Geely buy Emerald Automotive, and sign an agreement with Proton and by extension Lotus.

I see that Geely and Proton have an agreement in place for co-operation.
The following is taken from a Bernama article.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the national carmaker and Geely were now in discussion stage after signing an agreement of interest on April 22, 2014, witnessed by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Once again here is a picture of me and Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamed.

Dr. Mahathir is now the Chairman of both Proton and Lotus.
I periodically, remind Dr. Mahathir of my pet project. I would love to get it off the ground.
So I need to bring in investors. His assistance would be most appreciated!
Geely recently bought Emerald Automotive.

I have met some of their executives. They are ex Lotus employees.
The head honcho, AndyTempest, was for a period the CEO of Hawtal Whiting, I was introduced to him briefly by a gentleman called Bill Harrison. I knew Bill well from my time at Ford and met him a few times socially out of work. IMO a nice bloke. He was Director of Engineering (HW) at the time.

I met with both David Tait and Glyn Owen in Malaysia, whilst working for Lotus. David Taitt was there when I left Malaysia. He was invited to my leaving 'Do'. He didn't come as he was under the impression I didn't like him. I have no idea why he would think that.

Lotus tried to buy Hawtal Whiting when David Taitt was head of Lotus Engineering. Rumour (and that is all it was) had it that by obtaining Hawtal Whiting, Lotus also got Andy Tempest. Andy had previously held a senior position in Lotus.

Hawtal Whiting was sold to Wagen who have now ceased trading to the best of my knowledge.

However, Andy, David, Glyn (and Chris Hiett) are all now Geely employees.

Perhaps they will be working with Lotus again in the future... Who knows? I certainly don't!

Tun Mahathir, new boss of Lotus and Proton

I see from the Malaysian press that Lotus and Proton have a new Chairman.

I met him personally at ASLI Automotive conference 2010.

I presented my proposal on stage with his Son and Tengku Mahaleel.

Hopefully, his new appointment will be a plus for Proton and Lotus. It would be nice if he adopted my proposal.
Both Lotus and Proton need to do something different. My proposal is different. And in my biased opinion it would be highly successful.

Just what the Doctor ordered so to speak!

HIRE ME.

Football and Motorsport are businesses, why study at a functioning ground or circuit?

The above video features on my webpage.

UCFB now adverts nationally on SKY sports TV (UK). They obviously have a functioning business with a healthy marketing budget!
My proposal has a parallel philosophy. However, where UCFB concentrate on the business side of things, I feel Motorsport has the opportunity to teach anything from business to law to engineering to sports science to ...

Initially, when I presented the proposal, setting up a campus at a working track, I thought the possibility of being first was a selling point (silly me!).

Now that someone else has started doing it in football, and appear to be succeeding! Perhaps people will see that I am not a complete nutter!

I am not an accountant, however, if you can achieve high numbers of online clients mixed in with you on campus clients I am sure it can work financially.

I don't have figures for a break even point, nor initial funding requirements (sure to be high) however, a long established USA online learning institute (Phoenix) has about 1/2 million students, and has a turnover in the billions. It has on occasion operated on above 10% profit margins. Its clients can afford its fee's because the (USA) government will supply loans for its courses.

I am sure this is the case in many countries. Obviously, this means you have to be a real University based in the country obtaining the student grants.

As campuses are track based at physical locations this in itself requires investment.

However, there are companies out there with Motorsport divisions, producing sports cars who have education as part of their "core" businesses.

They could potentially benefit greatly from this.

3D Houses in China and 3D Cars in America... Interesting times!

I saw an article on the BBC today.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-27156775
They are producing 3D houses in China. $5,000 per detached house.

 I took this image from this webpage.
http://3dprinterplans.info/3d-printer-plans-news-round-up-for-wednesday-16042014/

My brother used to teach bricklaying in a local college. He may well have found this technology threatening!

This link also had an article on 3D cars! What a bonus... President Obama makes a brief appearance on the video. Presently he is in Asia (Malaysia as I write) trying to improve trade relations.
I have added the video on an upcoming shared open design competition for a 3D car.

As design software becomes easier to use and production methods easier to execute Car design and industrial design will make huge leaps forward.

 



When I lived in Detroit, I would often cycle around to the Center for Creative Studies. This is a World renowned institution. I often had a sneek look through the windows!

Here is a video of their car design area. It looks very similar to real Design studio's.

It won't be long before the clay models are 3D produced!



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My comment on Dr. M's Proton Blog (Chedet)

Hello Tun,
I see that Proton still creates a lot of debate. Producing cars is a high investment/risk industry. Many countries steer well clear. Others make a commitment. The Malaysian Government has obviously decided to enter the market. Many will think this is a vanity project. As they feel they are directly or indirectly paying for it, they quite understandably feel they have a right to criticise.
That is to be expected.
I have worked in Proton, albeit on behalf of Lotus, I found the people to be welcoming and helpful. Commercially, it is difficult for a small Company to compete in a very global market. Proton has always struggled outside of Malaysia. It is not a Global brand.
How to address that?
Find a partner that can give you the exposure. It would be better yet if R&D costs could be shared. You can do this with Vendors and other OEM’s.
Additionally, as DRB Hicom now have education as one of there ‘Core’ businesses (as does Petronas) perhaps a global educational project that utilises Proton/Lotus hardware on geographically diverse campuses could be a profitable and effective way to promote the brand.
As you may know, I have such a proposal.
Proton has a Motorsport Division, I know Djan and presented with his Dad at ASLI 2010. Lotus and Petronas have Motorsport budgets.
Exploit your intellectual property. Share it in an ethical and commercially sustainable manner. Upgrade your profile locally and internationally. Improve your bottom line.
It makes sense. Do Proton a favour support this proposal. It will be a positive step forward.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
John Mansfield

Albert Lam's vision of the future.

http://www.bloomberg.com/video/electric-cars-are-the-future-detroit-electric-ceo-Jc4rzwFyStmNqAPHdDg48Q.html

I just saw the above video on Bloomberg. It was taken on the Detroit Electric stand in Shanghai.
Albert is the CEO of Detroit Electric.

 Albert Lam was kind enough to give me over an hour of his time when he was in charge of Lotus engineering.

Albert was a good listener, and very polite.

He said 'Show me a revenue stream and I will bring investors.'
Albert, obviously did not see a revenue stream.

Good luck to Albert on this new venture. His business plan makes sense to him.

 I still believe in the Educational venture I put forward. It is more than just a 'Noble idea'. It has the potential to be profitable.

Holy moly. The Clergy are in the happiest profession!

I just read an intersting article on the BBC.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26671221
Vicar or publican - which jobs make you happy?

Top five jobs

• Clergy
• Chief executive/senior official
• Agriculture/horticulture proprietor
• Company secretary
• Quality assurance

This article asks which professions are the 'Happiest'
They list 274.
First is Clergy - Rabbi Priest Imman Monk Nun etc.
Second was Chief executive!

Having spent time as a resident in a Monastery, I can understand the first listing
However, whilst I have been on the Board of Directors and a Board adviser, I can't claim to have any first hand experience the second most 'Happy' profession.

One day maybe... I like being happy!