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Post by ksm on Dec 15, 2016 23:35:51 GMT -5
Has anyone heard anything or does anyone know anything about any progress on us getting a new local dealership? Are we going to have to wait until 2020?
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Post by cyow5 on Dec 16, 2016 10:14:33 GMT -5
I had heard whispering several months ago but nothing recent or ever concrete. Heck, the 400 alone would've been enough reason to open one - just look at the P-car market around here. I don't get it. They HAVE to have a plan that just hasn't materialized yet.
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Post by almighty on Dec 19, 2016 9:49:57 GMT -5
I don't think Lotus has enough exposure for them to warrant opening a stealership.
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Post by cyow5 on Dec 19, 2016 9:53:50 GMT -5
The latest CEO seems to understand how to invest in the company and has been doing a good job. A highly visible dealership in this market is necessary for growth
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Post by almighty on Dec 19, 2016 9:55:31 GMT -5
You're right, this new guys seems to know what he's doing. A stealership would help, but marketing is what will sell cars.
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Post by cyow5 on Dec 19, 2016 10:03:57 GMT -5
I'd guess they need to go hand in hand - no one around here would go to NJ to buy a car because they saw a commercial and no one would walk into an unknown dealership to see what they have. At least not in considerable numbers. And as much as I agree with you about how inadequate and greedy dealerships can be, they are a necessity when dealing with things like warranty repairs, recalls, airbag lights, transmission issues for the IPS guys, etc.
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Post by rcollum on Dec 22, 2016 12:12:57 GMT -5
No news at this point. It's being worked on, but that does not do users with warranty needs and outstanding recalls any good. I will post here, and via email, as soon as we have solid information. At this point, a Lotus dealership would only have the somewhat limited Evora line to sell as a new car - Evora, Evora S, and Evora 400.
I wish we had more info...
--Bob Collum
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Post by rdgrcr on Jan 3, 2017 11:52:35 GMT -5
I don't think we even need a traditional dealer, we just need a Lotus garage to take care of warranty work, recalls, and those who don't want to wrench themselves. Throw a lotus marque up on an already existing dealer and hire a few lotus techs...done.
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Post by rcollum on Jan 3, 2017 17:57:10 GMT -5
For a short time, Lotus had a couple of 'service only' locations in the US. They didn't last long. I don't know that it's a big-enough money generator, without new car sales. However, new car sales don't look to be very strong in most dealerships selling the marque. It makes for a tough proposition to place Lotus in an existing dealer. I think that, when they get the Evora Spyder to sell, that will help, but just selling several flavors of the same car is not a good long-term strategy. They really need the Elise replacement. With an Elise, and Exige, and several models of Evora, it would seem to be a real draw for sports car people.
Look at Alfa Romeo - casual observations seem to indicate they are NOT selling many 4C's, and that is as close as you can get to an Elise, though minus the critical element: a manual trans. We'll see if the Giulia will help their dealerships. The Quadrifoglio looks great, but it should, for $80,000.
Unfortunately, I think the sports car market continues to shrink. I think you'd see a whole lot less Porsche dealerships if not for the Cayenne/Macan/Panamera. ...and the whole industry knows what the non-sports-car trend does - late this year, we have seen the new SUVs at Katie's from Jaguar and Bentley. They know easy money when they see it.
--Bob Collum
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Post by cyow5 on Jan 4, 2017 8:42:23 GMT -5
I'm hoping the 4C's low sales are also a result of it missing its mark a bit - regulations pushed the weight higher than Alfa claimed it would be by like 400lbs, and the price of CF tub didn't fall like they had expected, so the MSRP grew.
Bethesda was basically what Tyler is saying; I hated how it was just a broom closet across the street, but, had it been just attached to the dealer, then I think it would've felt more proper. Instead, it just felt like an afterthought.
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Post by rcollum on Jan 4, 2017 12:17:59 GMT -5
I'd agree that the location of the Bethesda dealership was not ideal. That's got to be some expensive real estate! By the way, before Lotus was in that space, I believe Euro was selling Bentleys out of there. My real problem with the space was the lack of parking. That said, I'd be really happy to have the dealership back again...
--Bob Collum
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Post by ksm on Jul 9, 2021 12:01:38 GMT -5
First update to this thread in what looks to be four years! But, during that time, nothing in the lineup significantly grew or changed... until the unveiling just several days ago, July 6th. So, what do we think? Will the Emira be what finally brings a dealership back to this area?
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Post by rcollum on Jul 11, 2021 12:20:09 GMT -5
Within the last couple of months, I have made it know to Lotus Cars USA that the DC market is large, and sorely lacking a Lotus dealership. During the Emira live launch, I chatted with a Lotus sales rep, and I made the statement that Emira sales could be very good in our region, but not without a local dealer.
We'll see. I believe a Florida dealer was the highest-volume sales for Lotus in the world, last year, so Lotus should understand the value of the US market.
--Bob Collum
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Post by jdubwong on Aug 19, 2021 9:12:15 GMT -5
There was mention on lotus talk of 7 dealerships opening in the US to coincide with the Emira launch. Time will tell tho, I haven't seen anything official yet
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