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Re: Group Lotus boss Dany Bahar suspended
Taner "Dany" Bahar never appealed to me as a serious person that would lead Lotus to the forefront.
I hope his temporary suspension is made permanent and a decent car manufacturer (e.g. VW) , takes over and rebuilds Lotus.
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"Form follows function"
Re: Group Lotus boss Dany Bahar suspended
reginos:
Taner "Dany" Bahar never appealed to me as a serious person that would lead Lotus to the forefront.
I hope his temporary suspension is made permanent
This seems very likely now, IMO
and a decent car manufacturer (e.g. VW) , takes over and rebuilds Lotus.
maybe a chinese take over.
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Typical corporate PR euphemism mixed with a heavy dose of poor grammar...
Re: Group Lotus boss Dany Bahar suspended
reginos:
Taner "Dany" Bahar never appealed to me as a serious person that would lead Lotus to the forefront.
I hope his temporary suspension is made permanent and a decent car manufacturer (e.g. VW) , takes over and rebuilds Lotus.
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"Form follows function"
Too many spectacular models at a time...it had to go wrong.
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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche Panamera Turbo S (at Porsche right now), BMW X5M, Mercedes C63 AMG Coupe PP/DP, Mini Cooper S Countryman All4
Re: Group Lotus boss Dany Bahar suspended
b/w the brand recognition through Lotus relation at F1 and the Exige S I think Lotus has something promising to offer. I don't know much about Bahar, but it seems it has taken someone with courage to get the brand back into mainstream media this fast, and he has done that. maybe they are bleeding money, i have no idea, but I understood that they have a strong order book - anyway it works out I hope the brand and the type of cars they are building survive
Re: Group Lotus boss Dany Bahar suspended
Financial Mail has established that the accusations centre on hundreds of thousands of pounds spent refurbishing his rented home, and more than £1million on private aircraft, including jets and helicopters to fly Bahar to Formula 1 races and other events around the world.
Bahar does not contest any of this, but according to friends he insists the spending was all part of his employment contract and entirely appropriate for the boss of a luxury car brand involved in Formula 1.
What appears to have infuriated DRB is that while Bahar enjoyed the lifestyle of successful luxury products company boss, Norfolk-based Lotus lost more than £1million in 2011 and has debts of £200million.
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According to industry sources, the charges relate to the contract itself as well as expenditure on a rented home in Norfolk, company spending beyond agreed limits and using company money to travel excessively by helicopter and business jets, something said to have astonished the new owners.
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But some in Bahar’s camp believe that the Malaysians want to sell Lotus to the Chinese, something strongly denied by DRB, which insists that it backs Lotus in Britain.
For the time being, Lotus, one of Britain’s most famous brands, is without a chief executive and the road ahead look far from smooth.
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Re: Group Lotus boss Dany Bahar suspended
sfo:
Bahar is an idiot with a giant ego if he's been spending money like he was boss of Volkswagen .. where was his sense of proportion and perspective??
he deserves to be sacked.
It was the same lack of sense of proportion and perspective which led to Lotus producing so many show cars which the company could never have turned into real products with the resources available to it.
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fritz
Re: Group Lotus boss Dany Bahar suspended
I don't know about the home and jets, but anyone who's been to a GP wouldn't think that the helicopter was unreasonable for the ceo of a team title sponsor: silverstone is the busiest airport in Europe on the day of a GP. The alternative is being in a 3 hour traffic jam with the plebs...
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Porsche Carrera GTS (2012); Porsche Cayenne Diesel (2012)
Re: Group Lotus boss Dany Bahar suspended
Budster:
I don't know about the home and jets, but anyone who's been to a GP wouldn't think that the helicopter was unreasonable for the ceo of a team title sponsor: silverstone is the busiest airport in Europe on the day of a GP. The alternative is being in a 3 hour traffic jam with the plebs...
By plebs you presumably mean all those people not inclined (or allowed by lax providers of finances) to run up debts of £200 million which they have no realistic prospect of paying back? I have known CEOs of profitable companies take it upon themselves to travel by road to GPs, in spite of the traffic conditions. Even CEOs have to keep their feet on the ground and live within their companies' means.
More to the point, an annual helicopter taxi ride to Silverstone would appear to have been the least of Bahar's financial imprudences.
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fritz
Re: Group Lotus boss Dany Bahar suspended
I've been one of those plebs. I was being ironic. But as a title sponsor, I wouldn't begrudge him the helicopter entry: it is part and parcel of the figure heading the brand. In that respect he did a good job. As I implied, I think the private jet is taking it too far.
I also think its game over for these owners: too much debt here, with no profits... Good luck to the next bunch who pick up the pieces from the liquidator. And I mean that most sincerely...
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Porsche Carrera GTS (2012); Porsche Cayenne Diesel (2012)
Re: Group Lotus boss Dany Bahar suspended
Budster:
I also think its game over for these owners: too much debt here, with no profits... Good luck to the next bunch who pick up the pieces from the liquidator. And I mean that most sincerely...
Liquidator? It hasn't got that far yet, unless I've missed something.
I hope too that an auto industry White Knight buys out Lotus before its image is further tarnished by being put into the hands of a liquidator.
