Arregueti

Many thanks! Will try to register there.

The link to the Excel manuals at the bottom of the post does not seem to work. Is there still a way to obtain this manual?

Looks like a beast wearing a muzzle... You need to set it free.

Racing Green, yes, but fading a bit under the (lack of) sun in Luxembourg :-)

Uh! Let's see who bites back! My son will certainly want to try.

It won't be me to judge their religious approach to spending money... Diversity just makes us better, you could say... What website you said they used to sell their cars? :-) (apologies for moving this thread off topic, though.)

Yes, and all theToyota bits and pieces which contributed to higher reliability. A very nice, under-rated car. The one to have when you have small kids. I am convinced, too. Just need to find the right one. LHD looks like a must to me now, so you are probably right; either I pay the premium or I open my mind... Let's see where I end up.

Good to know, thanks. Actually, I think I saw the green car in the Jim Clark memorial in Hockenheim in April. It was already for sale but a substantially higher price (highly unrealistic in my opinion).The leather on the driver seat was in need of some work but that was all I managed to see. :-) From the pictures the red car seems to have a sound interior and keeps coming back to my eyes... :-) Generally speaking, I have not seen the cars so it is difficult to compare/judge the prices. I understand also that there are not many LHD Excels on the market, but there seems to be quite a substantial premium over a RHD... I am just starting my search and I am not sure if I would be paying too much for any of these. What do you think? I keep thinking about it... I will probably take the risk of waiting a bit further and see if the price moves down by the end of the summer. Your thoughts would be extremely appreciated.

Thanks. That solves my unability / lack of skills in the Youtube environment... Will do my homework over the weekend. Mine may well be the first in wet conditions... How does that count in terms of handicap?

If my recollection is correct French Gendarmes do not require you to have them, actually. They decided not to enforce it when the rule was about to enter into force.

Many thanks Don, This is very useful. And your offer to visit the car is extremely kind!. I just realized now that you are indeed very close!. I am a bit further away, and I may make use of your knowledge (and kindness) if I decide to move forward. Your knowledge would certailnly be very useful to avoid costly mistakes! Without seeing it, the red car seems sound and tempting. What puzzles me is that it claims to be an SE but the AD reports 160 ps. (actually I thought the control cruiser was just a mistake...) Many thanks again. Jorge

That sounds nice. Hope it will become true. And you should be awarded with the "Sherlock Holmes of the month" TLF award! Edit: Anyone in the audit/consulting world here? This quote from slide 17 is nice: "The above services were undertaken upon the acquisition of PROTON and its related companies and were rendered by Messrs. Ernst & Young, in Malaysia and the United Kingdom"

Hi, I have scanned through the Excel section but have not found a "wide body Excel buying guide", so I am making a call for tips and advice from knowledgeable Excel owners... Once bitten by the Lotus virus, I am currently looking for a LHD Excel and have focused on these two (see links to ads below), after some research and benchmark on prices. One is the 160 ps early version while the other is the 180 ps later car. Both claim to be in good shape, obviously, but my limited skills in this kind of cars and mechanics more generally incline me to ask before doing something stupid... My question is: Would you have a preference for one or the other "setup" and/or, what are, in your experience, the specific things I should be looking at when buying any of these cars? The ads are in German but google translate does miracles :-) Red http://suchen.mobile.de/auto-inserat/lotus-excel-se-lhd-landau/197293882.html?lang=en&pageNumber=1&__lp=1&scopeId=C&sortOption.sortBy=searchNetGrossPrice&makeModelVariant1.makeId=15900&makeModelVariant1.modelId=9&makeModelVariant1.searchInFreetext=false&makeModelVariant2.searchInFreetext=false&makeModelVariant3.searchInFreetext=false&damageUnrepaired=ALSO_DAMAGE_UNREPAIRED&export=ALSO_EXPORT&noec=1 Green http://suchen.mobile.de/auto-inserat/lotus-excel-kaarst/198369973.html?lang=en&pageNumber=1&__lp=1&scopeId=C&sortOption.sortBy=searchNetGrossPrice&makeModelVariant1.makeId=15900&makeModelVariant1.modelId=9&makeModelVariant1.searchInFreetext=false&makeModelVariant2.searchInFreetext=false&makeModelVariant3.searchInFreetext=false&damageUnrepaired=ALSO_DAMAGE_UNREPAIRED&export=ALSO_EXPORT&noec=1 Many thanks in advance for any tips and advice. Jorge

Shhh. That was going to be my secret card.

