The Tesla Gains Weight

OK, here it is, I have done a lot of miles recently in a Lotus Elise (the car the tesla looks like) and found it to be remarkably comfortable, fun and, surprisingly, economic. Coupled with a used car price of £7,000 - £10,000, I would be hard pressed to justify 5 times the cost (based on $100,000) for an impractical car. The petrol version weighs 1,700 lbs, thats what makes it fun! If we are serious about alternative fuels, they have to do better then a that. I started out a fan, now I'm cooling towards the tesla. For me, the Lotus fulfills two rolls, one is to get out on a track and enjoy, the other is to chuck an overnight bag in and spend a few days away with the wife touring. The Tesla has a long way to go.

...Tesla has a long way to go...

Sure enough, as they only intend to supply the advanced-payers in their first run, leaving the de-bugging phase to their first and most loyal customers, leaving the rest of the way, unclear

The company concept, is a fisted challenge to all the nay-sayers to the all-electric attempt, but the most interesting spin-off turns at the end of the article:

...Tesla has already raised $60 million in financing, about half of which was provided by Tesla Chairman Elon Musk, who struck it rich when he sold his PayPal business to eBay...

Yet, who would dare to refuse a sleek bombshell of a sportster, with heart-stopping acceleration, and silent as a bat?

Just to keep a keen eye on this object, is worth the attention.

Here, in the Valley, people buy the Lotus, and then dump them real quick. I think it comes down to if you don't have track aspirations, they're just not as much fun on the road as buyers thought they'd be. Hmmm.

Of course, here, the car of choice for the younger set is a 6 year old lowered Honda, enough bolt-on plastic to make about 10,000 Coke bottles, and a couple of coffee can exhaust pipes. Oh yeah, and a bunch of racing company decals - forget the fact that they haven't touched the engine.

Sigh...this is all sounding very familiar. To be honest, I don't own a Lotus, the kids don't fit, the biggest problem is getting out of it. But I will have one!

Provided that Lotus is still for sale as a DIY kit, you can retrofit the sitting arrangement, to have a horse sitted.

I would buy the Atom, also a Brit, but (!) much more to my liking in that area.

Why didn't I? The wife. She wants the roof fixed, and it's not even summer yet.

Rooves you always fix in the summer, right? Atoms come later. Much, much later. When divorced, really.

There's an alele on the Y chromosome that some scientists believe is responsible for a testosterone-mediated response to both G forces, and what we typically call "Vroom."

Women lack this, of course.

I revved my Alfa Romeo 2600's straight-6 for my wife recently, and while I was in rapture at the burbling whoop of the Italian Masters' work, my wife said, "OK, I heard it. Can I go back to the garden?"

Gentlemen, they just don't get it.

But I am not sure I get Lotus, either. I briefly had a somewhat clapped-out twin-cam Europa. It was a blast until the shifter mechanism broke and dropped into the deep central tunnel...at about 50mph.

Colin Chapman was a great racecar builder. But he seemed to have a philosophy that cars should be so lightly built, highly tuned and purposeful that they'd last through a race and no longer.

Aside from the rust (which you can actually hear), Alfas are durable and easy to keep running.

And once I get my 2600 put together (a loooong time from now, unfortunately), that'll be just fine for me.

Oh yes... The Alfetta 2000, what a speedster playing a family-saloon...

Any Alfa until the 75/Milano somehow puts a little wist in my eyes, and a little jolt of thrill in my lower back.

It's not entirely rational.

You are the one who had a Europa? Respect! They where the worst of the lotus stable for longevity and reliability. The F1 cars where in fact designed to last only till they crossed the finish line.

That was one of only two collector cars I ever sold for less than I paid for it. Sheesh.

But there's a sick, twisted part of me that'd like to have it back.

I have to admit, that was the car I always wanted! Then I saw one in the 'skin' and realised how huge it was! I never really recovered from the disappointment.

Mak, which europa, the fiat, the bizzarrini, the lotus ?

