Scruff111S
Emira Fiend
In my view, at least, the fairest way for every deposit holder would have been to build in deposit order. Surely it can't be that difficult. In my case, all along i was told i was the first depositor, so as a long term Lorus enthusiast, i was excited to be privileged to be getting the first car off the line. Then the realisation hit when my car was over and over again delayed while at the same time later depositors were getting their cars. Disappointed and hurt doesn't even come close to explaining my feelings. As i have said before, i can guarantee i will never buy a new Lotus again, i did not have these problems buying used cars from dealers in the past. When i asked as to an explanation why i was unceremoniously bumped down the order, they could not give an answer, not even an apology. In my lowest moments in these proceedings, i did something i thought i would never do, i visited other manufacturers dealerships. Without exception, they told me the waiting time, build order would be in deposit order and that under no circumstances would customers be fast tracked to the front of the queue. A far cry from the Lotus policy.It's pretty sad when early depositors, forum moderators, and self-proclaimed super fans are all at the point of frustration that we're considering cancelling our orders and/or never buying a new Lotus again. It's really sad... I was so.. SOOOOOO excited when the Emira was announced (clearly), but that excitement has burned out quite a bit (almost entirely at this point). There are times when I blame myself.. thinking it's because I'm too obsessed and spend too much time on the forums talking about it everyday.. but then I hear everyone else's stories and it really bums me out. Lotus had such a great opportunity to rebrand themselves and launch the Emira properly, but it's been a let down this past year. One thing after another. Better comms could have gone a long way... maybe even had us overlook the detuned powertrain, lack of options on the First Editions (color palette, ADAS, interior features, etc), mediocre reviews and endure the continued delays... but here we are. Delays and zero communication (especially to North American buyers). My dealer won't even get back to me on updates (likely because he has none). There is no way NA production is starting this month and no way we'll actually see deliveries in March and it really sucks. If early order customers are treated like this, I can only imagine how painful warranty work, recalls, and servicing in general will be. I'm strongly considering other options, but most mean paying a lot more and giving up the manual transmission that I really want.![]()