I have only ever seen 1 Lotus in person...

[NicolasB]

I am 40, and have been a car guy my whole life. I was a certified Master Technician for Porsche, and have owned many fun, fast cars. I have been in car clubs and modified everything I have ever owned.

That said, I have only seen one Elise when I was in college back in 2003 or so. It was bright orange, in Blacksburg, Virginia. I checked it all over and thought it was so cool to see one in person. I could not believe how tiny it was, and figured I would not be able to fit in it (6'3"). Out of all of the car stuff I have ever been involved in, including working on a BMW racing team, that is the only Lotus I recall ever seeing. Most people are not into cars like me (Car & Driver subscription at age 13, and learning everything I could about cars instead of doing my homework. I cannot wait to see the Emira in person. Being someone who has seen million dollar cars, and is not easily impressed by much, I still think it will be a stunner. I can only imagine what the "average" person will think when they see my Emira cruising up to a stoplight.

Spring of 2023 seems like a long time to wait to receive it, but I am thrilled I am lucky enough to be in the queue for a First Edition, manual transmission, V6!

 

[4380r]

You wouldn’t have seen an Elise in Virginia in 2003. They were not brought into the US until a handful in late 2004 as MY 2005 cars.
There were a few S1 grey market Elises brought in prior, but those were very, very few.

Come to LOG in WVA in September and see hundreds of Lotus, of all vintage, in one place.

 

[GetawayDriving]

I am 40, and have been a car guy my whole life. I was a certified Master Technician for Porsche, and have owned many fun, fast cars. I have been in car clubs and modified everything I have ever owned.

That said, I have only seen one Elise when I was in college back in 2003 or so. It was bright orange, in Blacksburg, Virginia. I checked it all over and thought it was so cool to see one in person. I could not believe how tiny it was, and figured I would not be able to fit in it (6'3"). Out of all of the car stuff I have ever been involved in, including working on a BMW racing team, that is the only Lotus I recall ever seeing. Most people are not into cars like me (Car & Driver subscription at age 13, and learning everything I could about cars instead of doing my homework. I cannot wait to see the Emira in person. Being someone who has seen million dollar cars, and is not easily impressed by much, I still think it will be a stunner. I can only imagine what the "average" person will think when they see my Emira cruising up to a stoplight.

Spring of 2023 seems like a long time to wait to receive it, but I am thrilled I am lucky enough to be in the queue for a First Edition, manual transmission, V6!

Meanwhile, on the west coast

 

[digilotus]

I am 40, and have been a car guy my whole life. I was a certified Master Technician for Porsche, and have owned many fun, fast cars. I have been in car clubs and modified everything I have ever owned.

That said, I have only seen one Elise when I was in college back in 2003 or so. It was bright orange, in Blacksburg, Virginia. I checked it all over and thought it was so cool to see one in person. I could not believe how tiny it was, and figured I would not be able to fit in it (6'3"). Out of all of the car stuff I have ever been involved in, including working on a BMW racing team, that is the only Lotus I recall ever seeing. Most people are not into cars like me (Car & Driver subscription at age 13, and learning everything I could about cars instead of doing my homework. I cannot wait to see the Emira in person. Being someone who has seen million dollar cars, and is not easily impressed by much, I still think it will be a stunner. I can only imagine what the "average" person will think when they see my Emira cruising up to a stoplight.

Spring of 2023 seems like a long time to wait to receive it, but I am thrilled I am lucky enough to be in the queue for a First Edition, manual transmission, V6!

What a great story and I'm so happy for you!

I've been a car nut all my life, but went into a different profession as my day job. I have loved Lotus cars from a young child and thought its about time to finally bite the bullet and get one!

 

[NicolasB]

You wouldn’t have seen an Elise in Virginia in 2003. They were not brought into the US until a handful in late 2004 as MY 2005 cars.
There were a few S1 grey market Elises brought in prior, but those were very, very few.

Come to LOG in WVA in September and see hundreds of Lotus, of all vintage, in one place.

Could have been 2004, a little fuzzy on the year.

 

[NicolasB]

What a great story and I'm so happy for you!

