RE: Lotus: The perils of a hands-on CEO
Discussion
8V085 said:
100 mph, the speed above which kittens die and PH goes into self-righteous outrage mode. Also the speed at which an average German mum does a school run and an average German father commutes at (if they can't afford a faster car).
Thank you for making me realise I am not alone!Edited by R1nur on Saturday 27th January 18:55
Lyons said:
I rarly visit PH anymore, but when I do im surprised at the amount of brainwashed anti speed sentiment. It's really good fun to drive 100+, as long as the conditions are safe. If you don't share that opinion, then you are most probably an unskilled driver, and you have a poor understanding of the facts. This guy is clearly a more experienced and better driver than most here, and was in a very high performance vehicle, very capable at those speeds. The jobsworth of a fuzz should have known his place and let him go - I mean this guy is doing very impressive things on zero budget, ensuring manufacturing, jobs and money in the UK. I imagine and hope these statements would have some of the members of this forum ejaculating with daily express rage, which is more a mirror on their downtrodden meak existences that anything else. :P
Phew - theres more of us :-)You can’t have coppers applying the law to some and not to others based on who they are, get real!
If you are on 8 points and you are blasting about at a tonne you run the risk of a ban.
He argued that he could carry on doing his job of work with minimal interruption by taking a fine and a 30 day ban, the magistrate agreed. Anyone elses opinion is irrelevent.
Good bit of publicity though...
If you are on 8 points and you are blasting about at a tonne you run the risk of a ban.
He argued that he could carry on doing his job of work with minimal interruption by taking a fine and a 30 day ban, the magistrate agreed. Anyone elses opinion is irrelevent.
Good bit of publicity though...
Lyons said:
Vipers said:
Are you for real, it's one law for all, not for the chosen few. Not saying it was dangerous or anything, but if you stopped you will probably get booked, you saying if he gets stopped again, let him off.
What's wrong uszing a track for testing?
Yep, they can use their discretion, and often do. They have when I've been pulled at something approaching that speed. Point is if he knew he was, he should have known the impact his booking would create for a Lotus company CEO. What's wrong uszing a track for testing?
I worked at Lotus Engineering from 1991 until 1995.
The B1135 between Wymondham and Hethel used to be the “unofficial” road for testing cars ride and handling, twisty in places, adverse cambers and a less than perfect road surface were the reasons that particular stretch was used.
The last time I drove down there, the road had been realigned to remove some of the decent corners, it had been resurfaced and a 50 mph limit imposed.....maybe the A11 is now the road of choice?
One particular RH corner was ruined by the farmer digging a ditch on the outside, to cats hi any cars and to prevent them ruining his crop.....didn’t do the cars a lot of good that ended up in the ditch!
PS I did my HNC with Gavan, he was an apprentice in the vehicle workshop at the time....me, a junior engineer in the base engine dept of the powertrain Office......
The B1135 between Wymondham and Hethel used to be the “unofficial” road for testing cars ride and handling, twisty in places, adverse cambers and a less than perfect road surface were the reasons that particular stretch was used.
The last time I drove down there, the road had been realigned to remove some of the decent corners, it had been resurfaced and a 50 mph limit imposed.....maybe the A11 is now the road of choice?
One particular RH corner was ruined by the farmer digging a ditch on the outside, to cats hi any cars and to prevent them ruining his crop.....didn’t do the cars a lot of good that ended up in the ditch!
PS I did my HNC with Gavan, he was an apprentice in the vehicle workshop at the time....me, a junior engineer in the base engine dept of the powertrain Office......
wobert said:
I worked at Lotus Engineering from 1991 until 1995.
The B1135 between Wymondham and Hethel used to be the “unofficial” road for testing cars ride and handling, twisty in places, adverse cambers and a less than perfect road surface were the reasons that particular stretch was used.
The last time I drove down there, the road had been realigned to remove some of the decent corners, it had been resurfaced and a 50 mph limit imposed.....maybe the A11 is now the road of choice?
