Lotus Driving Academy closed today.....

[ramjet]

Fair enough. If it is shedding for a sale though, he must be marching to someones directive. No?

[Arregueti]

No plans to open up again? Seriously?

I agree it looks neither smart nor encouraging for the brand. More so, now that they are 30-40% cheaper for non-U.K. potential clients?

Made worse by the lack of information. Without any explanation it does indeed look as if JMG is on (short term) mission...

 

[JayEmm]

He can release as many press releases as he likes trying to pretend it's all sunny at Hethel, but every time I phone them up someone else has been fired/transferred/had their department closed.

These are not the signs of a company "doing better than it has for 20 years" or whatever.

Some stuff I get - stopping F1, fine - closing the regent street shop, of course.... but closing motorsport and closing the academy make no sense.

As a new Lotus owner, one of the questions most frequently asked is "have you taken it on track?" - Lotus and tracks go hand-in-hand. It's in the breeding.

[Andrew C]

I am sorry to say I saw all this coming a year ago. It is a total disgrace the way JMG is running the company into the ground. The way he has treated the staff and the fear that he runs the company by. It will look good on paper but inrealality  it is in the worst position it has ever been. You think I joked about bringing back Danny. Let's hope a buyer comes forward soon and first thing to do is  bin wee Hitler. 

[fmxa]

Most of this forum ragged on DB to the extreme and then heralded JMG as their new savior who could do no wrong. Well, looks like you're finally seeing JMG's long term plan of getting ready to package Lotus for sale to the highest bidder, which doesn't include academy or motorsport as it would be seen as a nuisance to overseas buyers who would have to close these niche units themselves.  Odds are good this eventual sale will mean an end to manufacturing at Hethel or even in Europe.  You don't need to be a genius "City Boy" to see what's going on here ...

DB had a vision of what the Lotus brand could be. I enjoyed the short period it lasted, and I truly thought it was the beginning of the prominence the Lotus marque truly deserved. At the end of the day, all JMG has provided are rehashes of played out models focused on "special editions" (new stickers, paint and few mechanical tweaks).  The writing is on the wall with another nail going in the Lotus coffin as a UK manufacturer.

I know, call me a heretic for liking DB and his vision, but at the end of the day I've moved on to other marques as Lotus has no true "super car" similar to what the Esprit was.  I'll always keep my trusty pearl white V8, and keep answering the usual questions - "Lotus, who makes that?" or "Is that a Lamborghini?" but personally I've moved on from tramping around in a wet field celebrating the 75th anniversary of some past Lotus glory, especially when other marques are doing true world class events closer to home.

Sad days for all my dear friends at Hethel, these guys are truly talented and like family to me, I worry for them with all this uncertainty.

[JayEmm]

Well if DB hadn't been quite so keen on setting fire to his own house before he'd moved out, he could have been in a job for life... by all accounts his Esprit was not a million miles from completion, but his Lotus was hemorrhaging money far too fast. £200m+ in however many years it was, I'm not surprised that Proton hired the stingiest bean counter they could find, I am sure some people had to fight very hard to keep the doors open at all and no doubt Lotus has more than one Malaysian fairy Godmother.... 

[TBD]

I would question whether the Academy and Motorsport were actually profitable. They might have provided a contribution margin, but it is questionable as to whether thy could cover their full cost. 

Clearly JMG is stripping the company down to its core business as a carbuilder, focused on getting this profitable. Particularly if he is equally looking for a buyer. In contrast to DB he does have a proven business track record.

[JayEmm]

Someone correct me if I am wrong here, but Lotus has NEVER been profitable as a car-maker alone... the way I understand it Chapman wanted to go racing, then built road cars to help cover those costs... then did engineering consultancy to cover the road car costs...

I thought by far the biggest money-spinner at Hethel was always the R&D department, a nice contract from GM or someone is going to be a lot more useful than 100 more Evoras sold

[JayEmm]

@Buddsy was that just from the cars though? I know Lotus accountancy is something of a dark art, I was under the impression the road car side was always "subsidised" to some extent.

I guess pre-orders for that fancy new-fangled Esprit might have helped back then

[Bibs]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/7724535.stm

Recently under MJK... 

[Parramint]

Why less than a year ago was Gales offering the Academy as a franchise option.....I'm guessing the people who signed on the dotted line are 'feeling happy'.....lots of smoke and mirrors. 

[mawheele]

But JMG said he was the only one to post a profit :-) 

Cost cutting is not how you run a car company. They are money Pitts. He is on a ebitda neutral bonus I'm guessing.

As above, only DB had a defined plan for long term success. And some of the industry's best talent joined him, so he wasn't an idiot. He's shown with his current venture, Red Bull and Ferrari, introducing its most profitable platform he had business acumen, balls and vision.  Switching things off is just an email to HR.

[RODOLPHESPRIT]

do you thinck they close all the lotus driver academy schools?

we had one in the south of france

[The Pits]

While it's refreshing to see some Danny Bahar fans in the house, and I totally agree that a bold vision is what Lotus needs and deserves, the man very nearly sank the whole company and was absolutely burning through cash (both at work and in his spare time) that really could have changed things for the better at Hethel. Heck, Lotus have made entirely new models for less than his helicopter expenses on their own!

Just because JMG is cutting the company back to the bone doesn't, in any way, excuse the corruption and scandal of what Dany Bahar was getting up to. His grand vision went up in smoke pretty quick when they started asking questions about his bathroom.

