What's wrong with the term 'Baby Elan' ?

[LotusElan+217]

Birth of a Legend.jpg

That's just pure filth, we can't have any of that on here, there might be children browsing this.

[simonknee]

Hang on Nige, I'm not a pedant but (here comes the pedant) you are trying to stop the viral spread of of the word "baby" in front of the word "elan" by

spreading the word old chap

I'm beginning to think your some kind of double agent here?
Call twincamman - he can spot a conspiracy

Simon

P.S. for the record I have yet to reveal whether I approve of "baby" or not (like you all give a monkey's)

[nebogipfel]

Not hot under the collar at all, just trying to put the record straight.

I don't think we are ever going to share the same record collection.

Bought my first Elan (Sprint) when I was 19 back in the mid seventies. I have had several Elans and a Plus 2. There was a period when Elans were beyond my reach but I have had the current one, restored from a wreck coming up for 9 years. I'm 57 and not quite senile.

The Elan has always been my dream and favourite car and nothing else comes close including the Plus 2.

I've never had a B*by Elan

Being the elderly gentleman that I am and having (I hope) reasonably argued my point I will leave the last word to you ....until the subject crops up again of course

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Don't you start Richard!

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Ah! Simon, the voice of reason

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PS. Who is Nigel?

[ardee_selby]

That's just pure filth, we can't have any of that on here, there might be children browsing this.

Don't look at this baby then. It bites! You have been warned.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/45450049/Movie_0001.wmv

[simonknee]

PS. Who is Nigel?

Hmm, good point. Since the word "nebogipfel" means nothing to me I always thought of you as nigel bopfe. You mean this isn't your name! Sorry it's the dementia setting in. I've been a Lotus owner since 1846, bleee

[LotusElan+217]

Not hot under the collar at all, just trying to put the record straight.

I don't think we are ever going to share the same record collection.

Bought my first Elan (Sprint) when I was 19 back in the mid seventies. I have had several Elans and a Plus 2. There was a period when Elans were beyond my reach but I have had the current one, restored from a wreck coming up for 9 years. I'm 57 and not quite senile.

The Elan has always been my dream and favourite car and nothing else comes close including the Plus 2.

I've never had a B*by Elan

Being the elderly gentleman that I am and having (I hope) reasonably argued my point I will leave the last word to you ....until the subject crops up again of course



Okay so my guesstimation was wrong, you should be flattered that I thought you were a young whippersnapper (does anyone still use that term).

You are almost the same age as me (56) and have owned a Lotus for the same period of time, it wouldn't have occurred to me that someone of our age and experience would be in the slightest bit bothered about the B word, there you go you have even converted me, as for records, Queen, Bowie, Status Quo, Pink Floyd, Cutting Crew, Elton John, take your pick from that lot.

You are in good company, if Graham Arnold disliked the term then who am I to argue, others may have disliked Graham but I never had any problems with him.

Consider the B word banished to room 101 along with the notion that the +2 is not an Elan.

[ardee_selby]

PS. Who is Nigel?

I don't think it was me wot asked...

[simonknee]

Now the quoting system has gone mad too.

Anyway back on topic, how can anybody call a car this big a baby.
The car in front is a Range Rover or something I think...

[nebogipfel]

PS. Who is Nigel?

Hmm, good point. Since the word "nebogipfel" means nothing to me I always thought of you as nigel bopfe. You mean this isn't your name! Sorry it's the dementia setting in. I've been a Lotus owner since 1846, bleee

Now I know I said I had fetched me coat but it was indeed I who wondered when Nigel came into the conversation?

You will note that beneath my posts I have a signature line in much the same style as yer own and my moniker is proudly declared for all to see

The origin of Nebogipfel has been asked previously on the forum. The character name was originally used by H G Wells in a short story and was also a character in my favourite book "The Time Ships" by Stephen Baxter which was the authorized sequel to "The Time Machine".

[AHM]

I have been calling my Elan a baby for the last 30-35 years

The term cannot therefore have originated from this forum

big brother and therefore the Elan is the Plus 2's baby brother.

