USA/Canada Delivery Thread

[VL3X]

Ok, guys! Did the Factory Tour this morning! Here’s what information I came out with:

(Photos were not allowed inside the production areas…sorry)

1. I asked if the U.S. cars had started being manufactured yet.
They are very tight-lipped about divulging any info, but after pressing him pretty hard, it appeared that if they have, it had just started recently. The parking lot/holding area for completed Emiras had a couple of hundred Emiras parked in there. I did not see ANY Emiras with the amber strip along the outside of the headlights, designating a U.S. car. Nor did I see any “rear bumperettes”. There were quite a few cars made with left-hand drive, but do not know if they were bound for the U.S.. Some cars had front license plate brackets with a front license plate holder attached. Other cars did not…and no holes were pre-drilled in the front bumpers on those cars.

I asked about U.S. certification approvals. Again, he would act as if they don’t make him aware of such information, but again, after pressing him, it appears that they do not yet have everything approved…..it seems like California guidelines are holding things up for now…..but if U.S. cars are being made now, they must be pretty sure of getting final approvals shortly.
I told him that most of us in the U.S. have been told that U.S. cars would start being delivered by the end of December. He seemed to agree with that assessment, and that coincides with his latest information.

2. Both the 6 cylinder Toyota and the 4 cylinder AMG engined cars are being produced simultaneously on the production line…..55% 6 cylinder and 45% 4 cylinder cars….and are being produced in that proportion according to customer orders.
No dealer “showroom” cars are being produced…..only customer-ordered cars…except for demo cars.

3. They are producing approximately 40 cars per day, Monday thru Thursday. There are 2 shifts being worked on the production line. If you were to order a car today, he said there was a 2 year wait.

4. Quality control seems to be worked out better than the horror stories we’ve been hearing on the Facebook sites from earlier orders. At least, that is how it appeared to me.

5. The new colored cars are being produced along side the original 6 colors of the original “first-edition” cars.
Of the new colors, the vivid red is more “Ferrari-ish” than the Magma red, and looks great. The new darker blue (can’t remember if they have 2 new blues or not, but it is striking. The new silver really shows off the lines of the car, and I liked it also.
He told me that of the original 6 colors, the order of preference is:
Seneca Blue
Hethel Yellow
Dark Verdant
Nimbus Gray
Magma Red
Shadow Gray

I ordered Nimbus with the upper and lower black pack, and diamond- cut wheels……and I am very happy with my choice after seeing my spec.

Overall, I would recommend going on the tour if you get a chance. You learn a lot about the design of the car, etc.

I’m sure I have left out a lot. If you have questions, I’ll try and answer!

Thank you for the updates and extra info!

 

[kitkat]

Excited to hear a little bit of production news even if the information from the factory tour employee isn't necessarily rock solid with visual proof.

 

[kitkat]

Seriously though, if anyone actually knows, does a manufacturer have to have all states certified?

Why don’t you go back to San Francisco and clean some human sh*t off your sidewalks so the businesses don’t step in it as they leave.

I'm going to try to stay civil with you because you seem to be out for blood -- lets hope you can too?

It's in Lotus' best interest to have CARB compliance, a huge chunk of America follows CARB and subsequently follows a large chunk of Lotus' market -- It includes the following states:

California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
New Jersey
New York
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Vermont

 

[Maurice R]

Guys let’s try calm down a little.
This not the place to be going off at each other

 

[Cachaco131]

Guys let’s try calm down a little.
This not the place to be going off at each other

I ignored @Hell4Leather but still can see he creates noise for everyone else. Oh well...

 

[benjh1028]

I'm just thankful KitKat didn't break all the demo cars here in the south!

 

[kitkat]

I'm just thankful KitKat didn't break all the demo cars here in the south!

There were so many door handles to lick!

 

[Dr.JDK]

Ok, guys! Did the Factory Tour this morning! Here’s what information I came out with:

(Photos were not allowed inside the production areas…sorry)

1. I asked if the U.S. cars had started being manufactured yet.
They are very tight-lipped about divulging any info, but after pressing him pretty hard, it appeared that if they have, it had just started recently. The parking lot/holding area for completed Emiras had a couple of hundred Emiras parked in there. I did not see ANY Emiras with the amber strip along the outside of the headlights, designating a U.S. car. Nor did I see any “rear bumperettes”. There were quite a few cars made with left-hand drive, but do not know if they were bound for the U.S.. Some cars had front license plate brackets with a front license plate holder attached. Other cars did not…and no holes were pre-drilled in the front bumpers on those cars.

