Why The Name Lotus - From Lotusguy
Discussion
sledge said: Congratulations Brett, there is no turning back now!! No other car will ever be the same.....
Enjoy!!
Andy
S4
Brett,
Congratulations on your new toy! To expand upon what Andy has said about there's no going back, it's interesting that he chose that phrase because this was the inspiration which caused Colin Chapman to name the cars Lotus to begin with.
An ancient folk legend stemming from Grecian times grew about those who ate the Lotus Fruit, today known as the White Fig which is indigenous and common to most of the Mediterranean.
The legend goes, that once this fruit was eaten, a person, having eaten it, forgot where they came from and lost all desire to return. They were said to wander the countryside in search of this obsessive fruit and were known collectively as the Lotus-Eaters.
In fact, in Homer's Odessey, on the tenth day of their journey from Troy, and having endured terrible storms for nine days, they reached the island of the Lotus-Eaters. When a party of men went ashore, they ate of the lotus plants. This magic fruit made them forget all longing for home. Odysseus had to force the men to return to the ships in order to continue the journey.
Colin wanted to create cars which provided driving experiences like no others. They were to be so superior as to be unlike every car the driver had driven previously and cause him/her to lose all desire to return to their previous type of car.
So, being familiar with the ancient legend from his school days, Colin, most appropriately, chose to name his cars and his company Lotus. He even chose as it's symbol, a stylized petal of the Lotus flower with his initials and the word LOTUS set into it.
He was spot on in doing so because, as you'll soon experience, these cars are intoxicating and one becomes obsessive about them. The allure is so strong, that many of us are on our 2nd, 3rd or more Lotus. Take the time to enjoy the car and the total ownership experience. Happy Motoring! Jim'85TE
Jim - just wanted to let you know that I am keeping this one in the FAQs because of your excellent prose!
ErnestM
Edited To Add: ...and cheers Brett, Welcome to the fold. Hope you don't have to much trouble finding your post
. I just couldn't let Jim's excellent response fade....
>> Edited by ErnestM (moderator) on Friday 30th May 06:37
ErnestM
Edited To Add: ...and cheers Brett, Welcome to the fold. Hope you don't have to much trouble finding your post
. I just couldn't let Jim's excellent response fade.... >> Edited by ErnestM (moderator) on Friday 30th May 06:37
Wise Man Jim,
This has to be one of the best responses I've ever seen on the forum.
I've saved it into my brain cell memory banks (what's left of them), and maybe one day when Iam more experienced can quote these words to the new and inexperienced members and Lotus owners.
You can almost hear the round of applause from all who read this.
Cheers,
Dave Walters
This has to be one of the best responses I've ever seen on the forum.
I've saved it into my brain cell memory banks (what's left of them), and maybe one day when Iam more experienced can quote these words to the new and inexperienced members and Lotus owners.
You can almost hear the round of applause from all who read this.
Cheers,
Dave Walters
Sorry to rain on your parade, but what a load of twaddle! It is commonly accepted that no-one knows why Colin Chapman decided on the name Lotus. Heres a quote from Hazel Chapman, his wife, who actually lent Colin the 25 pounds to register the company "It seems hard to imagine that it is fifty years ago since the Mark 1 was registered under the name Lotus at the vehicle registration office in Waterloo Road. Why he chose the name Lotus nobody will ever know for sure, it just seemed to be another of his inspired ideas"
The lost likely explanation I've seen and one some of his engineering colleagues subscribe to seems to come from his foraging for Austin car parts to build his early specials. At an auction he found a crate of bits with LOT U/S i.e. lot unsold, painted on the side. Slightly less prosaic I know, but more likely to come form an engineer don't you think?
The lost likely explanation I've seen and one some of his engineering colleagues subscribe to seems to come from his foraging for Austin car parts to build his early specials. At an auction he found a crate of bits with LOT U/S i.e. lot unsold, painted on the side. Slightly less prosaic I know, but more likely to come form an engineer don't you think?
