Paying Homage to Lotus

A slight nose job--the 2011 Elise (Image courtesy of netcarshow.com).

I have long been a fan of Lotus. For me, it represents what a true sports ought to be--fickle and demanding, but also wonderfully alluring and utterly unique. During the Colin Chapman era, Lotus made a name for itself with legends like Moss, Clark, and Hill at the wheel. Later, it was Fittipaldi, Andretti, and Senna carrying on the Lotus name in Formula 1. But these days, Lotus is a much different company. While it will once again have a car on the grid in Formula 1, this Lotus team is of a novel kind, without true connections to the Team Lotus of yore. Further, the Esprit, perhaps the most recognizable of the road-going Lotuses, saw production cease in 2004, though it is slated to return in two years.

Today, the success of Lotus rests, principally, with the Elise, which has undergone a slight nose job for 2011. It takes a particular customer to purchase an Elise. It has always been a bare-bones sports car, without the electronic gadgets common to the majority of today's sports cars. Of course, it is blindingly quick, due mainly to its minimal weight. Also, even considering the significant mechanical strides Lotus has made in the past decades, it is still a Lotus and, as such, it requires some mechanical know-how, or a nearby Lotus service technician.

In my opinion, the Elise is the single truest example of a sports car available today (with consideration given to the MSRP). I realize that this is a bold statement, but in a time when sports cars are increasingly fitted with navigation systems, heated seats, and automatic transmissions, the Elise is a reminder of where sports cars originated, namely, on the track, driven by slightly (if not completely) crazy individuals, whose only concerns were a clean heel-toe downshift and the condition of the tires.

The Elise has nothing the driver does not need; it is loud, brash, and rides as smooth as a track car on city streets; and, most importantly, it makes no apologies whatsoever. That, in my estimation, is what makes Lotus so special--and refreshing--in the automobile world today. You do not buy a Lotus to ferry yourself to the Country Club on Saturday--you buy a Cayman. You do not buy a Lotus to drive to work every day--you buy a CLK. You buy a Lotus to drive it because that is what it is meant to do--that, and nothing else.

Mercedes SLS Follow-Up

The SLS Pace Car (Image courtesy of Car and Driver).

To follow-up an earlier post on the forthcoming release of the Mercedes SLS AMG, Mercedes and Formula 1 have announced that the SLS AMG will become the new pace car at Formula 1 races. Apart from the lights and decals, the only changes made to the standard SLS are carbon-fiber mirrors and a noisier exhaust.

AMG cars have served as the official Formula 1 pace cars for the last 13 seasons. A C63 AMG Estate will once again serve as the medical car at races, as well.

Don't Do It, Land Rover

A new Land Rover... I think. (Image courtesy of cargurus.com)

Being a little behind in my automotive news, I was surprised (and horrified) to find that Land Rover will be producing a small, for-the-peasants SUV, with production beginning in 2011. First of all, I will admit that I like the direction in which Land Rover is going with their engines in slowly implementing hybrid technology across their model line. Land Rover has always been somewhat antiquated--on purpose, it seems--which, in my opinion, has only added to their charm and appeal, amongst the smattering of other bland SUVs on the market. But, despite their classic image, Land Rover would surely be foolish to ignore the trend towards hybrid technology in the SUV marketplace.

However, the LRX strikes me as a mistake. First, it is a Land Rover with two doors which, apart from only appealing to the 17-year-old daughters of current Land Rover owners, seems like too dramatic of a departure from their brand image. For consumers, there is little else that will compel them to spend the extra money on a LRX over its competitors, aside from the fact that it is a Land Rover; that, it seems to me, is an awful lot for Land Rover to hang its hat on. Second, it is ugly. While this point might be debated, I will stick by my opinion on this one.

Lastly, it seems that Land Rover has not learned from its mistakes. Remember the Freelander? A couple people wanted them when they came out, but those sentiments were short-lived. The Freelander flopped in the small SUV market. Though, on the upside, if you want one now, they are easy to find, and at bargain prices.

While Land Rover is right to move into the hybrid SUV market, the LRX seems like the wrong way to make an entrance. Someday all of New England's roads will be flooded with hybrid Range Rover Sports, but I doubt the LRX will end up anywhere but on the used car lot next to the Freelander.

Rally Coverage in the U.S. (!)

