Requests to Lotus

[hogfan]

the only thing that REALLY annoys me is that i have to push the a/c button every time i turn on the car. or if for some reason you turn off the fan then turn it back on, guess what, yep you have to hit the a/c button again. the one thing im sure i want on for 6 months a year is the a/c. granted i dont have to exert a tremendous ammt of effort but geeze. other than that 8 mos of ownership and i still love it

[MyElise]

Originally Posted by rnr

More space between the brake pedal and the right side of the drivers footwell-I literally cannot drive the elise wearing sneakers since my foot (size 13) hits the brake when I try to accelerate. I think the spacing between the pedals is just fine-what is needed is to move the entire pedal set and inch or two to the left.

You can easily move the brake pedal to the left.

[008]

Originally Posted by JeffersonRaley

Offer a "Track Pack" as an upgrade to the Sports Pack. This would include:
* Brakes from the 240R
* Adjustable roll bar from 240R
* Ohlins suspension from the 240R
* Accusump and baffled oil pan
* Lighter and wider inch down wheels
* 5 point harnesses and seats with cutouts

I second this, but with the ability to pick a la carte, and a stripper delete option for the radio, air con, sound deadening, etc. Also please add the supercharger to the above list.

[celling]

Originally Posted by TimMullen

Lotus, we need a smaller interior mirror. The current mirror is too large and blocks forward vision. The view out the rear includes too much of the interior of the car - one that only showed the view out the rear window would be more effective.

Lotus,
Please come up with a interior rear view mirror that is sized smaller, and also mounts higher. I have to look around the mirror when making a right hand turn. Please

CE

[banzai]

A lot of good suggestions here, but I can't believe I got to the end of the thread so far and nobody mentioned my particular nit pick: a lockable glove box.

Being down south, I drive with the top off most of the time. Every time I stop somewhere Iv'e got to lug wallet, cell phone, sunglasses, radar detector and any other little stuff I can't leave out in plain sight in an open car.

Yes, I can always gather it all up and toss it in the trunk, but that's a real PITA, especially when I forget something is back there and start slinging it all over the place while driving.

I know Shinoo is working on one, so I'll take it any way I can get it.

[ChrisH]

Originally Posted by DesignIt

... The S2 followed the styling cues of the 340R very well but was a bit too swoopy and overdone. The next generation Lotus appears to be going too far the other way to the conservative side. ...
John

I like the more extreme, swoopy styling of the Elise. Far too many cars are more conservatively styled as a compromise to appeal to a larger audience who are willing to compromise on their favorite look instead of appealing to a particular niche. I am a niche person. Keep it up Lotus.

However, on the styling front, I would like a full convertable, such as shown here:
http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/show...ht=convertible

[eliseowner2b]

Since this seems to be a simple "requests to lotus" thread I thought I'd ask about the a/c problem. I put 7K miles on my car in the 1 year of ownership and the a/c seems to be getting worse. Where's the fix?

[xxxotic]

Front speakers are facing upwards and sound bad
I think this was done to get the airbags to fit on the passenger side and the starter button on the other. Relocating the speakers to face the driver by putting them in the cubbyholes would create better sound. The holes where the speakers are now are about the same size as a cd, so make one for CD storage and the other a lockable storage area or cupholder if they are deep enough

Locking gas cap

Bigger fuel tank

Accurate Speedometer

Oil temperature/pressure gauge

Metal L O T U S letters instead of decals that come off easily.

Painted Black plastic grill and louvers pieces that can be waxed.

More powerful fan for A/C

Removable rear window like the S1 has

Removeable headrest on passenger side-I cant see anything out of the rear view mirror since the top of the seat blocks my view

Racing stripe option

Soft top roof color options

Floor mats in different colors-Europe has them why cant we?

Fog lights that come on with low beams instead of driving lights

Option of leather-covered dash to match interior leather color

Lotus Roadside Assistance- Have all dealers have a list of local towing companies that are trained in towing the Elise, and have the necessary tie down straps,etc. or give loaner cars since it is a pain to have to bring someone with you in another car to take you back home if you live far away from a dealer.

Run Flat tires option- They might not perform as well, but a lot of people are scared to buy a car without a spare.

[ChrisH]

Originally Posted by xxxotic

Front speakers are facing upwards and sound bad
I think this was done to get the airbags to fit on the passenger side and the starter button on the other. Relocating the speakers to face the driver by putting them in the cubbyholes would create better sound. The holes where the speakers are now are about the same size as a cd, so make one for CD storage and the other a lockable storage area or cupholder if they are deep enough

Or, you could do it the way I did in the following thread so that the tweeters are facing the occupants. The sound-stage imaging is very good, and you can get larger woofers in the front than you could placing them in the cubby-holes. There really is no audio quality or imaging problem with the woofers facing the windshield because their frequencies are low enough.

