# Mini Cooper with a Union Jack **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 20, 2007, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-cooper-with-a-union-jack/404780 "2007-05-20T01:42:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-cooper-with-a-union-jack/404780/21 "2007-05-20T16:43:35Z")
There’s a few companies that will make whatever you want to go on the MINI’s roof. Cooper Flags is one. I just saw pictures of a MINI that had a toast and beans graphic put on the roof. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-cooper-with-a-union-jack/404780/22 "2007-05-20T22:06:07Z")
[QUOTE=Darryl Lict] I think it’d be pretty cool, as I don’t think I’ve actually seen one on the road. You do need to get a velvet tuxedo and a frilly shirt, though. I actually have a velvet suit with bell bottoms that I picked up in San Francisco. [/QUOTE] Awesome! ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-cooper-with-a-union-jack/404780/23 "2007-05-22T21:49:24Z")
[QUOTE=deanc2000] I’m looking at Mini Coopers right now as a next car, kind of bored of my red Civic right now. I’m looking at a model colored red with a British Union Jack on the roof. What do you all think of this? Do you think I’ll get some strange looks? From my perspective, I actually don’t mind it because alot of my favorite writers, musicians, and bands come from England. Any comments? [/QUOTE] I can only say that I could never own such a thing; every time I looked at it I’d hear that Austin Powers theme music going through my head, you know the one with the piccolo line, “dit-dee-dee-dee-dee. dit-dee-dee-dee-dee”. And from there to channeling him would be but a step. It’d just be taking too much of a chance. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-cooper-with-a-union-jack/404780/24 "2007-05-22T21:52:34Z")
I should make it clear that seeing the Union Jack doesn’t normally elicit this reaction from me, just, you know, seeing it painted on a car. I’d react similarly to a U.S. flag painted that way on a car, though of course the details would be different. ---
**Author:** ![Mbossa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-cooper-with-a-union-jack/404780/25 "2007-05-22T23:31:52Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] I should make it clear that seeing the Union Jack doesn’t normally elicit this reaction from me, just, you know, seeing it painted on a car. I’d react similarly to a U.S. flag painted that way on a car, though of course the details would be different. [/QUOTE] If you own a car with a U.S. flag on it, will you start channelling Heather Graham? If so, and you ever end up with such a car, could you please inform me immediately? Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9e5f3/32.png) [@pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pretend_my_name_is_witty)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-cooper-with-a-union-jack/404780/26 "2007-05-23T10:33:59Z")
[QUOTE=deanc2000] _Union Jack on the roof_…From my perspective, I actually don’t mind it because alot of my favorite writers, musicians, and bands come from _England_. [/QUOTE] [obligatory sarcastic brit joke about England/Britain confusion]So why dont you get the _English_ flag, then?[/osbjaebc] Sorry, nothing to add, really, I’m sure you know the difference. Union Flag on a Cooper, the body the same shade of blue as the flag background would be sweet. English flag on anything these days except for a sports top has chav-esque connetations for me and quite a few others, unfortunately. ---
**Author:** ![scareyfaerie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scareyfaerie/32/3135_2.png) [@scareyfaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scareyfaerie)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-cooper-with-a-union-jack/404780/27 "2007-05-23T10:36:17Z")
What about having the _English_ flag on top of the car, with a Burberry interior, tinted windows and faux flames painted down the side? Yes, we have one of those trundling around our area…how we laughed. ---
**Author:** ![pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9e5f3/32.png) [@pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pretend_my_name_is_witty)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-cooper-with-a-union-jack/404780/28 "2007-05-23T10:40:36Z")
Displays of appalling taste like that are not only entertaining, but handy because you know it’s just the same as saying _“let’s never hang out together…”_. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-cooper-with-a-union-jack/404780/29 "2007-05-23T10:46:24Z")
[QUOTE=Reply] I’ve seen a few of these driving around L.A. and at first I thought it was just a custom paintjob by a very patriotic Brit. It was amusing, I guess. Are you saying they’re available as a standard option? [/QUOTE] Yes, and actually, I’d say this highlights a difference in national psyche between Britons and Americans; slapping the union flag on a car like this - or indeed on bits of tat such as mugs, hats, pencils, keyrings, etc. is (IMO) a _decorative_ decision, more than a patriotic one. ---
