RE: Geely completes Lotus takeover
Discussion
GT3-RS said:
I know it's nothing new foreign ownership but Chapman will be rolling in his grave his beloved Lotus in Far Eastern hands
Would it be more rotations or less for a Kenyan conglomerate? What would a Russian multi-national do to his gyrations? What are the current Malaysian owners doing to Chapman's post-mortal twirling? Do you have a graph that charts Chapman's revolutions per minute against how undesirable the people are in your mind that buy the company? The people want to know!
jamoor said:
Fermit The Krog and Sexy Sarah said:
Foreign ownership has turned around Jaguar, Land Rover, Mini, Rolls Royce, Bentley, just to name a few, so I trust that this can only be a positive step.
Look at what they've done to Volvo!Money for development from Geely would be very welcome. I don't know the sales breakdown between Boxsters and Caymans but it is likely that Lotus could sell significantly more Evoras if they had a convertible version.
We've been told it is a simple job, and I expect it costs to get the Porsche competing quality right, but we are still waiting.
We've been told it is a simple job, and I expect it costs to get the Porsche competing quality right, but we are still waiting.
GT3-RS said:
I know it's nothing new foreign ownership but Chapman will be rolling in his grave his beloved Lotus in Far Eastern hands and more money flooding out of the country you'd think with all the greedy billionaires in Britain like Green, Branson et al that it could've been bought and remained a British brand.......
Is that the same Chapman who helped John DeLorean put tens of millions of UK taxpayer money into overseas bank accounts?
k all R&D money. IF Geely put the money in who knows what Lotus will come up with? New Esprit anyone?
This is certainly good news that Geely finally has control over the incompetent DRB-Hicom.
Certainly from their track record they are not shy of investing so hopefully the many passionate staff who are still with Lotus will have a positive future.
Looking forward to the Evora spyder and hopefully the full on Esprit, with an SUV in there somewhere.
Certainly from their track record they are not shy of investing so hopefully the many passionate staff who are still with Lotus will have a positive future.
Looking forward to the Evora spyder and hopefully the full on Esprit, with an SUV in there somewhere.
It's going to be fascinating as, for 20 years its mostly made a small, nice sports car which is relatively hardcore. Only the Evora could be described as mainstream. Its hard to imagine larger 'proper' cars from them but they are of course not the only car company to have made such huge changes
plenty said:
Is that the same Chapman who helped John DeLorean put tens of millions of UK taxpayer money into overseas bank accounts?
yep, he'd do a lot of things to go racing.as indeed most racers do. leave your moral compass in the draw when reviewing top drivers, owners, managers and even officials. Marvel at the achievements in isolation.
Tickle said:
GTEYE said:
It would be nice to see a genuinely all new car for the first time since what 1996 rather than yet another Elise evolved derivative
2009 Lotus brought out the EvoraThe main improvements would be improved access, NVH (lots of sound deadening) and storage space, all of which add up to being a larger car.
CABC said:
plenty said:
Is that the same Chapman who helped John DeLorean put tens of millions of UK taxpayer money into overseas bank accounts?
yep, he'd do a lot of things to go racing.as indeed most racers do. leave your moral compass in the draw when reviewing top drivers, owners, managers and even officials. Marvel at the achievements in isolation.
lestiq said:
What happens if they decide to move everything overseas?
Why would they want to do that? VW haven't moved Rolls and Bentley overseas. Nor have BMW moved MINI, and nor have Tata moved JLR. The only example I can think of is MG, and in that case the context was totally different (brand was already long dead in the UK and SAIC wanted it for the Chinese domestic market).Geely have so far shown themselves to be savvy operators, and without exception overseas leadership and investment has been a great thing for the UK car industry - the likes of JLR, MINI and Rolls are thriving like never before. The UK breeds great engineers but poor managers.
plenty said:
Indeed, but you're missing the context - my reply was a response to an earlier posting claiming that Chapman would "be rolling in his grave" at the takeover, as if he were some sort of xenophobic idealist whereas in fact (as your comment bears out) he would be the first to welcome Geely with open arms.
God forbid I'd read the whole thread!
Yep, Chapman was very focused. I think if globalisation had been as prevalent in his day he'd have been the first on a plane seeking finance overseas. I don't think he'd have cared about the nationality of the engineers either. Goal orientated.
Why do so many people think Geely is a good idea?
As someone else said where are the home grown investors?
Why does a company even need an investor - why can't it stand on it's own 4 wheels
Investors only invest because there's some cream to be had, which could have gone back into the business
As someone else said where are the home grown investors?
Why does a company even need an investor - why can't it stand on it's own 4 wheels
Investors only invest because there's some cream to be had, which could have gone back into the business
saaby93 said:
Why do so many people think Geely is a good idea?
Because Volvo shows they are competent people who know how to revitalise a car brand.They have money.
Lotus have had neither strong leadership nor money for a long time. (No criticism of current Lotus management, more an observation that DRB-Hicom and Proton are hardly world-class industry players.)
Geely are hardly in it for a quick buck - many UK investors would be.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff