Here is a review on the Elise....

http://autos.msn.com/advice/article....tentid=4022486

 

Saw it in Car and Driver magazine. The body is awesome but the enterior is pretty bland. You pay $40,000 and sit on cloth and have manual mirrors

 

We are not exactly sitting on the most comfortable seats ourselves though!

 

Well, first off, if anybody thinks parts and accessories are hard to find for Crossfire, imagine how hard they'll be to find for this thing!

Secondly, I like this line:

In all three settings I discovered what the Lotus rep first told me was true: "You can't drive this car without it putting a smile on your face."

But that applies to every situation I've encountered in my Crossfire so far... 8)

 

Actually, even though I've ordered one I think it's EXTERIOR styling is it's weakest point...it kind of looks like a Matchbox toy, and in point of fact the car is actually a little smaller than a Miata. I'm not getting one for it's looks.

As for the interior, I can understand what you're saying, but remember, this car is a purpose built, there is nothing on it or in it that does not add to it's raw performance. If anything, the US version is PLUSH compared to the UK versions, which until recently didn't have remote locks or power windows as options, and AC and radios were options.

It's the interior that I think will chase off a lot of the guys with the car on order that are used to Porsches, BMW's, Nissan Z's, and perhaps even Crossfires that truly want some level of comfort to go with the 'go.' I know guys with the car ordered who plan to use it as a daily driver, I think they will be rethinking that within a month of owning the car. Getting out of one is a REAL challenge, and most women who are impressed that you own a Lotus will ask, after the first ride, for you to never bring that car on a date again. The door sill is actually over 5 inches wide, and you get down into the car, meaning getting out requires getting up and OVER the sill!

Dave, as for accessories. Well, I guarantee you won't see illuminated door sills for this, but the car has some accessories and options already available from Lotus: Hard top, upgraded wheels, suspension upgrade, brakes upgrade, different seating surfaces...stuff like that.

Aftermarket tuners have superchargers in the works that will be available by the end of the year. It's potentially cost effective, because any Celica owner is also a potential customer for the system. Lotus has already published that in their development they've determined the engine can easily be modded to get 300hp, and guys on the biggest Elise board are already talking about what they're going to do with their cars in terms of upgrades.

There are some accessories available already because the car, essentially unchanged in many respects, has been on the market in Europe for four years or so, and is also the base for the Opel Vauxhall, for which aftermarket stuff has been developed. No doubt some of that stuff will cross the great pond. Did you know that for a brief time GM and Lotus were having serious talks of franchising Saturn to build a Saturn badged car based on the Elise?

Lotus will be sponsoring two driving schools for owners: one at Road Atlanta, the other at an undetermined site on the west coast. Plans are to sponsor an owners series of races at tracks around the country. Those kinds of things always spawn aftermarket stuff.

Lots of these cars (relatively speaking, of course) will be showing up at Autocrosses, that kind of thing breeds aftermarket bits as well.

Even though Lotus Europas, Elans, Sevens, etc are almost never seen on the road these days, there are several companies in the US specializing in tuner parts for these cars, and they're doing quite well. Dave Bean in California and R & D in Pennsyvania come to mind. There will be stuff for the Elise hitting the market almost as soon as the cars land...which supposedly the first shipment for dealer demos has happened in New England this past week.

Even though the top line convertible Xfire will MSRP for exactly the same as the Elise, they are two very different cars with different purposes, and comparing the two isn't fair to either. One is a sporty roadster that provides ample performance grins and still coddles, the other is a road going Formula Atlantic car that appeals to guys for whom performance is the ONLY thing important in a car...everything else be damned.

Oh...another topic...although I'm no longer a Crossfire owner, I'd suggest that if a club is formed to rethink the idea of not allowing non-owners. MOST marque clubs, including Ferrari, Lotus, etc., do allow non-owners, if for no other reason that the membership dues they provide helps keep the boat afloat, and helps pay for the amenities that make being a member of a national club worthwhile.

Maybe different window stickers designating owners and/or charter members, but if you limit to owners it might be difficult to make ends meet.

Just a thought.

 

From what I've seen written, there is really nothing more to this "new club" other than a sticker. To my knowledge no one has begun the process of starting a "sanctioned club". If they have, nothing has been said publicly about it. As it stands now, the "new club" is a "Virtual Crossfire Club" using this site as it's means of communication. It has no charter, by-laws, elected officials stated purpose etc etc. It would be great if someone with the know-how could point us in the right direction of how to start a real sanctioned Crossfire Club that can be taken seriously as other car clubs are.

 

AZ....

I would suggest the National PT Cruiser and/or 300M clubs would be a good place to start for pointers. They both seem active outside the virtual world, the Cruiser club perhaps more so. And also would be marque sympathetic.

Perhaps even joining forces with one or the other as an affiliate. I know when I had my MG, the American MGB Association allowed all MG's in.

Just a thought. There are some tangible perks to car clubs. Good luck.

One thing one fellow did some time ago was to start a Lotus Esprit register. It wasn't a club so much as simply a registry to start tracking the cars, and each person that submitted info about his/her car was given a couple of attractive Lotus Esprit Register window stickers.

I don't know what ultimately became of the effort, or how many cars were finally registered, but it was neat to get the sticker and a few other perks.