Not getting a First Edition model

[MPD]

Just found out I would not get a first edition model, which is disappointing considering I placed my deposit the first week of August at my local dealer and others that placed deposits later at other dealers received an allocation. It's a beautiful car, but I still think Lotus has screwed this rollout every way possible in my opinion the way deposit holders were handled regarding the date their deposits were placed and the lack of communication from Lotus. I still don't know how I didn't get an allocation from my dealer considering I was very early in the deposit placement, but I have my suspicions on others getting bumped in front of me. Needless to say, a very disappointing experience to wait 10 months only to find out you won't get a FE. Oh well, as much as I have always wanted a Lotus, I will move on to something else.

That's a bummer but as a another data point, I had put a deposit in July and originally was not in the top 30 that was the cutoff. I did get a call about 2 months ago and a couple people dropped out that decided on an i4 or wanted to wait for a base. That moved me up just barely to make it. So it's conceivable that your dealer didn't have any allocations based on your deposit in Aug BUT they absolutely should be able to tell you what # in line you were and then how many allocations they received.

It is a bummer to wait that long for sure as I had already accepted it as well but hopefully they will tweak some things on the FE once released and the base will be improved. Enjoy the 430 in the mean time :-0

 

[NicolasB]

Agree completely how bad Lotus has handled this, and continues to do so. Absolutely no communication from my dealer. They won't even tell me where I am on their list despite my asking many times. I ordered in Sept and the last I was told is that I would get a FE car in early '23.

I'll check with the dealer again, but I know I'll be told they don't know anything. If/when I found out that I will not be getting a FE car there is no way I am waiting for a non-FE car, even if it means picking and choosing the options that I want. Won't make any difference to Lotus, but no way I'll give them any business if I'm treated like that (waiting a year to find out you don't get a car that you were told you will).

Rick

They know what they are getting by now, just hoping they can give your spot to someone else for a higher price (mark-up) instead of give to you at the regular price.

 

[BuckheadBuilder]

That's a bummer but as a another data point, I had put a deposit in July and originally was not in the top 30 that was the cutoff. I did get a call about 2 months ago and a couple people dropped out that decided on an i4 or wanted to wait for a base. That moved me up just barely to make it. So it's conceivable that your dealer didn't have any allocations based on your deposit in Aug BUT they absolutely should be able to tell you what # in line you were and then how many allocations they received.

It is a bummer to wait that long for sure as I had already accepted it as well but hopefully they will tweak some things on the FE once released and the base will be improved. Enjoy the 430 in the mean time :-0

I'm surprised I was strung along for such a long time as I know how many allocations they received. I specifically asked where I was in the line when I placed the deposit as even at the initial deposit I was thinking there could be some games played later down the line. After that, I never could get straight answers. Do I think other "preferred" deposit holders were moved up in front of me? YES ABSOLUTELY 100%, but I have no way of proving that.

 

[MPD]

I'm surprised I was strung along for such a long time as I know how many allocations they received. I specifically asked where I was in the line when I placed the deposit as even at the initial deposit I was thinking there could be some games played later down the line. After that, I never could get straight answers. Do I think other "preferred" deposit holders were moved up in front of me? YES ABSOLUTELY 100%, but I have no way of proving that.

Agree that is a pretty lousy dealer to keep you hanging on for so long.

 

[Carbuilder]

Hot off the press....sort of.

Just got off the phone with Tony at Oakville Lotus, where I've got my order in. Now I don't know if what he told me applies to all North America (I think it does) or just Canada. Here is what he knows...

...nothing! Absolutely nothing!

His Lotus Canada rep knows nothing and the reps contact higher up knows nothing either. He told me that anyone that tells you even roughly when they will get a car (Canada or NA, not sure) is lying. Nobody knows at this point.

He believes, from what he has heard, that the FE car production will end at the end of 2022, maybe very early into 2023, but if you don't get your FE very early next year, you aren't getting one. Your order will be transferred to a non-FE car where you of course get a better choice of option packages and colours, but when those are coming in.....guess what.....don't know. I told him that if at some point I find out that I am not getting a car in 2023 I will likely cancel. He said he understands and "thinks" I will get a car next year. But again he said that nobody knows anything at this point. The global shortage situation is so unpredictable that Lotus does not know how many cars they will be able to produce and when.

