Guys guys! Larry is 72! He can't move around as easily as younger folks like us can. He did try going "butt" first too but that didn't work so well for him. I did and it worked fine for me.

I sure hope that I'm able to do even half the things that Larry has done by the time I'm 72. Way to go, Larry!

 

Oh man I thought he was in his 60s

 

You guys bring up good points. EVs in and of themselves are not the answer. Effectively, you are switching the energy store from a gas tank to batteries, but not changing to a better fuel/energy source. At least not yet.

Paul, the policy and political will at the federal and state levels seems to be focused on weaning the US from oil dependency with environmental concerns a close second. Since Sepember 11, it is clear our dependency on foreign oil has become a national security concern, which is why, IMO, we are seeing a push for more efficient cars and alternative fuel sources under the guise of environmentalism.

Sense of urgency around oil is high because it is a finite resource and we (US) are the biggest users and consume 1/4 of the world's supply. At today's price per barrel, we spend almost $300B/yr to import foreign oil. We were spending over $700B when oil was over $130/barrel. Scarcity and the assumption that some of that money is going to people that do not like us or western society very much has elevated the drive for more efficient cars and fuel sources. The environmental angle puts a nice wrapper around the message.

Whether for national security or environmental reasons, I think it is a win-win to leave the old-school internal combustion technology behind us and find better and more efficient options. Just need to be smart about it.

Back on topic...I love me some Loti Exige and Elise. Such wonderful cars. If anyone that owns one and would be willing to offer me a ride in their car, please let me know the next time we meet at at GTG. I'm only 5'10" so fitting should not be an issue.

 

If you're lanky/nimble it's not that bad getting in and out.

If you're not though, I recommend removing the top. Not realistic if you have the hard top on, but with the softtop you can fold the top back a bit get in, and then re-attach. There's also (though rather rare and hard to find) a sort of gullwing t-top top out there.

 

I don't think you can remove the top on an Exige S, can you? Larry was trying to get in that.

 

yeah it comes off just as easily as the Elise hardtop, which is to say 5minute job with a hex wrench. For an exige you need to buy a kit to put a softtop on, or just drive topless and hope it doesn't rain, there isn't a place in the car to store the hardtop when it's off. =)

 

From Exotics at RTC a couple weeks ago there was a black Exige with the top off (a little hard to see that it's an Exige in these shots).