Harry's Garage videos - visit to Hethel and Matt Windle interview, Emira collection and drive

[Leonard]

My takeaways:

• Great video - really makes one realise the sheer amount of work involved to build a car
• Lotus have really been up against it - they are as unhappy about this delay as us, possibly more so as it is costing them serious bucks. Frustrating for all but it all made sense to me
• A lot more manual work than I thought - no idea if this is good or bad though
• We need to understand the issues and be patient - as hard and frustrating as that is

However,. there is still no getting away from the lack of clear comms and feeling like we have all be shunted down the line somewhat.

100%
If they had just communicated with us all and offered the odd snippet of content over the last 14 months to keep us engaged with the brand then I'd imagine we would all be a lot more supportive.
I'm very understanding about it all, but I'm still not particularly happy about how it's been handled.
And because we don't hear anything, here we all are pondering the seemingly endless supply of cars heading East whilst we continue to wait 'patiently' a few miles down the road from Hethel

 

[g_l9wco]

Except they are not building in sequence, so that wouldn't help. All those cars going to EU and China, plus other markets in parallel with UK. Even within UK, Harry is 333 out of 191 completed cars - how does that work? Mine is #20 but not even started build yet.

In my opinion that is disgusting from Lotus.
I'm not sure where you live @TomE But if I was you I'd be knocking down the door asking for answers.

 

[FlyNavy01]

I thoroughly enjoyed that. Respect to Lotus for sharing such insightful access to the production line. Apart from the obvious comms issues, they seems to be doing the best they can. Plus the cars look fantastic in every frame of this video.

 

[TomE]

In my opinion that is disgusting from Lotus.
I'm not sure where you live @TomE But if I was you I'd be knocking down the door asking for answers.

I’ve tried that and the door has been very firmly slammed in my face - a point blank refusal to explain why I am so far out of sequence

 

[Captain.Kirk]

Base configurator confirmed for new year as well.

Something is happening today on the Lotus configurator page. I’m in Canada and like a fool I look for a change everyday. Now there is a button labeled “Reserve” beside the “Configure” button. The “Reserve” button is new today and it takes you to an error page right now. We need a web Sherlock on this right now!
UPDATE: The regular “Configure” button now takes you to just a blank page. Either Gremlins or Lotus are playing with their site.

 

[Leonard]

I’ve tried that and the door has been very firmly slammed in my face - a point blank refusal to explain why I am so far out of sequence

I'm not sure I could stomach that Tom...
That McLaren has to be a serious temptation

 

[Rainier]

The final sentence in the video... "I was just about to draw a "

It hasn't lost any of the British manufacturing charm

 

[Mistral]

Except they are not building in sequence, so that wouldn't help. All those cars going to EU and China, plus other markets in parallel with UK. Even within UK, Harry is 333 out of 191 completed cars - how does that work? Mine is #20 but not even started build yet.

I’ve tried that and the door has been very firmly slammed in my face - a point blank refusal to explain why I am so far out of sequence

My take from the interview is that Windle tried to hide behind leaving the EU as the delay in gaining type approval, whereas the reality is that they decided to go for EU approval first, ahead of the UK, which was a separate application. Which would then explain why LHD parts were prioritised ahead of RHD and why cars are being sent to Europe ahead of the UK. Fortunately for Windle, Metcalfe didn't press as Neill or Paxman would have done.

I was supposedly within the first 300 of the V6 depositers but, like @TomE, I don't have a YouTube channel so, with a lot of the production going to China and elsewhere, I still have no idea whether I'll see a car this year, if I decide to buy it after a test drive. I'll certainly be extremely critical when that happens but we still don't know a timescale. I'm now going for eventually rather than soon.

 

[Jon_N]

I thought it was a state of the art production facility? So manual in most areas, no wonder it’s so slow….
Stated the obvious in terms of delays & you do feel for any manufacturer at the moment, the margin at current pricing must be wafer thin as it looks super labour intensive.
I’m keeping my deposit in to follow the process, but I’m really not excited anymore by the V6….

 

[andrew6382]

Except they are not building in sequence, so that wouldn't help. All those cars going to EU and China, plus other markets in parallel with UK. Even within UK, Harry is 333 out of 191 completed cars - how does that work? Mine is #20 but not even started build yet.

HI Tom.... erm... so you not even got yours yet.... if i had money on who would be getting a car.... you would be at the top of my list. If only out respect for all the fire fighting you have done for them.... Tried so many times to put a good or at least better spin on.... what little news they shared..... Sorry..... but honestly WHAT A F**k SH**. Matt..... thanked plenty of people.... but dont remember him saying sorry to those who's dreams he crushed.... I did at one point think he was good for LOTUS uk.... now... would be interesting to know how many sales the have lost....

 

[Jimblob]

Except they are not building in sequence, so that wouldn't help. All those cars going to EU and China, plus other markets in parallel with UK. Even within UK, Harry is 333 out of 191 completed cars - how does that work? Mine is #20 but not even started build yet.

I agree - our cars maybe neighbours - I was told I was #23 not that it will actually make a difference…

 

[Honeywell]

I am not sure about this building out of sequence thing. I ordered onthe reveal day and was certainly ahead of Harry BUT I am wanting a base i4 model so despite my deposit place being ahead of Harry he is of course getting his car a year ahead of me. Or does the 'in sequence' numbering account for such factors?

Personally I attach no blame to Lotus for the delays and the messy delivery and market allocation. Its not what they would have done in normal circumstances. Its a combination of massive and historically unprecedented global issues and local ones - try hiring a factory shift worth of workers right now in Southern England, there's zero unemployment.

