joining the official lotus club
Discussion
Hi,
last month i received my new Elise. With all the papers that came with the car was a subscription paper for the official lotus club.
As i live on the continent and most of the organised events will take part in Britain, should i subscribe ?
Can anyone give some good reasons why i should do that, because afterall it isn't for free...
last month i received my new Elise. With all the papers that came with the car was a subscription paper for the official lotus club.
As i live on the continent and most of the organised events will take part in Britain, should i subscribe ?
Can anyone give some good reasons why i should do that, because afterall it isn't for free...
Don't bother its nothing more that a publicity leaflet. A much better club to join and cheaper is Club Lotus (Based in UK but do have contacts with other countries I believe). This club gives free advice via phone calls and letters (you pay for call) and its magazine is an excellent read, not just events and adverts. Much Much better than "pure Lotus" the official lotus club magazine.
Edited by smeagol on Wednesday 2nd January 17:32
Edited by smeagol on Wednesday 2nd January 17:32
I personally have to disagree.
Being a member of both Clubs (having had an Excel and now and Elise), I have found that the OLC (Lotus Life) has totally changed as a result of getting away from the 'Pure Lotus' drivel that formed the central part of the club previously.
Last year there were track days with Lotus instructors, club meetings, free entry to Sprint events, free factory tours, tickets for the BTCC including paddock hospitality at Brands Hatch. Plus with the OLC I've got cheap AA Cover and 10% off Lotus Parts and Merchandise (sometimes 25% off!).
The club mag is still mainly about promoting the marque, but there's now more besides with interviews and reviews of events and feedback from the company to readers issues. The members only web pages allow members to tune in to whats going on and put questions to a technical specialist, give feedback to the Lotus Customer service people etc.
IMHO - Club Lotus sadly appear to have done their best to seperate the Elise ownership from 'the rest' for some unknown reason. A magazine and a couple of events a year is all you get and the mag, while having the odd interesting historical article, is mainly self-righteous banter these days (with some rather odd grammer too?!?). It is however, a much better club if you are a classic Lotus owner though as the OLC/Lotus Life tends to focus it's attention on the post-Chapman era.
Just my opinion you understand!
Greg.
Being a member of both Clubs (having had an Excel and now and Elise), I have found that the OLC (Lotus Life) has totally changed as a result of getting away from the 'Pure Lotus' drivel that formed the central part of the club previously.
Last year there were track days with Lotus instructors, club meetings, free entry to Sprint events, free factory tours, tickets for the BTCC including paddock hospitality at Brands Hatch. Plus with the OLC I've got cheap AA Cover and 10% off Lotus Parts and Merchandise (sometimes 25% off!).
The club mag is still mainly about promoting the marque, but there's now more besides with interviews and reviews of events and feedback from the company to readers issues. The members only web pages allow members to tune in to whats going on and put questions to a technical specialist, give feedback to the Lotus Customer service people etc.
IMHO - Club Lotus sadly appear to have done their best to seperate the Elise ownership from 'the rest' for some unknown reason. A magazine and a couple of events a year is all you get and the mag, while having the odd interesting historical article, is mainly self-righteous banter these days (with some rather odd grammer too?!?). It is however, a much better club if you are a classic Lotus owner though as the OLC/Lotus Life tends to focus it's attention on the post-Chapman era.
Just my opinion you understand!
Greg.
It would have to have changed A LOT IMHO the magazine was absolutely awful! In the magazines I have seen, "readers questions" were no more than an excuse to advertise more merchandise or add-ons. Any car more than 10years old is not even mentioned it was Elise, Elise, Elise, and even if you own an Elise it wasn't that interesting. The adverts were for watches and other cr@p (no useful adverts like services/tuning/insurance). As for their offers I bought an official Lotus Sport T-shirt at the Club Lotus show for £10. Its £15 from Lotus and with a 10% discount thats still £13.50 PLUS P+P of £5.50 making it nearly twice the price.
Club-Lotus often attend racing events/show and get free entry and from what I've heard from the BBS board unlike OLC, you get to hear about events before they happen! As for "A magazine and a couple of events a year is all you get...." May I suggest Greg that you look in your magazine, you will notice a list of the local clubs and you go to one of their meetings. The local clubs also organise lots and lots of activities being treasure hunts/drive outs to all sorts of "fun events" and speakers, most of them are free or "dirt cheap". I believe that there are also branches in other countries.
