joined a club called PhillyMini.  I get to see all kinds of my sisters at their meetings and rallies.  It’s always fun to see them again. 

Most recently they took me to Canada and left me in a parking lot for 5 days while they went on a boat cruise.  I was scared, because where I was left seemed to be the place where all of the local drunks went to hang out, fortunately no one bothered with me.  After I left Canada I went to Vermont for a rally sponsored by Minis of Boston.  There, I got to drive through more than 10 covered bridges.  Some were really old and a few were new.  I asked about the new ones and Carol told me that the bridges were replacements. The old bridges had been destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, as the water in the streams below them rose and finally washed them away.  It is really nice that the old bridges were restored as authentically as possible. I also got to drive on some mountain roads and saw pretty colored trees----since I was locked in the dealer’s showroom last fall; I had not seen them before. Here it is a picture of me emerging from one of the older bridges.

Rich has told me that I am going on a great adventure starting in June of next year.  I will be going across the northern part of the United States to San Francisco, CA.  Once I get there, I will be joining up with a Mini sponsored event called “Mini Takes the States”.  During the succeeding 15 days I will drive from San Francisco to Boston, with likely a few hundred other Minis.  Rich told me that during the 2012 event 300 Minis clogged the streets of Chicago, this sounds so cool.  Below is a map of the route that will be followed. 

Carol told me that the total trip will be some 10,000 miles long—I will need a rest after that, I spoke with my sister Salt ‘n Sand, whose picture is above, and she told me that Rich and Carol took her on a great adventure and it was an incredible voyage.  She was kind of angry with me because she said that since they will be taking me and be gone over the summer all she will be able to do is to sit in boat slip and wait for their return.

The other day I overheard Rich taking to someone about buying me a bra.  What a minute, doesn’t he realize that I am a male and I don’t where a bra.  Rich was nice to me, he took a few minutes to explained to me that since I am taking a long trip and it is likely that I would get stone chips on my bonnet, “hood” for you Americans, that the bra a clear plastic film would protect my paint from those chips.  Oh well I guess he knows what he is doing, but I hope that I will not be embarrassed in front of all the other Minis I will see on my trip.