(Image courtesy of dhd.discovery.com)

A brief thanks to Discovery HD Theatre, which has decided to bring a comprehensive World Rally Championship schedule to U.S. television. They will be airing the entire 2010 season, beginning on February 25th, in glorious high definition. Rally events can be some of the more interesting and exciting forms of racing to watch, and now all U.S. racing enthusiasts can rejoice at the opportunity to watch regular races, as well as follow-up episodes, from the comfort of their own couches.

A television schedule can be found here.

Poor Toyota...

(Image courtesy of Wikicars.org)

Turns out Toyota's recent recall problems are being felt just as harshly at local Toyota dealerships. A man in Louisiana, upon learning of the recent gas-pedalrecall, decided he did not want his Toyota truck anymore and attempted to get his local Toyota dealership to take it back and issue a refund. To nobody's surprise, the dealership refused, offering instead to repair the gas pedal and give him a loaner in the meantime. This offer was made multiple times, as the man seemed to not understand that the dealership could not simply take his truck back and refund his money.

What happened next is, in a word, priceless. Following the third refusal by the dealership to issue a refund, the gas pedal in the gentleman's truck astonishingly became stuck, resulting in the truck ramming into the dealership. The dealership building, fortunately, sustained only minor damage, though the truck is in significantly worse shape. While the official police report attributes the accident to a stuck gas pedal, this author suspects otherwise...

Another Ridiculous Mercedes

Are you serious, Brabus? (Image courtesy of Topspeed.com)

Have you ever thought, 'This Mercedes GL is just not fast enough for taking the kids to soccer practice?' Well, you are in luck because Brabus, the horsepower-hungry Mercedes tuner, has introduced the GL63 Biturbo. While Mercedes' AMG division has (wisely, perhaps?) not produced a tuned version of the GL, Brabus has picked up the slack and, as usual, in grand fashion.

The the 6.3 liter V8 GL63 Biturbo boasts a 650hp engine, coupled with two turbochargers (because one was clearly not enough). The list of other additions to the standard GL goes on and on, reading like something off a SL63, from the 23 inch rims to the tweaked seven-speed transmission. While it has not officially been released yet, you can order yours now for a mere $518,000--quite reasonable, I think...

Putting aside the absurdity of a tuner producing a 650hp SUV while some automakers struggle to stay afloat, I am still left with little to justify the GL63 Biturbo. Granted, I like absurd engine-to-automobile combinations as much as the next enthusiast (M5 Wagon, anyone?), but I have to draw the line with this Brabus creation--and, perhaps, even before that. Now, I must admit that I question the need for a GL in the first place--they are ugly, heavy, and greatly over-priced for their purpose--and the Brabus additions only further this sentiment. But, I suppose if you have roughly $500k to spend on a SUV, you are not much concerned with costs and practicality...

Toyota's Reliability Reduction

The Last Reliable Toyota? 

I have never been a huge fan of Toyotas. While I will concede that Honda has always been a bit of a maverick (if they have grayed slightly in recent years), Toyota has persisted in being a purveyor of soulless auto-appliances to the masses. One purchases a Toyota with the same enthusiasm and consideration that one buys a refrigerator: is it big enough, what color is it, and (maybe) how much energy does it use? Despite this, I have always had to acknowledge their record for superlative build quality. One of my good friends in high school had a Camry with more than 300,000 miles on the clock and it was still going strong (even if it did burn a fair percentage of oil as well as gas).

That is what I find so shocking about this Economist article detailing Toyota's decision to stop producing and selling cars in North America. It seems that new Toyotas have become death traps that propel their occupants at full-throttle into highway embankments. Without any trace of sarcasm and in full seriousness, here is a point of education that may save your life:

If the accelerator in your car sticks:

1) Put the car into neutral
2) Pull slowly to the side of the road if it is safe

If necessary, practice doing this if you don't think you can do this in a panic situation.

Public service announcements aside, this is a reversal of public opinion and character perception that would make even the most depraved former child star proud. One moment you are the faultless darling, the next you're a walking example of poor choices, selfishness, and the destructive pursuit of fame and glory. I wonder if the same sort of hubris that overcame General Motors had infected Toyota, as well. Getting to the top means staying at the top. Too often, though, does success breed complacency. Perhaps slipping will bring out the competitive fire that propelled Toyota to that top spot. It's a rough market these days, though, and now was certainly not a time to tumble.