Future of Lotus

[jep 770]

2 hours ago, C8RKH said:

People are more fanatical about owning one because of the brand and the image.  They are a marketing company, a lifestyle company, first and foremost

I don't agree with this if you are saying that applies to all owners of a Porsche. I know a number of 911 owners, one of whom has owned 911 since 1970. He did not buy one in 1970 for brand or image. The others have all owned 911 since the 80's. And love them for the driving experience. 

Porsche may well have extended that to other buyers, who are attracted by the brand and image. So be it. It means they can make brilliant sports cars like the GT2's.

@The Pits I am not saying Geely will be copying Porsche at Lotus. They may be, they may not. But they have to make more than 2000 cars a year to survive. If they end up making popular cars that make money, this will I hope lead to Lotus being able to make Evora/Elise style cars also. Without some quantum, Lotus will end up making no cars.

My dream was that the Evora had been successful, a new Elise arrived and perhaps others sports cars. The Evora, a brilliant car, has not succeeded. So a new plan is needed. Same old, same old will lead to Lotus Cars oblivion. 

Justin

[Jonathan E 43]

Couldn't agree more Spinney, I'm in the same club, I've never received any marketing blurb from Lotus, yet I still get regular emails from Ford due to owning a used Fiesta for a couple of years which I had serviced at my local independent , the dealer got my email address due to a recall. I also once showed an interest in an MX5 and always get an email telling me about their up coming models. Lotus marketing philosophy certainly seems to be "Less is More".

I think the biggest problem for Lotus selling future models will be cost. My new 250 is £50k, when I first started to look at a replacement I was shocked by the costings of current models. I hadn't looked since 2004 when I'd purchased my last brand new Elise(111r) which cost a shade under £34k if you link that to inflation then £50k isn't far off and I think most would agree that your getting substantially more for your money with a 250 than a 111r. I'd have thought a future Elise will be some way North of current figures, if you really want to go mad with the options its quite easy to get an Elise to over £60k now, what I've paid is a hell of a lot of money, and is the very top of my budget. I don't think I'll be able to afford future offerings, hence me saying it will probably be my last Elise. Like most Lotus enthusiasts I'm just an average Joe, don't smoke, drink(much) or gamble, I spend my hard earned spare cash on daft plastic sports cars that have fuelled my mid life crisis for over 20 years now I suspect my new car will soon be a poor relation compared to what Lotus will produce in the future, I hope I'm wrong, at least I'll still be smiling from ear to ear. 

 

[Jcx 126]

Gosh tough crowd.  

The weekend is here guys. Enjoy the dry roads and trade some miles for smiles. 

Peace to all lovers of all cars.  

[Bibs 10,828]

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/11/business/volvo-geely-merger/index.html?

[KAS-118 229]

1 hour ago, Bibs said:

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/11/business/volvo-geely-merger/index.html?

To be honest I always thought that Geely would seek to merge their various brands - so find it a bit odd that there's no mention of Lotus or the London Taxi Company in that article?

[C8RKH 5,923]

Smart move by the Chinese. They can now balance production/sales globally and will no consolidate production capability.

Not surprised re no mention of London Taxi and Lotus as their volumes will be too small for global consolidation at the moment. However, the eastern dragon is very much in the ascendancy and how long until the west becomes the commodity labour supplier? 20, 30 or 40 years?

[Sport220 50]

Just noticed this: 6:39 "An all new Elise will be breaking cover in 2020"

 

So... Is there a chance the new car will keep the Elise name and be unveiled by the end of the year rather than in 2021?

 

Edit: Sorry, didn't know this had been posted before

Edited February 12 by Sport220

[The Pits 4,407]

Somewhere between very slim and zero chance of either of those things happening.

[Techyd 211]

Slightly off topic but in this months 'Magneto' for those that get this magazine there's a two page Lotus ad!

Its a picture of a dead straight road cutting through the countryside...the tag line in the middle reads "Bloody Romans" and in the bottom right is the (new) Lotus logo and 'For the Drivers'

So....they are spending some money on marketing!! @The Pits !  This is possibly the first I've seen outside of  Lotus magazine in some time!

