Future of Lotus

[Neal H]

I’ve really no idea what direction Lotus should head in if they want to significantly increase volumes. The car described in that Pistonheads article sounds just like an Evora and we all know how that turned out....

The Evora is a good looking, very capable, brilliant handling, quite practical and now well built Cayman/911 alternative. But almost no one buys it. The market doesn’t associate Lotus with such cars (most of the market will have no idea who Lotus even is - did they used to make kit cars?).

Unless Lotus have a plan to simultaneously change the public perception (Evija won’t achieve this alone) in a similar manner that VW achieved with Skoda there’s no reason to expect the next car to achieve anything more than Evora. Hopefully they also have a plan for this, but it isn’t going to happen overnight.

[The Pits]

Very much agree. But it will never happen until they start doing something about it, aside from make the logo worse. As has been said before there is so much they could and should be doing. Why not use this time to begin to address widespread negative build quality perceptions? It's not enough to tell a sceptical market, you have to prove your claims. We could follow a car being built in a series of short videos which are all mini chapters in a larger story. They could start with parts being made by suppliers. Show their quality control. For example, the lighter, aluminium brackets from the GT430 if they are being used on all Evoras now. They could then explain what steps they are taking to improve build quality at Hethel. Show whatever quality control improvements are being put in place. Show what they were doing before compared what they are doing now. We see the car being finished and inspected, we meet the guy who's name is on the plaque. We follow the car out onto the track. They do a live broadcast of the car lapping Hethel flat out for 24 hrs. The engineers strip it down and show what's worn and hasn't worn. So far, only cost is the time of filming and editing it. Once lockdown has been eased we follow the car on a tour of the world's circuits, put it through a gruelling schedule posting weekly updates on Lotus's neglected Youtube channel. Meet up with the guy and his 300+k miles Elise. Never wash it. Let it wear it's grime with pride like a 24hr race winner. Drive it until it breaks. What broke first? Propose an update on all future cars of this part. Show it being fitted on the production line and so on and so forth. Or they could be really brave and do a last car standing competition with a Porsche.... 

Just one example, literally top of the head stuff, so much more they could do so hopefully some of you can understand my frustration.

All the talk is of the new product that will change everything. Production targets for the new car are identical to the Evora's too. The fact that such a well executed and received car as the Evora didn't sell should be all the red flags they need to realise that is wasn't a product issue, it was a communication issue. Beyond the pr stunts at launch it wasn't promoted at all. You can't starve a plant of oxygen and expect it to grow. They need to understand where Evora went wrong first before considering what to do next. The definition of stupid is doing the same thing twice and expecting different results!

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

My Biology teacher told me that plants absorbed carbon dioxide and emitted oxygen. Did I dream that or was my childhood a lie all along?

[Likuid]

Honestly, I have to imagine the main things that stop people from buying a Lotus:

• Dealership Network - Geely really needs to convince some Volvo/Geely or all Volvo/Geely dealers to offer Lotus service and warranty work. This would be absolutely huge. I am not sure how you convince Volvo dealers to do this or if they even have a choice in the matter or not. This would put you up there with Porsche in-regards to dealership network. Maybe those dealerships would only service new Lotus. So your Esprit or Elan (and may be even the current line-up) would not be serviceable by them. This isn't a huge deal because most of the current line-up would be out of warranty by then anyways and many people would just take to trusted mechanic if dealer is too far away.
• More Showrooms - While you're at it, try to get some of those dealerships to offer Lotus showrooms. Even if its only a 1 or 2 car space. This may be a bit harder because they are probably going to want to see it to be worth their while and that's only if you make cars that sell. But how do you sell cars without a better network and more showrooms? Kind of catch 22.
• Perception of unreliability and poor build quality - While just telling people "we are reliable" isn't going to convince many people. A 5 to 7 year warranty will. It will make people feel much more comfortable with their purchase.
• Poor tech - While many here may see the double din radio as a plus because it makes it a bit future proof, lets be honest, the general public don't. They want flashy new tech. This is probably the easiest to fix on this list now that they have access to Volvo and Geely tech and we have already seen it in the Evija.
• Power to Money Ratio - This may be most controversial. While many of us here understand that having a ton of HP isn't what makes a car, its the easiest way for the general public to rate a sports/super car. Lotus is going to have to up their HP game I think. They don't need to go crazy, but I suspect there would have been a lot more interest in the Evora if it was 500HP+. Not sure if they would make it a better driver's car or not, but HP numbers are important to people even if they will never use to the car to its full potential.
• They (still) exist? - Got to remind people that Lotus is around and has an amazing history. Most people don't know they exist or thought they went out of business decades ago. This is tricky because its not like the Evora hasn't been reviewed by a lot of the big car channels, yet still sells terribly and the Lotus name still isn't well known. How else do you advertise a Lotus? IMO the best way is to get it in some block buster movies and other pop culture spots. A new James Bond with an Evija or a new Esprit would do wonders for the brand. Music videos and stuff like that would also be good advertising.

