Local Dealer has 13 new Lotus Elises sitting on his lot

Don't care. As prices fall, I will pick one up. Mine will be a Blue on tan with touring package, LS and TC.

 

They are pretty neat little cars. I should say that that are almost as wide as a late model Esprit. Our local Lotus club had an outing last weekend and there were about 6 of them there and they really tear it up.

 

i agree mark, i had a last test driving one, but the getting in and the seat comfort were horrible for me...i do have screws in my hip from a bad accident and i am sensitive to less than perfect car seat, but the lotus seat was not back or hip friendly...the car is a great weekend and track toy...i would not use it for transportation...very small and light..not exactly a safe or comfortable freeway or commuter car....great handling and very quick with the driver contected to the car and the road...but at this price point, a porsche boxster s or a used 996 or a c6 vette are cars that can be driven everyday also.....

 

I'm with Omar. They're already in the high 30s on pricing, so I figure come christmas / winter time we'll be seeing mid 30s. A steal of a car at that price.

--Dan

 

I got to sit in an Elise S1 not so long ago, and once I was inside, it was nice and cosy . (I have to say I'm skinny as hell)

 

They are selling, Lotus just annouced that due to record sales in the US they are bringing the Exige over as well.

 

The smarter dealers keep their excess inventory off-site to create the illusion of strong demand and tight supply...

 

I was in austin a few weeks ago and they had at least 10 sitting in their shop. My office window overlooks the San Antonio dealer and last week they had at least 8+ sitting in a row.

I think the lotus dealerships over sold the deposit thing to people and told them you dont like it we can flip it for you and you can make a profit.

 

Considering they were averaging about 7 cars per month (84 cars in the whole country in a whole year) before the Elise, any Elise sales number is going to look like a record. Truth is they miscalculated US interest in the car and shipped more than they should have.

 

I thought about pulling the trigger & buying one. I thought about a Noble also. My car buddy gurus keep telling me to wait 6 months to year, That both will be MUCH cheaper. So I don't know, hate to wait, but hate to spend 10k extra when I don't have too.

 

I am too tall for them and the looks don't do much for me

 

they look like fun little cars. Unfortunatly the Canadian Transportation board thingy wont let the Elise into canada. The rear kinda turns me off, but if I drove one, im sure my mind would change

 

That would hurt Elise prices quite a bit, I'm guessing.

Elise is almost an alternative to a motorcycle, not a car, in terms of how you'd use it - probably too extreme for most of the guys who can afford them.

 

You should see the Lotus dealership here in Hermosa Beach (Southern CA). It used to be a BMW dealership, and they built a new building and Lotus took over the old one. They probably have 20 of these suckers on the lot, and they're building an even bigger building!

 

I see a Krypton Green with Black Exige wheels in my stocking!!

 

L=LOADS
O=OF
T=TROUBLE
U=USUALLY
S=SERIOUS

Had a few esprits in the eightys but they seem to of got worse now

 

Just a matter of time until the honeymoon is over!

 

Those things handle like a dream, and according to a buddy of mine who picked one up a couple of months ago, you can buy tuner upgrades that will increase the hp from 190 to 300. I can't even imagine.

The only problem is that I felt a little like Magnum driving that thing around. The top of my forehead was sticking out over the top of the windscreen....

Nice car if you are a smaller gent...

 

Toyota engine.

 

I just sat in the driver's seat of one two days ago... I was surprised to find I fit - very snugly - but I was in there and could shift (if I wasn't in the dealership).

A few months back I sat in the passenger seat of one with the targa on and it was rather ridiculous: shoulder against the window, leg up on the shift knob, head too close to the top... but with the roof off it was much easier to manage. At least I didn't roll onto the ground getting out like Robert_C did! That was classic.

For less than a Corvette, it is an entertaining sportscar option. I think the micro size is the probably the biggest turnoff for US buyers - we're fat and tall with wide roads to use and 70% of the new vehicles sold (SUV's) could roll right over the Lotus. Worse yet, the lady in the SUV listening to the radio, drinking a fair trade double mochalatteespressochino, talking on her hands-free cell phone while putting her mascara on might not even notice.

 

don't think it will be long b4 a nice used one w/ low mileage can be picked up for mid to upper 30's

 

It was an easy mistake to make though. Dealers had something like 2 years of deposits in hand.

Unfortunately, it sounds like a lot of those deposits didn't become hard sales once people truly understood what "tiny, pure sports car" really means.

 

A steal indeed, At that price I may pick one up myself.