[Bibs 10,828]

[The Pits 4,407]

Obviously a brand ad that might cause a few wry smiles but not very effective on its own. Brand press ads are like bricks, of limited use on their own but you can build something substantial with them over time. A brilliant product ad helps sell the thing plus build the brand at the same time but that art has been largely unlearned by the ad industry. At least this ad requires some decoding, helps build affinity and credits the reader with some intelligence, a rare thing for a car ad these days. Most seem completely at ease with just showing a picture of the car, mere awareness. What is usually lacking and what Lotus really needs are reasons to buy their cars, compelling, thought provoking arguments succintly and memorably made, ideally with some wit and charm.

A lot to ask for most marketing departments these days but as you can see, work that people respond to is easily shared. In a sea of mediocrity, the rewards for raising the bar are greater than ever. Trouble is, Zuckerberg can tell you how many people click on your FB ad, what time of day they did so, what they had for breakfast that morning and what colour underwear they are wearing so that's where most of the money goes these days. Because it's so targeted it's assumed that the viewer is already interested in what you have to sell so they do away with intrigue, insight and charm entirely.

[KAS-118 229]

Well I guess the immediate future is that as they've just bought out a 'new' version of the Evora, quickly followed by a limited Edition Elise, they should be bring out an Exige soon.....

[NedaSay 825]

The limited edition Elise is Australia only and possibly a request from the Australian importer... Phil's Evora is possibly the model that they should have never discontinued. Exige is still the biggest seller in the range.  The recent ad in a step in a possible direction but  they will need to up the ante something fierce to get traction... 

[The Pits 4,407]

Today’s Valentine’s Facebook ad is dreadful. I know it’s throwaway thing of little consequence but contrary to a popular misconception a pun is not a creative idea. It’s what lazy creatives resort to when they have no idea. This one is painful, non-sensical, amateurish and de-values the brand. The budget needs to be more wisely spent. Shame when there are so many really good agencies out there who would love to work for Lotus and a good agency wouldn’t have let this leave the building.

On a more positive note the plans for the next car if they are able to deliver them are for a much more exotic car than a Cayman. The Evora platform is exceptionally good in my experience and I the idea of a sleek 2 seater Evora based sports car has been very appealing since Dany Bahar's day. It could well turn out to be much more of a 'baby' McLaren than a Cayman clone. If so that is an area I am much happier for Lotus to be exploring. Lots can and will happen between now and launch. Evija's success will have a major influence on what happens next I'm sure. If successful it will embolden the engineering and design teams. If it goes the way of the T125 then some major changes will be taking place, further delays and the end result is very likely to be 'safer' and less bold because that's what has proven to work for that P company.

[Bibs 10,828]

[geartox 575]

Do you know if Lotus will be present at the Geneva Motorshow 2020 ?

[Bibs 10,828]

They wont be. 

[geartox 575]

Ok thank you.

[C8RKH 5,923]

12 hours ago, Bibs said:

Sorry but thought as marketing goes that is utter shite!  Just ain't feeling the love at all.

[Barrykearley 6,531]

That’s harsh - there’s a 13yr old spotty kid at the local school who’s now mortified you shitcanned their hard work

[C8RKH 5,923]

Well that kid should be thankful I was in a good mood and only gave him an E- as opposed to an F!

Sometimes I do find it hard to love Lotus as a company, I do love their cars, brand and heritage though.

[ChrisJ 1,432]

1 hour ago, C8RKH said:

Sorry but thought as marketing goes that is utter shite!  Just ain't feeling the love at all.

Glad it isn't just me then.

[Stubox 562]

16 hours ago, Bibs said:

[NedaSay 825]

Uh they were not set to be in Geneva, but by the look of it they may not be able to attend Beijing either. 

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motor-shows-beijing-motor-show/beijing-motor-show-likely-be-postponed-due-coronavirus

Do we know if they are going to attend Goodwood? it has sort of become their default event.

[Stubox 562]

Goodwood though never a cheap venue as you need to have a decent pitch and build would be a good place to see the Evora based car , especially as their ‘home’ market show looks to be postponed.