A few simple Lotus questions - Page 2

JeremySmith · 4 Jan 2012, 01:03 (Ref:3006964)

Danny Bla Bla Bla...

Paradise City · 4 Jan 2012, 01:40 (Ref:3006974)

The day we see the back of Bahar, it'll be a good day for Lotus. Assuming Danny doesn't plan on taking the marque down with him.

**Bononi** · 4 Jan 2012, 11:06 (Ref:3007070)

I think some legends in F1 should be left alone, no matter what they make of it the glory of the past should be left untouched, if it means the use of a name then it should remain intact.

TWRv12 · 9 Jan 2012, 22:43 (Ref:3009578)

Anwar acquittal boosts Malaysia's opposition

Quote:

To the great surprise of many of his followers, Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was found not guilty of the sodomy charge brought against him by a former aide.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16465164

With the opposition set to gain more power, Proton could be in for a bit of change too.

JeremySmith · 10 Jan 2012, 01:12 (Ref:3009613)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bononi

I think some legends in F1 should be left alone, no matter what they make of it the glory of the past should be left untouched, if it means the use of a name then it should remain intact.

Thank you..

**GTRMagic** · 16 Jan 2012, 09:44 (Ref:3012213)

Proton Sold

... and it seems Lotus Cars comes with it...

Even if all the sale does is improve the um... not so good Proton cars that come here, then all is kinda ok...

wolfhound · 16 Jan 2012, 10:42 (Ref:3012234)

Here is what Joe Saward has to say on the subject.

http://joesaward.wordpress.com/

It will be interesting to see what happens to Lotus long term as it is not a natural fit for Proton, there is no real potential for synergies between the 2 car companies. I can't see a Lotus owner being proud of a Proton engine and switchgear.

Moneyseeker · 18 Jan 2012, 09:49 (Ref:3013295)

Main issue is finding someone who will bankroll Group Lotus ambitions to the same degree, which has been losing millions per year ever since Proton owned it.

Looking at the lastest car reg figures, Lotus registered (sold) just 329 cars in 2011, which was down 43% on their 2010 figures.....

P38 in workshop · 18 Jan 2012, 22:14 (Ref:3013783)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moneyseeker

Main issue is finding someone who will bankroll Group Lotus ambitions to the same degree, which has been losing millions per year ever since Proton owned it.

Looking at the lastest car reg figures, Lotus registered (sold) just 329 cars in 2011, which was down 43% on their 2010 figures.....

So in what country were these sales figures achieved?How did their global sales compare with 2010?Without more information about the performance of Lotus Engineering,its difficult to form a meaningful conclusion about the health of the business as a whole.

Moneyseeker · 19 Jan 2012, 10:34 (Ref:3014022)

Quote:

Originally Posted by P38 in workshop

So in what country were these sales figures achieved?How did their global sales compare with 2010?Without more information about the performance of Lotus Engineering,its difficult to form a meaningful conclusion about the health of the business as a whole.

These are UK car registrations. According to reports, Group Lotus made a loss of £26M in 2011 and lost £12M in 2010.

**chunterer** · 19 Jan 2012, 13:34 (Ref:3014094)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moneyseeker

These are UK car registrations. According to reports, Group Lotus made a loss of £26M in 2011 and lost £12M in 2010.

That's interesting reading, why haven't people been buying these well received, super-dupa new sportscars like the Evora and Europa that we've seen being marketed in series like GT3 and GT4 then?

Moneyseeker · 19 Jan 2012, 14:49 (Ref:3014122)

Quote:

Originally Posted by chunterer

That's interesting reading, why haven't people been buying these well received, super-dupa new sportscars like the Evora and Europa that we've seen being marketed in series like GT3 and GT4 then?

I guess if we knew the answer we would have a seat on the board. Dany Bahar believes that Lotus needs to go up market and price point to make Lotus even more niche and exclusive.

Europa is not on sale now. Evora at £50k to £60K is a big step up for current Lotus customer base and then takes you into Porsche territory - £50K for a good spec Cayman for example.

**bella** · 19 Jan 2012, 15:35 (Ref:3014136)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moneyseeker

Evora at £50k to £60K is a big step up for current Lotus customer base and then takes you into Porsche territory - £50K for a good spec Cayman for example.

i think that sums it up perfectly - how are they expecting to sell that many cars when the alternatives are an established brand name? the only thing they could do really i suppose is something like the bugatti veyron - make a car that sells at a loss immediately to build reputation for build quality and performance and back it up with some models that break even.

wolfhound · 19 Jan 2012, 18:21 (Ref:3014209)

And what was wrong with the niche that Lotus has served for the last 15 years, they had no real competition in it.

VIVA GT · 31 Jan 2012, 08:25 (Ref:3019295)

According to Auto Express:
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/au...5ca1ea24a4eaef

Moneyseeker · 2 Feb 2012, 18:20 (Ref:3020542)

Quote:

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

According to Auto Express:
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/au...5ca1ea24a4eaef

Yep, and they 'only' need £500M to fund new models....The usual contenders linked with interest in Lotus.

Marbot · 2 Feb 2012, 18:39 (Ref:3020556)

Yep! It's entirely possible that Lotus will have new Chinese owners. Who would have thought that 30 years ago?

cds_uk · 16 Feb 2012, 19:57 (Ref:3026754)

Getting back to the original post, is anybody any the wiser as to weather this Lotus will get all the Chapman wins, poles etc or will they be starting from scratch?

wolfhound · 16 Feb 2012, 20:04 (Ref:3026758)

What conection has the new Lotus team with the old, badge seems to be about it, its not built in a Lotus Factory like nearly all the other new 'Lotus' racing cars. The only racing cars that can geuinely claim the name Lotus is the Evora that races in the GT classes and an army of Elise racers but the latter don't race in top level motorsports.
I do not remember reading that Group Lotus has bought the Team Lotus name anywhere in recent times.

wolfhound · 27 Apr 2012, 10:07 (Ref:3066080)

The current group Lotus situation has been debated at Westminster recently. Joe Saward repeats what was said.

http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2012/...of-parliament/

It appears Dany Bahar has a secret plan to sell it to chinese company with a company already registered in the UK called Lotus Youngman UK Automotive Company Ltd. of which Dany Bahar is a director. Lotus could go the way of MG Rover very easily.

I do not know if this is the right place for this debate but if the mods want to move it thats ok.

wolfhound · 25 May 2012, 20:46 (Ref:3079304)

Dany Bahar has been suspended from his role as chief executive at Lotus.

No massive surprise there, I am surprised it did not happen sooner,but it still does not give any real indication of what will happen to Lotus in the future.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/99862

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