I registered on the Autoweek web site to take a gander
at Paul's article and afterwards (looking for more
reading materials to read), I found this article on
the Lotus Elise which is currently trying to get EPA
approval for sale in the U.S. market.
It reminded me of all of the people asking "What would
Spitfire be like if it was still in production?" or "I
sure wish they made a modern Spitfire"
You can read it for yourself. But do not be fooled
into thinking that they have brought the Spitfire back
from the boneyard....this excerpt from an April 30th
article "Lotus Blossom for America?" is all about the
Elise...
"...The seating position is so low that youre looking
up at scooters, for Petes sake. The immediacy of the
suspensionso revered on the track becomes busy and
jolting on the commute. Inserting oneself into the
Elise requires an inelegant torsion of the torso that
would do a praying mantis proud. In our test vehicle,
the rear window rattled and buzzed. A defective
Clarion audio deck would illuminate but not function,
then later went full-blast and could not be turned
off. The luggage space is enough for a day-pack, but
forget the quick run to the airport or grocery store.
The pedals are tiny and wedged into a footwell better
measured for the aforementioned third-grader.
As appropriate for a British roadstereven one built
by a company owned by Malaysian intereststhe roof
leaked. At speed, a trickle would drop straight down
from the A-pillar onto the drivers knee. Worse was
the pond in the drivers seat after the Elise was
parked in a rainstorm.
First gear was recalcitrant at a stoplight. For those
with a freeway commute, the Elise gets squirrelly
above 80 mph with any sort of side wind. Other notes:
The mid- engined Elise suffers poor cooling in slow
traffic, prompting a toasty interior. The noise level
is nearly intolerable, requiring shouting to converse
with a passenger. Though giving a digital readout, the
fuel gauge was erratic, insisting we had used more
than 1.5 gallons of gas in 10 easy miles..."
Aside from the non-working radio and emblem peeling
off of the shift knob, myself or passengers of my car
have had all of those same issues with my Spitfire.
Not that the new Elise is exactly a powerhouse (an
emissions friendly 120 hp version is the base model)
but due to its svelt weight of 1565 lbs. the car
screams to 62 mph in just 5.7 secs. Very un-Spit-like.
I like it!
-Terry
Yahoo! Health - your guide to health and wellness
http://health.yahoo.com
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