I think this is the first time I actually talked with him. This was after my email politely asking what the heck is going on. He was a good guy to talk with and I think he was being honest. He said that if he wasn't being honest he would tell me I'll be getting a car for sure early next year. So, do I feel any better?....maybe a little.

I told him that if there is no sign of an Emira for me by next spring I may have to cancel and go over to the dark side and look at an Evora. The horror.

Rick

 

[TXEMIRA]

@Carbuilder getting an Evora would be the bright side!

#ForTheBrightSiders

 

[virtualmacho]

 

[Lotustoronto]

Hot off the press....sort of.

Just got off the phone with Tony at Oakville Lotus, where I've got my order in. Now I don't know if what he told me applies to all North America (I think it does) or just Canada. Here is what he knows...

...nothing! Absolutely nothing!

His Lotus Canada rep knows nothing and the reps contact higher up knows nothing either. He told me that anyone that tells you even roughly when they will get a car (Canada or NA, not sure) is lying. Nobody knows at this point.

He believes, from what he has heard, that the FE car production will end at the end of 2022, maybe very early into 2023, but if you don't get your FE very early next year, you aren't getting one. Your order will be transferred to a non-FE car where you of course get a better choice of option packages and colours, but when those are coming in.....guess what.....don't know. I told him that if at some point I find out that I am not getting a car in 2023 I will likely cancel. He said he understands and "thinks" I will get a car next year. But again he said that nobody knows anything at this point. The global shortage situation is so unpredictable that Lotus does not know how many cars they will be able to produce and when.

I think this is the first time I actually talked with him. This was after my email politely asking what the heck is going on. He was a good guy to talk with and I think he was being honest. He said that if he wasn't being honest he would tell me I'll be getting a car for sure early next year. So, do I feel any better?....maybe a little.

I told him that if there is no sign of an Emira for me by next spring I may have to cancel and go over to the dark side and look at an Evora. The horror.

Rick

Sorry to hear that Rick. It is for sure frustrating not knowing. It does seem odd that dealers or Lotus N/A do not know their allocation numbers for the 2023 model year. However with Matt's msg this week on delay's it is entirely possible they haven't released allocations until they are confident they can build in those numbers. I am sure they want to be able to give as many allocations as possible. Both the dealer and manufacturer are here to make money and sell as much as possible.

From what I have been able to figure out is that Lotus HQ does operate very differently from Lotus N/A. What I don't know is if Lotus N/A is in fact owned by Lotus HQ? If they are, they need to start doing some re-hiring over here. They have zero presence in the automotive community here in Toronto. Its been a year since the Emira reveal and the "new" Lotus has not changed at all.

How long ago did you place your order at Oakville? I haven't spoken to Tony since I placed my order in February this year, but I remember going to Lotus Oakville and feeling a little underwhelmed. It was the first time and only time I was there to place a deposit, not going to lie I was hesitant! Just had that used car dealer feel to it. Everyone was nice to chat with tho. I don't like to stereotype, not sure if you got that feeling as well. Either way this is my first real "sports" car that I am paying significant money for. So for me it a HUGE deal.

 

[kitkat]

Don’t have to honor any First Edition prices if there are no First Editions cars to sell.

 

[TomE]

None of the North America dealers know their 2023 allocations yet, and won't do until late Q3/early Q4 - that's normal practice. It doesn't stop them taking deposits but obviously does mean they have very little info on 2023 timeframes. I believe they've all been given a rough indication of how their 2022 allocation might scale up for 2023.

 

[mjw930]

From what I was told by a couple dealers back in March was when NA dealers were give their FE allocations they were told there were 700 / 2400 MY23 cars allocated for NA. It was unclear to me whether they meant 700 + 2400 or 2400 inclusive of the 700. It also is unclear whether any of these numbers include I4’s as it looks like the timing for NA will make these MY24 cars. I suppose it would help if someone else who heard these numbers has clarification.

If you take the under you can do some simple math to see what your dealer may get through the MY23 run.

