Lotus issues a very unique press release to clear the air on matters – gone walkabout completely, or brilliant PR?

Lotus issues a very unique press release to clear the air on matters – gone walkabout completely, or brilliant PR?

There’s no denying that of late, all sorts of rumours have been flying about concerning Lotus the brand, ever since DRB-Hicom’s deal in taking a majority stake in Proton came about. Plenty of uncertainties, for sure.

Aside from the Lotus vs Lotus brouhaha, the most recent turn of events certainly didn’t make things any clearer, or signal a clear intent as to where the marque is heading – last week, it was reported that Lotus F1 had ended its title sponsorship deal with Group Lotus, but will continue using the name in Formula 1.

It’s all getting rather murky, but nothing like an explanation to help clear things, and with that, the brand earlier issued a press release in what it hopes will go a long way in dispelling uncertainties and dismantling half-truths about matters.

It’s rather different from the norm though, the statement; the PR folk at GL have certainly gone about things by adopting a, shall we say, very different slant on things, and like just about everyone else, we’re going to run it for you verbatim; editing a release crafted as such would just remove all of the flavour.

The release even came complete with an image lifted from SniffPetrol, which had parodied Dany Bahar in the guise of Baghdad Bob, otherwise known as Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, the former Iraqi Information Minister. And it’s even on Facebook.

Sheer brilliance, or public relations insanity? Well-crafted humourous take on things, or unmitigated flop at the starting gate? You decide.

Never let the facts get in the way of a good story ….

Take a little look at what we found online. Don’t you think it’s funny? We do. We had a good old giggle. After all, we love a bit of self irony, just as well really. Although it’s funny, this one’s not accurate but then again, why let the facts get in the way of a good story? The inconvenient truth is – surprise, surprise – we have never said that there are no problems at Lotus.

So whilst lots of people obviously feel the need to comment on Lotus’ current situation in the absence of proper facts or evidence, we can’t ignore these particular mistruths any longer even if we would like to, so we have decided to turn a negative into a positive and use this hilarious piece of ‘art’ to set the record straight regarding the status quo at Group Lotus and try to return a little stability to a fast changing situation.

False rumour #1: Dany Bahar is no longer CEO of Group Lotus.

Fact: Rubbish – Dany Bahar still is.

False rumour #2: Datuk Seri Syed (Zainal) is no longer Managing Director of Proton.

Fact: Again rubbish. He still is.

You can thank good old Tony Fernandes for these two. Don’t take everything he tweets too seriously – perhaps he’s still frustrated about owning Caterham instead of Lotus and the fact that he fights HRT and Marussia instead of Mercedes and Ferrari in F1.

And whilst we’re on the subject of jokes – do you know the latest F1 joke? Mike Gascoyne, Caterham Group’s Chief Technical Officer, has gone missing. Why? He’s looking for the 30 to 40 points he predicted for the last F1 season. Funny.

Speaking of F1: It seems that one special so called ‘independent’ source is at the root of the lion’s share of damaging rumours and misleading stories. The delightful Joe Saward which leads us nicely to….

False rumour #3: Joe Saward is JUST an independent journalist.

Fact: He is an active Director for the Caterham Group.

And unlike some, we don’t want to get too personal, so we’ll leave it to you to judge how ‘independent’ his stories about Lotus are.

False rumour #4: Group Lotus is no longer involved in F1.

Fact: Lotus F1 Team and Group Lotus have reshaped their commercial relationship earlier this year. The new governance agreement signifies the continued commitment of Group Lotus to the team and the sport.

Group Lotus’ branding and marketing rights and subsequent activities remain unaffected by the new agreement until at least 2017. Alongside continued branding and title partnership status, Group Lotus is also the exclusive master licensee for all Lotus F1 Team merchandise.

The new agreement was reached following Group Lotus owners Proton providing team owners Genii with a £30m loan which is repayable within three years. In order to secure the loan Genii used 100% of the F1 team’s assets as collateral meaning that under the conditions of the loan agreement Proton have been given full title guarantee to all plant, machinery, show cars, computers, office and the Lotus F1 Team headquarters.

In addition Proton retains the rights to purchase 10% of the F1 team. Another 10% share option will be activated if the team default on their loan obligations with Proton.

Again we leave it to your judgement how ‘bad’ Lotus’ current situation in F1 is. And speaking of bad situations…..

False rumour #5: Group Lotus is going into administration.

