By Dean Sprague
We all have things we want to do before we “check out” of this world so we put them on our “Bucket List”. My list includes trips to England and Scotland to visit my ancestral homes (castles) in addition to many other trips, activities and things. I recently found out my Grandmother on my Father’s side actually held Royal title so this trip just went higher up on my list. Some of these other “things” on my list include owning several special cars. One was a Lotus. I have almost purchased one four or five times and something would always get in the way. It was usually timing or money. Timing meant I already spent my money on another car and of course money meant I had other priorities like life, family etc.
Anyway, I retired in 2008; my children had their college degrees and were fending for themselves. Now I had some money to set aside for a toy. My Wife was not very thrilled when I found a 2006 Lotus Elise on a used car lot right in our little town but she was a good sport about it since it was on my bucket list. The Lotus only had 6500 miles on the clock and two full years of warranty left. The best part; it was British Racing Green and the dealer was getting desperate to sell it. Every time I visited the car lot to pine over it he dropped the price to further entice me. If he only had known he had me at: “I have a Lotus for sale”.
I decided I should test drive it before I bought it but I couldn’t quite figure out how to get in the car. I am 6’1”, about 190 pounds and was 60 years old. The car was so small and low (less than 44” high) that I wasn’t sure I could even do this. Dave, the car lot owner had to show me a very special technique he had learned to get in and out of it. You put your right leg in, your bottom on the sill, push your chin into your chest, tuck and fall into the seat (don’t forget to remove your hat) then grab your left leg with both hands and force it around the “A” pillar, like magic you are in! Once you are seated you have plenty of room. I should mention however, if you have a bad back take this car off your bucket list.
It may not be practical, it wasn’t real comfortable, it certainly wasn’t easy to ingress or egress but it was FUN, FUN, FUN to drive! The Lotus Elise was the closest thing you can get to a track car and still drive it on the road. However, the car was “eclectic” at best; the owners’ manual even had a statement about the ventilation system. It said, “the air conditioning system is not designed to cool the cockpit efficiently in extreme temperatures (what ever the British thought extreme meant). It also said, “the car is not designed to be started or driven in sub-freezing temperatures”. The manual added a statement about air bags failing to deploy at temperature extremes plus the car was not designed to carry children or something. I hope they didn’t mean immature adults. Actually, on the positive side the seats weren’t too bad they just lacked padding (racing seats) and the suspension was very firm but it was unwavering. I wouldn’t choose the car for a cross-country trip but if you were driving it at speed on a twisty road you were having so much fun that no one would have time to think or care about comfort anyway. The Lotus is all about extremes in handling and performance not about creature comforts. Save that for boring cars.
I kept the Elise about a year or so then I traded it for two reasons. First, I found myself rarely driving it if I had to leave the top on because of the difficulty of an old guy (me) getting in and out. I felt this would become more difficult as I got older. Second, I found a Jaguar XKE owner who wanted my Lotus more than his Jag. Of course the E Type, which was also on my bucket list, needed work. Since I am always leaping before I look my concept to just “freshen up” the Jag blossomed into a full restoration. It took me over 3 years to restore the car and cost me more than twice what I programmed to do it. When I received an offer to sell it and recover my expenditures and some of my effort, I took it but with regret. This transaction turned the Jaguar into a new bright red Corvette Grand Sport (plus a little money in the bank). I got such a deal on the Corvette, who could refuse? Well, that’s probably another story.
You know every once in a while, deep inside my thoughts (away from my wife’s ears) I still think about the little green Lotus and how much I miss her. Pound for pound that car was more fun to drive than anything I can remember. I think I have forgotten about how silly that getting in and out issue was. Besides, if you are still 17 “between the ears” once you are in who really cares?