Better front speaker install

Oh, and Lotus, don't put tweeters in the rear. Just woofers. Tweeters in the rear mess up the sound stage.

[Chococar]

In addition to the above:
--better accommodation of tall drivers (seats in addition to mirror, visor, etc. comments)
--better rear quarter visibility (e.g. convex mirror on driver's side if legal)

I love my Elise!

[pig]

Originally Posted by xxxotic

Front speakers are facing upwards and sound bad
I think this was done to get the airbags to fit on the passenger side and the starter button on the other. Relocating the speakers to face the driver by putting them in the cubbyholes would create better sound. The holes where the speakers are now are about the same size as a cd, so make one for CD storage and the other a lockable storage area or cupholder if they are deep enough

Locking gas cap

Bigger fuel tank

Accurate Speedometer

Oil temperature/pressure gauge

Metal L O T U S letters instead of decals that come off easily.

Painted Black plastic grill and louvers pieces that can be waxed.

More powerful fan for A/C

Removable rear window like the S1 has

Removeable headrest on passenger side-I cant see anything out of the rear view mirror since the top of the seat blocks my view

Racing stripe option

Soft top roof color options

Floor mats in different colors-Europe has them why cant we?

Fog lights that come on with low beams instead of driving lights

Option of leather-covered dash to match interior leather color

Lotus Roadside Assistance- Have all dealers have a list of local towing companies that are trained in towing the Elise, and have the necessary tie down straps,etc. or give loaner cars since it is a pain to have to bring someone with you in another car to take you back home if you live far away from a dealer.

Run Flat tires option- They might not perform as well, but a lot of people are scared to buy a car without a spare.

Yea, what he said!

[Stan]

More shielding / screening for the engine's air intake -the air filter gets very dirty very quickly.

Improved mud flap behind front tires...with LSS the outside portion of the tires sticks out past the flaps. This leads to dirt, paint chips and more yrit entering the engine's air intake.

[roadrunner]

...it would be nice if the range of the key fob could be improved.

[Shark]

I would like to see a Black Lotus Badge available for the back of the car like they currently have in Yellow and for the front.

[JaxJohnny]

Dear Lotus

Thanks for making such a great car.

Could you move the "power outlet / lighter socket" to the dash area? Maybe over on the passenger side where the "dead panel" (sister to the start button panel) lives? It would make connecting a radar detector a lot easier, and maybe give you some more room for a bigger storage cubby in the back.

Oh yeah, also, how about a nice velcro strap to keep the folded soft top from whacking the crap out of the taillamp housings when it's flying around in the "trunk"?

(Sorry, I can't type that yet without quotation marks... Real trunks are water tight.)

Thanks again-

Cheers,

Johnny

[Tyger]

Originally Posted by JaxJohnny

Oh yeah, also, how about a nice velcro strap to keep the folded soft top from whacking the crap out of the taillamp housings when it's flying around in the "trunk"?

(Sorry, I can't type that yet without quotation marks... Real trunks are water tight.)

I bet your local drycleaner can sew some hook velcro onto the storage bag for you which will stick to the trunk carpeting.

My trunk doesn't leak at all. Rain, washing, it's all good. Maybe there's a problem with your lid height? I know it can be adjusted.

[fitfan]

all the PRODUCT ideas mentioned are great. just keep developing the car to be perform better and be more compliant to live with. But what I really want to see LOTUS do is vet out its dealer network better. all things considered, the product is great! its the spotty sales, and service experiance that need to be improved most of all. If you, Lotus, can get ALL the dealers up to the same level of perfomance as the best ones in the US, man... Lotus, you will have some very happy and dedicated owners over here!

seriously, please, the product is not the weak link, its the dealers that need the most attention to improvment - get THEM sorted, and the little bugs in the product experiance can be easily resovled for the customer. I know Lotus can't afford to invest as heavily as say.. BMW in its dealers, but i think this is the area with the most improvment to be made. a $45k car.. o.k i can deal, but if you want to sell a $100k Esprit? ...some of whats been going on will kill you!

there are some VERY good dealers here in the US, get them ALL up to the same level and improve the LOTUS OWNERSHIP experiance.

\

-Rod

[eliseowner2b]

I took some pieces of velcro (the sharper side) and stuck it to my soft top bag. This stops it from sliding around. Let the glue setup for a little while before going for a g-forced drive.

[HexAngel]

Alarm controls integrated into key (not a separate fob)

[Randy Chase]

Originally Posted by HexAngel

Alarm controls integrated into key (not a separate fob)

Stay tuned on this one!