All this is easier said that done of course and the speed at which it can be done is a question. It will be interesting to see what happens.

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

All good points. I think a couple of Lotus in each decent US Volvo showroom would be a win-win for both brands.

[The Pits]

Nothing can happen with dealers until there's something they can sell. Shift 5000 units of the new car and then Volvo dealers might want to talk. Currently all they can offer is a hope and a prayer, so understandably no interest. Volvo (who have done really well for Geely) would push back hard against that as things stand I'm sure.

Couldn't we at least expect a more corporate version of the build quality video series then? To at least start laying the groundwork now for the relationship to Geely and Volvo will bring. Show us some of the parts they have access to and how things will improve. 7 year warranty, I'm all for that but people need to know what else is being done to make the next Lotus the best built ever with the flashiest new Geely tech ever. Not a word on that to date. And these very highly paid JLR people have had 2 years now. I think it will get a lot more views and generate a lot more chatter to film a last car standing contest with a Cayman personally, my money's on Toyota!

7 year warranty is a big story, you will still need to tell people about it or they'll never know. It's also secondary driver of sales, you need people interested in the cars first. 100 year warranty won't help sales of a car nobody wants in the first place.

Product placement can be very effective but also a very long game. The people most impressed by the submarine Esprit were 10 years old and didn't start buying Lotus cars for another 30 years or more. The days of simply 'getting your car in a Bond film' have long since passed. Aston even charged Cubby Broccolli for the cars in Goldfinger! You now have to pay, massively, to get your car featured, as BMW did for Goldeneye. There are far more effective and cost efficient ways of generating interest in your car. Because 99% of car ads are bland lifestyle drivel, most people think that advertising isn't effective. Being bland is a worse crime than being bad in advertising. At least Ferrero Rocher got some return on their investment by being so memorably bad. On the flip side, when one car maker has a proper go it gets really noticed and talked about (eg Honda, Skoda). 

It would be great to see Lotus back in a Bond film of course but as with Aston Martin, that World Is Not Enough!

[Nelly]

Have often wondered, as an Evora owner, why it failed given as stated above many times how universally praised it was.  Given how petrol heads are the main people who buy car mags, you would have though that would have done the job and Lotus PR would enforce it.

A few fake years in F1 didn't make any difference, so whilst there was little advertising there was some major brand exposure.  I think its down to perceived quality, look at Harry Metcalfe's recent review of the GT410 sport - loved it. but moaned about the interior, and rear which is so important and focused upon.

Given how IMO Skoda and Alfa where the other two companies with perceived quality issues and both have largely shaken them off, what can Lotus learn?  Well, I think not having a decent owner has really hampered Lotus.  My Skoda is basically a VW in all but name so huge part sharing has solved that, take the last few years out of the equation but when would Lotus have ever wanted to use anything out of a Proton?  Of course it also saves on cost, I think Audi's handling of Lambo has been perfect - let them do what they do best and use the parts bin to sort out the bad stuff - generally interior bits.  Geely should do the same.

Going back to the original line, maybe Lotus should have done a new Esprit instead of the Evora, albeit a 2+2 was clever but quite a small market.  I only have one as its the bigger model of the range, and not because of the seating.  I am not knocking it, but the Esprit had (and still does as far as I am concerned) have an aura and history which the Evora had to build for itself, and I think had largely failed - Fiat didn't have to try too hard when they re-launched the 500.

