<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5cc02ca1b14bf4359c76f163-2223/elizabeth%20warren-5.jpg" border="0" alt="Elizabeth Warren" data-mce-source="Hollis Johnson/Business Insider" data-mce-caption="Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks at the NAN Conference on April 5, 2019 in New York City."><p class="source"><span>Hollis Johnson/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">Sen. Elizabeth Warren.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>On Tuesday, Senator Elizabeth Warren called out <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/amazon">Amazon</a> in a town hall speech, accusing the <keyword id="6354851" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="retail">retail</keyword> giant of using the data it collects from sellers and buyers to create its own rival private label products.</strong></li><li>Amazon fired back on Twitter debunking these claims, which led to Warren tweeting a series of news stories to support her argument.</li><li>Warren has been doubling down on her bid to break up some of the largest US tech companies, including Facebook, Google, and Amazon. In <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elizabeth-warren-break-up-amazon-marketplace-proposal-2019-3?r=US&amp;IR=T">March</a>, she announced a regulatory plan to do so. In this<span>, she proposed that </span><span>Amazon Marketplace and Basics would be split apart.</span></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a><span></span></li></ul><p>Sen. Elizabeth Warren is doubling down on her mission to break up big tech.&#xa0;</p><p>On Tuesday, Warren, who is running for president in the 2020 election, <a href="https://twitter.com/ewarren/status/1120484639922110464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fewarren%2Fstatus%2F1120484639922110464">called out Amazon in a town hall speech</a>, accusing the retail giant of using data that it collects from sellers and buyers to create its own private label products. The term private label refers to products sold under various brands belonging directly to Amazon. This practice would "knock out" the competition, Warren said.&#xa0;</p><p><span>"Giant tech companies have too much power," <a href="https://twitter.com/ewarren/status/1120484639922110464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fewarren%2Fstatus%2F1120484639922110464">Warren tweeted</a>. "My plan to </span><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BreakUpBigTech?src=hash" data-query-source="hashtag_click"><s>#</s>BreakUpBigTech</a><span> prevents corporations like Amazon from knocking out the rest of the competition. You can be an umpire, or you can be a player-but you can't be both."</span><span></span></p><p><em><strong>Read more: </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elizabeth-warren-break-up-amazon-marketplace-proposal-2019-3?r=US&amp;IR=T">Warren's plan to fight big tech directly threatens one of Amazon's most successful businesses</a></em></p><p>Amazon made a rare public response to her comments on Twitter later that day, saying that it does not use individual sellers' data to launch its own private label products. A spokesperson for Amazon did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.&#xa0;</p><p>&#xa0;</p><p>Warren responded again, writing on Twitter: "When Amazon can tilt the online marketplace in its own favor, small businesses see an immediate impact in their profits. That can be absolutely crushing, it's not fair, and I'm fighting to end that."</p><p>&#xa0;</p><p><span>Amazon has come under <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-scrutinized-third-party-seller-data-use-2018-12?r=US&amp;IR=T">scrutiny</a> in the past for its role as both a direct seller and a platform for other merchants to sell to those same customers. Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-20/got-a-hot-seller-on-amazon-prepare-for-e-tailer-to-make-one-too">reported</a> in 2016 that Amazon had been using sellers' data to create its own versions of best-selling items. It is under an initial <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-scrutinized-third-party-seller-data-use-2018-12?r=US&amp;IR=T">probe</a> by European regulators for its role as both direct seller and merchant platform as of December 2018, and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/03/eus-vestager-says-a-full-probe-into-amazon-could-come-before-october.html">may face a full investigation</a>.</span></p><p>Warren has been hot on big tech for some time. In March, she announced her plan to break up some of the largest US tech companies, including Facebook, Google, and Amazon. In this proposal, she called out Amazon's Marketplace for third-party sellers and said it would "be split apart" from its private label "Basics" offering.&#xa0;</p><p>Amazon has argued that external sellers perform better than its own brands. Amazon Marketplace has been outpacing Amazon's direct sales for years, and this area of the business <a href="https://qz.com/1256651/amazon-marketplace-sold-more-stuff-than-amazon-itself-in-2017/">now accounts for more than half of Amazon's total sales on its website</a>.</p><p>"Third-party sellers are kicking our first party butt," CEO Jeff Bezos wrote in the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-notes-third-party-sellers-are-besting-amazon-2019-4?r=US&amp;IR=T">company's annual letter to shareholders</a> in April.