Three Cheers for TomE!

[Lankan]

A bit late to the party, but hats off to you, TomE, for sharing the info that you do about the Emira. As a newish Lotus owner, that is really uplifting. The info posted here allowed me to navigate through the various unknowns, both known and unknown, so thank you.

Jamie Matthews from B&C too has been super helpful, which, all in all, points towards a very pleasant future ownership experience.

 

[TomE]

A bit late to the party, but hats off to you, TomE, for sharing the info that you do about the Emira. As a newish Lotus owner, that is really uplifting. The info posted here allowed me to navigate through the various unknowns, both known and unknown, so thank you.

Jamie Matthews from B&C too has been super helpful, which, all in all, points towards a very pleasant future ownership experience.

Thank you and great to hear it has helped. Jamie’s style is very much about helping you to buy rather than selling to you. Always very responsive, even during the big peak of enquiries they had after the Emira launch.

If he’s your local dealer then you might want to come along to our monthly Lotus owners breakfast meeting at Newlands Corner, not far from B&C. It’s every third Sunday of the month 9-11am. All welcome.

 

[Lankan]

Thank you and great to hear it has helped. Jamie’s style is very much about helping you to buy rather than selling to you. Always very responsive, even during the big peak of enquiries they had after the Emira launch.

If he’s your local dealer then you might want to come along to our monthly Lotus owners breakfast meeting at Newlands Corner, not far from B&C. It’s every third Sunday of the month 9-11am. All welcome.

Indeed, I actually got in touch with Jamie when I was looking for my very first Lotus. At the time, my interest was directed towards the Elise Cup 250. Once I got in touch, Jamie even offered to let me take one of their demonstrators home for the weekend so that I could check its ground clearance against the rather awkward angle of approach to our driveway. COVID put paid to that, and, during lockdown, I purchased the Exige S RGB, sight unseen, from an independent dealer based in Yorkshire. Having had some rather raw Porsches before (964RS & 993RS), I couldn't be happier.....but then the Emira turns up!

Yes, B&C is my local dealer (I am based about 30 miles from them), so a meet-up at Newlands Corner seems like a great opportunity to meet up with like-minded enthusiasts.

 

[TomE]

Excellent. It looks like I need to start publicising it on here as well as the other forums. Next one will be 21 Nov. I’ll be there in my Laser Blue Evora S so come and say hi.

 

[Mike-engel]

Indeed, I actually got in touch with Jamie when I was looking for my very first Lotus. At the time, my interest was directed towards the Elise Cup 250. Once I got in touch, Jamie even offered to let me take one of their demonstrators home for the weekend so that I could check its ground clearance against the rather awkward angle of approach to our driveway. COVID put paid to that, and, during lockdown, I purchased the Exige S RGB, sight unseen, from an independent dealer based in Yorkshire. Having had some rather raw Porsches before (964RS & 993RS), I couldn't be happier.....but then the Emira turns up!

Yes, B&C is my local dealer (I am based about 30 miles from them), so a meet-up at Newlands Corner seems like a great opportunity to meet with like-minded enthusiasts.

I love the connectivity on the forum! It’s not just about talking about the car, but about bringing people together. I can almost imagine @Lankan and @TomE meeting up from 9-11 one Sunday morning over a coffee and a muffin admiring each other’s rides. Enjoy!

 

[EspritGuy]

I love the connectivity on the forum! It’s not just about talking about the car, but about bringing people together. I can almost imagine @Lankan and @TomE meeting up from 9-11 one Sunday morning over a coffee and a muffin admiring each other’s rides. Enjoy!

Leave no scone unturned....

 

[TomE]

I love the connectivity on the forum! It’s not just about talking about the car, but about bringing people together. I can almost imagine @Lankan and @TomE meeting up from 9-11 one Sunday morning over a coffee and a muffin admiring each other’s rides. Enjoy!

