I was in Denver over the holidays and stopped by a dealership that had a couple (sold of course). That's a pretty damn cool car. However, the sticker "Lotus" badge on the back was pretty weak.

No real purpose for this post. Just felt like typing instead of lurking.

Erin

http://www.caranddriver.com/assets/image/67200411734.jpg

My friend bought a black one and I took it out for a spin. It's a fun car but getting in and out is a royal pain in the ass! It's a great weekend-only/track car but for semi-daily driving, it sucks.

-Awais

Its a speedy fast european compact which i do like myself. On the other hand, when you go to buy one just remember your paying 40k for the badge "Lotus" because with 173hp im sure you could buy somethinkg alot better for 40k. The Vauxhaul VX220 is nice. Almost the same compared to the lotus eccept its 220hp for i think 3 grand less.

and if you want one in the us you cant get one, at least to my knowledge. but those dont compare to the lotus 23, my fathers business maintains one, plus 2 e types a real 289 cobra the 1981 group 44 trans am XJS and all other various vintage race cars and old british cars

slow if u ask me it was at Etown street wars got its ass kicked.

Elise isn't a 1/4 mile car, obviously!

I ran into one back on Oct 10. It is SO SMALL. My wing was bigger than the car.

http://m3.digital7.com/elise1.jpg

http://m3.digital7.com/elise2.jpg

http://m3.digital7.com/elise3.jpg

who parked the shopping cart next to the elise??

Chris honey, remind me to show you some masking tricks, you can't see shit in those photos.

There was one at the Ferrari meet I went to not too long ago. Only time I saw it in action on the road coure was when we rolled up on it in the Carrera GT I was riding in, so I can't really give it an good opinion performance wise since the Porsche beat it up. Butt...VERY tiny, yet good looking car...even when sitting next to all the Ferraris, Porsches, Ect.

My Ixus i/SD10 is nice and portable, but its low-light performance is teh suck. Those photos are so noisy, it's hard to do much with them.

Mmmmm, carrera GT.

heres a low-res video shot of an Elise and 360 about to get ran down by the CGT. I'll have to find some of the high-res shots of the Elise sitting next to a 360 and 355. All very beautiful cars!

http://www.srvidz.com/PICTURES/TEMP/gtincar5.jpg

So, which of these cars will be attending AKA 05? :)

This is besides the point but Chris you keep your Sube so dam clean! :)

Baha, that was the first day I had it. It is so fucking dirty now.

http://m3.digital7.com/stisnow.jpg

I have been looking at WRX's for my daughter, she really likes them and will be 16 soon. Good cars?

Yup, excellent safety/crash test ratings.

for gods sake why are 16 yr old girls getting WRX's?? I swear my daughters first car will be the biggest boat of a car EVER. I dont care if that means she'll have a harder time parking it, or not be the cool one with a new fast car, at least she wont die in an accident either cause she is surrounded by 3 tons of steel.

I've considered the boat route. However, boats have back seats. I trust my daughters will make the right decisions, but why provide an opportunity?

Besides, many of the 'smaller' cars out there offer excellent protection for driver/occupants.

lol I see

so; possible injury from an accident>underage sex in the backseat of her boat car

There are many cars out there with excellent safety ratings, so I'm sure there are a few 2 seaters

I got to see a few in greece a few years ago...I too was stunned how small they were.

possible injury from an accident>underage sex in the backseat of her boat car


Not at all. I don't subscribe to the paradigm that the safety merits of an automobile is a function of it's size.

Matt - nice to see that the child molester hasn't boiled your rabbit yet!

ha ha...she just text messaged me...wants me to fix her car. I should have told her to take it the HS auto shop.

true, but the more mass surrounding a person, the more energy it will take to impact that mass enough to cause injury

The mass argument is fine for the car, but not the occupant.

When speed technology outpaced safety technology on racecars (specifically late '20s/early '30s,) the engineers subscribed to your theory and they were the deadliest years ever (read Eddie Rickenbacker's biography - real interesting). The problem was the energy was transferred through the car and ended up in the occupant's lap. Dissipation of energy is the key. That's why cars have crumple zones, break away engine mounts, air bags, etc... When you see a modern day car ball up, there are parts everywhere - that's energy being transferred away from the driver.

I believe this argument is generational because when I hear "boat", I think of a typical '70s automobile. Not sure if you have the same mental model. I will concede the point that of two modern cars with equal safety equipment (both active and passive), the larger one is safer.

All of that being said, my daughter(s) will most likely be driving a car with all of the latest and greatest safety equipment...and a small backseat.

Baha, that was the first day I had it. It is so fucking dirty now.

http://m3.digital7.com/stisnow.jpg

Looks like someone took their WRX snow rallying.

