This month’s Esquire has a fascinating article that hits the highs and lows of tailgaing with a MINI Convertible. Here’s an excerpt:
>By the time kickoff approaches, the little car has become as much a part of the scene as the pickups that dominate the parking lot. The Mini is like the little brother who begs to play in a pickup basketball game, makes a few shots, and wins the begrudging respect of the big kids. But the problem with playing against the big boys is that when Little Brother gets treated like a peer, eventually he’s gonna get hurt.
>In our case, that moment comes when we decide to see if the tailgate weight warning is accurate. The notice says that the maximum load is 176 pounds, which, as a seating option, essentially relegates it to women and Europeans. Nonetheless, I gingerly rest my 190 pounds on the tailgate, kick my feet out, and brace for something bad to happen. My seat holds fast. Score one for the Mini.
You can read more (and the exciting conclusion of the “weight test”) below:
[ Mini-Barbarians at the Gate ] Esquire
So when can we expect M7, Web, etc to step up and make upgraded tailgate straps? 🙂
The tailgate has a “…maximum load is 176 pounds, which, as a seating option, essentially relegates it to women and Europeans”. That’s a funny, but sad commentary on the obesity of Americans. 🙁
The geniuses load probably 2.5x the recommended weight on the tailgate and are then surprised when it spans something. Fat and stupid.
I used to picnic off the trunk lid of my old Minis, and it was a good spot to lay tools on when you were working on it on the side of road, a not unheard of situation, but MINI trunk seating was and is best left to devices designed for planting one’s butt on. Cooking with Martha on a MINI lid? Au contraire – the best ‘gater chef’s grill on an F150 tailgate or something similarly designed for cooking. 😉
BCNU,
Rob in Dago
Hey, we’re not all fat. I’m 6’5″ and 220 lbs. Now if someones 5’5″ and 220 lbs that’s fat.
People still ask how I fit in a MINI.
Hmm… look at this quote from the article:
<blockquote>it’s clear that the base Mini isn’t intended to win any drag races. With only 115 horsepower under the hood, you need to flog it like a mule to get anywhere. Yet even with fifteen-inch wheels and relatively unaggressive tires, behind the wheel you still feel as if you could stay with a Mustang on a twisty road. Yes, illusion is everything.</blockquote>
Seems to me that they are clueless, as an MC will do MORE than “stay with” a Mustang on a twisty road. I should know, I own a Mustang too. Even though the article author does then talk about how “the Mini’s forte … isn’t outright speed but agile, precise handling”, it’s still a moronic statement. I love Mustangs, but a twisty road vehicle, the Mustang ain’t (not without a LOT of money put into suspension mods!).
So what is the max the “tailgate” will hold?
It’s just a quick humorous feature. Watch everyone get up in arms because the writer wasn’t fawning over the car. =P
“It’s just a quick humorous feature. Watch everyone get up in arms because the writer wasn’t fawning over the car. =P”
I don’t think that’s it. My issue is with the stupidity of placing 500 pounds on the tailgate, snapping it and then declaring that the MINI can’t cut it in tailgating. Hell I’ve tailgated out of an MC and it didn’t give me any issues.
I’d like to think that if were as much of a moron as Ezra Dyer (the author), I’d at least have enough sense left not to advertize my stupidity by having it published.
You hafta read more of Ezra Dyer’s stuff to get his sarcasm. He’s rather funny in a messed-up sorta way.