Here’s why:

1. At a movie, baseball game or restaurant, she spontaneously sighs and says, “I seriously love my car.”
2. When another Mini driver stops to check out her car, she says, “That’s such a Mini-owner thing to do.” “What?” I ask. “You wouldn’t understand.”
3. She spent over an hour reviewing the care pack Mini sent her – and smiled as she lovingly turned every page.
4. Every time she makes a U-turn, I get to hear the speech about how superior her Mini is (to my car) and how my car could never do what her car can do so smoothly.
5. Ditto parking, turning, stopping or packing luggage.
6. She actually waves at other Mini owners. And they actually wave back. Even in New York. I am not making this up.
7. If she brakes hard and says, “Are you OK?” I know not to respond. She’s talking to her car.
8. She wants to attend Mini-related events and regularly Googles them.
9. Yesterday, after borrowing my car for the day, she said, “Your car is over-sized and clumsy. I feel at one with my car. I know how it moves, and how it responds to the rain.”
10. When asked what she likes about her car, she says – without rehearsal – “Its awesome design; it feels cool, trendy and compact; it has great handling; it makes super-safe turns; its width-to-height proportion, like a bulldog’s stance; the huge trunk space; it’s easy to drive; it has a vintage design, but I know it’s a BMW; I feel safe in it; if anything happens, Mini roadside assistance will come pick me up.