 

 

[Likuid]

53 minutes ago, The Pits said:

Nothing can happen with dealers until there's something they can sell. Shift 5000 units of the new car and then Volvo dealers might want to talk. Currently all they can offer is a hope and a prayer, so understandably no interest. Volvo (who have done really well for Geely) would push back hard against that as things stand I'm sure.

That's why I said its kind of catch 22. You will sell more cars with a bigger dealership network, but the dealers will want to see more cars sold before they would be interested. Especially in a show room. If new Lotus use a Volvo derived engine then I am unsure if service will be as big of a hurdle at least when it comes to the service side. The parts side is another story obviously. How many dealers want to store parts for cars they will barely see? Maybe Lotus USA could keep a parts warehouse and ship Lotus specific parts as they are needed by dealers? I am not sure how much power Geely has over their dealers. I am unsure if they can just mandate Lotus service or if they would have to make it optional or offer the dealers other incentives.

57 minutes ago, The Pits said:

7 year warranty is a big story, you will still need to tell people about it or they'll never know. It's also secondary driver of sales, you need people interested in the cars first. 100 year warranty won't help sales of a car nobody wants in the first place.

Well sure, but the question is: do people not buy or desire the Evora because its a piece of crap or because of other factors? My guess is more because of other factors. Sure, one of those may be because some people think Lotus is crap and thus the Evora is, but honestly I don't think Lotus' reputations of reliability and build quality is the biggest issue. It is one of them, but not the biggest. There are plenty of car companies that overcame reliability issues and many did that with simply just some better QA and longer warranties.

1 hour ago, The Pits said:

Product placement can be very effective but also a very long game.

Disagree, while it does help the long game significantly, seeing a car in a popular movie or in pop culture media almost instantly makes it more desirable and brings them into the zeitgeist. This is why car companies pay to have them in the movies. How much did Iron Man help the R8? Sure plenty of young boys wanted an R8 after seeing that, but a lot of their Dads did as well. Also movies aren't the only avenue of course, there are ton of avenues. I am not saying its an end-all-be-all. Even with Aston being in Bond movies they are still struggling. I just think its the quickest, most impactful way to get Lotus known again. Getting Lotus known by the general population, even if most would never be able to afford or want to buy one is still important. How many more people would know Lotus if Iron Man drove up in an Evija? I know Lotus cars have been in some modern movies, but I can't think of a single blockbuster movie one has been in.

Here's an uncomfortable reality some people hate to bring up on this forum. Do you think most people buy McLarens, Ferraris, Lambos, or even Porsche because of their great handling and stiff chassis? Sorry, that's just not reality. In reality most (not all of course) buy them because the public at large think that those cars are cool. You aren't cool if you and your parents are the only ones that think you are. Lotus are going to have to play to this demographic. I am not saying they have to completely sell out, but just making a light, great handling car isn't enough, sorry. If that is their plan they will be stuck in purgatory forever. I know that may turn some Lotus fans off. Lotus right now is kind of their secret only they know about, but if you want them to succeed you are going to have to accept some of the negatives that come with it.

[The Pits]

Honda (Acura) paid a small fortune to be in the Avengers, didn’t do much for sales of the new NSX. It is a very expensive thing to pursue. Style is important Chapman was very aware of that too but so is substance. The latest update to the Lotus website has introduced the configurator but has also seen the wholesale removal of the copy on all of the models bar Evija. Strange move. Hard to see how that will help move Lotus forward in any way, just like doing nothing until the new car comes out.

The plan hasn’t ever really been to ‘just build light, great handling cars’. The Seven was canned. The Esprit was an obvious move upmarket and the first Turbo Esprit was extravagantly appointed for its day. The Elite/Eclat/Excel were usefully practical and accommodating and Chapman was planning a luxury saloon before he died too. M250 was a plan for a larger, V6 sports car that eventually became the Evora. Really, Lotus have been trying to expand beyond diminutive track cars for years. I guess what’s different this time is the intended halo effect from the Evija.

 

 

[Bibs]

And a budget well in excess of £1.5bn. That's going to help!  

[DarrylV8]

7 hours ago, Bibs said:

And a budget well in excess of £1.5bn. That's going to help!  

