Autoblog

Previous rumors that Indian automaker Tata was chosen by Ford from among a group of bidders to buy Jaguar and Land Rover have proven to be true, as both Tata and Ford announced earlier today that they have moved into advanced negotiations on the sale of the two British marques.

Although both companies were quick to point out that there are still a number of steps before the deal is finalized, informed insiders have confirmed that the two competing bidders, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd and One Equity Partners LLC, have effectively been rejected in favor of Tata.

Factory workers at Jaguar and Land Rover in England were reportedly informed shortly before the announcement went public. Ford, the biggest seller of automobiles in the UK, reportedly wants the new owner of Jaguar and Land Rover to retain the bulk of their existing 15,300-strong British work force, and Jaguar's principal union has expressed its preference for Tata.

Although Ford needs the cash injection from selling off its subsidiaries, the automaker is anticipated to pursue a similar relationship with Jaguar and Land Rover that it maintains with Aston Martin: continuing to supply components, including engines, even after the divisions are sold off.

Follow the jump to read the official statement from Ford of Europe and PAG chairman Lewis Booth.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Only days before heading to bankruptcy court, Italian engineering firm and carrozzeria Bertone revealed that it was about to pull a last-minute trick out of its sleeve in an announcement later that day. But when the announcement didn't come, the industry was left wondering if, after 95 years in business, Bertone was about to slip away.

The company's chairwoman and family scion Lili Bertone, however, announced last night that her company would be sold to Gruppo Prototipo chief Domenico Reviglio. Likewise based in Turin, Gruppo Prototipo focuses on testing pre-production vehicle prototypes. It owns the famous Nardo high-speed test facility, and since the late '90s has been the sub-contractor for most of the Fiat Group's testing requirements.

The announcement came as a surprise to the Italian business community, which widely believed negotiations with business mogul Gianmario Rossignolo were near conclusion. Previous negotiations with Fiat had fallen through, and Bertone has a workforce of 1,300 to support despite the lack of contracts to sustain the company. The Italian government, meanwhile, has opted to extend the two-year financial protection it had granted Bertone for an additional two months.

[Source: Italiaspeed]

GM has been chosen as the lead company in the UAW contract renegotiation talks. That means that the UAW will come to a contractual agreement with GM first, and that contract will be used as the template for negotiations with the other two carmakers, Chrysler and Ford.

Of course, that also means that GM becomes the first target of a strike. The UAW's agreements with all three carmakers ends today, September 14th, and Chrysler and Ford have managed to work out extensions. GM, however, has not, and the UAW has told its members to be ready for a strike that could come as early as today.

[Source: Auto News, sub req'd]