>>>I tried the key on the outside door lock. Feels as if nothing is turning inside the key drum. The key meets no resistance at all. <<<
It could be the "exterior lock control rod" or other linkage or the button assembly itself... I'm sure that it is something quite simple, but obviously this is exasperating and needs to be resolved ASAP.
>>>I did look at the manual and saw what you are referring to but no avail. I will keep everyone posted on what I find out as I take apart my brand new $45,000 car.<<<
The car is very simple and easy to work on - like older British cars. The inner door panel may need to be removed in your case - this is not difficult and no special tools are needed. You use the 3 mm key from the took kit along with a Phillips head screwdriver. From the diagrams I posted it looks like there may also be an access port on the side of the door that may help with inspection and remedy of this issue.
My passenger side window stopped going up all the way after a few months. It would stop about 3/16 of an inch below all-the-way-up. I fixed it in something like 10 minutes, see other thread. By properly torquing the lock nut, it should become a nonissue for me. While you are in there I would check that same lock nut as this is very easy once you have the panel off.
In many ways the Elise truly is like a street legal race car. My old Europa never stranded me, always started and so forth. But little things would come up. Once things are sorted, smiles return. If you have a cheerful can-do attitude many of them are very easy to resolve. I'm glad that I am fairly handy - it is so much more convenient to do simple stuff like this on your own compared to going into the dealer and waiting or leaving the car. Imagine if you had to wait until the maid comes next Tuesday before you could get a new bath towel or toilet paper roll.
Personally I am fine with the Elise NOT being as worry-free as a Toyota Camry. To make it so, the Elise would have to cost 2-3 times as much. Lotus would have to robotize the assembly, redesign parts to accomodate this, buy robot spray booths, etc, etc. When you have to raise the price for things like that it drives sales volume down so there is a vicious circle in that there are fewer cars over which to amortize the huge capital investment. So in a sense Lotus subsidized the car by making it prone to little aggravations so that we could even get the car in the first place.