Emeya

[bash]

I hope this isnt it, I'm so bored I could almost watch football and I could never be bored enough for that.
Bash

https://www.caranddriver.com/lotus/emeya

[rbgosling]

Well, at least a sporting saloon is more "Lotus" than the SUV (see Carlton, Cortina). And, TBH, the Carlton wasn't exactly the most thrilling looking vehicle, it was the powertrain (and the notoriety!) that made it special. Presumably this is based on an standard Geely platform, which will limit scope, but still one would hope that the Lotus design team could find a way to make it look more exciting.

I guess the future strategy is to have a sports car or two to provide a halo effect, so that Lotus is still recognised as a sporting brand that makes exciting cars, then there are the "dull" cars that actually make the money. Neither can exist without the other - without the sports cars Lotus loses its mystique and brand values, which help to sell the saloons/SUVs; without the saloons/SUVs the company makes no money. Sad, but that's the nature of the business these days.

[pistolpete]

yes I agree, but it will be harder to love the brand that makes cars for the mass market sometimes only for sale in China.
The MG brand is just a name it has nothing to do with its passed

[supraholic]

I guess the future strategy is to have a sports car or two to provide a halo effect, so that Lotus is still recognised as a sporting brand that makes exciting cars, then there are the "dull" cars that actually make the money. Neither can exist without the other - without the sports cars Lotus loses its mystique and brand values, which help to sell the saloons/SUVs; without the saloons/SUVs the company makes no money. Sad, but that's the nature of the business these days.

That's always been the business model for the big manufacturers, but how did Lotus stay in business for 75 years already making just a handful of race and sports cars each year? I thought I'd read somewhere that they made more money doing consulting engineering for other manufacturers than they did selling cars. Seems like they could continue doing just that. I would think too that if they are going to start competing with the big manufacturers, then they are less likely to get any consulting engineering work. If I were 40 years younger, back in college taking business finance, Lotus would make an interesting study.

[rbgosling]

I guess the future strategy is to have a sports car or two to provide a halo effect, so that Lotus is still recognised as a sporting brand that makes exciting cars, then there are the "dull" cars that actually make the money. Neither can exist without the other - without the sports cars Lotus loses its mystique and brand values, which help to sell the saloons/SUVs; without the saloons/SUVs the company makes no money. Sad, but that's the nature of the business these days.

That's always been the business model for the big manufacturers, but how did Lotus stay in business for 75 years already making just a handful of race and sports cars each year? I thought I'd read somewhere that they made more money doing consulting engineering for other manufacturers than they did selling cars. Seems like they could continue doing just that. I would think too that if they are going to start competing with the big manufacturers, then they are less likely to get any consulting engineering work. If I were 40 years younger, back in college taking business finance, Lotus would make an interesting study.

As far as I am aware, Lotus has been losing money for most of its existence, particularly in the last few decades. Toyota, GM, Romano Artioli, Proton all poured money into Lotus and never got as much back (although it was rumoured that in the Artioli days it was actually making money, but it was being siphoned off to prop up his Bugatti project. I cannot confirm or deny anything...). When I worked there in the mid-90's about 80% of the workforce was on consulting stuff (the majority on the GM Ecotec engine), and even with the money coming in from that it was still overall making a loss. Lotus no longer have a powertrain division (other than a few engineers tweaking bought-in engines), so they don't even have that consulting work any more.

In the first couple of decades or so money could be made, because cars were SO much simpler to design, develop, and the legislation controlling them was practically non-existent compared to nowadays. That was probably true up until the 80s or so, which I guess is about when Lotus stopped being profitable.

[rbgosling]

yes I agree, but it will be harder to love the brand that makes cars for the mass market sometimes only for sale in China.
The MG brand is just a name it has nothing to do with its past.

Agreed - and I have one (a new electric MG). I have had a couple of '73 Black Tulip MGB GTs, they were MGs! It would be nice if the Cyberster (crap name) turns out to have some real MG-ness if/when it actually makes production, but I'm not optimistic, it'll probably be too big, heavy and expensive.

I suspect that Lotus enthusiasts will create a clear distinction between the Hethel cars and the Wuhan cars, and we know which the "real" Lotus are.

[KevW]

I think Richard sums up the situation nicely. I have no love for Chinese government/business and would like Lotus to be a small independent sporting car producer but it aint going to happen. I agree with Bash the Emeya doesn't look very exciting but then again it looks like the stuff Porsche is producing in order to make money in today's world












ir

[rbgosling]

It looks a bit better and more purposeful without the camouflage. This picture from an article in Autocar from about a week ago, which also states that the official launch day is today.

