Lotus Elise E now available !!!!

[kooitje]

Hello Lotus enthausiasts,

We are actually building Lotus Elise's and Exige's electric at the moment !
Please look for the Lotus Elise E or ECE (Electric Car Europe)

To have a preview look at ececars.eu

I drove this car, it's amazing and better than the Tesla !!!

Regards,
Mart

[Vicar]

Too bad I can't read dutch...

[snuggles1]

Originally Posted by Vicar

Too bad I can't read dutch...

It says its faster than an 08 Viper and gets better gas mileage than a Smartcar.

[LARRY]

Need a different plug...

Hope it works!

[Corvus]

The only part I had to understand was 108,000 Euros!

[RoadDad]

Originally Posted by snuggles1

gets better gas mileage than a Smartcar.

That's no real feat. My 1990 Civic hatchback does that with over 200K miles on it.

[Bavarian Motorist]

William Van der Kool... That's the koolest name ever!!!!

[Dirac]

At €108 000, it's definitely easier and cheaper to get a Tesla. With the current exchange rate, it ends up being $170 000.

[E.D.]

Originally Posted by Bavarian Motorist

William Van der Kool... That's the koolest name ever!!!!

Actually it's Willem van der Kooi, a Dutch importer of Lotus.

hightlights of the site re the Lotus model:
approx. 325k max kmh on battery (200 miles)
4.7s 0-100kmh (4.6s 0-60 mph approx.)
top speed 215kmh (135mph)
4 gears
108K Eur (comparison Dutch Elise R w/2zz = 60K Eur)

[E.D.]

Originally Posted by Dirac

At €108 000, it's definitely easier and cheaper to get a Tesla. With the current exchange rate, it ends up being $170 000.

The Eur 108K includes 19% VAT and also maybe car taxes (although I think electr.cars are exempt of that tax).
So 'bare' price is maybe around Eur 90K. With current EUR/USD FX rate: still uncompetitive. Will only become interesting when USD regains its strength.

[Hello Kitty]

"Green" Electric cars that cost $170,000 are for rich STUPID SUCKERS. Argh, I cant believe people are soo stupid. Duh, this car gets great gas mileage, so the price is reasonable!!

[SweetDaddyD]

Originally Posted by Bavarian Motorist

William Van der Kool... That's the koolest name ever!!!!

I'm a little partial to Magnus Von Magnuson myself. lol.

[RoadDad]

Originally Posted by Hello Kitty

"Green" Electric cars that cost $170,000 are for rich STUPID SUCKERS. Argh, I cant believe people are soo stupid. Duh, this car gets great gas mileage, so the price is reasonable!!

But Kitty, with all that available torque, it will definitely peel out and burn some rubber!

[ewalberg]

i don't understand why $170 electric car is any stupider than a $170 gas car?... which it sounds like you're somehow implying... and where does anybody say the price is reasonable? Maybe you're only referring to the frustration with them trying to market it as green... well, that's marketing for you. it's their job to try and capitolize on anything that's even vaguely true. I happen to despise the use of the word "green"... it's a friggin' color...

i happen to think marketing it's green is an all around bad idea... electric is already assumed green. somebody spending 170k on a little race car is going to care a whole lot more about how fast/fun it is, if anything is going to spend more time defending it's features and performance over it's equivalent gas competitor than trying to explain how green it is... they already know electric is green... you think the first thing they tell their friends when they drive up in it is... hey, my car is green... i really really doubt it... likely it's the last ditch effort they're going to use to justify it if they're not convicing someone of it's performance... so to me calling it "green" sounds like it's already trying to make up for it's lack of performance... performance features which i think are great...

[Serebo1]

Originally Posted by ewalberg

i don't understand why $170 electric car is any stupider than a $170 gas car?.

I think that what they're saying is that $170k for an electric car vs. 50k for it's (very) low emissions gasoline equivalent which gets ~30 mpg is stupid. Meaning, if depreciation is not a factor, you'll break even after driving the equivalent mileage needed to consume ~$120k worth of gasoline. Actually, more, because of course electricity costs something. That's ~30,000 gallons of gasoline, or 900,000 miles. Rounding sure, but again, I didn't account for electricity costs.

Either my math is WAY off (very possible) ... or it's just plain stupid.

[Mr. Know]

I think the only way they can get to a price like that is if they went down to the dealer and paid MSRP for the car. Then they take it back to their "factory", strip out anything combustion engine related, and add in all the electric bits.

Mart, maybe you need to rethink your logistics on the ECE Elise...

[Bender Rodríguez]

Originally Posted by Serebo1

I think that what they're saying is that $170k for an electric car vs. 50k for it's (very) low emissions gasoline equivalent which gets ~30 mpg is stupid. Meaning, if depreciation is not a factor, you'll break even after driving the equivalent mileage needed to consume ~$120k worth of gasoline. Actually, more, because of course electricity costs something. That's ~30,000 gallons of gasoline, or 900,000 miles. Rounding sure, but again, I didn't account for electricity costs.

Either my math is WAY off (very possible) ... or it's just plain stupid.

I do like how when I read about the plug in hybrid cars people always forget the cost of electricity and the fact that over half of the electricity in the US is created thru burning coal, which puts sulfur in the air and helps create acid rain. Although they may be good over all still these types of cars are far from zero overall pollutants. Currently there is a big political push to take down some current dams for ecological reasons and most nuclear reactors sit idle because were worried about nuclear waste. Given that and windmills are just expensive and take a lot of resources to build as we increase our electrical demand (more eclectic cars or whatever else) about 90-95% or any new capacity will be gained thru coal. With that and the fact there is a loss of energy in just exchanging chemical energy into electrical, then again into kinetic, I’m not a fan. Still if you’ve got the $170k in cash to spend and you just hate oil companies

[ewalberg]

I guess i don't really hear anybody saying that a $100 to $170k car is reasonable or cost effective. Sure marketing and sales may argue it's "green" but marketing and sales job is to play into emotions so you'll buy something you don't need. Who hear NEEDS an elise? A 1995 honda civic DX will get you anywhere an elise will go for alot less money, more fuel efficiently, with more space, and cheaper to fix. Are elises for rich suckers? you could argue that. Miata owners had said much the same... we drive a fragile, expensive to maintain and repair car who's performance benefits out of the box, don't justify the cost. A tesla at least is basically silent, which i think is humongous! i can't justify the purchase of one either, but it just sounds to me like people are picking on the BS that comes out of marketing and sales, or picking on the car for the reasons it doesn't make sense financially... not often enough picking on the cars for what it actually is.

I wished the tesla looked cooler like an elise, and i wish it cost less, but if i was in a financial position where i were able to "convince" myself it was acceptable to spend that much money on a single car... it would be my first choice... well, maybe i'd rather a mercedes G55k (a tarted up solid axle service vehicle with 500hp, the poorest marketed vehicle line in the US today)... but i think i'd rather have a tesla and my old g500.