Lotus news?

Good questions for which I have no answers. Lots of new Evoras on e bay can't be reassuring.

 

Unfortunately, ex-CEO and snake oil salesman extraordinaire Dany Bahar has likely killed the company with his idiotic plans to take it up market to compete against Porsche and Ferrari. Bahar was finally fired a few months ago, but is now suing the new owners of Proton/Lotus, DRB-Hicom for wrongful dismissal. But the damage to the company has already been done.

Oh, the F1 team has nothing to do with the car company - at best, it was a sponsorship deal put together by Bahar for the ex-Renault Genii team, but they severed ties early this year after the Lotus car company didn't pay their sponsorship bills.

Re Lotus future - they can't sell the Elise/Exige in the US any more since the bumper/headlight federal exemptions expired, all they have is the Evora - and the factory in England is only trickling them out since there are component and supplier issues due to cash flow problems from the DRB-Hicom takeover. As mentioned, there are a lot of unsold Evoras around, they've been a bit of a disaster.

 

Joe, this is one American's view and opinion of Lotus in the U.S. -- One American who happens to be a life-long Lotus enthusiast and long-time owner:

1) Lotus traditionally has not had a strong focus on the United States, and

2) Americans traditionally have not cared for Lotus that much.


To elaborate:

Lotus hasn't always had a strong focus on the United States, particularly in recent years. They have usually, in my opinion, made the UK and European markets their first priority, with North America being secondary. The big exception to that would be the Esprit era, but even that had multiple moments of abandoning the U.S.

Some examples, off the top of my head, to which I may stand corrected. I don't know all of the details, but here is an overview:

- For much of the Elite/Elan/Europa era, Lotus had U.S. distributors, but not always an official presence/headquarters. If I recall correctly, there was an entire year or Europa S1 production that did not include U.S. models.

- In the Elite/Eclat/Esprit era, Lotus prided themselves in their then state-of-the-art emissions testing facilities, which enabled them to easily federalize the 907 engine. Likewise, the Elite/Eclat/Esprit in the '70s were designed with compliance for the U.S. market in mind. I would call the mid-1970s an exception to the norm -- they seemed focused on the American market.

- But then, around 1979 or '80, the U.S. operations fell apart, with a failed partnership/dealer arrangement with Rolls Royce.

- From 1980 through '82, Lotus had no presence, dealerships, or operations in the U.S. Only a handful of cars trickled in as grey-market cars.

- When Lotus returned to the States in 1983, we only received one model: The Turbo Esprit. Meanwhile, the rest of the world enjoyed the normally aspirated Esprit S3 and the Excel, an evolution of the Eclat. This continued through the end of Excel and N/A Esprit production, circa 1992 and 1989, respectively. It should be noted, though, that Lotus remained dedicated through the 1980s to keeping the Esprit up to date with the U.S. market, including offering GM fuel injection when UK models were still carbureted.

- Sales of Esprits in the early 1990s -- after the "crash" of the exotic car market -- were so slow that Lotus didn't import any Esprits to the U.S. in 1992. Thus we never saw the "high wing" SE.

From some point in the 1990s, Lotus Cars USA changed their strategy a bit to reduce the number of leftover unsold cars. Thus they would not have to discount them ridiculously like they did in the early '90s, and instead sold fewer cars but turned a profit on each. They spent the rest of the 1990s/early 2000s importing less than 150 cars per year, occasionally fewer than 100. Just Esprits. They reduced supply to meet demand.

Back to the American market being secondary:

The M100 Elan, introduced in 1991 or so, was revived by Lotus. . . . but we never even heard about it in the States. The UK and Europe saw a "Series 2" Elan around 1994 or so.

The V8 Esprit was introduced in 1996 . . . and the U.S. didn't get it until after the UK and Europe, as a 1997 model.

The Elise was introduced around 1995 or 1996 . . . . and HOW LONG was it before they made a U.S. version? . . . . almost TEN YEARS. The ELISE was in production for almost TEN YEARS before we got a U.S. legal version.

And then there was the 340R, the 2-Eleven, and Europa S -- none of which came to the States.

The Evora was Mike Kimberley's brainchild, and he specifically had the car designed for the European and U.S. markets together, not with the U.S as an afterthought. Personally, I blame Dany Bahar 100% for why the Evora isn't selling better here; he took over shortly after the Evora's launch and did not support the car AT ALL. Instead, months after the Evora's introduction, he introduced its replacement (Elan) as part of his pie-in-the-sky five-car strategy bulls--t. REALLY?!? WHAT KIND OF A BUSINESS MOVE WAS THAT, TO IGNORE YOUR COMPANY'S NEW MODEL AND INTRODUCE ITS REPLACEMENT, SLATED FOR AN UNKNOWN FUTURE DATE MORE THAN FIVE YEARS AHEAD? AND TO NOT MARKET YOUR NEW/CURRENT MODEL AT ALL? Sounds like his huge ego getting in the way of his business sense, in my opinion. Bahar completely ignored the Lotus company that he had taken control of and threw all of that 700 million or whatever it was toward marketing for an uncertain, unplanned, unrealistic future. Probably among the stupidest things done by a CEO, ever.