One particular RH corner was ruined by the farmer digging a ditch on the outside, to cats hi any cars and to prevent them ruining his crop.....didn’t do the cars a lot of good that ended up in the ditch!
PS I did my HNC with Gavan, he was an apprentice in the vehicle workshop at the time....me, a junior engineer in the base engine dept of the powertrain Office......
Or maybe it’s just a made up story to create media coverage and help the company. The B1135 between Wymondham and Hethel used to be the “unofficial” road for testing cars ride and handling, twisty in places, adverse cambers and a less than perfect road surface were the reasons that particular stretch was used.
The last time I drove down there, the road had been realigned to remove some of the decent corners, it had been resurfaced and a 50 mph limit imposed.....maybe the A11 is now the road of choice?
One particular RH corner was ruined by the farmer digging a ditch on the outside, to cats hi any cars and to prevent them ruining his crop.....didn’t do the cars a lot of good that ended up in the ditch!
PS I did my HNC with Gavan, he was an apprentice in the vehicle workshop at the time....me, a junior engineer in the base engine dept of the powertrain Office......
Gales very clearly doesn’t drive every car and he doesn’t need to hoon on the A11. It’s a nice tail but the chap just got busted going home and it’s been spun to everyone’s advantage.
Lyons said:
999gsi said:
Why is the police officer a jobsworth for doing his job.. Are you saying it’s acceptable to drive at 102 in a 70 If you are the CEO of a car company ?.. Stupid,ignorant,comment...
Being a jobsworth is more about the lack of though and effort you put in to your job, rather than just doing it. As part of doing his job he could have used his discretion. So yes, jobsworth.100+ is acceptable to anyone who has really spent some time thinking about all the factors at play when driving fast.
Wonder what he got his 8 points for.
Anyone who regularly drives this stretch of the A11 knows that it is a very common area for the police to be conducting speed checks. After all the main police control centre is located right by the junction for Hethel. He should pay more attention when driving at high speed past slip roads!
102 mph with the boss at the wheel?
Made me smile and recount something many years ago when Ginetta were building their G10.
All Ginettas back then had their early development carried out on the then newly-built Witham by-pass near their factory.
Re the G10, it had debuted at the Racing Car Show in road car guise. The model was also down to debut race at Brands Hatch.
The race car was not drastically different from the road car, but fitted a variant of Ginetta's magnesium F3 wheels shod with racing tyres. The engine - a 4.7-litre 271hp Ford Mustang imported from the States. Ginetta themselves uprated it to 350hp using parts from FAV in Slough where the GT40s were built, with 4 twin-choke Webers, matching manifold, hotter cams and stronger con-rod bolts. Weighing in at around 900kg it should have been very quick, but the Walklett brothers who ran Ginetta were not happy with its performance.
Hurrying to complete the car it had carb trumpets protruding through the bonnet and at speed the front body shape created a low pressure area, causing atomised fuel to be drawn from the carbs to a height of about a couple of inches and starving the engine of fuel and air. The bonnet aperture was then closed and performance was then restored and (in Ivor Walklett's words):
'We then easily topped 150mph on the Witham by-pass!'
Who was at the wheel? Which Walklett? Was it the 'boss' Bob? Highly likely not! Ivor Walklett? Or was it Chris Meek? It's history now.
If you think that's a bit over the top, Chris Meek then took the wheel of this prototype G10 where it not only wiped the floor with the opposition and scored a debut win at Brands Hatch Redex Trophy for GT Cars in November 1965, Meek started on pole in the G10 winning easily in the end, beating Robbie Gordon in no less than the famous ex-Dick Protheroe low-drag competition Jag E-type. The G10 had comfortably beat what was categorically the GT racing car of that period.
102 mph by the Loti boss. Hardly moving compared to the old days.
Made me smile and recount something many years ago when Ginetta were building their G10.
All Ginettas back then had their early development carried out on the then newly-built Witham by-pass near their factory.
Re the G10, it had debuted at the Racing Car Show in road car guise. The model was also down to debut race at Brands Hatch.
