The New York Times has a fasinating article about how different automakers cope with popular cars and the waiting periods that many of their customers must endure. The spend about half the article on MINI and some customer experiences. Here's an excerpt:

When BMW introduced the restyled Mini in early 2002, owners waited more than 10 months for their cars. Shortly after the introduction in the United States, Mini created the “Where's My Baby?” program on the Internet, so customers could check on their cars' progress. But that didn't seem enough for what were shaping up to be rabidly enthusiastic Mini owners. “It was a little impersonal to just be able to know the basics,” Ms. Martin said.

So the company added online message boards, where owners can ask one another about maintenance and warranty issues or just swap stories about their cars. Owners, or soon-to-be-owners, can even write journals, some of which have become quite elaborate. The site has about 12,000 registered users.

nstead of waiting up to 18 months to get his car through dealers in San Francisco, where Minis are in especially high demand, Mr. Bradbury ordered it from a dealer outside Chicago last October. When his car was ready, after about two months, he flew to Chicago and was met at the airport by his “motoring adviser,” as Mini calls its dealers. He picked up his car the next day and drove 2,200 miles back to Berkeley, later chronicling his journey in detail online.

Some Mini owners say their experience was much better than their previous car-buying episodes.

“When my husband special-ordered his Acura, the dealer simply said, 'It'll be here in three months,' and that was it,” recalled Angel Durham, 40, whose online name is Minimom.

By contrast, Mrs. Durham said, her entire neighborhood in suburban Atlanta knew about her car, which she named Maggie. Her family also became accustomed to all the gifts Mini sent while she waited more than two months for the car.

You can read the entire article here. In fact you can read the original MINI Owners Lounge thread here (thanks John for the link).