</p><p>Amazon's own private-label offering still accounts for a small part of its total business; roughly 1% of the company's total retail sales, according to a company spokesperson. However, it is making moves to grow this and has significantly increased the number of private-label brands available in recent years.</p><p>According to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/02/amazon-is-testing-a-new-feature-that-promotes-its-private-label-brands-inside-a-competitors-product-listing.html">estimates from investment company SunTrust Robinson Humphrey</a>, Amazon's private-label business could generate $25 billion by 2022.</p><p>"Private label is one of the highly under-appreciated trends within Amazon, in our view, which over time should give the company a strong 'unfair' competitive advantage," the company wrote in a note in June.&#xa0;</p><p class="tagline"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/5-biggest-questions-around-amazons-new-grocery-chain?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr&amp;itm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;itm_content=ecommerce_ctgr_leadgen&amp;itm_campaign=ecommerce_ctgr_leadgen_amazon_grocery_chain"><img src="https://static.businessinsider.com/image/5cb6282197953a0882285b95" alt="Exclusive FREE Report: The 5 Biggest Questions Around Amazon's Grocery Chain by Business Insider Intelligence" border="0" style="width: 100% !important" /></a></p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>We don't use individual sellers' data to launch private label products (which account for only about 1% of sales). And sellers aren't being "knocked out" - they're seeing record sales every year. Also, Walmart is much larger; Amazon is less than 4% of U.S. retail. <a href="https://t.co/5wXTfaAHuN">https://t.co/5wXTfaAHuN</a></p>- Amazon News  (@amazonnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1120780868614627328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>When Amazon can tilt the online marketplace in its own favor, small businesses see an immediate impact in their profits. That can be absolutely crushing, it's not fair, and I'm fighting to end that. <a href="https://t.co/eV2ZvHuzJT">https://t.co/eV2ZvHuzJT</a></p>- Elizabeth Warren  (@ewarren) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1120847140740304901?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facial-recognition-technology-regulation-creepy-future-2019-4">Facial recognition is almost perfectly accurate - here's why that could be a problem</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/dUhcuqIL-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Elizabeth Warren doubles down on Amazon for 'crushing' small businesses

<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a787f7bdd484a1d008b51b7-1778/img3046-edithires.jpg" border="0" alt="tesla fremont factory" data-mce-source="Tesla" /><p class="source"><span>Tesla</span></p><p class="caption">Tesla's factory in Fremont, California.</p></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal-OSHA) has opened a third inspection into <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/tesla">Tesla</a>'s Fremont factory in September, an agency spokesperson told Business Insider.</strong></li><li><strong>The inspection was opened on Tuesday and follows a report made to the agency on Friday of an accident in which a <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/tsla-stock">Tesla</a> employee had part of a finger amputated while moving a rack of windshields onto a conveyor.</strong></li><li><strong>A Cal-OSHA spokesperson said the agency now has seven open inspections into Tesla.</strong></li></ul><p>California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal-OSHA) has opened a third inspection into Tesla's Fremont factory in September, an agency spokesperson told Business Insider. </p><p>The inspection was opened on Tuesday and follows a report made to the agency on Friday of an accident in which a Tesla employee had part of a finger amputated while moving a rack of windshields onto a conveyor. The agency did not say when the reported injury occurred. A Cal-OSHA spokesperson said the agency currently has seven open inspections into Tesla. </p><p>A Tesla spokesperson gave the following statement to Business Insider:</p><blockquote><p><span>"This incident occurred when an employee's finger was caught while attempting to load parts into a lifter. The employee was immediately attended to by our Environmental Health and Safety team, received the necessary medical care, and is now recovering. We proactively reported the incident to Cal-OSHA, and we're working closely with them to investigate the exact cause and make any necessary improvements. We care deeply about the well-being of our employees, and as our injury rate continues to decline, we will keep working with them until we have the safest factories in the world."</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="color: #000000;">Cal-OSHA has opened three inspections into Tesla's Fremont factory in September. The first was </span><a href="https://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/establishment.inspection_detail?id=1343800.015" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/establishment.inspection_detail?id%3D1343800.015&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1537530997081000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE_r8-gBdS-KgcN9Rq_FPwz0DYyXg">opened on September 4</a><span style="color: #000000;"> and was prompted by an incident reported to the agency in which a contract worker </span><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-hit-with-new-osha-investigations-for-safety-conditions-2018-9">became stuck between two garbage bins</a><span style="color: #000000;"> after a forklift pushed one of the bins. The incident was reported to regulators on August 30, but the agency did not say when the incident occurred.