Paul

First off, not to take anything away From RHD Soarers new purchase, I am glad he got the car he wanted. So don't take this as directed at him, although it is loosely inspired by that.

Anyway, perhaps it is just me. But I really do not get the attraction to these vehicles. I would class these as things like the Elise, the Boxster, the H2. Vehicles that come from companies that for the past 20 years have not made a car that retailed for less then 70 Grand. I can kind of get the attraction to the elise. It is sporty for sure, but it seems to me that for a Lotus, a lot of corners where cut. To me, the Esprit is the quintessential Lotus. It's luxurious, fast, and handles amazing. It was also beautiful. The Elise, and the Exige just don't do much for me aesthetically.

The Boxster, even more so. I do like the look of the Boxster, but only because it really looks like a 911 just curvier. Its a cut down, stripped down Porsche without the power of a Porsche.

The H2 is the worst of them of course. Take a $200,000 military truck, and turn it into a weak SUV, with more plastic then metal.

I understand wanting to own an exotic car. If I ever hit the magic lottery (which is the one where you don't actually play but someone calls you up and tell you that you just won a few hundred million dollars) I am not going home until I have a Black 911 TT. However do these cars still retain their exotic status? Or are they a way for Joe Average making 65k a year to feel like a movie star? Around Ghent and Va Beach, I see more Boxsters then S2000's, they are so common. I have only seen a few Elises so far, maybe 2 or 3 on the street, but I am betting in the next year or so they become a lot more common. There are more H2's on the street then Expeditions. I think cars like the Z3, and Z4 from BMW are in this same league. I just don't get the attraction of the common, affordable exotic.

chad

If you don't like them, don't buy them. It's as simple as that. Auto makers made certain vehicles to appeal to certain markets. Imagine if we could all afford a viper, then what purpose would dodge have producing the neon ? While shortcuts are taken in some aspects of the production process, the real reasoning behind the lower end cars it to get more cars on the road.

I agree with your hummer opinion, the new hummers are loaded with plastic and sit on a suburban chassis. Not something i consider a real "hummer"

Nic

I agree, especially with the boxter thing. When I see one of those, I think to myself, "he must have wanted a Porsche but couldn't really afford one." Don't have much of an opinion either way about the other two vehicles mentioned.

shawn22

The new boxsters are actually very good vehicles. The first generation of them didnt live up to the hype, but the 997 Boxsters are outperforming many vehicles in its class, they truly are a Baby 911.

The Elise was never meant to be an "affordable exotic". It is what it is, and it is what lotus has been doing for years, making very light two seater sports cars. Its not luxurious by any means, have you seen the interior of them? They have no cargo space and no luxurious features, just two seats, a motor, and a 2000lb chassis.

The H2 just sucks, so I agree with you there.

blah

Automotive companies are out to make money. If they see an empty niche in the market, they'll jump on it.


And a little FYI: The president of the Porsche Club of American (PCA) drives a Boxster (eventhough he can afford whatever he wants) because it is the best handling car Porsche currently makes. And the 01-02 Z3 M Roadsters were the fastest cars BMW ever put into production until the new M5 came out. As for the H2, it's shit.

tiki240

the Zed 3 and 4 were never made to be "exotics" they were made to be roadsters, to compete with the miata, and the like. the zed 8 was made to be an "exotic" roadster and the performance numbers show that. I dont think that the cars you have listed were made to be "affordable" exotics, more so to gain a larger buyer loyalty, and compete with manufacturers making cars to a higher standard. The corvette C6 Z06 will out run most exotics and yet still retains a somewhat affordable price tag. there are several examples of the market on both sides (domestic and import) trying to level out the playing field. US manufacturers have upped power, styling, and handling, while european manufacturers have cut power and put cars more on the level. you have to build the product to suit the need. most people as you said make only so much. so over here, in the US particularly, you are more likely to see boxters than 911 GT's. case in point, you buy a boxter at age 23 because you got your first big break as a successful moneymarket type person. when your salary increases and its time for a new car, you tend to look right back to porsche and say hmmm, ive got a bigger wallet, how bout a bigger engine and BAM theres the sale of a GT2. think of the cars as gateway drugs lol. thats just my .02 not very well thought out but i just got out of physics lab and im going back to sleep now

Paul

I disagree. This is not what Lotus has been doing for years. The Esprit was a very luxurious car inside. That is what they have been doing for years. The elise is a very different vehicle then what Lotus has done in the recent past.

Paul

That is the M, which is very uncommon. Most people just have the Z3.

Optimus Prime

It appears your facts and info are a bit "off" IMHO.

I also dont think the new watered down "Hummer" has anything to do with the Elise. The new Hummer is retarded IMHO. The Elise is NOT a watered down version of ANYTHING else. They've been manufacturing elises for almost 10 years now. The current body elise is the second version, so its not like this is some new "thing" they cooked up to sell.

I have an Elise. I liked it so much I bought another.

I bought them for sheer performance, and that they do and do quite well. I dont see how you can say corners were "cut"? The elise is a work of art mechanically, right down to the space age glued tub/chassis. The tub is manufacturered by the same company that makes the tub for the Ford GT and Carrera GT. The body panels are made in france. The design engineering is from Lotus, one of the most respected exotic/handling/tuning companies in the world.


You act as if $50,000 for a go-kart is cheap and the car is being bought by people who cannot afford something else? I paid roughly $50,000 for each of mine. Sure, base is $43,000, but once you add on paint, package, trim, etc you're up there near $50,000. The car is a TOY. To many people $45,000-50,000 is too much to pay for a daily driven car, let alone a pure toy. Heck some people's homes don't cost much more than $50,000.

I can afford more expensive cars, but I chose the Elise because it is an absolutely PURE amazing car. Log on to Ferrarichat and see how many Ferrari owners also own Lotus Elises. Many of them do. Log on to Pelicanparts and see how many CarreraGT owners have Elises, many of them do. Log onto Lamborghini Forum and see how many also have an Elise.....you'll find a trend. Why? Because the Elise stands alone as a pure sportscar. It's not a wanna be something else or just inexpensive as you've inferred.

I think calling the Elise a "common" car is a bit off too. They've only imported 2,500 total across the US for 2005/2005 TOTAL.

They sell more than 2500 Honda's in 3 months at one dealer than they imported elises for two years. Depending on where you are, you might think you see more, you DO tend to notice them, and they stick out in your head when you do.

I'm not sure how you can call the Elan luxurious. Which Elan are you talking about anyway? The old ones or new ones? The new Elan was Lotuses answer to a daily driver....so I fail to see your logic in your comments about it. It's kind of homely too. The old elan is cool, the miata was styled after it....and yes it handled amazing for its time and still does,but its not in the same league as the elise. Are you aware that the motorsport elise is THE best handling car Lotus manufactures?

I think your facts are a bit off, and your ideas a bit skewed. IMHO. You act as if the elise is something that is a watered down product from Lotus in order to make it cheap. The Elise is the Elise and thats all it's ever been. It's a $50,000 Go Kart and it does it's job with aplomb.

Paul

You make good points about the vehicle. Elan was an error, I meant to type Esprit, I have gone back and corrected actually. Anyway, I was not comparing the Elise to a Honda, I was comparing it to other Lotus. I did not call it common, I said I expected it to become more common. Yes to some people, the Elise will be a toy. But to many buyers, it would be a status symbol as well. What I am discussing is people buying a vehicle purely for the ability to state in a conversation, "Oh, I drive a Lotus."