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Vodafone Holdens???????
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I heard the rumour that Triple Tr8tor were going to Holden about Two months ago originating from the same bloke that predicted Mark Skaife was going to retire about Two months before it was made public. He alleged that it was Tom Walkinshaw that approached Roland Dane and instigated the talks.
PaddockBasher
Member
http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,27753,25899771-462,00.html
Holden receives secret $200m lifeline from Federal Government
CAR maker Holden has received a $200 million lifeline from the Federal Government as it battles the economic meltdown and an alarming sales slump.
Holden sought the secret line of credit - only just made public following inquiries - after the decision of Barack Obama's US Government to bail out its stricken parent.
It is designed to help the company, which has seen vehicle sales slump 15 per cent, boost its export business into Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East, the Herald Sun reports.
It will, however, draw criticism on how much taxpayers' money is being pumped into the company to keep it afloat.
The Government has already given Holden, which employs 6500 people, at least $179 million in financial support to build a new "green" car.
Industry Minister Kim Carr last night said the $200 million lifeline had been in place for a while and was part of Canberra's efforts to protect 200,000 automotive sector jobs.
Senator Carr has previously denied suggestions Canberra was considering an option to buy Holden's assets if parent company General Motors fell over completely.
The minister would not disclose the strict commercial conditions surrounding the lifeline, details of which were posted by the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation on its website last night.
It is believed Holden went cap in hand to Canberra after the Commonwealth Bank pulled the pin on its 50-year relationship with Holden.
Holden, which builds cars in Adelaide and engines in Melbourne, is also battling the fallout from the global downturn.
General Motors, was forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy this year amid fears the Detroit giant could collapse altogether.
The US Government has taken a majority 61 per cent stake in a slimmed down GM as the car maker battles the worst manufacturing slump in decades.
Senator Carr said the $200 million line of credit was to "facilitate an export program and to ensure that the company was not placed in a high level of uncertainty".
The minister said he believed there was a strong possibility Holden would not need the credit.
Under the EFIC scheme, companies that get financial help must pay back any loans under strict terms and conditions.
"Holden is an iconic Australian company and EFIC is delighted to support GMH's ongoing export activities," EFIC managing director Angus Armour said.
A Holden spokesman would not disclose any of the commercial confidentiality issues involving the $200 million lifeline.
A measure of the struggle facing Holden was given by the company's auditors, Deloitte, just a few weeks ago. It warned Holden was subject to "material uncertainty regarding continuation as a going concern".
Gotta love the way Holden is paying for its new team. So, does that mean Tr8tor will have 'Australian Government' across the windscreen, and the Ruddbot will be the new team member?? Really glad that's where my hard earned taxes are going.
Holden receives secret $200m lifeline from Federal Government
CAR maker Holden has received a $200 million lifeline from the Federal Government as it battles the economic meltdown and an alarming sales slump.
Holden sought the secret line of credit - only just made public following inquiries - after the decision of Barack Obama's US Government to bail out its stricken parent.
It is designed to help the company, which has seen vehicle sales slump 15 per cent, boost its export business into Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East, the Herald Sun reports.
It will, however, draw criticism on how much taxpayers' money is being pumped into the company to keep it afloat.
The Government has already given Holden, which employs 6500 people, at least $179 million in financial support to build a new "green" car.
Industry Minister Kim Carr last night said the $200 million lifeline had been in place for a while and was part of Canberra's efforts to protect 200,000 automotive sector jobs.
Senator Carr has previously denied suggestions Canberra was considering an option to buy Holden's assets if parent company General Motors fell over completely.
The minister would not disclose the strict commercial conditions surrounding the lifeline, details of which were posted by the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation on its website last night.
It is believed Holden went cap in hand to Canberra after the Commonwealth Bank pulled the pin on its 50-year relationship with Holden.
Holden, which builds cars in Adelaide and engines in Melbourne, is also battling the fallout from the global downturn.
General Motors, was forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy this year amid fears the Detroit giant could collapse altogether.
The US Government has taken a majority 61 per cent stake in a slimmed down GM as the car maker battles the worst manufacturing slump in decades.
Senator Carr said the $200 million line of credit was to "facilitate an export program and to ensure that the company was not placed in a high level of uncertainty".
The minister said he believed there was a strong possibility Holden would not need the credit.
