Car Sangarz

Part 1 of our NYIAS wrap-up covered the media day unveilings that stood out to us. But there were unveilings that fell short as well-- whether it may be the cause of a lukewarm product or because of a presentation that carried a lot of potential, but ultimately under-delivered.


Nissan
As previously mentioned, the compact/subcompact segment has been a focal point at the New York auto show, and will only grow more competitive in coming years. Last week, the Nissan Leaf won World Car of the Year, speaking volumes to just how in touch product developers of Nissan are to current trends.

However, I was extremely disappointed with the unveiling of their new Versa. With 30 city/37 highway at an extremely low price of $10,990, the Versa is one of the least expensive new cars sold in North America today and it is obviously trying to bring on the heat to the South Korean brands.

The price, unfortunately, comes with with a price. The Versa suffers from a bland exterior that whimpers anonymity in addition to plastic composite touch points in the interior that conjure childhood memories of Fisher Price. The press conference ended with restrained and scattered applause. Oh no is right. This can't be good.


Lotus
Lotus caused one of the largest buzzes in recent memory when they simultaneously unveiled at the 2010 Paris Auto Show an unprecedented five unique products-- Lotus Eterne, Esprit, Elite, Elan and Elise.

Since the show, skeptics and fans alike questioned whether or not Lotus indeed had the ability, in finances and resource, to meet its promise. With the presence of the Lotus Esprit concept and some major suits, including industry icon, legend, and former GM vice chairman, Bob Lutz, who is now a part of the Lotus advisory board, the venue had everything one could need to inject confidence to the public.

Unfortunately, nothing in depth was ever brought to attention. Sure, the new Evora S and Evora IPS were unveiled but rather than running across sales figures, company performance outlooks, and product improvements, Lotus did little talking at all. Instead, they've brought promotional videos to out attention and followed up with an agonizingly long discussion of Lotus' IRL racing activities. Disappointingly, the only thing the promo videos revealed were gorgeous models in sheer bikinis walking around a Esprit concept while a remix of La Roux's "In for the Kill" played in the background. Don't get me wrong, I loved the video. But that wasn't why FPH came to the Auto Show.

When looking at an open-wheel race car as a piece of art, there are many differing opinions on its physical beauty.  To most people, modern cars possess little to no inspiration in their design.  They are just an amalgamation of airfoils, winglets, and scoops.  To others, that is the beauty of the design, the process by which all those little pieces unify to create a blisteringly fast car that seems to cheat fluid dynamics and defy the laws of physics.

grandprix.com

Still, nothing can ever compare to the classics...

The mid-engined cigar-shaped race cars of the 60s have always looked absolutely brilliant.  The flowing, uninterrupted lines of the Lotus 38 and 49 have brought casual fans as well as tech nerds to their knees.  From Colin Chapman's mind came the finest examples of grace, elegance, and raw power.

carguychronicles.com

The 38 caused a complete shift in thinking for what an Indy car should be.  In 1965, this monocoque, mid-engined rocket produced 500hp from its Ford V8 and carried Jim Clark to victory in the Indy 500.  Lotus went on to replace the 38 with the forgettable 43 but redeemed itself in 1967 with the Lotus 49.

carpictures.com

The Lotus 49 used its Ford-sourced Cosworth V8 as a stressed member, much like the 43 did.  This meant that there was no need for a cradle in which the engine sat.  It was a part of the chassis itself with the front being bolted to the monocoque chassis and the suspension directly attached to the rear.  Without a traditional frame or chassis for the motor, precious pounds were saved.  Developed and refined in 1967, Graham Hill won the '68 Formula One championship with it after Clark suffered a fatal accident in an F2 race.

The 80s were a dark time for the automotive world.  Manufacturers hadn't figured out how to make horsepower after federally mandated smog equipment had been bolted onto motors.  The giants of the sports car realm - Supra, Corvette, 928 - didn't break the 300 horsepower mark until the very end of the decade.  However, if you look hard enough there's always a light in the darkness.  In the mid 80s, the light could be found in music by a still black Michael Jackson, the inherent goodness of Darth Vader, and the turbo V6 in the blacked out Buick Grand National.

autogaleria.hu

Out of all the products in the GM catalog, this was the one to have!  Yes, I know.  It is a Buick.  It's also the best incarnation of a Buick since the Gran Sport and it outran the almighty Corvette, the top dog in GM's performance hierarchy.  While a 5.7 liter Vette was doing 0-60 sprints in 6.3 seconds, the 1987 G-body Buick had already finished that feat 1.3 seconds ago, listened to Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer," and stole the Vette's girlfriend.

autogaleria.hu

When the old girl, the car not the girlfriend, lets you look under her hood, it really gets interesting.  There sits a 3.8 liter V6 which had been turbocharged to a healthy 276 horsepower and 360 lb-ft of torque.  Never mind the anemic V8 in a Corvette or even a Ferrari 328.  This motor outclassed both!  Porsche's 928 and its 5.0 liter V8 were the only competition for this car in terms of outright acceleration.

Turning is a different story.  Buick's 80s technology couldn't exactly make the 200 inch, 3500 pound bruiser handle like a Lotus Esprit.  Remember we're talking about an American car that is, arguably, responsible for a muscle car renaissance.  Let's just say that, yes, it can turn.

autogaleria.hu

When new, Grand Nationals cost somewhere around $18,000 while the optional GNX package was an additional $11,000 over that.  Today, a clean example will fetch prices in the high teens.  Don't be surprised if these prices start heading north in the next few years as GM releases the new Regal and nostalgia sets in.  However, considering the way that things are going over at GM, this will be the last supercar out of Buick, affordable or not.

Lotus is back, take 2, with a second team, Group Lotus.
Behold the John Player Special colors!

