"PS9" (PS9)
12/20/2014 at 09:04 • Filed to: None
2
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"PS9" (PS9)
12/20/2014 at 09:04 • Filed to: None | 2
| 17 |
Pick one. The Cheyenne didn't hurt the 911, a competitor from Lotus won't hurt the Espirit (if it ever comes back). Principles are nice and all, but they don't pay the bills.
Chris McMays
> PS9
12/20/2014 at 09:10 |
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I'd have a Lotus crossover if it means that Lotus will stay alive.
Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
> PS9
12/20/2014 at 09:10 |
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It's a good idea. I just see it like a nice person who works a garbage job, doesn't make them any worse of a person you just gotta do what you gotta do.
djmt1
> PS9
12/20/2014 at 09:12 |
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I honestly don't care what else they make as long as they continue to make the cars they are known for. That said couldn't they do something else than an SUV, be creative like that wacky rumour saying McLaren would start building Hot Hatches.
OPPOsaurus WRX
> PS9
12/20/2014 at 09:35 |
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take the Lotus principals and apply to a Focus/Corolla/Sti type thing
Krieger (@FSKrieger22)
> PS9
12/20/2014 at 09:55 |
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Dany Bahar's defense of his plans at Lotus in Top Gear did mention that even Colin Chapman knew that he would need to go upmarket to survive. Controversial as Dany was, he has a point.
TractorPillow
> Chris McMays
12/20/2014 at 10:01 |
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agreed.
The Transporter
> PS9
12/20/2014 at 11:01 |
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Lotus is a brain dead vegetable on life support. They can either pull the plug or they can turn it into a mindless, crossover producing zombie. Either way, the Lotus we loved and knew has already died.
BeaterGT
> PS9
12/20/2014 at 11:27 |
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Why this no option
My citroen won't start
> PS9
12/20/2014 at 11:44 |
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Unsafe shitty chinese car Look, it's the Youngman Lotus Crossover!
Viggen
> PS9
12/20/2014 at 12:06 |
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What Lotus really needs to do is advertising. Real advertising. Remind people "Yes, we still exist and have that fun car you're looking for!"
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PS9
> The Transporter
12/20/2014 at 13:13 |
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So... Only those two options? Not a third where their mass market vehicles finance their continued pursuit of making lightweight sports cars? Corporate zombies can rise from the dead given the right conditions.
Jedidiah
> PS9
12/20/2014 at 13:15 |
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Why not make a small suv like the Suzuki Samurai or CJ? Lotus could make all kinds of awesome suspension stuff for it.
It'd be awesome.
Manuél Ferrari
> The Transporter
12/20/2014 at 13:16 |
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unfortunately I think you're right
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Manuél Ferrari
> PS9
12/20/2014 at 13:17 |
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they can it's just very rare
BlackBerry probably has a better chance of surviving then they do. And that's telling because BlackBerry is on the ropes
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PS9
> Manuél Ferrari
12/20/2014 at 16:38 |
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I don't think those two situations are comparable. Unlike a new blackberry product, a new Lotus isn't walled away from potential customers behind an ecosystem. There aren't any new smartphone customers anymore; everyone who joins your ecosystem is jumping ship from another one, and getting people to do that is really difficult given the inertia associated with using a smartphone for a prolonged period of time. Most won't abandon the time/energy/money invested in one platform to try something else. The 2 year contract compounds this problem even further; are you going to spend your only upgrade in 2 years on an unknown platform you may not like and will be stuck with regardless for another contract cycle? Most will not.
None of these issues face Lotus, who have the enviable (relative to BB) opportunity to introduce a new product to the market every model year, one customers can buy and use without being locked to any ecosystem. That's not to say there aren't significant challenges though; the Behar fiasco consumed a lot of valuable time and energy Lotus might not have been able to waste. Their product portfolio is approaching a decade old or more. Their might not be anything like it on the market, but the competition is honestly 2 or 3 cycles ahead of them. People who want a premium mid engine sports car might not want it powered by the same engine in their assistant's car, and bespoke power plants are many billions and a decade or so of development and testing away, assuming they have the cash to start right now (they don't). Cash requires new products which requires cash flow they don't have and may not get, and there might not be as clear a path for Lotus to a mass market product as their was for Porsche, a member of a huge auto production firm with almost infinity parts in the bin to play with. I want the Crossover Lotus to succeed, but if no one wants to buy it, they're probably dead in the water. (sorry for the wall of text, lol)
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Manuél Ferrari
> PS9
12/20/2014 at 16:43 |
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now i'm going to have to think hard before I respond!
I think in some ways they are comparable and that you actually gave me ideas on why they are comparable. But I need to get to a laptop to type out an eloquent response
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Manuél Ferrari
> PS9
12/21/2014 at 20:55 |
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Finally circling back to this.
I think your comment made me realize just how similar Lotus and BB actually are.
I think the car world has matured in ways similar to the cell phone world.
In the old days any company could sell a cell phone or a car. Prior to the mid 2000s cell phones and cars were not as computerized as they are today. Buyers had less of a concern about the manufacturer going out of business after the product was sold. Of course nobody wanted that. But it wasn't a big deal with cell phones as nobody really needed software updates on the old flip phones or early BBs. And cars were not rolling computers that gave the consumer transportation, bluetooth voice and music streaming, navigation with real time traffic updates, fancy turbo charged engines that benefitted from ECU updates, fancy transmissions that needed factory support if they died before the warranty was up, etc. Cars have been getting more complex for decades, but they recently got so complex that everyone fears what will happen with a new car that loses factory support.
The complexity of cars has made the factory/dealership backing like a smartphone ecosystem. Nobody wants to buy from a company that has lost its niche in the marketplace. Buying a new Lotus is just like buying a new BB - there is anxiety of whether the company will be able to stick around to support the customer. And since a car is a lot more expensive than a BB it's an even bigger leap of faith to buy from Lotus.
I think that unfortunately Lotus is a zombie with a very small chance of coming back to life. Both Porsche and Ferrari were on life support in the 90s. Porsche created the Boxster and Cayenne just in the nick of time. And Ferrari created the mass-market and (relatively) reliable 360 just in the nick of time. Had Porsche not created the Cayenne when they did and Ferrari not created a car that was more reliable and usable than the F355 when they did both of them might have died. The unfortunate thing for Lotus is that they can't turn back time. Had they made some strategic changes in the 90s then they would have had a high volume car to make money off in the 2000s and been able to sell high-margin upper end sports cars during the economic boom of 2004-2007.5 and the second boom that's happening now with the 1%ers. But Lotus has neither a high-volume product or a high-end and high-margin sports car today. China's elite don't want a Lotus - they go for the latest Lambo or Ferrari. And there are other competitors as well. There are so many competent sports cars to choose from.
The only way I see Lotus surviving is if they design a flux capacitor to mount in a Delorean so they can go back in time to change product strategies.