</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">The second was </span><a href="https://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/establishment.inspection_detail?id=1344257.015" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/establishment.inspection_detail?id%3D1344257.015&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1537530997081000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGA30xamvAdmaNpfS8igUcxGfYu_g">opened on September 5</a><span style="color: #000000;"> and came after an incident reported to the agency in which a contract worker's fingers were caught in a torque gun. According to the agency, the incident occurred on August 24 and was reported to regulators on August 31.</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;"><span>A Tesla spokesperson said in a statement to Business Insider last week that the company has implemented a new system for tracking safety incidents and has taken a number of steps to promote the rapid identification and prevention of safety issues, including encouraging employees to report injury symptoms early and working with athletic trainers to identify and fix areas on the production line that could lead to repetitive motion injuries.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">Tesla employees told Business Insider in an </span><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-employees-describe-intense-conditions-life-under-elon-musk-2018-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-employees-describe-intense-conditions-life-under-elon-musk-2018-8&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1537530997081000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGNDN6c5aADpF3CzeOJATafiGcueQ">August report </a><span style="color: #000000;">that the company has improved its workplace safety, particularly over the past year. </span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">In a September 7 email to employees that was posted to the </span><a href="https://www.tesla.com/blog/company-update" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.tesla.com/blog/company-update&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1537530997081000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFrRle8aaQtSLEsPkEygMlUAlBN6A">company's website</a><span style="color: #000000;">, CEO Elon Musk announced that Laurie Shelby, the company's vice president of environmental, health, and safety, would report directly to him and said worker safety is a priority.</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">"Your safety and just generally making sure that you love coming to work is extremely important, which is why [Shelby] will report directly to me. We are working hardcore on having the safest (and most fun) work environment in the automotive industry by far," he said.</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">Concerns about workplace safety have been a point of controversy for Tesla. A report from the Fremont Police Department, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-employees-describe-intense-conditions-life-under-elon-musk-2018-8">received by Business Insider</a>, listed over 300 911 calls made from the Fremont factory between January 2016 and March 2018, for a variety of reported reasons, including trespassing and suicide threats. Eleven of the calls included reports of accidents, six of which included reports of accidents with "no visible injury."</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">During the same period, there were nine 911 calls made from General Motor's factory in Lake Orion, Michigan, which produces the electric Chevy Bolt EV. The calls included reports of accidents and a trash fire.</span><span style="color: #000000;"></span><span style="color: #000000;"></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">In February, a post on </span><a href="https://www.tesla.com/blog/becoming-safest-car-factory-world" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.tesla.com/blog/becoming-safest-car-factory-world&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1537530997081000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEzzj_p_J-Bouwpc4yIs7SirQ49NQ">Tesla's website </a><span style="color: #000000;">written by Shelby said the company's "total recordable incident rate" had fallen by 25% since 2016 and was in line with the industry average. Shelby also </span><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-reveals-new-safety-measures-policies-at-fremont-factory-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-reveals-new-safety-measures-policies-at-fremont-factory-2018-2&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1537530997081000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFoozGnCMH9uTpIYHWuGsTl6li-ug">outlined steps</a><span style="color: #000000;"> Tesla had taken to better manage and prevent workplace injuries.