Emira (wide)shut line Discussion

[Autopsy]

Ok guys let me add to the panic party and start a discussion on the very pronounced production Emira’s bonnet shut line.

Credit:https://www.emiraforum.com/members/silverstonelotusguy.1100/

Credit:https://www.emiraforum.com/members/kbhoz.402/

Thanks to the great closeups by our forum members we can see the difference (from show car) is due to two black rubber weather seal which widen the gap pretty dramatically.

Show car’s:

Which in my opinion is much cleaner and elegant as the shut line is a continued flow connecting to the line between wing panel and front bumper.

There’s also a glimmer of hope from this factory photo of nimbus Emiras.

I don’t know if it’s the angle or the rubber seal not installed or simply photo quality or processing. But this line looks perfectly ok to me.

So my questions are:
Why are the seals there? There are cars with and without it on the market.
Can we simply remove them and make the line appears thinner?
If not is there a way to disguise them i.e. adjust panel position or paint over them?

Any insights welcomed!
PS I know it’s a crazy thread but this is a forum for crazy people right?

 

[Balboa]

Id rest easier if Nimbus car in factory photo had front logo emblem affixed. Could be still waiting on rubber seal as well (sorry)

 

[LotusB]

Ok guys let me add to the panic party and start a discussion on the very pronounced production Emira’s bonnet shut line.
View attachment 6014

More concerned about the humidity in the headlights. Let's hope that's not a problem with the production units.

 

[VL3X]

I really hope Lotus has employees tracking these forums and threads. It's literally free market research to help with their continuing development.

But to answer your questions... I don't know (none of us know what the finalized production lines will look like). Hopefully that front gap is minimized and the rear bumper to quarter panel is nice and flush. I have no idea why there is rubber weather stripping on the hood line like that either.. Not like there's a frunk. I've seen Corvettes with hoods that open like that and there's not giant gap or weather stripping there, so no clue why the Emira needs it.

 

[roundincircles]

The bonnet shut line is a classic new car issue.....generally it's caused by the pu fender not moulding to correct sizes....it takes hit and miss mould tooling adjustments....eventually leading to improvement. Don't hold your breath but the late adopters will sleep happy!

 

[Cachaco131]

I get the sense many forum users have the wrong personality to buy both a Lotus and a brand new model by a small manufacturer. They seem to suffer the experience and find flaws instead of positives. That's not good for you folks, careful with you mental health!

 

[Eagle7]

It may also be to help manage movement of the hood at that location. There's a fair bit of air pressure working on that body panel both from underneath (especially at speed) and from above. Most likely this was the result of high speed testing. The car is rated up to 180 mph after all.

 

[Eagle7]

More concerned about the humidity in the headlights. Let's hope that's not a problem with the production units.

The condensation was on the outside, not inside the headlights. You can see in the one picture the water beginning to run off as it began to warm up in the morning. There's also some condensation visible on the hood as well.

 

[DerTheDer]

I would rather have that shut line then have to replace the whole claim. Its going to have something.

 

[xen]

I get the sense many forum users have the wrong personality to buy both a Lotus and a brand new model by a small manufacturer. They seem to suffer the experience and find flaws instead of positives. That's not good for you folks, careful with you mental health!

A hundred million pound investment, the promise of exceptional quality control (from Lotus themselves), backing from a huge parent company. You’d be right for an Evora / Elsie but unfortunately misguided for what the Emira is promised as. You don’t set a target to compete against Porsche then hide behind being a ‘small manufacturer’

A flaw is a flaw and a positive is a positive. If you choose to ignore the flaws that actually exist in service of your brand loyalty or following that’s a choice. There are tons of effusive posts about the Emira - the way it looks, the way it sounds, the way we expect it’ll drive. Pointing out issues (constructively) provides feedback to the manufacturer.

For example, with all the talk of wheel gap (I personally don’t mind either way) Lotus might choose to offer a lowered sport suspension - and if they do watch how most of the ‘it’s perfectly fine as is’ crowd opt in. Same for the shut line, it could be improved over time.

The forum would be a worse place if it were full of sycophants - is that the personality of the Lotus / small manufacturer buyer?

 

[Cachaco131]

A hundred million pound investment, the promise of exceptional quality control (from Lotus themselves), backing from a huge parent company. You’d be right for an Evora / Elsie but unfortunately misguided for what the Emira is promised as. You don’t set a target to compete against Porsche then hide behind being a ‘small manufacturer’

A flaw is a flaw and a positive is a positive. If you choose to ignore the flaws that actually exist in service of your brand loyalty or following that’s a choice. There are tons of effusive posts about the Emira - the way it looks, the way it sounds, the way we expect it’ll drive. Pointing out issues (constructively) provides feedback to the manufacturer.