The race car was not drastically different from the road car, but fitted a variant of Ginetta's magnesium F3 wheels shod with racing tyres. The engine - a 4.7-litre 271hp Ford Mustang imported from the States. Ginetta themselves uprated it to 350hp using parts from FAV in Slough where the GT40s were built, with 4 twin-choke Webers, matching manifold, hotter cams and stronger con-rod bolts. Weighing in at around 900kg it should have been very quick, but the Walklett brothers who ran Ginetta were not happy with its performance.
Hurrying to complete the car it had carb trumpets protruding through the bonnet and at speed the front body shape created a low pressure area, causing atomised fuel to be drawn from the carbs to a height of about a couple of inches and starving the engine of fuel and air. The bonnet aperture was then closed and performance was then restored and (in Ivor Walklett's words):
'We then easily topped 150mph on the Witham by-pass!'
Who was at the wheel? Which Walklett? Was it the 'boss' Bob? Highly likely not! Ivor Walklett? Or was it Chris Meek? It's history now.
If you think that's a bit over the top, Chris Meek then took the wheel of this prototype G10 where it not only wiped the floor with the opposition and scored a debut win at Brands Hatch Redex Trophy for GT Cars in November 1965, Meek started on pole in the G10 winning easily in the end, beating Robbie Gordon in no less than the famous ex-Dick Protheroe low-drag competition Jag E-type. The G10 had comfortably beat what was categorically the GT racing car of that period.
102 mph by the Loti boss. Hardly moving compared to the old days.
Mumsnet really.Hot hatch drivers exceed the quoted speed regularly on the highways,let alone cars like the 911 Turbo S.The crashes rarely happen,because somebody is speeding on a semi-deserted highway with a modern performance car.
But yes,you can get into trouble with the fuzz.I havent done high speeds on more than a few occasions throughout the years,but it would be game over if caught.If he does it regularly the cops should just turn a blind eye.Double standards or not,the Italians and the Germans do it and i havent heard about any tragic accidents,involving the test cars.
But yes,you can get into trouble with the fuzz.I havent done high speeds on more than a few occasions throughout the years,but it would be game over if caught.If he does it regularly the cops should just turn a blind eye.Double standards or not,the Italians and the Germans do it and i havent heard about any tragic accidents,involving the test cars.
Lyons said:
I rarly visit PH anymore, but when I do im surprised at the amount of brainwashed anti speed sentiment. It's really good fun to drive 100+, as long as the conditions are safe. If you don't share that opinion, then you are most probably an unskilled driver, and you have a poor understanding of the facts. This guy is clearly a more experienced and better driver than most here, and was in a very high performance vehicle, very capable at those speeds. The jobsworth of a fuzz should have known his place and let him go - I mean this guy is doing very impressive things on zero budget, ensuring manufacturing, jobs and money in the UK. I imagine and hope these statements would have some of the members of this forum ejaculating with daily express rage, which is more a mirror on their downtrodden meak existences that anything else. :P
hear hear!What a f
king place this has become. 102 mph! And the handwringers come on here, of all places, to twist about it. Go somewhere you're wanted, if you think a modern performance car on a straight road can't travel safely at that speed, you're living a world away from reality. Seriously, just go away, and let this be the car forum it's meant to be.
king place this has become. 102 mph! And the handwringers come on here, of all places, to twist about it. Go somewhere you're wanted, if you think a modern performance car on a straight road can't travel safely at that speed, you're living a world away from reality. Seriously, just go away, and let this be the car forum it's meant to be.Two camps insulting each other...
I'm in the middle on the danger aspect, depends entirely on circumstances.
That said, most people have neither have the willingness, awareness, observation or the proper understanding of probability and physics to continuously and properly asses the risks for a given set of circumstances, and therefore should be fined at 100mph+.
The law thus must err on the side of caution, speeding is very often combined with other bad and dangerous driving habits unfortunately. It's up to the cop to let people off that, through longer observation, have perfect driving manners and adapt speed to circumstances, despite the occasional formal speeding. No such call made here...