I've been a car nut all my life, but went into a different profession as my day job. I have loved Lotus cars from a young child and thought its about time to finally bite the bullet and get one!

Yes, I eventually got out of it and completely changed professions. Now I can afford these fun cars!

 

[GetawayDriving]

I can only imagine what the "average" person will think when they see my Emira cruising up to a stoplight.

As someone who has driven an Exige clear across the country through many small towns (Route 66), the reactions were constant. Every single stop there is something, usually someone asking "What is that thing?" or "How much does that cost?"

Almost everywhere it goes, it brings joy. I had one woman in Amarillo Texas say to me, from the other side of the gas pump, "Thank you for bringing that to our town" which is probably the strangest comment I've received. Was she the mayor?

I've also overheard people making assumptions about what it is, and the go-to seems to be "Lamborghini".

The exige looks like a bug. It's got this mischievous grin and its presence is more pure fun and, I think, less "pretentious" than some other exotics.

I do wonder how the Emira will come across. It's newer, sleeker, more expensive looking, so I wonder if it will invite more of a "tall poppy syndrome".

I'm also worried a bit more now about security, as someone who has had their current car stolen this week. That car was nothing "special", just a very nice looking Jeep Wrangler. It got yanked right out of the driveway of the Airbnb I'm staying at, clearly by professionals because they had the technology to drive it away.

 

[EspritGuy]

As someone who has driven an Exige clear across the country through many small towns (Route 66), the reactions were constant. Every single stop there is something, usually someone asking "What is that thing?" or "How much does that cost?"

Almost everywhere it goes, it brings joy. I had one woman in Amarillo Texas say to me, from the other side of the gas pump, "Thank you for bringing that to our town" which is probably the strangest comment I've received. Was she the mayor?

I've also overheard people making assumptions about what it is, and the go-to seems to be "Lamborghini".

The exige looks like a bug. It's got this mischievous grin and its presence is more pure fun and, I think, less "pretentious" than some other exotics.

I do wonder how the Emira will come across. It's newer, sleeker, more expensive looking, so I wonder if it will invite more of a "tall poppy syndrome".

I'm also worried a bit more now about security, as someone who has had their current car stolen this week. That car was nothing "special", just a very nice looking Jeep Wrangler. It got yanked right out of the driveway of the Airbnb I'm staying at, clearly by professionals because they had the technology to drive it away.

Ouch. Bed and Burglary

 

[GetawayDriving]

Ouch. Bed and Burglary

Not to dampen NicolasB's positive post! Insurance will cover it. My Jeep was a gorgeous spec, but still understated. It got a lot of compliments but wasn't something that would draw attention from non-car people like Emira will. Just a reminder of the double-edged nature of driving something that attracts attention, it will attract the wrong kind of attention too. I took all reasonable precautions with the Jeep - it was locked, had a dash cam front and rear, parked off-street in front of posted security cameras, was factory alarmed and had Satellite tracking (which, so far, has been unsuccessful after 5 days).

One more reason for the manual, the anti-theft transmission.

 

[EspritGuy]

Not to dampen NicolasB's positive post! Insurance will cover it. My Jeep was a gorgeous spec, but still understated. It got a lot of compliments but wasn't something that would draw attention from non-car people like Emira will. Just a reminder of the double-edged nature of driving something that attracts attention, it will attract the wrong kind of attention too. I took all reasonable precautions with the Jeep - it was locked, had a dash cam front and rear, parked off-street in front of posted security cameras, was factory alarmed and had Satellite tracking (which, so far, has been unsuccessful after 5 days).

One more reason for the manual, the anti-theft transmission.

That truly sucks. Wish it meant something to say I'm angry for you for what happened. Wish justice could be served.

 

[MCS]

As someone who has driven an Exige clear across the country through many small towns (Route 66), the reactions were constant. Every single stop there is something, usually someone asking "What is that thing?" or "How much does that cost?"

Almost everywhere it goes, it brings joy. I had one woman in Amarillo Texas say to me, from the other side of the gas pump, "Thank you for bringing that to our town" which is probably the strangest comment I've received. Was she the mayor?

I've also overheard people making assumptions about what it is, and the go-to seems to be "Lamborghini".