I asked about U.S. certification approvals. Again, he would act as if they don’t make him aware of such information, but again, after pressing him, it appears that they do not yet have everything approved…..it seems like California guidelines are holding things up for now…..but if U.S. cars are being made now, they must be pretty sure of getting final approvals shortly.
I told him that most of us in the U.S. have been told that U.S. cars would start being delivered by the end of December. He seemed to agree with that assessment, and that coincides with his latest information.

2. Both the 6 cylinder Toyota and the 4 cylinder AMG engined cars are being produced simultaneously on the production line…..55% 6 cylinder and 45% 4 cylinder cars….and are being produced in that proportion according to customer orders.
No dealer “showroom” cars are being produced…..only customer-ordered cars…except for demo cars.

3. They are producing approximately 40 cars per day, Monday thru Thursday. There are 2 shifts being worked on the production line. If you were to order a car today, he said there was a 2 year wait.

4. Quality control seems to be worked out better than the horror stories we’ve been hearing on the Facebook sites from earlier orders. At least, that is how it appeared to me.

5. The new colored cars are being produced along side the original 6 colors of the original “first-edition” cars.
Of the new colors, the vivid red is more “Ferrari-ish” than the Magma red, and looks great. The new darker blue (can’t remember if they have 2 new blues or not, but it is striking. The new silver really shows off the lines of the car, and I liked it also.
He told me that of the original 6 colors, the order of preference is:
Seneca Blue
Hethel Yellow
Dark Verdant
Nimbus Gray
Magma Red
Shadow Gray

I ordered Nimbus with the upper and lower black pack, and diamond- cut wheels……and I am very happy with my choice after seeing my spec.

Overall, I would recommend going on the tour if you get a chance. You learn a lot about the design of the car, etc.

I’m sure I have left out a lot. If you have questions, I’ll try and answer!

Very thorough info. I think if we cannot see the cars this Christmas, we can at least see them Jan next year.

Let's do some preliminary calculations, if Hethel produces 40 emiras a day, 4 days a week, and from now to the end of November, there are 9 weeks left.
Scenario 1, Hethel is going to churn out as many V6 FE for the US in the next months:
total US cars produced = 40 * 4 * 9 = 1440 cars

Scenario 2, only 55% of the cars are V6:
total US cars produced = 1440 * 55% = 792 cars

So under the biggest assumption that the US production started this month (likely this week), the factory has enough capacity to produce 792 to 1440 V6 emiras from now to the end of November. If they start to ship cars to the US in smaller batches as opposed to all 700 FE1.0 in bulk, we can start to see cars at the end of October. If Lotus ships cars in bulk at the end of November, we can still expect the cars to show up at the East Coast ports before Christmas.
In the meantime, can CARB approve emira before Christmas? There are three more months left in this year. It is possible.

 

[Nova]

Looks like CARB releases its EOs monthly; the previous batches were released 7/1, 8/17, and 9/15. Nothing for Lotus in the latest batch. EPA also seems to be a couple of months back in their document releases: latest documents published is from mid July.

 

[ToonFan]

Regarding US builds, I4 won't start until January. My gut feeling is they will attempt to get the V6 FE1 and V2 complete by year end or before. Otherwise, they go into Q1 of 2024 even further behind. I'm sure they are going to continue building side by side as has been stated numerous times but you lot with locked in orders from eons ago should get yours first. Not biased- I'm an I4 buyer. And possibly very naive of me to think this will all happen.............

 

[Fyuen1]

Does anyone know if the First Edition I4 comes with ADAS?

 

[MYFASTEFE]

Ok, guys! Did the Factory Tour this morning! Here’s what information I came out with:

(Photos were not allowed inside the production areas…sorry)

1. I asked if the U.S. cars had started being manufactured yet.
They are very tight-lipped about divulging any info, but after pressing him pretty hard, it appeared that if they have, it had just started recently. The parking lot/holding area for completed Emiras had a couple of hundred Emiras parked in there. I did not see ANY Emiras with the amber strip along the outside of the headlights, designating a U.S. car. Nor did I see any “rear bumperettes”. There were quite a few cars made with left-hand drive, but do not know if they were bound for the U.S.. Some cars had front license plate brackets with a front license plate holder attached. Other cars did not…and no holes were pre-drilled in the front bumpers on those cars.

