USA/Canada Delivery Thread

[Lotustoronto]

You want the head of Lotus Sales USA? I got that. Pm me if you want it.

Also, is the body Fiberglass or plastic? Are these plastic bumpers or fiberglass?

Teijin Automotive Technologies Supplying Key Exterior Components on New Lotus Emira

 

[Lotustoronto]

Early FE 1.0 spec ordered last March or April. I agree the issues are mostly battery related. Intel says they're cheap Chinese batteries that sat in storage way too long. I'm concerned about my car sitting at the port for months and months too. Brain says to pull my order and get something else. Heart doesn't want anything else.

First thing I would do when receiving my car is have the dealer change out the battery for whatever the best brand/type fits in the Emira? On that note, does anyone know what batter size fit the Emira?

 

[Silver Storm]

Teijin Automotive Technologies Supplying Key Exterior Components on New Lotus Emira

Thanks for posting the link! Incredible information, certainly eye-opening to read. Japanese multinational company, headquartered in the USA, parts made in Portugal.

 

[Lotustoronto]

Early FE 1.0 spec ordered last March or April. I agree the issues are mostly battery related. Intel says they're cheap Chinese batteries that sat in storage way too long. I'm concerned about my car sitting at the port for months and months too. Brain says to pull my order and get something else. Heart doesn't want anything else.

Do as TomE did, change to a base order, or move it to a one of the hotter variants and buy something else for now. In all honesty, you are rightly concerned and asking to be moved to the base V6 line, even if it means another longer wait, it may be worth it.

Canada gets so little allocations compared to you guys, so I’m base anyways and if I had the option to get an F/E I would really have to think about it. Yes, the price may go up, but I would be spending the savings flat bed towing the Emira to my dealer 100km away anyways.

Last thing, you mentioned that a lot of these parts may be damaged from the amount of time in storage… I can certainly see that being the case for a lot of these first car issues. Especially if very damp conditions and not proper heated / cooled storage.

 

[TXEMIRA]

Guys, I really need some reassurance here. I'm hearing horror story after horror story from ROW owners. Limp mode, corroded brake lines, power steering failing, wiper and brake issues... all things that shouldn't be happening to ANY new vehicle, let alone a $100k+ sportscar. Every single owner I've spoken to has had issues (and I chat with many here and on my IG account) and those outside of UK (even those close to Hethel) are having trouble getting service done in a timely manner. Lotus of US seems nonexistent with customer comms. I can only imagine how painful potential warranty work approvals will be. My dealer never has any updates or anything new to say except expressing his own frustration with HQ and their lack of comms. No word on US certification process, how the cars will be stored, or if there will be further delays. I've been spending the last couple months thinking "well, there's always lemon law if I have major problems." Well I talked with them today and was told since Lotus is an exotic and doesn't have an actual US based HQ, there isn't really much lemon law can do to help or go after them even if it's stuck in the shop with numerous warranty and safety issues.

What are you guys thinking? I know I sound like a broken record and I don't want to be negative, but I've been so excited for this car for years and I'm just not seeing a bright ownership future based on recent feedback and my Lotus experience thus far. Am I just too close to this car and clouded with negativity of online postings? Or do I have enough reliable inside info to bail and save myself further disappointment? I wasn't signing up to be a QC tester when pre-ordering this car 2 years ago. I hoped the proven Toyota powertrain and Geely backing would equal a reliable exotic sportscar. Apparently I was wrong...

I’m hoping. Hoping. That the US delays are due to all of what you say.

Hoping that Lotus is holding off because they know or think they know that US consumers are the most particular.

Not an excuse. Just my last salvation of good thoughts here. Like the delay is good…

For the Hopeful.

 

[Eagle7]

First thing I would do when receiving my car is have the dealer change out the battery for whatever the best brand/type fits in the Emira? On that note, does anyone know what batter size fit the Emira?

Here's a link to Amazon UK which lists the battery. It's currently out of stock though... I wonder why lol.

Ok I tried to put in the link to the Amazon page, but they're playing games with the link and won't let it go to the actual page.

Here's what the page looks like if it wasn't being messed with:

 

[FlyNavy01]

First thing I would do when receiving my car is have the dealer change out the battery for whatever the best brand/type fits in the Emira? On that note, does anyone know what batter size fit the Emira?

It appears to use an H6/Group-48 size battery. I plan to upgrade to a Li-ion 12V to save 30+lbs from the rear and provide way more cold-cranking amps. I'll likely still keep it on a tender for when it's parked longer than a week without use just to be safe.

