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Love those mi$ MinisBy Kathv Boccella

INQUIRER STAFN WNITBN

Philip Adams rhapsodizesabout his baby.

"People can't help butsmile and point," he said,beaming at the adorable2-year-old.

Others might tire of aproud papa, crowing abouthis pride and joy. But in Ad,ams' circle, gathered inWest Chester last Saturday,everyone shared his love oflittle ones.

That's little, as in Mini. Asin Mini Cooper, the play-sized buggies from acrossthe Pond.

"I never owned a car I hadso much fun with," said Jen-nifer Schere of Eagle, as herhusband, Mike, outfittedtheir orange convertiblewith a lighted reindeer, gar-lands and a blow-up SantaClaus at the Philadelphia

It's just a car. A silly little car. Marketed asazany antidote to auto ennui. Owners adore it.

"It's the coolest car I've ever been in," gushed one.

StrMng for the merriest of Minis, Karen Eastman of West Groveputs the finishing holiday flourishes on her 2006 S model.

Mini Meet rally and Christ-mas party.

There are lots ofcar enthu-siasts out there, but few canrival Mini owners for rabid'devotion

and a penchant foranthropomorphizing theirrides. Their cars are the tea-cup dogs of the auto world.People dress them up, takethem to parties, even getmarried in them.

"It's like a pet or a mem-ber of their family," saidJulie Gross, pho foundedthe PhillyMINI group in2003, when her car was justa newborn.

Mini owners have a loopyesprit de corps, said DavidThomas of Cars.com.They're nsn-conformists:Most custom-order theircars and wait about 2tlzmonths for delivery from En-gland. And they possess a

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THE PHILADELPHIA INOUIRER

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Minis "attract the most loyalfollowing because the car issuch a personal statement,"Thomas said. "A Chevy Impalais just not the same."

Few Mini clubs nationwideare as active as the Philadel-phia-area chapteq said AndrewS. Cutler, a spokesman for MiniU94, a division of BMW ofNd--,rth America. Spring throughfall, the group's 100 hardcore

'members come from as far asNew York for rallies three outof four weekends a month.

The get-togethers have a dif-ferent vibe than traditional carclub outings. Stressing food, funand making new f r iends,they're more like play dates.

Mini fans "are a little campy,"sdid Gross, who became so en-afliored of her black-and-silvernumber that she's now a sales-woman at the Otto's Mini dealer-ship in West Chester.

Or, as they say in the Mini'snative tongue, they're cheelqy.

Not only do members deco-rate their cars, they coordinatetheir outfits to their vehicles'paint jobs. They accessorizewith custom roof graphics andrubber ducks on antennas anddashboards. Window stickerscommemorate each rally. Andthey give their cars cutie-pienames, like Scarlett, Nigel orRed Ryder.

Last weekend, about 30 Minisw rt on a 100-mile romptfBough Chester County intonorthern Delaware with stopsat the Winterthur estate-and theBrandywine River Museum. Af-terward. the caravan headed toOtto's for a holiday decoratingcontest and party.

Red, green, silver and black,wiih strlpes and checkerboards,many already looked like Christ-mas ornaments. But that didn't

stop the group's cheerful eccen-trics, in antlers and Santa Clauscaps, from pimping their rideswith tinsel and lights.

"I thought she was crazywhen she wanted a Mini."6.foot-3 Mike Schere said of hiswife. "It's the most impracticalca4 but I love it. It's the coolestcar I've ever been in."

The company fosters thatbond by sending Mini ownerse-mail updates while their carsare gestating overseas and byproviding "Mini ,Parking Onl]/'stencils, presumably for use incompany |ots. An owner can ap.ply for a Visa card bearing aphoto of his or her own vehicle,sort of like a baby'picture.

"Because of the ineverent na-ture of the brand, we're able touse creative license," Cutler said.

About 170,000 Minis havebeen sold since the car was in-troduced in the United States in2002. Models range from$18,600 to over, $30,000. Nextyear, the Mini will get a littleless mini. The next generationwill be about three inches long-er and wider and will have aredesigned interior, sure to miffpurists but aimed at e:rpandingthe customer base.

"It wil l insti l l some newblood," said Stella Singleton,who is "prime minister" of thePhiladelphia club, where manyof the events gre themed.

At a canine rally, driversdrove their pets to a poochpark, listened to a CD of doggiesongs, and ended at the FourDogs Thvern outside West Ches-ter. A recent James Bond rallyfeatured songs from 007 moviesand ended with a screening ofthe new Casino Royalc.

The best thing is, each eventis "totally pointless," said Ad:ams, of Wilmington, whose Miniis British racing green with awhite roof. "It's just fun."

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:"'But atop Drew Penglase of Willow Grove, they're a six-point icon ofthe playfulness that many Mini owners bring to their wheels.

Membership is diverse, fromS0-something empty-nesters tofamilies with kids to yuppie cou-ples. The unattached don't nec-essarily stay that way, noted Sin-glqton, who met her boyfriendin the club. Other membershave planned a spring wedding.

And as you would expect offolks who drive the hip versionof a circus car, they can take ajoke.' Jolene Kauffman doesn't owna Mini, but she wanted to rent afew for her wedding. When shefound out they are unavailable,Kauffman turned to the roman-tics at PhillyMINI.

On July 22, four red and twowhite Minis, decorated withwedding bells and streamers,carried the bride, the groomand their wedding party from achurch in Gloucester County to

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the Horticulture Center in Fair-mount Park for a reception.

As soon as they heard aboutKauffman's plight, "We said,'We're in,"' said Alan Sobkow-iak of Ardmore, who donned for-mal attire to drive his cherryred Mini in the.procession.

Funny as it was to see themotorcade, Sobkowiak said, thepunchlige was delivered by thebride's father, who trailed be-hind them in a big old Hummer.

"That's the kind of absolute ca-maraderie we have," said depu-ty prime minister Sobkowiak "Ifsorneone called and said, We'regoing to Rita's to have water ice,'you'd have people coming fromupper New Jersey."

Contact statf writer lGthy Boccellaat 610-313-8123 orkboccella@phillynews.com. i

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