Lotus Mismanagement?

[cliff]

An interesting article by Mike Lawrence on Pitpass.

http://pitpass.com/46803-Lotus

[hatters]

Very interesting indeed I wonder how it will end ,things aren't looking good at the moment

[Nickydee]

I an not saying things are rosy at Lotus as clearly they are not but anything Mike Lawrence writes should be taken with a pinch of salt. His style of journalism borders on the tabloid or even internet troll level . He has upset a lot people over the years with his "reporting" as a quick Google search will show.

[MPx]

I've been keeping as close an eye on this as I can given no real insider contacts. That Lawrence piece is very glass half empty, but most of it based around what I understand to be "facts".
The five car line up announced in 2010 wasn't "funded" in detail and several of the models quickly fell into "delayed" status.
Bahar did get his rented house renovated for nearly £400k.
He and/or Lotus are being sued by a builder for non-payment of nearly £100k.
The sale from Proton to DRB-Hicom did entail a period of due diligence (a Malaysian protocol for major takeovers) which entailed a freezing of funding for a period of months. This meant suppliers weren't paid, and that production was curtailed, particularly affecting the newly annouce Exige S which was a bit of an own goal to say the least!
The only bit that seems completely at odds with other stuff I've read is "staff are being laid off". I had though that production was ramping up and more staff being taken on (this is from reports in the local Norfolk press - but there may have been others suggesting a reversal that I've not seen).

What's not mentioned of course is any of the good stuff. The MY12 cars are a significant step up in fit/finish and refinement - one of Bahar's obsessions. The "brand" HAS started to move into a different market - away from us enthusiats who look for value and engineering more towards the looks and labels brigade (who tend to have more money!) I dont like that, but I recognise it as a place where there's more profit. Again a decision I thought daft given development costs etc, but the new in house engine has been running for some time now and is reported as meeting performance targets. The new Esprit has been built in pre production form. "Buying" (or not!) some sponsorship of the Renault team has produced more Lotus TV time than Caterham have managed and the looks and labels brigade have noticed. So the Bahar legacy is a lot of debt but a lurch upmarket or at least to a different/wider market. So ther's a real opportnity there.

IMO if DRB continue on a similar path at a more sensible pace, we could have some really aspirational cars to come....but if they just keep Proton and flog Lotus to the Chinese, things could get a whole lot worse yet!

[epipete]

The whole China thing is murky but, if development (and some production) were to remain in the UK, that might be, whilst not the best, an equitable outcome. The Chinese don't have an equivalent 'super car' marque so might be keen to invest!

But what do I know, probably talking bull?!?!

[Nickydee]

At last a more positive Lotus news story - okay maybe a bit of spin but at the very least it looks like the new owners are trying to ensure the Government funding already offered is still available. If they were simply going to pull the plug surely they wouldn't bother.


http://www.edp24.co.uk/business/group_l ... _1_1451190

[tweetdriver63]

This article almost made me cry. I do like the observation that it's too bad there's so much trouble with the company financially at the very time that they are making probably the best cars they've ever produced.

http://skiddmark.com/2012/10/is-drb-hicom-fiddling-while-lotus-burns/

[chipp]

At the moment Lotus have three very saleable cars on offer. Hopefully they will sort out there chain of supply so they can get the Exige S out to its customers, then start to pick up some better press reports and more confidence from potential purchasers. If they can then steady the ship for a couple of years they then may be able to press on with extending the existing range or add to it (Esprit) Or maybe sell on again to a company that actually want to have Lotus in their portfolio.

chipp

[DeanG]

I haven't been this depressed over Lotus since Colin died.

[superbad]

I haven't been this depressed over Lotus since Colin died.

I know, it looks pretty grim, doesn't it?

[tweetdriver63]

I think the current cars are among the best ever produced at Hethel. It really sucks that this is the time when things aren't going well financially and there are so many problems with suppliers. Somebody really needs to step up and save this incredible company and these great cars.

