Old Minis want to run run run so driving them keeps them in better shape.

I find any excuse to drive my '68.

I am confident my '68 Mini would make a two-hour long desert trip to my friend's new house. Everything mechanical has been gone through. The only reason I decided not to take her and to take my old Chevy truck instead is the southwestern desert air is still in the triple digits and the sand is always blowing.

I have the paint shinning like a new coin and the 21 year-old Chevy is already faded and chipped.  Still, I feel the need to take her on a long trip up the coast soon. The more I drive the Mini, the better things feel and work.

My friend originally bought it, fixed it up mechanically and then had to let her sit a long time. When I picked her up last summer she seemed tired and out of shape. After just driving her twice a week and adjusting this and that, things are feeling better every day.

I took my daughter to lunch in the '68 last Sunday. She said she would rather ride in it than a new Mercedes because it is "RAD".

I was at a shopping center full of German super-cars and a man stopped to tell me it was the coolest car in the lot, and then drove on...