For example, with all the talk of wheel gap (I personally don’t mind either way) Lotus might choose to offer a lowered sport suspension - and if they do watch how most of the ‘it’s perfectly fine as is’ crowd opt in. Same for the shut line, it could be improved over time.

The forum would be a worse place if it were full of sycophants - is that the personality of the Lotus / small manufacturer buyer?

The issue is that your "could be improved over time" approach is not the tone of the complainers around here. It's an absolute stance with a very negative tone that washes away all the positives from the car. And as time goes by, while we wait for reviews, folks come up with additional problems and concerns based on unofficial information and pictures. This all leads to a forum that has become more and more negative in my opinion. Threads like the wheel gap are just endless posts of literally speculative comments and absolute views on what the gap should be, etc. It's just a waste of 1s and 0s...

 

[xen]

The issue is that your "could be improved over time" approach is not the tone of the complainers around here. It's an absolute stance with a very negative tone that washes away all the positives from the car. And as time goes by, while we wait for reviews, folks come up with additional problems and concerns based on unofficial information and pictures. This all leads to a forum that has become more and more negative in my opinion. Threads like the wheel gap are just endless posts of literally speculative comments and absolute views on what the gap should be, etc. It's just a waste of 1s and 0s...

I understand and there were quite a few complaints about the comments so dedicated threads were made. A wheel gap / shut line discussion thread made to consolidate these posts is likely to concentrate these concerns. Posting on the thread ‘antagonising’ the people the thread was made for is probably not going to move the conversation forward.

 

[kratedisease]

So my questions are:
Why are the seals there? There are cars with and without it on the market.
Can we simply remove them and make the line appears thinner?
If not is there a way to disguise them i.e. adjust panel position or paint over them?

Any insights welcomed!
PS I know it’s a crazy thread but this is a forum for crazy people right?

Excuse me, ....but how the heck do you expect the aftermarket to survive if Lotus does not leave stuff for them to improve or upgrade on the EMIRA ???

huh ??

 

[Davebeats]

I wonder if we can source the gt4 bonnet 😅

 

[VL3X]

Maybe they're trying to look more like the Porsche GT4 with the bonnet gap. 🙃

 

[digilotus]

That colour makes it look like a Pikachu that is constantly smiling at me!

 

[VL3X]

That colour makes it look like a Pikachu that is constantly smiling at me!

View attachment 6038

 

[PaulP]

I get the sense many forum users have the wrong personality to buy both a Lotus and a brand new model by a small manufacturer. They seem to suffer the experience and find flaws instead of positives. That's not good for you folks, careful with you mental health!

Sorry, but when lotus tries to expand out of being a small niche maker into the broader market (and that’s been their stated goal) you don’t get to hide behind the the “local’s bar” mentality anymore. You want to play with the big boys then you have to get quality and design up to the same or better. Design they’ve done, but many of us Lotus newbies have serious concerns about quality and based upon past history those concerns are well founded.

My mental health is quite fine, but I have limited funds and they will in the end purchase a car which meets my desires. And near the apex of that list is a well manufactured, quality reliable machine.

 

[kitkat]

Sorry, but when lotus tries to expand out of being a small niche maker into the broader market (and that’s been their stated goal) you don’t get to hide behind the the “local’s bar” mentality anymore. You want to play with the big boys then you have to get quality and design up to the same or better. Design they’ve done, but many of us Lotus newbies have serious concerns about quality and based upon past history those concerns are well founded.

My mental health is quite fine, but I have limited funds and they will in the end purchase a car which meets my desires. And near the apex of that list is a well manufactured, quality reliable machine.

Agreed, if Lotus wants to keep catering to that small niche audience that doesn't mind quality issues, RIP.

 

[Cachaco131]

Sorry, but when lotus tries to expand out of being a small niche maker into the broader market (and that’s been their stated goal) you don’t get to hide behind the the “local’s bar” mentality anymore. You want to play with the big boys then you have to get quality and design up to the same or better. Design they’ve done, but many of us Lotus newbies have serious concerns about quality and based upon past history those concerns are well founded.

My mental health is quite fine, but I have limited funds and they will in the end purchase a car which meets my desires. And near the apex of that list is a well manufactured, quality reliable machine.

Then why not wait and be a late adopter to ensure you are satisfied with the quality meeting your big boy manufacturer expectations? Also, for that money, even if you deem 100k "limited funds", there are decent used market options. And by the way, Lotus will never really compete with the big boys, you should have gathered that some time ago even with the new launches.

When people repeatedly post negative stuff, I doubt it's good for their well being.

Hope you have a good buying experience anyway.