• Honda announced they’re on the oil-burning bandwagon and might use the 2.2L CTDi engine from the Euro Accord in a new Civic Type-R! (Left Lane News)
• Apparently the General is back to #1! Toyota was bucked from the #1-in-Sales spot after 3rd quarter results were released. You’d think after 76 years they’d let somebody else hold the spot for longer than a few months. (Freep)
• Lotus announced another new Elise, the Elise SC, and obviously ignoring conventional "too much of a good thing" wisdom. This 220hp supercharged rocket weighs in at a mere 1987lbs and will hit 0-60 in 4.4, nearly matching the acceleration of an M3! (WorldCarFans)
• Sirius just showed my how I’m going to blow $330. The new Stiletto2 just showed up on their website… Unfortunately it’s still unavailable and it still comes with the same crappy headphones. But according to Orbitcast commenters you can find it at some Big Box shops already. (Orbitcast)

Given my awesome experience last week, I’ll be the first to admit I’m more than a little biased toward the Lotus Elise. But everything I learn about this car makes me love it even more. Seriously, did you know the cars are build completely by hand? They’re even painted by people! I can’t think of another car in the 50-60K range that’s assembled with such TLC. Can you? And with an aluminum chassis and composite body panels, there’s no risk of corrosion. Wow. I can’t be the only person in the world that thinks a rust-proof, Toyota-powered British car is one of the coolest things ever. Thanks for uploading it raptorattack!

By John

Community Editor

Before I drove the Lotus Elise, I thought that if I had 35 grand to drop on a car, it’d be my first choice. After driving it? It’s still my first choice. Until you get behind the wheel, you simply can’t understand how much fun this little rocket is. Basically, it feels like the coolest big kid toy ever made, and I’m still thinking about how much fun it’d be to have one waiting for me back home. Of course, at 6’3", I don’t exactly fit in the car, but I love its no-frills approach. I mean, Tim and I had this for a whole day, and we didn’t even turn on the radio! Seriously! The Elise is so much fun, you don’t want anything to distracting you from the pure pleasure of driving it. Or at least I didn’t. Check out the video!