RE: Lotus Terminates European Dealer Network
Discussion
fridaypassion said:
The problem Lotus face is that while everyone makes the right noises about wanting lightweight driver focused cars they end up caving in and buying on brand....
....Consumers these days value bling and image over heritage and driving experience.
To a certain extent I agree with you, but if you were in the market for a sports car, in the region of £45-50k of you own money, that has a degree of everyday useability, would you be buying a Lotus Evora over a Porsche Cayman S ?....Consumers these days value bling and image over heritage and driving experience.
The cold fact remains that while the Evora may be a slightly better drivers car (I haven't driven one), as a overall ownership prospect I think most would suggest the Cayman is the better car.
I had a close look at an Evora on display at the British GP over the weekend.
It is a nicely finished car,looks better in darker shades and looks better in the flesh than in photographs.
Price is the problem. At that level people look beyond just the car offered to them for prestige, reputation, total reliability and a level of service at a dealer way above anything you would find at a mainstream car maker and the perception by the buyer and onlooker of a premium high level product, something which takes decades of high quality to achieve in the minds of the motoring public.
It is a nicely finished car,looks better in darker shades and looks better in the flesh than in photographs.
Price is the problem. At that level people look beyond just the car offered to them for prestige, reputation, total reliability and a level of service at a dealer way above anything you would find at a mainstream car maker and the perception by the buyer and onlooker of a premium high level product, something which takes decades of high quality to achieve in the minds of the motoring public.
Edited by RTH on Monday 12th July 07:51
I have got a very low mileage (2000 miles) Exige S that I have had from new. I want to get a new Lotus next February because they are just so much fun, but if I want anything even vaguely comparable I have to place an order, basically for exactly the car I already have, and shell out £15K before 31st December. No supercharged 1.8 after that date.
And then I know that my new Exige will be out of production unless Lotus decide to stick a V6 or some supercharged 1.6 in it sometime in the future (when they realise that their 8000 a year of 100K cars is fantasy).
Of course I can buy a 1.6 Elise (32% of ALL Lotus sales to date are Elises) with the same performance as an MR2 for £28K, or I can get my eyeballs ripped out in a 211.
Alternatively, I can spend £25K on an Evora to go substantially slower than the Exige.
As someone else said, NEVER put an MBA in charge of a purist engineering company.
As a strategy, this is a complete dog's breakfast, it will fail miserably and Lotus will be back as a small volume supplier of lightweight sportscars within three years - IF they survive.
I am thinking that the best thing I can do is hang on to my mint Exige S and get a supercharger upgrade to 280BHP. Easily the cheapest option!
And then I know that my new Exige will be out of production unless Lotus decide to stick a V6 or some supercharged 1.6 in it sometime in the future (when they realise that their 8000 a year of 100K cars is fantasy).
Of course I can buy a 1.6 Elise (32% of ALL Lotus sales to date are Elises) with the same performance as an MR2 for £28K, or I can get my eyeballs ripped out in a 211.
Alternatively, I can spend £25K on an Evora to go substantially slower than the Exige.
As someone else said, NEVER put an MBA in charge of a purist engineering company.
As a strategy, this is a complete dog's breakfast, it will fail miserably and Lotus will be back as a small volume supplier of lightweight sportscars within three years - IF they survive.
I am thinking that the best thing I can do is hang on to my mint Exige S and get a supercharger upgrade to 280BHP. Easily the cheapest option!
Edited by netherledy on Tuesday 17th August 20:05
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