RE: Lotus Evora 400: even lighter, even dearer

[bobo]

whats next? some limited edition paint jobs with limited edition plaques!

jmg claimed that car would be the fastest sub gbp 100k car remember ? and why is the evora targa taking soooo long to deliver (even when jmg said its an easy job).

the guy has lost his credibility. can we have something actually new that the masses can actually buy pls?! so not a 3-11

[jayemm89]

bobo said:

whats next? some limited edition paint jobs with limited edition plaques!

jmg claimed that car would be the fastest sub gbp 100k car remember ? and why is the evora targa taking soooo long to deliver (even when jmg said its an easy job).

the guy has lost his credibility. can we have something actually new that the masses can actually buy pls?! so not a 3-11

1. They already did that, only without the plaques. They called it "Hethel Edition". And there's the Sport 410 (although not on sale yet)

2. Presumably the same reason they're taking ages building the USA cars - they have no money and they have a minimal staff (By JMG own press releases he slashed jobs there brutally)

3. I'm not convinced that a cheap car is what Lotus need, I think a new Esprit would be better but I can't see that happening any time soon sadly.

[c8rks]

Agree 100% with Jay on all points answered.

The masses will never buy a Lotus because they are convinced by the motoring journo's that the badge is more important than the driving experience. The mass market boat sailed for Lotus a long time ago, there's still some great engineering coming out of Hethel though, and not all of it for Lotus but for the prestige marques like AM and others.

I'd rather drive my lowly Lotus badges Evora and get little kids shouting (nice things) and pointing, their dads chatting at the petrol station and their mothers giving me a nice smile, than drive a porsche and be, well, err, invisible to most as they are like a clitoris, every @@@@'s got one.

[johnwilliams77]

c8rks said:

, than drive a porsche and be, well, err, invisible to most as they are like a clitoris, every @@@@'s got one.

Speak for yourself

[Ozzie Osmond]

c8rks said:

The masses will never buy a Lotus because they are convinced by the motoring journo's that the badge is more important than the driving experience.

Excuses, excuses, excuses.

c8rks said:

I'd rather drive my lowly Lotus badges Evora and get little kids shouting (nice things) and pointing,

They're probably still laughing about the "faceless people" campaign.

[anonymous-user]

Ozzie Osmond said:

They're probably still laughing about the "faceless people" campaign.

As much as everyone else laughs at the 'reliability' of a modern Porsche

[CABC]

yonex said:

Ozzie Osmond said:

They're probably still laughing about the "faceless people" campaign.

As much as everyone else laughs at the 'reliability' of a modern Porsche

the market can be very selective in what it hears, believes and actions on.
LR products remain at the bottom of reliability and satisfaction surveys yet sales grow.

[jayemm89]

Lotus' profits have traditionally come from their engineering department more than their own cars. People can forget that.

Lotus can be profitable without making tens of thousands of cars - Ferrari and Lamborghini manage it. Yes, both have powerful companies behind them. Lotus can get there. With the right guidance and management... They have the people.

[YvaisG]

CABC said:

the market can be very selective in what it hears, believes and actions on.
LR products remain at the bottom of reliability and satisfaction surveys yet sales grow.

what do u mean by LR products?

[Audemars]

Porsches are god damn ugly. I would hate to see what the wives/girlfriends of Porsche owners look like.

[jayemm89]

YvaisG said:

what do u mean by LR products?

I expect he means Land Rover.

[anonymous-user]

jayemm89 said:

Lotus' profits have traditionally come from their engineering department more than their own cars. People can forget that.

Lotus can be profitable without making tens of thousands of cars - Ferrari and Lamborghini manage it. Yes, both have powerful companies behind them. Lotus can get there. With the right guidance and management... They have the people.

I'd love them to grow but part of me hopes that they wont, this will ultimately mean they will start making 4 x 4's, as is the way, which really don't fit with the brand.

[andy_s]

yonex said:

I'd love them to grow but part of me hopes that they wont, this will ultimately mean they will start making 4 x 4's, as is the way, which really don't fit with the brand.

I know how you feel, but being pragmatic, if they do a cash-cow Lotusfied SUV that proves half as popular as an Evoque / Cayman / Macan then we can look forward to more investment in the niche end of the product line - which would suit me down to the ground; with nothing they have produced a fantastic car in the 400, with more investment we'd see an Esprit for the halo and refinement (lightness/power/chassis/'feel') further down the range.

[jayemm89]

The front end of the Evora actually *is* an Esprit. Just an Esprit that no-one really knows about.

This is one of the benefits of a modular vehicle architecture - the idea is to create an Esprit is relatively simple. Take Evora front-end, modify the Cabin slightly (ie. more luxurious/sporty, probably 2+0 seating) and then the rear section is where the dramatic changes would happen.

[bobo]

jmg should really hang his head in shame imo....

totally overrated and basically an accountant. nothing more....

[otolith]

The company looks likely to turn a profit for the first time in 20 years. I doubt he's ashamed of what he's done.

[jayemm89]

otolith said:

The company looks likely to turn a profit for the first time in 20 years. I doubt he's ashamed of what he's done.

Also not true. Lotus made a profit in 2007-2008, after having been operating at a loss for some time. They did return to making a loss in 2008-2009 but frankly that was an incredibly dark time for car makers, no matter who you were.

http://www.lotusdriversguide.com/Press/Financial_r...

[andy_s]

bobo said:

jmg should really hang his head in shame imo....

totally overrated and basically an accountant. nothing more....

I think he's done a great job. Bit of accountancy in a business is a good thing non? He's lightened, speeded up and shined every package so far, selling more, re-opening dealerships, looking at a profit in the foreseeable, first Lotus to be Federalised for a while about to hit the US...no idea what you're getting at?

[johnwilliams77]

andy_s said:

I think he's done a great job. Bit of accountancy in a business is a good thing non? He's lightened, speeded up and shined every package so far, selling more, re-opening dealerships, looking at a profit in the foreseeable, first Lotus to be Federalised for a while about to hit the US...no idea what you're getting at?

Don't worry, I don't think bobo knows either.

[otolith]

jayemm89 said:

otolith said:

The company looks likely to turn a profit for the first time in 20 years. I doubt he's ashamed of what he's done.

Also not true. Lotus made a profit in 2007-2008, after having been operating at a loss for some time. They did return to making a loss in 2008-2009 but frankly that was an incredibly dark time for car makers, no matter who you were.

http://www.lotusdriversguide.com/Press/Financial_r...

How did they do in the other 19 years?

What Gales is doing is working, and it's the right thing to do.