Loquacious Lew

Road&Track gets it. Matt Farah does too.

Beautiful car! Best wishes and thoughts to you and your wife, Lee.

More nonsense: It took him an hour to locate and do something with the battery terminals. If there is a more convenient battery location for service on a modern car, I'd like to know where that is. It should be mentioned in the same breath as the spotty US dealer network that both (US) cars that heve been posted about here have the attention of Lotus USA at this point in time. Indeed, Lotus has many issues with their dealer network (and parts supply) here. Let's be honest. Lotus is a third tier marque in the USA, the smallest manufacturer selling cars on this continent (as it is most places). As such, they don't get to pick who will be their main agents from amongst the best and most responsive dealers, nor do they remotely have coverage in all the major metropolitan areas. That combination is deadly inb a place with such vast expanses. Any of you (which I suspect is many of you) who spend time on the US forum will identify that there are some good dealers and some poor dealerships here. We shouldn't tar the good ones with the same brush as the evil ones but it is fair to say that the USA needs a lot of help in this respect. A company that has operated on the margins for so long as Lotus has done is going to be rife with distribution issues since each sale is precious and there is little or no will to refuse marginal situations when a few sales are at stake. The US is going to take a lot of work on the marketing and sales end (not to mention product line expansion) to reach anything like its real potential. It's going to take grit and a degree of courage to do what needs to be done here but these are problems that a liberal application of grease in the form of filthy lucre can resolve. What is needed is the product and the will to fix it. In a theater as huge as the USA, this will not be easy or pain free but I have to believe Lotus USA will rise to the task. They simply have to. I have received excellent service from my dealer and would make the same choice I did last summer to take a flier on my Evora but the situation here is fluid and very, very regional.

Follows a wordy diatribe in my passionate style! @Royal: Thanks for the compliment on my livery! No fears, she's a keeper! More explanation regarding my view of the market from this side of the pond: If you browse the available media for Lotus Evora 400 (Autotrader, Cars.com, etc) you'll find ample listings of cars offered for sale by dealers that are tagged as demos. We have a glut of 2017s. I think (again, my deduction, not proven) they will often call a car a demo to offer a sop or skirt around MSRP. This allows them to post a low price while potentially avoiding whatever retribution or criticism that might occur from other dealers or even Lotus itself. Most US cars are well equipped (loaded) so what happens in our typical 'demo' scenario is that you get the options for free and maybe even a break on the base car that may have anywhere from five to a few hundred miles on the clock. My car was one of those as well. I simply waited until there was one in a color and interior finish I thought I would enjoy. For me, Motorsport Green over tan leather was acceptable, although I was really gunning for an orange one! The price seemed right and I'm happy with the green. It was my on wife's advice that I settled for a fully loaded 400 in this most traditional Lotus style livery. Lotus does need to establish it's foothold here and to be honest, I think selling off the first shipments at bargain prices will help in the long run. We need to get the cars out on the streets and into public view. It's not great or fair that these cars don't have the following they deserve on the basis of their own considerable merits. I think though that the more out there, the better for Lotus in the long run. I'd even suggest the smart dealers realize they have to participate in a degree of aggressive discounting if we are going to look like we're making headway in the market. The 400 is a 911/911S competitor as respects it's performance but apparently needs to compete on a price basis with the CaymanS. That's just reality in America and I believe it results in these unexpected consequences that we will just have to work through. @Deuteronomy316: You and Kapoosh are doing us all a service, even though it's at the price of some distress not to mention a few...ahem.... painful posts. People must understand they are buying a handmade car that comes with all that implies. The good in these cars is legion. The downside means a first owner may need to sort out a few issues. The only real one I've had was that my car was one of an early batch that got one of a few Edelbrock superchargers with bad nose seals (OEM issue, not something Lotus had real control over). One thousand miles after I got it, the supercharger seal let go and it sprayed oil all over my party. I was fast to notice it and my dealer replaced the supercharger and had it back in my hands in three or four days. They gave me a loaner Maserati Levante for that time, thereby convincing me I'd done well to buy a Lotus super sport instead of a Maser SUV. Since that supercharger incident, nothing apart from the seat cover has been an issue. I'm enjoying excellent mechanical performance and I look forward to driving it in battle mode on the Trace today. I've had many new cars, common and odd. BMWs in particular can surprise one with their needs. Yes, ours are exotica. These boards (Talk and Forum) prove that you may need to sort a few issues but should you have them, once sorted you have a special car that will go the distance in style and with quite reasonable running costs in the long haul. You are neither alone, nor will your issues go unresolved. It's a total drag when your first days are disappointing and they don't even give you the courtesy of a tank of fuel or a clean car that's been looked at for obvious issues. That's just wrong no matter how much or little a dealer nets on the sale. Mothership Lotus will tend to us. I truly believe that. Also that we have cars that will be even better appreciated in a few years for the highly desirable and unique qualities they possess that nothing else you can buy today offers. We are early adopters. That courage comes with some benefits we may hope to enjoy in the coming years. Consequently no matter what else happens in my automotive future, my car is here to stay. I think that highly of this beautiful car and can't wait to see what Lotus' future holds. One thing's for sure: we own the last and best iterations of a special breed.

