Bids for Jaguar, Land Rover due in a few weeks
If you've ever wanted your very own British Automaker, boy has Ford got a deal for you: buy one, get one free. The two brands are said to be worth $1.5 Billion or more, and Ford can use all the cash it can get. There are only a few more weeks to get in a bid on Jaguar and Land Rover, and according to Auto News, Cerberus is still in the running. Indian automaker Tata Motors is in the running too, along with Ripplewood, One Equity Partners, and TPG. While Ford will close out bidding by the beginning of November, we may not know the final outcome until after the first of the year.
[Source: Auto News - sub. req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Menice 11:01AM (10/10/2007)
damn i hope its Tata. the best way to say "good buy..is Ta Ta" (i should be in advert.)
hey i just realized, FORD is getting rid of its pets.
jag the cat &
rover the dog.
they should just drive down a lonely road and abandon them....ta ta!
Reply
Pete 11:58AM (10/10/2007)
Everyone thinks they should be in advertising...very few really should be...
BLS 11:16AM (10/10/2007)
Someone is bored at work.
Derek 12:07PM (10/10/2007)
The comment made sense once I realised that "bye" had been misspelled "buy". Poor spelling is a great way to ruin a joke.
Menice 1:01PM (10/10/2007)
no the spelling was the joke, you missed it.
it's supposed to be spelled as BUY. it was as a promotion/ad would be.
DJ 11:25AM (10/10/2007)
Hmmm, TPG is on the mix. They recently purchased Midwest Airlines too. I wonder if I'll be able to use my Midwest Frequent Flyer miles toward the purchase a new Jaguar XF?
Reply
Alex 11:26AM (10/10/2007)
i don't care who takes them, i just want it to be a company that will invest the serious amount of money and staff needed to make them competitive in the luxury market. Jaguar especially is too important a motoring icon to be lost.
/passionate Jaguar enthusiast.
Reply
Robert 2:25PM (10/10/2007)
Ford's ownership of the brand has saved Jaguar. The X-type was a disaster (because of its execution - not its concept), but overall Ford's billions, their production streamlining, engineering re-org and quality teachings have saved the brand from disappearing into obscurity and allowed the brand to launch the XK, the XF and late next year the XJ (which should be spectacular). Ford can sell Jag now because of its investments - and future owners shouldn't need to make the same kinds of investments.
I know it's popular to hate Ford, but at the end of the day credit where credit is, in fact, due.
Alex 4:06PM (10/10/2007)
I'm not hating on Ford. Just whomever does buy the two will need serious funds as FoMoCo plans to sell the companies outright keeping 0% of the companies on the Ford books.
My current Jag is of the Ford era and it has proven itself to be vastly more reliable than pre-Ford models.
While i do agree that Ford did invest a fortune into the company, they unfortunately did not direct it properly.
Menice 11:50AM (10/10/2007)
yep real quiet today... you need any electronic componets..semi's?
Reply
Mehul 12:02PM (10/10/2007)
Go TATA!!
Reply
DesiAuto 12:16PM (10/10/2007)
If Tata buys it, it would be a symbol of how far India has come as a country since it's independence in 1947. Sure India has a long way to go and lot of things still need to be accomplished, but this would be considered a huge milestone.
One legend already belongs to India: Scotch Whisky, it would be great if Tata acquires Jag and LR.
Reply
akatsuki 2:30PM (10/10/2007)
No respect will accrue to Tata for buying Jaguar and Land Rover. What they do with the brands is the real question. If they manage to maintain the legacy while improving on the cars (i.e. put someone with respect for the brand in charge and just accept the huge budgets that you need to design things properly) then we can start talking about milestones.
Right now does Tata produce a single world class car? This is their chance to prove themselves.
akatsuki 4:37PM (10/10/2007)
I will be completely impressed if they manage Jaguar correctly. Especially since the brand is so eminently fixable. But running a luxury brand properly requires a lot of work and dedication to detail as well as skill. The problem is, you can hire a guy who has been in the car business a long time, and he will bring lots of preconceptions and not be visionary enough. You can bring in someone who is a hard-headed businessman from another industry, and he will lack passion for cars. It is a tough line to walk, just look at what happened to the XF from concept to production to see a disaster in the making (any sale of Jaguar should include not allowing them to sell a copy of a Buick Lucerne which will really hurt the brand equity).
Land Rover is an even bigger mess as a brand right now really and doomed to niche vehicles.
We shall see what happens with Jaguar. It just might be too much for an upcoming car maker to deal with, but I would love to be proven wrong.
www.Indiasucks.com 10:11PM (10/10/2007)
who cares.
bathtub gin 12:13AM (10/11/2007)
"One legend already belongs to India: Scotch Whisky, it would be great if Tata acquires Jag and LR."
I just have to ask about the scotch thing - which distillery does India own?
DesiAuto 4:29PM (10/10/2007)
No auto company starts making "world-class" cars from day one. They evolve. Tata is evolving and if you see it's progress in last 10 years, you will be impressed.
SPG 3:06PM (10/10/2007)
It would be pretty wild if an actual British company bought these companies.
Reply
JoeyW 8:11PM (10/10/2007)
I bet the Chinese does a surprise attack and puts the largest big on the very last day, so noone has time to react to out bid them
/flame suit ON
Reply