</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">But an April report from </span><a href="https://www.revealnews.org/article/tesla-says-its-factory-is-safer-but-it-left-injuries-off-the-books/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.revealnews.org/article/tesla-says-its-factory-is-safer-but-it-left-injuries-off-the-books/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1537530997081000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEsKH7sfk8yYoyEnYcn-jGtf1g-yA">The Center for Investigative Reporting</a><span style="color: #000000;"> said Tesla had </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-responds-to-report-claims-about-misreported-injuries-factory-2018-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-responds-to-report-claims-about-misreported-injuries-factory-2018-4&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1537530997081000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGZg_VkSaqUqhPPv9PzcjkX2GwcYg">misreported workplace injuries</a><span style="color: #000000;">, avoided some safety markings for aesthetic reasons, and insufficiently trained some employees for dangerous work. The investigative-journalism outlet said it interviewed more than three dozen current and former Tesla employees and reviewed hundreds of pages of documents, including internal records and correspondence related to injury reporting.</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">Tesla denied the allegations in the report and called it "a completely false picture of Tesla and what it is actually like to work here."</span></p><div><div><h2>Read more about what it's like to work at Tesla:</h2><ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/42-employees-reveal-the-frenzy-of-working-at-tesla-2018-9">70-hour weeks and 'WTF' emails: 42 employees reveal the frenzy of working at Tesla under the 'cult' of Elon Musk</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-workers-describe-working-in-gigafactory-2018-8">Tesla employees describe what it's like to work in the gigantic Gigafactory</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/working-at-tesla-energy-solarcity-2018-8">Tesla SolarCity employees say they were left in the dark about pay and didn't know when the solar roof would actually arrive</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/some-tesla-employees-wanted-elon-musk-take-company-private-2018-8">Some Tesla employees are disappointed that Elon Musk isn't taking the company private: 'We have so much external pressure'</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-employee-stories-elon-musk-sleeping-at-work-2018-8">Elon Musk works so many hours at Tesla, employees are constantly finding him asleep under tables and desks</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-elon-musk-sends-three-letter-emails-to-his-senior-staff-2018-8">Elon Musk is known for sending emails that simply say 'WTF' - and an insider says they cause 'huge scrambles' at Tesla</a></li></ul></div></div><p class="tagline">Get the latest Tesla stock price<a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/TSLA-Quote"> <strong>here.</strong></a></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/semi-trike-motorcycle-bus-spare-semitruck-parts-2018-8">This trike is made to look like a semitruck</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/KnljaAOY-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

California regulators open another investigation into Tesla's factory after getting a report that an employee had part of a finger amputated during a workplace accident

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="10045545" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="lotus-evora-gt">Lotus Evora GT</keyword> is arguably the best driver’s car currently on the market.</li><li>It’s a 2020 model, yet its hardware and philosophy basically remain unchanged since it came around in 2009.</li><li>The Evora GT doesn’t have flaws, it has quirks. Quirks such as being loud inside and difficult to get in and out of. </li><li>My loaner had a starting MSRP of $96,950, but after special Airforce Blue paint and a fancy sound system, final MSRP came to $105,550.</li></ul><p>I should have known.</p><p>The moment I put the $105,550 <keyword id="1058816" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Lotus-Evora">Lotus Evora</keyword> GT into second gear after pulling out of my garage, I should have known. </p><p>Should have known that I — a sick, hopeless, masochistic nerd — would fall in love with a very silly car in about seven seconds. And because you're reading this, it's probably because you, too, are a sick, hopeless, masochistic, Lotus-loving nerd. </p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_12" height="1666" width="2500" msid="78463392" hostid="261"></div><p>Here's the truth, though: the Evora GT only needs seven seconds to utterly win you over.</p><h2><strong>The numbers</strong></h2><p>The Evora is <keyword id="71296" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Lotus">Lotus</keyword>' larger, slightly cushier model when compared to the automaker's renowned <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-new-lotus-elise-cup-250-is-insanely-quick-2016-2">Elise</a> sports car. But that isn't saying much, because the Elise is famously not-large <a href="https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a23582753/salvage-title-2005-lotus-elise-for-sale/">nor particularly utilitarian</a>.</p><p>After the Evora launched in 2008 and <a href="https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15130329/lotus-a-historical-timeline/">began production in 2009</a>, Lotus spawned many versions of it as the years wore on: the 400, Sport 410, GT430, et cetera. Last year, the Evora GT was <a href="https://media.lotuscars.com/en/news-articles/evora-gt-north-america.html">introduced for the North American market</a>.