FE’s	Base	Total
10	24	34
20	49	69
30	73	103
40	97	137
50	121	171
60	146	206
70	170	240

 

[EspritGuy]

From what I was told by a couple dealers back in March was when NA dealers were give their FE allocations they were told there were 700 / 2400 MY23 cars allocated for NA. It was unclear to me whether they meant 700 + 2400 or 2400 inclusive of the 700. It also is unclear whether any of these numbers include I4’s as it looks like the timing for NA will make these MY24 cars. I suppose it would help if someone else who heard these numbers has clarification.

If you take the under you can do some simple math to see what your dealer may get through the MY23 run.

FE’s	Base	Total
10	24	34
20	49	69
30	73	103
40	97	137
50	121	171
60	146	206
70	170	240

Interesting perspective and calculations. Admittedly math is beyond me. Wouldn't you have to factor in the present number of dealers and then account for new dealers (plans to expand the network)?
Total allocation gets spread thinner.
I want to believe Lotus learned from the original apportionment fiasco. Deposit Estimate was 2100 at the time they alloted 700, and grown from there, and that's only 2021.
Next we get into Base and i4 territory, on the heels of generally positive reviews. 2400 sure looks scant.

 

[mjw930]

Interesting perspective and calculations. Admittedly math is beyond me. Wouldn't you have to factor in the present number of dealers and then account for new dealers (plans to expand the network)?
Total allocation gets spread thinner.
I want to believe Lotus learned from the original apportionment fiasco. Deposit Estimate was 2100 at the time they alloted 700, and grown from there, and that's only 2021.
Next we get into Base and i4 territory, on the heels of generally positive reviews. 2400 sure looks scant.

Nope, don't need or care about how many dealers there are, We know that ALL dealers will share in the 700 FE's and 2400 total cars based on allocation and this is just so you can calculate what YOUR dealer should get based their FE allocation. That way if you know where you are in line you can see what the odds are you will see a MY23 Emira.

The formula is really simple:

A = FE allocations
B = Allocation Percentage (expressed as a decimal)
C = Total Allocation for MY23
D = Total Base Allocation

A / 700 = B * 2400 = C - A = D

Note, at this point I have no idea how they intend to handle I4 FE allocation so all my assumptions are V6 models in these calculations.

So, you have a dealer with 12 FE allocations, here's the math
12 / 700 = 0.017 * 2400 = 41 -12 = 29
A dealer with 26 FE allocations, here's the math
26 / 700 = 0.037 * 2400 = 89 - 26 = 63
etc.
etc.
.......

 

[Pegasi]

Hot off the press....sort of.

Just got off the phone with Tony at Oakville Lotus, where I've got my order in. Now I don't know if what he told me applies to all North America (I think it does) or just Canada. Here is what he knows...

...nothing! Absolutely nothing!

His Lotus Canada rep knows nothing and the reps contact higher up knows nothing either. He told me that anyone that tells you even roughly when they will get a car (Canada or NA, not sure) is lying. Nobody knows at this point.

He believes, from what he has heard, that the FE car production will end at the end of 2022, maybe very early into 2023, but if you don't get your FE very early next year, you aren't getting one. Your order will be transferred to a non-FE car where you of course get a better choice of option packages and colours, but when those are coming in.....guess what.....don't know. I told him that if at some point I find out that I am not getting a car in 2023 I will likely cancel. He said he understands and "thinks" I will get a car next year. But again he said that nobody knows anything at this point. The global shortage situation is so unpredictable that Lotus does not know how many cars they will be able to produce and when.

I think this is the first time I actually talked with him. This was after my email politely asking what the heck is going on. He was a good guy to talk with and I think he was being honest. He said that if he wasn't being honest he would tell me I'll be getting a car for sure early next year. So, do I feel any better?....maybe a little.

I told him that if there is no sign of an Emira for me by next spring I may have to cancel and go over to the dark side and look at an Evora. The horror.

Rick

I am really hoping that when production starts in full, whatever that means, that NA dealers can start predicting a little more. But we all know there can still be disruption.

 

[Drevil]

Also found out not getting first edition. Super disappointed . I don't understand how this process works. Can anyone fill me in? Once the FE have been allocated , when can we order base? I believe I saw some options pricing somewhere but can't recall. Why would we believe that as soon as these FEs are allocated that immediately alternative colors will be available?
Thanks!

 

[TomE]

In the US dealers started taking deposits after the reveal last July. Queues are per dealer. Once info came out about FEs being the first batch, some dealers started telling people they would get or might get FEs. But they didn't have solid info to go on.

