Super Confused about the point of ordering?

[xen]

My $0.02:

1. The configurator for me is less about pricing and more about having something while we wait to see a car.

2. The US Allocation methodology is flawed. Majorly flawed. IF what we are hearing is true that it’s not one big line but several lines…

3. I’m still excited. It is what it is. Nothing is permanent and I can back out at any point at this time. I’m in for an interest free loan of $2,500…

Maybe just $0.01.

I don't follow how it's flawed. Isn't this how allocations work with pretty much all dealers? A fixed allocation to the region and dealers notified of the number of allocations they have monthly / quarterly and they run down their lists accordingly. Larger dealers get larger allocations etc

A limited production of FE cars sounds much better to me than a production window - which doesn't really make sense. If everybody and their cousin orders a first edition by March then almost all Emira's produced for the first 4/5 years will be FE cars!

 

[TomE]

yeah saw that but there is no break down yet on like the kef system cost or the drivers pack cost .

Pricing for Base Editions and individual options is coming in 2-3 months

 

[darkling]

thx tom

 

[TXEMIRA]

I don't follow how it's flawed. Isn't this how allocations work with pretty much all dealers? A fixed allocation to the region and dealers notified of the number of allocations they have monthly / quarterly and they run down their lists accordingly. Larger dealers get larger allocations etc

A limited production of FE cars sounds much better to me than a production window - which doesn't really make sense. If everybody and their cousin orders a first edition by March then almost all Emira's produced for the first 4/5 years will be FE cars!

Let’s say I’m in Texas and I put a deposit on a car in July and someone else is in Maryland and puts a deposit on a car in New York in September.

The New York deposit could get them a car sooner OR could even get them an FE when I do not get one even if my deposit was done 3 months prior.

The flaw is that most FE depositors would pay the $1,500 extra for shipping in the US to have a car vs not have one.

The secondary flaw is the dealers aren’t really in service relationships as much as brokered relationships.

If someone has multiple dealers near them and shopped for the shortest list they can buy the car there but service it elsewhere.

Just like portapotty lines at a concert. You can queue first and piss last of you happen to get in the wrong line behind the wrong guy at the wrong time.

 

[GatorMotorsport]

Thank you very much for replying and informing.

So, if i "build" a car on the configurator, there really is no point right? I mean, i cannot get an FE as I just put a deposit down yesterday. What am I actually ordering? I would love to choose my options and car, but that will never exist as selected, right?

If you submitted a configuration code when you submitted your deposit, it was to let Lotus know the interest in certain colors and specs to properly gauge what the demand was looking like for production. Your build spec is not finalized until you order your car when your dealer has an allocation for you.

The FE options you're choosing will be available (plus some) on the base model cars. But most of those options will be cost options (i.e. caliper colors, interior choices, etc.).

Hoping to get news soon on when the configurator will be updated with the V6 base model and the I4 FE.

 

[p.rob]

Great info @GatorMotorsport.

I was told the same by my local dealer about the 700 allocations for north america. If you do the math, that should come out at about 10 to 20 allocations by dealer, depending on how Lotus will decide to shuffle the allocations between the dealers.

 

[darkling]

can't really do it that way tho p rob my dealer is #3 in allocation in the country so the chances on people on the list of getting a fe are greater then lets say a dealer sitting at number 20.

 

[TXEMIRA]

can't really do it that way tho p rob my dealer is #3 in allocation in the country so the chances on people on the list of getting a fe are greater then lets say a dealer sitting at number 20.

The whole dilemma is getting into a line that isn’t a line.

“How does the line work in the US?” is the only question Lotus needs to answer clearly and directly simultaneously to all US depositors.

We shouldn’t all hear from our different dealers about this.

We shouldn’t hear it here on this forum before we hear from our dealers.

We should know how it all works when the dealers know how it all works. Then we can make decisions from there. Until then it’s all unclear.

 

[Corkdsp]

If your position on your USA dealer list is 20 or higher sounds like best to wait for the base model and pick your own options. I am number 19 and will be at the end of the FE run most likely so rather save some $$ on options and wait a few extra months and get the base V6 with only the options I want.

 

[p.rob]

can't really do it that way tho p rob my dealer is #3 in allocation in the country so the chances on people on the list of getting a fe are greater then lets say a dealer sitting at number 20.

Yes i totally get that, that's why I said somewhere between 10 and 20 depending on how lotus shuffles allocations between dealers (taking into account their ranking/relationship with the constructor)

It's a guesstimate, but sounds about realistic.

 

[TXEMIRA]

If your position on your USA dealer list is 20 or higher sounds like best to wait for the base model and pick your own options. I am number 19 and will be at the end of the FE run most likely so rather save some $$ on options and wait a few extra months and get the base V6 with only the options I want.

That math won’t calculate until we have more information.

Imagine a dealer that has 40 deposits and they were all in July.
Then picture another dealer that has 30 deposits of which 10 were in July and 20 were after.

If #21 with the first dealer with a July deposit has to wait longer than #11 at the second dealer with an October deposit simply because of the dealer they chose - the fan will be covered in sh!t.

