Yes, definitely a good read. Nice to hear them focus on Lotus Cars, too. North America should be a big target, the Elise was a nice "comeback", don't lose momentum now.
Just returned from my regional Lotus dealer here in the mid-west. Three Evoras tucked away in the back of the showroom. That's it. When I asked the salesman what is going on with Lotus, he responded "We don't know. But they are such a small part of our business that if they went away, it wouldn't really hurt us." Was rather disappointed by his lack of concern about the marquee. But I guess they're doing okay with their Ferrari/Maserati/Aston-Martin/McLaren sales. Joe
Good article. Lotus were giant slayers in F1 as were their road cars, "back in the day". And reliving it in vintage racing, they still can do the job. My guess is Rick M. carries the brand as an entry point to the world of LFSC's brands but either way, can you blame them for their lack of focus on the brand? Nope. Still, like a phoenix does rise from the ashes, it shouldn't be too hard to sell 3000 cars a year if the price point is accessible. Philip
I want the new Exige S so badly I can hardly see straight. Let's hope Lotus gets its **** together and roars back into the U.S. market. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Maybe they can build them to be stronger, or more easy (economical) to fix. The Elise and Exige suffer from the expenses and headache of replacing the clams, and the lack of allowable repairs to any of the metal under structure or suspension past a certain point. The lack of *any* repair procedures by the manufacturer ties the hands of the insurance companies and repair shops forcing them to pay out total loss claims, which skew the accident / repair rates for the cars. Eight major insurance companies refused to insure me on an Exige or an Elise despite my clean record and numerous exotics I have owned. I called Lotus in Atlanta (I am in GA) and they offered little help. This is not sour grapes, but a warning that people with the means to buy the cars, but no way to insure them is going to have an affect on resale and future new car sales. I am single with a good job and will not go near a Lotus again after my Esprit gets picked up in a few weeks on its way to its new home. ( I own a 90 Esprit, the 3rd one I have had no less.)
I didn't have any problems with State Farm, once we got past the "what the hell is a Lotus" problem. seriously, they thought it was a motorcycle. however, that was before, or on the leading edge, of the depreciated values of the Elise reaching a point equal to the replacement of both clams...so a relatively minor accident with damage to both ends of the car resulted in a total loss, which resulted in an actuarial "adjustment". btw, I too love those Exige V6 cars....
I use hagerty. BTW I know of numerous "totaled" loti where someone with the skill to repair a vette fixed the clams, many totaled loti have no more dmage than cracked clams, they make good buys. Mine is one of the very last Elise imported into the US. M3 feels like a pickup truck after a drive in the lotus, they really are that good, and one of the very few cars that can be tracked virtrualy out the box. Happy to see they are sticking with the light weight momnetum concept, the evora is a great platform to be developed further, and as Flash says the Exige V6 is really something. Happy to hear they did 2k cars last year, so 3k break even should be a possibility. Image Unavailable, Please Login