I'm in the middle on the danger aspect, depends entirely on circumstances.
That said, most people have neither have the willingness, awareness, observation or the proper understanding of probability and physics to continuously and properly asses the risks for a given set of circumstances, and therefore should be fined at 100mph+.
The law thus must err on the side of caution, speeding is very often combined with other bad and dangerous driving habits unfortunately. It's up to the cop to let people off that, through longer observation, have perfect driving manners and adapt speed to circumstances, despite the occasional formal speeding. No such call made here...
Edited by Onehp on Sunday 28th January 05:48
As a Lotus owner, I can clearly say that Gales does a great Job. Look at the recent cars - the Exige Cup 430 the Evora GT 430 - those are phenomenal drivers cars and there is plenty of people out that pay the premium price Lotus is asking now for such an „event“.
A lot of other sports cars have become to normal and numb, even a 85 year old 130kg guy can drive those and feel comfortable. There is no race car feeling anymore.
Everytime I climb into my Exige EX460 and fire it up, its an event, it feels and drives like a race car and now it can easily keep up with a 911 on the Autobahn and kills it on a country road.
With Gales Lotus is on the right path!
A lot of other sports cars have become to normal and numb, even a 85 year old 130kg guy can drive those and feel comfortable. There is no race car feeling anymore.
Everytime I climb into my Exige EX460 and fire it up, its an event, it feels and drives like a race car and now it can easily keep up with a 911 on the Autobahn and kills it on a country road.
With Gales Lotus is on the right path!
Edited by NW_GT on Sunday 28th January 06:08
Vipers said:
Article says "Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales did well to escape with a 30-day driving ban after being caught driving at 102mph and eight points already on his licence. But as he told PH when we caught up with him earlier this week, the defence put forward by his lawyer was no sob story: he really does sign off every new car personally. Ban him for six months and he can't do that.
So whats the problem, what if he is off sick, do they stop selling cars, guess not. He is a marked man now, a few more incidents and he will be banned.
Just turn a blind eye. It's one of our companies. I know the law is the law, but some intelligent latitude is required.So whats the problem, what if he is off sick, do they stop selling cars, guess not. He is a marked man now, a few more incidents and he will be banned.
Guybrush said:
Shame such a jobsworth booked him; I am pretty sure the driving wasn't dangerous. I wonder if in Italy, factory test drivers on the public roads have to worry about such a thing. I doubt it.
So anyone caught at similiar speeds on that road should not be clocked, or is it just the average driver.Edited by Vipers on Saturday 27th January 17:28
R1nur said:
Lyons said:
I rarly visit PH anymore, but when I do im surprised at the amount of brainwashed anti speed sentiment. It's really good fun to drive 100+, as long as the conditions are safe. If you don't share that opinion, then you are most probably an unskilled driver, and you have a poor understanding of the facts. This guy is clearly a more experienced and better driver than most here, and was in a very high performance vehicle, very capable at those speeds. The jobsworth of a fuzz should have known his place and let him go - I mean this guy is doing very impressive things on zero budget, ensuring manufacturing, jobs and money in the UK. I imagine and hope these statements would have some of the members of this forum ejaculating with daily express rage, which is more a mirror on their downtrodden meak existences that anything else. :P
Phew - theres more of us :-)
Heaveho said:
What a fking place this has become. 102 mph! And the handwringers come on here, of all places, to twist about it. Go somewhere you're wanted, if you think a modern performance car on a straight road can't travel safely at that speed, you're living a world away from reality. Seriously, just go away, and let this be the car forum it's meant to be.
Very well said. Thank you.king place this has become. 102 mph! And the handwringers come on here, of all places, to twist about it. Go somewhere you're wanted, if you think a modern performance car on a straight road can't travel safely at that speed, you're living a world away from reality. Seriously, just go away, and let this be the car forum it's meant to be.Robmarriott said:
oldtimer2 said:
I would have thought the proving grounds at Bedford...
Or, you know, Hethel?Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff