Members from the Carolinas

[Porter]

I had a great time chatting with a few folks on Friday. Great drive as well. I'll post up in the test drives mega-thread when I get a chance.


Short story: no downsides to the Sport chassis on US roads as far as I can tell. I hit a pretty harsh bridge seam at 50mph and it just soaked it up. My friend's Cadillac CTS-V was far rougher over the same bridge seam two hours later. Overall a great short experience with the car.

 

[Cwolf]

I drove the Emira this past Saturday at Flow. I am 4th in line so should have mine in March/April...at least that is what I am told. My thoughts on the car. A lot of fun. Pedals are very close together. Very direct steering. Small inside, less room than a Cayman IMO. Sounds great from the outside, a lot of supercharger whine from the inside. The mat kept catching the heel of my shoe when the clutch was fully depressed. Car looks great and will get a lot of attention. No offense to anyone but not a fan of the yellow. I got the touring suspension but as another mentioned, I thought the sport set up was fine on the roads and could have gone with that.

 

[Lowtush]

Lotus Cape Fear has let me know that they'll have the demo Emira next week! I'm on the test drive list and cannot wait! Hoping I fit... I'm a big guy. Fingers crossed.

 

[rjhoskins]

I drove the Emira this past Saturday at Flow. I am 4th in line so should have mine in March/April...at least that is what I am told. My thoughts on the car. A lot of fun. Pedals are very close together. Very direct steering. Small inside, less room than a Cayman IMO. Sounds great from the outside, a lot of supercharger whine from the inside. The mat kept catching the heel of my shoe when the clutch was fully depressed. Car looks great and will get a lot of attention. No offense to anyone but not a fan of the yellow. I got the touring suspension but as another mentioned, I thought the sport set up was fine on the roads and could have gone with that.

4th?? Wow, I'm impressed. Personally I waited till I could see the car in person before reserving, therefore, I am number 83 at Flow in Winston. LOL, I will be watching and listening to everyone's review of all the different models so I can make the best decision for me. Right now it's down to the V6 with auto, or the I4 DCT. I have zero interest in driving a manual gearbox anymore since selling my '97 Supra in 2005. I love a DCT transmission (had in a GTR and the PDK in Porsche), but the I4 engine sound is going to need a miracle to sound like I'd like. Therefore, it's possible I opt for the V6 auto, but who knows.

As a Tesla owner, I am prepared for the waiting game. I waited 2 years after my reservation for my Model 3 Performance, and am still waiting for the Cybertruck since 2019. I am a very patient soul. I'm sure Lotus will test that.

 

[James DG]

Apropos of (almost) nothing, UK based but I used to work in Fort Mill. Enjoyed a trip to Charleston in a Mustang 5.0 and a blast up to the mountains round Asheville in a big old Dodge Ram Hemi pickup. Great fun. Took full advantage of the taprooms of Charlotte. Good times.

Put my deposit down on an FE Emira manual in April 2021 - still waiting - maybe January...

 

[rjhoskins]

@Cwolf and others who have reserved with Lotus Winston Salem. I'm a newb so I need some guidance. After putting the initial deposit down, what was the next step? Did Lotus Winston contact you to configure, and at that time did you put down more $?.....what's the process. If this has been discussed sorry, just can't find the details for US reservations.

 

[Aero]

@Cwolf and others who have reserved with Lotus Winston Salem. I'm a newb so I need some guidance. After putting the initial deposit down, what was the next step? Did Lotus Winston contact you to configure, and at that time did you put down more $?.....what's the process. If this has been discussed sorry, just can't find the details for US reservations.

I didnt order from Lotus Winston but if you missed the 1st Edition for your dealer allocations then you're getting a base edition and you wont 'order' or spec out your car until after Lotus releases the base edition specs/orders. Then you pay your 2nd deposit and the deposits become non-refundable. No more money is required until pickup. I heard nothing for a month or two after the initial deposit, then finally got email from Lotus confirming deposit.
Thats how is works at Lotus Nashville. I just missed their 1st edition allocations. I haven't officially ordered mine yet either. Was told at the dealer test drive I would probably submit my order to Lotus (through the dealer) in April/May 23. Ask your dealer (based on where you are in line at your dealer) when they expect that should be.
How it works for me anyway.

 

[Porter]

@Cwolf and others who have reserved with Lotus Winston Salem. I'm a newb so I need some guidance. After putting the initial deposit down, what was the next step? Did Lotus Winston contact you to configure, and at that time did you put down more $?.....what's the process. If this has been discussed sorry, just can't find the details for US reservations.

Your initial deposit with Flow is usually accompanied by an intended configuration, which you can get using the online configurator on the Lotus website. When you have it the way you want it, there's a feature to output a configuration code. You can give that to the dealer at the time you make your initial deposit.