 

[Eagle7]

It appears to use an H6/Group-48 size battery. I plan to upgrade to a Li-ion 12V to save 30+lbs from the rear and provide way more cold-cranking amps. I'll likely still keep it on a tender for when it's parked longer than a week without use just to be safe.

I'm debating between a lithium battery, and a light-weight AGM battery. The advantage of the lithium is of course the extreme light weight, but they're also quite expensive. They're also more susceptible to losing power in the cold, so if you live in an area where there are cold winters (i.e. snow and ice), you'll have to be diligent about keeping it on a tender. The AGM batteries aren't quite as light (although not bad), but they're about half the cost of lithium, and they do much better in cold environments. I guess it depends on where you live.

It seems to be difficult to get specific info about the Platinum battery, but here's the equivalent spec Duralast:

As you can see, it weighs 46.9 lbs.

Braille Battery makes a Group 8 size LiOn equivalent that weighs only 19.9 lbs, but it's also quite expensive:

Braille I48CS Intensity Carbon Group 48 (Max Power / Capacity) Lithium Battery

The I48CS model is a standard height lithium upgrade for vehicles that are equipped with a Group 48 battery. This model has DOUBLE the power & capacity of the ultra lightweight CE & CX models and all versions have been used in hundreds of Porsche cars ranging from Cayman GT4 to variety of 911...

shopbraille.com

$1,899 to save 27 lbs seems like a lot. The benefit there would obviously be the weight, but it's also the same size as the factory Emira battery, so it should be a straight swap without fitment issues. They make lithium and AGM batteries that are much less in weight and cost, but you'd have to come up with a mount. I don't know what the battery mount in the Emira looks like, but I'm sure it would be doable. The important spec to look for would be the Ah (amp hours) if you think your car is going to be sitting for days without being run. If you can put your car on a tender each night, you can save a lot of weight on some of the other batteries and the cost is half or less of the cost of the Group 8 size one.

This one for example costs $569.99, weighs 6.4 lbs. but it's smaller (need a way to adapt it to the factory mount) and has just over half the Lithium Amp Hour (Lithium equivalent to AGM Ah) rating at 45.

Braille G30 GreenLite Automotive Lithium Battery

Due to extremely high demand and large orders of our lithium batteries, production lead time is 3-5 business days. We are expanding our production capabilities and will get products out as fast as possible. Thank you for your understanding. At only 6.4 pounds, the GreenLite G30 is an...

shopbraille.com

Maybe some of the enterprising members here who have access to 3D printing technology can devise an adapter for the Emira. Being able to save 40 lbs with that battery for that price is a pretty good cost per weight-saving value.

 

[CHEESE]

I've been spending the last couple months thinking "well, there's always lemon law if I have major problems." Well I talked with them today and was told since Lotus is an exotic and doesn't have an actual US based HQ, there isn't really much lemon law can do to help or go after them even if it's stuck in the shop with numerous warranty and safety issues.

...then they should be exempt from the US emissions laws/processes that are apparently holding our deliveries back.

 

[kitkat]

I've been spending the last couple months thinking "well, there's always lemon law if I have major problems." Well I talked with them today and was told since Lotus is an exotic and doesn't have an actual US based HQ, there isn't really much lemon law can do to help or go after them even if it's stuck in the shop with numerous warranty and safety issues.

I don't think that's correct.

Specific to your state: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title6/c050/index.html#5002

I don't see anything under § 5001 that wouldn't apply to Lotus unless they plan on making less than 10 cars.

 

[VL3X]

I don't think that's correct.

Didn't sound correct to me either, but just reporting back what I was told. Either way, not something I want to deal with.

 

[FlyNavy01]

I'm debating between a lithium battery, and a light-weight AGM battery. The advantage of the lithium is of course the extreme light weight, but they're also quite expensive. They're also more susceptible to losing power in the cold, so if you live in an area where there are cold winters (i.e. snow and ice), you'll have to be diligent about keeping it on a tender. The AGM batteries aren't quite as light (although not bad), but they're about half the cost of lithium, and they do much better in cold environments. I guess it depends on where you live.

It seems to be difficult to get specific info about the Platinum battery, but here's the equivalent spec Duralast:

View attachment 26027
As you can see, it weighs 46.9 lbs.

