hedgerley

The snippet I picked up was Matt's brief comment about his Board meetng that morning - the next car has been approved/signed off. I wonder what's next? The SUV?

Football used to be defined as a game of two halves with 11 players each side. Then Germany win. But guess what, the times they are a'changing 😉 (See what I did there?)

I think you should give an honourable mention to LEF @Bibs, the predecessor to TLF and probably one of the first decent member forums for any marque/model on t'internet. I was proud to be an early member. And well done on the interview Andy, great work.

Ooohh errr. Big teaser, huge..... https://fb.watch/6s1TNQBz0j/

So yes, it was legit, so they say, but was obviously a ruse to get her in to the showroom. I told her not to sign anything but you know what women are like. At least she's inherited my negotiating skills - did a part ex deal on a nice 5 door Corsa, 4 years newer, half the mileage and much better suited to her needs i.e. its unlikely to break down as much (she still has a use for her old Dad....), 12 months warranty for free, old finance deal settled and she's walked away with £15/month less than she was paying for the Meriva. So turned out alright I guess. And the Meriva? Yeah, they'll probably just scrap it they said......

Just had a call from my daughter who has a 2014 Vauxhall Meriva. She's been contacted by someone representing the main dealer in Edinburgh, Peter Vardy who says they are contacting Meriva owners and offering to buy the car for breaking/spares as they no longer make the Meriva and with new parts available they are trying to stock up. Anyone heard of this or similar? Is it a thing or a scam?

Not something you see often in your local ASDA car park. Looked and smelled well used. Lovely.

The Lotus feature in the current Evo talks about prototypes already going down the new production line. I assume this means they are in the 'how do we build this thing' stage so production by the end of the year seems entirely feasible.

Finally succumbed. Catering pack size for our café. Hand for size comparison 😁

Cool. After my post yesterday I pulled mine off the shelf and started re-reading it. Had forgotten how rich the detail was, in particular the number of historical photos many of which I've not seen elsewhere. I actually got mine at a Donnngton Festival, I think, many years ago and had it signed by the author - he had quite a queue IIRC. Which was nice. I see the price has gone up - mine was £35....

Anything by William Taylor and Coterie Press. I've got several of his Limited Edition Lotus books, all excellent. But for a really detailed look at Chapman, you can't beat Jabby Crombac's, above. Peter Ross's Lotus The Early Years is also a good read. And if you are really in to the engineering, Karl Ludvigson's Inside The Innovator about Chapman is a must. http://www.coteriepress.com/subject/lotus/

Having sat in the Evija, my immediate thoughts on the dash took me back to the 340r.

As has been said, I don't get the negativity, especially over on the Facebook groups. I don't believe we were ever promised a full reveal for the 131. My invites clearly talk about Lotus future strategy. That's what we got, delivered by grown ups, not showmen with great hair and a bunch of C-List celebs. To be honest Matt comes across as a little uninspiring, but I'd rather have a man with a plan, the money and his pedigree in charge. And I can cope with confirmation of the name and a few teasers with the promise of a full launch on 6/5 followed by GFOS. Lotus now has a very clear strategy with the full backing of shareholders who have invested over £100m already with over £1B to come. The results of that investment are absolutely clear - I found all that coverage very encouraging. And the future is electric - Lotus have literally no choice in the matter and I'd rather have Lotus delivering compelling BEV driving machines than having no Lotus at all. We all know what Lotus can do with the cash they find down the back of the sofa. This level of investment is unprecedented and must surely be welcomed. Its safe to say Lotus is back and then some. And I for one am very glad.

Love the way that reflection on Stevens studio ceiling gives him a halo. The patron Saint of Esprits perhaps?

All this good news is making me giddy... And a production line of Evijas! Well, three..... https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-news/industry-news/lotus/inside-new-lotus-factories/

Funny you should mention the P word. It's not discussed in the overall Elise story (for a change). Its only the Alpine that is compared to "The class leading Porsche 718 Cayman and "it's most deadly and accomplished rival, the Porsche Cayman." For all I love about EVO, they simply can't help themselves can they?

Really good piece in the new issue of EVO on the gamechanger the Elise was back in '95 and the cars it influenced. And of course how it will be missed 😞

Today's Windle interview, about what he learned at Tesla. Some interesting snippets about the Roadster and why Lotus is going straight to electric. Hard to think of a better qualified bloke to be in charge currently. I'm very hopeful for the future. https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-news/industry-news/lotus/matthew-windle/

Yep, worlds longest running joke. Used it a few time to introduce meetings I've led over the years, in an attempt to persuade colleagues to steer clear of jargon. Kind of reminds me of Stanley Unwin.

Anyone fitted one of these? Thoughts?

I can highly recommend the recent Sky documentary about Steve McQueen's attempt to bring F1 to the silver screen. Lotus content including superb colour footage of Clark winning his second world championship at the Nurburgring. https://theartsdesk.com/film-tv/steve-mcqueen-lost-movie-sky-documentaries-review-classic-motor-racing-film-never-was

Henry Catchpole's drive of the Elise FE. He was at the factory last week. Looking forward to the next magazine issues....

Emira Origin and Meaning The name Emira is a girl's name of Arabic origin meaning "commander, prince". Emira is one of those pan-exotic names that feels pleasant enough but seems so unrooted to any one culture that it might as well be made up. Found online, not my opinion 😁

One of the more interesting and I think best looking renderings I've seen so far. And a sensible view of how the 131 might turn out. From the current issue of CAR.

Thanks all. I've had the car 13 years and there is no record of a respray or any repairs/touch up before then in the file that came with the car. There is no overspray anywhere or any other evidence of new paint that I can see. And as I say, I've only noticed them in the last few months. In fact, they weren't there when I did the last big polishing job late Autumn last year. They are exactly what you'd expect to see from the dreaded steel worm but of course its GRP. The car has been outdoors for the last 18 months after being garaged for the rest of my ownership, so I suspect water damage. Its back under cover shortly so will hopefully not spread. Then I need to figure out how to repair the damage, when the weather improves. My guess is its a proper strip back/rub down and respray, which would be a shame as its only in a few areas and the majority of the paintwork is in fine fettle. And no @Painterdave, I've resisted the temptation to pick them. So far......