Hopefully spent wisely, cos i’d imagine Danny B would have developed his personal helicopter and champagne brand 

However I’m with Jonny on this, Phil has had a good year to show what Lotus can do with (in Lotus terms extremely large sum) the money, completed the skeleton factory/visitor centre? One new car (Evija) into production hired a shed load of engineers/staff. So what have we seen/Geely got!

Say what you want about JMG but with no money managed to keep me in a Lotus.

Up to date we/me had far more correspondence with JMG than I have with Phil/his lieutenants. Up to CV I should add.

Yes i’m really looking forward to the video of this weeks “meeting” from Bibs;

and in the coming months hopefully some real news on the “interim” 2020 - 2021 car before this becomes the 2022 car, and before all the forum users start with their stop living in the past and I need to stop living in the MJK/Chapman era, we have owned Lotus cars since 1982 and hope that our grandsons will be able to follow in the Lotus family tradition.

[Spinney]

I find all this speculation about how and what Lotus should/could be doing amusing, tiresome and frustrating in equal measure. Ever since the 1960’s when I first owned a Lotus I’ve been, frankly, surprised they ever managed to survive at all. There have been many pending collapses followed by false dawns every time a new owner came forward, but always they seemed to step smartly back just as soon as they realise what they’ve taken on. 
Prior to Geely, arguably GM at the time probably had the biggest potential budget of all the owners but I never felt Lotus was a good fit with a giant US auto corporation and so it proved. 
Now, however, I genuinely believe Geely are a good fit. They obviously have the budget but Lotus has suffered from under investment for so very long that there needs to be a lot of spending to lay proper foundations. Most of that money is never seen by us, the car buyers, but it still needs to be done in order to build the solid ground for the future. 
Whilst all this has been going on, we have had the Evija as a bit of a distraction and to show that Lotus is still alive. I imagine that has probably needed a relatively small team to design and develop whilst work starts and continues on new future models. 
In the past, Lotus has always been able to bring new cars to market surprisingly quickly, probably too quickly if most of the moans on this and other car forums are to be believed. I’m sure now, Geely are probably very aware of Lotus past record of frailty and are making damn sure the next new model will be as well built and fault free as is possible. That all takes time to achieve!

We can all speculate on what we want from this next new car, and others, but let’s just wait and see. It won’t be many more months and I’m sure it will be worth the wait. When they have that next car I would be very very surprised if we don’t see a marketing effort going into overdrive to promote that and the company.
For my own part, I would like nothing better than remaking the 1960’s Elan but the world has obviously moved on and legislation has made that impossible anyway. Beyond this next interim car, I really can’t see me buying another new Lotus. Not because I am dissatisfied with the company or their perceived lack of promoting the business/products, but more because I am a dinosaur and just can’t buy in to an electric sports car. I am an old fashioned petrol head who wants noise, smells, lightness and drama from my sports cars, alongside the givens of sweet handling, road holding and going like shit off a shovel. Going forward, I just can’t see any car maker giving me what I want, not just Lotus. 

But that is all just me and, as I said earlier, the world has moved on. Alas I haven’t!😂

So having said all that, let’s just give Lotus a chance to show us what they can do. I’m encouraged the company is in safe hands and am looking forward to what they come up with - even though I probably won’t be buying too many more myself. 

 

[jep]

@Spinney I share this view, well said. I am perhaps a tad more optimistic regarding electric or whatever wins the motion war. Or at least live in hope; McLaren and others will need to find a solution to make interesting sports cars - I wonder if Governments may reverse the 'no hybrid' stance. If not, I think something will materialise to maintain our interest. 

I rarely buy new cars in any event, I tend buy 4 to 10 year old or classics, so there is plenty to keep my attention for a few years yet. I totally understand why those who buy new Lotus are so worried; they may not be able to purchase another come 2022 and beyond as the cars could be so different. 

Yet without Geely, that may happen anyway...as Lotus Cars would shutdown. 

i just want Lotus to survive, frankly whatever it takes. That way, there is a chance of another 'proper' Lotus car one day.....which i can buy 2nd hand in 2035! 

Justin 

[PAR]

18 hours ago, Nelly said:

Have often wondered, as an Evora owner, why it failed given as stated above many times how universally praised it was. 

Going back to the original line, maybe Lotus should have done a new Esprit instead of the Evora, albeit a 2+2 was clever but quite a small market.

