what is it with the elise grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Discussion
What the hell is it about the elise that provokes people to drive like complete fukin w
rs?
why is it an elise that seems to magnetically pull dickheads out of the woodwork, had mine just about a year and from chavs to reps it seems to attract asshole like behaviour, driving down the dual carrage way this afternoon, passat estate in front, an artic infront of him.. so indicate, point and squirt and yes you get it cockface shuts the gap to keep me on the other side of the road, so him i pull in anyway, he then flashes and beeps and goes to overtake me and the lorry, nearly wiping himself out in the process with an oncoming van.
the red mist appeared and give chase, again overtaking him whilst giving him the finger and mouthing dickhead!
so I sat having a brew after, thinking about the situation and that I was wrong for 'playing the game' and should have let the tosspot go ! woosaaaa wooossaaaa calm calm ! anyone have any interesting techniques to avoid the rage?
rs?why is it an elise that seems to magnetically pull dickheads out of the woodwork, had mine just about a year and from chavs to reps it seems to attract asshole like behaviour, driving down the dual carrage way this afternoon, passat estate in front, an artic infront of him.. so indicate, point and squirt and yes you get it cockface shuts the gap to keep me on the other side of the road, so
him i pull in anyway, he then flashes and beeps and goes to overtake me and the lorry, nearly wiping himself out in the process with an oncoming van.the red mist appeared and give chase, again overtaking him whilst giving him the finger and mouthing dickhead!
so I sat having a brew after, thinking about the situation and that I was wrong for 'playing the game' and should have let the tosspot go ! woosaaaa wooossaaaa calm calm ! anyone have any interesting techniques to avoid the rage?
It's not just Elises/Exiges or "Lotus" in general. It's any kind of car that stands out in any way. Driving anything remotely different makes people look and your actions are noticed and magnified by peoples heightened attention. I thought about this myself the other day driving on the M5 in my Exige. I was doing nothing different to what I do in any other car but I was able to second guess most other drivers moves, be it out of the way or on one occasion trying to block me at road works.
From a relatively early age I've driven performance cars of one sort or another. I learned a few years back to ignore the jibes, looks and "waves" and however tempting I've never retaliated in anger. One day I will and I feel sorry for the poor bugger who's on the receiving end of 20 years of motoring frustration!
To release the strain I normally think... "you're on the way to work/a meeting/a sales pitch etc in your 1.8 Vectra... I'm not!"
From a relatively early age I've driven performance cars of one sort or another. I learned a few years back to ignore the jibes, looks and "waves" and however tempting I've never retaliated in anger. One day I will and I feel sorry for the poor bugger who's on the receiving end of 20 years of motoring frustration!
To release the strain I normally think... "you're on the way to work/a meeting/a sales pitch etc in your 1.8 Vectra... I'm not!"
Edited by 21TonyK on Tuesday 2nd October 19:47
Get a stupidly powerful but bland looking saloon that could very easily be an unmarked police car.
It's the only reason I can think of why everybody gets out of the way, and I never get road-raged at, in the ZT.
Trouble with the Elise and most of its variants is that it's so damn small, agile and fast that you can flip the bird to any aggressive idiot and generally disappear off into the distance. This then fails miserably when you're stuck in traffic and the moron nutcase catches you up, so in general I tend not to get involved in shouting matches in cars. You never know when the next bloke may be a psycho, or jump out with a bat and smash your headlights in. Equally if you let your own anger go unchecked, you may not spot it when *you* become the psycho - chasing some silly sod back to his home and giving him a kicking just for cutting you up. Not worth it IMO.
It's the only reason I can think of why everybody gets out of the way, and I never get road-raged at, in the ZT.
Trouble with the Elise and most of its variants is that it's so damn small, agile and fast that you can flip the bird to any aggressive idiot and generally disappear off into the distance. This then fails miserably when you're stuck in traffic and the moron nutcase catches you up, so in general I tend not to get involved in shouting matches in cars. You never know when the next bloke may be a psycho, or jump out with a bat and smash your headlights in. Equally if you let your own anger go unchecked, you may not spot it when *you* become the psycho - chasing some silly sod back to his home and giving him a kicking just for cutting you up. Not worth it IMO.
Don't like being snotty but when this happens I just move over or try to let them past. They rarely take the offer but at least it lets them know I don't like "playing" with a diesel or some slow hatchback.
I've noticed Z4 drivers don't like me much. I changed lanes in a perfectly normal (and infact common for the roundabout) maneouver the other week and some Z4 thought it necessary to beep at me - I even indicated! Shrug!
I've noticed Z4 drivers don't like me much. I changed lanes in a perfectly normal (and infact common for the roundabout) maneouver the other week and some Z4 thought it necessary to beep at me - I even indicated! Shrug!
