Requests to Lotus

[Z-dculus]

I'd respectfully request a cargo net behind the seats standard on all models.

[exige cup dr]

Us Exige Cup owners would like to race them, since we can not go on the street!

[exige cup dr]

Cup Owners need a race series, please.

[texige]

Quit the yearly 20 hp. power increases and instead bring in the GT 3 with 250+ hp. The Exige S was not enough bang for the extra bucks for me to consider trading in my 06 Exige however a GT 3 would do the trick.

[Nikki]

Shorter shifter throw.

[R'elise Me]

How about just a great shifter mechanism, short throw or not. Mine gets locked out of third on occassion and its a wiggly, clumsy thing that is just so ill suited for such a precision, direct car like this. I actually fear it on the track. It's truly the worst element of this car IMO. Lotus should at least make a Motorsport shifter.

Wheel well liner screws that don't fall off

Easier to service air filter box

Headlights

[Dragon]

louvers and drainage on the Exige to keep the rain off the engine and out of the engine compartment.

[jed patout]

you should put a toyota emblem on the hood. its the heart of the beast

[CertifiedCC]

make the ac work a bit more

[viloprods]

Please make the hans compatible seat in the 260 available soon, as
an item to order from Lotus
Cheers Vilo

[dayton72]

Originally Posted by DesignIt

I should first make the disclaimer that I'm a product designer, so all of my responses are tainted by that fact.

None of what would typically be considered "shortcomings" of the Elise bother me at all. These include the lack of amenities and occupant comfort issues. I don't even mind the paint imperfections (after I buffed them out), grit under the Star Shield (I'll ignore that), rough engine idle and performance when cold (kinda like the sound that it makes), water leaks around the windows, and marginal air conditioning. In my opinion this gives the Elise a real sense of character that is sorely missing in todays "santitized for your protection" mass produced cars. My point is, don't add or refine things to try and make the Elise acceptable to the general public. This isn't a generic car and Lotus should never attempt to make it one. My one suggestion for the current list of options is to make the car standard without a stereo, and make an optional stereo of higher quality for those who want it.

The main issue that bothers me about the Elise is the styling. It's not that the current styling is that bad, its just that Lotus doesn't seem to have any brand identity in its product line. Comare the current product line of the Elise and the Esprit to see a good example of a lack of brand identity. The original Elise was definitely paying homage to the Europa in its facia, but the overall styling was a bit too retro and cute. The S2 followed the styling cues of the 340R very well but was a bit too swoopy and overdone. The next generation Lotus appears to be going too far the other way to the conservative side. Perhaps the design department within Lotus should have a bit stronger position in the company with more of a long-range strategy than they currently have. The proper evolution of design makes for a strong visual brand equity.

John

Not sure I agree with the "no brand identity". If you look at their line you will notice some similar design cues. The Evora and Elise/Exige are very "Lotus" branded and the next gen Esprit looks like it will follow suit. I rather enjoy the eclectic yet family look of their cars. Much more fun than the homogenized looks that larger car makers force feed to the public...speaking as a guy with a design degree - just my two cents.

[Joecooool]

I'd really like a damn t-shirt.

[shoco]

Give us a two-eleven that we can drive on the street. Just add a pair of airbags, and a detachable windshield with wipers. Add only what is necessary to comply with the letter of the law. Don't glue these additions on. Please bolt them on. They come off much easier that way.

Oh, and consider an option of heater/ac that you could hook up to your driving suit to warm or cool the driver. It would be like a four wheel motorcycle that isn't constantly scaring you. ( Like the Ariel Atom )

Give this top priority and create another landmark car.

[008]

Originally Posted by shoco

Give us a two-eleven that we can drive on the street. Just add a pair of airbags, and a detachable windshield with wipers. Add only what is necessary to comply with the letter of the law. Don't glue these additions on. Please bolt them on. They come off much easier that way.

Oh, and consider an option of heater/ac that you could hook up to your driving suit to warm or cool the driver. It would be like a four wheel motorcycle that isn't constantly scaring you. ( Like the Ariel Atom )

Give this top priority and create another landmark car.

