Esprit videos on Youtube, hundreds of 'em...!

[hopo]

It's the look and a bit more poke in after. V8 owners will tell you how reliable they are but you undoubtably need deep pockets and there are some horror stories out there.

 

i looked at that car when it was for sale in 2014 at castle, it was beautiful. Perfect spec, right colour, wheels, s4s and alcantara with sport seats. Bob on. There's no way in hell I would pay £34k for that. It sold for 22 odd in 2014 after sitting around for ages. Values have no doubt increased but not to that extent. I'd go to approx 27 for it 

[stephenwhyte]

Give it a go Jon at £27k...... you never know your luck!

[Barrykearley]

There's an utterly shagged green one on eBay you could bag at £27k I reckon. It's hanging in all the wrong areas !! Although list as having investment potential. Be prepared to burn £10k on that one and she would be amazing

[hopo]

was that the green one with the Gold centred wheels? looked ok, a few odd tings and bit of paintwork required plus the gold wheels were naff. I asked to see the service history and was shown a total of 5 bills over the course of the vehicles lifetime. I then promptly left.

[Chillidoggy]

Hopo - I know that yellow S4s, seen it at one of our Kent meets at Detling last year but cannot for the life of me remember who owns it. He's a TLF member, though. I think it may be on a commissioned sale with UKSC, so if you are interested it could be worth seeing if you can get in touch with him on here.

[stephenwhyte]

31 minutes ago, ian29gte said:

Hopo - I know that yellow S4s, seen it at one of our Kent meets at Detling last year but cannot for the life of me remember who owns it. He's a TLF member, though. I think it may be on a commissioned sale with UKSC, so if you are interested it could be worth seeing if you can get in touch with him on here.

The owner I believe you refer to is mentioned here......

 

[Barrykearley]

20 hours ago, hopo said:

was that the green one with the Gold centred wheels? looked ok, a few odd tings and bit of paintwork required plus the gold wheels were naff. I asked to see the service history and was shown a total of 5 bills over the course of the vehicles lifetime. I then promptly left.

Yup that's the one - wheels have been repainted now I understand. Cambelts on that car are at least 8 years old if I'm correct. I'd not even want to start that car

[pete]

On 26/12/2016 at 21:17, hopo said:

It's the look and a bit more poke in after. V8 owners will tell you how reliable they are but you undoubtably need deep pockets and there are some horror stories out there.

 

 

Have you looked at Wayne`s s4

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/lotus/esprit/lotus-esprit-turbo-s4/6386285

[hopo]

Not sure if the car is still for sale as the advert is still listed but does not show on the main Esprit section of Pistonheads.

It does look a lovely car - very nice indeed. In my opinion strong money for the model and mileage though.

 

[The Pits]

 

[The Pits]

I wanted to do a Panasonic Cockpit juke box series featuring hits from 1981. Was hoping the quality would be so bad that the YT nazi bots wouldn't pick it up. No chance!

Lots of free to use music in the creator studio if you want, most of it is awful but better than no video I guess.

[The Pits]

 

[Jacques]

What could have been a nice video representing the Lotus Esprit, became a joke with a funny guy talking about how good the Esprit is on a curvy road, while driving along a dead straight boring road, while telling the viewer about all the critique he could ever dream of. I shall refrain from putting him down because of his ridiculous video, as it pretty much speak for himself. What a Porsche fanboy. Stick to that my friend, and let those who appreciate real car handling enjoy that.

Maybe he should put things in perspective, relative to the competition at the time. Oh well, 911's still explode an dancing donkeys still smell. An example, he opens the glove compartment widely and probably did not treat the leather since long, so it makes a sound. Well, mine doesn't. Or he cannot even shut a door. Or he is afraid of showing himself to the viewers, so he wears sunglasses. On a video... Say a lot. Anyway, kudos for making a video of his friends Esprit, just a pity that it turned out so bad. I don't mind a video making people aware of relevant things to look out for, or to avoid, but let it be factual, not a spiral of negativity. Then why do a video? Last time I looked, a 911 had a twisted engine block, the "leather" inside the cabin was made of plastic and the buttons were spread all over the car. And 328 or 348 didn't do much better in terms of quality. That just it. It's a sign of that period. Maybe he knows where water ingress is typical on a testarossa? Or the screws that holds the sills on, on a 348? Did anyone whisper ims? Or chain tensioner?

I guess not. I like them all, because they are all cars that drive well, and are fun to drive. Being idiosyncratic is a sweet part of the deal. Look at what happened to poor Lamborghini. They have been criticised for ages regarding their way of driving, view out, buttons, being scary and what not. What happens when audi ownership took care of all of that? the reviewers criticise them for being an expensive audi, being boring, functioning all too well and ... not being scary...

That says a lot about these selv made types who pump videos out on the web.

