Non-Alfa content Eliese (again...)

[estorhok@xxxxxxxx]

I've had some contact with Lotus Engineers (don't ask why...) and we got
talking about the Elise.  They engineered in a pretty significant crush
zone in the front of the car- its diguised as a radiator housing, but,
in a crash, that whole structure would fracture apart, dissipating the
energy of the crash.

As for the sides- when you sit in the car, you are inside and below the
sills of the car, and this is the strongest part of the aluminum structure.

The only thing you should worry about with this car is running under a truck.
But since the car is SOOOOOO manuveravle, this should not be a problem.

I asked about crash data, but the engineers told me that none of the cars 
have been in serious accidents yet, so they are still confident of their 
structure.

Alfa content- does anybody remember that Alfa's are some of the safest cars
on the road?  I know that the 116 and above chassis are quite good at 
surviving chrashes, and 164's are extrordinary for this- but Alfa doesn't
advertise this....  interesting. (no Volvo comments here...)

Eric Storhok
Ann Arbor

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