I think marketing is really the weakness of Lotus and has to be pointedly at there. They could have done a bit better at developing the Evora year on year like many others. I think they didn’t do great of not having multiple version when the 400 was out, they could have kept an atmo and a turbo just to make people feel more excited about the Turbo.

Considering the size of the Evora and how good a car it was, I don’t understand why they didn’t use it as a mechanical base for an esprit. With their skills, this really should not have cost much to do and would have been the best marketing.

After that, a more  ambitious  Esprit V8 buying the AMG engine and using the extra +2  space to fit the engine and gearbox could be done relatively quickly as well. Maybe some people feel like an esprit should only be a brand new car, carbon fibre bed etc but an esprit look with Evora performance would perfectly sell.

[The Pits]

95 pages and counting suggests that people here enjoy speculating about the future of Lotus. So it is welcome and encouraged here. Masses of other threads to read for those who find it tiresome.

Continued radio silence at Lotus becomes unforgiveable if they have anywhere close to £1.5bh to spend. I'm amazed how many here think it's just fine, whatever they don't do, whatever they don't say, however much they ignore current owners or the current range, however long they delay, it's all good. It's really not and it will cost the company dearly. The podcasts are a great idea but that's one bloke's initiative and effort and he's not one of the new, highly paid, senior management. There are many hugely talented, dedicated people working at Lotus. They deserve a lot better than what we've seen so far.

[Spinney]

Maybe so. I didn’t suggest everybody finds it tiresome and accept I may be in the minority with that view. My Lotus history goes back nearly 60 years, through many iterations of ownership, so do believe I have the right to comment, and I do actually believe at long last it will all come good - just as soon as they have new models to promote. If you were to speed read through those 95 pages, you would simply see the same hackneyed yawnfest of opinions being repeated time and time and time again. Now time to give the new management a chance and see what the results of their labours are I think. Only then can one really critique their efforts.

Right now, the Elise is 24 years old with only 1 major facelift in that time and the Evora 10/11 years old with relatively minor updates, so not a lot to shout about at the moment.

Personally, I’m prepared to be patient and wait to see the results of the investment and work! 😃

[DarrylV8]

1 hour ago, The Pits said:

95 pages and counting suggests that people here enjoy speculating about the future of Lotus. So it is welcome and encouraged here. Masses of other threads to read for those who find it tiresome.

Continued radio silence at Lotus becomes unforgiveable if they have anywhere close to £1.5bh to spend. I'm amazed how many here think it's just fine, whatever they don't do, whatever they don't say, however much they ignore current owners or the current range, however long they delay, it's all good. It's really not and it will cost the company dearly. The podcasts are a great idea but that's one bloke's initiative and effort and he's not one of the new, highly paid, senior management. There are many hugely talented, dedicated people working at Lotus. They deserve a lot better than what we've seen so far.

Totally agree Jonny

For me it’s frustrating that Geely, who I really admire not only for turning Volvo around but that they have taken over a small British sports car manufacturer but have also decided to put so much money into what for me and my family is an amazing car manufacturer. They are allowing the company to rebuild its self as Phil sees fit.

Geely obviously have faith in what and how Phil is going around this turnaround.

But all these extra engineers working on a myriad of future sports cars, and yet we still have radio silence on a car that was due to be shown last year, production this year now next year hopefully.

We had snip its of information on Evija before its mega media release, so why nothing on the interim car, why no PR excitement about the interim car; surely we are not going to stop production of the current cars and start production of the next generation of Lotus cars the next day with no publicity or advertising?

please just a little information, while usually I advocate no news is good, I’m not sure in the current climate that is the best policy. Let everyone know Lotus is still around and still builds super sports cars

 yes I’ve signed up for Geely news just in case they release information 

[The Pits]

The choice we've been given here is be patient and wait however long it takes or move on. Many of the serial Lotus owners I know have chosen the latter.

Naturally, those frustrated by the lack of activity are going to get more frustrated the longer it continues.

