A&Q about Lotus
Q:
From the forum rules...
Spamming and "one trick pony" posters. Don't flood the forum with posts about the same thing. Make your point. Agree or disagree, respond to counterpoints... then move on.
I think twelve posts saying exactly the same thing kinda fits the above.
"The community on Elisetalk" is not monolithic, and nobody should presume to speak for everyone. I welcome zen garage, and would rent a car from him when I travel to Chicago -- except I don't think he's close to O'Hare.
I'm also thinking of doing this:
They're all great cars, and guess what, I can handle them.
A:
Ok, let's drop it. For now.
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I rented the Ferrari 355 convertible on the Las Vegas strip last year, prior to buying the Elise. It was in pretty rough shape in terms of engine smoothness. From what I understand, the Ferraris spent a fair amount of time in the shop.
As a car enthusiast, I appreciate the fact that there are brave entrepreneurs out there willing risk renting these exotic cars.
Larry's a good guy. And we all know there is no shortage of strong opinions around here.
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Hey Zen,
good luck with the endeavour! BTW, any plans on an elisetalk discount of some sort?
oh and i just noticed that that description of the car on your site isn't exactly correct...
Equipments:
Air Conditioning, Power Steering/Brakes, In Dash CD Changer, Power Leather Seats, Power Windows, Cruise Control
even the AC comment is iffy.
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I wish we would all just get along, afterall I like Larry *and* Ron. Larry bleeds yellow and green that's all. Ron is a great guy and a true car enthusiast, I suspect that if you two met in a social gathering none of this stuff would've transpired, but that's just my inkling.
Honestly, I don't mind that our wonderful cars are being rented, it's not like every tom, dick, and harry is going to be able to throw down $400+ or $600+ to rent them at a drop of a hat.
The considerable cost, plus the plain old "111ishness" of our cars will automatically serve as self-selectors for would-be renters. Folks that cannot physically fit or move to fit into the cars obviously won't be renting them..
I'm thinking of doing a profile/interview with Ron on this idea to see how it all turns out. This truly is an interesting twist.
I don't know how this will play out in the future (e.g. WTF is Lotus corp doing?) but its truly not every day you can rent a Lotus.
Exclusivity? No worries, it's not like Lotus is *upping* production. I see this as an experiment and a way for Lotus to sell remaining 2006 models. That is it.
Perhaps some parallels can/will be drawn to the old Hertz GT-500s (and incidentally the new Shelby GT-Hs).
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I don't see anything wrong with zen's posts or with the fact that he's renting Elises, or with the fact that he's advertising here (many vendors do, and believe it or not, prospective Elise owners could benefit from his service).
Larry, you are out of line in my opinion. The Elise IS just a car, and zen's Elises aren't your cars. Let it go.
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Steve, you have strong opinions on everything. This is my strong opinion. I won't "let it go."
But thanks for thinking of me.
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Originally Posted by Moto44
I rented the Ferrari 355 convertible on the Las Vegas strip last year, prior to buying the Elise. It was in pretty rough shape in terms of engine smoothness. From what I understand, the Ferraris spent a fair amount of time in the shop.
As a car enthusiast, I appreciate the fact that there are brave entrepreneurs out there willing risk renting these exotic cars.
Larry's a good guy. And we all know there is no shortage of strong opinions around here.
Thanks, Moto44.
A:
Originally Posted by LARRY22331
Steve, you have strong opinions on everything. This is my strong opinion. I won't "let it go."
Larry, I try to keep my opinions to threads that are open for such discussion. This thread is not about what people think about Elise rentals, it's a vendor's ad for his Elises for rent. I think you have the right to state your opinion, but maybe you should do so in another thread on that topic instead of here.
BTW, the majority of my problem is with the fact that you question zen's right to post on ET, not with the fact that you don't like rental Elises.
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Originally Posted by LARRY22331
I am not an idiot. You don't know me so watch your mouth.
I'm not wrong about this and I care about these cars.
I am not narrow-minded.
A putz? Maybe.
I hate seeing these cars trashed.
