Can Lotus Blossom Again?

[3929R]

Forbes- Can Lotus Blossom Again?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/markewing/2015/01/21/can-lotus-blossom-again/

[BDA]

It sounds like Gales will be good for Lotus. Lotus certainly needs dealers in big cities! I'm not a fan of CUV's, though. I thought it was silly for Porsche to make Cayenne, but they probably do all right with them so it may actually be a good idea. I sure hope he turns it around!
 

[EuropaTC]

I also think that the new guy has a better set of ideas than has been the case with Bahar, but sadly I'm just not convinced.  Don't get me wrong, I'd love a British car manufacturer to succeed and after all the factory is in the next county to me, but I think they'll struggle even with this new push.

Last week there was an article in The Sunday Times about Lotus and one thing that really saddened me was the "improved" way forward, which turned out to be stripping a car down and deciding what to leave out or make cheaper.  For example sun visors came on the list with the comment "there's no legal requirement, therefore they go".  Now is that really the attitude to take when you're trying to take on Porsche or Mercedes ?

The problem as I see it is that these are handbuilt niche market cars and have to be priced accordingly.  The basic Elise is £28k to £35k, the Exige £52k and the Evora £52k upwards. So the base model Elise goes head to head with an Audi TT which is almost as fast but far more civilized.  Get into the higher Elise models and I can buy a Porsche which I know will have sun visors and will feel like it's been properly screwed together. (probably by a robot     ) 

I know I sound like doom & gloom but looking back this company seems to go in cycles. They design a winner (Elan/Europa) and maybe don't make a fortune but they get by. Then they go upmarket (Elite/Esprit) and sure they're good cars but they struggle to sell at the price point.  Go back to cheap sports cars (Elise S1) and they can't make them quick enough. Go upmarket......  rinse and repeat.   

Brian

[4129R]

Living on the doorstep (30 miles away), I know a lot of people who have worked there.

The waste being put in skips (dumpsters) or being broken up, would make you cry.

There is a yard full of nearly new crashed cars that could be sold for heaps, but they are scrapped.

I have heard tales of research people being told to slow down with stripping down test engines.

TVR was a very good company with a great product, and look what happened to that.

Maybe the Morgan style of company and product would work.

Maybe selling to the top end like McLaren or Ferrari (other F1 companies) might work too.

They need some real business sense from somewhere. 

[EuropaTC]

They need some real business sense from somewhere.

Never a truer word spoken. 

When I read the Times' article and then your post it just makes you want to shake someone or bang heads together in frustration. Despite my gloomy post I still think Lotus have managed to assemble some of the cleverest people in the game and the designs are often ground breaking, but for some crackpot reason they fall over when it comes to making actual cars.

Perhaps the model should be to license designs to others, after all Caterham still knock out the "Lotus 7" 30-odd years after Chapman sold it off.

I agree as well that the Morgan style might work but have doubts at the high end. In recent years the management have had their eyes on the Porsche/Ferrari market when the reality is that the cars are at the Elise S1, DIY enthusiast end, someone who won't bother too much about the lack of air-con or when the cheap window clips break and the glass falls in the door.....

Brian

[blasterdad]

Lotus should do what it used to do best, DOMINATE the F1 racing circuit.
What wins on Sunday, sells on Monday, simple fact.
Not too many people want to buy a sports car from a company that no longer races.
Lotus should look at the example of a company over here called Harley-Davidson.
Sold out to a company who could care less about motorcycles, (AMF) & ran it into the ground by just relying on the company name.
When Willie G bought the company back the heart was back in the company.
He made people want a Harley again, then put you on a waiting list to get one, which made people want one even more.
People have to want to buy your product, no matter what it is.
Lotus might be on to something by getting rid of sun visors though, it's certainly making me want to run out & buy one .
I'll bet if they get rid of other non-legal requirements such as carpeting, upholstery, & paint, the whole world will want one!

[BDA]

The lineage of the current Lotus F1 team is not really related to Lotus Cars but I agree that it would help put the name out there. Of course, they are trying. They lost some of their best engineering talent for last year and the year before, they were so broke they couldn't pay Kimi Raikkonen. It's been a hard road for them.

As for marketing their cars - as you say, blaster, you want your product to be plentiful enough to make money but not so plentiful that they are too easy to get. With the small number of cars they make, I would think they have that angle covered.

I don't know the answer. It seems like the new guy has some good ideas but Lotus has been on the verge of bankruptcy almost since it's inception. They were supposed to get a boost in the '70s when Rolls Royce was going to help with parts distribution (as I remember), then their relationship with Toyota and then GM was going to make them a going concern, then Procar... I probably missed a few... They had a pretty steady engineering contract business for a while but I think that has been It seems that been de-emphasized to build cars. It seems that no matter who owns them or what they do, they just barely scrape by as they produce revolutionary cars (and even revolutionary racing bicycles) that are almost always well reviewed, technically interesting, and unique. It may be that they are destined never to get past a cult following.

I just remembered a recent Top Gear episode (the Patagonia Special) where they were going to drive V8 sports cars from Ushuaia to Tierra del Fuego. Jeremy chose a Porsche 928, Richard chose a Mustang, and James chose a Turbo Esprit. Of course, James's choice was ridiculed since everybody knew that Loti are the most unreliable cars made - or at least not nearly as unreliable as a Mustang or a Porsche. They drove over everything, through woods, over boulders, it swamps, you name it - in typical Top Gear fashion. James Esprit was the only one that didn't need any repair! Who would have thought that?

I just hope they get their act together and continue to make groundbreaking sports cars.