LBH-rip -Lotus of Beverly Hills-

[Stormy320]

Originally Posted by delise

Don't forget Qais still has his own shop down near Manhattan Beach at 405 & Roscecrans, just can't do warranty work if you need it.

Qais is the man!

Your car will be in excellent hands.

[Bavarian Motorist]

This blows.......

[Rugbyduck]

Originally Posted by Stale_Hotdog

LA is one of their biggest markets

Maybe the NFL and Lotus will have something in common...

[LARRY]

Well, if this is it for Lotus Beverly Hills...they were a great group with friendly intelligent people.

I will miss them greatly.

I hope they return.

A Lotus presence in the heart of Beverly Hills sells more Lotus cars than anywhere else.

[Allan Gibbs]

Don't feel bad. This opens the door for a new Lotus dealership in the LA area which is a market too big to miss. And, I have faith in Lotus' regional sales manager.

Also, I don't there there too many Lotus techs and salemen in the area so, Lotus may even call Allen and Phil if there's a new dealership in the area since they already know the product (and I'm just speculating here).

[jerrym]

Subscribed.

[Flash G]

This makes no sense. So now there are no Lotus dealers/service in the county of Los Angeles? (the Lotus capital of America)

What the hell is going on?


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[Flash G]

Originally Posted by Stale_Hotdog

Half hour without traffic how about that?

LoBH is 5 minutes from my house. That's what really sucks about this.

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[FLuXeXigeS]

LOL i was in BH today at the Panerai Boutique!!!
didnt have much time to drop by LBH tho...maybe i have to pay Qais a visit sooner than later

[Lotusmotion]

If so, this is pure bullsh*t and no way to freakin' manage a niche automotive brand and retain core customers.

I was somewhat understanding (as a businessman) though bummed (as a customer) when Lotus of South Bay folded its tent. Fortunately, Qais is now available for independent service for those of us in / close to the South Bay.

Lotus of BH was the only remaining L.A. metro area dealer and warranty service spot left for many of us.

What is ironic is that Lotus of South Bay reportedly folded its tent because of infringement of the L.A. metro territory by Lotus of BH, who was reportedly admitted into the territory as the result of a Lotus corporate retrade.

So, now there are no metro L.A Lotus franchise stores?

WTF?

[Randy Chase]

I believe that Lotus wants to expand the dealerships in the LA area, while respecting the territory of the existing players. Some things just take time to develop. I think it is safe to say that Lotus wants a dealership in that general area of LA.

[delise]

I drove by there on the way home from work, I live about 5 blocks from them. The lights were on, LBH logo up, full of cars still on the sales floor, salespeople in the front working. There was a notice on the side door about construction, the service bay was cleared out except for an orange lambo.

I would take a guess that there are around 90 Elise/Exige in the Los Angeles city area and 130 in LA county ? Pretty nice niche for somebody who wants to set up a authorized service shop ! We had 40 cars show up to the first Agoura Hills drive in 2007

[lotusforsale]

The Lotus dealer network for 40 years in the US has completely (or nearly) turned over on average about every 5 years (I exaggerate only slightly to make the point).

In the Elise Era, Maplecrest in NJ was one of the first to go. They were shipping/selling as many of the early cars as anyone else. When the energy in the 05's was waning, and Lotus knew they were going to have extra cars on their hands, they tried to muscle Maplecrest into taking on an extra allotment. Maplecrest told them to take a hike.

I've got on my wall a framed magazine ad, very slick from Larry Buick/Lotus in Arlington, Va, circal 1986 or 87 for a Turbo Esprit "be one of the very few to own a Lotus Turbo Espit." Don't think anyone named Larry is selling Lotus in Arlington now.

13 years ago when I had my Esprit, Antwerpen had a Lotus and Lamborghini dealership in Baltimore, in the site of the current Prestige Imports that some of you Baltimore guys might recognize. Now Antwerpen has other locations and is peddling Chryslers and Jeeps.

The churn of dealers has always been quite common with Lotus. No different for the Elige. 2005 was an anomoly, right now Lotus is selling only a few more Elige annually in the US than they were selling Esprits in their heydey.

I'd expect to see quite a turnover in dealers, unless the Evora really takes off. Personally, I'd like to see Ferrari of Washington and its sister, Maserati of Baltimore pick up the Lotus brand and nail down Lotus sales and service in the DC/NOVA/Baltimore corridor.

They've got techs in both locations trained/experienced to work on them, and the owner apparently has a prepped Lotus Challenge series car.

[logan2z]

Originally Posted by FLuXeXigeS

LOL i was in BH today at the Panerai Boutique!!!

Did they have anything good in stock? I'm looking for a PAM000.

[ivan1]

Personally I think Lotus should restructure their whole dealer network...fewer sales locations might fly, but increasing the number of service centers (ie having more service-only sites) is a must if they plan on grabbing Porsche customers with the Evora....

[Flash G]

So does anyone know what the real story is? Are they just undergoing renovation?.. Or are they finished selling Lotus?


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[Stormy320]

Bad stuff from the start. Doesn't anyone remember the first thread about this dealer.

[LARRY]

You know...my Lotus was the last car in the shop at Lotus of Beverly Hills today.

Nothing else in there.

Just about everyone from Lotus Beverly Hills is going to Lotus of Calabasas.

I said goodbye to Allen and told him that he is my friend. And he is.

These guys treated me like royalty from the start.

First SouthBay Lotus goes, then this place.

Really cool Lotus people.

I am sorry to see them go.

Thanks, fellas. Thanks for a really important part of the Lotus experience.

[zewm]

Okay I'm confused...are they going out of business/moving to Calabasas or just undergoing renovation?

When I was there a few days ago, Phil mentioned that one of the cars we were talking about was in Calabasas, but he made no indication that the store would be closing or wouldn't be available after a certain date.

Does someone have a definite answer here or are we just speculating?

[Allan Gibbs]

Okay. I've been told what's going on and have been reluctant to get involved. However, I feel I need to say something as a result of the posts about several Lotus dealers closing because I don't want this to be a negative reflection on Lotus USA or LCU.

I wanted to make it clear that Lotus Beverly Hills (LBH) situation is NOT a result of the economy, Lotus car sales, or something Lotus USA or LCU has done or has not done. That being said:

1) LBH is done

2) LBH's service department will be operating from their Calabasas location. I'm not sure for how long.

3) The issue resulting in LBH's closure is a legal issue involving the owner and is not a result of the economy, car sales, etc.

Now this is personal opinion. I'm sure Lotus USA knows the importance of the LA market which is a key sport car and "high end" market. I won't be surprised if a new dealership obtains the Lotus brand or maybe BHL reopens under a new owner.