[Russellnyc]

Thanks, the car is definitely quirky and not for everyone. Yesterday while driving around, both climate control knobs fell off and slid under the (non-adjustable) passenger seat. I got them out today by doing a panic stop on the way to work. Haha.

Today is the first time (since I picked it up in the rain, which doesn't count) I've driven the car without a passenger, and wow, what a difference. My wife only weights about 115 pounds, but without her I could feel a noticeable difference in acceleration. I supose one should notice a 6% weight reduction...

I agree with you about the S2000 engine, that would have been nice. The Toyota engine is anything but smooth, it's really peaky and unrefined. But I will say that is definitely part of its charm. Throttle blips are much quicker in this car than anything I've ever driven, in other words, it feels like there's little inertia in the flywheel. During leisurely upshifts, I find that I have to blip again to get the revs back up, since they immediately drop when I depress the clutch. I took a long sweeper today that I like taking fast in the 335i because I can get the tail to step out a tiny bit. On that slightly bumpy corner in the Elise today without braking it felt totally different, flat and buttoned down where the 335i's suspension undulates a bit. I cannot wait to put this car on the skidpad and track next month and learn what its actual limits are.

One thing I really hate about the car is that people tailgate it, either to challenge or to get a closer look. Some adults look, others don't. But children everywhere go ga ga over it. I drove by 3 busloads of little kids and they were all waving and cheering out the windows. It was pretty cute, and made me remember doing the same thing once when I saw a brand new Ferrari 308 at a stop light on the way to school...