Braille Battery makes a Group 8 size LiOn equivalent that weighs only 19.9 lbs, but it's also quite expensive:

Braille I48CS Intensity Carbon Group 48 (Max Power / Capacity) Lithium Battery

The I48CS model is a standard height lithium upgrade for vehicles that are equipped with a Group 48 battery. This model has DOUBLE the power & capacity of the ultra lightweight CE & CX models and all versions have been used in hundreds of Porsche cars ranging from Cayman GT4 to variety of 911...

shopbraille.com

$1,899 to save 27 lbs seems like a lot. The benefit there would obviously be the weight, but it's also the same size as the factory Emira battery, so it should be a straight swap without fitment issues. They make lithium and AGM batteries that are much less in weight and cost, but you'd have to come up with a mount. I don't know what the battery mount in the Emira looks like, but I'm sure it would be doable. The important spec to look for would be the Ah (amp hours) if you think your car is going to be sitting for days without being run. If you can put your car on a tender each night, you can save a lot of weight on some of the other batteries and the cost is half or less of the cost of the Group 8 size one.

This one for example costs $569.99, weighs 6.4 lbs. but it's smaller (need a way to adapt it to the factory mount) and has just over half the Lithium Amp Hour (Lithium equivalent to AGM Ah) rating at 45.

Braille G30 GreenLite Automotive Lithium Battery

Due to extremely high demand and large orders of our lithium batteries, production lead time is 3-5 business days. We are expanding our production capabilities and will get products out as fast as possible. Thank you for your understanding. At only 6.4 pounds, the GreenLite G30 is an...

shopbraille.com

Maybe some of the enterprising members here who have access to 3D printing technology can devise an adapter for the Emira. Being able to save 40 lbs with that battery for that price is a pretty good cost per weight-saving value.

Agreed on all points. I put a small 16Ah lithium battery in my dual duty daily driver/track toy for a few years and it worked great. Cost $415 and only weighed 5lbs! Since it was so small I secured it with zip ties because I was too cheap to pay the extra $200 for the machined aluminum mounting kit at the time.

For the Emira I'd pay more for a larger capacity in the OEM size. Antigravity has some good 10-16lb options in the correct size for $500-$800. As long as you're in a decent climate they should last 2-3 times longer than lead acid.

Either way, I'm anxious to hear what Lotus' plan is for US bound cars this summer and if they're actually going to be placed in storage for months awaiting certifications. That doesn't make sense for them financially so hopefully they'll just build cars for everyone else during that time to keep the cash flow coming in.

 

[Lotustoronto]

I’m hoping. Hoping. That the US delays are due to all of what you say.

Hoping that Lotus is holding off because they know or think they know that US consumers are the most particular.

Not an excuse. Just my last salvation of good thoughts here. Like the delay is good…

For the Hopeful.

I think Lotus is more deterred by US consumer/lemon laws and more so their media. US Car reviewers and Mag's are tough to impress and hold a lot of weight. Also, more biased towards US and German manufacturers. So yes, I think N/A being last to get delivered Emira F/E's is not an accident or coincidence.

US most particular consumer?.... I dunno, I think selling British cars to Germans or Japanese might be the most stressful as far as consumers go. Law wise.... def USA. You can sue anyone for anything.

 

[eriegz]

US Car reviewers and Mag's are tough to impress

Yeah, and UK EVO magazine was such a cakewalk... (I kid, I kid... )

 

[Lotustoronto]

Yeah, and UK EVO magazine was such a cakewalk... (I kid, I kid... )

Jethro was a savage in that review wasn't he. LOL.

 

[VL3X]

I think Lotus is more deterred by US consumer/lemon laws and more so their media. US Car reviewers and Mag's are tough to impress and hold a lot of weight. Also, more biased towards US and German manufacturers. So yes, I think N/A being last to get delivered Emira F/E's is not an accident or coincidence.

US most particular consumer?.... I dunno, I think selling British cars to Germans or Japanese might be the most stressful as far as consumers go. Law wise.... def USA. You can sue anyone for anything.

Nah, I think they want to get paid asap and just dropped the ball when it comes to applying for the North America certification in a timely manner. I don't think they've even built any NA models yet.

 

[Nova]

Do we think US cars will start to be made in May? What's the production rate now, 20 cars a day?

 

[VL3X]

Do we think US cars will start to be made in May?

No. I'm told they're currently working on 100+ i4s then going back to V6s, but none of which are for North American vehicles. I highly doubt we'll see any customer cars in the US this year.

 

[Lotustoronto]

Nah, I think they want to get paid asap and just dropped the ball when it comes to applying for the North America certification in a timely manner. I don't think they've even built any NA models yet.

yes your probably right lol

 

[idleuser]

Do we think US cars will start to be made in May? What's the production rate now, 20 cars a day?

Yeah Lotus will start producing them in May 2024.