</p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_33" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463395" hostid="261"></div><p>Its mid-mounted engine produces a claimed 416 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque, driven to the rear wheels from a supercharged 3.5-liter V6 <a href="https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a20112603/toyota-camry-vs-lotus-evora-400-track-test/">sourced from the Toyota Camry</a>. Weighing in at a feathery 3,104 pounds, the Evora GT is available with either a six-speed manual, which I had, or automatic transmission. I don't think I need to tell you which is my preferred option.</p><p>Technically, the Evora GT that Lotus was so kind to loan me for the weekend is a 2020 model. But I'd consider that model-year designation to be in name only; inside, mechanically, philosophically, the Evora is older. Much older. </p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_14" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463399" hostid="261"></div><p>In 2009, when the Evora began production, far more cars were supercharged. Far more cars had hydraulically assisted steering systems. In 2009, it wasn't that odd or unusual if your car had a manual transmission.</p><p>But now, 11 years later, few cars are supercharged. Many of them have more efficient electronically assisted (see also: very artificial-feeling) steering. Hardly any of them have manual transmissions. </p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT_Lotus_3" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463403" hostid="261"></div><p>The Evora is perhaps the most analog sports car on the market today by virtue of simply refusing to evolve. Everything else fell away around it. (You're also welcomed to speculate that perhaps Lotus, a company so often on the brink of financial collapse, straight up didn't have the cash to innovate. Still, it's charming.)</p><h2><strong>Features, not flaws</strong></h2><p>The infotainment screen in the Evora is sourced from Alpine and offers a user interface I'm pretty sure I last experienced during Barack Obama's first term in office. The tire pressure and fuel gauges have the resolution of a Tamagotchi screen. The backup camera offers a picture quality that would rival the crappy spring break video you shot on your Razr flip phone. </p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_45" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463407" hostid="261"></div><p>The car's immobilizer feature — which prevents the engine from running unless a key is present, something <a href="http://49210a70594045aae060-9ee7f563068e7bbd2f9eb533a1de6b33.r31.cf3.rackcdn.com/59275_1360838155_sn_mr_electrics_evora.pdf">Lotus calls</a> an "automatic vehicle security" measure — hinders both would-be thefts and just about everyone else.</p><p>The feature dictates that you must sometimes hit the unlock button on the key before turning it in the ignition and pressing the engine-start button, or else the car won't turn on. (This was explained to me by the nice man who dropped off the Evora. I, in turn, explained it to several confused parking valets and one bewildered car-wash attendant.)</p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_43" height="3750" width="2500" msid="78463411" hostid="261"></div><p>Sitting in the Evora means your butt is only about eight inches off the ground, which basically means it's on the ground. The manually adjusted seats did not scoot forward far enough for me to reach the pedals, so I had to supply my own cushion.</p><p>The seat also did not raise, which meant that I was seated lower than I am used to. I spent the weekend craning around the car's A-pillars in order to see.</p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_46" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463418" hostid="261"></div><p>I'm also not convinced the interior was designed for actual humans to use or enjoy. The trunk is minuscule and runs toasty, owing to the fact that it sits right above the car's exhausts.</p><p>The back "seats" would have a better time fitting a large watermelon than a real person. The one (1) cup holder is so tiny and out of reach that you might as well use the optional extra cup holder, also known as your bemused front passenger.</p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_25" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463421" hostid="261"></div><p>If it sounds like I'm complaining a lot, it's because I am. Right off the top of my head, here are six reasons why the Evora GT is bad:</p><ol><li>The clutch is quite heavy</li><li>You sit so low you can't see out of it</li><li>The rear trunk is tiny and gets very hot after extended driving</li><li>There's no <a href="https://mycardoeswhat.org/safety-features/hill-start-assist/">hill-assist</a></li><li>It's very loud inside</li><li>There are barely any interior comforts to enjoy</li></ol><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT_Lotus_7" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463426" hostid="261"></div><p>At the same time, here are six reasons why the Evora GT is, in fact, spectacular:</p><ol><li>The clutch is quite heavy</li><li>You sit so low you can't see out of it</li><li>The rear trunk is tiny and gets very hot after extended driving</li><li>There's no <a href="https://mycardoeswhat.org/safety-features/hill-start-assist/">hill-assist</a></li><li>It's very loud inside</li><li>There are barely any interior comforts to enjoy</li></ol><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_23" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463430" hostid="261"></div><p>As soon as you start driving, you won't care that you can't see out of it. The loudness won't bother you because the engine sounds incredible. You learn to balance the heavy clutch everywhere, including on steep hills.