I hope those bonnet vents serve some actual practical purpose and are not just there for styling. My pet hate (well, the top out of many...) in current car design is fake features - chromed rings at the lower rear that don't actually have exhaust coming through them, Aston Martin style front wing vents that don't allow any air through, brake cooling ducts that are actually blocked off, pseudo-vents in places that wouldn't actually do anything functional even if they were actually open...

[richardw]

It looks a bit better and more purposeful without the camouflage. This picture from an article in Autocar from about a week ago, which also states that the official launch day is today.

I hope those bonnet vents serve some actual practical purpose and are not just there for styling. My pet hate (well, the top out of many...) in current car design is fake features - chromed rings at the lower rear that don't actually have exhaust coming through them, Aston Martin style front wing vents that don't allow any air through, brake cooling ducts that are actually blocked off, pseudo-vents in places that wouldn't actually do anything functional even if they were actually open...

You are a man after Oliver Winterbottom’s heart…

[Marten]

I hope those bonnet vents serve some actual practical purpose and are not just there for styling. My pet hate (well, the top out of many...) in current car design is fake features - chromed rings at the lower rear that don't actually have exhaust coming through them, Aston Martin style front wing vents that don't allow any air through, brake cooling ducts that are actually blocked off, pseudo-vents in places that wouldn't actually do anything functional even if they were actually open...

you missed the powered door handles which pop out*) when you unlock the car

*) unless it is freezing, unless the warranty has run out etc

[bash]

Apart from the excessive portals it is better looking than the spy shots. Im 66 years old and Ive never owned a 4 door car, I might grow up one day.

Bash

[KevW]

To me the blue Autocar artist's impression looks better than the real thing. The real Emeya seems to have an extra 3 inches in height in its wings and door panels which makes the car look hefty. The Autocar pic actually does look like it could be a Lotus whereas the real car looks like it could come from VW, Kia or any other boring brand. Lotus needs a better designer

[rbgosling]

Apologies - I didn't realise that the blue car was just Autocar's guess, not the real thing.

The real thing is here.







And it has side vents.... in the doors !!! What function are they supposed to do???

To me, the front end looks over-aggressive, it's trying to be angry not beautiful. Too many slashes and creases and intersecting angles everywhere, but that is the current design trend, like it or hate it. Back end looks more distinctive, that looks OK. If you took the badges off and showed it to someone, asked them who made this car, I doubt many would guess Lotus (whether they are a Lotus enthusiast or not), although I suppose it's very consistent with Eletre styling.

[supraholic]

Im 66 years old and Ive never owned a 4 door car, I might grow up one day.

Bash

I "grew up" when I had back surgery in 2011. I can't tolerate going very far in an SUV because of the distance between the driver seat bottom and the roll center of the vehicle combined with the unevenness of the asphalt cattle trails that Texas calls roads. Sports cars are better because of more deeply bolstered seats and being lower have less "pendulum effect" over uneven pavement. Still I generally drive my sports cars only on short trips, on carefully planned routes, often to a car show and back. My favorite car is actually my 2000 Jaguar XJ8. I kind of bought it out of desperation, a dirt cheap luxury sedan to drive for six months or so while I healed up (never happened), but turns out I really, really enjoy it. Unfortunately, I pretty much had worn it out by 2017. I retired it from daily duties and replaced it with a 2012 Jaguar, but its not been anywhere near as reliable and with my local dealer now out of business and my indie scheduling repair appointments two to three months out, I'm in the market to replace it now (while I mostly DIY, I do pay the professionals for repairs when I need my daily driver fixed fast).

I'm kind of with you in that I can count on my fingers the number of times I've actually carried a back seat passenger. Its kind of a waste, lugging around two extra doors. Can't imagine what they must weigh. What I really want for a daily driver would be a 2024 version of the 1976 Jaguar XJ6C but nobody has made a personal luxury coupe in many years. As far as sedans on the market, nobody even makes anything anymore that could reasonably be called a true "luxury" sedan. Sedans now have become the "performance" end of most manufacturer's lineups and they almost all now come with sport tuned suspension, big brakes, Conestoga wagon sized wheels and rubber bands for tires (tho ironically no longer with burbling v8s, but screaming little 4cyl turbos which are neither very luxurious nor even very sporting in such heavy modern vehicles). Sadly you and I both are kinda SOL in the current automotive market.

[MetBlue]

Never mind the outside. What's going on inside these days. Not just this car. 15" Touchscreen -Ahhhhh and as for the "55.0-inch augmented-reality head-up display", just how much info do you need in your eyeline (or not as the case may be). You're sitting just 2 feet away from it remember. I'd have neck ache before the first corner.

OMG- horrible thought. You don't think they're preparing for the self drive version so you can watch a movie whilst going down the shops do you? Now that does defeat the whole point of Lotus surely.
BIC-LIC ( Build in China, Leave in China).

Tony