[quote]hedgerley said: Sorry to rain on your parade, but what a load of twaddle! It is commonly accepted that no-one knows why Colin Chapman decided on the name Lotus. Heres a quote from Hazel Chapman, his wife, who actually lent Colin the 25 pounds to register the company "It seems hard to imagine that it is fifty years ago since the Mark 1 was registered under the name Lotus at the vehicle registration office in Waterloo Road. Why he chose the name Lotus nobody will ever know for sure, it just seemed to be another of his inspired ideas"
The lost likely explanation I've seen and one some of his engineering colleagues subscribe to seems to come from his foraging for Austin car parts to build his early specials. At an auction he found a crate of bits with LOT U/S i.e. lot unsold, painted on the side. Slightly less prosaic I know, but more likely to come form an engineer don't you think?[/quote]
I grant you, searching for the true meaning behind the name and the Logo is somewhat 'RoseBudian' (which bye the way, although a sled in the movie, was actually the pet name Wm. Randolph Hearst, not Charles Foster Kane, had for the vagina of his mistress, Mary Pickford. He was enraged to the point of filing suit against Orson Wells and the studio when the film came out), but the idea of the inspiration of the Lotus-Eaters legend behind the naming of the car and company was proferred by Hazel Chapman in a BBC interview she gave in 1985 shortly after Colin's death.
In the interview, she told of Colin's fascination with the legend, which he learned about while studying Homer in his school days.
Granted, it is not definitive proof, such as words direct from the horse's mouth would be. But, in the face of nothing else, it is the most plausible explanation.
To me, much more so than some acronym for a loose bin of parts. I think the fact that it ties into the Logo as well lends credence to her explanation. But, I grant you, it is in the mind of the beholder. Happy Motoring! Jim'85TE
>> Edited by lotusguy on Friday 30th May 22:39
>> Edited by lotusguy on Friday 19th March 05:13
The lost likely explanation I've seen and one some of his engineering colleagues subscribe to seems to come from his foraging for Austin car parts to build his early specials. At an auction he found a crate of bits with LOT U/S i.e. lot unsold, painted on the side. Slightly less prosaic I know, but more likely to come form an engineer don't you think?[/quote]
I grant you, searching for the true meaning behind the name and the Logo is somewhat 'RoseBudian' (which bye the way, although a sled in the movie, was actually the pet name Wm. Randolph Hearst, not Charles Foster Kane, had for the vagina of his mistress, Mary Pickford. He was enraged to the point of filing suit against Orson Wells and the studio when the film came out), but the idea of the inspiration of the Lotus-Eaters legend behind the naming of the car and company was proferred by Hazel Chapman in a BBC interview she gave in 1985 shortly after Colin's death.
In the interview, she told of Colin's fascination with the legend, which he learned about while studying Homer in his school days.
Granted, it is not definitive proof, such as words direct from the horse's mouth would be. But, in the face of nothing else, it is the most plausible explanation.
To me, much more so than some acronym for a loose bin of parts. I think the fact that it ties into the Logo as well lends credence to her explanation. But, I grant you, it is in the mind of the beholder. Happy Motoring! Jim'85TE
>> Edited by lotusguy on Friday 30th May 22:39
>> Edited by lotusguy on Friday 19th March 05:13
You are right, each to their own. With no definitive answer from the man himself, we can all speculate on the flimsy anecdotal evidence. But that is half the fun of course.
I just had a chat with a mate who worked for the great man himself through the late seventies and into the eighties. He worked on the G Esprits mainly - one of the highlights of his time there was hand applying the Essex red and silver decals and he still has some of the original artwork in his loft! He recalls numerous conversations but Chapman never gave a definitive answer. The one favoured at the time by most of his contempories was the LOT U/S origin, whilst others favoured the Lotus Eater theory. As he said, its better not to know and maintain the mystique.
We could always go to South America and track Chapman down of course.......
I just had a chat with a mate who worked for the great man himself through the late seventies and into the eighties. He worked on the G Esprits mainly - one of the highlights of his time there was hand applying the Essex red and silver decals and he still has some of the original artwork in his loft! He recalls numerous conversations but Chapman never gave a definitive answer. The one favoured at the time by most of his contempories was the LOT U/S origin, whilst others favoured the Lotus Eater theory. As he said, its better not to know and maintain the mystique.
We could always go to South America and track Chapman down of course.......
ErnestM said:
hedgerley said: We could always go to South America and track Chapman down of course.......
Thought he was in the deep freeze beside Walt here in Orlando?
ErnestM
When I die Ernest can you take my head and put it in liquid nitrogen, so when I come round I have been diaagnosed with missing headitis
I mean really what are they thinking of doing with them. Every brain cell has exploded with expansion of the ice, so no good to anyone for a conversation in the future? Sorry bit off topic.... but funny though.
) would be devastating ?[quote]swedishsurgeon said: Congrats on your new purchase Brett! I wish you many miles of trouble free fun driving.
