Pleased new owner of 2006 Elise

[BruceO]

I just bought my first Lotus after having wanted my own for no less than 4 decades. It's black with hardtop, Touring Pack, Sports Pack, and Starshield. This car is exceptional. It is an engineering masterpiece, a benchmark automobile, and an unparalleled hoot to drive. I can't say I've never driven anything like it before because I have. I've driven a '64 Elan, a Lotus 6, a '98 190 Motorsport, two Caterham Sevens, a Lotus 23, an Esprit Turbo, an Excel, and dealer demo Elises. Yet this seems the best Lotus yet. Someone in R&T wrote that the Elise is the "king of stick" and I must agree. The guys at C&D recently anointed the F430 as the "best handling sports car in the world." They're probably right because the Elise really is not a sports car. It's actually a street-legal racing car and is therefore in a class above. I chuckle every time I look into my garage and see this stunning little giant killer. It's all mine! My only regret is that the salt trucks have so contaminated the roads that I'll have to wait until spring before I dare venture forth again. Perhaps the title, "The Agony and the Ecstasy" would describe my present situation. Bruce O.

[Flap_Dragon]

Hi Bruce!

I drove my Elise a couple hundred miles today. I noticed a new rock chip on the upper front panel. I had an Ultra-Shield clear bra installed today on the front to protect; and what is it that Murphy's law states -- it will happen where you don't cover...

Still I see no reason to baby this machine. I bought a demo so that I could get beyond the used car 'flaws.' I hope to make this my practicle driver.

Cheers,
Anthony

[goelise]

Salt will eat the aluminum frame away, I would garage the Elise until the winter salt is gone.

[Flap_Dragon]

Hey Bruce,

I'm glad I live in AZ! Hardly any snow, so no salt. It must be 'driving' ya crazy not to run your car!

[BruceO]

We've had a warm spell with enough rain to clear the roads of salt in SLC. The salt has returned to the lake. I drove my Elise yesterday and today. Ahhhh, it's a fantastic car! I attended the unveiling of the new Fiorano at Steve Harris Import Motors this evening. Quite a shindig! The 599 GTB is a BIG car. I was proud to show up in my little black Elise where some friends and a few others wanted to check it out. I found the new Exige S out on the lot pretty exciting, moreso than the Fiorano. The Elise was a gas on the freeway heading home. It cuts through traffic like a giant slalom skier.
The forecast is for more snow this weekend, so my interlude with the car I think is over for a bit. 'Gotta get back in the Firebird T/A, a lead sled in comparison to the Lotus. It's nice to own one of Automobile Mag's 10 super stars for 2007.

[Flap_Dragon]

A Firebird T/A how appropriate! I drive my 944 on snowy days with Pirelli Z mud and snow. But on a light days the Lotus might be fun with LTS. But I'm head'n south toward Mexico!