Panel gaps or not, I'll take the Esprit any day.

Kind regards,

Jacques.

[GTK]

1 hour ago, Buddsy said:

.... over all most of his points seems fair.

Do they though Buddsy? Seems to me like another motoring journo unwilling to step away from the accepted and unquestioned blue book description. Don't get me wrong, I have no experience to the contrary with any Lotus, but was he right to just go with the flock and assume the Esprit is notably unreliable in comparison to it's contemporaries? Likewise the parts bin thing... so many exotics use parts from their associated [or not] marques, it's the easy thing to say about a Lotus though. 

Frankly it just seems like the same old review using the same brand of lazy journalism, which is a shame from this guy seeing as he's not just a youtuber, he writes for a major auto brand.

[Jacques]

Exactly my point.

No, of course I didn't get the wrong leg out of the bed. I did get up very early thogh  But as George, I do think he made a nice video, but a bad video - aka review. He seems to know nil about the car, but eat every lots of trouble usually serious etc. statement done by others, blatantly ignorantly amatourish. In this repect (or lack thereof from the reviewers side), it seems only fair to be criticised for his seemingly lack of real knowledge. Basically, he just copies what some others have written, and as such, he fails to make an interesting video, and more importantly, do not put it into perspective, as I tried to explain.

To me, he is just another member of the all sportscars are great, as long as the spell Porsche. Well, with that view on his mind, I think it's great that he didn't buy the car, but it went to a friend of his, who will probably appreciate it more for what it is and how it is built. My friends 996 was very bad made as I have explained in other threads, and as such it should be seen in the light of other offerings, to put a perspective on the review. It could have been good, despite Lotus seemingly "lousy quality as usual", but it never did. Copycat.

Kind regards, also to the reviewer

Jacques.

[Jacques]

Yes, I think you are right in that. He may have changed his mind. And rightfully so, as it's the better drivers car  Not because I have one, of course, but because it is.

But part wise, I don't see anything wrong in using parts that someone else do well, like door handles, side mirrors etc. So, as an example, do I hear McLaren F1 or the XJ220 being criticised by the same "one view fits all", as they use a Citroën CX side mirror? No, don't think so. I see it more as Lotus being the chosen "beat the donkey". Fame does not automatically warrant integrity.

A real serious journalist. Yeah right.  

Kind regards,

Jacques.

[GTK]

Ferraris have used Fiat parts a plenty, Alfa parts too. Lamborghini have used the latter and GM parts too I hear at least. Porsches - VW. Here check this out Buddsy, and there are loads of articles like that.  Parts bin raids are commonplace and always have been in the motor industry, its just god biz, but yes Lotus has been the poster child for it forever. So anyway I really meant the original question Buds; has your Esprit been unreliable?

To be fair to Hoovie, he's a likeable guy [I have to be careful seeing as throwing stones from a glass house]. I don't usually watch other channels because I don't want to be influenced, I do try and research what I'm talking about. A pal watches Hoovie and put me onto him a while back around the time he had an ML stolen. He managed to get it under the noses of the local TV new network. They featured his story and he got [iirc] about 60k new subscriptions on his channel overnight. 

 

[Jacques]

I would say that generally speaking, there is a tendency these years that one size fit's all. That there is a thin vail that filters most opposing views so that it resembles a sort of social control. As most people want to belong to a group, a social belonging, an accepted one that is, it is sometimes a question of having guts to break free from the social control if one have a different mind. Some of us might come to terms in agreeing that there is not automatically such thing as a free press. Seeing this into an Automotive perspective, one might argue that the reviews of cars, are not automatically neither rightfully true nor without any links between the reviewer and the hand that feeds him or her.

It is all too easy to gain success on a certain level, by collaborating or simply agreeing with the generally accepted state of a matter. It is an entirely different matter to go upstream, having a different view on some matters. Having another view on matters is not automatically right in itself, but neither is the general one. Just because someone agrees with the general publically accepted norm, does not make that view right.

Seeing this in a perspective of narrative psychology, one may argue that it takes a quite deep determination to go against the socially accepted main oppinion. The human mind may be leaning towards creating it's own reality by argueing for this. The more one speaks about a certain oppinion, the more it influences ones mind to accept it as the "truth". One becomes ones own social constructionism. The interpersonel relations may well be important for ones own understanding of one self. The language acts as a mediative bridge between individuals, and between groups. In this mediation, lies a socially accepted reference of the vocabulary, therefore creating a unity. If not, it would be egocentric and no common ground would be created.

