[Ridgemanron]

Spoke to Bill Reudgen @ Valenti Mtrs. in
Ct. and he confirmed the above info.. 2nd
shipment (June-July) will continue at the
8 car rate (for all dealers) and so on and
so on. He remains hopeful that cars will
be able to be ordered 'as decided by customer' but this is not confirmed. no brochures will be avail. but dealers will receive detailed info after the L.A. Auto show next month. Valenti will be getting a U.S. spec vehicle (for test drives) in a
few weeks.

 

[shinoo]

Seems strange that dealers would get equal allotments. I'd say they will allocate them based on the # of deposits in place. Why should a new dealer get the same allocation as one that has been selling Lotus for many years???

Personally, I'd like to see them compile all the deposits, by date, to create the order sequence.

I'm #17 at Symbolic BH, so if Ridgemanron is right, I'll be waiting till late summer.

We'll know very soon...

 

[Ridgemanron]

If the 2,500 annual production projection is accurate, there should be an additional
56 plus cars each month that are not part of the 38 (dealers) X 48 (units) per dealer
Totals = 1,824 cars. It is possible that this(approx.) 676 overage will be dispensed, during the ensuing months, to those dealers with a higher volume of overall orders.

 

[atyclb]

If the 2,500 annual production projection is accurate, there should be an additional
56 plus cars each month that are not part of the 38 (dealers) X 48 (units) per dealer
Totals = 1,824 cars. It is possible that this(approx.) 676 overage will be dispensed, during the ensuing months, to those dealers with a higher volume of overall orders.

there's supposed to be 50 dealers by Summer.

 

[Sownman]

there's supposed to be 50 dealers by Summer.

That could be a major problem. Suddenly 12 new dealers materialize, none near me. The guy who puts out his deposit March 23 gets his car in May because every dealer gets same allotment while I hold my current place in line and don't get mine till next September.

Steve

 

[jml1952]

When a new dealer with a brand new waiting list shows up, they sure will be popular! It's hard to believe that they would suddenly get the same allotment as the network of existing dealers, but they need some cars to sell or what's the point of becoming a Lotus dealer? We'll see how Lotus handles this.

 

[drrjv]

8...did you say eight?!?!!

i am #9 on the list at Rothrock!!!

(maybe someone will drop off?)

LA Autoshow or bust...

 

[usofrob]

It is possible that they mean 8 cars at a time, as opposed to every dealer getting 8 cars at the exact same time. It seems to make sense that they could only fit 8 on a truck at a time, and will only send the Elise's in 8 car units to dealers. So, they could still send units of cars more often to the more popular dealers.

 

[Ridgemanron]

anything is possible. Heck, even Saddam
getting back in power is possible.

 

[Canyon Carver]

I don't think eight Elises will fit into one truck, I sure hope they don't decide to ship them on open transporters!
From what my Dealer Principal tells me, we haven't recieved any final specs regarding the allotment...it sure seems premature for people to be spreading the word as to how many cars each dealership will be gettiing on each shipment. There are just way too many variables still yet to be hashed out.

 

[Ridgemanron]

Re: Autoweek article of 12/15 by Matt Davis. Lotus USA spokesman, Arnie Johnson, states " they've been selling maybe three cars a year in many cases up until now...."

The above statement would explain why
all dealers are going to get an equal amount of cars each month.

 

[zvezdah1]

Yep, not really sure how past esprit sales will play into the equation on alottment, totally different vehicle. I don't think some of the high end dealers will be particularly suited to selling these cars which are a pretty big departure from the esprit in many ways.

BTW>I've heard that the cars will be shipped "containerized" ie they'll be prepped before leaving uk and arrive here basically ready to go to the dealer. Anyone have dealt with the protective crap they sprayed on the esprits before shipment will know this is the better way to go. Also, as I recall 8 cars fit in a container.

Chris

 

[Canyon Carver]

It would seem strange to send equal amounts of Elises to every dealer. I have little doubt that previous Esprit sales would be much a determining factor since very few of them have been sold over the last several years. I would think the allotment is based on many different variables. Los Angeles has a market that can probably sell at least ten times more cars than Denver, there is no reason why Denver should recieve as many cars as L.A.

 

[LotusLust]

if they have stated equal numbers to all dealers it may be a result of the numbers of deposits put down at all the dealers and an attempt to establish a lot of good will all across the country. or maybe from a marketing point of view there is nothing like seeing one on the street to whip up more fervor for purchases in the future. maybe it is to place them in as many large (wealthy?) markets as one can to maximize exposure

 

[Ridgemanron]

'down the road', probably about six months after initial deliveries, Lotus
will 'undoubtedly' have increased production capability. That is when you could expect a surge in volume to dealers
with long reservation lists. Prior to that,
you're living in a dream world if you think
any west coast dealers are going to get
larger allotments than others.

 

[Eyelise]

The dealer I have a deposit with wouldn't take deposits until the official word from LOA even though I contacted them over a year ago. Now they have over 70 deposits. It would be difficult to take into consideration all the different factors. Every dealer will undoubtedly get a monthly allotment. If the cars come in containers of 8, it makes sense this will be the number. It is also reasonable that surplus cars will go to larger dealers with longer lists. Finally, I can imagine new dealers getting the same allotment. Lotus wants to penetrate the entire U.S. market. New dealers have to have cars to sell.

 

[GeorgeH]

FYI, Clyde told me that 6 cars fit in a container, not 8.

George

 

[Canyon Carver]

you're living in a dream world if you think
any west coast dealers are going to get
larger allotments than others.

It's not a dream world, it's the way business is done. Larger markets can support larger allocations, whether it be East Coast, West Coast or wherever...product placement goes hand in hand with market population.

 

[jml1952]

BTW>I've heard that the cars will be shipped "containerized" ie they'll be prepped before leaving uk and arrive here basically ready to go to the dealer. Anyone have dealt with the protective crap they sprayed on the esprits before shipment will know this is the better way to go. Also, as I recall 8 cars fit in a container.

Chris

I'm wondering how cars will be shipped to the west coast. It's a long way around by ship from England to Port of San Diego or Port of Los Angeles. I thought that Lotus might choose to ship cars into New York, then truck them around the country to other dealers. But I have no idea of the economics of the various options.

 

[smoseley]

FYI, Clyde told me that 6 cars fit in a container, not 8.

So they ship one container to each dealership, or don't you think they'd route them all through Atlanta, which would mean that they're sending multiple containers at once, which would mean they could send as many per dealer as they want?