I'd buy one.

[shoco]

I would buy a street legal two-eleven here in the usa. Even in this terrible economy I would buy it. Lotus are you listening?

Lotus you don't have to produce a car that appeals to a broader market. (Evora) You just need to federalize what you already produce (Two-eleven) It would cost less to do also.

Sometimes history really does repeat itself. Lotus remember the Super Seven series 4 ? Going into this depression common sense says give 'em what they want not what they need! That's how to be successful in any market. Just look at drugs or alcohol to prove my point. Lotus what your selling here is a state of mind, adrenaline machine, a drug really. I don't want more room I want more sporting equipment.

[wallabyguy]

federalizing the 2-Eleven is a lot harder than you may think. Things like windshield requirements, impact requirements, interior crash standards, etc. would cost quite a bit and leave you with a heavily modified vehicle from it's initial concept which would still only appeal to maybe, let's be very generous here, 200 buyers in the US per year. On the other hand, you could build the Evora which is expected to sell 500-800 min per year in the US. It will be the basis for several variants including a convertible, 2 seater, HO version, etc. It is a consumer retention vehicle and also opens Lotus up to a much larger market. The Evora also acts as a bridge and thus a marketing tool for the next MSC (a.k.a. Esprit). So while the project does cost more, it makes more sense for the company over the long run.

[shoco]

Robert, I am going to have to respectfully disagree. All the parts needed are already produced and like I suggested bolted on to be removed ( for racing purposes only) wink wink later.

Robert, I like you, I even bought a car from you in 2007. If the people on the other side of the pond can't do what I want I guess I will have to find another way.

I know every sports car manufacturer is tooling up a bigger or 4-door car but I will not go along with this insanity. I think this is a fad and in a few years we will all look back and laugh.

[eliiz]

Please, don´t change a thing. Just make it quicker and more racecar like. Maybe if you could make it lighter? Don´t add anything, just improve things.

[wallabyguy]

Originally Posted by shoco

Robert, I am going to have to respectfully disagree. All the parts needed are already produced and like I suggested bolted on to be removed ( for racing purposes only) wink wink later.

Robert, I like you, I even bought a car from you in 2007. If the people on the other side of the pond can't do what I want I guess I will have to find another way.

I know every sports car manufacturer is tooling up a bigger or 4-door car but I will not go along with this insanity. I think this is a fad and in a few years we will all look back and laugh.

First off, thanks for the kind words.

I agree that material wise, the parts are already available with some minor exceptions (like a fed compliant windshield and bumper structures). Versions of the Elise/ Exige units could be modified, I think.

I still feel that Lotus has a higher chance of selling Evoras than road legal 2 Elevens in the US. I'm not saying there aren't buyers for a complaint 2-Eleven, just not hundreds of them every year.

I agree that it doesn't make a lot of sense for Lotus to do a Panamera/ Rapide type car at this point. While I happen to love the Rapide, I think, as you do, that these cars will be interesting for a couple of years and then fade. Aston can get away with it as they don't have to produce tons of them (especially at a quarter of a million each). Lotus I would be worried about unless they could find a sister car that would share components with to reduce R&D, tooling and production costs. Porsche, depending on the eventual price point, could be making a huge mistake. That said, they got away with the Cayanne and actually made a good profit on them (a few years back). The Evora is not a Panamera or Rapide. It's much smaller and is not really a 4 seater. It's important to remember that from the Elan +2 all the way through the Excel, Lotus produced a similar type of car for about 25 years.

[spectre]

First off I love Lotus and have owned 2 Elise and now s240.
But they need to focus on Build quality...Build quality...Build quality.

There is no reason you can't build a light weight raw car that is buttoned up. I'm sure a huge amount of time has gone into everything but they seeming over look the basics that are boiler plate to all other car manufacturers. I could care less about more features and most would say the same but do the features that you offer at high quality and not half assed. Yeah, it's hand made...do it better.