noisebox wrote:I have to go against the grain here. I'm surprised by the outpouring of sympathy for Tony Fernandes - he was entering F1 last year as Lotus or otherwise. All he has done is opportunistically nicked one of the great brands in British motorsport to generate unmeritted publicity for his new outfit. He has no links to the original Team Lotus whatsoever.
Proton, on the other hand have invested millions into Group Lotus, arguably saving them from becomming the next TVR. They have a legitimate right to leverage that investment by using the Lotus brand (which they own) to promote their cars through motorsport activities worldwide. They have also bought into and secured the future of one of the great contemporary F1 teams.
Foreign / corporate ownership of premium or sportscar brands is not new - Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini have all had their futures secured by investment from VAG, Fiat have long bankrolled Ferrari and without BMW Rolls Royce would no longer be making cars in any form. Sure it's not ideal, but there are so few surviving, small automotive manufacturers that we should cherish those that have been saved by external investment - it shows there is value to their brands.
The sensible way out of this is for Group Lotus/Proton to pay off Fernandes so that he can carry on growing his outfit, whilst the Lotus name is associated with a company which makes fantastic sports cars.
I think that part of the reason why Fernandes has been so popular is because his team has been so open - being at the back of the grid, the team currently doesn't have anything worth copying on their car, so it doesn't really matter if they invite the journalists in and let them poke around the car.
Gascoyne, for example, did a number of pieces for the BBC, where he talked about diffuser design, shared information about weather conditions and strategy, and generally let people have a much closer look into the heart of the team. He also did a few technical pieces for the Lotus Racing website, where he talked about the design and construction of a few components (for example, about how they make the elements for the front wing), before showing off the new wing for the T127's first major upgrade package. When getting information from other teams is frankly almost impossible at times, to be so open and relaxed is a refreshing change. Also, Heikki and Jarno have been, relatively speaking, pretty remarkable as drivers - both know that their car is uncompetitive, and so there is no real acrimony between them - and both drivers have pulled out some impressive drives this year, especially Heikki (albeit aided by attrition).
Now, although we have not seen how Group Lotus will work with the wider motorsport community, I somehow doubt that they will be anywhere near as friendly. For a start, Group Lotus are only going into the sport for the money; Bahar made it clear that this is all about trying to increase the value of Group Lotus's brand, with the discussion turning on what entering F1 will do for the company on the corporate level. Wit the best will in the world, it is hard to be quite as sympathetic towards a corporation compared to the more personal approach that Lotus Racing have taken. Besides, there is the issue of trust; people are less inclined to support an organisation which has put out statements in the past which were, at best, of debatable accuracy, and at worst deliberately misleading.
As for the efforts of Proton, whilst it cannot be denied that up until recently they have kept Group Lotus going, and kept reasonably close to the original ethos of the company (small, lightweight and nimble cars), I am wondering with increasing concern that their future plans could backfire badly. Ever since Bahar took over control of the company, he has tried to push Lotus in a very different direction, having made it clear that he wants to take on his former employers at Ferrari. The thing is, recently Lotus haven't been doing that well, and the plans that Bahar has - more than doubling the range of cars, and pushing the average price tag up substantially - have been met with scepticism from the wider automotive community.
Already the companies current ventures into more premium markets have not gone well - Group Lotus have missed their sales targets for the Evora, and are unlikely to make up any ground. The problem is, as many reviewers have noted, the Evora is potentially more expensive compared to its rivals, especially the Porsche Boxter, and yet the build quality simply cannot match that of its rivals. The motorsport plans are even more ambitious - getting involved in virtually every form of motorsport, from GT cars and Le Mans to F1 and GP2, the commitments are considerable, and so will be the price tag. It all feels like it is too much, too fast, and can only end badly - and where the money for such a scheme will come is not apparent at all.
By the way, I hope that you don't object to this critique - I respect the fact that you're taking a different stance, and that you are willing to support it, even if others might not.
(Also, that Proton Impian livery needs to die in a fire as well)
