The new C6

The more and more I think about it, the less I think I will be getting the Elise. I love the car, but I don't love it at $40K. It simply doesn't represent good value in my opinion. The S2000 has just been upgraded and is $10K less with far better reliability and wide dealer network.

I realize the Elise is in its own way like no other car out there. However, it is simply not worth $40K. This argument doesn't hold in the UK where cars are more expensive in general. The car should be closer to $30K. Also, it seems Lotus is trying to scrape as much money as possible by charging $1200 for paint (if the rumors are true). It seems to me they will likely honor the sub $40K price at $39995 and then charge for everything else...
electric windows, AC, paint, etc. Maybe it is because the dollar has plummeted. Also, who knows what games dealers will play. The resale value on the Elise will drop quick. Any money spent over MSRP is money wasted. If we all waited 2 yrs plus for this thing, keep waiting so MSRP is all we pay. No one has to pay more.

The boxster??? Cmon, the only way they can improve the present design is to s**tcan it. (sorry agent.5 but I can't like the boxster especially since the only way to look at the engine is to put in on a lift! What's up with that!)Certainly not even close in price. Isn't the comparable performing boxster in the 55K range? And how many hundreds of pounds heavier?

The S2000 is probably the only real comparison and it's still a much heavier car and less rawness to it.

Don't how you can compare a corvette to an elise, the cars aren't even in the same category really.

The original price estimate on the Elise over two years ago (and about a 30-40 cent increase in the dollar to pound ratio) was 38,500 - 39,000, the car base price is 39900, in fairness the touring package was broken out of that so another grand on top, that's a deal breaker???? It's incredible Lotus has been able to hold so close the original price since the dollar is now worth squat in UK/Europe with no signs of any improvement.

I'll take my nimble little elise over any of the aforementioned porkers any day of the week.

Chris

Friend of mine just got a boxster S at 9k under list. I paid 3k under list 2.5 years ago.

New boxster is due 2005 (Unsure if that is in 2005 or as a MY2005 car) and will probably be priced up to around 48-55k to start and maybe 60-65k for the S models. No chance they wont raise the cost IMO.

C6 corvettes will be scarce and expensive. 50k to start. Yes, its fast, but the c6 is a new vehicle and will have the standard corvette setup which is no z06. The z06 is not due for another year, and will be near 60k. They have a better hp to weight ratio, but the <2000lb weight of the elise makes a huge difference in a race.

S2000 is an issue, though it is not as invigorating to drive IMO.

Remember, cars are priced to the point they will sell. NOT what they are worth, or how a company can make money, only at a point they can sell. If that point goes below making money, they stop selling the car.

My guess is the demographics show 40k as the sweetspot for a fairly quirky small scale car which can make fun of many a supercar. Considering the car is "sold out" by most estimates from many dealers for the first year, lotus seems to have hit the nail on the head in terms of prices. My guess is hte prices have plenty of room in them in terms of profit margins to give the dealers some headroom in th years to come. Remember, this is NOT a new car, even if the "platform" is of a newer edition, the tooling already exists and has been used for years. Its probably even fully paid for at this point! Its still a gamble to come to america, but I think Lotus will be ok.



My final point is this. Lets try to count the people here who could extract the last 1/10th of a percent of the ability of the car. Ok, that makes.. well 1-2 people MAYBE. In general terms, on the track the elise will be fairly equal to your buddy in a corvette. In fact, having driven the corvette many times in the past, the test drive of the elise, and my current boxster s I will hazard a guess you will be FASTER than your buddy in a vette in no time flat. Its just MUCH easier to learn and go faster in a lighter mid-engined car with incredible traction vs a front engined car with a habit of torque enduced oversteer. The more HP you have the tigher that knife-edge gets.

Scot