It's a big part of ownership for me - lots of (slightly eccentric) Lotus-owning friends united by a common enthusiasm.

I've been organising this every month for 10+ years.

 

[Lotushavefun]

Thanks, that is a huge compliment and means a lot! I’ve had this in a much more negative tone over on one of the Facebook groups

If you join one of the longer-established Lotus forums you’ll find there’s an air of everyone helping each other. Plenty of input on where to get obscure parts for older cars and what that strange ECU error code means. As well as a genuine shared enjoyment of the cars, with very little posturing (though with a healthy dose of banter!).

Some of us get a bit obsessed with these cars

I’ve not had a call from Lotus yet, but maybe when I retire I’ll find something related to keep me busy … probably organising driving events and running a niche petrol supply business once everyone’s converted to electric

Well I work with energy and commodity traders, so I can maybe do you a good deal on a long-dated futures contract….

But like roulette, the house usually ends up in profit

It's a big part of ownership for me - lots of (slightly eccentric) Lotus-owning friends united by a common enthusiasm.

I've been organising this every month for 10+ years.

Man that looks awesome and very fun! Way to go @TomE

 

[Lankan]

It's a big part of ownership for me - lots of (slightly eccentric) Lotus-owning friends united by a common enthusiasm.

I've been organising this every month for 10+ years.

Fantastic! Fully agree with your sentiments. I too am a member of a few car clubs, and, although I signed up with SELOC, Exiges.com, and, now the Emira forum, I am yet to attend a meet/drive or any such gathering.

Looks like a good mix of cars. Will make sure I make it to one, but unfortunately cannot make 21st Nov, and we are away during the last three weeks in December.

Do you make it to Silverstone Classic, or The Classic as it was called in 2021? For the last 6 years, I have been organising the attendance of one of the car clubs I am a member of, and it is one of the most fun events we do.

 

[TomE]

Fantastic! Fully agree with your sentiments. I too am a member of a few car clubs, and, although I signed up with SELOC, Exiges.com, and, now the Emira forum, I am yet to attend a meet/drive or any such gathering.

Looks like a good mix of cars. Will make sure I make it to one, but unfortunately cannot make 21st Nov, and we are away during the last three weeks in December.

Do you make it to Silverstone Classic, or The Classic as it was called in 2021? For the last 6 years, I have been organising the attendance of one of the car clubs I am a member of, and it is one of the most fun events we do.

A shame you can't make Nov or Dec but hope you can get along sometime. I haven't done Silverstone Classic but I know TheLotusForums and other Lotus owners groups have organised attendance.

After a patchy two years for car events due to Covid, I'm really hoping to get to more events in 2022.

 

[Lankan]

A shame you can't make Nov or Dec but hope you can get along sometime. I haven't done Silverstone Classic but I know TheLotusForums and other Lotus owners groups have organised attendance.

After a patchy two years for car events due to Covid, I'm really hoping to get to more events in 2022.

Will definitely make it to a meet or two in 2022.

 

[TomE]

Friday night watching a movie with a bottle of wine and this milestone popped up.

I joined this group three months ago, a month after the Emira launch. I was already active on other Lotus groups and thought “why do we need yet another group”. But I figured I should keep an eye just in case.

What’s happened since then has been a great bunch of people talking about their hopes, questions and excitement about an extraordinary new car. A car that seems to have captured the interest of a wide range of people. Some new to Lotus, some new to sports cars. All with a shared passion.

Your curiosity and interest and my enthusiasm seem to line up and this is one of my most-visited places. The shortage of info from Lotus may also be a factor

Thank you for the feedback, it’s a bit of a surprise and I’m not usually one to be so visible in real life. I’m not sure what we’re going to talk about until deliveries in May, but I’ll keep doing my bit to help out where I can.

Cheers

 

[GarrethN]

In all honesty Tom, we have received more open information from your good self than from Lotus, your contribution to this forum has and is invaluable.