Seems like an Amateur Class one-spec racing series. But Dean Evans is no amateur.

1969 Lotus 49B Courtesy of: ausmotive.com

On our post that covered the 2010 Paris Auto Show, I shared with you Lotus' five sports car debut that stole the show.






Go ahead and look at the pictures again. One is a complete redesign, and the rest are all-new. Each and every one of them production viable, and not just a technological showcase. Ladies and gentlemen, I believe what we see here is not just an injection of five new Lotus models in one auto show (which is already effin' ridic), but a complete future Lotus sports car line-up [Note: I'm leaving out CityCar and the T127 to save from discussing additional topics and risking excess mind boggle-lation].

In another one or two special edition trims, the Elise/Exige product cycle will end, beginning life anew as classics. Another handful of years and the Europa and Evora will be gone as well. It is very probable that in the near future, these five concepts of the Paris 2010 will be all the sports cars we will see at our nearest Lotus showroom floor.

Now I'm not afraid to hold this on account of my limited knowledge capacity, but I've honestly never seen, nor heard of, this done before. Not by any established motoring company, and certainly not from one as small as Lotus.

The  question we should address is "why?"

Don't get me wrong. I'm not asking because I'm unhappy. I think the new cars are fantastic in design and company direction. The new corporate image is handsome, striking, sporting, British, as well as a very bold response to their sports car manufacturing peers. Each model promises exclusivity. The Elise will remain light and possess industry leading handling and chassis development. The Esprit will reignite an old name with a Lexus LF-A V10 engine. The Elite will debut Lotus' hybrid technology, an industry must, for the new age of automobiles.

But we loved the Elise and Exige. The Evora is also immensely popular. Initially, the debut came to me like an answer to a question that no one was asking. There isn't a need for Lotus to be taking such drastic actions, is there?

According to articles I've plowed over the past few hours [reference links of the said articles below], Lotus has been bleeding money and under debt stress for the past 15 years and, now cornered to a wall, CEO Dany Bahar faces two choices-- to eat or be eaten, to fight or flee, to "sell the company or run it to its potential."

Dany Bahar, Lotus Motors CEO courtesy of: thecarconnection.com

Way to show no one is kidding around. Current annual production at Lotus is 2700 vehicles at sub-$65k. Anticipation of the new model line-up creates a predicted projection of more than double the amount in annual production, that is 6000-7000, and plans to set $65k as the entry price point while the new average is $120k. This is especially worth addressing as new models mean a need for capacity expansion, R&D, outsourcing, marketing, etc. Incremental increases in these departments require exponential increases in investment. A lot of money.

I know it all sounds crazy. The stakes are incredibly high, maybe too high. But the statement, "sell the company or run it to its potential" couldn't be any more serious. In the course of a decade, £770M ($1.2 Bil), most of which I assume will be coming from Proton and the Malaysian government, will be invested on projects by Lotus. For those of you who like a bit of math, that is $120 million per year for ten years.

Frankly, I'd be very surprised if Lotus doesn't eventually ask for additional investments on top of the $1.2 Billion. This isn't pessimism speaking, but we know a decade is a very long time. Their future is uncertain and there will be rainy days.

Good luck to you, Lotus. Your history is long, colorful, and decorated. May you share your contributions with us for many decades to come. And along with Dany Bahar's strong position to "run [Lotus] to its full potential" might I add: "Fortune favors the brave."

Graham Hill courtesy of: virginmedia.com

editors note:
Initially I wanted to evaluate the financial soundness of Lotus' endeavor by putting it up against a comparable motor company's activities. In my research, I have found that Toyota planned to spend $8.7 billion this year in safety R&D alone. On the other end of the spectrum, Tesla Motors, which is interesting to me as Lotus is their Roadster chassis supplier, possesses a company net worth of approximately $500 Million. An unbelievable, but ultimately useless, bit of information.

references:
http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/253233/
http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/253099/
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/07/lotus-ceo-says-automaker-will-again-take-on-ferrari-lamborghini/

Lotus is a company that I highly admire. Throughout their existence, they've kept weight at a minimum to keep performance at a maximum. Until recently, their downfall has been their utter British "quirkiness" which makes older models about as reliable as a solar powered flashlight. If you're willing to overlook these little idiosyncrasies for a supercar that is bristling with personality, won't need a second mortgage, and can still hold its own against prancing horses and raging bulls.


Most of you would think of their most recent offerings like the Elise and Exige to make it into this column. Yes, they do generate astounding numbers and are very affordable (relatively). Calling one of those an "Affordable Supercar" is like calling Lady Gaga slightly off base. It's true but everyone already knew that. Come to think about it, the Elise and Exige share a bit more with Gaga. They're all stripped down and are only for the really hardcore fans.

Where was I? The Esprit is the next most qualified candidate in the Lotus line. In 1993, it got a major makeover and was graced with some curves to accentuate its sexy wedge shape. It still made do with a 2.2 liter slant four located mid ship but with the help of forced induction in the form of a turbocharger it made a modest 300 horsepower. By today's standards 300 horsepower isn't exactly earth shattering but also by today's standards a car weighing just under 2700 pounds is mind blowing! Put those two numbers together and you find the sum is indeed greater than its parts.

It runs a 0-60 sprint in about 4.5 seconds, can pull .91g on the skidpad, and can dice the cones in the slalom at 61.7 mph. Throw on some modern performance rubber and those numbers still have room to improve.

How much coin does it take to get into this British bombshell? As of this writing, a 1995 model with only 18,000 miles on the clock is listed on Ebay with a "buy it now" price of $36,900. At that price, you won't have to turn tricks like the "Pretty Woman" to drive one.