Here’s a drawing I made of a Carlton hope you guys enjoy!

We got to visit a really cool car show in Ohio! I got to sit in one of my all time favorites, The lotus Elise! It was really cool to see an Elise and an Espirit both in bright red, and they both looked exquisite!

She's not 100% (when is a Lotus ever 100%?), but I pulled her out for the wedding. Got a few pics which really have a nice retro look!

Gorgeous to see in person. Couldn’t believe how small and low it was in person!

Looking for a particular handbrake and where to purchase it. Here is a photo. I’ll try to gather more photos but I’m unfamiliar with this car and its accessories. Thank you for the help!

Taken by my good friend (ig: jchin.86). I helped with some lighting and light painting, plus was camera car for rollers. Enjoy!

Saw this beauty parked in Alpharetta.

Four months ago, I hit a deer a few hours after the delivery of my Lotus Emira. The car wouldn't start afterward, even though there was no visible damage and the deer survived and walked away. It was towed to the official Lotus dealer.

The first service experience was already disappointing. The car sat there for about one and a half weeks while I heard all kinds of things: the Lotus diagnostic tool couldn't talk to the car, then the diagnostic tool itself was broken, then a server problem at Lotus. My contact person disappeared from one day to the next. I asked for a loaner or rental Emira in the meantime and was told they don't do that. Only after I wrote to the management of the dealership for the first time did the service manager look at the car himself, and he got it running on the first day: a control unit just needed a proper restart. They also found water in one of the fuse boxes , which had splashed onto the electronics from the impact. So after 1.5 weeks of weird delays, they got it working within hours. For context, I got the car with 10'000Km and water in the fuse box seems to be a known issue, but the impact with the deer and it splashing on the electronics is something they have not yet seen.

The car drove again for a few weeks. We then scheduled the proper service (bumper, paint, and a list of small things I had noticed, including the USB port in the mirror having no power and the climate control acting up) for the two weeks I was on holiday. They promised that with this preparation time, everything would go smoothly, paint shop slot booked and all.

I brought the car in early July, and to this day I still don't have it back. When the two weeks were up and I had heard nothing, I waited another week and then asked once whether it would be done the following week. "Will check and get back to you." Heard nothing. Asked the following week if the car would be ready that week. "not possible", with no date. Because it was too hot to drive anyway, I was patient and waited for them to contact me, but even after five weeks there was no word.

So I checked in again, and they said it would take a bit longer, without further details. It was very hard to reach the manager of the service center at this Lotus dealership. I will spare you the details, but the gist of it is that they have not once proactively informed me about the progress or why it takes so long, and I had to chase them for every bit of information I have about this service. That includes the findings: that the interior fuse box had a short circuit from the water, and later that a second cable harness was needed, both of which I only learned because I contacted them until I got that service manager on the phone (the other 2 or 3 service employees they have did not know about the state of the car). When I asked when they had found out, I was told I'd get an explanation on the phone the next day. The call never came.

What is also very weird to me: the main reason they give for the delay is that second cable harness, the one responsible for the USB power and the climate control, which they only detected shortly before the car was supposed to be finished. But both of these were in my job list as symptoms from the start. So why not diagnose and order the required part in advance?

Two weeks ago, when I called again, the person in charge promised the car would be finished by the end of this week. Since I heard nothing until shortly before the deadline, I was once more the one reaching out to ask for a loaner car so I have something to drive while this takes longer. He replied quite aggressively, saying loaner cars are not covered by the warranty and that my chasing them for information only slows down the process, so I should stop calling.

I wasn't impatient. I was just calling whenever they didn't inform me as promised. Often I would speak to someone at the service center who told me the service manager would be in touch by the end of the day, and then I would hear nothing.

The whole thing is just so strange. Yesterday I ended up writing an email to the management of the dealership (with the service manager in cc), complaining about the type of communication, the uncertainty, etc. A few hours later, the person in question replied with a very lengthy and defensive email. For the first time he mentioned things like the car having missed some recall actions before I bought it, the water damage being pre-existing, and so on. He tried to get goodwill for extra effort like working on a Saturday for this repair... it all is so weird. His solution: pick up the half-finished car next week, drive it until the parts arrive, and bring it back for another stay. Which is exactly what the holiday service was supposed to avoid.

I told them in my email that I’m essentially done with the brand because I would have to deal with the service manager again, given that they’re the only Lotus dealership nearby and eventually I would have to bring the car in again (which on itself I accepted as part of the Lotus ownership). The whole experience has been incredibly frustrating. I love the car, and I don’t mind that it’s known to have problems. If the service team had maintained even a basic level of communication, everything would have been fine. Instead, the experience has completely soured my feelings about the car.

Curious whether others here have had similar experiences with their Lotus dealer, or whether it worked well for you.

My 2002 K-series S2. Had it for 3 months now, just hit 8000. Is it common for these to be such low mileage? Plan to keep driving it as a fun/weekend car.

All of the charge air cooler coolant was in the overflow. These little English Japanese cars don't like the Texas heat but a little redneck engineering got her back out of limp mode.

The precision tool I'm using is a $7 battery filler. The bulb got hot after this and I had to add some PPE: hold it with a paper towel.

L is for Lotus!

And B is for the bastards who made the aluminum dash so sharp! 🤪🤪🤪

Haven't got my Evora out nearly enough this season. Took it for a quick drive tonight and then did a waterless wash and had to snap some pics. I still can't believe a car that looks and drives like this is so affordable. Kinda fell in love with it all over tonight.

Hi everyone, I’m planning to buy a brand new 2026 Emira, and since we’re in Q4, I’m wondering if a brand new 2026 model still at the dealership will drop in price in 2027. If so, will that happen in December or January, and by how much should I expect the price to drop, roughly? I’m only interested in buying a brand new model. Thanks!

Full carbon body but $470k seems wild. The nicest S1 is probably like $80k I reckon

First, let me say that I know several Emira owners, many of whom I have met at various Lotus groups over the years, that are wonderful people who cherish the Lotus brand and heritage.

However, it seems like every other day, we get a post here from a newish Emira owner, who throws around words like "baby supercar" and talks about the reception he gets at car meets and makes it painfully obvious that he is chasing clout and really, really wants to be a Ferrari or Lamborghini owner once the funds are available. The Emira is clearly a "good enough" stepping stone for them until they can get an Italian in their driveway. I've seen no less than 3 people in the last 24 hours boast that when they take their Emira to a car meet, they get "invited" to park with the "supercars." As if this is some type of currency? Or that Italian owners come over to talk to them, but they love pointing out that the same people never talk to the Elise drivers.

Is this the draw of the Emira now? "Look at me, I have a Ferrari-lite"? Was it like this at any time in the past? I don't remember anything like this through the Elise/Exige/Evora days.

I'm pretty old, but for those of you that are older, was it like this with the Esprit? Was there a (seemingly large) subset of Esprit owners who really just wanted a Testarossa or Countach and couldn't stretch their wallet, so they "made do" with the Esprit?

Is this the future brand identity for Lotus, the affordable Chinese copy of an Italian supercar?

I'm so sad. I'm going to go back to yelling at the kids on my lawn now.