There isn't always a choice here despite the (relative) glut of cars. Lotus are available but not everywhere. Or somebody or bodies at a usually good dealership drops the ball and you're out shopping nationally. I know it's hard to understand how this could be but remember, we're America. We can be, you know, bad. Anyway, the market has a large component of cars transshipped for one reason or another. Frequently, my guess is that somebody has a car they really need to sell. Internet research available, price drop established. Not the Porsche model. It messes with the market and creates unintended consequences. Plus it's true. Some of the dealers are marginal. Lotus has had to fight guerrilla warfare here and it's one of the legacies. Again, only my deduced opinion but one to which you are always entitled! Oh and again....not all Lotus dealers suck. I can only speak to my experiences with two. My selling dealer was a disappointment, but my home town people have been a gem. They're out there but Lotus America is essentially starting from scratch. Guess who gets first shot at my money next time!

I've followed both you and Deuteronomy as this has unfolded and you know, being an owner you want to see the right outcome because it could be you. This is reassuring stuff even though it sucks that you had to go through this. Dealers have to discount our cars and then they get sloppy because they're just moving boxes not making all the money. That's what I think anyway, and you are always welcome to my opinion! My delivery experience was so so too, but still not nearly as harsh as either of you. But harsh enough. So! The leather covers come adrift it seems( but not literally at the seams). Just as on your car, my car. I applaud my dealer routinely on LT (Carlock Motors, Nashville, name change from Music City Motorsports) so I want to make a point that there are some good guys too because they're working with me. But about that leather cover...mine came adrift for a second time. That's looking like a Lotus thing. The difference is I can name my dealer and here's the kicker: I didn't buy my car there. The car I bought was from out of state. It had a couple of delivery issues but compared to you, it's bupkis. It's absolutely all about the dealers over here. And Lotus could use some face. It is annoying that Lotus hasn't got a face here but I trust Lotus. I decided that when I bought the car, that Lotus would take care of me. My math included a considered guess based on the Geely news. Lotus have to make it, it's a Thing. There's smart money and there's a polished ethos ready to show what it can do. These are the last of the old Lotus brought to a certain state of refinement. Enjoy, boys! You're going to LOVE driving around in these whips! Whoo Hoo Stick shift forever!

It's better than good enough. But it's still a lot of money. Watching from here I observe that the real prices on road are similar for both countries. I think we usually pay a bit more but at the moment there is a glut of 400s here and that is driving new car prices down. Had I been presented with the choice, which of course I wasn't, I would probably have bought the 400 anyway but that was my mindset before I owned a Lotus. Now I get it but even so, it would still be an act of courage to buy one here for me. Others might be more at liberty to act.

