A&Q about Lotus
Q:
Okay, I got lost. Are we mad that Lotus introduced a more powerful model or are we mad that Lotus kept denying the Exige S was coming here? Help me direct my anger.
A:
Originally Posted by Allan Gibbs
Okay, I got lost. Are we mad that Lotus introduced a more powerful model or are we mad that Lotus kept denying the Exige S was coming here? Help me direct my anger.
For me it is simply on price . . .
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will the other rumor about a factory super charger retrofit for existing Exige owners come true as well?
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The Noble is nice, but since it appears money is no object, I'd go for the Saturn 5 rocket. It pulls way more G's than a Noble could even think of and the top speed is out of this world (no pun intended). A Noble is nice but it cost a fortune, same with the F430 and Poreche you mentioned. Face it, Lotus has a niche market, and in that realm, they rule.
Originally Posted by LotusFamily
Oh well, might as well throw in to.....
We got screwed on our Elise in 05 (told the Exige wasnt comming)
Got screwed on our 4 Exiges in 06 (told S wasnt comming)
No problems with the 04 Final Ed. Esprit
Soooooo here is our answer, we are done and out , we refused to take delivery of our final (4th) Exige and have sold the (3rd) one off already. Prob will keep the remaining 2 cars as drivers/track cars for the girls in the family, but thats all for us. In two years we have ordered/purchased 6 brand new Lotus cars and have nothing but regret with regard to being lied to, and one-upped by cars we knew existed but were told was never going to come. So your prob. all right, shame on us for being taken advantage of and believing what we were told (didnt think I was going to be lied to), but this is the last time it happends. Congrats Lotus on pushing away a family that helped your business to the tune of more than $300K in the last two years it's the last you will recieve from us. For everyone attending the Club 111 Dinner with Lotus' people at the South East run be prepaired, it might get a bit messy this year
The funny thing was when our dealer found out we were ordering (2) Noble m400's and an Ariel Atom 300 they asked "would it change your mind if we told you the Exige S was comming" Oh man that still makes me laugh.
By the way for those of you considering the Noble, out of approx. 74 stateside owners I have contacted, I have only talked with (1) upset/unsatisfied individual who likley had a bad instal from a non-recomended shop (he is a member here), so Im not sure who said Nobles are unreliable but that is just untrue, two of them just finished the 2006 Us. One Lap in 7th and 10th overall and the cars have local and overseas awards coming out of their @ss' on the track and from the motoring press. The only prob. is "track time heat soak" which can be handled with proper modifications should you be running the cars under race situations. Oh yes then there is the fact that they will kick the dog S*%t out of an Exige or most any other car priced under $400K (check Autocar's 2005 Best Driver's Car awards. as and example, in one (1) lap around Rockingham the 240R was 5 sec. slower, Ford gt 4 sec off, Ferarri F430 4 sec off, Porsche Carerra S 4 sec off, and the list continues.) Thats a car worth the money.
The scary thing is we arnt mad (though we prob. should be) just kinda numb and moving on. Who can you trust in life is the ultimate question , guess we are finding out who you cant. Feel free to flame up and yell about my post now and how Im wrong for feeling this way and stupid for buying like we did, it doesnt much matter to us anymore. But remember there are at least 200 Exige owners that prob. feel a bit of what I have just said so the simple fact remains, that something is wrong, loyal people have been cheated to a certain degree, and if this practice continues enough people will follow suit and go to another company for their kicks. See ya round, The Miller Family.
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You guys are killing me.
Why you thought there wasn't a chance Lotus would bring the S over here is naive.
They make an Exige S - Did R&D designing it and spent $$$ - why wouldn't they bring it to the U.S. I've heard it several times from Lotus employees that they can't tell us stuff. They are VERY up front about this saying they are small and need the cash and don't want people to wait. I'm sure they have all kinds of good stuff they're working on.
The SC rumor has floated around for months and there were those of us saying it would happen and you guys kept saying no.
Now - take a deep deep breath.
Most of you are doing the pattern all over again. Lotus will probably have a supercharge retro-fit kit. It may be expensive, but you have the option. I would guess it won't be available until 07 and your dealer will still probably say it won't happen because - THEY WANT YOU TO BUY A NEW CAR.
I personally like my Exige better with the black bits and I will probably add the SC next year and be very happy.
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Originally Posted by mark.r
For me it is simply on price . . .
With only 200 units coming, I have serious doubts that you will be able to pick up a 2007 Exige S for the sticker price. My guess is that most dealers will tack on a $5,000 "limited availability" surcharge.
I think you may be able to get an `07 "S" for sticker in about a year... when the `08s arrive.
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Angry Exige owners. Order an S ecu and get a SC from Lotus or Tripoint. The S motor has no internal mods.
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Originally Posted by Flash G
With only 200 units coming, I have serious doubts that you will be able to pick up a 2007 Exige S for the sticker price. My guess is that most dealers will tack on a $5,000 "limited availability" surcharge.
I think you may be able to get an `07 "S" for sticker in about a year... when the `08s arrive.
there goes that scarcity principle fear again...except that 57K+options+$5k= an absurd price that no one will pay for a more powerful hardtop 40k elise. My prediction: give it 2 months, 50% new ones will be on lotus dealer lots, 25% will be with true enthusiasts, the other 25% will be on ebay. Fact remains: exige is a race car for the road, and most can't stomach it for every day driving. If you like the car: buy it, it's not collectable, it's not going up in value, and no dealer will be able to tack on a surcharge. (even though "a fool is born every day" even George W said "fool me once... and, and shame on ...err, me?, Fool me twice..err, you can't derrr???fool me agin?"
