RE: Porsche 911 beats out 'Vette and Viper
 

Okay, thanks for explaining that!

RE: Porsche 911 beats out 'Vette and Viper
 

i am a big fan of dodge and everything but i would go with the Lotus just because i love the body style and the 4 is ok but the turning is what i think is increadable about it

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RE: Porsche 911 beats out 'Vette and Viper
 

that lotus is an amazing little car, and they arent ALL that expensive...

RE: Porsche 911 beats out 'Vette and Viper
 

Your right they aren't. The other thing is the lotus has lots of performance potiential that hasn't even been tapped from yet. That 1.8L could be either turboed or supercharged yet, or even bored out.

RE: Porsche 911 beats out 'Vette and Viper
 

i wonder why i dont see more of them...ive seen one or two in person around here...i am guessing that while they are cheap, they are hard to get ahold of? maybe low production or release numbers in the states?

RE: Porsche 911 beats out 'Vette and Viper
 

Possibliy. I have seen maybe 3 in the past year or 2. I am on their site checking it out. Did you know the engine is Toyota supplied? I would imagine it would be reliable as well. There also could be the reason that not many around it is a 2 seater, and seems people get 4 seaters for the space. I may look into this car later. Hmmmm. We are not having kids, so don't need that kind of room. If there are people over and we drive, we just take her car. Looking at the site, I think I would go with the Lotus Exige instead since it is a hard top. And now that I see the MSRP Base price the ELise is 43,000 and the Exige is 50,000. I think they may be a reason noone gets them.

RE: Porsche 911 beats out 'Vette and Viper
 

but 43/50 grand for a car that will outrun and out corner suprcars? :)

RE: Porsche 911 beats out 'Vette and Viper
 

That is true and the MPG's is not bad either. 24/city 29/Highway

RE: Porsche 911 beats out 'Vette and Viper
 

From what I understand the engine is supplied by Toyota, but I think Yahama helped them make it. Lotus I think also did some minor mods to it. That is the engine from the Corolla. I agree that it is still a pretty good deal when you consider how quick it is with the fact that it can out corner supercars, but I understand what you mean. For 43/40 grand, you feel like you should get something more than 190hp out of an ordinary Corolla. I wonder what an Evo or SRT-4 engine would do in this thing.

RE: Porsche 911 beats out 'Vette and Viper
 

That or find a used porsche.:D

RE: Porsche 911 beats out 'Vette and Viper
 

Nah! If I was going to buy used, I'd just get a Viper for that amount.

RE: Porsche 911 beats out 'Vette and Viper
 

Or for that amount a new Ram SRT10 Standard cab. Has to be Standard cab since the extended cab doesn't offer a MTX.

RE: Porsche 911 beats out 'Vette and Viper
 

That also would work. I don't get it why they won't offer the manual in the extended cab model of the SRT-10, in fact, I can't figure out why they don't offer a manual for the HEMI in the 1500 models.

RE: Porsche 911 beats out 'Vette and Viper
 

my guess is cost...at least with the Hemi. there were no real R&D costs involved with putting the viper drivetrain in the ram, so the manual trans didnt cost dodge anything to put it in the 1500 with the viper engine..it was made to be there, in theory. then, so many people cried when they bought a 50,000 dollar srt10 ram, and found that it wouldnt tow their various cars...so they put together a trans that would bolt up to the viper engine, and which would handle the strain of towing, which i understand that the viper trans will not, although lots of people tow with the M6 RCs...

so many people nowadays cant drive a stick, and thats why i think that dodge didnt bother with the R&D/engineering costs behind making a manual trans that would handle the power of the hemi in the ram...
also, their "market tests" probably showed that the manual hemi ram wouldnt sell well...:eek:

RE: Porsche 911 beats out 'Vette and Viper
 

The only thing is they put forth the engeering for a manual 4.7L for the 1500 and they made a manual available for the HEMI in the 2500/3500 models, so couldn't they just use that transmission.

Your right about the T-56 not being designed for towing. It is purely about performance. I think they need a different staff to determine what would be popular enough and what wouldn't be. I think their staff is out of touch.

RE: Porsche 911 beats out 'Vette and Viper
 

im not certain, but i seem to recall that the 4.7 is quite a bit less powerful than the hemi, isnt it? perhaps the mtx for the 4.7 just wont hold up to the added hp and tq?

RE: Porsche 911 beats out 'Vette and Viper
 

Yes it is roughly 100-105hp & 75-80 ft-lbs of torque less powerful than the HEMI. That is why I suggested they use the manual from the 2500/3500 model. The 1500 model still has the ability to accept one right, so why could they just use the heavy duty one. Also the 4.7L uses the same automatic as the HEMI in the 1500 model. The 545RFE was designed for the 4.7L originally so isn't it possible that the manual might also work with the HEMI? I admit I don't know very much in this department.

RE: Porsche 911 beats out 'Vette and Viper
 

anything is possible with enough fab work...i can only figure that dodge's "market research" showed that the manual wasnt a wanted item...

RE: Porsche 911 beats out 'Vette and Viper
 

The interesting thing is that none of the Big Three nor Toyota or Nissan's offerings come with a manual for the top engine offering. I have doubts about their "market research."