Now take that same scenario and role play being the customer service person from Lotus trying to explain to the #21 person from the first dealer that they don’t even get an FE.
Good luck.

It just wouldn’t make sense and Lotus needs to be ready to explain the math along with the process. I hope they’re ready to go over all of it.

 

[p.rob]

I think you need to come to the evidence you are doing business with a dealership, not with Lotus directly.

There is a lot of political behind the scene in every brand. Lotus has no choice to reward dealers that have been supporting the brand and have been performing well in the last few years. Most dealers that ordered 15 evoras GT last year are expecting having some kind of reward for taking that risk, they are expecting more allocations than dealer who ordered 2. That's how it works. They have more than enough deposits to sell all allocations, I'm 99% sure they'll go the same route as evey other brand out there, the best performers will get more allocations.

I guess time will tell

my 0.02$

 

[TXEMIRA]

I think you need to come to the evidence you are doing business with a dealership, not with Lotus directly.

There is a lot of political behind the scene in every brand. Lotus has no choice to reward dealers that have been supporting the brand and have been performing well in the last few years. Most dealers that ordered 15 evoras GT last year are expecting having some kind of reward for taking that risk, they are expecting more allocations than dealer who ordered 2. That's how it works. They have more than enough deposits to sell all allocations, I'm 99% sure they'll ge the same route as evey other brand out there, the pest performers will get more allocations.

I guess time will tell

my 0.02$

I agree 100%.

Depending on how it goes, as long as 50.01% of people are happy - that’s a win for Lotus.

If I’m not happy then I’ll have to deal with it for sure. Hoping I’m not in a weird spot or unhappy simply because I didn’t play the game and call the #1 dealer in the US or the newest dealer in the US or put down multiple deposits.

Hoping Karma plays and pays off.

 

[scoates]

I think it should technically be possible to have a fair allocation of the FEs, but it will depend a lot on the individual dealers being honest with their deposits and keeping good information on the depositors.

If Lotus, before allocating the FEs to each dealership, were to ask for each dealer to send them the details of deposits placed and when, then they would be able to have at least a base level of information to allocate. Each dealer should have the dates of each of their deposits saved somewhere, and if Lotus can collate all the information then a cutoff for when the first 700 are gone should be made e.g. mid November, and all deposits placed before that will have the opportunity to be an FE, regardless of which dealer it was placed at, and if they want to wait then the next deposit, even if the other side of the country, should fall into their place.

It seems like that would be the fairest way, but not sure if that kind of thing is feasible though...

 

[p.rob]

I agree 100%.

Depending on how it goes, as long as 50.01% of people are happy - that’s a win for Lotus.

If I’m not happy then I’ll have to deal with it for sure. Hoping I’m not in a weird spot or unhappy simply because I didn’t play the game and call the #1 dealer in the US or the newest dealer in the US or put down multiple deposits.

Hoping Karma plays and pays off.

I wish you all the best. Honestly, I did not have to worry about that too much, there is only one dealer in my province only 5 in Canada lol

 

[TomE]

I think it should technically be possible to have a fair allocation of the FEs, but it will depend a lot on the individual dealers being honest with their deposits and keeping good information on the depositors.

If Lotus, before allocating the FEs to each dealership, were to ask for each dealer to send them the details of deposits placed and when, then they would be able to have at least a base level of information to allocate. Each dealer should have the dates of each of their deposits saved somewhere, and if Lotus can collate all the information then a cutoff for when the first 700 are gone should be made e.g. mid November, and all deposits placed before that will have the opportunity to be an FE, regardless of which dealer it was placed at, and if they want to wait then the next deposit, even if the other side of the country, should fall into their place.

It seems like that would be the fairest way, but not sure if that kind of thing is feasible though...

Car sales in the US are very different to the UK. Some things Lotus might want to do to be fair overall to customers aren’t allowed. Bizarrely this is because of laws originally designed to protect consumers.

 

[Porter]

Imagine a dealer that has 40 deposits and they were all in July. Then picture another dealer that has 30 deposits of which 10 were in July and 20 were after.

If #21 with the first dealer with a July deposit has to wait longer than #11 at the second dealer with an October deposit simply because of the dealer they chose - the fan will be covered in sh!t.

If this literally comes to pass and a customer like me doesn't get an FE allocation at #7 on my dealer's deposit list (deposited during Goodwood weekend) while elsewhere some latecomer who deposited 2 months later gets the car, it would be a gross violation of customer trust.

I could see Lotus exposing themselves to some legal risk here, if they don't handle it properly. They issued sequential reservation numbers to depositors via email, remember?

 

[TXEMIRA]

If this literally comes to pass and a customer like me doesn't get an FE allocation at #7 on my dealer's deposit list (deposited during Goodwood weekend) while elsewhere some latecomer who deposited 2 months later gets the car, it would be a gross violation of customer trust.

I could see Lotus exposing themselves to some legal risk here, if they don't handle it properly. They issued sequential reservation numbers to depositors via email, remember?

Be ready for anything. This is fun!