I have really tried to resist this thread...honestly I have.
I'll start by saying I have the highest degree of respect for Colin
Chapman (may he RIP) and Lotus cars. I have never been a big fan of
"American cars" but the current crop of Corvettes and Vipers are nothing
to sneeze at. Could an Elise win the GTS Category at Le Mans? No. Could
one even match a GT3 Porsche or M3 GTR in the GT catagory? No. By my
obvious passion, I am around a whole bunch of very potent cars here in
"America." Some are even made here!
There is a very good reason the Elise is not imported to the US. They
simply aren't suited for our roads and driving conditions. They do come
here becuase they make great track toys, but that is about all they are
good for here. Here in the US most common folk don't buy $40-60k cars as
track toys. The very rich do...but they spend more than that on things
of a more exotic nature. Us more "poh" folk tend to opt for things like
Mazda RX7s, Porsche 914s (there are many 914-6s in the PCA that will
clean a Turbo Esprit's clock, let alone an Elise), and believe it or
not, Neons actually make pretty decent spec racer toys.
To consider an Elise as a daily driver here in the US is borderlining on
insane IMO. I get the chance to drive a friend's 1995 M3 quite often.
*That* is a fast, racecar-like handling, but daily drivable car suitable
for US roads (though I get from point A to point B faster in my less
obvious old Audi turbo quattro). You want fast, tossable, great
handling, relative safety and low buy-in cost? The new Scubie Doo (er
Subaru) WRX fits the bill quite nicely (another inexpensive car that
would give an Elise a run on a track). Honda's S2000 makes much more
sense here on our roads for daily use and is still a fine machine (and I
despise Hondas as I say that).
Back to the "American" thing. It is a global marketplace. Last I heard
the Elise was made by the same company that makes a Corvette ;-)
Mike Veglia
Motor Sport Visions Photography
http://www.motorsportvisions.com
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