Fact: Rubbish. The takeover of our parent company Proton by DRB-Hicom couldn’t have come at a worse time, but up until that point Proton was (and still remains) fully committed to our five year business plan to create jobs and to expand the factory and business. With the takeover process the funding has been restricted and DRB-Hicom is taking time to understand what to do with the business.

DRB-Hicom is currently in the middle of due diligence of Group Lotus and there have been and continue to be positive discussions between Group Lotus senior management and senior management at DRB-Hicom both here in Hethel and in Malaysia. At no point has DRB-Hicom indicated to Group Lotus that it intends to put the company into administration. The over-active rumour mill is seriously damaging our business reputation, image and credibility but it is what it is.

The simple fact is, and we haven’t denied this – Lotus is going through a very difficult phase at the moment but we are showing true fighting spirit every day in trying to keep this vision alive. This is also a fact – no matter what people outside of Lotus may say or tweet or blog.

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Anthony Lim

Anthony Lim believes that nothing is better than a good smoke and a car with character, with good handling aspects being top of the prize heap. Having spent more than a decade and a half with an English tabloid daily never being able to grasp the meaning of brevity or being succinct, he wags his tail furiously at the idea of waffling - in greater detail - about cars and all their intrinsic peculiarities here.

 

Comments

  • Comic Car Company on Apr 12, 2012 at 1:40 pm

    Wow, after seeing a press release like this, I am DEFINITELY not ever buying a Lotus. No way will I buy a car that issues press releases that look like a press released released by a kindergarten school child. To me, besides a house, second most important thing is my car. After all, in Malaysia, its the two most expensive things we Malaysians ever buy. Would you buy a house from a developer who releases a press release like this? ie putting the CEO in army uniform and a press release done by as if it is done by a kindergarten school child?

    I think this PR stunt is the nail to the coffin. How sad.

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    • blackbox on Apr 12, 2012 at 2:13 pm

      Those who buying Lotus normally will consider it as a weekend car or toy car. You definitely shouldn’t buy a lotus if you consider that is your only car.

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    • turret boy on Apr 12, 2012 at 2:34 pm

      butthurt?
      this is called satire.

      grow up man.
      or probably, OLD man.

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      • malaya man on Apr 13, 2012 at 10:03 pm

        Its a lesson to be learned for Lotus (and Proton). If there weren’t doing so badly, they wont be the “butt” of all jokes about them ..

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    • mosar on Apr 12, 2012 at 3:19 pm

      its a joke lar, which part of this you didnt get..the picture itself its not created by Lotus..its by Sniffpetrol (they are well known to do this kind of satire)…and yeah, if such is your requirement, Lotus aint the car you should get..a sensible Japanese family sedan suits you fine..

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    • Can you even afford one to begin with?

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  • tehtarik on Apr 12, 2012 at 1:44 pm

    Isn’t this guy Mahathir’s handpicked genius? Mahathir not very good in judging people ,is he?

    What is he trying to proof, if he was worth anything he would be in a suit announcing the company’s quarterly results……instead he is in a clown suit dressed up as saddam hussein .

    Better check the skies, the could be US drones hovering above , looking for easy targets.

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    • koloenl on Apr 12, 2012 at 2:50 pm

      again and again.. ada jugak yg nak mention nama mathir… ! get a life bro!

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      • sean ZX10 on Apr 13, 2012 at 12:14 pm

        YOU should live your TRUE life..it is true..Mahathir’s boy this dany bahar. crack your pee size brain to think. Why the hell PROTON and everything under PROTON falls and keep falling? everyone else is doing good. why PROTON is so privileged still emitting shits?

        if u say the management stupidity. How many times the management changes from 1983? Still the same result. takkan 1 malaysia ni semua bodoh dungu x reti handle automotive company. Correct? Unless you’re saying Malaysian mmg bodoh.

        so crack another pee size brain of yours…sape paling lama dalam PROTON ? Mahathir la..what is his job? advisor = advices management from his “experience” as PM.

        PROTON hancur skng bcoz die sengal biul x reti nasihat la..can u see now? don;t say ur brain overheated now.

        u know guys..how can Malaysia move to better era when we have the citizens as shallow and stupid and ignorant like this koloenl.

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    • mosar on Apr 12, 2012 at 3:23 pm

      do u understand the meaning of a satire? the image was not created by Lotus lar..they just took it from Sniffpetrol website, and release the PR in a tongue-in-cheek manner..