Under the EFIC scheme, companies that get financial help must pay back any loans under strict terms and conditions.
"Holden is an iconic Australian company and EFIC is delighted to support GMH's ongoing export activities," EFIC managing director Angus Armour said.
A Holden spokesman would not disclose any of the commercial confidentiality issues involving the $200 million lifeline.
A measure of the struggle facing Holden was given by the company's auditors, Deloitte, just a few weeks ago. It warned Holden was subject to "material uncertainty regarding continuation as a going concern".
Gotta love the way Holden is paying for its new team. So, does that mean Tr8tor will have 'Australian Government' across the windscreen, and the Ruddbot will be the new team member?? Really glad that's where my hard earned taxes are going.
Don't bother putting Australian government accross the front windscreen, put the Australian Tax payer it's our money .
You had to wonder how, with an effectively bankrupt Parent company the local arm has the funds to buy out the top Ford team, now it's making some sence, Team Vodaphone/Rudd.
You had to wonder how, with an effectively bankrupt Parent company the local arm has the funds to buy out the top Ford team, now it's making some sence, Team Vodaphone/Rudd.
XYGTReplica
New member
A letter to fans from Roland Dane
Wednesday 12th August 2009 | 9:43 AM
Dear Fans,
Over the last week we've had a huge amount of fan mail both berating us and congratulating us on our move to Holden for 2010 and beyond. Many other fans have made their feeling clear, either way, on websites and by writing to magazines such as Auto Action. Unfortunately, having read many of the emails and letters, I simply don't have the time to respond to them all individually so I now take this opportunity to try to not only give those of you that are puzzled or unhappy some answers to some of the questions but also to correct many of the misapprehensions that some people are under. What is great to see, whatever the individual points of view, is the sheer amount of passion that embraces our Sport. Without that we have nothing.
Firstly, and maybe most importantly, TeamVodafone did not drop Ford, Ford dropped TeamVodafone. We had a five year contract with Ford that came to an end at the end of 2008. Ford, despite having agreed terms with us for a two year extension, decided not to renew the contract and told us at the beginning of July 2008, leaving us very little time to seek alternative sponsorship. Maybe that was smart thinking by Ford because it effectively gave them TeamVodafone Falcons for 2009 without having to spend a cent. But how long can you reasonably expect someone to work for nothing? Would some of the fans who have given us a hard time work for nothing themselves? I doubt it.... Some fans have asked how we can reconcile the fact that Ford sponsored us for five years with our "abandoning" them now. Well, the simple fact is that they paid us annually to produce results for them annually - and we did. The major KPIs of our contract related to our performance as a team (not the colour of the car!) just as they should, and we delivered more race wins than all the other Ford supported teams put together. We proudly won Bathurst three times with their signage on our cars and we won a Championship. Their "reward" to us was to drop us, whilst they enjoyed the fruits of our labour on the new FG. I hear some fans saying that other Ford teams have continued to run Falcons despite the lack of backing from Ford - the simple fact is that those teams have not been offered the opportunity to change! If they had been, then they would, but without a business case to support a move there is no reason for them to change.
Secondly, Ford have told all and sundry that the only reason that they didn't continue with us was because we didn't honour our contract and paint our cars blue. The truth is that there was simply no obligation to paint the cars blue in the contract! Furthermore, when they agreed terms with us for a two year extension (which, never came about in the end as I explained above) at the end of 2007, they never mentioned "blue" and they fully realized that, certainly in 2009 and probably beyond, the Vodafone colours would predominate. Moreover, is it really credible for them to suggest that they managed (at the end of 2003) to put into our contract a stipulation that the cars should be blue when they had (and continued to have for a long time afterwards) cars running at FPR and SBR (who both enjoyed greater support than we did) in colours such as black/yellow (the CAT car) and green (the Caltex car)? The fact is that the Ford support for us was never more than between 20% and 30% of our budget and therefore a naming rights sponsor would always take precedence, and the colours of the cars were never set in stone.