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The Lotus, the White one in the pic.

Huge?!? What are you looking for? A dancing shoe?

I thought it was practically a coffin, with a similar view to the rear.

OK, unlike a coffin it was a little rocket and handled like a slot car, but if you wanted to carry anything larger than a sandwich, you'd have to kick out your passenger.

OK, a two-person coffin, anyway.

Size is relative, my good fellow! Actually, when I say huge, I meant in comparison to the other Lotus cars available at the time, for example, the Elan.

I understand. I personally have always wanted an Alpine A110, but have never been able to so much as touch one in person.

I did follow a Lotus Elise last night. It reminded me of my old Lotus in a very special way...it's whole right-rear taillight cluster was MIA.

Here's a question, PlbMak. Why do the British make the interiors of their cars so damn small? I would think that there are enough tall people is Euorpe to warrant a bit more leg room. I was really disappointed to find out that I couldn't fit in the Lotus Europa, but I had plenty of leg room in my 1991 Toyota MR2 turbo!

The seat in my 1971 MGB would slide so far back that I couldn't reach the pedals. I'm 5'9" (1.75m). I think that it would have accomodated a fairly tall person, even with the top on. It had two seats with a carpeted bench in the back that could serve as a seat. In fact, I once hauled 7 people (some of them rather small and several others with only their legs in the cabin--man was that hazardous and stupid!) out to the river and back.

It would go 95 mph flat out for as long as I wanted to and could handle any curves the highway or the access roads could throw at it without needing to slow down. Also, I could fix anything that went wrong with a few wrenches, some pliers, and a couple of screwdrivers. Alas, I owned it at a time in my life when I couldn't afford to keep it maintained or repair it. I drove it for 6 months (in Houston, Texas) using only the tunneau cover after the convertible top became unusable. In a typical medium rain or less, I could stay fairly dry as long as I stayed above 35 mph.

I grew up driving two restored MGAs!!! They were a blast! And, yes, they did have a lot of leg room. But, the Lotus, Jaguar, and just about any other modern British car seems designed for shorties.

The bigger Triumphs were plenty roomy. My TR5 was deluxe.

I think we may have wandered a bit in this topic, but bringing it both back and further away I think it's interesting how fat all cars have become. Tiny sports cars like the MX5/Miata and Honda S2000 weigh as much as my old '65 Buick Skylark convertible with a big cast-iron V8. My little Fiat 850 got 45 mpg or more, was dirt cheap and fun to drive. And if it got stuck in snow, I'd just lift the stuck end out of the rut. I'm not sure very many modern motorcycles are any lighter than that.

Certainly, we've sacrificed environmental/fuel concerns to crash safety.

The Buick Skylark, man, that just hit the soft-spot. right here. Boom.

And the Studebaker Lark? My childhood neighbour had one.

Now, the Buick was a slick pimp-mobile, but the Studebaker was a dream car.

My ex-wife got the Skylark. Man, did I have a soft-spot upstairs...

Are we talking about the same Studebaker Lark??? I had one when I was a kid, and it totally sucked!!! Not only was it an ugly, heavy POS, but that flat-head six couldn't make enough power to give you a decent ride on a moped!

It may have sucked for you, but for me it was an envy of a child. I was taken for a ride, literally, and felt like in a dream.

Only a few cars in my humble life managed to ignite my childhood imagination like this: The Citroen DS, The Panhard Dyna, and yes, the the Studebaker Lark.

What can you do? These were it for me, back then.

Out of spite, I drove mine from San Jose to San Mateo at top speed all the way (90 mph). Half way, I wrapped a bearing. Thank God!!!

...at top speed all the way (90 mph)...

I know this is to rub it in. It's okay. I'll even take some pounding to reminisce my old happy days

Good question, but being of normal stature - 5 foot 8 inches - it's not a problem a I have. The Elise I have been driving belongs to one of our directors, he is 6 foot 6 and can get in and out easier then I.