      And what does Mahathir got anything to do with this? go talk politics elsewhere..enough of this holier-than-thou political people attitude nonsense…

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  • whatever it is lotus should just go back to doing brilliant lightweight sports car…and not this pr exercise gone completely wrong. prove your worth on the road and tracks…not on social media! drb hicom take note!

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    • koloenl on Apr 12, 2012 at 2:56 pm

      they have been doing that for years and losing money. tony has been doing pr like this for years rather than fixing the delay in air asia and his is making tons of money. lotus is in the good track to make money, lesson learn from tony.

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  • joepng on Apr 12, 2012 at 1:51 pm

    APRIL FOOL!!!

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  • rosdi on Apr 12, 2012 at 2:12 pm

    > False rumour #1: Dany Bahar is no longer CEO of Group Lotus.
    > Fact: Rubbish – Dany Bahar still is.
    > False rumour #2: Dato’ Sri Syed is no longer Managing Director of Proton.
    > Fact: Again rubbish. He still is.

    Of course they still _are_ CEO/MD of Lotus/Proton. But they soon WILL NOT be. Duh!.. simple grammar like that also cannot comprehend..

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  • nabill on Apr 12, 2012 at 2:19 pm

    Really awesome….! Out of da boring norm press releases…this is definatly out of da box….i hav a feeling dat it made for da average joe on da street n nt to investors n all dat….everyone take a bow!

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  • JeremyNg on Apr 12, 2012 at 2:43 pm

    This will make Tony very unhappy !!!

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  • Hitamputih on Apr 12, 2012 at 2:43 pm

    I always new joe was corrupt. Despite him constantly whining about being unbiased, it looks like Joe’s Award is directorships

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  • loltus on Apr 12, 2012 at 2:47 pm

    hmmmmmm…. someone from drb-hicom was watching this while sharpening his axe for……. (‘donald trump popular verse’)

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  • Ash Menon on Apr 12, 2012 at 2:55 pm

    I don’t know what other people are complaining about, I find this to be brilliant. Perhaps it’s a cultural thing, as I imagine folks over in the UK would relish this kind of droll honesty.

    And let’s face it, when the very future of your company is murky, you don’t exactly have much to lose with an adventurous PR move, no?

    I like how Malaysians are looking at this press release and getting offended. Just because Proton owns Lotus, did you think that the release was directed specifically at you guys?

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    • It would be awesome, if the Msian government had not dump millions (or perhaps billions) of tax money into it. Yea, of coz it’s good for the folks in the UK as it is not their money. We’re getting pretty pissed at how our money is being used.

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      • blackbox on Apr 12, 2012 at 7:33 pm

        One way or other our tax money still be wasted by the current government. I rather see them waste it to built some nice sport car rather give all money to cronies to buy their own sports car.
        Veyron, Aventator we are one of the first country to own and we have more than one. Who own them, where the money come from?

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  • mosar on Apr 12, 2012 at 3:16 pm

    Those rumours started by TF & Joe Saward in the first place. A the tactics done by TF doesnt really differ from the time he trying to strongarm his way to get LCCT2 built., and at the same time wanting AirAsia the only budget airline in M’sia..talk about fairness huh..

    Anyway, maybe Lotus took advantage of this and rather than giving a monotonously boring politically correct press release, they make fun of the whole thing?

    Back to the business of F1, I think this is an even better proposition for Proton, if the whole thing doesn’t work out (Genii couldnt repay the loans), they get the ownership of whole Team Lotus..and even if they can’t afford to run it, it can be sold to another party..like Ford that being sold to Jaguar & then sold to RedBull…not to mention Jordan F1 becoming Force India, Minardi becoming Torro Rosso, etc etc

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    • Whatever said…that Tony guy is a genius…he knows how to make money under any circumstances…

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      • mosar on Apr 12, 2012 at 5:14 pm

        yeah, he’s a shrewd businessman no doubt..just that his underhanded tactics sometimes a little bit hard to swallow..

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        • Black Dog on Apr 12, 2012 at 6:36 pm

          TF USED to be good, I respect that guy. But too much money has turned him into a greedy and reckless monster!

          From Nov 1st last year, if you want to change names after mistakenly keyed in wrongly while buying tickets online, forget about getting a refund because it’s only like 5 – 10% of the ticket cost! And to complain or just to speak to their customer service, it cost Rm1.90 per minute!

