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So, If Ireland can bring in legislation to do this, why can't we simply send the "boat" migrants straight back to France which is a safe country, or indeed, why cannot Ireland send them straight back to France and miss out the UK altogether? It just really bamboozles me as to why we cannot do simple things in this country without it being deemed to be against people's human rights, whereas other countries seem able to? What am I missing? If the UK is deemed to be a "safe country" to return these people too, then surely we just designate France as a "safe country" and send them on? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68914399

But that is "their" point @Escape. By having the vehicles being controlled autonomously the driver will not need to respond, and eventually, will be unable to respond, as they we will not have a steering wheel etc. This is ultimately where this legislation is going. At that point, your every movement will be monitored, and often, controlled. If you have an android phone (no idea if it is the same with Appleshite) then go into Google Maps on your PC and check out your timeline. It has tracked exactly where you've been and your journeys. For any of you out there who may be having an affair, just hope and pray your wife never learns how to check your timeline in Google Maps. You'll be well and truly screwed, and not in the nice way you've been enjoying....

Totally agree @jep with your last post. Spot on. Nothing worse than an Evora kept outside with little use as it will just slowly rot (or all the mild steel under the body and attached to the chassis will!). My Evora has lived, from new, in a heated garage. When I went on the absolute Lotus Highland Tour last year, the tour guide thought my car was "brand new" as the brake discs and suspension etc were as they left the factory in terms of how they looked. That was after 5 years at that point. Not sure they'd have looked that good after 5 years standing outside, with little use, even under a car cover.

This was discussed at length, on here, before the Emira was launched and is part of the EU legislation that we rolled over after Brexit. Questions were being asked if the Emira would have it, but as the model was launched prior to 2022 it was OK. This only effects new models (not revisions to older models iirc). The system will always be active when the car is started, but you can switch it off (like the auto engine stop start function) and even when on, you can over ride by pressing down fully on the accelerator (might be required to avoid any accident for instance). Ultimately, all of this tech (that many including enthusiastic drivers on here crave) will signal the end of "cars for the drivers" as we'll all be passengers and cars will be autonomous - automatic collision avoidance, lane keep assist, lidar, traffic sign recognition, auto cruise control, etc. All of this is the tech being slowly introduced, and tested, ready for when all you will be able to do is to be a passenger in an autonomous vehicle. This is a restriction of your freedom to move around freely at your own will that is being introduced by stealth. You already have many new EV's that now have the ability to be geofenced, restricting when and where you can "drive". This is just another layer on top. Last night, rather than sit and watch some shite on the telly, I went out for an 80 mile drive on a favourite route with some nice twisty roads. Hardly any traffic about and so it was fun and relaxing, and definitely for the driver. In the future, you just want be able to do that. Great!

All it takes is just one owner who drove it like he stole it! How do you know how it was driven by any owner unless you know the owner, know someone who knows the owner, or the owner is an "influenza" who posts their driving online? These are usually "toy" purchases and the fact they could have a new owner every year is not uncommon. You get the same with McLaren, Ferrari et al. People buy them to scratch an itch, then get an itch some place else and go and scratch that. Number of owners I would suggest is not an issue. Maintenance and service history, and upgrades or not, are probably the key determining factor as even with a hard life, if they are maintained and serviced well they will last.

Probably on ScottishElises site though I rarely go on that now.

We've got one in the Garden. It competes with the Woodpecker for the nuts n' stuff we put out. Fantastic to watch. We've also got a Pheasant that comes for breakfast and a couple of deer that come to eat some of the spring bulbs new shoots. Far better than seeing humans.

That was probably me (Fire Red Evora Sport 410). Just out on a quick blast around a favourite 80mile loop of mine taking in North Fife, down through Auchtermuchty, Milnathort, Glendevon, Dunning, Forteviot then home. Had an absolute blast and hardly any traffic about.

Yes, both owned by Ford at the time iirc and lots of cross over, but at the end of the day two different car brands and two different markets, so not sure why it is a relevant comparator to the Evora and Emira which are from the same brand. Why did it need a "Yawn alert"?

Evora's generally speaking are quite low mileage as usually bought as a 2nd or 3rd car and used at weekends etc. Obviously, some higher mileage cars out there that have been used as daily drivers. Emira was aimed at being a daily driver, so I'm not so sure their mileage will be lower than an Evora. If anything, I see them carrying more miles at the same age, and significantly more miles as they get older. There is also the fact that there are, and will be, significantly more Emira's for sale than Evora's. I don't know where the prices will go, but I don 't see the Evora and Emira as a "crossover" model. If you want uptodate modern interiors and tech, then the Emira will be your thing. But if you want a driver focused, low tech, but highly capable "toy" with lots of exclusivity, then the Evora will be the one. Two different markets and personas.

