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My pre-Lotus life has officially ended!
Today I took delivery of a beautiful 2007 Exige S from a member on this forum, and I couldn't be happier with the purchase and the car. In order to minimize the potential for the forum ban, I've posted pics straight away, so we can just put the kai-bash on any of those sort of replies :no:.
You can stop here if you like and simply admire the pictures
, or you can follow the story for a little bit so I can properly introduce myself to this incredibly active Lotus enthusiast community.
Ok, ever since selling my my 1972 Datsun 240Z (my second one, as my first 240Z was stolen) way back during college days I've been longing to get back to driving a sports car. That was way back in 1990 - a long long time ago. Well, since then, graduating, working, getting married and having 2 wonderful girls, travelling, camping, off-roading and surfing have been wonderful pursuits to fill the void, I've known deep down that I'm ready to get back to something raw and basic in the sports car world, something that would take me back to driving those two 240Z's around San Diego during the college years.
Just for the record, I am a car freak. Most folks who know me would call me more than just a little OCD. I read car magazines every month, even the rediculous articles on the minivans (I don't know why -anic:_ ). When rumor first began in 2002 of the Elise's pending arrival, I was well informed of the Euro version with it's sub 1500 lb weight and little Rover engine keeping up with cars much more powerful (as well as portly). Just the thought of something like that, raw and unrefined, just the bare necessities to make a car go, turn, and stop, and nothing frivolous or extraneous to get between the driver and what's happening at the four contact patches was enough that I knew then that the Elise would be my next car, no matter how long I would have to wait.
When they first arrived in late 2004, I was not in any financial position to make the plunge, having convinced myself that nothing short of paying cash for the car would do. So I waited. In November 2006, I rented one from Enterprise Rent-a-Car here in San Diego. My goals were to introduce my wife to the car, drive it around a bit to determine if I could live with it as an everday driver, and generally just have a great time with the beast. 585 miles and 2 car-rental days later, all goals were fully accomplished! I fell in love with driving all over again, my wife thought it was nice if a bit impracticalshrug, and the car didn't scrape on any of the roads I drove every day. Wow, what a machine. The waiting continued, while I was actively seeking to liquidate some investments that just couldn't really be converted to cash. Oh well, I would be patient...
Just a few months before I rented that car in 2006, I'd discovered this site (Elise Talk) and just absolutely read everything that I could to learn more and more about the vehicle, its reliability, its usability, and the cost of maintenance. What an insane treasure trove of information this place was. I read and read and read, never once posting as I simply didn't want to get too hooked and compromise my goal of paying cash for the car. The ultimate lurker, as I've been on this site for nearly 3.5 years and have just recently begun to post as I sought out a vehicle for purchase beginning in June.
Well, I found my car. Not an Elise, mind you, but the spirit is the same. I only had given myself the green light a week earlier, and bam!, Jorgeassoc's car, the 2007 Aspen White Exige S in the pictures below was put up for sale. The great thing about it? The car was located only 105 miles from my house, and it was my first choice in color.
This beauty has a new home, and George, thanks for working with me on the deal. Even though the drive home from Orange County should've only taken an hour and instead was holiday-traficked so bad that it took nearly 3 hours, it was all a pleasure sitting and enjoying the vehicle in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the 5. Looking forward to using her as my daily.
I'll have research to do and questions of folks on this forum in the near future, but for now I figured I would share at least a little of my background information. I'm already scheduled to go on my first group drive tomorrow morning through Julian and Palomar, and I think a few folks from this forum will be on it as well. I'm only "in" on the drive through my buddy who drives a very well-kept Ferrari 348. So, for those of you in the San Diego County area, I may meet one or two of you soon.
Okay, enough rambling already. Is it that obvious how stoked I am to be the proud new owner of this car? Gotta run, need to go just gaze on her a little more.
Oh yeah, one more thing... My wife and daughters already named the car: Edelweiss after the white flower found in the mountains of Europe. I like it. And if it makes my family feel "connected" to the car as a result, then I'm all for it. So there you have it.
Flame away, or share your thoughts. See you out on the road!