Please! Inanimate objects with personal attachment take the feminine form. Your baby is a she! (as is her sister)

...just interested in whether I am in the minority in being happy calling my car a baby Elan?

In the minority since about 1982 when anything refered to as baby, other than an infant became very '70's ... like flares!

Nigel who?

[UAB807F]

Very good point Brian, you may well be right that Graham Arnold didn't like the term, memory plays funny tricks but I do seem to recall the article you are referring to, and almost certainly if it exists it will be in my catalogue of Club Lotus magazines, it would be great if one of us could dig it out.

Of course that would be conclusive evidence that it was a widely used term. The Christopher Neil connection is also hugely relevant, in 1977 they were the only major supplier of cheap parts as they were back then independent of Lotus, I either ordered new parts from them or if they didn't have them in stock I used to take a short drive to Edgware and buy over priced parts from the official dealer, the other alternative was a trip to Derek Dean in Ruislip for secondhand parts.

If CN referred to it as the Baby Elan then it is inconceivable that Lotus owners of that period would not have heard of it.

Well, I'll bite.

Seeing how the thread has gone on for 3 pages I've just spent 10 minutes looking through some old CL newsletters and in the 1986 #4 issue, p23 there's a page that can only have been written by GA where he writes a paragraph headed "Kill the Baby !". He goes on to say that "we have never used the word "baby" to refer to the Elan, and don't plan to." But given how at the time CN used to be very big advertisers in the mag and it was certainly in their literature I guess it would have been widespread knowledge by the 80s, long before this fancy interwebby thing came along.....

(I'm now wondering how I can remember a quote from GA going back over 25yrs ago, and yet forget when the missus asks me to do the washing up....)

[simonknee]

Nigel who?

Nigel Bopfe as I explained earlier...

Your baby is a she!

No, no, no. My Elan is a he. In fact I refer to him as "lad" or "fella".

[LotusElan+217]

Very good point Brian, you may well be right that Graham Arnold didn't like the term, memory plays funny tricks but I do seem to recall the article you are referring to, and almost certainly if it exists it will be in my catalogue of Club Lotus magazines, it would be great if one of us could dig it out.

Of course that would be conclusive evidence that it was a widely used term. The Christopher Neil connection is also hugely relevant, in 1977 they were the only major supplier of cheap parts as they were back then independent of Lotus, I either ordered new parts from them or if they didn't have them in stock I used to take a short drive to Edgware and buy over priced parts from the official dealer, the other alternative was a trip to Derek Dean in Ruislip for secondhand parts.

If CN referred to it as the Baby Elan then it is inconceivable that Lotus owners of that period would not have heard of it.

Well, I'll bite.

Seeing how the thread has gone on for 3 pages I've just spent 10 minutes looking through some old CL newsletters and in the 1986 #4 issue, p23 there's a page that can only have been written by GA where he writes a paragraph headed "Kill the Baby !". He goes on to say that "we have never used the word "baby" to refer to the Elan, and don't plan to." But given how at the time CN used to be very big advertisers in the mag and it was certainly in their literature I guess it would have been widespread knowledge by the 80s, long before this fancy interwebby thing came along.....

(I'm now wondering how I can remember a quote from GA going back over 25yrs ago, and yet forget when the missus asks me to do the washing up....)

There you go, definitive proof that the term has been used for at least 26 years and no doubt some time before that (as a few of us can testify), the fact that Graham didn't like the term and Lotus never used it is immaterial the term existed and was widely used.

I guess some people will still argue that black is white, human nature I suppose, each to their own, I like calling it a Baby Elan, there I go again, and will continue to do so.

Now then, who is going to start another thread that proves the +2 is not an Elan, just playing devil's advocate.

[ardee_selby]

Was this Dave Brodie Elan one of his "Run Baby Run" editions?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12078476@N07/2685483311/

Cheers - Richard

[stevebroad]

big brother and therefore the Elan is the Plus 2's baby brother.

Please! Inanimate objects with personal attachment take the feminine form. Your baby is a she! (as is her sister)

Sorry, but my baby Elan has been too powerful for many years to be a girl. I have referred to HIM as a HIM since I have owned HIM. As he is my car, I can determine his sex as well as what I call HIM