The exige looks like a bug. It's got this mischievous grin and its presence is more pure fun and, I think, less "pretentious" than some other exotics.

I do wonder how the Emira will come across. It's newer, sleeker, more expensive looking, so I wonder if it will invite more of a "tall poppy syndrome".

I'm also worried a bit more now about security, as someone who has had their current car stolen this week. That car was nothing "special", just a very nice looking Jeep Wrangler. It got yanked right out of the driveway of the Airbnb I'm staying at, clearly by professionals because they had the technology to drive it away.

It’s not always the nicest cars that are the prime target for theives. I had a GT3 and a Golf R a couple of years back and it was the Golf that would have been the prime target for being nicked. A guy had his Range Rover stolen after a week of buying it. They love stealing those.

 

[MCS]

Talking of rare cars on Saturday I drove past an MG xPower SV. You don’t see many of those

 

[Eagle7]

Not to dampen NicolasB's positive post! Insurance will cover it. My Jeep was a gorgeous spec, but still understated. It got a lot of compliments but wasn't something that would draw attention from non-car people like Emira will. Just a reminder of the double-edged nature of driving something that attracts attention, it will attract the wrong kind of attention too. I took all reasonable precautions with the Jeep - it was locked, had a dash cam front and rear, parked off-street in front of posted security cameras, was factory alarmed and had Satellite tracking (which, so far, has been unsuccessful after 5 days).

One more reason for the manual, the anti-theft transmission.

Definitely sounds like pros. Either they disconnected the battery ASAP, or pulled it into a shielded big rig. Anything on the posted security cameras? Did your dash cam upload to a cloud storage?

Nothing you can do about a shielded big rig, but if the power source was the main car battery, this makes a case for a smaller backup battery somewhere else in the car, so even if they disconnect the main battery, cameras and trackers will still work.

The Emira is going to be tougher to steal because of the manual, if you have that, but also sometimes the thieves don't want very high visibility cars because they're so easily seen and recognized.

I'm considering a BlackVue dash cam for mine. https://blackvue.com/dashcams/4k-cloud/

By the time they see it and realize what it is, it's already gotten their image in clear 4k and uploaded it to the cloud. It isn't particularly cheap, but considering that you won't be able to replace an FE, it's worth it to me. Might even help lower my insurance too if they know it's equipped with one.

 

[GetawayDriving]

Definitely sounds like pros. Either they disconnected the battery ASAP, or pulled it into a shielded big rig. Anything on the posted security cameras? Did your dash cam upload to a cloud storage?

Nothing you can do about a shielded big rig, but if the power source was the main car battery, this makes a case for a smaller backup battery somewhere else in the car, so even if they disconnect the main battery, cameras and trackers will still work.

The Emira is going to be tougher to steal because of the manual, if you have that, but also sometimes the thieves don't want very high visibility cars because they're so easily seen and recognized.

I'm considering a BlackVue dash cam for mine. https://blackvue.com/dashcams/4k-cloud/

By the time they see it and realize what it is, it's already gotten their image in clear 4k and uploaded it to the cloud. It isn't particularly cheap, but considering that you won't be able to replace an FE, it's worth it to me. Might even help lower my insurance too if they know it's equipped with one.

I have two angles from the Airbnb security cameras, but neither clearly identify anyone. It was 4 guys total, all in hoods and masks.

Satellite tracking has been pinging every minute since discovered missing, but I assume that you’re right and they’ve shielded it and disabled it.

Cops suggested that they might stash it underground but after 3-5 days it would probably be loaded on a boat to be shipped overseas. Today is day 6.

I did have a blackvue dash camera, but I did not pay for the extra battery or LTE connection. It was a plug-in hybrid with the big AUX 12V battery as well, and I found the camera would run for days before shutting down due to low voltage. Lack of LTE connection is what got me, I just had a bit of subscription fatigue as I’m already carrying 2 cell plans on my phone for international travel, plus data for other devices and Wi-Fi hotspot in the jeep. I was less concerned with someone outright stealing it the thing and more concerned about accidents / fraud / parking damage / petty theft out of the soft top. Lesson learned on that one.