</p><p>You get used to packing light and being OK with hot luggage after a long drive. You laugh at the contortionist exercises you have to perform to get in and out of it. You leave behind petty desires for earthly comforts such as soft leathers and pillowy suspension.</p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT_Lotus_1" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463432" hostid="261"></div><p>The Lotus doesn't have flaws; it has <em>quirks</em>. These aren't weaknesses; they are <em>features</em> — unique to an old car masquerading as a new one and completely endearing to the punishment-loving freaks who value the simple, tactile act of driving above everything else. </p><p>Driving the Evora GT kicks you in the ass and leaves you begging for more. It's all about the <em>experience. </em>Is your body ready?</p><h2><strong>Time travel</strong></h2><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_32" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463436" hostid="261"></div><p>Fire up the engine and it settles in a raspy idle behind you, sending trembles through the cabin like a snarly live thing. There's effort required to putting in the heavy clutch, but the car is so light and has so much torque that you don't need to give it any gas to get it moving. It makes the Evora GT the perfect manual transmission stop-and-go traffic commuter. </p><p>The transmission itself is outsourced from Aisin, an automotive company whose <a href="https://www.aisin.com/profile/customer/">clients</a> include major automakers like Mazda, Subaru, Honda, Volvo, Toyota, and others. But a company rep told me Lotus completely rebuilt the unit, with major changes going into making first and second gear taller.</p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_34" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463446" hostid="261"></div><p>This makes the car feel like it wants to be revved into forever when in first and second gear (and also third and fourth). The short-throw shifter slots into the tightly housed gates with a sharp, precise rifle-bolt action, articulating the feel of the industrial clunking and sliding beautifully up and into your fingertips. </p><p>The tiny, lightweight, magnesium steering wheel could have come from a go-kart, but the Evora GT's steering is so acutely tuned that even the gentlest toggle results in a wiggle of the front wheels. Power delivery is beautifully linear and predictable; no hiccups from a lag in the nonexistent turbos. The supercharger provides substantive punch down low in the revs, pulling mightily to redline with its <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHC5pINsLyc">signature whine</a>. </p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_29" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463451" hostid="261"></div><p>At approximately 4,000 rpm, valves in the exhaust system open up. The Evora GT then goes from emitting merely buzzy growls to a full-throated, burbling V6 roar. The noise is not unlike the howl of a Nissan GT-R — and from a V6 out of a freaking <em>Camry</em>! My friends, I saw God. </p><p>By way of design, the Evora GT's balance is superb, thanks to the engine being placed between its axles. The car behaves like a dancer, pivoting around one central point under higher-speed and more urgent cornering. You're challenged to push further, to corner harder. Your confidence grows with the information fed up through the steering wheel. </p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_26" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463455" hostid="261"></div><p>The Evora GT isn't slow by any means, but rather just fast enough. Its 416 horsepower is so perfectly proportioned with its 3,104-pound weight that you can have a hilarious time exploring the car's abilities and not go to jail immediately for speeding.</p><p>The human race has not yet achieved time travel, but getting into a Lotus is the closest thing to going back in time. Driving the 2020 Evora GT was like driving a car from 15 years ago. It was a time capsule riding on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s.</p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_7" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463461" hostid="261"></div><p>The Evora GT is a car you wear, not drive. It fits like a glove, reacting to the road seemingly as a response to your intent instead of physical input. It is the closest you can get to riding a motorcycle without actually getting on one. That sense of vehicular freedom and dogged impracticality are very nearly the same. </p><p>Certainly, you could buy yourself a Porsche 718 Cayman. That would be a great choice — the mature one, even — because you'd be getting a new car that largely accomplishes the same things the Lotus does. Underneath the $5,900 Airforce Blue paint, the Evora GT's hardware is positively retro.</p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_47" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463464" hostid="261"></div><p>But here, retro gets the job done. You don't need the latest technology to make the time-honored act of driving great.