By having this accepted mediation through language as the most important one, it give rise to a local community, in which there is a certain reality, being true or not, by creating it's own "truth", which is seen as reality. This arena is not global, but local, and therefore it is given, that many likewise local realities are in existence. If, on the other hand, everything is up for debate, and no general concensus is created, it will lead to confusion and may further create a feeling of lack of belonging. Within each local reality, there is an interest in upholding the accepted norm. One may say that it acts as a centripetal force. Like a mass that rotates around a center, not unlike say the Earth spins around the Sun. The force upholds the search towards the center and only when the force stops, the object, the Earth/the matter of oppinion, moves away from the center as a sort of tangent to the circle of circumference. Anyway, this force acts as a warranty for both upholding the existing oppinion, as well as exclusion of differing oppinions.

This is also valid, as I stated above, for the Automotive World. Both in the press, the web and in social Groups like for example a forum. Being a reviwer for a mag, online mag or similar, the subject is extensively subjected to this mechanism. The more it is told, the more true it becomes in peoples mind, belonging or looking into the social Group, say readers/viewers. This is often a subconsious inlaid functionality, which we have been using since our earliest childhood, up till where we are today. Any day, any moment. As it influences our way of perception, it also influences the way we relate to the matter of making a review of something likea car. Say an Esprit of yesteryear. The common ground is very easy to give in to, as it is being upheld by a large number of people and is a social reality. Therefore the one size fits all analogy I mentioned earlier in my earlier response to the debate about this video. Alternative oppinions and views of reality is excluded very easy and instead the common social Construction that an Esprit is this and that, being build like this or that, having cheap pieces of equipment or for example  lacking building quality, and ultimately being lots of trouble usually serious, despite when in fact it's very common to use bits and bobs from sub-suppliers, even using the very same on a socially accepted other car, which fits the agreed social constructed reality, which is seen as truth, is seen as reality. One  that is very hard to argue with.

I therefore think the oppinions and views expressed in the aforementioned video of the Esprit, is based on a social Construction that is not exactly true, not unlike a common ground for mockery, being that friendly or otherwise, but ultimately leads to a repetition of the all too common views. This, as the reviewer expresses, is contradicted to a cartain extent by the driving experience. I therefore give no agreement to the views expressed in the video, nor do I do the opposite. Processes of feelings and learning are not easily separated, but demands motivation and determination. I think it takes determination to look honestly at an old Esprit, negatively or positively, but in a context which is ones own expression, not the socially accepted common one. The more we read about Lotus Esprit being a kit car, being build to a lesser standard, using cheap parts from other cars etc, the more it becomes the norm. Reviewers gladly takes part in this.

Think for example of the Esprit always being called a plastic car (lay in that what you want). And proudly being shouted out all over the World by reviewers, selfmade or employed, as a testimony to it's insuperiority. Then think of the Ferrari 308 in glassfiber, as the very first ones were made of. Being called vetroresina, not plastic, and highly regarded as superrior examples of the race, by the very same people. That is social constructionism and that creates the reality in peoples mind to a large extent, therefore being the all too often told ethos of Lotus Esprit.

Kind regards to each and everyone including reviewers 

Jacques.

[GTK]

Jaysus Jacques! 

Edit: you're on the money.

[espritmania]

Good Vid,I liked it.

[Jacques]

Well, I just thought that it's about time we take the spoon in our own hand, and react to the bombardment of social narrative constructionism that tells the old story of Lotus being inferrior cars, when in fact the opposite can be demonstrated. Other threads have taken this theme up in a debate of why this goes on. Here's an attempt from me  on an explanation seen from that particular view on the matter. I like videos of Esprits, of course. But looking at the comments on youtube videos in general, it seems that they are often plagued by negativity, insults and so on. And the videos stay there, undisputed. If we flip the Picture around so that Lotus (Esprit) were the seven Wonders of the World by definition, as it seems to be the case with certain other brands, and the reviewers who gladly tell the same old narrative Again and Again, I would still be on the guard, still write the same post as in the above. It's a matter of principle.

Right, so let's see another good video, then

Cheers,

Jacques.

[Jacques]

I think this one has been presented here before, but I think this guy is making a sober view on an Esprit. Yes, he mave many points of future buyers to be aware of, but he is genuinely positive towards the car in the way that he is not negative in essence and it shows in his video. This is the difference between presenting a video not so greatly and a good one, actually stating many of the same points. I enjoy it anyway

Kind regards,

Jacques.

[Jacques]

And here's a great clip with two of my 3 favourite cars. Only misses a Miura.

Enjoy! 

Kind regards,

Jacques.

[march]

Just been watching the last episode of the final season Amazon Primes 'Halt and Catch Fire' series(those of a certain age will get this title) - Brilliant Series for someone who has grown up with the invention of personal computing through to the Internet etc. And to top it off the last episode shows one of the main characters finally being happy - and he turns up in a Lotus Esprit S4S - The perfect ending!

The funny thing is he starts the first series in a Porsche 911 and ends up all grown up and happy in an Esprit S4S .

HACF1.mp4

Edited November 1, 2017 by march