Separately there's a formal order process that submits the vehicle order to Lotus. I don't know whether that would happen right away, or after a delay... when most of us went through the process the order book wasn't open yet so it was deposit-only. Now it might be immediate, I don't know. That order process is handled by the dealer and you give confirmation/assent during that submission process.

 

[rjhoskins]

I didnt order from Lotus Winston but if you missed the 1st Edition for your dealer allocations then you're getting a base edition and you wont 'order' or spec out your car until after Lotus releases the base edition specs/orders. Then you pay your 2nd deposit and the deposits become non-refundable. No more money is required until pickup. I heard nothing for a month or two after the initial deposit, then finally got email from Lotus confirming deposit.
Thats how is works at Lotus Nashville. I just missed their 1st edition allocations. I haven't officially ordered mine yet either. Was told at the dealer test drive I would probably submit my order to Lotus (through the dealer) in April/May 23. Ask your dealer (based on where you are in line at your dealer) when they expect that should be.
How it works for me anyway.

Yes, I am definitely not FE. So I guess I'm waiting on the base edition pricing to come down, then they will ask me to configure. Thanks!

 

[JackSlack]

Is anyone on the list at Lotus Charlotte? I've spoken to them and Flow about putting down a deposit, so trying to decide between them.

 

[benjh1028]

Is anyone on the list at Lotus Charlotte? I've spoken to them and Flow about putting down a deposit, so trying to decide between them.

I am, but didn’t make the FE cutoff. They’ve been good about communication, and their contract included a no ADM clause. Even though I didn’t get in on the FE round, they still contacted me about a test drive.

 

[DPB]

I am, but didn’t make the FE cutoff. They’ve been good about communication, and their contract included a no ADM clause. Even though I didn’t get in on the FE round, they still contacted me about a test drive.

Same here. Didn’t make the FE cut but hopefully will see Base configuration and orders starting sometime soon. I have been happy with communication given the fact that there hasn’t been much to communicate. I too was notified of test drive availability, but I was out of town and not able to participate.

 

[rjhoskins]

Is anyone on the list at Lotus Charlotte? I've spoken to them and Flow about putting down a deposit, so trying to decide between them.

I spoke to Daniel M. from Charlotte, and Ken S. from Flow Winston. Both very accommodating and answered all my questions. Ended up going with Flow Winston just because they are about an hour closer to me. IMO can't go wrong with either one.

 

[JackSlack]

I spoke to Daniel M. from Charlotte, and Ken S. from Flow Winston. Both very accommodating and answered all my questions. Ended up going with Flow Winston just because they are about an hour closer to me. IMO can't go wrong with either one.

Thanks to everyone who provided info, much appreciated. I spoke to Ken and Daniel and had similar experiences with both, so good to hear the same from others.

 

[benjh1028]

Yeah Daniel has been great and heard the same about Ken.

 

[Jabberwocky]

I've got an allocation for a V6 FE MT at Lotus Charlotte, working with Daniel. Current delivery timing is April/May '23. They've been great to deal with. Quick responses, friendly, knowledgeable. The demo drive was fun (despite the poor weather). I live in S. Charlotte area so the dealer is a close 20 min drive away.

 

[JackSlack]

I've got an allocation for a V6 FE MT at Lotus Charlotte, working with Daniel. Current delivery timing is April/May '23. They've been great to deal with. Quick responses, friendly, knowledgeable. The demo drive was fun (despite the poor weather). I live in S. Charlotte area so the dealer is a close 20 min drive away.

Thanks - I just sent in my deposit paperwork to Daniel. So now the wait begins!

Do you know which suspension you drove? Curious if that influenced your order decision.

 

[rjhoskins]

@JackSlack What's your reservation number with Charlotte out of curiosity.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Thanks - I just sent in my deposit paperwork to Daniel. So now the wait begins!

Do you know which suspension you drove? Curious if that influenced your order decision.

The demo was the sport suspension with Goodyear tires. Coincidentally the same as how I equipped my build. I had the test drive in November and locked my build spec in May (I sent in my deposit paperwork in '21). Since it is locked, I didn't think I could change anything at this point but I was happy with how it drove in the rainy and chilly conditions.

Good luck! Will be exciting to see some US customer deliveries starting soon.

 

[JackSlack]

@JackSlack What's your reservation number with Charlotte out of curiosity.

I haven't gotten an official one yet, as I just sent the paperwork this morning and haven't heard back from Daniel yet (and may not until after the holiday). When I spoke to him earlier this week he said they had their 14-ish FEs already spoken for, plus another 40-ish on the list. They are hoping to get 4 cars/month after the FEs, so he figured 12-18 months from now for mine if that number holds. Ken @ Flow was a little cagier and didn't provide info on their waitlist size.