USA/Canada Delivery Thread

[Arkham]

Personally, I think it's B.S. that Lotus won't release the cars to non-CARB states. Is there really that much worry that a non-CARB Emira buyer is going to turn around and sell their Emira to a CARB-state resident within the first few days of ownership where this would actually present a potential problem?

In the worst case, the second owner would just have to wait until "soon" to register the Emira.

It doesn't make sense to hold hundreds of Emiras sitting on dealer lots just to avoid the aforementioned "potential" issue later down the road. I had been wondering why there was a hold out and if this is the actual reason, it's extremely weak.

I'm literally in this scenario within a few months max I'll be moving from a non-carb state and need to register it in a CARB state, so not ideal.

 

[seriously]

I feel like a moth drawn to the fire.

I know it’s bad and it gets worse. I know it will be hard to own, but I still want it. Damn you Lotus!

 

[scc.131.fe]

"There is other testing and software updates that need to be completed,"

Anyone else heading over to the Porsche Cayman GTS 4.0 configurator as an alternative?
This is nuts!

No, I'd still rather wait for 'soon' to get a more exciting car.

 

[Nova]

When I google my VIN, I get nothing. When I search for it on this site, I get a shipment Lotus made in December, but my car is still being manufactured, so I don't think this provides and accurate or detailed information on the shipping of a particular car. Please let me know if there's something I did wrong or need to do differently as this would be super cool!

Uh, if a VIN is on a BOL on the Import info website, that means it was shipped to the US and not still in production.

 

[Lotustoronto]

When I google my VIN, I get nothing. When I search for it on this site, I get a shipment Lotus made in December, but my car is still being manufactured, so I don't think this provides and accurate or detailed information on the shipping of a particular car. Please let me know if there's something I did wrong or need to do differently as this would be super cool!

Your car is in the USA....somewhere.

 

[K_Squared]

I'm literally in this scenario within a few months max I'll be moving from a non-carb state and need to register it in a CARB state, so not ideal.

Yeah but that's precisely my point. The only thing that makes sense for Lotus to hold non-CARB cars if there is something really amiss and it's not just days or weeks before approval. The decision to hold non-CARB cars on dealer lots makes me think we're in for some troubling news on that front. Otherwise, I don't see the real risk.

Sigh.

 

[Arkham]

Yeah but that's precisely my point. The only thing that makes sense for Lotus to hold non-CARB cars if there is something really amiss and it's not just days or weeks before approval. The decision to hold non-CARB cars on dealer lots makes me think we're in for some troubling news on that front. Otherwise, I don't see the real risk.

Sigh.

Yeah agree. The amount of times I've passed over different 911 models waiting on this Emira is getting depressing . Aside from family and friends making tons of jokes.

 

[azlambo]

Yeah but that's precisely my point. The only thing that makes sense for Lotus to hold non-CARB cars if there is something really amiss and it's not just days or weeks before approval. The decision to hold non-CARB cars on dealer lots makes me think we're in for some troubling news on that front. Otherwise, I don't see the real risk.

Sigh.

Exactly! If they were close to getting CARB approval, they wouldn’t worry about releasing the cars in non-CARB states. I think we’re in for another delay! It sounds like we’re at the back of the line again.
Add a 4th cat and detune to 350 HP…..now we can have CARB approval.

 

[WarriorHockey2266]

Yeah but that's precisely my point. The only thing that makes sense for Lotus to hold non-CARB cars if there is something really amiss and it's not just days or weeks before approval. The decision to hold non-CARB cars on dealer lots makes me think we're in for some troubling news on that front. Otherwise, I don't see the real risk.

Sigh.

Exactly. If Jan was actually realistic. Who cares if you release them in the middle of Jan, so someone has to wait a week or two to actually register it? Besides not all states are California stupid on new cars, so there is a very small number of people that would be affected for almost no time.

 

[LuckysDad]

At this point I would cancel the order but there is literally no other car in this price point that I'm the least bit interested in.
Porsche, BMW, Audi
C8 Corvette

 

[azlambo]

Oh, no! . Lotus speak for “soon”.

 

[bif]

I hope that article was just a bit of shock story. It would truly be insane for Lotus to ship the cars if they didn't believe approval was imminent. The cost alone of Lotus paying floorpan/storage, etc would be massive.

 

[seriously]

If 911s were reasonably priced I’d be gone- not that it’s a better car but just all in all, worth it. Too bad Porsche pricing is bonkers. Just can’t justify their pricing for what you get.