Today I took delivery of a beautiful 2007 Exige S from a member on this forum, and I couldn't be happier with the purchase and the car. In order to minimize the potential for the forum ban, I've posted pics straight away, so we can just put the kai-bash on any of those sort of replies :no:.
You can stop here if you like and simply admire the pictures
, or you can follow the story for a little bit so I can properly introduce myself to this incredibly active Lotus enthusiast community.Ok, ever since selling my my 1972 Datsun 240Z (my second one, as my first 240Z was stolen) way back during college days I've been longing to get back to driving a sports car. That was way back in 1990 - a long long time ago. Well, since then, graduating, working, getting married and having 2 wonderful girls, travelling, camping, off-roading and surfing have been wonderful pursuits to fill the void, I've known deep down that I'm ready to get back to something raw and basic in the sports car world, something that would take me back to driving those two 240Z's around San Diego during the college years.
Just for the record, I am a car freak. Most folks who know me would call me more than just a little OCD. I read car magazines every month, even the rediculous articles on the minivans (I don't know why -
anic:_ ). When rumor first began in 2002 of the Elise's pending arrival, I was well informed of the Euro version with it's sub 1500 lb weight and little Rover engine keeping up with cars much more powerful (as well as portly). Just the thought of something like that, raw and unrefined, just the bare necessities to make a car go, turn, and stop, and nothing frivolous or extraneous to get between the driver and what's happening at the four contact patches was enough that I knew then that the Elise would be my next car, no matter how long I would have to wait.When they first arrived in late 2004, I was not in any financial position to make the plunge, having convinced myself that nothing short of paying cash for the car would do. So I waited. In November 2006, I rented one from Enterprise Rent-a-Car here in San Diego. My goals were to introduce my wife to the car, drive it around a bit to determine if I could live with it as an everday driver, and generally just have a great time with the beast. 585 miles and 2 car-rental days later, all goals were fully accomplished! I fell in love with driving all over again, my wife thought it was nice if a bit impractical
shrug, and the car didn't scrape on any of the roads I drove every day. Wow, what a machine. The waiting continued, while I was actively seeking to liquidate some investments that just couldn't really be converted to cash. Oh well, I would be patient...Just a few months before I rented that car in 2006, I'd discovered this site (Elise Talk) and just absolutely read everything that I could to learn more and more about the vehicle, its reliability, its usability, and the cost of maintenance. What an insane treasure trove of information this place was. I read and read and read, never once posting as I simply didn't want to get too hooked and compromise my goal of paying cash for the car. The ultimate lurker, as I've been on this site for nearly 3.5 years and have just recently begun to post as I sought out a vehicle for purchase beginning in June.
Well, I found my car. Not an Elise, mind you, but the spirit is the same. I only had given myself the green light a week earlier, and bam!, Jorgeassoc's car, the 2007 Aspen White Exige S in the pictures below was put up for sale. The great thing about it? The car was located only 105 miles from my house, and it was my first choice in color.
This beauty has a new home, and George, thanks for working with me on the deal. Even though the drive home from Orange County should've only taken an hour and instead was holiday-traficked so bad that it took nearly 3 hours, it was all a pleasure sitting and enjoying the vehicle in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the 5. Looking forward to using her as my daily.
I'll have research to do and questions of folks on this forum in the near future, but for now I figured I would share at least a little of my background information. I'm already scheduled to go on my first group drive tomorrow morning through Julian and Palomar, and I think a few folks from this forum will be on it as well. I'm only "in" on the drive through my buddy who drives a very well-kept Ferrari 348. So, for those of you in the San Diego County area, I may meet one or two of you soon.
Okay, enough rambling already. Is it that obvious how stoked I am to be the proud new owner of this car? Gotta run, need to go just gaze on her a little more.
Oh yeah, one more thing... My wife and daughters already named the car: Edelweiss after the white flower found in the mountains of Europe. I like it. And if it makes my family feel "connected" to the car as a result, then I'm all for it. So there you have it.
Flame away, or share your thoughts. See you out on the road!
