EliseInfo.com

Here’s your chance to help EliseTalker Shaggy win AutoBlog’s Reader’s Ride of the year poll with his Krypton Green Elise. Head over to AutoBlog to vote!

At first, I thought OK, so this is just a catalog of the cars available on the market in the 2005-2006 model year, big deal. Then I read this, and was blown away by just how comprehensive it is. It’s not limited to the mainstream makes, but has all the little one-offs you read about in European car mags. Very cool. Their marketing plow of giving away the previous year’s copy to get you to buy the newest one just might work with me! You can download it here, but hurry, they’re only offering it as a free download until Christmas.

Plans are already coming together for LOG 27 the 27th annual Lotus Owners Gathering. This event is to be held in Aspen, Colorado, from August 24th through the 27th, 2007, and will include an autocross, track day, scenic drives, banquets, etc! Should be fun. You can read more about it over at Pistonheads or at the official LOG27 website.

Legendary exhaust maker Borla is finally shipping an exhaust for the Elise and Exige. $800 gets you, well, pretty much what you’d expect. 304 stainless steel, claims of more power, million mile warranty, and dual through-the-diffuser exhaust tips. You can read more over at Borla’s website.

UPDATE (via EliseTalk):
- Weight is ~29lbs
- Straight through design, perforated core
- Designed to meet SAE J1169 noise standard of 95dB
- Shipping in Early 2007
- Summit Racing is selling this for $719, with a ship date of 1/9/07
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Through the miracle of modern technology, I bring you…Pac Man!

Instructions:
Use the arrow keys to guide Pac-Man.
P - Pause/unpause game
Q - Quit game
M - Mute/unmute sound
L - Low quality on/off

I heard that Lotus recently updated the spec for the inner toe link torque, up to 60N-m from 50. So, it’s now 44 ft-lbs. Be sure to check these at every oil change, and before every track day! (via EliseTalk)

There’s a new issue of Lotus ProActive, the newsletter from Lotus Engineering, available for download here.

For a neat video of how forged wheels are made, click through to the rest of this post to see one courtesy of YouTube.
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So, what happens when the editors at Automobile Magazine test the new ’self parking’ feature on the Lexus LS460? Hilarity ensues, and they manage to show just how ridiculous these driver aids are. Watch the video here.

If you’ve ever wondered what the story was behind the logos for various car companies, go check out this History of Car Logos website. For example, this history of Lotus’ logo:

The letters at the top are the intials of Lotus’ founder, Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman. It is unknown why he chose the name ‘Lotus’ for his company. The green background is British Racing Green, the color of their cars in the day. The yellow background symbolizes the sunny days Mr. Chapman hoped lay ahead for his company.