Friday 27th July 2001

Security Awards

Elise and Scooby score poorly in What Car tests

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[robcollingridge]

Scary stuff. Got a Scooby and another Elise on the way. I have put a barrier deadlock on the Scooby but that doesn''t stop anyone getting into it. The new Elise S2 security will be no better than my old S1 model, so Lotus have simply stood still on car security for 5+ years. Some could say that they''ve been negligent in this respect. Rob

[guysh]

I can get into an elise in about three seconds with a shatterproof ruler - I was picking someone up once from Stansted once, parked my elise in the pickup drop off zone closed the door temporarily - roof on keys in ignition ! I flet a wee bit stupid - after quick visit to WHSmith I opened the car in seconds with do damage what so ever - but then again. An Elise is not desgined to be left somewhere where someone is going to break in...

[adrianr]

Yes, but people _do_ leave them in risky places and then they get broken into and then insurance premiums go up and we all lose. Some deadlocks and a rip-proof roof would be a bit more 21st century. Cheers, AdrianR

[Nightmare]

'rip proof hood'...nice idea...kevlar woven maybe? er..... I imagine its rather dificult to produce a rip proof hood for a realistic cost, and certainly a knife proof hood would be near impossible (Im guessing) but deadlocks would be a good idea....

[nmilton]

Maybe not 100% rip proof but an aramid fibre (Kevlar, Dyneema, etc.) woven into a hood (or in the lining) would certainly be hard to cut. On the assumption that most car crimes rely on speed, if they need to spend 5 minutes cutting through the roof they'll either give up (hopefully) or put a brick through the window (hopefully not).

[smeagol]

Joy riders are the kind of b**tards that will cut a roof. The "professional" would more likely try to get through without damage. The concern for me is the immoboliser as I am shocked they talk about 5 mins to get past it! My immoboliser saved my car and the police said that if they had got the car it would have disappeared to foreign shores. I still believe that the biggest deterant to car thieves esp. joy riders would be bigger/realistic sentences. It seems a speeding motorist can get points on licence but car theives get a "slap on the wrist". Case in point a friend of mine had his Esprit pinched and wrapped round a lampost they caught the little dear and he got away with a fine which was less than it cost to repair the car!