So much fun!

true, but with a new car, your daughter will be able to speed as well, while with an old busted boat, its hard to get it up to the speed limit. good luck with whatever car you get her

if you want to get her a small cool car thats very save and can be fast and stuff get her a volve S60 or soemthing.

Get her a new VW bettle she will love her car, her friends will love to ride in her car, and you will love her car.

If its protection your worried about this can go 2 ways :) Get her a Mini Cooper, It has less than 170hp and they are reliable and safe cars. They're also too small for 2 people to get some full devirginizing action in. If your going to go extreme get her a volvo, those things are like tanks.

i would never trust my life to a mini in an accident, I dont care what the test results say

Well it depends on what crashes into you. If its a Hummer H2 You A$$ is Grass.

I guess the VW Bettle is better.

Subaru's have good crash test ratings. Get her an auto WRX, they are not too fast, and have a pretty good fun factor.

Nick

I will concede the point that of two modern cars with equal safety equipment (both active and passive), the larger one is safer.

not safer for the driver of the car, more dangerous for the person they hit. My mother does accident reconstruction so if u guys have any questions.....ill pass them on to her ;)

It is safer to be in larger vehicle with the same ammount of safety features in a smaller car.
i.e. I have been rearended in the Hummer twice. Both times the vehicles that rear-ended me were totalled and I didn't even have a paint flake off the truck. Oh, crush zones suck.

Nick

It is safer to be in larger vehicle with the same ammount of safety features in a smaller car.
i.e. I have been rearended in the Hummer twice. Both times the vehicles that rear-ended me were totalled and I didn't even have a paint flake off the truck. Oh, crush zones suck.

Nick

were talkign about the passengers not what happens to the cars

I am talking about both people & vehicle in the accident. Last winter my WRX was totalled by getting hit by a Buick Roadmaster doin 60+mph. My car was totalled and I was fine. I was in a terrible collision when I was younger, I was in a 96 Riveara and rear-ended by a Lumina doing 55-60 while we were at a dead stop. I would have MUCH rather been in an SUV for that accident because I had some nice injuries from the hit. My friend Lee has a 96 Hummer wagon. He was broadsided by a Jaguar running from the cops. The Jag went under his truck on impact. The driver of the Jag was hospitalized, and Lee (65 years old) was fine and drove his truck home. If Lee was in a car he would have most likly been killed.

Nick

BTW: Hummers dont have airbags

Problem solved get her an SUV, but be carefull of those folding down seats :)

I just saw a charcoal gray one in Concord, Mass. I got so excited! Those things are sweet.

Well it depends on what crashes into you. If its a Hummer H2 You A$$ is Grass.

I guess the VW Bettle is better.


Yeah hitting a hummer is like hitting a brick wall, i got rammed by one recently destroyed the whole back of my car, 91 accord + hummer = :(

UMM? never seen the lotus Elise, never been hit by a hummer, Recived a few hummers. just thought I should say shomthing.

there a pretty tight car, tiny as hell, i mean miniscule, and i thought the trunk space in the s2000 was small.

There is a Lotus driveing around in my area but i haven't got a good look at it yet.

I had a lotus in my backyard one time..

Dude you should never hide the rides you boost in your back yard....

its the first place the cops look

sarcasm is great, this is was i was talking about.

http://www.naturegraphics.net/bf087w%20lotus.jpg

I am talking about both people & vehicle in the accident. Last winter my WRX was totalled by getting hit by a Buick Roadmaster doin 60+mph. My car was totalled and I was fine. I was in a terrible collision when I was younger, I was in a 96 Riveara and rear-ended by a Lumina doing 55-60 while we were at a dead stop. I would have MUCH rather been in an SUV for that accident because I had some nice injuries from the hit. My friend Lee has a 96 Hummer wagon. He was broadsided by a Jaguar running from the cops. The Jag went under his truck on impact. The driver of the Jag was hospitalized, and Lee (65 years old) was fine and drove his truck home. If Lee was in a car he would have most likly been killed.

Nick

BTW: Hummers dont have airbags

alright now your factoring in all these different variables like vehicle height and speed and car models. You cant just say that all cars perform the same in an accident. There are different structural ridgity coefficients for each model. On a tall vehicle such as a hummer, the smaller car would slide under (a really shitty situation for the driver of the car) where less damage would be done to the SUV. The buick riviera has crap safety features. That chassis is made of linquini. Generally safer vehicles are safer because they absorb the impact (safer for the driver i mean). Absorbing the impact means fucking up the car. The car literally sacrifices itself for u. Also cars like the hummer, any dually, most land rovers, have exeptionally stiff chassis because of the stress they are designed to endure.