</p><h2><strong>The last of its kind</strong></h2><p>I can't imagine cars like the Evora GT have much longer on the market. </p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT_Lotus_5" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463466" hostid="261"></div><p>As such, the Evora is already a standout in age and technology. This isn't to say that the car isn't outstanding, but as time goes on, we move a little bit further away from the world and market the Evora was born into. Other <keyword id="660753" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Sports-cars">sports cars</keyword> of that day and their successors — the BMW M3, Chevrolet Corvette, Porsche Cayman, Ferrari F430, Audi R8 — have all gone either turbocharged, removed their manual transmission options, or both. </p><p>With each passing day, the Evora becomes a little less relevant — and as is, it's already made by a little-known boutique British automaker.</p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_40" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463471" hostid="261"></div><p>In 2017, <keyword id="88395" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Geely">Geely</keyword>, the massive Chinese automotive company that also owns Volvo and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/polestar-2-review-price-ev-volvo-tesla-specs-horsepower-electric-2020-8">Polestar</a>, <a href="https://jalopnik.com/lotus-is-saved-1795501792">bought a 51% stake in Lotus</a> from a Malaysian car company called Proton. Whatever Lotus does next, including its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lotus-evija-1972-horsepower-electric-supercar-starts-production-full-specs-2020-2">all-electric Evija supercar</a>, will have Geely fingerprints all over it.</p><p>And if Geely's ideas for Lotus are anything like what we've seen with the other brands it controls, then it's probably safe to say Lotus is headed fully in the electrified direction, too.  </p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_13" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463474" hostid="261"></div><p>It makes thinking about the Evora GT even more bittersweet. Especially now, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/06/business/pickups-and-suvs-lead-way-to-a-record-year-for-automakers.html">with the way people shop</a>, there's really no return on investment to keep selling a loud, rattly car with a manual transmission. </p><p>I welcome our EV and emissions-free future. I truly do. It'll be good for all of us. But it doesn't mean that I won't miss wonderful cars like the Evora GT. Nerds like me — all 26 of us, loud and proud — love Lotuses because they are egregiously impractical, incredible to drive, and contrary to just about every aspect of a soul-numbing SUV. </p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT_Lotus_10" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463475" hostid="261"></div><p>We're one and the same, this Evora GT and me. I think it takes a bit longer than seven seconds to fall in love with <em>me</em>, though you'll have to ask around. I've never fallen in love with myself before. And I have tried.</p><p>But we're both <a href="https://jalopnik.com/please-enjoy-us-reading-our-hate-mail-and-drinking-wine-1839673497">a little brash</a>, <a href="https://jalopnik.com/stay-fancy-motherfuckers-1842565069">a little uncouth</a>. We're both in it (life, the act of driving) for the fun of it and definitely <a href="https://twitter.com/francis_lam/status/773221506172215296?lang=en">not for the practicality</a>. We both look killer in blue.</p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_51" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463480" hostid="261"></div><p>And we both recall 2009 fondly — a year when flare jeans were in, people still updated their Myspace pages, "Gossip Girl" and "True Blood" were at their height, I got my driver's license, and the Lotus Evora arrived as largely the same car that it is today.</p><p>If that isn't peaking, then I don't know what is.</p><p style="text-align: center;">♦♦♦</p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_58" height="1969" width="2500" msid="78463482" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_56" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463487" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_57" height="3750" width="2500" msid="78463491" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_28" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463493" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_53" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463496" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_48" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463497" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_50" height="3750" width="2500" msid="78463499" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_44" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463500" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_41" height="1666" width="2500" msid="78463501" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_31" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463503" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_49" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463505" hostid="261"></div>

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