Emira will have Scorpion tracker, dash cam with data connection and battery, and about 10 Apple AirTags hidden behind body panels lol. Go ahead fellas, try to find them all.

 

[EspritGuy]

I have two angles from the Airbnb security cameras, but neither clearly identify anyone. It was 4 guys total, all in hoods and masks.

Satellite tracking has been pinging every minute since discovered missing, but I assume that you’re right and they’ve shielded it and disabled it.

Cops suggested that they might stash it underground but after 3-5 days it would probably be loaded on a boat to be shipped overseas. Today is day 6.

I did have a blackvue dash camera, but I did not pay for the extra battery or LTE connection. It was a plug-in hybrid with the big AUX 12V battery as well, and I found the camera would run for days before shutting down due to low voltage. Lack of LTE connection is what got me, I just had a bit of subscription fatigue as I’m already carrying 2 cell plans on my phone for international travel, plus data for other devices and Wi-Fi hotspot in the jeep. I was less concerned with someone outright stealing it the thing and more concerned about accidents / fraud / parking damage / petty theft out of the soft top. Lesson learned on that one.

Emira will have Scorpion tracker, dash cam with data connection and battery, and about 10 Apple AirTags hidden behind body panels lol. Go ahead fellas, try to find them all.

Quite an unfortunate saga. You didn't say what country/state you were in. This sure sounds like a professional job, snatching a car undetected.

 

[GetawayDriving]

Quite an unfortunate saga. You didn't say what country/state you were in. This sure sounds like a professional job, snatching a car undetected.

It happened in Montreal, I came here for the F1 race.

 

[Eagle7]

A practiced team of 4 who knew exactly what they were doing. They had a shopping list and your's fit the bill. It's already in a shipping container and either been loaded on a ship or about to be. Most likely heading to South America. Even if you had any kind of images of those guys, they've probably already been rotated out of the country. I was reading about how these cartels have professional teams that are rotated out every 30-90 days, so no one team is in an area very long, and they have it all worked out with getting cars into shielded trucks, to the docks, into big cargo containers, onto ships and out they go. There's a huge number of these cars that show up on the streets of South America being driven by government people down there.

Once in awhile they find one of these containers on the docks before they get shipped out, usually when they're looking for drugs, and they're always full of expensive Mercedes, BMWs, Jeeps, etc. They're the kind of vehicles that government people down there want. It's sad that the authorities here know all about this, including the insurance companies, but they don't really do much about it if anything at all. They even send agents down there and can see the cars all over the road, and they know they're stolen, but nothing is done about it.

The Apple Airtag thing is a good idea. I'll buy a 4-pack and put them in various places in the car. Probably put one in the glove box that will be easy to spot, so if they look and find it, they'll think they're in the clear and won't suspect there's 3 more hidden.

 

[Lowtush]

You wouldn’t have seen an Elise in Virginia in 2003. They were not brought into the US until a handful in late 2004 as MY 2005 cars.
There were a few S1 grey market Elises brought in prior, but those were very, very few.

Come to LOG in WVA in September and see hundreds of Lotus, of all vintage, in one place.

What is LOG? It's In West Virginia?

 

[GetawayDriving]

What is LOG? It's In West Virginia?

Lotus Owners Gathering, this year in West Virginia

LOG41 Back Up Lodge: Blackwater Falls - Lotus LTD

The host lodge for LOG 41 at Canaan Valley is almost at full capacity. The backup hotel is the Blackwater Lodge in Blackwater Falls State Park, located at 1584 Blackwater Lodge Road, Davis, West Virginia 26260. It is approximately 7 miles from the host hotel. The rooms they are holding for us...

lotusltd.com

 

[Lowtush]

Lotus Owners Gathering, this year in West Virginia

LOG41 Back Up Lodge: Blackwater Falls - Lotus LTD

The host lodge for LOG 41 at Canaan Valley is almost at full capacity. The backup hotel is the Blackwater Lodge in Blackwater Falls State Park, located at 1584 Blackwater Lodge Road, Davis, West Virginia 26260. It is approximately 7 miles from the host hotel. The rooms they are holding for us...

lotusltd.com

Super cool. Thanks for sharing.