**Author:** ![pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9e5f3/32.png) [@pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pretend_my_name_is_witty)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-cooper-with-a-union-jack/404780/30 "2007-05-23T10:53:23Z")
[QUOTE=pretend my name is witty] Displays of appalling taste like that are not only entertaining, but handy because you know it’s just the same as saying _“let’s never hang out together…”_. [/QUOTE] Referring to **ScareyFaerie** ’s example, not the OP, in case it’s not clear. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-cooper-with-a-union-jack/404780/31 "2007-05-23T12:38:21Z")
[QUOTE=Mbossa] If you own a car with a U.S. flag on it, will you start channelling Heather Graham? If so, and you ever end up with such a car, could you please inform me immediately? Thank you. [/QUOTE] I don’t even know who Heather Graham is. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-cooper-with-a-union-jack/404780/32 "2007-05-23T12:51:00Z")
[QUOTE=deanc2000] I’m looking at Mini Coopers right now as a next car, kind of bored of my red Civic right now. I’m looking at a model colored red with a British Union Jack on the roof. What do you all think of this? Do you think I’ll get some strange looks? From my perspective, I actually don’t mind it because alot of my favorite writers, musicians, and bands come from England. Any comments? [/QUOTE] That’s exactly the description of my brother-in-law’s Mini Cooper. I haven’t seen anyone giving him strange looks for it. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-cooper-with-a-union-jack/404780/33 "2007-05-23T13:30:17Z")
[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog] Yeah, but you wouldn’t get the US flag on the roof. You could also paint your Mini orange, weld the doors shut, and put “01” numbering on the sides, but you wouldn’t do that either (on second thoughts, that could be quite cool). The Mini with the Union flag on the roof is a classic. [/QUOTE] Actually, I now have an incredible desire to do this to my Passat. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-cooper-with-a-union-jack/404780/34 "2007-05-23T17:00:06Z")
[QUOTE=Reply] I’ve seen a few of these driving around L.A. and at first I thought it was just a custom paintjob by a very patriotic Brit. It was amusing, I guess. Are you saying they’re available as a standard option? [/QUOTE] I was recently at the MINIUSA site where you can build your own MINI and add options - these are all the options for the roof graphic (a $200 option): US flag Union Jack Checkered Roof St. Andrew’s Cross St. Georges Cross Canadian flag Puerto Rican flag ---
**Author:** ![Charger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@Charger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charger)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-cooper-with-a-union-jack/404780/35 "2007-05-24T01:02:09Z")
[QUOTE=Joey P] I just saw one of those today, a General Lee that is, not a Mini G.L. [/QUOTE] If you were visiting Green Bay, that was me. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-cooper-with-a-union-jack/404780/36 "2007-05-24T03:57:19Z")
[QUOTE=Charger] If you were visiting Green Bay, that was me. [/QUOTE] Kenosha ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-cooper-with-a-union-jack/404780/37 "2007-05-24T19:06:00Z")
[QUOTE=Happy Scrappy Hero Pup] Sorry, but when a “customization” is an “available option,” it’s no longer cool. Your car’s mods are cool when you have to explain what you want to a tech, not point to it in a catalog and say, “gimme that,” or, worse yet, order by number. [/QUOTE] That’s what the terrorists _want_ you to think. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-cooper-with-a-union-jack/404780/38 "2007-05-24T23:46:27Z")
Go for this [paint job](http://chasingdaisy.blogspot.com/mini%20cooper%20paint_1.JPG)😃 ---
**Author:** ![RickQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@RickQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickQ)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2007, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-cooper-with-a-union-jack/404780/39 "2007-06-02T01:15:28Z")
I am British and have a red MINI Cooper S with a Union Jack on the roof. After I got the car I discovered dozens of companies out there who will make anything you can think of for you to put on the roof, bonnet, boot, doors or anywhere else. Here is a [link](http://rides.webshots.com/photo/1102876192038501851dCyMXm) to a bunch of photos showing cars with custom paint jobs or graphics. I love my car, it totally rocks and **deanc2000** , I don’t tend to get strange looks. Most people really like it. I have also met two or three Americans with British flags of their cars. I would say go for it 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2007, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-cooper-with-a-union-jack/404780/40 "2007-06-02T03:47:07Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] I don’t think so, here’s the best screenshot I could find (without the red car): [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Plans-40325.jpg](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Plans-40325.jpg) [/QUOTE] Did the Minis in the more recent remake have Union Jacks on them? I at least seem to recall that they were red, white and blue, weren’t they? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-cooper-with-a-union-jack/404780.md?page=1)