Alabama Lotus Car Dealers

Sorry Tom, but I adore my 2005, bought just at the start of the '06 season by oh58d on Tue Apr 04 19:09:03 PDT 2006

I read Tom's (Mr. 6'4") review of the car and I really have to wonder how much reading about the car he did before he bought his. He bought the car and complained about the steering and getting in and out. These were his two major complaints. Well Tom, I'll put it to you very simply. The reason the steering feels different is because it does NOT have power steering OR power assist, or variable power assist steering. It's simple link steering. It's built far more like a Formula One Car than a touring car. If you were looking for a touring car, unless you're my height or less (68") OF COURSE you're going to have problems getting in or out. On the other hand, were it a truck, *I* would complain about getting in because the stairs are two high and my legs too short. I hate driving SUV's, Trucks, or anything where I have to step up. For me, getting into the Elise (2005 with both the touring and the race packages--split personality, but I'm a Gemini, what do you expect? :-) ) is pure simplicity and actually EASIER than getting into my old Eclipse Spyder. I just hop over the door if the top is down , but even with the top up, it's simple for me to get in. The car just fits me perfectly. Sorry, but I can't for the life of me imagine why someone your height would want this car, ESPECIALLY for driving around town. I can easily see why you wouldn't like it. I just have to defend it though. I adore mine. I feel like I'm racing everytime I drive it, and I live VERY close to some of Florida's most challenging roads (yes, hills, believe it or not). I love feeling every bump in the road. I'm a helicopter pilot and other chopper pilots will tell what I'm about too... in a helicopter, you absolutely MUST be very "in touch" with your proprioceptive system... basically that's where the saying "flying by the seat of your pants" comes from. Copter pilots use the slightest shift in weight to correct for BEFORE the helicopter moves and after awhile it becomes second nature. I've found the same thing with my 2005 Elise. I can feel exactly how much traction I have on each tire, know exactly how much I can push before I lose traction, but to Lotus' credit, I've never found myself "out of control" in this car--things I can't say about my last three cars--a Boxter, Vette ZR, and the Z8. Heck, obviously the eclipse Spyder GS-T (which I've kept as my main get around car) loses control and suffers from severe understeer. The Elise though... it's almost like a "my GOD!" feeling when you get it on a windy road and open it up. Because they didn't fill the thing up with creature comforts (Lotus supposedly wanted to keep the car under a ton curbweight) you just really get to FEEL the car better. BEST of all, before I bought the Elise, I was in a dating drought in a bad way. Everybody has Boxter's these days, and Vettes are seen everyday, as are the BMW's. I've never owned an exotic before, and I must say, I'm not a person who is as gregarious and confident around women as I am about everything else. Thus, I had few opportunities to meet women (the Army is all of 5% women--all ugly, gay, or married). The Elise has changed that. I now get approached juuuust about everytime I gas up the car (and yes, I DO look for the busy ones) by some women under 35. You may have your complaints, but I keep mine garaged, ride around in my eclipse if just going on post, (FYI retired military continue to maintain the rights to use any and all military facilities) but if I'm going out for fun, no car I've ever driven has ever been even remotely close to the Elise. I certainly respect your opinion, and those of others, but for me as a short single guy with the mindset of a combat pilot, the Elise and it's price range are perfect for me. I don't remember precisely where I read it, but I think it was on Edmunds under "first ride." The simple expression that the test driver took the Elise onto a race track and at the end said something like (following is paraphrased) "I imagine the Ferrari Sport Convertible and the Porsche 959 would finish ahead of the Elise on the track, but by such a slim margin there is absolutely no way to justify buying them at 5 times the price" (end paraphrase). I haven't driven the others and don't know if you have, but the writer of that article had. He pretty much summed it up by calling the Elise the "baby bear" in that the car was made "juuuussst right!" It had to do something to win European Car of the year for 6 straight years. And with a Toyota engine, we can expect lower prices for tune ups, oil changes, and any other parts we might need. At this point I'm very tempted to get the entire exhaust system redone and see if I can find an aftermarket twin turbo for it. Mine already does 0-60 in under 5 (4.9 on a timed 0-60, 0-100, and standing quarter mile). For something that can put a scare into just about anything on the road save for a Penoz or Viper, Murcielago, et. al. and even those wouldn't beat me by much, I'm tickled I finally own a relatively exotic car and didn't have to break $80k to do it.