Lotus is a better car than ANY Ferrari...

Transmission is the same, except it has the T-sport ratios from Europe. I don't believe they are all that different from the U.S. version. AFAIK, they are fairly reliable.

The shift assembly and cables are completely different so the two don't really feel the same.

 

Tend to agree. The car has gotten tremendous attention this past year, but eventually most people will know what they are and how much they cost. Then again, Lotus is fairly obscure to most people.

 

No arguments from me - glad it is working out for some. I did not buy the car for novelty, but it is sometimes a nice perk compared to other $40k cars. I routinely spend time talking with strangers that have stopped me in parking lots wondering if they should buy the car. I would speculate that Elise owners have done more to sell the car than Lotus USA marketing.

So I take it you have one of these as well. Are you on Elisetalk?

A few girls have told me that picking them up on a first date in a Ferrari (or similarly flashy car) makes it look like you are trying too hard.

 

Come see me on any freeway.

12 cylinders or walk

 

Who cares what they cost? Doesn't matter if it cost $20k or $200k (goes for any car), every car (exception being the Mclaren F1 and Enzo) depreciates. Besides, a lot of us bought the car for performance, not because of what it costs (or is perceived to have cost).

Cost/value of a car doesn't increase/decrease the desireability of a car (to a car fan).

 

He shoots, He scores!!!

 

Very interesting topic you have here... in my own finding the best car to pick up women is a Porsche 911 Turbo Black on Black. I did a test a few years ago about it with a Ferrari F355 Blk/Blk and a Esprit Wht/Beige also I added an SL500 Blk/Blk into. The 911 caused best reaction and best pick up car where the SL came in a close 2nd. The F-car caused reservation and the Esprit didn't work much but caused a good reaction at valet parkings, more so than the 911 or the SL.

When talking to some women at a "gentlemans club" the car topic came up and this is what a girl there told me: "most guys I know that come in with an F-car don't own it, they rent it". I was not in Vegas, ok, I was in Texas when this comment happen.

I guess it has to do with where you are, I bet in places like Beverly Hills or The Hamptons nothing could beat an F-car, Bentley or Aston Martin. My testing was in Houston and Dallas and the 911 came on top on an average lifestyle.

 

Totally agree.

But this topic isn't about car enthuisiasts is it? It's about TestShoot claiming it gets you a lot of women. If these women are car enthuisiasts, then you've won on two counts. However, I would think they are partially interested because it looks somewhat expensive. Maybe I'm misinterpreting it and the women don't care about that aspect.

However my point is that with time, the car will become more common and people who don't know cars will stop thinking it costs over $100k.

Does this diminish my enjoyment of the car? Heck no. I put my order in after driving the 120hp rattle bucket test demo from Europe. I've been following Lotus for far too long to think that way. The old saying is that a used Ferrari will have 1500 miles on it, but a used Lotus will have 15000.

- J

 

Exactly, and he was just being cute about it...because that day the Lotus grabbed more eyes then the F-cars. I don't think he was trying to assert an honest-to-goodness scientific law...in fact, the title was just an eye-grabber most likely.

Trying to rate the appeal of one car over another is like trying to rate which musical artist is better then another.

Frankly, the kind of woman I'm most impressed with is the kind that looks past the car and at the driver. If a woman won't love ya when you're poor then that's a woman you may not want to be with...for more, then...say...a few passionate nights. Long nights, fun nights....but then that's it. You keep her phone number just in case she left something in your car and you wanna contact her to get it back.

I have to go now...

 

I second that!
i too have to go now!

 

I've driven that Esprit before. A friend of a friend in Atlanta owned it. Had the paperwork to prove it, it was the first turbo...

 

Not the first turbo, they made factory turbo Esprits since the ESSEX/S3 in 1980/81. Actually, the first turbo Esprits were the 25 Bell and Colvill S2 pre-production prototypes that they sold in 78/79. Said to have a top speed of 150mph and are rumored to be the reason why Lotus turboed subsiquent Esprits.

Shah