Kevin B

I recently went on a drive with a local Ferrari club here in SoCal (my friend just sold his 360 so we went along in his D3). A great deal of the cars had metal plate frames that read "CHP 11-99 Foundation". I had seen these before so I asked about it. Apparently if you donate ~$2500 to this police foundation and display the plate frame your chances of getting a ticket are greatly reduced. Sounds fair, huh?

-OvO-

in the third world countries, they only take the money *after* they ticket you.

I'm not surprised that people donate to the police union, the benevolent fund, etc, on the hope that they will not be ticketed. I just wonder if it *really* makes a difference. Anybody want to sponsor a survey?

svxit

Yes, BMW dealers can service Minis, but, back to your original post ... at the speeds you said you'd need to do on a regular basis, I don't think I'd trust the Mini. I think it's a fantastic car for city driving, but doesn't have the legs or the heft of an A8 out on the open road. Having driven an LS400 at speeds well in excess of 100mph, it's okay, but not as stable. As for the Accord, also a nice car, but I don't think it has the suspension to make it that far. In the A8, when you change lanes over 110, your heart rate stays the same.

I just finished a 2,300 mile round trip from MD to FL and even though this car costs a lot to maintain, it bombs down the interstate like nothing I've ever driven. Also, with the gas prices being what they are, there's something neat to being able to go close to 600 miles on a tank of gas on the highway. So stable that my GF who usually takes me to pieces for going through turns too fast doesn't notice much difference between 70mph and 105mph.

And finally if, God forbid, something goes wrong, you want as much car around you as you can get. In a Mini or an Accord, only the first few days of your life would have time to flash before your eyes. As someone else said, drive the other cars on your list first and then have a go at the A8 or S8.