To those that think it's all just fine and dandy I suggest they have a look in the classifieds for what you can buy for around £80k these days. The choice is overwhelming. From new cars from the obvious alternatives to used McLaren 570S or 650S, Lambo Gallardo, Ferrari 599 or how about a low mileage AM V12 Vantage and £20k change. Really. A leggy one is top-end Elise money now. Comparing new and used isn't fair but it's reality and what customers have every right to do. With a list of alternatives like this, with much of the depreciation done, how could you not consider some? If the new Lotus doesn't do at least one thing better and several things differently to all of the alternatives then they really will struggle. The current Lotus cars have some real points of difference which have not demonstrated, explained or promoted to a wider, largely indifferent audience. Alpine outsells Cayman because it offers something different.

It's often been said that it costs over twice as much to get new customers as it does to retain loyal customers. Car companies work really hard for every customer and they do their utmost to keep them. I can't imagine a single one of Lotus's rivals being so indifferent about existing customers and the people that like their current cars. If they think that 5000 new punters will just show up the moment they take the covers off the new Exxxxx I think they are in for a shock. Lotus needs to be working hard right now (ideally starting 12 months ago) to convince all of us that things are going to be great. They don't have to tell us about new product but they can tell us what's being done better, differently, what lessons learned at JLR and Bentley are being applied?

I totally get keeping hush about future products, it's normally done to avoid wrecking sales of existing models. But to do this while distancing themselves from the current range at the same time is really unusual. My best guess is that they don't 'get' the 'old' models or feel any ownership over them. They focus on Evija which is Lotus's future and are looking to break with the past. The old cars and the old owners. That part at least appears to be working.

Anyway, most of you will be glad to know that I'm getting bored of trying to convince people that there are legitimate concerns. I know some stuff that would make your blood run cold and boil at the same time but will be keeping that to myself. Having been on the receiving end of much criticism for being blinkered and sychophantic towards Lotus (and worse!) I take no pleasure in finding myself among the critics and cynics. Let's see where we are in 6 months time and continue to wish the many good people at Lotus every success.

[Spinney]

Contrary to what you are saying, I certainly don’t think everything is fine and dandy. Clearly it isn’t and hasn’t been for a very long time but I don’t understand why you’ve been beating yourself up over it for the last 95 pages. I understand why folk want to analyse the fine detail of what they believe may or may not be the right way forward but the truth is none of us really know. 

It’s all very well talking about the what ifs, should do this, shouldn’t do that but none of us really know what is currently in the minds of Lotus management. It may be part of their plan to turn the company around is to eventually engage with their customers more fully but I would suggest they’ve had an awful lot of fires to put out first. 

As Lotus enthusiasts we have waited a long time for the ship to be steadied and in the overall scheme of things, a few more months, frankly, is neither here nor there. They’ve been rocky for most of the 60 years or so that I’ve been a fanboy but, at last, I honestly believe they have the chance to come good. Now, it may be that their plans don’t include the wishes of the loyal fans of old and the cars we will be seeing in future are far removed from what we would buy but let’s be honest, catering to the wants of that fairly small market has never made the company hugely successful in the past.  

Nobody will be more disappointed than me if they do abandon what has made their cars so great in the past but I must face the fact that much as I’ve loved all those cars, none have been a rip roaring worldwide sales success. Lotus are adapting to a different way of doing things and I have to hope and believe they are now on the right path to making the brand a worldwide success. 

I'm taking the patient, let’s wait and see approach. 
 

 

 
 

[blindside]

On 25/04/2020 at 11:26, Spinney said:

I find all this speculation about how and what Lotus should/could be doing amusing, tiresome and frustrating in equal measure.

Really? From my perspective this particular thread is probably the most significant and relevant on this forum; especially as Lotus are clearly at a massive turning point in their whole market approach. 95 pages of mostly well informed opinion, even if it includes lots of speculation and guesswork, is pretty useful in this scenario if you are even remotely considering buying a new Lotus.

Like you I'm an old fashioned petrol head, but only started appreciating Lotus as a marque 6 years ago after an off the cuff test drive in an Evora 400. Since then I've bought 3 from new, (400, Sport 410 & GT430), so have definitely 'put my money where my mouth is'. Why? Primarily because I totally bought into their core values and felt Lotus were producing something that was unique as a driving experience on a shoe string. That transcended  the need for any marketing hype, which is just as well as their efforts at selling cars and providing clear product/model definition seems to defy logic much of the time. Post Geely with that £1.5B mega budget Bibs has highlighted there is surely no reasonable excuse for this failing.   

