Vulture News: Carcass has left the building!

[PWNSNBM]

"Stefan No Longer Has 2010 Toyota Car"

Link: http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/f1-stefan-no-longer-has-2010-toyota-car/

[Phoenix]

The more countries, the better.

Yeah, Bernard...
If they no longer have the car, I think they defaulted on payment, because if not, why would Toyota want to recover a car that was already sold? I don't see any third party applying for the project at this point, even less if it was theoretically sold.

[P_Friesacher]

My favourite part of this story:

Meanwhile Toyota would appear to face the small problem of retrieving two container loads of its pit and garage equipment which were sent on one-way sea freight trips on behalf of Stefan GP. One is currently in Bahrain, and the other in Kuala Lumpur…

[mario]

The more countries, the better.

Yeah, Bernard...
If they no longer have the car, I think they defaulted on payment, because if not, why would Toyota want to recover a car that was already sold? I don't see any third party applying for the project at this point, even less if it was theoretically sold.

The contract appears to have a clause which allowed Toyota to retain ownership of the cars if Stefan failed to get a place for 2010. And Stefan's attempt to get into the sport via buying out USF1 might not be a good idea. Firstly, the FIA has formally withdrawn USF1's entry rights, so even if Stefan bought them out, he still can't enter. Not only that, but since the FIA appears to be opening up legal proceedings agsainst what is left of the team and against the owners for breach of contract, buying out USF1 would mean that Stefan would inherit the liabilities of the team.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/82250

My favourite part of this story:

Meanwhile Toyota would appear to face the small problem of retrieving two container loads of its pit and garage equipment which were sent on one-way sea freight trips on behalf of Stefan GP. One is currently in Bahrain, and the other in Kuala Lumpur…

A nice comment - however, since Toyota probably has very little use for those parts now, I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't that bothered about getting the parts back again. I wonder if any of the new teams would want the parts, though - since Stefan is a dud, Toyota might as well try to get some money from those bits.

[noisebox]

A nice comment - however, since Toyota probably has very little use for those parts now, I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't that bothered about getting the parts back again. I wonder if any of the new teams would want the parts, though - since Stefan is a dud, Toyota might as well try to get some money from those bits.

I think they're looking for rather more than that - they say that the services of 200+ people are on offer to the Toyota family and engineering operations outside of the family. To me that suggests that they are actively looking for an indepedent team to subsidise their core F1 operation so that they can a) protect jobs and b) come back into F1 if economic conditions change.

[CarlosFerreira]

A nice comment - however, since Toyota probably has very little use for those parts now, I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't that bothered about getting the parts back again. I wonder if any of the new teams would want the parts, though - since Stefan is a dud, Toyota might as well try to get some money from those bits.

More or less. First, the intellectual property could be worth a lot of money. Second, it would depend on who is paying the bill. If those containers are in a Port in Asia, and StefanGP no longer owns them, (property having reverted back to Toyota), the bill can easily escalate into the many thousand dollars, given a few weeks. Port space is the most expensive real estate in the world, especially in Asia. Land stuff there, and you're immediately paying through the nose.

Either way, I'm one of the people who believes these containers either didn't exist, or were filled with bricks, mortar and old socks.

[Captain Hammer]

If they no longer have the car, I think they defaulted on payment, because if not, why would Toyota want to recover a car that was already sold? I don't see any third party applying for the project at this point, even less if it was theoretically sold.

There was talk a while ago that Stefan had not paid Toyota for their chassis. It makes sense, because Stefan didn't have a grid entry at the time, so why would they pay for it until they got the entry?

[CarlosFerreira]

If they no longer have the car, I think they defaulted on payment, because if not, why would Toyota want to recover a car that was already sold? I don't see any third party applying for the project at this point, even less if it was theoretically sold.

There was talk a while ago that Stefan had not paid Toyota for their chassis. It makes sense, because Stefan didn't have a grid entry at the time, so why would they pay for it until they got the entry?

Although I see your point and it makes sense, my big question in this whole episode is how, and why, the world's biggest car manufacturer allowed itself to be involved in it.

[Captain Hammer]

Because they no longer had a need for the chassis, and so sold it?

[CarlosFerreira]

Because they no longer had a need for the chassis, and so sold it?

Maybe. But it's a communications blunder of epic proportions, as you - being a PR student (am I right in this? I think so) know. I mean, it says "Toyota", "Denso" and "Panasonic" on this Zoran Stefanovic picture!

[Phoenix]

My big question in this whole episode is how, and why, the world's biggest car manufacturer allowed itself to be involved in it.

Everyone is susceptible to those kind of scams. Just ask BMW and Mercedes...

[CarlosFerreira]

My big question in this whole episode is how, and why, the world's biggest car manufacturer allowed itself to be involved in it.

Everyone is susceptible to those kind of scams. Just ask BMW and Mercedes...

What do you mean?

[Captain Hammer]

What do you mean?

BMW were going to sell to QADBAK, which was revealed to be run by a convicted fraudster, Russell King.

Mercedes thought they had a major sponsorship deal lined up with Henkel, but the deal was brokered by a former employee who was trying to defraud Henkel.

There hve bee reports that Stefan's parent company, AMCO, lied about their involvement with the European Space Agency, was estblished for just five hundred Euros and have just two employees on their payroll and no income.

I mean, it says "Toyota", "Denso" and "Panasonic" on this Zoran Stefanovic picture!

That's because the picture is of a TF109. It was taken months ago, well before Stefanovic started bulding his cars.

[CarlosFerreira]

What do you mean?

BMW were going to sell to QADBAK, which was revealed to be run by a convicted fraudster, Russell King.

Mercedes thought they had a major sponsorship deal lined up with Henkel, but the deal was brokered by a former employee who was trying to defraud Henkel.

There hve bee reports that Stefan's parent company, AMCO, lied about their involvement with the European Space Agency, was estblished for just five hundred Euros and have just two employees on their payroll and no income.

I see what Phoenix meant now. Thanks, the argument is absolutely clear and correct.