jaldeborgh

I’m coming up on a years ownership of a 400. Bottom line, it keeps getting better. I never and I mean never, don’t enjoy driving this car. From the moment you push the start button its all about the drive. I’ve owned a Porsche since 2001 and there is not practical comparison. This is a remarkably comfortable car, yet still is totally a road going weapon. I’ve never owned a car that attracts so much interest. People just love the car.

I do agree the Korean’s are pulling back to more market “normal” warranties, but the perception of their products is now one of market competitive quality. The industry leading warranty was a marketing tactic designed to change consumer perceptions about product quality by mitigating risk. The reason I brought up the example is I often hear people new to the Lotus brand talking about it’s history of poor reliability/quality. That said, my personal experience with a 2017 Evora 400 has been good, no real complaints, so far. But I will add, I was nervous going in, again, because of the lingering history. If the warranty were remarkable, in some way, it would have made my decision easier. I learned a long time ago that for customers, and I work in capital equipment sales, perception is reality. If I believe the reliability sucks, I won’t stop looking until I can successfully rationalize that the reliability sucks. Therefore, downside protection is a reasonable marketing tactic.

If anyone remembers, Hyundai started marketing a car in the US named the Excel, it was a disaster when it came to quality. Initially they sold like hot cakes, then once the reality of the quality set-in the sales just about stopped. After a few years, and a major quality initiative inside the company, the cars still weren’t selling so Hyundai introduced the 10 Year / 100,000 mile warranty. This was billed as the industry’s best warranty, and it worked, people started looking and reasoned that they had little to lose given the warranty. The rest, as they say, is history. Also, recall Porsche quality in the late 80’s was extremely poor, then they introduced Japanese quality systems from Toyota, again, it worked. Lotus needs to address the quality thing head on, IMHO the biggest issue is the poor dealer network. I for one am hoping that the Volvo connection can help in some way.

Got everything working on the download. Magazine looks great and a reasonable number of ad's, which is important for it to prosper. Good luck.

Just saw this and ‘combi’ subscribed from Boston, Massachusetts. Can’t see the digital version yet.

I think this article hit the nail on the head. My father (1925 to 2017) was of the generation that drove their sports cars to the track, raced and drove them home. This was the time when Colin Chapman was earning his reputation as a car builder. My dad owned a Mark 11, into which he put a coventry climax engine and raced it all over NY and New England. The question becomes, is there a market for this type of "road & track" sports car in 2018? I hope the answer is yes.

Hi Guy's, My car arrived today. Gave it a quick wash as there was road film from the trip out from Las Vegas. First impressions are the car is very different from my 2001 Boxster S. Steering is impressive, super quick but no tram-lining at all. The ride is only a little firmer than the Boxster, but very livable. The shifter is much more precise than my Boxster, with a much more mechanical feel. The brakes are very good on both cars, but I think a little better on the Lotus. The engine sounds great, but I haven't taken it above 4K yet as it has all of 15 miles on it. The car seems very tight but the Porsche is more Teutonic with a better attention to detail and a little more focus on creature comforts, my Boxster was very well equipped. Visibility out the back is poor but actually better than I was expecting. Finely the ground clearance is less than the Boxster, I need to be a little careful with the slight berm at the start of my driveway, not a car for snowy New England roads. Over-all I'm pleased. I will attach a few pictures, if I can figure it out.

Warning: I’m an Uber fan. As a Yank, oddly enough the first time I used Uber was in London. I was visiting my daughter who was doing a term abroad while at University. I had an early morning flight and was staying at a very small hotel near Hyde Park and needed to get to Kensington Station. Everything worked perfectly and honestly it was a revelation, I was thrilled. I don’t use taxis much as I live in the suburbs but I’ve now used Uber 5 or 6 times and never had a bad experience. Also, every driver I’ve spoken with seems to love the service; they’ve ranged in age from mid-30’s to over 70. While I fully appreciate the impact on traditional Taxis, I also believe we all need to recognize the potential benefits of technology. The rating feedback system is a good tool to self-police the quality of the service, also the real-time mapping, knowing the plate number as well as type of car makes connecting easy. Finely, consumers will vote with their wallets as they have with all other consumer purchases. That’s why almost everything we buy comes from Asia, it costs less. Most consumers are driven by two things cost and convince (or easy and cheap).

I’m new to the Forum and just discovered your work, just outstanding. I will also say your car looks awesome, I truly can’t think of another 2006 car that looks as fresh today as your Exege. I hope you get as much joy out of driving it as you bring to others by photographing it. Thanks for sharing.

I was interpreting the GT 430 Sport as just a further segmentation (smart) of the Evora brand. The fact that it was done so quickly might be an indication that the GT 430 was a hit and that the segmentation strategy is expanding the total market. Personally, I don't like big wings on a street car but like the look of the GT 430 Sport; I think the success of the Porsche 911R is a good lesson in the power of market segmentation.

Hi all, I'm new to the Lotus community. My first exposer to Lotus was when my father bought an Elan convertible in 1970, when I was about 14, now that was a fun car. Fast forward to today and I have just purchased a new Evora 400 from a dealer in Las Vegas so the car will take a couple of weeks to be shipped to the East Coast, but I'm excited. I've owned a Boxster S since 2001 and it's been a fantastic car but I'm looking for something with more power and a bit more of an edge, style wise. I think I've watched everything on the Evora 400 on YouTube and read many write-ups on the car so I'm sure I'm going to love the car. BTW, the car I am purchasing is silver (with black pack) with the red interior, silver wheels and is has a manual transmission - exactly the same as my Boxster. What can I say, I'm old and know what I like. Not flashy but won't go out of style either. John Aldeborgh