Anyone get the invite to test drive this weekend in Austin?

[KevinT27Z]

Received this invite to test drive on Saturday at my dealer in Austin.

 

[Lotustoronto]

Received this invite to test drive on Saturday at my dealer in Austin.

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Now we will all be bothering you for test drive review lol...!! Enjoy the drive!

 

[KevinT27Z]

Now we will all be bothering you for test drive review lol...!! Enjoy the drive!

Haha no worries. Let me know if anyone else is going or if anyone wants me to report back on anything specific.

 

[virtualmacho]

Can you check what color the airbags are, do they have a Lotus logo or "EMIRA" embossed on them?

 

[Lotustoronto]

Haha no worries. Let me know if anyone else is going or if anyone wants me to report back on anything specific.

If it is the grey car from LOG 41, then it will have sport suspension. Try to find some rough roads to see compliance, or if you find that touring may be better. That's the only thing I am wavering on. Try to confirm if US cars get to keep the open metal mesh for the manual shifter. Thanks.

 

[KevinT27Z]

I will also be test driving the new AM V8 vantage as it might be worth a look instead of the Emira if delays continue or my number is not in the FE batch.

 

[Lotustoronto]

I will also be test driving the new AM V8 vantage as it might be worth a look instead of the Emira if delays continue or my number is not in the FE batch.

Back to back comparisons are welcome! and pics!! Enjoy

 

[Cory]

Received this invite to test drive on Saturday at my dealer in Austin.

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Lotus of Orlando was not even aware that a test car is making the rounds. 4 hours doesn’t seem like enough time for all deposit holders to get a ride.

 

[KevinT27Z]

Lotus of Orlando was not even aware that a test car is making the rounds. 4 hours doesn’t seem like enough time for all deposit holders to get a ride.

I agree and was thinking the same thing. I emailed their group and booked a slot for 3pm so hopefully there are no disruptions. He told me it was making it's rounds around the country. I will text my guy on Thursday to confirm and verify before making the trip. When I booked my time slot, it seems like they were giving people 15 min each.

 

[Cory]

I agree and was thinking the same thing. I emailed their group and booked a slot for 3pm so hopefully there are no disruptions. He told me it was making it's rounds around the country. I will text my guy on Thursday to confirm and verify before making the trip. When I booked my time slot, it seems like they were giving people 15 min each.

That’s great that they are taking reservations. Hope you get enough seat time to get a good impression

 

[DaaS]

Received this invite to test drive on Saturday at my dealer in Austin.

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That's a very short notice given how far some of us are from the dealerships.

 

[Maurice R]

I will also be test driving the new AM V8 vantage as it might be worth a look instead of the Emira if delays continue or my number is not in the FE batch.

The dealership in Austin should have already told you a long time ago if you were getting an FE

 

[KevinT27Z]

That’s great that they are taking reservations. Hope you get enough seat time to get a good impression

It probably won't be enough but better than nothing so I can make a decision to stay or move on. Plus that area is near a crowded interstate in the middle of the city so probably just acceleration and feel is all I'll get.

 

[KevinT27Z]

That's a very short notice given how far some of us are from the dealerships.

Yes I agree, but hopefully it's as expected. I feel like he wouldn't have emailed me if I wasn't in line for an FE but who knows. I am just trying to decide on Emira, NSX, R8, GT4, or 570s. All used of course. tired of waiting...

 

[Lotustoronto]

Yes I agree, but hopefully it's as expected. I feel like he wouldn't have emailed me if I wasn't in line for an FE but who knows. I am just trying to decide on Emira, NSX, R8, GT4, or 570s. All used of course. tired of waiting...

Don't want to sound negative, but I am fairly certain all F/E for the US were spoken for about a year ago. As far as I know all US F/E depositors submitted their final builds and extra 10K deposits about 6-8 Months ago.

Unless it's an i4 F/E? Then that's different.

 

[KevinT27Z]

Don't want to sound negative, but I am fairly certain all F/E for the US were spoken for about a year ago. As far as I know all US F/E depositors submitted their final builds and extra 10K deposits about 6-8 Months ago.

Unless it's an i4 F/E? Then that's different.

You could be right, who knows. I'll go and let yall know how it goes. I put my original deposit in over a year ago but I haven't heard of anyone putting up 10k for it yet. And if so, maybe some people dropped off the waiting list. I'll ask those questions when I am there but I just want to drive it if nothing else. I drove a GT4 (which I loved) so I will have something to compare it to.

 

[Nonoyeah]

Wow... Lotus Miami told me last week their demo would arrive in December. I am as well starting to think about a 2020-21 Vantage instead since I sold my 911 several months ago thinking my base V6 would be Q1'23 not Q3.

 

[Maurice R]

Don't want to sound negative, but I am fairly certain all F/E for the US were spoken for about a year ago. As far as I know all US F/E depositors submitted their final builds and extra 10K deposits about 6-8 Months ago.

Unless it's an i4 F/E? Then that's different.

You are correct on the FE I believe all FE deposits did the builds in March April and May.
Depending on which dealership you went to most of them only took the initial deposit of $2500. That is what I paid
Asked my dealership if they required an additional amount when I did my final build in March and they so no just the $2500 (refundable)
From what I have heard most US dealerships only required the initial deposit and it is refundable
There have been a few that made customers pay more and not refundable

 

[TomE]

Haha no worries. Let me know if anyone else is going or if anyone wants me to report back on anything specific.

I believe the Shadow Grey LOG car and other cars arriving for this tour of dealers are all Euro spec. Can you ask what the differences are between Euro and US spec. We know the headlights have an orange side reflector for US but what else is different?

 

[TomE]

Lotus of Orlando was not even aware that a test car is making the rounds. 4 hours doesn’t seem like enough time for all deposit holders to get a ride.

I think this is being aimed at deposit holders with orders in months 1-3 for delivery as the first priority. The full time demo cars should be at the NA dealers in Nov/Dec, so this set of temporary cars is an in-fill until they arrive. It's down to dealers who to invite, so that principle may not be universally applied.