A&Q about Lotus
Q:
First thread as a Lotus owner - a nice feeling. Only driving the Elise feels better. Mmmh, and before you think that some 50 hp less wouldn't be fun to drive, you might want to read this:
A:
Big congrats to you Michael, very nice car!! Enjoying as much as I told you you would!!
A:
Congrats. Hey there might be less HP, but at least you can drive it an any speed on the autoban.
A:
Originally Posted by megatron
Congrats. Hey there might be less HP, but at least you can drive it an any speed on the autoban.
I wish it would be that way, mega, but I guess that 85% or even more of the autobahn's total are limited in speed (130 kph or less). It's an easy way for administrations to fix their budgets. And the rest of it?: so much traffic.
You'd better go this way - and even for that the 'S' might be fast enough as long as you do not want to really race it.
A:
Originally Posted by zvezdah1
Big congrats to you Michael, very nice car!! Enjoying as much as I told you you would!!
It is true, Chris; the Elise is different from any other car. Jumping out of it and even into the Alfa Spider almost feels like entering and driving a bus.
Here is a picture of the dashboard. It is different from the one in the federal Elise, not because it would be a European but because there are no airbags. This car came with the touring pack and nothing but that. Airbags are included in the super touring pack but this will combine other features as well.
Note: no A/C. This can be ordered as a stand-alone option, but why should one order an A/C for Germany when there is a soft top to be dropped? Another 13 kg less.
A:
Originally Posted by ms355
I wish it would be that way, mega, but I guess that 85% or even more of the autobahn's total are limited in speed (130 kph or less). It's an easy way for administrations to fix their budgets. And the rest of it?: so much traffic.
Really.. I didn't notice that when I was in Germany last fall driving from Frankfurt to Colmar (France) on A5. I will be making the same drive in two week. I will pay attention this time.
BTW... Nice wheels
A:
Originally Posted by megatron
BTW... Nice wheels
Well, I like the ones that you usually have on yours (probably with the sports pack?), but I'm getting used to mine. Theses ones here are standard or come with the touring pack.
That does let me believe: there must be touring wheels and a touring suspension!
A:
Originally Posted by megatron
Really.. I didn't notice that when I was in Germany last fall driving from Frankfurt to Colmar (France) on A5. I will be making the same drive in two week. I will pay attention this time.
In case the A5 is crowded (and it often is), you might better drive along the E25 through France. It runs parallel to the A5, probably 15 km west of it, is limited in speed but an easy drive.
A:
Love the alcantera dashboard!
A:
Originally Posted by megatron
Really.. I didn't notice that when I was in Germany last fall driving from Frankfurt to Colmar (France) on A5. I will be making the same drive in two week. I will pay attention this time.
BTW... Nice wheels
You did go in the fall and not during the school break; you went at a better time. Michael is right though, there are a lot of sections of the Autobahn now that are limited, and if it is not limited, then you have to contend with all the traffic. If you really want to do some high speed runs then you need to do it at 2:00 am. If you remember the Discovery channel episode on the Autobahn, that is when the Ruf test driver got that 911 turbo up to 217 mph.
It is ironic how Germany has great roads, great drivers (better trained anyway), many places without speed limits, but they have so much traffic it is difficult to take advantage of. Here in the US we have so-so roads, horrible drivers, speed limits everywhere, but we have many places where you can drive for an hour without seeing another car. It's just not fair.
A:
Originally Posted by zvezdah1
Love the alcantera dashboard!
Me too, why can't we get that over here. We have one of the cheapest looking dash boards known to man; the plastic parts anyway.
A:
Originally Posted by 05EliseNM
Me too, why can't we get that over here. We have one of the cheapest looking dash boards known to man; the plastic parts anyway.
I agree with your comments regarding the Autobahn traffic. When travelling in France my average speed is by far higher than in Germany although they have a 100% speed limit.
Regarding the dashboard: one odd thing is that the radio is far away from the driver. You can reach it, but not easily. BTW: the Alpine radio is like impurity in the Elise. Chrome and blue colors do not fit in there. I will replace it with the Harman Becker Cascade which provides navigation, phone and bluetooth connection.
A:
Originally Posted by 05EliseNM
Me too, why can't we get that over here. We have one of the cheapest looking dash boards known to man; the plastic parts anyway.
I think the Lotus trim shop offers alcantera covered dashes, don't know the cost. Alcantera was not considered for the US market because of concerns of fading in the strong sun, they tested it in az and apparently didn't hold up well.
A:
Originally Posted by zvezdah1
I think the Lotus trim shop offers alcantera covered dashes, don't know the cost. Alcantera was not considered for the US market because of concerns of fading in the strong sun, they tested it in az and apparently didn't hold up well.
There is a guy here in Albuquerque who apparently does top notch interior work; I bet he could cover the dash in alcantara for me, I can't imagine it would be that difficult for a professional to do this. Also, I have the blisters on my dash from the AZ sun (got those the first week I had the car in Scottsdale); maybe I can get a new dash from the dealer (they already offered this under warranty), and have this guy do the alcantara, and then have the dealer install it for me under warranty; do you think the dealer would go for this? I will ask them tomorrow.
I also have an extra center console that I got used from FVMC. While my car is up at Livermore for then next month, I could have him do the dash and center console for me, and then later he could do the tear drop portion of the door panel along with the edges of the seats. I'm just thinking out loud now, what do you think of this idea?