JMG's approach doesn't sit well with me either, axing the Academy and Motorsport is terrible news (for Lotus as much as us) but we simply don't know what his Malaysian masters are insisting upon. Bahar may have talked big about his new vision but his antics effectively killed off the possibility of any such thing for any successor. Thanks to Bahar, visionaries are the last thing Lotus are looking for.

The whole Malaysian thing didn't work out. The sale can't come soon enough. The trouble is, the industry is looking towards autonomous cars and hybrid tech. The (frankly quite baffling) success of the BMW i8 has shown that the punters think such things are cool and futuristic. As long as it looks cool they don't care too much about what's underneath. Hybrid, as you all know is not, in any way, a lightweight or efficient solution but if that's what the punters want, that's what they'll get. A small, simple, efficient, petrol powered sports car makes far more sense to engineers and for the world but hey look this two ton tub of lard has got an ipad in the dash, woo hoo! But since when did making sense have much to do with it? An estate car makes far more sense than an SUV and look what's happened to them...

[RODOLPHESPRIT]

do you know if the driving academy will close in france too?

[Bibs]

No one knows for sure, but being a franchise there would have been a term agreed. I'd imagine unless Lotus pay a termination fee, it's going to be open until that is up. 

[RODOLPHESPRIT]

well well, its a very sad news.

[Snoopy1969]

Do I get this right - no Cup cars in the future due to Lotus Motorsport closed? If that would be the case.................hmmm - I was always thinking that an Evora Cup (something like the exige s Cup not like the Evora 410) would have been a great one....

[The Pits]

At the moment the answer to any questions about closures is almost guaranteed to be 'yes'. Sad times. Very frustrating too, I really believe that more and more people are finally starting to 'get' what Lotus are about. Also that a car that can do 8 zillion mph isn't really that much use at the end of the day. The E400 is a slow burner but is getting more an more people to Lotus who've never had one before. The wholesale move towards electric steering and paddleshift autos is also driving people towards the Exige. There are still people out there who want something more pure, raw and connected to drive in their spare time. Any they are starting to realise that 'nobody does it better'

I'm sure there will still be 'Cup' cars but they will just be assembled on the regular production line. No doubt the argument is that the whole of Lotus is like someone else's 'motorsport' department and there is much truth in that. But I for one will miss the genuine Motorsport cars that were finished and developed by motorsport grade engineers. I doubt many others will miss that or even care about the significance of it but Russell and the team were first rate in every regard. Rupert Manwaring was one of Senna's engineers for crying out loud! I have no idea what they're going to do with him but that's the calibre of the people that used to be behind the 'Cup' cars. The badge will continue but it won't have the same significance for me at least.

 

[CaptainSlow]

10 minutes ago, Snoopy1969 said:

Do I get this right - no Cup cars in the future due to Lotus Motorsport closed? If that would be the case.................hmmm - I was always thinking that an Evora Cup (something like the exige s Cup not like the Evora 410) would have been a great one....

I second that. I still find it annoying that you can't fit a harness bar and a 6-p harness in the car. I've asked the Motorsport guys about having a rear half roll cage but the answer was no. Only full roll cage was available which isn't very well suited for road usage (actually illegal in Sweden on the road).

[LF1]

6 minutes ago, The Pits said:

I'm sure there will still be 'Cup' cars but they will just be assembled on the regular production line. No doubt the argument is that the whole of Lotus is like someone else's 'motorsport' department and there is much truth in that. But I for one will miss the genuine Motorsport cars that were finished and developed by motorsport grade engineers.

I tend to agree, I don't really see this as a bad thing for the future of Cup cars. Once Lotus realised what a cracker the Elise S Cup was it moved to the production line and became the 220, I don't know but I suspect the 250 is also. I don't see how this means the cars will be any less, surely the same boffins can design and develop them.

[blindside]

Any successful business is all about a balance of skills wedded to strong leadership and a clearly articulated vision that customers and employees alike can identify with.

Lotus have evidently gone from one extreme to the other with their senior leadership and strategic direction in recent years. Closing stuff down that directly represents what Lotus stands for as a car making business may well represent a short term cost saving gain for JMG and the gang. But it will further erode their long term credibility and niche market share. I am very possibly a typical new Lotus customer (middle aged brand agnostic car nut at a stage of life where it is possible to afford a new sports car). The motorsport heritage, the opportunity to directly relate to the marque and improve knowledge via a driving skills academy were significant incentives to buy and stick with ownership in future. Why don't they engage in any research with their existing & new customer base to better inform decisions like this? Very shortsighted. 

Let's not forget about the staff! Customers who love cars will buy from manufacturers (and dealers) that they can identify with and trust. I am new to Lotus but the number of the comments on here from Lotus ownership veterans about individuals who work/worked in Motorsport and the Academy is testament to the quality of those people. Once you lose that kind of experience, loyalty and commitment you cannot replace it without great difficulty. Customer facing staff like that are the best brand ambassadors you will ever get!

Lets just pray that the new owners, (whoever they turn out to be), have the ability to strike the right investment balance; with the right kind of leadership commitment before its too late.

[JayEmm]

Noticed today the Lotus shop @ the factory is now only open one hour a week. 3-4pm on Wednesday.

[Bibs]

It's been like that for about a year, coincides with the timing of the factory tours.

[JayEmm]

A fortnight ago it was open 6 hours a week - 12-2 Tuesday and Thursday, 2-4 Wednesday. Has been like that for as long as I've been visiting the factory, until this week.

Factory tours have surely stopped with the closure of the academy?