But anyway, Lotus has always had a stronger presence in its domestic and European markets than in the U.S. I think it's a two-way street here: Between emissions and crash regulations, Federalizing cars has almost always been an added expense over preparing cars for the European market (look at Pagani, Noble, Koeniggseggegeggg, TVR, etc., etc.), so that was reason for Lotus to put the U.S. market second . . .

. . . But in turn, let's look at your typical American sensibilities compared to the Lotus ethos: So much of American car culture is about "muscle" and brute force, whereas Lotus' philosophy is about finesse and light weight -- how often was the Esprit criticized for not having a V8? To a majority of Americans, a performance car has to have at least a V8, and 4 or 6 cylinders are considered wimpy (never mind acceleration and speed of the car itself). Generally speaking, the predominant American attitude has not been that accepting of the Lotus philosophy.

So I kind of see it as a two way street: Americans don't care for Lotus because they are small and light and have fewer cylinders; Lotus doesn't put the American market first because it's a significant expense to produce cars for a country where few people want them.

So as for your dealerships in Chicago not having a lot of stock right now, I'd say that's just part of the ongoing ebb and flow of Lotus' presence in the U.S.


Cheers,

Tony


P.S. -- Lotus introduced a V6 Exige late last year . . . I don't suppose it's headed here yet . . .

 

I am not a lotus enthusists. But I do own alot of exotic and classic cars including a Lotus.

I had an Lotus Elize sport for close to 8 years and I loved the car and still do. I traded the Lotus for an Evora Turbo S. I am in love with that car also. It is not the fasted car I own but it is the best handling car end of statement! The car is just magic on fun roads. It is a much more modern chasis than my previous Lotus.

The power is only 350 hp which does not sound like much but with the light car weigh it is a very good perfomer.

I am only vaguely aware of the company problems and I hope it turns out okay for the employees and people who love these cars.

It is sad because Ferrari has changed and in my opinion gone in the wrong direction with the 458. I loved my previous 360 and 430 Ferraris. I am not a fan of the 458. Lambos have improved but they where never a drivers car like Ferrari was and Lotus still is is.

I encourage people who are looking for a sports car to at least drive one. It is that good in my opinion.

Lee

 

Lee, you seem to be a big enthusiast, but dude, it's "Elise," not Elize and the Evora S is Supercharged, not a "Turbo". FWIW

I have had my Elise since 2005 and it is 1000 lb lighter than the Evora, and IMO Lotus lost the way on the Evora. 3000 lb curb weight is not very impressive

 

Right! And if I'm right the gearbox is from a petrol driven Toyota, so everything the enthusiastic driver/owner wanted is gone, where is their racing heritage?

I remember a car magazine from the 90s where they showed a picture of an S1 Elise next to an Type 23 Lotus, and it made sense! What I should think of the actual model range is
not an easy question! I'm still a Lotus Fan, but more of its racing history and its pre-Toyota engined era.

These are the latest news from Hethel! It's frustrating that they don't show their skills, they only refurbished a second hand car, leaving it with his weak points (gearbox)
http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=26284

This is how they advertise the Evora, with a very badly photoshopped picture!
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Keith How can I be a big enthusiast if I do not know what I have

Congrats on your Lotus I miss my car. They are different cars that is for sure. I like them both. We each have a different opinion. I have freinds who honestly believe no fast cars have been made since the 1060's. They are happy in their belief and so are we.

I just hope when this is all done Lotus survives.

Thank you for the post Dude.

LEE

 

Lotus has always been on the ragged edge even when Chapman was around. F-1 was his passion and Money his game. when they started to make $$ in the late 70's Champman used the money for his own gain and did not invest it in the business, therefore there was really no R&D... and subsequent build problems...

the cars always had a strong cult following, but sadly the warranty claims would eat a dealer alive.

 

Keith, don't worry, Lee's a good guy.

He once famously found himself locked into one of his Corvettes. He told Fchat:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?p=140430946

Then that story was told around the world:

http://jalopnik.com/5791811/corvette-zr1-owner-calls-911-after-locking-himself-in-car

 

Oh, I've seen Lee's posts and they are very entertaining - he loves life while I fret about spelling

 

Very embarrasing hey what can I say it happened The policeman who came to rescue me was followed by his captain who had the problem a few months earlier.

The only change I would make is I kept the ZR1. Once you know the trick of the floor located small safety switch to open the door if your battery goes dead it is not a problem.

I still admit many gadgets on these cars I do not bother with. With 14 cars it is to much to fool with I would rather play

People ask for my autograph, the slow witted ones only

Lee

 

I cannot spell to save my life. I wish the forum had spell check Also I am 66 years old and I refuse to grow up. I just bought the new 665 hp Shelny mustang to add to the bunch. I am gunning for teens as we speak. okay not really gunning

Lee

 

My dealer would not help me when my Evora would not start and it was only 3 months old.

This is the same dealer I bought my Astin Martin from and still own. So pick your dealer well.

Lee

 

too much doom and gloom here:

Dealers cannot get enough stock right now and many are awaiting delivery on orders, 2012's have sold very well, very hard to get a discount especially on an S.

Some 2011'S are still around but prices have hardened.

Biggest problem is the new Exige GT cannot be registered here on the street IMHO.

In my opinion the 2012's are fabulous and with the right options are mini Ferraris.

 

All of the "turmoil" and the discontinuing of the Exige/Elise here in the U.S. has caused used values to jump.

That's a bit of good news for owners.