RE: Lotus jobs at risk
Discussion
DonkeyApple said:
I drove a Boxster. It was such a great car I thought I was in a Golf Diesel and fell asleep.
As you say, the Lotus is the superior car
And which car did Sir actually buy?...As you say, the Lotus is the superior car
In my experience there are many keyboard experts on this forum who opine endlessly about sportscars but never actually buy them. Which is precisely why Lotus is in such trouble.
Edited by Ozzie Osmond on Thursday 25th September 18:23
otolith said:
I only really care about Lotus so long as it keeps making Lotuses. If it starts making (would-be) Porsches I don't really care if it goes under.
Well that's rather odd, because the only reason I'm driving a Porsche at the moment is that Lotus have got their underwear completely tangled round their neck. I'd like to see them with a viable business making saleable sportscars. All this talk of "they need to make an SUV" is utter bilge.Ozzie Osmond said:
DonkeyApple said:
I drove a Boxster. It was such a great car I thought I was in a Golf Diesel and fell asleep.
As you say, the Lotus is the superior car
And which car did Sir actually buy?...As you say, the Lotus is the superior car
In my experience there are many keyboard experts on this forum who opine endlessly about sportscars but never actually buy them. Which is precisely why Lotus is in such trouble.
Edited by Ozzie Osmond on Thursday 25th September 18:23
Re Lotus, I've test driven most of them over the years but always stuck with buying TVRs as they are much more comfortable for the taller chap and I enjoy the hooligan element. I'm not really Lotus' target customer as much as I like them and what they stand for.
So, I'm clearly confused, do I have to nip out and buy these specific cars so that I'm allowed to discuss my experience of driving them? Even though a Boxster is only a few grand these days its the kafuffle over applying for a parking permitthat makes me baulk at the idea.
I have found with the Evora that Lotus have made a car you can use asd a daily driver but still gert that sense of occasion when you see it, climb into it , start it up and drive it.
They are more practical than you may think. Today I picked up a set of wheels and winter tyres for it. They fitted in the car fine.
Its more practical than a Cayman and less expensive than a base 911 but is just as quick.
Ok it has wideish sills but in most cases in my experience people are surprised at how good and how usable it is.
This is why I think Lotus need hi vis outlets and decent marketing.
They are more practical than you may think. Today I picked up a set of wheels and winter tyres for it. They fitted in the car fine.
Its more practical than a Cayman and less expensive than a base 911 but is just as quick.
Ok it has wideish sills but in most cases in my experience people are surprised at how good and how usable it is.
This is why I think Lotus need hi vis outlets and decent marketing.
Ozzie Osmond said:
And which car did Sir actually buy?...
In my experience there are many keyboard experts on this forum who opine endlessly about sportscars but never actually buy them. Which is precisely why Lotus is in such trouble.
I think Lotus are in trouble because they can't get funding from Proton, as their cars don't sell well. It sounds like they haven't got the dealers for their 'dreams' or the elephant in the room, a modern Mx-5 like Elan. I think Bahar wanted potential and existing dealers to believe that Lotus could be a genuine Porsche rival. Now that's not going to happen and it seems like Proton are either planning to shut down or move Lotus production once the current models are discontinued.In my experience there are many keyboard experts on this forum who opine endlessly about sportscars but never actually buy them. Which is precisely why Lotus is in such trouble.
Edited by Ozzie Osmond on Thursday 25th September 18:23
All the staff Lotus recently took on to get more government funding must be annoyed. Lotus give them BS, and the taxpayers give them cash.
Surely DRB-hicom could have looked down the back of a sofa and found £10 million. I think the reason why most people don't buy an Elise but talk positively about one is because although we're always being told how good they are, they are a really expensive toy. I think most enthusiasts would rather buy a used Toyota Mr2 instead as it's many times cheaper, has the same powertrain/layout and is usable day to day. It doesn't really make sense to buy an Elise unless you've got loads of spare cash.
iloveboost said:
It doesn't really make sense to buy an Elise unless you've got loads of spare cash.
I think a lot of people believe that and yet the Elise has been the cheapest car I've ever run and, for me, a perfectly daily driver. I often wonder how many people who say the Elise isn't suitable as a daily driver have actually driven one. Sure it's not going to be any good for reps who do 20000 miles a year, but the average British driver does about a third of that and the huge majority of journeys are carried out with one occupant and very little luggage. Of course it's not going to work for tip runs, but no 2-seater does and most households who would consider any two seater will have at least two cars.
Edited by kambites on Friday 26th September 18:37
True, but the MR2 was never really a competitor. As much as I rate the mk3 MR2 (and I very much do rate it, it's probalby the best value sports car on the used market at the moment), it's not really in the same league as the Elise in terms of dynamics. If the Elise had been beyond my means, I'd probably be driving an MR2 now but I suspect the overall running costs wouldn't have been significantly less.
Obviously the Elise is only ever going to be a relativley niche car but it was never designed to be anything else and nor was any other Lotus, really.
Obviously the Elise is only ever going to be a relativley niche car but it was never designed to be anything else and nor was any other Lotus, really.
Edited by kambites on Friday 26th September 18:45
F1GTRUeno said:
kambites said:
I don't really see the point in Lotus making Porsche clones either - Porsche are already exceptionally good at it.
Well there's no point in them making what they already do either, so either go the Porsche route to cars people will actually buy or don't exist.Ozzie Osmond said:
This sort of thing .... but less compromised than this one!
God look at that thing, isn't it gorgeous?
If only it had another 2" width of interior space and a functioning front boot to go with the rear, it'd be perfect (& I'd be throwing my cash at it!). It's a shame.
kambites said:
F1GTRUeno said:
kambites said:
I don't really see the point in Lotus making Porsche clones either - Porsche are already exceptionally good at it.
Well there's no point in them making what they already do either, so either go the Porsche route to cars people will actually buy or don't exist.If Lotus want to sell cars they need to offer product which customers actually want to buy. Hardcore fans will never be sufficiently numerous to keep the company afloat.
Look at the Jaguar F-type. That's the sort of brand new car which can actually get customers into the showroom. And with prices starting at £51,000 it's very accessible for the very same customers Lotus needs to reach. Put bluntly, people who are actually willing and able to spend £50k+ on a coupe/convertible, not just chatter about them.
Look at the Jaguar F-type. That's the sort of brand new car which can actually get customers into the showroom. And with prices starting at £51,000 it's very accessible for the very same customers Lotus needs to reach. Put bluntly, people who are actually willing and able to spend £50k+ on a coupe/convertible, not just chatter about them.
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