On the subject of Jim's "Fairy Tale", I went to the factory last July and a question on the test was...
"What does Lotus stand for?" The answer was Lot-Unsold... meaning they were not selling the cars that were being made.
Robert Grener
'87 Turbo Esprit hci
>> Edited by ErnestM (moderator) on Tuesday 3rd June 00:41[/quote]
Bob,
It is disconcerting that you and some others have referred to my post as a 'Fairy Tale'. The fact is, the legend of the Lotus-Eaters is well documented in Greek Mythology and throughout European History since. I did not make it up, though perhaps Homer did. Hazel Chapman herself, in a 1985 BBC interview, raised the possibility that this ancient legend may have provided the inspiration for Chapman to name the company Lotus.
Another fact is that the origin of the company and car name has long been, and continues to be, a matter of conjecture with both the 'Lot Unsold' and the legend of the Lotus-Eaters as being contenders as the true source.
If you, or the factory for that matter, chose to grant favor to the acronym for 'Lot Unsold' as the source of Chapman's inspiration, so be it. But, that doesn't make it any more credible since no definitive answer was ever revealed publicly by Colin Chapman himself. It's interesting to note that only recently has the factory chosen to address this issue at all after some 50 years of remaining mute on the subject. At least the Lotus-Eaters expanation ties in with the existence of the Logo. What is the factory's explanation of the Logo? Is that merely representative of the shape of the unsold parts bin?
I don't want to start a Flame War over this, but if you disagree, please state your disagreement without the insulting labels and derogatory graphics. I don't see how they lend any credence whatsoever to the view you've expressed.
I respect you opinion, even if I am in disagreement with it. There are definitely a couple of valid points of view on the subject and no one can say with certainty that one is right or the other wrong. Happy Motoring! Jim'85TE
>> Edited by lotusguy on Friday 19th March 05:15
On the subject of Jim's "Fairy Tale", I went to the factory last July and a question on the test was...
"What does Lotus stand for?" The answer was Lot-Unsold... meaning they were not selling the cars that were being made.
Robert Grener
'87 Turbo Esprit hci
>> Edited by ErnestM (moderator) on Tuesday 3rd June 00:41[/quote]
Bob,
It is disconcerting that you and some others have referred to my post as a 'Fairy Tale'. The fact is, the legend of the Lotus-Eaters is well documented in Greek Mythology and throughout European History since. I did not make it up, though perhaps Homer did. Hazel Chapman herself, in a 1985 BBC interview, raised the possibility that this ancient legend may have provided the inspiration for Chapman to name the company Lotus.
Another fact is that the origin of the company and car name has long been, and continues to be, a matter of conjecture with both the 'Lot Unsold' and the legend of the Lotus-Eaters as being contenders as the true source.
If you, or the factory for that matter, chose to grant favor to the acronym for 'Lot Unsold' as the source of Chapman's inspiration, so be it. But, that doesn't make it any more credible since no definitive answer was ever revealed publicly by Colin Chapman himself. It's interesting to note that only recently has the factory chosen to address this issue at all after some 50 years of remaining mute on the subject. At least the Lotus-Eaters expanation ties in with the existence of the Logo. What is the factory's explanation of the Logo? Is that merely representative of the shape of the unsold parts bin?
I don't want to start a Flame War over this, but if you disagree, please state your disagreement without the insulting labels and derogatory graphics. I don't see how they lend any credence whatsoever to the view you've expressed.
I respect you opinion, even if I am in disagreement with it. There are definitely a couple of valid points of view on the subject and no one can say with certainty that one is right or the other wrong. Happy Motoring! Jim'85TE
>> Edited by lotusguy on Friday 19th March 05:15
Jim - the "binned graphic" is place there whenever I take something out of a post as moderator... It was not Robert's doing it was the systems. Basically I edited a portion of hist post due to rule infractions. I thought that his other contribution as far as Lot Unsold was a good contribution...
We don't see the "binned" graphic very often on this part of the site (unlike TVR, General Gassing, etc) because the Esprit folks seem more behaved...
ErnestM
>> Edited by ErnestM (moderator) on Tuesday 3rd June 14:06
We don't see the "binned" graphic very often on this part of the site (unlike TVR, General Gassing, etc) because the Esprit folks seem more behaved...
ErnestM
>> Edited by ErnestM (moderator) on Tuesday 3rd June 14:06
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