I am not sure I really desire constant updates from them because I doubt there is much they can say on a fortnightly basis. "Ummm, this week we found out all our seatbelts are stuck in a port in China that is locked down for Covid and we have no idea when it will arrive." What am I supposed to do with that little update?

There's been thousands of Porsche customers who have had big delays in getting their cars. Then the price has jumped. Then dealers (in the USA) have applied extra price increases, and then when the cars arrive they are missing parts and features which will be retrofitted. All in all a mess. Very un-Porsche. And that's from a company that hasn't needed to commission a whole new factory for a whole new model with a whole new workforce whilst entering whole new markets (like China).

People just need patience. And in the end this whole thing will just add to the overall story of Emira and as I hope to own the car for 30 years I kind of want that whole story to be interesting. It also helps that I need as much time as possible to save up for the purchase as I work in an industry still on its backside since Covid...

On a side issue - have we ever had confirmation of what the 8 new colours are that Windle mentioned coming next year?

 

[Jon_N]

Did make me chuckle when he said they’d “sold” more cars in 12 months than in previous 5 years….. he does know that refundable “deposits” are not actual sales? Surely sales are completed cars fully paid & handed over to customers?

 

[Leonard]

I am not sure about this building out of sequence thing. I ordered onthe reveal day and was certainly ahead of Harry BUT I am wanting a base i4 model so despite my deposit place being ahead of Harry he is of course getting his car a year ahead of me. Or does the 'in sequence' numbering account for such factors?

Personally I attach no blame to Lotus for the delays and the messy delivery and market allocation. Its not what they would have done in normal circumstances. Its a combination of massive and historically unprecedented global issues and local ones - try hiring a factory shift worth of workers right now in Southern England, there's zero unemployment.

I am not sure I really desire constant updates from them because I doubt there is much they can say on a fortnightly basis. "Ummm, this week we found out all our seatbelts are stuck in a port in China that is locked down for Covid and we have no idea when it will arrive." What am I supposed to do with that little update?

There's been thousands of Porsche customers who have had big delays in getting their cars. Then the price has jumped. Then dealers (in the USA) have applied extra price increases, and then when the cars arrive they are missing parts and features which will be retrofitted. All in all a mess. Very un-Porsche. And that's from a company that hasn't needed to commission a whole new factory for a whole new model with a whole new workforce whilst entering whole new markets (like China).

People just need patience. And in the end this whole thing will just add to the overall story of Emira and as I hope to own the car for 30 years I kind of want that whole story to be interesting. It also helps that I need as much time as possible to save up for the purchase as I work in an industry still on its backside since Covid...

On a side issue - have we ever had confirmation of what the 8 new colours are that Windle mentioned coming next year?

For some of us this is our 2nd proper update in over 15 months. I'd expect more than that.
Matt just said that UK cars are allegedly delayed due to prioritising EU type approval. If that's the case they knew that months ago. If they had told us that months ago, I could be in another car now and not feeling quite so jaded (grumpy)

 

[Hedge]

Great to hear they actually planned to not get the U.K. cars out first. Their planning has been very successful in that case. Well done Lotus. Don’t know how all is idiots got it so wrong!

 

[Matthaus]

Great video and nice to see some things happening.

From the sounds of it though my last update of December for my i4 will be more like June now.

Anyone thinking the same?

2023 and full scale production can't come fast enough.

 

[Dommo]

My take from the interview is that Windle tried to hide behind leaving the EU as the delay in gaining type approval, whereas the reality is that they decided to go for EU approval first, ahead of the UK, which was a separate application. Which would then explain why LHD parts were prioritised ahead of RHD and why cars are being sent to Europe ahead of the UK. Fortunately for Windle, Metcalfe didn't press as Neill or Paxman would have done.

I was supposedly within the first 300 of the V6 depositers but, like @TomE, I don't have a YouTube channel so, with a lot of the production going to China and elsewhere, I still have no idea whether I'll see a car this year, if I decide to buy it after a test drive. I'll certainly be extremely critical when that happens but we still don't know a timescale. I'm now going for eventually rather than soon.

Someone questioned this in the comment section of Harry's video. Harry replied stating that type approval had to be done in Europe before the UK. He also said that no cars could go to the USA without every state having type approval but I queried the USA point to Harry (as cars are already being test driven there as I understand it?) but haven't had a reply!

 

[Hedge]

Someone questioned this in the comment section of Harry's video. Harry replied stating that type approval had to be done in Europe before the UK. He also said that no cars could go to the USA without every state having type approval but I queried the USA point to Harry (as cars are already being test driven there as I understand it?) but haven't had a reply!

Like when Lotus at Goodwood said DV cars couldn’t be something something and so weren’t at Goodwood this year. Then a couple of days later DV cars turn up in China.

Quite comedic really.

We just need to accept U.K. is a tiny market compared to the others.

So we should all expect Lotus to prioritise those markets for spares too.

Don’t have to accept the BS though.

 

[kenniGT]

I thought Lotus was established car manufacturer but you can not get away from a feeling it all looks like new startup. They train people how to put cars together as we speak Bearing that in mind maybe it is better to be down the queue. Lets them practice on first 1000 batch, let them send first 500 to china

 

[Mistral]

Someone questioned this in the comment section of Harry's video. Harry replied stating that type approval had to be done in Europe before the UK. He also said that no cars could go to the USA without every state having type approval but I queried the USA point to Harry (as cars are already being test driven there as I understand it?) but haven't had a reply!

I don't think that it's necessary to get EU approval before the UK. Yes, they are now separate applications but one isn't dependent upon the other. Metcalfe is surely just repeating what Windle implied, not what is true.