Thanks Scotty. He makes a powerful case. Owners of this car will be laughing in ten years so it really doesn't matter what gets prognosticated in the short term. I flip back and forth regarding my own feelings but part of that is being in the USA which is a different world again compared to England. I'd heard they weren't coming here so news they will be was welcomed. I'd bitterly predicted they would never get here so I hope I'm wrong and I hope they don't neuter the motor as they had to do to get 410s here in reasonable time. This paragraph struck me as important because Lotus' tuning in this respect is excellent. I never feel the TC intrude even when I know it has to be working and of course mine has just the standard Evora TC. The Evora has three drive modes: tour, sport, and race. Each acts as you’d expect, using the brakes to cut power in varying degrees when slip is detected from the rear end. However, holding down the race-mode button for a couple seconds turns off ESP and gets you into the Evora’s six-way adjustable traction control. Now, instead of using the brakes, it will cut spark to allow one, three, six, nine, or 12 percent of slip from the rear tires. The sixth mode turns everything off. This is professional-grade race-car stuff. It’s magic. Every serious track car deserves a system like this. Unlike ordinary traction-control systems, which can be abrupt and jarring when they decide to intervene, this works seamlessly in the background to make you faster. So there's some money right there.

A gift from the Land of Lotus to the rest of us. Beyond the brilliance of his mind, his most remarkable gift is what an inspiration he has been in showing us the possibilities of human endurance under impossible circumstances.

Here's the podcast that accompanies Matt Farah's video. Matt and Zach express the love in a lengthy and positive discussion.

If it's a 400 you're after, I can heartily recommend the ownership experience. The Bay Area gives a choice of dealers as well which is nice. I'd recommend you take a visit to the LotusTalk forum as well for more specific discussion of U.S. ownership experiences, but in my case it's been a doddle so far. I've had two minor issues related to trim imperfections, both promptly sorted by Lotus and my dealer. As far as the basics of reliability, I've been most pleased. Do I ever wish I'd bought a Carrera? Not in a spec that cost what the Lotus cost me. It would have to be a very special 911 if it were to replace the Evora in my life but to be clear, I'm not yearning to replace my car. It's all I'd hoped it would be and gives every indication that it will be a long term keeper. I looked at all the usual suspects with an eye towards 991 ownership but as you suggested, I found the 400 to be a more unique and involving experience, as well as being a bit more special to drive day to day.

I'm glad my American compatriots all feel the same way I do. It gives me hope. I don't need a gun because all my neighbors have guns and I make sure to be on good terms with all my neighbors. Trump embarrassing for starters and then you only wish that's all he was. You could convince yourself it wasn't so bad if it was only a little embarrassment. I've been embarrassed many times and I can live with that! But Trump is dangerous.

A couple of very minor errors. We're told that we don't get the 410's tune in the States. It's the same as the 400 here due to the painful requirements it would engender to certify the 410 as a new car, so US 410s are rated identically to the 400. And we all know the gas cap trick, right? A good review and fun to watch as Matt goes gaga over our favorite sports car.

A comment on the thread: Why do we have to come to a British hosted forum to hear sensible talk about gun control from all of the participants ? Don't answer that! I know why. It's because we're Lotus lovers thus again proving that owning a Lotus makes you a wiser, happier and altogether better person! Dump Trump in 2018 (a thrilling idea but too good to be true). At the least it would be such a relief to eviscerate him and his party in the midterms. We can't undo the harm already done, but we can take the first steps towards recovering some of the lofty ideals that are supposed to guide us. It's time for American exceptionalism to take a hike so we can deal honestly with the reality of who we are.

We don't need a fantasy universe to make sensible gun laws. We need sensible leaders and policy. That's not a science fiction wet dream, it's a rethink of how money and politics are intertwined, or put another way, starting by making the Citizens United SCOTUS ruling and our outrageous gerrymandered districts obsolete, then moving on from there. Rethinking our policies about gun control isn't a minority position. I know plenty of gun owners who are in favor of stricter controls, and what does it say about a culture that neighbors are afraid to talk to one another because one of the parties is armed? It's time to shake ourselves awake.

I heard it on NPR. Trump talked about Trump and Turnbull talked about Trump. Expected result.

