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American EastEnders Fan Calls Her MINI �Duchess�
By MELANIE cAMPBELL-SAUNdERS
I’m an Anglophile, so I have always
loved the Mini. Growing up,
it was always the classic Mini that
caught my eye in British movies
and television.
Where I live now, in Concord,
N.C., I would see a few classic
Minis occasionally, which always
kept that spark there. I always
dreamed of having a classic, but I
knew that was really just a dream.
I couldn’t afford to keep a car like
that in working condition being in
the States, plus it wasn’t very practical
for my needs.
When BMW came out with the
Modern MINI in 2001, I thought
maybe my dream might actually
become reality one day. Three
years ago, my husband and I decided
that he would drive my
Highlander, and I would use his car
as a trade-in for a new small fun
car. It was between a Mazda 3 and
a MINI. Funny how the dealerships
were located right across the street
from one another.
I wanted the MINI, but Mazda
made us a deal we could not refuse.
For two years I drove that silver
Mazda 3 Grand Touring
Hatchback loaded with every option
available, and I was not happy.
The Mazda was zippy and had lots
of power for get up and go, but it
was not a MINI.
Every time a MINI Cooper S
passed me, I would say: “There
goes my car!” After two years of
hearing me say that, my husband
came home one day and said, “I
love you and I want you to have
the car you really want. Let’s go
get you a MINI!”
I was now on a mission. Within
days, I was at the dealer with the
specifications I wanted and had researched
for years. The sales rep
placed my specs in their system
that searched MINI dealerships
across the country. Only one MINI
pulled up and it was in North Carolina!
What luck. Some things are
just meant to be.
My MINI Specs: 2010 Laser
Blue MINI Cooper S, Packages:
Premium, Sport, Cold Weather.
Colour: Laser Blue.
Other options: Chrome Line Interior,
Colour Line Dark Grey, Interior
Surface Brushed Alloy,
Center Armrest, Bluetooth and
USB/iPod Adapter.
Getting My MINI
My MINI was home within two
weeks of my husband telling me he
wanted to buy one for me. I don’t
waste any time! Before I drove her
home, I had already put racing
stripes on her and the Union Jack
on top.
I knew I had to name her –
that’s what you do with a MINI.
First I thought Penelope Pitstop,
but my husband pointed out that
my MINI was not a pink convertible.
I then reached out to friends.
As soon as my friend Kim said,
“Duchess,” I knew that was it. So
my MINI’s name is inspired by
Alfie Moon’s nickname for Peggy
Mitchell. It just seemed so right.
MINI Community
The unwritten MINI rules are:
1. Always wave or flash your lights
to acknowledge another MINI
when you pass by.
2. When parking, if you see another
MINI, you must park by it.
You don’t want a MINI to be
lonely.
Some people buy MINIs because
they are cute like an accessory.
Others buy them because they
get great gas mileage. The rest are
true MINI enthusiasts. It’s a deep
love and passion. Every time you
look at your MINI, you smile.
Every time you drive your MINI
you increase your SPG (Smiles Per
Gallon). You think of excuses to go
out for a drive.
My personal favourite is to forforget
something at the grocery
store and have to go back for it.
When you walk up to your MINI in
a parking lot, you have to walk
around it to make sure no one has
dented it. MINIs are often found
parked away from everyone else to
prevent dents.
Sometime owners go to their
garages to say goodnight to their
MINIs. I’ve known grown men to
do this, and I’ve done it as well.
I’m told that this MINI passion
will not fade with time of ownership.
How true this statement is. I
love Duchess.
MINI Motoring Clubs
The next step after buying my
MINI was getting into the MINI
community. First week home, I
was registered as a member of the
Tarheel MINI Motoring Club
(THMMC). I read their forum
threads for weeks and couldn’t get
enough of all the car talk. I started
participating in their motoring
runs, like MINIpaloosa and Slaying
the Sleeping Dragon. Both are
adventurous drives filled with
twisties. The Dragon is 318 curves
in 11 miles!
Through Facebook, I reached
out to the MINI community abroad
and made friends with the Nottingham
MINI Club (NMC), Modern
MINI Magazine Club of the Year
2009. I pulled their club and
THMMC together to become sister
clubs. Someday I hope to join
NMC in their annual London to
LIcENcE PLAtE: ‘Oh BUggER’
Brighton run!
I help facilitate THMMC meetings
in the Charlotte area and I’m
also a member of Mini Motoring
Club of the Carolinas in Charlotte.
Car clubs are a great way to get
ideas and advice for your MINI,
obtain discounts to vendors and
make MINI mates to go driving
with. There is nothing like driving
in a line of MINIs!
Mods
My husband thought when he
bought the MINI that would basically
be it. I had my dream car.
Well, he didn’t know I was a motorhead!
I have always loved muscle
cars and have dreamed of
having a car I could show. Within a
month of her arrival, I was already
planning modifications. With help
from THMMC and Dan Zipkin, the
best independent MINI mechanic
in North Carolina, I had selected
what I wanted to do. I had it all
down in an Excel spreadsheet! Modification, price, brand, etc.