A:
I'm torn. I just lust for the torque (that i've never test driven) and more power (like Tim Taylor). But when it comes to how I actually use my N/A Exige, I think I should be fine. Mountain roads....I'm already exceeding the grip of the tires.
Am I angry? No. Would I have waited if I knew the Exige S was coming? YES!
That said, I hope for a future retrofit SC, and if that's not coming, I'll be visiting ForcedFed in the future. For now, I COMPLETLY enjoy my N/A Exige. It kicks a$$!
Cheers,
Skottoman
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I agree with the statement that thinking the "S" or any FI version of the Elise/Exige was not coming to the states was naive.
There litterally hundreds of post.....begging Lotus to come with a SC version and now that they finally produced a US market version, owners are upset?
The dealers doing what they do best...that's sell cars. As a consumer....it's your/my responsibility to know the car as good if not better than the person who is selling me the car. Every car I've purchased, I've known more about the history, the future and the specs better than the dealer selling it to me.
Hind sight is 20/20 but in the car business that is ever changing.... take some responsibility for your own purchase IMO.
I've loved the Lotus for many years and if not for the fact the Navy was sending me to Japan for 2 years, I would buy the car right now.
To everyone who owns the car in whatever trim....I envy you. It's a great car. I think a lot of what is causing the discontent is that the Exige owners want to have the best of the best of whatever particular model that they drive..whether it be the M series, the S series or what have you..which is fine but if your going to play that game....it's going to come down to the all mighty dollar.
Getting the car you really want is a patience game and eventually you have to pull the trigger and make the purchase. That's what I did with my S2000. I researched the history and the future production to the best of my ability and ended up with the 04 2.2 liter AP2 version which I am very estatic about. The 06 has drive by wire and stability control and other creature comforts that I don't have. I'm fine with that.
Those owners that pulled the trigger and recently bought the Exige....you have a freaking sweet car! Enjoy the drive....
Tim
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Umm - you guys do realize that the existence/availability of the Exige S in no way lessens the inherent fun or performance of your Elise or Exige, right?
Sure, I understand that it might lessen the relative value the the Exige was for you, and that it may be an issue for people racing them if it affects the classing. However, the guys saying that they're going to throw in the towel and sell all of their toys because someone will have a faster car than them seem a little silly, no? I can't keep up with the Joneses so I quit? Lotus pissed me off so I'm not going to enjoy their product, I'll go buy one of the cars I passed up before?
Sports cars are about the exhilaration that comes from the connection between man, machine, and the road. No road car provides that connection more than the Elise and Exige. If you're mad that Lotus or your dealer didn't tell you what you wanted to know go for a blistering drive around your favorite route and get it out of your system, but don't give up and walk away - and for god's sake don't forget what a great car you have in your garage.
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Quotes of the day for me. Yes, I do have an awesome car in my garage. Hell, I just went and sat in it for no reason. I promise I will have no less fun in my N/A Exige knowing there are 'S' Exiges out there.
Cheers,
Skottoman
Originally Posted by JWA
Umm - you guys do realize that the existence/availability of the Exige S in no way lessens the inherent fun or performance of your Elise or Exige, right?
- and for god's sake don't forget what a great car you have in your garage.
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Originally Posted by skottoman
Yes, I do have an awesome car in my garage. Hell, I just went and sat in it for no reason. I promise I will have no less fun in my N/A Exige knowing there are 'S' Exiges out there.
Bravo sir! (and great color choice!)
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Any dealers want to chime in and let us know when they actually heard that Lotus was bringing the Exige S to the US?
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Originally Posted by KingOfJericho
Any dealers want to chime in and let us know when they actually heard that Lotus was bringing the Exige S to the US?
Yea, the whole thing is rather strange. I still have not really taken it all in basically cause other than the linked articles and discussion here there has been nothing. I think AgentX said she had one coming in November.
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Originally Posted by mark.r
Yea, the whole thing is rather strange. I still have not really taken it all in basically cause other than the linked articles and discussion here there has been nothing. I think AgentX said she had one coming in November.
Most dealers will have them in Oct. My real question is when they found out it was coming in the first place.
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I intend to purchase the Exige S and have a returnable deposit with my dealer. I was suprised to find out they would recieve 2 cars, 1 in Nov & 1 Dec, this is great but I am not ready to buy until Jan/Feb. Does anyone know how many S's are coming In 07? I would like to order a car with my spes.
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I'm feeling quite a bit better today. I like the black accent pieces on my N/A Exige and although I would always welcome more power, I've never felt that the car needed more.
I was pretty aggravated yesterday, but I sort of realize now that Lotus hasn't taken anything away from the car I already own.
I just think I need to spend a little less time on EliseTalk. This place makes me crazy.
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Originally Posted by Exigent
I'm feeling quite a bit better today.
I was earlier but I am again getting pissed. I was driving with a coworker a few minutes ago and a Toyota Supra drove by and we both immediately said "wow!" but when it drove by and we could see it was a N/A Supra and not a twin turbo we were both disappointed. I can't help but see this happen with the Exige. The resale of the standard Exige will be a fraction of the S and to me it's BS. This car was sold to me under the guise of exclusivity and that is now false.
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Lotus should make a s/c kit coupon for 6000.oo and mail them to all 06 Exige owners. This would be verified by your vin number.This coupon would stay with the car and could be used by the next owner.This would stablize the market overnight and go a long way to mend some bad feelings between Lotus and its U.S customer base