The sick thing is that the silent majority isn't even the majority. We've lost our mojo if indeed we've ever had it. Strict constitutionalists are only strict when it comes to the laws they want and agree with. All others, including those who abide by the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness can get in line behind the second amendment. One can easily believe that the rise and fall of empires is now governed by a stricter clock that makes the American Century only 50 odd years long: between 1945 and 2000. It makes one want to tear one's hair out. The orange fool is presiding over the last gasp of American moral hegemony...if we even ever had moral hegemony which is a dubious concept when applied to our history. I'm ready for a nice bungalow in the Cotswolds, or maybe even a little spread in Province or Umbria. I'd bring the immediate family including the dog and the cat and of course the Lotus and the Ducati. Maybe my much beloved stereo and Steve Martin;'s ashtray and just hope for the best for those left behind. Until then, I'll vote a straight Democratic ticket and hope for the best. Damm, this situation.

I'm late but I'll kick in. We need a lot more than that, but it would be a good start. Public health, education, there's so much more it's pointless to list how f'd up our priorities are. One can understand why so many of us are depressed when one looks at who we've become to the world and to ourselves. This is the US twist on fear and greed mixed with incompetence and a horrible election result. Before we toss it all though, if anything good has come from this, it's that the spearhead of the opposition this time are the student's in Florida. It's unique and hopeful because we're going to need the kids to get on board if we hope to sort this.

I collected my car in Detroit MI, and drove it home to Nashville TN, a distance of about 600 miles. Following is a "previously published" (our US Lotus forum, Lotus Talk) account of the first day with my new car. I'm not sure if the photo of the car parked in front of the Bates Motel (Hitchcock reference included in body of text) will translate to these pages but I can fill it in later if necessary. I hope this isn't too long and is taken to be in the spirit of the thread. I left Detroit on Sunday morning with my friend Paul who hitched a ride to Nashville with me. We tiptoed through Ohio on I- 75 as it has a reputation for being a heavily policed bit of road. Once we crossed the state line, we got off the freeway and took back roads planning to stay the night in Bardstown, which is in the center of bourbon country. An observation: man, are we a fat country. It's evident all the time and everyday, but you really can't help but be struck anew by the depth of fatness when once you're in a place like Bardstown. Even the relatively good looking people are fat as we discovered on our first stop, a tour of the Maker's Mark distillery. One benefit I've discovered of traveling through the south is that no matter how fat you are, you will always find somebody who is fatter. Usually, more than just one somebody. You get to feel better by comparison. It's great. We entered Bardstown from the north. Bardstown oozes old town cuteness in the middle of pastoral splendor which is ruined for me mainly by aggressive mosquitos. There are not a lot of choices for hotels so we settled on the (really!) Bates Motel just outside the downtown area. I have no idea where you're supposed to sleep other than the Bates or a centrally located B&B that was at one time the county jail so you're on your own if you decide to stay there. As is visible below, the Bates was absolutely empty, which was not encouraging. See for yourself! There are any number of explanations, but the one that springs to mind is that the place sort of sucks, although it has a nice pool. The best thing about the restaurants in town is that you always seem to have to walk through a bar to get the dining room. The town's establishments have the longest bourbon lists conceivable, in fact they are longer than you could possibly imagine. I guess Bardstown has chosen Stephen Foster as their hero because of "Old Kentucky Home." There are signs lauding Foster although there is no evidence he ever lived there or even has been there. However, the town has managed to associate itself with Foster and holds an annual music festival dedicated to him. I associate Foster's music with slavery and a certain sentimentality about the old south, but they're all about him. And that's Bardstown for you, or at least as far as we got into the place. From there we drove to the Maker's Mark distillery., The roads, and it's the only way in, were undulating and twisting, narrow two lane country affairs perfectly suited to the car's strengths. I drove in good spirit to the distillery and Paul drove out and it was the best driving of the trip. The car exists for this and it's hard to find flaw when you're driving roads such as those. Interestingly, they're much like the roads I've seen and imagine exist all around Hethel. The hardest part of this car, for big guys like us is getting in and out which takes some twisting of its own. I learned that once you're cocooned inside, it's quite comfortable. The AC worked fine in humid mid-summer southern heat which was a tremendous relief to me given the criticisms older Evoras seem to take on this account. Trust me, the AC is fully up to the job. This was a lot of fun and a lot of laughs. We all have different dreams and wants. Owning a properly selfish high performance car has been a dream for me for almost as long as I can remember. Sometimes we get our wishes met and they don't meet expectations or it seems to come out differently than we imagined. How the Lotus works out in the long run remains to be seen, but these last four days have been priceless. I'm really grateful my life allows me such distractions and that's the real message this exercise has given me. That said, the reality of this car has been a blast so far. I should add now, six months into my ownership, that any doubts I had about this car's suitability for me have been thoroughly erased. What a machine!