Late last year Lotus told US dealers their allocations for 2022. These were all V6 FEs and there was a cap on the total numbers for North America of 700 - most people had not expected such a small limit, which meant only 35-50% of people who wanted an FE were likely to get one. At that point dealers should have been able to work out how far down their lists people would get an FE. Some did and told customers, some didn't. Some less scrupulous ones offered people FE slots if they paid a markup, or allowed people to move up the queue if they did.

Lotus then published a timetable to dealers on when specifications needed to be finalised. Some communicated that to customers, some didn't. It meant you had to finalise spec about 6 months prior to production completion date. At the point of finalisation (still taking place) some people dropped out, so people later in that dealer's queue could move up.

A similar process for i4 FE will start some time in the next 3 months, for build in early 2023. Lotus will also give US dealers their allocations for 2023 in late Q3/early Q4, including Base Editions.

Lotus advised in March that Base Edition options pricing would be published in September. I think that might get delayed. It will include extra colours being available for Base. The ordering process for Base won't start until after pricing, so likely to be in Q4 at the earliest.

 

[Drevil]

In the US dealers started taking deposits after the reveal last July. Queues are per dealer. Once info came out about FEs being the first batch, some dealers started telling people they would get or might get FEs. But they didn't have solid info to go on.

Late last year Lotus told US dealers their allocations for 2022. These were all V6 FEs and there was a cap on the total numbers for North America of 700 - most people had not expected such a small limit, which meant only 35-50% of people who wanted an FE were likely to get one. At that point dealers should have been able to work out how far down their lists people would get an FE. Some did and told customers, some didn't. Some less scrupulous ones offered people FE slots if they paid a markup, or allowed people to move up the queue if they did.

Lotus then published a timetable to dealers on when specifications needed to be finalised. Some communicated that to customers, some didn't. It meant you had to finalise spec about 6 months prior to production completion date. At the point of finalisation (still taking place) some people dropped out, so people later in that dealer's queue could move up.

A similar process for i4 FE will start some time in the next 3 months, for build in early 2023. Lotus will also give US dealers their allocations for 2023 in late Q3/early Q4, including Base Editions.

Lotus advised in March that Base Edition options pricing would be published in September. I think that might get delayed. It will include extra colours being available for Base. The ordering process for Base won't start until after pricing, so likely to be in Q4 at the earliest.

Tom thanks for such a clear and helpful response. I really appreciate it

 

[SemiF19]

Does anyone know what the difference is between the FE Emiras and the follow on cars (the only thing I thought I read was for the manual the follow on cars don't get the cool see through gear linkage console)? I thought I had read somewhere that the follow on cars would be cheaper? At this point I expect I'm not getting an FE car, but if the follow on is essentially the same then I'm ok with that.

 

[Lotustoronto]

Does anyone know what the difference is between the FE Emiras and the follow on cars (the only thing I thought I read was for the manual the follow on cars don't get the cool see through gear linkage console)? I thought I had read somewhere that the follow on cars would be cheaper? At this point I expect I'm not getting an FE car, but if the follow on is essentially the same then I'm ok with that.

You mean is there any options on the FE that can not be optioned out on the base Emira's? Only thing I know of is the FE badges. Everything else should be an option including the mesh for the gear linkage. But

 

[digilotus]

Does anyone know what the difference is between the FE Emiras and the follow on cars (the only thing I thought I read was for the manual the follow on cars don't get the cool see through gear linkage console)? I thought I had read somewhere that the follow on cars would be cheaper? At this point I expect I'm not getting an FE car, but if the follow on is essentially the same then I'm ok with that.

The Base Edition (no-option) pricing is cheaper than FE pricing, but Base Edition cars will only come with bare bones features. e.g. Cast alloy wheels, solid steel (one piece) brake rotors, material seats (i4 Base), no lower black pack (likely unpainted plastic), base level audio, no reverse camera or front parking sensors etc. These are listed on the Lotus website.

Once optioned up to the level of FE cars, Base edition cars will be several thousand dollars more expensive. Certainly inflation will play a part in Base edition options pricing which may make the value of FE cars even greater, but we will need to wait and see. At this stage, we're expecting Base Edition options and pricing to be released this September.