I went over to a rental place in Beverly Hills recently and checkout two of these cars that were (mind you, were) rentals.
They were insanely beaten up.
Look, if I'm being harsh, and you don't like it, that's your problem.
A putz?
Wow.
Big word.
My point is this is not a save the whales thing, they are sports cars and you are bashing a guy trying to make a living and make people happy. 2 cars got thrashed, big deal, make a sign and picket the B.H. rental place.
I own and race a Viper, 2,000 a year made. Probably 5 times more rented then an Elise and 10 times more likely to get wrecked, big deal, it makes your car rarer
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Ron, why not give renters an information sheet with a link to this thread!?!
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Originally Posted by transio
Larry, I try to keep my opinions to threads that are open for such discussion. This thread is not about what people think about Elise rentals, it's a vendor's ad for his Elises for rent. I think you have the right to state your opinion, but maybe you should do so in another thread on that topic instead of here.
BTW, the majority of my problem is with the fact that you question zen's right to post on ET, not with the fact that you don't like rental Elises.
What?
Are you making this up?
A vendor's thread?
That's B.S. and you know it.
Since when is this a vendor's forum at all?
No.....if he wants to tell us every thing about his renters life, then I will feel free to comment on it.
......
__________________
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Zen,
Good luck with the Elise program. I'll send my brother-in-law over to rent one so he won't keep bugging me to drive mine when he's out here visiting! I imagine the folks pre-disposed to rent one will know a thing or two about little sports cars before plunking down their dough. Maybe a quick litmus test would be in order, though. When someone comes in to rent one, just ask "Do you know where the engine is?" If they know, let 'em go. I'd rent a Smart if I had the chance. They look like the perfect car to find that last on-street parking spot in Chicago!
Tom
A:
Originally Posted by EldersburgElise
Ron, why not give renters an information sheet with a link to this thread!?!
I would think some kind of run down on cornering, and safety would be advisable if not legally mandatory when renting high performance vehicles !
I know when I rented stupid little ATVs for the day up in Pismo Dunes I had to sit through a 15 minute course on off road saftey and etiquette and then demonstrate that I knew how to clutch and restart the machine. And when I went to the kart track I had to watch a 20 minute video on track saftey and the dangers in cornering /braking. So I was shocked when I rented the Elise from Rent A Vette they handed me the keys and said see ya tomorrow ! I was actually quite nervous for about the first 4 hours of driving because I knew nothing about the car (neither did the rental clerk) . Then it stalled out on me at a busy intersection and again in heavy traffic ! I was sitting there turning the key .Then I realized oh ****e start button! no wait imobilizer thingy , aaaaaah stop honking at me !
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Heh Zen, can you open a place near Deal's Gap, so I can rent an Elise and drive it on The Dragon?!
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Zen I would be interested in renting for a day are you in the city or burbs, where are your rates?
Larry, I would be interested to find out what else you find morally/ethically wrong, I am sure it is quite a list.
I think this is a great idea, considering that the Lotus dealer doesn't offer much of a test drive and I would like to rent the car for a couple of days before buying one. Or since I decided not to buy the elise I can rent it every once in a while to enjoy it anyways.
Perhaps this site has gone to the elitist...
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Larry, you should start a Save the Elises webpage, a non-profit to save Elises in need...
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JWA,
I hate the idea of renting these cars. You figured that out.
I'm making it known.
If the car rental man starts calling me names, he is asking for a reponse.
C'mon. This is Elisetalk. Everybody has a bloody opinion about everything. Strong opinions. Opinions that last hundreds of responses.
JWA, if you don't think it matters, that's fine...
I do.
If people keep writing me their opinions, I will respond, like this witty gem about "Save the Elises."
Nothing out of the ordinary. Just opinions and odd humor.
Why don't you stop taking me so seriously?
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Sooner or later there was going to be a thread that made me put LARRY on my ignore list. This is the one.
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Note: I deleted my post after I saw that I missed the third page where transio and others covered what I was saying and Larry discussed and them covered it. Larry must have caught it before I deleted it. Sorry for any confusion.