The 911 has a bit of the Emira benefit where there are no real competitors (excl cayman) so you can kind of charge what the market is willing to bear.

 

[KCMO68_510]

I'm more than willing to wait IF we are receiving the same product that was sold to us, and that storing the cars for whatever period doesn't harm the vehicles.

I'd feel a TON better if they just had waited for approval before producing the cars. My FE2.0 somehow already built and sitting (luckily inside) is crazy if they really were not sure if they'd have approval soon.

 

[981KMAN]

I "feel" for all of you waiting for an Emira. Yet I'm happy I bailed out when I obtained an allocation for a Porsche 911 Carrera S Coupe (actually took me less than 3 days). Yes, it's more expensive then an Emira, yet I can get many options (like a glass Sunroof...) that are not available on the Emira and I rather spend more and get what I want now, than wait on something that does not have all the features I would like.

The Emira Looks "Sweet", yet after a while, it's the ownership Issues, Reliability, Functionality, Features that will determine my feeling on if I made a good purchase for myself? In my heart, I know the Porsche is the better purchase for me. Your Mileage May Vary.... Best of Luck to all, and I hope CARB approval come before... "soon"

 

[Lotustoronto]

I hope that article was just a bit of shock story. It would truly be insane for Lotus to ship the cars if they didn't believe approval was imminent. The cost alone of Lotus paying floorpan/storage, etc would be massive.

Article has direct quotes from Lotus' PR USA Manager. I don't think it was written purely for shock.

There won't be any 4th cat or detune to the HP. The emissions will pass. This is either a paperwork issue, or something else. I am guessing it is an actually software issue. I wasn't joking about the car being used in CARB testing as broken. i.e. wouldn't start correctly etc. (unless carb doesn't actually test the cars onsite.... I have no idea how it all works)

I truly believe they shipped the cars and had dealers take delivery to non carb states knowing full well that they could not be sold, just to pad 2023 sales. Remember the US market is one of the few they could have sold Emira's too and guarantee payment via the dealer model. Other areas are not all the same. The fact that V2's were sent along is also showing they wanted to get as many cars built and sent off in December. Geely is gunning for a 5 billion dollar valuation on their public offering. This is a big deal. A lot bigger than 500 customers cars sitting on dealers lots for a couple extra months in the winter.

I will be interested to see if any other auto news / journalists pick up on this.

 

[bif]

Article has direct quotes from Lotus' PR USA Manager. I don't think it was written purely for shock.

There won't be any 4th cat or detune to the HP. The emissions will pass. This is either a paperwork issue, or something else. I am guessing it is an actually software issue. I wasn't joking about the car being used in CARB testing as broken. i.e. wouldn't start correctly etc. (unless carb doesn't actually test the cars onsite.... I have no idea how it all works)

I truly believe they shipped the cars and had dealers take delivery to non carb states knowing full well that they could not be sold, just to pad 2023 sales. Geely is gunning for a 5 billion dollar valuation on their public offering. This is a big deal. A lot bigger than 500 customers cars sitting on dealers lots for a couple extra months in the winter.

I will be interested to see if any other auto news / journalists pick up on this.

Maybe I was implying that Lotus having a PR manager was shocking.

 

[K_Squared]

I "feel" for all of you waiting for an Emira. Yet I'm happy I bailed out when I obtained an allocation for a Porsche 911 Carrera S Coupe (actually took me less than 3 days). Yes, it's more expensive then an Emira, yet I can get many options (like a glass Sunroof...) that are not available on the Emira and I rather spend more and get what I want now, than wait on something that does not have all the features I would like.

The Emira Looks "Sweet", yet after a while, it's the ownership Issues, Reliability, Functionality, Features that will determine my feeling on if I made a good purchase for myself? In my heart, I know the Porsche is the better purchase for me. Your Mileage May Vary.... Best of Luck to all, and I hope CARB approval come before... "soon"

View attachment 36220

It's a very nice car. I test drove a 911 Carrera T (with a manual nonetheless) and while it drove great, it still didn't feel or look nearly as special to me as the Emira does. Couple that with the much lower Emira price point and I still think it's worth the wait/fight. It's just sad that Lotus has put us all into this position.

Source: https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/lotus-emira-2022-coupe-vs-porsche-911-2019-coupe/

 

[Rapture]

Obviously, it appears there was a valid reason the NA cars were shipped with a trickle charger.

 

[410 JPS Fan]

Obviously, it appears there was a valid reason the NA cars were shipped with a trickle charger.

Lmao!