There's been some hyperbole that doesn't take market forces and reality into account. Technology doesn't add weight in any meaningful way. We can have blind spot monitoring, a damn useful feature, for very little if any added weight. Highest quality fit and finish weighs no more than lesser build. Service access for routine replacement of parts has to be considered in a street design. BOE here in the states makes a kit that allows the rear clam to tilt up (Elise) making service access possible and eliminating the requirement to remove the clam to replace belts, accessories or spark plugs. These are sensible features to consider in future designs. I think it's quite a stretch to think this turns the car into a Bentley or a Porsche. Rather, I suggest it makes us competitive in a world obsessed by such features, some of which are actually desirable or useful yet don't interfere with the basic functions of the car. Even at the low end, this stuff is already available in the Miatas we'd like to compete with. Such an approach gives people fewer reasons not to buy. I don't personally care about Apple car play or high spec stereos but there are many current owners of our cars who do, not to mention those who might be swayed to look at a Lotus but write them off because the technology they perceive to be necessary just isn't available. Many of these things things weigh little if any more than any other application; essentially nothing. Who doesn't want better sound in their cars? It's not necessarily a matter of weight, rather of initial design since we're already including the basic parts needed. Future cars would just implement it from the start and design would consider these things in the basic architecture. These are the kinds of benefits we can get when the cars are designed from the start for broad appeal and greater sales volume. Couple this with class leading warranties and service, focused, creative marketing and the other qualities we expect in modern cars and we can expand the appeal of Lotus' cars without abandoning the primary qualities of lightness, agility and playfulness. America is potentially Lotus' biggest market. Hopes that China will be a big market for Lotus are certainly germane but at the moment if you research Lotus sales in China, statistics aren't even to be found. We already have Lotus cars that hew closely to the original formula and we know how many of these cars are being sold currently in their respective markets. If we want the company to grow, suggestions that feature sets and build need a re-think should be taken seriously. Multiple cup holders are ridiculous, but if they sell cars and grow dealerships here, why fight it? Americans (namely me!) commenting here are already new Lotus owners. I was not deterred by a perceived lack of features. I bought a 400 despite that. These things can be found on any $25000 car but I appreciate what the 400 ...... the only car available to me......is and represents. I must say again that there are not enough of people like me to change the company's future in this country nor, I think, even in Great Britain as well. And I think using the Evora as a point of discussion is well within the spirit of this thread's title. No doubt the "new Elise" does represent a great opportunity here as well, but are we not discussing Lotus as a whole? If we want Lotus to grow, it needs to develop solutions to these questions that don't dilute the fundamental things that attract us to Lotus in the first place. This is not an impossible task, rather it's a necessary one. One, I think, Lotus can achieve and excel at (no pun there!) and one that can be accomplished without adding undue weight. Nobody is demanding Lotus be the most efficient, least expensive car on the market. I don't think that's the winning formula. Offering value for money, focusing relentlessly on quality, giving people what they need and want, this is what a successful and fully funded Lotus will be focusing on. We should not be surprised and should be willing to embrace Lotus' future. I think a sensible approach taking these things into account will be something a broader base of clients will appreciate. Properly and smartly done, we'll like it too.

I drive mine all year but not in all weathers. Still, I'll drive it on any given day if it's not raining. It's just brilliant, so much fun and so comfortable where it matters. But If I had to pick one thing I love the most about the Evora it's the steering. I know there are even better racks to be had in the line, but this one's mine. A break of three or four days has me longing to be back driving it and enjoying the view and the aroma of leather. It doesn't get much ink, but the aroma of a new Evora is intoxicating.

