'Just how many sets of brakes have you gone through?' asked a friend the other night, as I was driving back from dinner.
'Um… only three. Why?'
He just sighed, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like 'You MINI drivers.'
Interestingly enough, The Fabulous Lorraine said exactly the same thing about my driving a couple of years ago, when I picked her up from LAX. Apparently her Boss, also a MINI owner, drives like I do. I told her I was simply battle-hardened from driving in Los Angeles all my life. She did not believe me. Not even showing her my Safe Driver certificate from the DMV was enough to convince her that I could be let on the road without causing great bodily harm to my fellow Angeleños. You swerve out of the way of one semi, and you get branded a bad driver. (Okay, I swerved at 75 m.p.h. on the tight curve of the 110-101 interchange, but that's what MINIs are born to do!)
Sigh.
After seeing this MINI commercial, I now must grudgingly admit my friends are right about my driving.