That's nice to know, however, when you look at what they do for Chinese customers versus UK ones.... But then we probably get better treatment in the UK than others in other countries.

If I had a pound for every car manufacturer who threatened to pull out of the UK I'd be able to buy a drink in a top Mayfair establishment. We had all these threats of Brexit, and what happened? Sweet FA. And, the same thing will happen here. It's just nonsense as always.

Ah, I see. So it's all basically bull shit, just like just about everything to do with "marketing". Got it. I was really confused as struggled to see how something inert like a number plate could be 4D due to the lack of the "time" element which i had been comprehensively taught was the 4th dimension. As for 5D, 6D, 7D or whatever, it just really proves that the world is just full of mindless cretins, both in terms of the people who make this shit up, and people who swallow it! Thanks all.

I guess you were confirming what I was reluctant to say, which is what future does Hethel really have "when", not if, the manufacturing stops. As for the redevelopment, it's a brownfield site isn't it so I am sure a way will be found that justifies its use over potential green belt etc. I'm not a local though, so no idea of the politics around it but there does seem to be a lot of development happening all over Norfolk.

It was a serious question by the way....

4D? I get length, width, and depth. But what's the fourth Dimension?

So many variables with the "Ring" time including weather, tyres, etc. As this seems important to you I am assuming the car will spend a lot of time on track. Given that, surely you'd be better off looking at a V6 Exige?

It's not that the Lotus ethos is not sustainable, after all Caterham still survives. Ginetta is still going. The MX5 continues to sell etc. Lotus, for whatever reason, was not content with being a small volume car manufacturer pandering to a niche. You had the Bah Bah sheep mentality that seemed to think that Lotus should b e up their with Ferrari, Porsche, Bentley, Aston Martin et al. The brand, unlike some of the products, has just never had that cachet. Oodles and oodles of cash have been wasted chasing that "dream" whilst arguably, at the same time, moving the products away from the hard core fan base. We now have a situation where Lotus is basically a Chinese owned and run company. There is little real difference, at the very top, to how Lotus and MG are now run by the Chinese and increasingly dominated by the needs, desires and direction of that home market. MG did not have the manufacturing base to contend with in the UK, so they are more overt in terms of their Chinese ownership, but their products are largely well made, do OK in the reviews, and are selling like hot cakes to the masses making their Chinese owners some good money and reinforcing the value of the brand etc - revenues up by 122% and profits up from £4.3m to £54m in the past year). Whilst Lotus has moved to the upper "premium" market, MG has focused on cars consumers can afford to buy in large numbers. Lotus on the other hand, has continued its ever stretching move to the upper premium sector, with new products, for new consumers in a new market, and like MG, the manufacturing legacy (and the customers attracted by it) in the UK is less and less important to the market they are chasing. I am totally aware that Lotus as a company has a perfect right to change, adapt, and move on. However, let us not for one minute pretend that the Lotus we see now, and in the future, has much to do with the legacy of Chapman, Hethel, Kimberely etc. Yes they will "use" the legacy for marketing, but that is increasingly all I believe it is, just marketing. Lotus is dead. Long live Lotus.

I think it will struggle to reach £60k. I really do not like the ones with the glass "400" model hatch and three piece spoiler. A big downgrade, obviously only in my opinion, to the full carbon hatch.

Reading that press release I worry about the long term future of Hethel, the signs are there that Hethel will just become a manufacturing only location which, if we're honest, leaves open the future possibility to consolidate all manufacturing in China. Yes, there has been a significant investment in Hethel but that woukd be largely recouped if the site was sold off for housing etc.

I know they get a hard time but I submitted my 2023-24 Self Assessment last Tuesday, online, to HMRC. I've never had any issues dealing with Self Assessment in over 25 years. The tax man owed me over £7k apparently, and it was in my bank account this morning, just over a week later. That made me happy! Credit where credit is due, that's a great service!

Yeah sorry, been oot and posts overlapped. Couldn't you sell this as a "story" to the Sun. I'm sure they'd run it! So much for everyone being treated equally. You could of course decide to identify as a woman..... Just saying 👍

That sounds better @Kimbers! It would seem that sexism is rife and knows no bounds in our judicial and Police system.

Can you not now apply for a restraining order re the internet and other contact? Sorry, may be a dumb ask....

Which Lotus model are you advising us to steer clear of?