Thirdly, Ford never activated it's sponsorship of Triple Eight despite our other sponsors spending millions of dollars on activation that used the Falcon as the base at all times. Most automotive companies would jump at the chance to be involved with two of the World's largest and most valuable consumer brands - Vodafone and Nokia. Not Ford. This despite, for instance, Nokia selling 20,000 TeamVodafone handsets in Australia last year that featured the Falcon on the packaging and the phone itself. How many times did Ford advertise the success of the Falcon after the Bathurst wins, for instance? So, when a company that is as proactive with it's motorsport involvement as Holden approaches us, it doesn't take us long to figure out that our sponsors are going to gain a whole lot more from a relationship with GMH than they ever would with Ford.
Finally, it's my job to ensure that TeamVodafone has the best chance of success on track and also to ensure that the staff here have the best job security I can offer them. So when Holden approached us and made us and our sponsors feel welcome from the outset it wasn't difficult to work out the route ahead, especially given our experience of working with GM overseas. Ford had numerous opportunities to re-engage with us at the end of last year and earlier this year. They declined to take those.
Those then are the main reasons why we are changing to racing Commodores in 2010, but there are many, many other smaller ones. For instance, Ford have no Racing Manager (an indication of their lack of commitment to the Sport) and almost never any presence at the race tracks. They demonstrate no passion for the Sport. They never once acknowledged the time and effort that I personally put into Formula Ford in Australia - at no cost to them. I feel so sorry for the many hundreds of employees at Ford in Australia (and our many friends within Ford) who have shown us such support over the years - they deserve better management of their sponsorship and marketing departments than they've had in recent times.
So, please don't blame us for changing brands - there are a few key individuals at Ford who made the decisions that set the wheels in motion for our swap to Holden. In hindsight, they did us a favour. Holden are committed to V8 Supercars, and are committed to TeamVodafone. What more could we ask for? Ford created a vacuum, Holden filled it.
Roland Dane
Team Principal
Triple Eight Race Engineering
Wednesday 12th August 2009 | 9:43 AM
Dear Fans,
Over the last week we've had a huge amount of fan mail both berating us and congratulating us on our move to Holden for 2010 and beyond. Many other fans have made their feeling clear, either way, on websites and by writing to magazines such as Auto Action. Unfortunately, having read many of the emails and letters, I simply don't have the time to respond to them all individually so I now take this opportunity to try to not only give those of you that are puzzled or unhappy some answers to some of the questions but also to correct many of the misapprehensions that some people are under. What is great to see, whatever the individual points of view, is the sheer amount of passion that embraces our Sport. Without that we have nothing.
Firstly, and maybe most importantly, TeamVodafone did not drop Ford, Ford dropped TeamVodafone. We had a five year contract with Ford that came to an end at the end of 2008. Ford, despite having agreed terms with us for a two year extension, decided not to renew the contract and told us at the beginning of July 2008, leaving us very little time to seek alternative sponsorship. Maybe that was smart thinking by Ford because it effectively gave them TeamVodafone Falcons for 2009 without having to spend a cent. But how long can you reasonably expect someone to work for nothing? Would some of the fans who have given us a hard time work for nothing themselves? I doubt it.... Some fans have asked how we can reconcile the fact that Ford sponsored us for five years with our "abandoning" them now. Well, the simple fact is that they paid us annually to produce results for them annually - and we did. The major KPIs of our contract related to our performance as a team (not the colour of the car!) just as they should, and we delivered more race wins than all the other Ford supported teams put together. We proudly won Bathurst three times with their signage on our cars and we won a Championship. Their "reward" to us was to drop us, whilst they enjoyed the fruits of our labour on the new FG. I hear some fans saying that other Ford teams have continued to run Falcons despite the lack of backing from Ford - the simple fact is that those teams have not been offered the opportunity to change! If they had been, then they would, but without a business case to support a move there is no reason for them to change.
Secondly, Ford have told all and sundry that the only reason that they didn't continue with us was because we didn't honour our contract and paint our cars blue. The truth is that there was simply no obligation to paint the cars blue in the contract! Furthermore, when they agreed terms with us for a two year extension (which, never came about in the end as I explained above) at the end of 2007, they never mentioned "blue" and they fully realized that, certainly in 2009 and probably beyond, the Vodafone colours would predominate. Moreover, is it really credible for them to suggest that they managed (at the end of 2003) to put into our contract a stipulation that the cars should be blue when they had (and continued to have for a long time afterwards) cars running at FPR and SBR (who both enjoyed greater support than we did) in colours such as black/yellow (the CAT car) and green (the Caltex car)? The fact is that the Ford support for us was never more than between 20% and 30% of our budget and therefore a naming rights sponsor would always take precedence, and the colours of the cars were never set in stone.
