Trouble at the Top
Arnie Johnson no longer President of Lotus Cars USA
In a move that has shaken the Lotus community in the United States, Duke Hale, the new CEO of Lotus Holdings (the North American arm of Group Lotus PLC) removed Arnie Johnson from his position as president of Lotus Cars USA and has installed John English as a replacement. This move comes on the eve of the first federal Elise shipments to the US.
It's a move that has saddened and angered long term Lotus enthusiasts in the US.
Arnie Johnson first became involved with Lotus in 1971 when he was one of five distributors for the marquee in the US. His unique approach to the brand including significant racing investment led him to buy out the other distributors by decades end and create Lotus of North America. In the following years he continued his service to Lotus in the United States through several Owners including GM and Bugatti and now Proton.
Upon his elevation to president of Lotus Cars USA (LCU) in 1997 under Chris Knight’s tenure, Arnie began to push for the Elise’s import to the US. It was his own personal investment and drive that finally kick started the program and lead to the initial prototype of the car which is right now starting to trickle into dealers in the States.
His removal has caused a significant and strong tremor throughout the Lotus community in the US. Many enthusiasts "in the loop" see Arnie as the spiritual father of the Federal Elise and Lotus as a brand in the US. So significant is the created rift that many deposit holders, some with their cars on the way to dealers, are said to be considering not purchasing their new Elise to show their support for the former president!
Perhaps even more surprising, people have called on Lotus LTD (the largest Lotus Club in the US) to disallow LCU’s support for the annual Lotus Owners Gathering (LOG) set for Birmingham Alabama this September. Talk has also surfaced calling for an official recognition of Mr. Johnson for his many years of service to the brand at LOG.
The new president of LCU, John English, was appointed within hours after Mr. Johnson’s termination. With a recently completed move of LCU to a new facility and the impending launch of the new car, it was of great importance to put in place a new head as quickly as possible. Mr. English’s extensive background includes time with Hale at Mazda. To those that know him, the new president has been described as energetic and positive with a passion to see the brand grow and expand it’s presence in the US.
Many see English’s installation as president as a move by Hale to mainstream the brand in the US. Mr. English also provides experience in managing a larger brand. This will assist LCU as the product line grows in the US and may also help in the sale of Lotus if the latest rumours coming from Hethel are to be believed. An official press release from Lotus Holdings is expected later this week.
This guy that fired arine, thought he made the right choice (looser!!!!!!).He will eventually find out that it was a bad idea, Only time will tell.
Lets hope the guy they did hire is not a looser.
And lets just try to support Lotus.
Even if they have made a bad choices.
Guy
ErnestM said:
By the way - we are all just consumers, not stockholders. Perspective please... (Just MHO)
I'd think _very_ carefully about that last statement, this isn't a bag of burritos or a tupperware set you've just bought.
Fox
---
"Remember the corporate mantra: 'F*** the consumer!'"
neon_fox said:
By the way - we are all just consumers, not stockholders. Perspective please... (Just MHO)
I'd think _very_ carefully about that last statement, this isn't a bag of burritos or a tupperware set you've just bought.
Fox
---
"Remember the corporate mantra: 'F*** the consumer!'"
I agree. I also personally think that what happened to Arnie is complete sh!t...
However, we just have to realize that by purchasing a vehicle, it doesn't necessarily give us a voice in the future of the company. If we want that kind of voice, we should buy the company not the company's products.
Everybody is free to do as they please, but I think deciding on whether or not to purchase a car based on internal corporate politics is NOT a good idea.
Personally, I will continue to buy Lotus as long as the "Esprit Replacement" meets my expectations. If it does not, then there is always the AMV8 which I am sure will...
All IMHO
ErnestM
However, corporate officers come and go, but the marque lives on. Bottom line is, I still want an Elise no matter who the Lotus pres is. And I very much look forward to the Esprit replacement, no matter who the pres is.
Also, Mr. English does have a very long and impressive resume from Mazda. Lotus may have very legitimately looked at the Elise and said, we need to move beyond the enthusiast market, which was always very small here. To be honest, even though Arnie kept the marque alive in the US, and laid the foundation for the Elise here, Esprits sat in dealerships, and often sold well below sticker.
I can't argue with Lotus' decision to put someone in charge who has experience selling cars on a wider scale. I can be pissed at how they did it.
My hope is that John English does a great job, and that soon Lotus will carry the same recognition that Ferrari and Lambo do here in the US.
Mike
Englishman in LA said:
This just looks like blatent cronyism. It's difficult to believe given the time that Arnie has been with Lotus USA that anyone can do the job better than he can.
This move has brought real shame on the name of Lotus.
A classic example of Lotus shooting themselves in the foot!
A Lotus is about passion, carrying the flame, getting the job done! Arnie was all of those things and more! He kept Lotus USA going when they were given up for dead. He fostered hope when there was little else.
Arnie never knew me from Adam, but if I had a question or just wanted to talk and he was in, he would take my call. He was approachable by anyone at LOG. How many other CEO's would go to this extent?
I have had a deposit on an Elise for almost 2 years and am very close to bagging it over this whole issue.
What is Proton? A Malaysian car company with no heart and understanding of what it takes to be a true car company and maybe this is why they are where they are today and will be in the future?
Lotus needs to rethink this decision before it does more damage then they ever thought possible!
Arnie, if your on this list.... Lotus East... Millerton
NY, you worked with Hans R. I wanted to chat about those days however I was interrupted by another LOG 23 member. Everyone at LOG 23 told me I had the black G-body Esprit you fell in love with!
Cheers,
Robert
1987 Turbo Esprit "blackie"
I remember the looser who ran LCU for a while. Even when giving many of us the first view of the Elise he managed to turn off may enthusiasts. I have often had the feeling that Lotus neither respects nor trusts the U.S. sports car enthusiasts (especially the Lotus enthusiast). Hopefully the sacking of Mr. Johnson and the hiring of Mr. English is not a corporate nod to this.
On the plus side, the LCU support of the recent Lotus West meet is gratifying. Coupling this with the fact that Mr. English came from Mazda, a company that was smart enough to copy the original Elan, and there is hope.
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