Not quite sure... I may have one of my kids to volunteer for the test, though... That could be a nice idea for a separate category: Best time for kids in & out of the rear seats in the Evora. Which would prove that the Evora is also a suitable family car.

Well done! If Evoras are in to the test I may give it a try over the weekend. The time seems difficult to beat, though. :-)

In the same page... http://www.autogespot.co.uk/movie:-lotus-tests-three-exiges-on-the-nurburgring My Evora is manual, so I cannot judge how IPS works/sounds but It sounds slightly different when shifting, IMO... Probably into a new thread anyway, based on the body-shell used. :-)

For the Swiss part (if going through Switzerland) I would go through Grimsel, the Rhone valley and then get into Italy through Simplon. Enjoy!

Just a thought, probably too expensive and unfeasible to move the cars and instructors but... ...maybe it would be good if they provided some of their training-programs beyond the UK and the Hethel facilities, in places like Spa or the Nurburgring...or other circuits in France, Spain, Italy, etc. to quote a few. If clients are not coming or the weather is too tough in winter, go where the clients (and the sun) are... This way they might also support the local dealers in selling the cars. RSR is doing just that kind of thing with the local dealer here, offering reduced rates for their training days. I bought some training and was offered a couple of laps on the Nordschelife with an instructor by the dealer (which was very nice of them). I have been thinking myself about taking LDA's extended course but would certainly do it if they came a bit closer. Drawback is that I would not be able to do the factory tour, though :-)

Good point, but that is no problem. Rather a good argument to negotiate the price. And that sand will just go away with the heavy rain and unrestricted autobahns we use to get here in central Europe.

Good to know where to look for LHD Evoras in a few years time...

Nice post(s) and a good marketing idea. Who volunteers for the youtube videos, then? Maybe it becomes viral. In terms of product strategy, I think they should not confine themselves to the "single-seater" / "track-day toy". Agreed that first thing is that they must get the next Elise right but I think they should keep trying with a 2+2 or similar layout. Even if the Evora is not an economic success, it is still a joy to drive and a good start-up platform for other vehicles. I am convinced that its reputation will just improve with the years, as happens to good wine. Name it Evora S2 or Etna but, please, keep trying to offer Lotus DNA to a larger audience who can cross the continent at high pace with a lot of comfort and still cross Grimselpass or Simplon on its way to the Italian lakes with that magic feedback from the steering wheel. It is probably day-dreaming in terms of resources available to the company now but IMO it would be very good if they managed to develop an Excel or, probably better, build up a Lotus branded and engineered hot-hatch (be it Gt86, Toyota Auris or Peugeot 308 R by Lotus) that would help raising brand awareness and bringing new clients.

I have owned mine since April 2013 and have done roughly 12,000 kms. on it. It is also a third/weekend car.

I have been reading you quietly...just wanted to publicly show my respect to all of you on the lines of what has been said above. That is the odd thing about sensitivity. You need it to appreciate the best things in life in full depth (be it art, relationships, driving your cherished high-end fine tuned sports car or simply enjoying living) but it sometimes comes at a price. Don't despair. This thread says a lot about you. And, imho, I think you can all be proud of who you are. To Simon: Sharing here and challenging yourself is already a very good starting point, IMO. If you asked me, I would say that the way to go is searching for inner peace and acceptance of who and how you are. Don´t push yourself. And you are no loser. There is nothing wrong in calling mum. Italians (and Spaniards) do it all the time. It is just a cultural thing. :-)

That is nice, Bibs. Does this include non-UK resident FFMs...?