OT- saw a new elise in pkg lot today!

Very cool purple color Lotus Elise was in the parking lot todayby my office. I will take pics next time i see it... It was from Symbolic Motors here in San Diego!!! Sweet ride!!!

I rode in one a couple of months ago. VERY SWEET. Chad

Is it me, or does that car look terrible? It just seems so overblown.

looks better in person but still is pretty darn small.............

It does look better in person, but the lack of support in the seats and the driving position I really didn't care for. not to mention the ride from hell, on a track I am sure it would be amazing, but getting to the track, well that's another thing.

Agreed. Incredible in person. But it amazed me how tiny the damn thing was. I swear I have Hotwheels toys that are bigger. -C.

There is a thread that discusses this car at length in O.T. if anyone is interested in it.

it's a toy for the track.. i wouldn't drive it on the street.. it's too funny looking for the public to take seriously.. i'd feel like a moron driving around in one.. kind of like a plymouth prowler.. of course enthusiasts know what they are.. but I suppose if you aren't self concious about driving around in something that looks like a hot wheels car and having a few ignorant people that have no idea what it is laugh at you.. then I suppose, all the power to you :>

It's a track car and not fit for the street. I couldn't care less what others think about my car, but I do care about safety. If the Elise is involved in an accident with a full size car, it's curtains for the driver of the Elise. An SUV would probably drive right over the Elise.

well in europe, an elise wouldn't be that bad to drive.. if you are only concerned about safety... as a reason why not to drive one.. because SUVs and trucks don't really exist over there... and if they are SUVs or trucks, they are small ones... excursions, subs, etc.. are exclusively used for high ranking government only usually, with expertly skilled drivers, and not soccer moms.. like here... ..and many of the cars, share many of the styling cues of the elise over there, not to mention the knowledge of most individuals of the elise compared to the US... (remember, europe is famous for all those a-class mercedes thingies, mini audis, smart cars, cycles etc.. and way too many butchered sedans turned into station wagons <g> so if anything an elise is tame and fits right in with traffic..) but in the US... that's another story... i'll stick to my big sedan for this country.. even though i only get about 12mpg, i'd rather live to see another day with mrs smith driving her 6 kids to soccer practice in her excursion... driving franctically at 60mph on city roads... :>

i've driven one, and actually thought of buying it. it's pretty cool, but i came to the conclusion it wouldn't make a good 2nd or even 3rd car for me. it does look cartoonish and imo, will not hold up with age. theres a replacement coming out soon, i'd wait for that maybe.

Last time I did a PDA De at Watkins Glen, two were there, not impressive at all.

It's a nice car. I agree with some of the comments here about the looks. It looks like a midget on steroids, a bit overdone. It's a personal thing, but it's what makes it look "cute" to me. It would look gross on a bigger car, say, like a 911 size car. I'm still trying to get a handle on what it would be like on the track. I won't have mine 'til May, so I've been going on feedback of current owners, as well as prior exposure to some on the track. It's no slouch. I'm no slouch either in my C4S on the track, and I've passed and been passed by track dedicated Elise's. It would do well on shorter curvy tracks like the one in PA, and not as well on tracks where HP and torque shine such as Watkins. At this time, I would put the track prowess of the Elise at about par with a well prepped track 944. Better than a Boxster S on the track, worse on the street. It's a toy car, best suited for weekend fun drives or track duty. Big mistake if you want it as a daily driver.