Club Lotus also have one major advantage over OLC, Club Lotus are free to say what they like about the cars. So if there is a problem or a comment, you get to hear about it.
I understand that OLC are going through major changes at the minute, and may be improving, but I would hold back on the £35 at the moment.
Edited by smeagol on Thursday 3rd January 17:26
Club-Lotus often attend racing events/show and get free entry and from what I've heard from the BBS board unlike OLC, you get to hear about events before they happen! As for "A magazine and a couple of events a year is all you get...." May I suggest Greg that you look in your magazine, you will notice a list of the local clubs and you go to one of their meetings. The local clubs also organise lots and lots of activities being treasure hunts/drive outs to all sorts of "fun events" and speakers, most of them are free or "dirt cheap". I believe that there are also branches in other countries.
Club Lotus also have one major advantage over OLC, Club Lotus are free to say what they like about the cars. So if there is a problem or a comment, you get to hear about it.
I understand that OLC are going through major changes at the minute, and may be improving, but I would hold back on the £35 at the moment.
Edited by smeagol on Thursday 3rd January 17:26
Sorry guys, but i think you are missing my question ! It was NOT wich club is the best in Britain ? My question is should i subscribe OLC (or another Britisch Club)as i am living on the continent ?
One reason could be the discounts. But does that count outside Britain ???
If Lotus Life is the mag of OLC i think it's not bad but far to pricy if this is the onely thing i can get from the club...
One reason could be the discounts. But does that count outside Britain ???
If Lotus Life is the mag of OLC i think it's not bad but far to pricy if this is the onely thing i can get from the club...
Don't get me wrong - I'd be the first to moan about £35 for joining a club and I totally agree with your view about the Pure Lotus magazine.
The mag has now completely changed - your comments are exactly right and this was immediately recognised by the appointed club manager (who didn't have a choice in the matter then). It's certainly not as packed as the Club Lotus mag, but the content is very good these days IMHO.
Club Lotus France is a different entity - OLC is joining with them again this year for a two day track weekend and Gala dinner at Le Mans.
I think what we've it apon here is a genuine difference in what we want from a club in order to enhance our ownership experience. From my point of view, I love the closeness I get to the factory and the relationships with those people who develop and engineer the cars, but in I also enjoy track driving, which I can do regularly with the club and at very good prices. Oh and of course the discount at the dealers/Service Centre - which has more than paid for my membership!
Admittedly Club Lotus have many members Worldwide, and on this basis, as long as there is a lot of activity in the members local area it would be a good choice, otherwise, it's just the magazine and mail order benefits etc.
Swings and roundabouts I suppose. I do think the Club Lotus mag sometimes has some very odd articles in it that sometimes make zero sense! Graham Arnold's column slaggin off his Son for joinging the Police force etc. is one such example.
The mag has now completely changed - your comments are exactly right and this was immediately recognised by the appointed club manager (who didn't have a choice in the matter then). It's certainly not as packed as the Club Lotus mag, but the content is very good these days IMHO.
Club Lotus France is a different entity - OLC is joining with them again this year for a two day track weekend and Gala dinner at Le Mans.
I think what we've it apon here is a genuine difference in what we want from a club in order to enhance our ownership experience. From my point of view, I love the closeness I get to the factory and the relationships with those people who develop and engineer the cars, but in I also enjoy track driving, which I can do regularly with the club and at very good prices. Oh and of course the discount at the dealers/Service Centre - which has more than paid for my membership!
Admittedly Club Lotus have many members Worldwide, and on this basis, as long as there is a lot of activity in the members local area it would be a good choice, otherwise, it's just the magazine and mail order benefits etc.
Swings and roundabouts I suppose. I do think the Club Lotus mag sometimes has some very odd articles in it that sometimes make zero sense! Graham Arnold's column slaggin off his Son for joinging the Police force etc. is one such example.
"Graham Arnold's column slaggin off his Son for joinging the Police force etc. is one such example. " absolutly I couldn't work out that one either.
You're right about swings and roundabouts, I like the history side and local club feel. If OLC has changed as much as you say then it might be worth another look.
Cheers
You're right about swings and roundabouts, I like the history side and local club feel. If OLC has changed as much as you say then it might be worth another look.
Cheers
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