It shouldn't. I checked mine and can't see what the fuss is about.

Lotus would probably be happy with those numbers for the Evora 400 but your point is well taken. I 'm not sure the 4C is particularly will suited to compete in the US market. I suspect the Evora, or an Evora-like car has a better chance but Lotus can't keep making the same mistakes here and of course, they need to actually take it to market. It will not be cheap to establish Lotus as a viable brand in the USA. I hope they are ready for what it will take. The Elise isn't (and maybe never was) a mass market sports car, even if the formula worked well enough at the time it was first brought here. I think it's fair to say the same thing of the 4C, which leads one to conclude that any new car coming here that hopes to sell in thousands rather than hundreds of units needs to be able to stand toe to toe against Porsche, Mercedes, Jaguar, Audi and Corvette...... not just Alfa. Feature for feature, build for build. The current Elise, Exige and Evora don't do that and neither does the 4C. Much as they may be proper choices for those of us who appreciate them for what they are, we are clearly in a minority. I had to struggle not to buy a 911 and in the process had to give up a lot of the things I thought I wanted. There just aren't a lot of folks who will write the check for that. Of course, none of the things that stand against these cars , and especially as in my case, the 400, are connected to the driving experience. We know what the missing elements are so it's not fruitful to go over them again. For most people a $90-100K the car needs to come with everything. Geely offers that potential for Lotus . We should not be surprised much by change. Any new Lotus should adhere to the original philosophy of responsive, fun handling and feel, efficiency, proper speed and power and be faster than stink but it needs to look like money. It needs technology and interior refinement that isn't in the cars we have today. They will have to incorporate every benefit of modern construction, engineering and technology and corporate buying power. However remarkable and special it may be, few indeed care if a car is handmade if that also means getting fewer features and less refinement.

I I've thought for some time that the Evora will very possibly sail into the sunset as the last of the traditional Lotuses and perhaps be better appreciated when it's no longer available since analog cars are curiously both in vogue and in short supply. But I'm not sure that Lotus wouldn't do just as well to introduce a car that undercuts the Cayman/Boxster line in price while yielding equal or better performance. Or at least offer similar features and appeal at the same price. Or perhaps even offer both a truly aspirational car to compete with higher end 911s and the like as well as an affordable sports car that is a vehicle one could move to from a Miata or a BRZ and still feel they didn't make an irrational/emotional choice compared to buying one of the competitors offerings. They need a line, not just a car. Add the SUV into the mix along with low/high options in sporting cars and you'd have something a dealer and the market could sink their teeth into. As much as I would like to see continuation models of the current Evora for my own selfish reasons, the reality is that raw cars only appeal to apex enthusiasts, so we agree there. But as regards positioning, they have to focus on a range rather than a single model. Surely a real plan for success must encompass that sort of thinking. As soon as one opts to play in the sports car market, the appeal of any vehicle is automatically capped. Even 911s, surely the most popular premium sports car on the market only sold 8900 total in the USA in 2017. LINK Miata sales are depressed as well, although well up from their dismal levels of the last few. LINK The BRZ is another example of a car that holds a lot of appeal but renders paltry results. LINK Any future plans must include range expansion beyond simply creating a halo car they sell 15 of in the USA. Much as Bahar injured the company, his instinctive intent to make a splash was probably not incorrect. Just woefully unrealistic and poorly timed. In order to be successful as other than an asterisk, Lotus needs a line of full featured modern cars to make a an impact in our market. Whatever happens, I don't regret my purchase of a 400 although it's getting clear that those of us who do buy a new one here in the states have to plan on holding them for the duration if we don't hope to take a bath at resale time. Most American buyers are infatuated by numbers (0-60, quarter mile, horsepower,) and features. Keyless entry, air conditioned seats, blind spot monitoring, these things are what moves buyers to reach for wallets. Future Lotuses will need to be competitive in all these areas. They'll need to kick you in the ass as they simultaneously cool it and gently spray perfumed aroma therapies in your face. Well, maybe not the aroma therapy part, but you get the gist. Lotus needs to be more things to more people. There's no future in being our darling. There aren't enough of us.