Edited by NathanE on Tuesday 2nd October 21:32
(again for legal reasons, only joking) Interestingly, the Elise seems to have the reverse effect when driving abroad. A friend of mine has a tuned 200SX, which has similar acceleration to my Elise and has a much higher top speed. However, when we're blatting through Europe together people see my Elise coming down the fast lane and scurry out of the way, even if they're about to overtake someone, whereas in his 200SX people just stay in their lane!
RobM77 said:
Interestingly, the Elise seems to have the reverse effect when driving abroad. A friend of mine has a tuned 200SX, which has similar acceleration to my Elise and has a much higher top speed. However, when we're blatting through Europe together people see my Elise coming down the fast lane and scurry out of the way, even if they're about to overtake someone, whereas in his 200SX people just stay in their lane!
in my limited experience with the Liz i found that most people are fine and dandy . only been tailgated by a Laguna and a clio. Im not one for 'Playing' On the roads or overtaking someone cause they overtook me etc etc. going to end in tears that or a ban for racing on a public highway. miro said:
RobM77 said:
Interestingly, the Elise seems to have the reverse effect when driving abroad. A friend of mine has a tuned 200SX, which has similar acceleration to my Elise and has a much higher top speed. However, when we're blatting through Europe together people see my Elise coming down the fast lane and scurry out of the way, even if they're about to overtake someone, whereas in his 200SX people just stay in their lane!
in my limited experience with the Liz i found that most people are fine and dandy . only been tailgated by a Laguna and a clio. Im not one for 'Playing' On the roads or overtaking someone cause they overtook me etc etc. going to end in tears that or a ban for racing on a public highway. 
My last car (clio 182) I'd drive like a loon and give as good as I got. Since changing to an Elise, given its lack of ABS/Airbags/Traction Control etc etc etc it needs respect, so during built up traffic I drive like Miss Daisy. All aggression is saved for empty country roads on a weekend.
Let t*ssers be t*ssers, dont lower yourself.
Let t*ssers be t*ssers, dont lower yourself.
RobM77 said:
Interestingly, the Elise seems to have the reverse effect when driving abroad. A friend of mine has a tuned 200SX, which has similar acceleration to my Elise and has a much higher top speed. However, when we're blatting through Europe together people see my Elise coming down the fast lane and scurry out of the way, even if they're about to overtake someone, whereas in his 200SX people just stay in their lane!
in my limited experience with the Liz i found that most people are fine and dandy . only been tailgated by a Laguna and a clio. Im not one for 'Playing' On the roads or overtaking someone cause they overtook me etc etc. going to end in tears that or a ban for racing on a public highway. I echo all of the above "don't rise to it" statements, but it is so hard sometimes.
If you drive in heavy traffic all the time, there is so much competition for road space that it feels like going in to battle every time you get in the car. If you don't defend your position you can easily get forced into the wrong lane, or worse, off the road itself. How do you defend your road space and keep your blood pressure down?
My contribution is this: Look ahead*, think ahead, act strategically. Perhaps wait to make your move. You will find that you will probably make better progress than that idiot without any of his fuss. This will give you more satisfaction then trying to beat them at their own game. And the feeling when you go sailing past them a few miles later is just the sweetest thing.
If you drive in heavy traffic all the time, there is so much competition for road space that it feels like going in to battle every time you get in the car. If you don't defend your position you can easily get forced into the wrong lane, or worse, off the road itself. How do you defend your road space and keep your blood pressure down?
My contribution is this: Look ahead*, think ahead, act strategically. Perhaps wait to make your move. You will find that you will probably make better progress than that idiot without any of his fuss. This will give you more satisfaction then trying to beat them at their own game. And the feeling when you go sailing past them a few miles later is just the sweetest thing.
- I admit this isn't actually very easy in a liz.
unfortunately, my wife who occasionally drives the Liz gets a hard time here in west Wales. I trust her driving the Liz (before all and sundry accuse me of being mad), but the Mrs being Thai, gets the added hassle of living in a less multicultural and less tolerant area of the UK. Damn there are some idiots here who give her an extra hard time in the Liz just because of looking different to the rest of the locals. Sadly, just a handful do this and tarnish the image for the rest of the generally very hospitable Wlesh people. Rant over...
had one today, a crappy H reg astra van or some sort of equal shite. Completely up my arse the whole time even though the road was full of traffic - i think they think that if they are within 5 metres it means they also drive a cool car.
i couldnt understand it - fair enough if he had any chance but it was a clapped out heap of shit, and unsurprisingly lost him as soon as a good bit of road and bends came up! tosser
i couldnt understand it - fair enough if he had any chance but it was a clapped out heap of shit, and unsurprisingly lost him as soon as a good bit of road and bends came up! tosser
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