The hard evidence over the past 18 months since the Lotus 70th Celebrations would indicate that the new leadership team don't intend to have a customer strategy that embraces existing owners, or makes any attempt to 'leverage' that customer segment. I think Jonny's @The Pits  recent comment & analysis is probably very close to 'where its at' just now. Popham & his senior team have had more than long enough to reveal the post JMG strategy & outline criteria for the new 'affordable' sports car. Although the Evija is a fantastic design statement for a cheaper real world model to emulate, life is too short to hang around indefinitely while they attempt to get their act together. There are plenty of very attractive options in the £80-120k price point out there to experience in the petrol head firmament. I'll be looking at GT3/GT4, or 570s later this year with the understanding that they provide a comparable driving experience. But crucially there's a clearly expressed and evolving manufacturers view of the customer niche that these cars are addressing & supporting.

[The Pits]

No-one can credibly argue against brand building during this time, given the ambition Geely has for Lotus, the negative perceptions that need to be overcome and when funding is in place. Not anyone here, not Phil Popham.

The task in hand demands it.

I bought an Aston Martin V12 Vantage back in 2012. I didn't buy it new nor from an official AM dealer either. But I was invited to a V12 Vantage day at Works Service in Newport Pagnell. It was arranged to celebrate the car. You could call it a glorified owners 'meet' but they did it with thought and care. We got a tour of Works Service and Aston's original site, a talk about Aston Martin history, a technical presentation on the car, a nice lunch with the car's designers and engineers, a goody bag for our families. A few days later we all received a dated, framed picture of the gathering in the post with a letter of thanks. It didn't cost Aston much to do it but we drove away feeling fortunate to own such a special car and to be small part of a great car company's history. Fortunately for me, I don't like the design direction AM have taken in recent years, especially inside, so remain immune to their temptation for now. Another example of a company that felt they had to break with their past to attract new customers. Doesn't appear to be the answer for them as yet sadly.

I really enjoyed the 70th event at Hethel, that deserves all the credit it can get. Fantastic event that achieved much the same feeling for those that attended. Never felt so proud or fortunate to drive home in a Lotus. But it was initiated and executed by a passionate marketing guy who has since been replaced his 2nd in command who has also been let go and the brilliant events manager who is one of the most loyal, dedicated people you will meet in Hethel. It happened because of these people plus our own Bibs of course who made a typically huge and tireless contribution. I don't believe anyone went anywhere near a Porsche showroom for some time after that.

Really hope Lotus can do something soon to keep the likes of Jimmy @blindside interested in what happens next. The chances of them producing a better driver's car than your GT430 are extremely slim though. The next car will be a looker, no doubt about that, but unless they change the current positioning it will be a lesser catagory of car.

[DarrylV8]

Following on from what Jimmy and Jonny have said, I don’t believe we are that different to many others who purchase brand new cars we start drawing up our short list 6 - 12 months before, we are looking at McLaren sports series and Jaguar F type 575, not sure if the car will replace out 430 or sit alongside

however at the present time we don’t have much on offer from Lotus, there was talk of a road version of GT4 but this possibly wouldn’t be much different to the 430 and with the current CV this has gone quiet 

being a long time Lotus owner purchased our first Esprit from Souter & Rhodes back in 1982 and was a Lotus fanboy before this, my concern is that if I go off piste I may not return and therefore our grandsons may not show the same love for Lotus; and yet with the current radio silence this is becoming a very real possibility 

[The Pits]

Again I don’t enjoy reading that from another great Lotus customer, advocate  and supporter. People like you and Jimmy have been keeping the company going when you could so easily have bought something else, you are a part of the history. Every Lotus sale is a triumph against the odds. Especially when most people consider many of the alternatives to be both better cars and better places to put your money.

Ferrari invite customers to exclusive clinics and preview events to show them their latest cars before the press. Very smart move. Makes owners feel special and valued before offering them the chance to put down a deposit. And other car companies wonder why all their cars sell out so quickly!

[Bibs]

Hopefully some of your questions will be answered here...

 

[NedaSay]

Project gamma presentation pushed back a year mentioned when as a replacement for Exige...