          Now, EVERYONE IS BEING SUCKED BY HIM!

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  • Bananas on Apr 12, 2012 at 3:50 pm

    Everytime got news about proton, people pasang telinga. Not becos they like proton but becos they know that proton is the biawak hidup that the politicians use as an excuse to milk the people. Next time , give us some real news like:
    1) mahathir , the proton protector is dead
    2) syed mokhtar gets into mental asylum
    3) the north korean missile goes off-course and lands on the proton factory, vapourising everything….sob

    This boy danny bahar don’t deserve a second look. Lotus banana leaf restaurant got better name than danny bahar’s lotus

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  • After all this, what Lotus left in F1 are just rubbish. Good jokes.

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  • Cheah Tat Cheong on Apr 12, 2012 at 4:39 pm

    Current fact: Danny Bahar and DSZ still have their jobs.
    To become a fact soon: Both will resign.

    Fact: Lotus is struggling to produce new cars and attract buyers.
    To become a fact soon: Lotus to go into administration.

    Fact: Proton Preve is a stupid name.
    To become a fact soon: Proton Preve will reflect its name.

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  • voiddance on Apr 12, 2012 at 4:49 pm

    Oh yeah, blame everything on TF. He is an easy target; well hated by many and definitely the kind of person people will look down upon time and time again.

    He do own quite a shit load of money and not really a big screw up like people from DRB and Dany Bahar! What to complain when he managed to market a lousy airlines that people still flock by the millions! I guess, if it was TF the ceo of Lotus, he would be able to sell truckloads of Evora using his twitter alone. Make money the easy way or promise to make money in 5 years after spending hundreds millions loan money. You decide.

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  • funny!!!

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  • Lawak on Apr 12, 2012 at 5:16 pm

    Humorous. Very nicely done. The truth nothing but the truth. So what if after this PR, both DB and DSZ will not be with Lotus & Proton. They are still now. No lies….

    If it is true TF is behind this. This man is full of spite against Lotus. Not worth the man he is. If he is not, he should deny it.

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  • farneee on Apr 12, 2012 at 5:31 pm

    depending on how you read the following statement:

    Fact: Rubbish – Dany Bahar still is.

    is it a fact that DB is still rubbish??? LOL!!

    BTW, where in the world did Proton get GBP30mil to loan to GenII??
    thought they were not making any $$???

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    • anti-first on Apr 12, 2012 at 6:27 pm

      hahaha, that’s depends on how you look at it! :)

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    • rally_fan on Apr 16, 2012 at 8:50 am

      farnee, dont you ever read the news? its very clear and transparent how proton got the money for lotus.

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  • well any kind of publicity is good. be it good or bad publicity. lotus are trying to put themselves in the news for as long as possible. if this generate peoples interest to actually go to look them up in Google search. why not.?i exposure creates interest which may lead to people noticing the brand.and eventually making purchase

    or, as the conspiracy theorist may think: Lotus is under strict order from their new owner to make as much nose as they can because they will be up for sale soon!

    there you go mates!!

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  • VOLVO FOR LIFE on Apr 12, 2012 at 9:36 pm

    total fail

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  • Idiocy at its best. Those current owners do feel ashamed for owning a Lotus. It’s not PR brilliance because the release has gotten nothing but 100% negative comments in return from the media and the general public. This release has now made Group Lotus plc looking incompetent. How would you rate the brand and company now against Porsche, Aston Martin etc.. ? These are the brands that they’re targeting their so called 5-year turn-around plan!

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  • Jack Leong on Apr 13, 2012 at 11:23 am

    Lotus being screwed by bunch of Malaysian cronies. Good grief, now the whole automotive world knows Malaysia. Malaysia boleh

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  • adolf on Apr 13, 2012 at 11:29 pm

    haiya… these rumors are all people trying to push proton to sell lotus on the cheap. reminds me a lot like some company sold for scrap by proton not too long ago. ive been reading a lot on other independent car blogs, non-malaysian, and they all think that the 5 new models by lotus are really nice. of course malaysians only look at ferrari and lamborghini. so sad.

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  • sudha on Apr 14, 2012 at 10:12 am

    Brilliant satirical take on the issues facing Lotus. I must say, rather than going into crisis mode, these guys came out fighting by poking fun at the various issues they face…and still continue fighting.

    but it did get too personal at some point though….but then, in UK, you something like these everyu day in their tabloids..

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