Arnie Johnson, CEO of Lotus USA, fired

[chasevdr]

NY-NJ LEO reports that Arnie Johnson, CEO of Lotus USA, was unexpected dismissed from LCU on April 30. Anyone hearing the reason why?

[JK1]

It was reported by someone on another list that he was canned for failing to respond to an email from his boss Duke Hale.

Personally I find that hard to believe. For whatever reason the powers that be at Proton have decided to go in another direction which didn't include Arnie. Too bad for everyone concerned...

At first glance it sure seems like a big mistake since Arnie seems to have been well liked by most all of us enthusiasts and certainly lived and breathed Lotus for a significant portion of his life. By all accounts he was the driving force behind the Elise being brought to the US which could very well be the salvation of the company as a whole.

We may never know the whole story.

[lotusguy]

Hi,

It's not fair to speculate over why Arnie was let go. With all the machinations which occur in a large multi-national corporation, we'll never really know anyway.

All we can do is thank Arnie for all of his help (personalized for some of us), for his support for the marque, and wish him well in whatever direction Life will now take him. Happy Motoring! ...Jim'85TE

[5150neo]

I absolutely agree. If this is true, then thank you Arnie for your many years of dedication to these cars. I, along with thousands of others, appreciate your efforts. And once again thank you for taking me under your wing that day my clutch line let go a few miles from your office.
Cheers,
John