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55

U.S. Jaguar dealers express discomfort of an Indian owner

omarrana submitted on 12/06/2007 Official AutoSpies Timestamp: 4:04 PM
from: www.egmcartech.com

[143] user comments | category: Misc News

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U.S. Jaguar dealers express discomfort of an Indian owner

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kuripr - 12/6/2007 4:58:58 PM

-7 Boost

Jaguar dealers ought to get over themselves, their attitude seems very arragant. Tata Motors would probably run the company better than Ford is currently. I guess the alternative for the Jaguar dealers would be to wither on the vine with Ford.

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eidos2004 - 12/6/2007 5:25:09 PM

+10 Boost

kuripr, it is not an issue of arrogance for the dealers. It concerns the image of Jaguar as a luxury car. Tata Motors is not known for this type of vehicle. The question behind this concern is: if Ford with all of its abilities, e.g., technical, financial and marketing, could not make a successful venture of Jaguar...what makes you think Tata can succeed? After all, Tata exists because the family received preferential treatment from the government of India to begin with. It is quite easy to succeed when one is granted a monopoly with protection from foreign competition.

autopro - 12/6/2007 7:38:26 PMView My AgentSpace

-2 Boost

Please learn to spell.Arrogant

S4cabriofoxone - 12/6/2007 9:02:14 PMView My AgentSpace

-2 Boost

Please learn grammar. There is a space after a period, and a period after a sentence.

ThierryHenry14 - 12/8/2007 10:59:07 AM

+1 Boost

I think the way Jag/LR looks at it, theres lots to gain and very little to lose. I mean, it may affect their sales, from 1000 cars to 800, boohoo, its still worth a shot, since they are barely selling anything now.

pacotacolol - 12/9/2007 9:28:51 AMView My AgentSpace

+1 Boost

i love jaguar. what they are doing makes sense.. i don't care what you think

EnnNorak - 12/13/2007 7:06:58 PM

+1 Boost

Dealers have concerns but I wonder how many of them are prepared to give up their Jaguar franchise -- perhaps they all should and Jaguars can be sold over the Internet and shipped direct to retail customers from India at super-low prices.

The only problem would be "where to fix them". Not really a problem if reliability is built in and certified repair centers are established.

My proposal will bring accusations of being naive but I believe that the marketing guys have not yet put on their thinking caps to make direct factory to consumer auto sales a reality. To avoid lawsuits from existing Jaguar franchisees, Tata Motors could simply buy Ford's Jaguar assets and not the Jaguar division as a going concern.

S4cabriofoxone - 12/6/2007 5:05:21 PMView My AgentSpace

-5 Boost

Or, with Land Rover in a bundle, they could be bought out by a company other than Tata and not stay with Ford.

I'm scared to see what will happen to the next Range Rover, because the current model was designed under BMW, but the new one will be a FoMoCo product.

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autopro - 12/6/2007 7:39:37 PMView My AgentSpace

-8 Boost

Its a POS now and will be a POS. Last PLACE.

S4cabriofoxone - 12/6/2007 9:01:50 PMView My AgentSpace

0 Boost

?

ThierryHenry14 - 12/8/2007 11:00:20 AM

+4 Boost

Bleek, I must commend you for being the most stubborn of the Lexus fans I have seen. not a single article can go without Lexus being mentioned.

I must also say you are an idiot for keep mentioning Lexus on threads that have nothing to do it it.

theoptimisticpessimist - 12/6/2007 7:12:24 PM

+1 Boost

I agree you have to love the irony of it. I do see the dealer point, the Ford name and parts did little good to Jag reputation. I have oft heard friend comment, "I looks like a Ford" or non-Jag sales people say,"I has a lot of Ford parts." As snobby as this sounds, It is a legitimate concern.

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cdoke - 12/6/2007 6:52:49 PMView My AgentSpace

+3 Boost

Of course they don't want a company like Tata being owners- they have enough image problems with Ford owning them. If you doubt that just look at the above discussion. For example, Ford does not run Jaguar, they own Jaguar- and there are much more egregious lies told about Jaguar than that. Imagine that type of misinformation on a significantly larger scale.

If this is being snob then so be it- I am proudly a snob.

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I95SPEEDINGTICKETS - 12/6/2007 7:12:11 PM

+1 Boost

Of course they would

Inward looking, Paranoid, Snobs.

I guess they think if WE could not make Jaguar Successful, how could an INDIAN Company possibly do it ?

They have a better chance because they would not be worried about PROFIT initially and work on Producing a Good Lineup of Vehicles, All Ford Was interested in was the Potential Profits they could make from Jaguar and hence did nothing but produce Sub-Par Vehicles.

Same can be said for Volvo, Saab, Land Rover
{Current Range Rover was developed by BMW for an astronomical R&D cost, Something Ford would not understand}




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S4cabriofoxone - 12/6/2007 9:04:31 PMView My AgentSpace

0 Boost

"I guess they think if WE could not make Jaguar Successful, how could an INDIAN Company possibly do it ?"

It's not about that, not at all. And I think you know that.

This is about image. Jaguar STILL needs to maintain its image. Indian ownership might be more efficient... but it will do them no favors with potential customers.

I95SPEEDINGTICKETS - 12/7/2007 7:41:42 AM

0 Boost

S4

I know British & European Customers will not care who owns the Controlling Shares of Jaguar so long as the product on the Showroom Floor is of a Very High Standard.

I don't know why Image is so important in the USA, hell it is even more important to you guys than Quality is.

So long as Jaguar Vehicles are Designed & Built in the UK and meet the standards we expect of it we will not care who owned the Controlling Shares, That can only be achieved with a serious injection of cash and little interference from Penny Pinching Accountants who think they can design a Vehicle with a Calculator.