I was on a mission again: this
time to enter Duchess in the British
Car Day South Show 2011 in Concord,
N.C.
The modifications were completed
by April 2011 (exactly one
year from purchase). They include:
Euro Plate (X04 PAT), Dragon Decals
and License Plate Holder, Rear
3rd Light Pulsar Kit, White Reflector
Stripes w/Red Pin Stripe on the
Bonnet and Boot, UJ Rearview
Mirror Cover, UJ Interior Center
Stack Graphic, Go Pro HD Camera,
Light In Sight, Chimex, Center
Console Tray, Boot Net, Boot
Liner, Commuter Mate Storage
Cup, Folding Sunshade, Glove Box
Organizer, Seat Pull, Carpet and
Rubber Floor Mats, MOMO Combat
Evo Shift Knob, Rear Parcel
Tray Storage System, Complete
LED Interior Lamp Kit, Hood
Mount Heat Shield, NM Eng Air
Charge Pipe, NM Eng NM Discharge
Pipe, Torque Arm Bushing
Insert, NM Eng Front Strut Tower
Brace, NM Eng Titanium Turbo
Heat Shield, NM Eng Cold Air Intake,
NM Eng Springs, Hotchkiss
Rear Sway Bar 19 mm, UJ Valve
Stem Caps, Michelin Pilot Sport
A/S Plus 215-45-17
MINI/BMW Connection
Sometimes I’m asked, “Do you
know your Mini is a BMW?” This
question always tickles me, because
I purchased my Duchess new
from Hendrick BMW/Mini. Maybe
people think I’m a woman so I
don’t know about cars.
It feels like a jab when someone
asks whether I know that Duchess
isn’t a classic MINI. I posted this
to a THMMC forum, and the responses
made me feel so much better.
The group’s members are like
brothers and sisters to me. At a
work dinner when the question was
asked yet again, my husband had
the best comeback line ever: “I
don’t mind as long as it’s built in
Oxford, England!”
A Mini is more than just a car or
a fashionable icon. The BMW
MINI has kept the spirit and love
of the original Mini alive today.
Driving one is so much fun. It handles
corners like a dream. Curvy
roads (twisties) are a MINI’s playground.
The 2010 MINI Cooper S
has a 1.6L 4-cyl. engine. The turbocharged
engine has 172 hp and
177 lb.-ft. of torque (192 lb.-ft. at
full throttle). It can go 0-60 in 6.7
seconds! I just look in my rearview
and say goodbye.
MINI Myths
When we purchased the MINI we
thought of it as our fun second car.
We have a Toyota Highlander for
trips and shopping. Well, guess
what! The Highlands stays in the
garage! We always take the MINI
out shopping for groceries and on
trips away to the mountains and recently
to Savannah.
I first worried about my husband’s
bad back with him sitting in
the passenger seat. The MINI’s
ride is a firm one. I’m happy to report
that my husband’s back
doesn’t hurt after driving in the
MINI. And as for space for shopping
or when travelling, just put
the back seats down and there is
LOADS of room.
Looking at the backseat of the
MINI, no, there isn’t a ton of leg
room. But there is a lot of room in
the front. Pulling the seats up in the
front allows enough room in the
back. When going out with my
girlfriends, they always want me to
drive. It’s a lot more fun arriving in
a MINI than a SUV like everyone
else!
British Car Day South
I spent 20 hours cleaning Duchess
before the car show. It was over 90
degrees outside and in my garage.
On 12 June, I pulled into Frank
Liske Park and parked Duchess
among approximately 30 other
MINIs. I polished her one more
time and prepared her for show. It
was her moment and she was
beaming! Complete with a bust of
Queen Victoria on her dash and a
bulldog sitting on the front seat,
she was judged by all the other registered
car owners at the show.
Five hours later, it was time for the
announcements for the Minis, the
marquee car for the show. When
the MINI class came up, they announce
third, then second. I
thought my chances were over.
Next, First Place for Best in
Class goes to Melanie Campbell-
Saunders! As he handed me the
plaque, the nice gentleman told me,
“You have one lovely MINI!”
Here is a funny. My British
Euro Plate in the front of my MINI
is X04 PAT. This is because my
husband is an expatriate from England
and he moved here in 2004.
I was driving the MINIpaloosa
Rally last year and took a sharp
right turn spot-on at high speed. I
practise those turns a lot! On my
walkie-talkie radio, someone said,
“Great job, Pat!” I realised he was
talking to me, and my reaction
was, I’m not Pat Butcher!
What’s next for Duchess?
Mods are never done. I’ve got a
few more tricks up my sleeve. And
as a friend put it, I now have to defend
Duchess’s title at the next
British Car Day South Show in
2012.
I’m even considering entering
her in the Drag and Brag at the
ZMax Dragway!
