MINI has agreed to a 2025 Cooper S so I could drive 3,100 miles to document the action during Monterey Car Week. Read part one of this series here and part two here.
The lead photo says it all. I spent most of today’s drive in the middle of nowhere in Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska. At the end of the day, when I saw this huge supermarket in Lincoln, Nebraska, its sign that said “You are nowhere” perfectly summed up my day of driving and most of the places I drove through.
I left at 6am and basically spent the day on I-80, just driving a few miles and stopping at rest stops every now and then. Later, I went to a rest stop to have lunch at Arby’s. The staff was really nice and the food was great.
I was excited to get to Omaha, Nebraska, where I was going to meet my best friend Trent Abbott in his garage and take a break. After 605 boring miles, I had made it.
I hadn’t been to Trent’s new garage yet, so I followed the GPS and then looked for his lapis blue Porsche Cayenne. I found it, parked next to it, and went inside to see my buddy.
I’ve known Trent for about 20 years. I met him at the old Hagerty party at The Lodge at Pebble Beach. We got chatting and literally became friends right away. We both love cars, scuba diving, anything James Bond related and have the same taste in music. In fact, he and I drove to Monterey in my old 944 a few years ago to do a similar trip. We’re both in the car collecting business now and have supported each other in many ways along the way.
His garage and car collection are truly outstanding and reflect the type of cars that people in Generation X are into. There are loads of Porsche cars as Trent has a Porsche problem and then a few odds and ends including British cars and three different International Scouts. We chatted for a while and I told him that of all his cars, the 1961 Scout is my favorite. The reason is because when I was in high school a friend of mine had one and I thought it just looked cool. It exudes seriousness and practicality mixed with a car that is just fun to drive. He said I should give it a try and I did.
If you’ve never driven one of these original Scouts, they’re unlike any other 4×4 I’ve driven – more civilized than an early Jeep, but less refined than a classic Land Rover. I consider them the template for the original Ford Bronco, and when you look at the car, you’ll probably understand why. They’re all torque, no horsepower, and super fun behind the wheel.
After about two hours together, Trent and his friend Jeremy Tate cleaned the windows of the MINI and I headed off to Lincoln. I had only asked if I could use some window cleaner, but they did the work. I happily paid them with some of Ann’s homemade cookies, which they happily accepted.
Tomorrow we’ll have our longest ride of the week: a 900+ mile drive to Salt Lake City, Utah, so stay tuned to see how it goes.
