Any Lotus or Car Clubs Worth Joining?? Elise Owner
Discussion
Having changed cars from a Caterham Superlight to an Elise.. I wan't to know if there are any good Lotus or Elise or General car clubs worth joining???
When I had the Caterham I was (and still am) a member of the Lotus 7 which was fantastic.. Lots of events ranging from touring in England and Europe, sprints, trackday, area meetings and National get togethers. There was also a great club magazine.
Sadly there dosn't seem to be much for Elise owners from what I can see.
The Official Lotus Owners Club seem to be a case of paying to read corporate marketing disgised as a magazine.
The Club Lotus sent me a joining form and a two year out of date copy of their magazine when I asked them for some details... never got any real idea what the club got up to... I also couldn't understand why they would send me a two year out of date magazine because I want to know what they get up to now unless its gone down hill since then..
Most of it all seems to be for the older models and has very little for the newer car owners..
I tried to call the only number for the Lotus drivers club I could find and kept getting it answered be a fax machine.. So no joy there.
I popped along to some meeting in Alcester in the Midlands last week (On a Wednesday night) but when I got there they was having some sort of talk so I stood at the back for awhile with a friend who came with me... As a new face no one came up to speak to me and I left before the end of the talk having been there an hour or so... I was supprised that an organiser didn't introduce them selves..
I might try and pop along again next time to see if it is worth going to in the future..
I know that if anyone turns up to the Lotus 7 club Warwickshire meeting the organiser will take time to talk to then and introduce them to some of the regulars to make them feel welcome...
When I had the Caterham I was (and still am) a member of the Lotus 7 which was fantastic.. Lots of events ranging from touring in England and Europe, sprints, trackday, area meetings and National get togethers. There was also a great club magazine.
Sadly there dosn't seem to be much for Elise owners from what I can see.
The Official Lotus Owners Club seem to be a case of paying to read corporate marketing disgised as a magazine.
The Club Lotus sent me a joining form and a two year out of date copy of their magazine when I asked them for some details... never got any real idea what the club got up to... I also couldn't understand why they would send me a two year out of date magazine because I want to know what they get up to now unless its gone down hill since then..
Most of it all seems to be for the older models and has very little for the newer car owners..
I tried to call the only number for the Lotus drivers club I could find and kept getting it answered be a fax machine.. So no joy there.
I popped along to some meeting in Alcester in the Midlands last week (On a Wednesday night) but when I got there they was having some sort of talk so I stood at the back for awhile with a friend who came with me... As a new face no one came up to speak to me and I left before the end of the talk having been there an hour or so... I was supprised that an organiser didn't introduce them selves..
I might try and pop along again next time to see if it is worth going to in the future..
I know that if anyone turns up to the Lotus 7 club Warwickshire meeting the organiser will take time to talk to then and introduce them to some of the regulars to make them feel welcome...
I'm sorry to say that you've hit the nail firmly on the head there. I'm in the Official Lotus Club, which I'm finding to be a less and less satisfying experience. The marketing brochure they post me under the guise of newsletter is starting to annoy me and their members website and forum is no longer as good as it used to be.
The discounts you get by being a member are very good, and saved me several hundred pounds in my first year of membership but I no longer get my car serviced at the factory and haven't taken part in their track days (to my shame) so haven't saved any money this year.
Club Lotus has a reputation for targetting classic car owners who snub elise drivers, but I have no personal experience of this myself.
My money is still with the OLC, but I'm not sure if I'll renew next May. The best way to meet owners and get involved is from the elise bbs www.british-cars.co.uk - lots of runs and meets going on around the country are organised there.
Cheers,
Bonce
The discounts you get by being a member are very good, and saved me several hundred pounds in my first year of membership but I no longer get my car serviced at the factory and haven't taken part in their track days (to my shame) so haven't saved any money this year.
Club Lotus has a reputation for targetting classic car owners who snub elise drivers, but I have no personal experience of this myself.
My money is still with the OLC, but I'm not sure if I'll renew next May. The best way to meet owners and get involved is from the elise bbs www.british-cars.co.uk - lots of runs and meets going on around the country are organised there.
Cheers,
Bonce
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