LA Show Cars??

[smoseley]

What's going to happen to the cars from the LA Auto Show? Any info or speculation welcome.

[Randy Chase]

I head heard speculation of them all being destroyed at some point because regulations require it?

[shinoo]

They may continue life as show/test mules for awhile and then likely will be destroyed. Maybe Clyde will be using one for SCCA racing - now that he is hooked! Since the cars do not have the final trim spec, I'd guess they could not be sold to the general public.

Some mfgs do sell their production show cars.

[DDuncan]

I believe the LA Show cars will be returned to England. I doubt they will destroy them, the RD department will most likely get them for testing.

[RallyElise]

I offered to buy one for my RallyElise project, but they didn't seem interested.

At the LA Auto Show, the fate and the ownership status of the cars was the subject of some discussion between LCU and Hethel. One idea that was suggested was that Lotus would offer a driving school and use those cars for the school.

Talking to folks from Hethel at the show, it sounds like Lotus has a rather severe crush policy, particularly compared to the old days when Lotus used to have a sense of its own history. For example, the prototype Elise that first ran Christmas eve 1994 has been crushed.

alan

[DDuncan]

Most Manufacturers crush cars to avoid liability issues. They also don't want parts taken and resold to the public. If a car is damaged at the port beyond paint or somehthing very minor they get crushed too. Autowarehousing crushed a Diamante a few years ago, nothing could be removed, not even the battery. I hope the guys at our port are VERY careful. I don't want to make that phone call. I can't even imagine the response.

[Randy Chase]

Originally posted by DDuncan
I don't want to make that phone call. I can't even imagine the response.

I can....

DOOMED

[DDuncan]

I don't really WANT to imagine it. Too scary.

[dirk]

I was watching Barrett Jackson on Speed a few months ago and GM was auctioning off their 2000 era show vehicles. They stated something like "cannot be licensed for road use."

[xxxotic]

Originally posted by dirk
I was watching Barrett Jackson on Speed a few months ago and GM was auctioning off their 2000 era show vehicles. They stated something like "cannot be licensed for road use."

I was there and they said that if the serial number ended in EX or something like that it meant it was an experimental vehicle and could not be licensed for road use in the USA. However, I believe that some people from South America were bidding on them so that they could export them and some GM dealers were bidding so they could have them on their showroom floors to attract attention.

However they did have some show vehicles that were ok to register for street use. Some of these had special paint schemes and interiors and a few of them were pace cars or official that were used in the Indy 500, Daytona 500, etc. They looked gawdy with all of the stickers and emblems on them. Sort of like an American Riced out version.

[fitfan]

i know TVR "destroyed" their US 350i show cars, but back then destroying ment t-boning it with a fork lift, and making an insurance total claim... the cars stayed in the US and were repaired, I beleive the bircumshaws still have one, and the other V8 is around. neither is really US legal.

.....BUT i hear that what will REALLY happen is that they are using the LA show cars to do supercharging conversions and rsx engine swaps!!! hahahahahaa, apparently the yellow one is allready at area 51 getting its anti-grav spatial displacment unit reverse enginerded...