Thirdly, Ford never activated it's sponsorship of Triple Eight despite our other sponsors spending millions of dollars on activation that used the Falcon as the base at all times. Most automotive companies would jump at the chance to be involved with two of the World's largest and most valuable consumer brands - Vodafone and Nokia. Not Ford. This despite, for instance, Nokia selling 20,000 TeamVodafone handsets in Australia last year that featured the Falcon on the packaging and the phone itself. How many times did Ford advertise the success of the Falcon after the Bathurst wins, for instance? So, when a company that is as proactive with it's motorsport involvement as Holden approaches us, it doesn't take us long to figure out that our sponsors are going to gain a whole lot more from a relationship with GMH than they ever would with Ford.
Finally, it's my job to ensure that TeamVodafone has the best chance of success on track and also to ensure that the staff here have the best job security I can offer them. So when Holden approached us and made us and our sponsors feel welcome from the outset it wasn't difficult to work out the route ahead, especially given our experience of working with GM overseas. Ford had numerous opportunities to re-engage with us at the end of last year and earlier this year. They declined to take those.
Those then are the main reasons why we are changing to racing Commodores in 2010, but there are many, many other smaller ones. For instance, Ford have no Racing Manager (an indication of their lack of commitment to the Sport) and almost never any presence at the race tracks. They demonstrate no passion for the Sport. They never once acknowledged the time and effort that I personally put into Formula Ford in Australia - at no cost to them. I feel so sorry for the many hundreds of employees at Ford in Australia (and our many friends within Ford) who have shown us such support over the years - they deserve better management of their sponsorship and marketing departments than they've had in recent times.
So, please don't blame us for changing brands - there are a few key individuals at Ford who made the decisions that set the wheels in motion for our swap to Holden. In hindsight, they did us a favour. Holden are committed to V8 Supercars, and are committed to TeamVodafone. What more could we ask for? Ford created a vacuum, Holden filled it.
Roland Dane
Team Principal
Triple Eight Race Engineering
This is pretty much the most bitter peice of trash I've read in a while and I have to make comment that what I've said about this whole deal in the past still stands and further I now realise that the main reason for this change is that Roland Dane manipulated it, he even says that without an offer no team is going to change but that's not realistic when we know Dane was already talking to Toyota at least about preparing cars for a new version of the series and has been talking to Holden for some years according to other reports. Also if you read the last parragraph it is Dane failing in the negotiations perhaps or at the least seveerly pissing off some of the Ford people who actually sign the cheques. Could this be deliberate? could Dane have sabotaged the ford deal? could Dane have orchestrated this whole thing to be the underdog and place blame at the feet of the Ford bean counters when dane himself really wanted to go Holden since he came to V8's? Could Dane be the most devisive, scurrulous individual? Could it be the best thing that we got rid of him from the Ford name?
Dane and Wankingshaw should get on like a house on fire (I wish) they both are grubs in my opinion.
Dane and Wankingshaw should get on like a house on fire (I wish) they both are grubs in my opinion.
I'm sick to death of reading this quote from Dane and Whingecrap.
"But how long can you reasonably expect someone to work for nothing? Would some of the fans who have given us a hard time work for nothing themselves?"
Ford were your sponsor you F@#king faggot not your F@#king employer. It's your responsibility to pay your employees not Ford. Stop trying to feed us this pile of crap and give us the fans some credibility.
"But how long can you reasonably expect someone to work for nothing? Would some of the fans who have given us a hard time work for nothing themselves?"
Ford were your sponsor you F@#king faggot not your F@#king employer. It's your responsibility to pay your employees not Ford. Stop trying to feed us this pile of crap and give us the fans some credibility.
In the future when Vodafone give these whinging wankers the Coke & Sars are they going to bleat and carry on with this shit like they are with Ford.
I'm with you Poita & TS-50
I'm positive that Whingecups favourite song is "I'm a puppet on a string" and Fordman (alias Roland Dane) just loves pulling his strings along with something else i'm sure.
I'm with you Poita & TS-50
I'm positive that Whingecups favourite song is "I'm a puppet on a string" and Fordman (alias Roland Dane) just loves pulling his strings along with something else i'm sure.