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fritz
Re: Group Lotus boss Dany Bahar suspended
Not yet, but either the Malaysians cut their losses by selling, or put it into administration: it looks pretty terminal right now. I suppose the timing couldn't be worse given the global economic crisis either. The quicker something happens the better to stop the current haemorage.
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Porsche Carrera GTS (2012); Porsche Cayenne Diesel (2012)
Re: Group Lotus boss Dany Bahar suspended
fritz:
Budster:
I also think its game over for these owners: too much debt here, with no profits... Good luck to the next bunch who pick up the pieces from the liquidator. And I mean that most sincerely...
Liquidator? It hasn't got that far yet, unless I've missed something.
I hope too that an auto industry White Knight buys out Lotus before its image is further tarnished by being put into the hands of a liquidator.
live by your means, not by the image you are trying to project. Lotus does not have the resources of the big boys, and should not act like one.
Re: Group Lotus boss Dany Bahar suspended
Joost:
sfo:
live by your means, not by the image you are trying to project. Lotus does not have the resources of the big boys, and should not act like one.
Sounds like a most sensible advise ...
That's great advice for individuals (its why I waited until my mid 40's to buy my first Porsche for cash (OK, 2 Porsches - I got carried away...), but luxury goods brands are selling an aspirational lifestyle and part of that plan is often employing a high profile CEO that projects the brand. Dany isn't a bad looking guy (not as good looking as me of course) and he projects an aspirational "James Bond" character to the man in the street (whereas we know the full story)...
Just like the Sage of Omaha might give people a sense of conservatism for their pension savings by staying in the same house for 50-odd years and driving a basic car, the Bransons and the Trumps are part of their brand and are an important part of the marketing aspect of it. It's high risk, and not cheap, and I'm not suggesting that Dany is a Branson, but I have no doubt that the strategy was to position him in that type of role going forward. That his personality is such that he'd was happy to accept it was a bonus.
I think Lotus does need this, or else it will be (increasingly) another TVR. The engineering deserves more: and marketing the image has to be a part of it.
Until of course, it all goes horribly wrong... It's a high-stakes game when you make sportscars...
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Porsche Carrera GTS (2012); Porsche Cayenne Diesel (2012)
Re: Group Lotus boss Dany Bahar suspended
He may have gotten a wink/nod green light for some of his non contract expenses from influencial board members, they likely wouldnt have objected if business was strong ....or.... if they believed that sales were going to be strong...but when sales didnt climb they could have changed their minds and stabbed him in the back.
Re: Group Lotus boss Dany Bahar suspended
JimFlat6:
He may have gotten a wink/nod green light for some of his non contract expenses from influencial board members, they likely wouldnt have objected if business was strong ....or.... if they believed that sales were going to be strong...but when sales didnt climb they could have changed their minds and stabbed him in the back.
I agree - everyone knew Dany Bahar - his high profile status came at a cost, strange to think they wouldn't have realised this. The knives were out...
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Porsche Carrera GTS (2012); Porsche Cayenne Diesel (2012)
Re: Group Lotus boss Dany Bahar suspended
Bahar had a sponsorship task at Red Bull and a marketing/image building role at Ferrari. His department's remit was (supposedly) to manage and develop the Ferrari brand around the world. I've also read that he is a talented linguist with a bit a personal flair.
A showy person like DB was never the right man IMO to develop Lotus which is predominantly an engineering company appealing to car hard core enthusiasts. His dream of developing some 5 or 6 six models in a record time and turning Lotus into a blend of Ferrari, McLaren and Porsche etc was a typical Marketing & PR person's shallow aspiration with no engineering background and understanding. Making show cars is easier than producing and selling cars in viable numbers.
His expensive lifestyle (paid by others) went very well with his flashy personality.
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"Form follows function"
Re: Group Lotus boss Dany Bahar suspended
reginos:
Bahar had a sponsorship task at Red Bull and a marketing/image building role at Ferrari. His department's remit was (supposedly) to manage and develop the Ferrari brand around the world. I've also read that he is a talented linguist with a bit a personal flair.
A showy person like DB was never the right man IMO to develop Lotus which is predominantly an engineering company appealing to car hard core enthusiasts. His dream of developing some 5 or 6 six models in a record time and turning Lotus into a blend of Ferrari, McLaren and Porsche etc was a typical Marketing & PR person's shallow aspiration with no engineering background and understanding. Making show cars is easier than producing and selling cars in viable numbers.
His expensive lifestyle (paid by others) went very well with his flashy personality.
Although of course that's not his fault: they would have been very clear what they were getting and what they weren't getting. Personally I don't think it was a bad strategy, it's just not a strategy that you can afford to get wrong, incorrectly fund, or change direction very easily (after a holding co. sale for example...).
Both Apple and Porsche are good examples of companies that have great products and great marketing. Why shouldn't the owners of Lotus have aspired for something greater than a TVR-type garden shed set up?
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Porsche Carrera GTS (2012); Porsche Cayenne Diesel (2012)
Re: Group Lotus boss Dany Bahar suspended
It took Porsche 60+ years to get to where they are now by moving in gradual and meaningful steps. DB tried to do too much too soon without a sense of reality. I'm not sure if he himself believed that his grand plan was feasible. I suspect that this guy can give a good talk and convince people like the Lotus shareholders. I don't think he could convince so easily the VW Group or BMW top management for example, had Lotus been owned by those successful car companies.
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"Form follows function"
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