I asked about U.S. certification approvals. Again, he would act as if they don’t make him aware of such information, but again, after pressing him, it appears that they do not yet have everything approved…..it seems like California guidelines are holding things up for now…..but if U.S. cars are being made now, they must be pretty sure of getting final approvals shortly.
I told him that most of us in the U.S. have been told that U.S. cars would start being delivered by the end of December. He seemed to agree with that assessment, and that coincides with his latest information.

2. Both the 6 cylinder Toyota and the 4 cylinder AMG engined cars are being produced simultaneously on the production line…..55% 6 cylinder and 45% 4 cylinder cars….and are being produced in that proportion according to customer orders.
No dealer “showroom” cars are being produced…..only customer-ordered cars…except for demo cars.

3. They are producing approximately 40 cars per day, Monday thru Thursday. There are 2 shifts being worked on the production line. If you were to order a car today, he said there was a 2 year wait.

4. Quality control seems to be worked out better than the horror stories we’ve been hearing on the Facebook sites from earlier orders. At least, that is how it appeared to me.

5. The new colored cars are being produced along side the original 6 colors of the original “first-edition” cars.
Of the new colors, the vivid red is more “Ferrari-ish” than the Magma red, and looks great. The new darker blue (can’t remember if they have 2 new blues or not, but it is striking. The new silver really shows off the lines of the car, and I liked it also.
He told me that of the original 6 colors, the order of preference is:
Seneca Blue
Hethel Yellow
Dark Verdant
Nimbus Gray
Magma Red
Shadow Gray

I ordered Nimbus with the upper and lower black pack, and diamond- cut wheels……and I am very happy with my choice after seeing my spec.

Overall, I would recommend going on the tour if you get a chance. You learn a lot about the design of the car, etc.

I’m sure I have left out a lot. If you have questions, I’ll try and answer!

Thank you for asking, posting and writing all this.

 

[Stiffarm]

Ok, guys! Did the Factory Tour this morning! Here’s what information I came out with:

(Photos were not allowed inside the production areas…sorry)

1. I asked if the U.S. cars had started being manufactured yet.
They are very tight-lipped about divulging any info, but after pressing him pretty hard, it appeared that if they have, it had just started recently. The parking lot/holding area for completed Emiras had a couple of hundred Emiras parked in there. I did not see ANY Emiras with the amber strip along the outside of the headlights, designating a U.S. car. Nor did I see any “rear bumperettes”. There were quite a few cars made with left-hand drive, but do not know if they were bound for the U.S.. Some cars had front license plate brackets with a front license plate holder attached. Other cars did not…and no holes were pre-drilled in the front bumpers on those cars.

I asked about U.S. certification approvals. Again, he would act as if they don’t make him aware of such information, but again, after pressing him, it appears that they do not yet have everything approved…..it seems like California guidelines are holding things up for now…..but if U.S. cars are being made now, they must be pretty sure of getting final approvals shortly.
I told him that most of us in the U.S. have been told that U.S. cars would start being delivered by the end of December. He seemed to agree with that assessment, and that coincides with his latest information.

2. Both the 6 cylinder Toyota and the 4 cylinder AMG engined cars are being produced simultaneously on the production line…..55% 6 cylinder and 45% 4 cylinder cars….and are being produced in that proportion according to customer orders.
No dealer “showroom” cars are being produced…..only customer-ordered cars…except for demo cars.

3. They are producing approximately 40 cars per day, Monday thru Thursday. There are 2 shifts being worked on the production line. If you were to order a car today, he said there was a 2 year wait.

4. Quality control seems to be worked out better than the horror stories we’ve been hearing on the Facebook sites from earlier orders. At least, that is how it appeared to me.

5. The new colored cars are being produced along side the original 6 colors of the original “first-edition” cars.
Of the new colors, the vivid red is more “Ferrari-ish” than the Magma red, and looks great. The new darker blue (can’t remember if they have 2 new blues or not, but it is striking. The new silver really shows off the lines of the car, and I liked it also.
He told me that of the original 6 colors, the order of preference is:
Seneca Blue
Hethel Yellow
Dark Verdant
Nimbus Gray
Magma Red
Shadow Gray

I ordered Nimbus with the upper and lower black pack, and diamond- cut wheels……and I am very happy with my choice after seeing my spec.

Overall, I would recommend going on the tour if you get a chance. You learn a lot about the design of the car, etc.