Lets admit, although the car is stunning, info from Lotus is sparse at best. Even the little videos with updates are few and far between, and as to why there still has to be such secrecy around i4 FE pricing, nobody knows. So when we have someone willing to try and cut through all the nonsense and give well informed, insightful information, then to you Sir, we are all truly grateful.

 

[EspritGuy]

Friday night watching a movie with a bottle of wine and this milestone popped up.

View attachment 1269

I joined this group three months ago, a month after the Emira launch. I was already active on other Lotus groups and thought “why do we need yet another group”. But I figured I should keep an eye just in case.

What’s happened since then has been a great bunch of people talking about their hopes, questions and excitement about an extraordinary new car. A car that seems to have captured the interest of a wide range of people. Some new to Lotus, some new to sports cars. All with a shared passion.

Your curiosity and interest and my enthusiasm seem to line up and this is one of my most-visited places. The shortage of info from Lotus may also be a factor

Thank you for the feedback, it’s a bit of a surprise and I’m not usually one to be so visible in real life. I’m not sure what we’re going to talk about until deliveries in May, but I’ll keep doing my bit to help out where I can.

Cheers

Well said. And ditto...

 

[TomE]

We all wish Lotus would up their game on comms. The car is great, the Lotus team are passionate, it’s going to be great to drive.

It seems so obvious to all of us, so much that could be done better for very little extra effort.

Moody teaser videos (Type 132) and sporadic updates from the design team are OK I guess. But a proper strategy for engaging with prospective buyers could generate hundreds more deposits and positive feedback. It just means putting yourself in the customer’s shoes. One person could do it. They’ve got marketing, sales and social media people, they’ve got the bandwidth - it just needs to be done in a way that’s brand authentic rather than fake corporate.

Still waiting for the call…

 

[Lankan]

Tom, thank you for sharing information that we should have had from Lotus. It is interesting that, this time around even dealerships such B&C appear to not know much more than what can be gleaned on this forum, and you have been a key contributor on here.

As a relatively new Lotus owner, the passion for the marque is firmly taking hold, so look forward to receiving my Emira First Edition V6 manual in due course (yes, I have this in writing from Lotus Customer Care, but it may be 2023 before I receive it).

 

[Bilbao-Emira]

In all honesty Tom, we have received more open information from your good self than from Lotus, your contribution to this forum has and is invaluable.

Lets admit, although the car is stunning, info from Lotus is sparse at best. Even the little videos with updates are few and far between, and as to why there still has to be such secrecy around i4 FE pricing, nobody knows. So when we have someone willing to try and cut through all the nonsense and give well informed, insightful information, then to you Sir, we are all truly grateful.

Couldn't say It better. I fully agree,
Congrats Tom and Thanks.
Friday night, my little English is f....d.
Salud!

 

[TXEMIRA]

@TomE taking a forum break for a bit?

If yes, well deserved, just don’t want you to try to catch back up all in one day when you return! Take your time.

#ForTheBreakTakers

 

[SlavaUkraini]

@TomE We appreciate you on here my man

 

[Porter]

@TomE taking a forum break for a bit?

I chatted with him a few weeks ago and yes... he's taking a well-deserved rest for a while. I think he'll be back once Lotus releases more public info and things in the community settle down.

To be honest, we did lean on him pretty hard as our one reliable human feedback lifeline to Lotus. I do wish they hadn't put him in that unfortunate position by continually failing to meaningfully communicate with their customers about product details and development progress. Tom's level of enthusiastic engagement made perfect sense in a world where Lotus were going to eventually make good on their winks-and-promises, but as time dragged on, he ended up being squarely in the crossfire of customer angst. He definitely didn't sign up for that and certainly didn't deserve it... the guy is just a waiting customer with a deposit on a car like the rest of us.

Three cheers for @TomE and many, many thanks to him for all his enthusiasm and hard work on behalf of this community. I hope he chooses to re-engage with us at some point. He's a good'un.