[tweetdriver63]

A few days ago, I was in Dallas, so I did a little sight-seeing. The attraction is called Park Place Lotus. Haha.

Anyway, I had a pretty good conversation with the sales manager. I came away feeling a bit better about the future.

First of all, I had thought the decision to stop importing the Elise/Exige to the US, and only sell the Evora was an indication of bad times, and only having one vehicle in the line-up might spell doom, at least in North America. As it turns out, that decision wasn't really any kind of marketing decision. Turns out the Elise and Exige had been given an exemption by the US Gov because they don't meet safety standards, due to the type of airbags they have. That exemption ended and the only way to keep selling them would be a very expensive re-engineering to bring them up to code. Lotus simply couldn't afford to do that, and since those cars have been around a while and the Esprit is almost ready to go, along with the next generation Elise (both of which meet the standards), Lotus just decided to go Evora only for a couple of years.

This guy thinks the company will weather the financial times and he'll have Esprits and Elise (we'll call them) S2's to sell in the near future.

I sure hope he's right.

[MPx]

This guy thinks the company will weather the financial times and he'll have Esprits and Elise (we'll call them) S2's to sell in the near future.

Lovely though it is to hear some positives, sounds like typical Salesman BS optimism to cynical old me - Esprit dev all but stopped and new Elise canned some time back. FWIW any new Elise would be at least S3 - the S1 had round lights, the S2 had slitty lights....

[theelanman]

FWIW any new Elise would be at least S3 - the S1 had round lights, the S2 had slitty lights....

lol....I think that might not apply to the US......dont think they got the original s1 with the round lights.......

[tweetdriver63]

This guy thinks the company will weather the financial times and he'll have Esprits and Elise (we'll call them) S2's to sell in the near future.

Lovely though it is to hear some positives, sounds like typical Salesman BS optimism to cynical old me - Esprit dev all but stopped and new Elise canned some time back. FWIW any new Elise would be at least S3 - the S1 had round lights, the S2 had slitty lights....

Well, since he knew I wasn't there to buy anything, he didn't really have any reason to be blowing sunshine up my ass about the company. I prefer to think he's right. It feels better that way.

BTW, I thought it was amusing that all of the Evoras were plugged into electrical outlets to keep their batteries charged. I didn't see any of the Jaguars or Maserattis needing that. Just struck me that no matter how sophisticated the Evora is, it's still a quirky Lotus at heart. Haha.

[tweetdriver63]

FWIW any new Elise would be at least S3 - the S1 had round lights, the S2 had slitty lights....

lol....I think that might not apply to the US......dont think they got the original s1 with the round lights.......

You're right there. I guess I should have called it the Federal Elise S2? We didn't get the actual S1 in the US. They started selling them here with the 2005 model 111R, or Federal Elise, and it was definitely the S2. Never got the round headlights here.....thankfully....

[Rusty Wishbone]

I occasionally hear that the Esprit is almost ready for production, but there is little evidence of this. Lotus is effectively on life support at present and in no position to develop a new car, even one as important to the company as the Esprit. In effect, Lotus is a car company without the wherewithal to develop a new car.

I hope that Lotus pulls through, but it needs a sugardaddy, and it is too early to say if the current owners are that.

[Fubar1764]

Since we're talking about an Elise S3, the new Esprit, and other pipe dreams, I'll add another 2p. Ford buys Lotus. Think about it. Ford doesn't have a halo brand, since it divested RR, Aston, and Jag, and stupidly unloaded Volvo, which they're still regretting. With Lotus, Ford would have a halo product with which they could build up a la Aston. There's a Fiesta-based Cortina somewhere around here. . .

[rob/d]

I would love to see FORD and Lotus getting it on again .
I would like to see a small ford eco boost 2 seater with 199 BHP to sit between mx5 and boxter / z4 .
Small form ,high tuned ford tough running gear with proper lotus chassis and handling .
Sweet.
Keeps the meanie greenies happy with 70 m.p.g. too, for what it's worth .