I’m sure I have left out a lot. If you have questions, I’ll try and answer!

Kalifornia screwing the rest of us. Typical.

 

[SPoivre]

Haha...the wicked pissah talk from Beantown disappeared pretty quickly. I guess some things never change. LOL.

 

[Pegasi]

I put my final spec in today. Funny enough when the Emira was announced in the Summer of 2021 I put my deposit down and literally said, I really don't need/want this car until spring of 2024. Well folks, with no facts, with no info, with nothing but my gut instinct and butt dyno, I can tell you all that cars are coming to North America by this spring and my original vision will come true! Let the mid engine madness begin.

 

[kitkat]

I put my final spec in today. Funny enough when the Emira was announced in the Summer of 2021 I put my deposit down and literally said, I really don't need/want this car until spring of 2024. Well folks, with no facts, with no info, with nothing but my gut instinct and butt dyno, I can tell you all that cars are coming to North America by this spring and my original vision will come true! Let the mid engine madness begin.

The prophet has spoken!

 

[KCMO68_510]

I put my final spec in today. Funny enough when the Emira was announced in the Summer of 2021 I put my deposit down and literally said, I really don't need/want this car until spring of 2024. Well folks, with no facts, with no info, with nothing but my gut instinct and butt dyno, I can tell you all that cars are coming to North America by this spring and my original vision will come true! Let the mid engine madness begin.

What did you decide on?

 

[BurninRubber]

Just got my call that my allocation is ready and I have to submit soon for a Feb/March build. About 98% sure I’ll move forward but a bit hesitant based on the numerous problems which you wouldn’t expect of a car that’s $130k CAD now. I have a Huracan and few other random sports cars but the Emira was a riot to drive when I was behind the wheel this summer which made me want to move forward.

Should we be confident the FE V2s will be an improved version of the FE V1? When I test drive the car in July the CEL was on the whole time and the dealer said they couldn’t clear the fault.

If I’m not in a rush to get into a FE, will the V6 S/C still be available down the line in manual? Ideally that would be the direction I’d like to go after I can see that the kinks have been working out and the quality is where it should be in what will be a $150k car out the door.

 

[Pegasi]

What did you decide on?

V6 Manual - FE 2.0
Sports Suspension - Cup 2
Dark Verdant - Black Pack
Silver Wheels - Yellow Caliper
Ice Grey Interior - Black Leather Steering Wheel
Privacy Glass
Homelink
3 year / 36K Warranty
Planned Modifications/Accessories: PPF, Ceramic, Tint, Yellow Powder Coated Engine Cover, Dash Cam, Non-Track Wheels

 

[Lotustoronto]

Just got my call that my allocation is ready and I have to submit soon for a Feb/March build. About 98% sure I’ll move forward but a bit hesitant based on the numerous problems which you wouldn’t expect of a car that’s $130k CAD now. I have a Huracan and few other random sports cars but the Emira was a riot to drive when I was behind the wheel this summer which made me want to move forward.

Should we be confident the FE V2s will be an improved version of the FE V1? When I test drive the car in July the CEL was on the whole time and the dealer said they couldn’t clear the fault.

If I’m not in a rush to get into a FE, will the V6 S/C still be available down the line in manual? Ideally that would be the direction I’d like to go after I can see that the kinks have been working out and the quality is where it should be in what will be a $150k car out the door.

Nice! Which dealer are you with?

As for taking an F/E V2 vs Base it is a personal choice both with pro's and con's. If you want all the options on the F/E it will likely result in a 15K in savings. However if you are ok with foregoing some of the options (12 way seats, KEF audio, full leather/alcantara interior) the base will likely have more colour options and assumably better build quality being three years into production by the time a base care gets built for Canada. At the very least the electronic gremlins should be fully sorted by then. Personally I don't like the first edition badge on the dash, would look cleaner without. I also do not mind cloth inserts on seats, depending on how it looks. Some of the Porsche cloth (tartan or houndstooth etc.) can look much better than just leather and to me wears better than alcantara as well. Flip side we don't know what the base interior looks like and could be terrible. I don't think it will look bad, from a design point of view the Emira has been pretty spot on and I expect that to continue.

There's also the dealer experience. Being one of the first new Emira's in Canada means the dealers newly trained tech's will be practising on F/E cars for the first year while they sort out their learning curve. I don't like thinking the person taking apart my car for a warranty fix as the first one they are testing their skills on.

Base V6 will still offer the manual. At least for a few more years.