S4cabriofoxone - 12/8/2007 12:07:31 AMView My AgentSpace

-4 Boost

"I know British & European Customers will not care who owns the Controlling Shares of Jaguar so long as the product on the Showroom Floor is of a Very High Standard.

I don't know why Image is so important in the USA, hell it is even more important to you guys than Quality is."

I absolutely, whole-heartedly disagree. It's been made painfully obvious to me that Europeans care desperately about "heritage" and "prestige," mostly by Sevor. That is his reasoning for why Lexus can't sell there.

Yes, Americans fall for some crappy products, but they know a good car when they see it, and that's why the good cars are, in the long run, the most successful. Toyota Camry? BMW 3 Series? Lexus RX? Mercedes-Benz S-Class? Honda Civic? I think all of those cars have impressive substance to back up their nearly flawless reputations.

I95SPEEDINGTICKETS - 12/8/2007 8:15:24 AM

+1 Boost

S4

No Lexus is Designed & Built in the UK

Jaguars Are

So the 2 are not in the same boat

Remember I said so long as the product is of the standard we expect, who owns the controlling share is irrelevant.

Servor does not represent the whole of UK & Europe

ThierryHenry14 - 12/8/2007 11:05:48 AM

+2 Boost

What do they have to be afraid of? Its not a secret that Jags are not doing well, and their reputation is already tarnished (as compared to before FoMoCo owned it in 89). It really doesn't matter what the dealerships think...

autopro - 12/6/2007 7:36:46 PMView My AgentSpace

+2 Boost

They are agressive and smart people,but they will squeeze the profit out of their dealers.

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eidos2004 - 12/6/2007 8:47:42 PM

+4 Boost

I really don't understand why some of you are trying to make this concern on behalf of the dealers as an issue of racism. No one has asserted that racism does not exist in the US. But I can assure you in my travels to India that I have found far more acts of racism and a culture of entitlement among the various levels of the society. Not the least to mention racist comments over even language groupings..so please quit the non-sense. The point is that Tata ownership would likely diminish what little prestige is left in Jaguar.

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proximo26 - 12/7/2007 1:24:33 AM

+3 Boost

oh dig your head out of your arse, it has nothing to do with racism. Rolls Royce, Bentley for example are owned by the Germans, I would prefer to see these makers in British hands but, at least German ownership makes sence-they know how to build a car. The Indians and Tata....give me a break. You think Jaguar sales are slow now-look at the home page at the Forbes list "ten worst selling cars", with Tata ownership you may as well close up shop.

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vaitha - 12/7/2007 3:09:34 PM

+3 Boost

Dug it-- "A KKK member would gladly buy a cell phone plan from a Black Panther in Harlem if he's giving out $10 plans." -- LOL!!! That is so true- and hilarious!

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Corsis - 12/6/2007 10:37:57 PM

+3 Boost

Jaguar has a right to be concerned. Its a luxury car, who in there right mind is going to spend good money on a luxury car that has ties to India. The view of India mentioned in the article is harsh but true. Think of the customers, should i go and buy a BMW with heritage or a Jaguar thats owned by a company named TATA ?


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ThierryHenry14 - 12/8/2007 11:11:28 AM

+2 Boost

There's no need to be concern. The dealers will drive down the Jag sales. Do you think that Lexus cares (not that they have a choice) that they are associated with Toyota, who builds economical cars, for the most part? Or do you think that sales of Bentley, Lamborghini, Bugatti and Rolls Royce were affected when they were owned by companies producing "lower priced" products. Better yet, do you really think that Ferrari owners/sales are affected by ownership by Fiat?

The dealers are the idiots. Image of the parent company is nothing if they do a good job.

ICON - 12/6/2007 10:45:03 PM

+5 Boost

eidos2004 - very well stated. Luxury makes expend an extraordinary amount of capital building a brand image-Ford tarnished Jaguar by coming out with the small Jag that was almost completely made from the Ford parts bin-a complete failure.

If I were part of the dealer council I would certainly voice concern over any further erosion of this historical brand - Tata would be a big question mark in propelling this brand forward.

Say what you will about BMW, but you have to admit that they have been good stewards of the heritage and image of the British autos they have produced.(Range Rover, Mini, Rolls Royce)They understand Premium market segments and what it takes to succeed there-

Tata has no experience whatsoever in the Luxury market.

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EvoAudi - 12/6/2007 10:54:40 PMView My AgentSpace

-9 Boost

Stupid Racists.

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Matthew1 - 12/7/2007 12:36:11 AM

+9 Boost

Why don't you look at the reality of the situation instead of making skewed and irrational statements such as that one.

A4ORCE - 12/6/2007 10:56:37 PM

+3 Boost

Why worry about who owns Jaguar? Let's just see how the final product comes out before making judgement. Besides, guess who makes Lotus...

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vaitha - 12/7/2007 3:32:53 PM

+1 Boost

True. Lotus is owned by a Malayasian company. That doesn't detract its 'fun to drive' image... but in Jaguar's case, it is a matter of the 'Prestige' image being diminished by the take over of a little known Indian company...most comments in this section are completely sensible regarding Jaguar/TATA. Only time will tell what happens....should be interesting...

kuripr - 12/7/2007 12:30:43 AM

-3 Boost

Fact is Jaguar's luster has been lost for years. If TATA buys Jag, why not take a chance in polishing the image of Jaguar, rather than letting Jaguar wither on the vine while it has been under Ford? Jaguar's main competers are the German makes BMW and Mercedes. Ask your self what would you buy? BMW? Mercedes? or Jaguar? I rest my case!!

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1000rrRider - 12/7/2007 5:37:23 PM

-1 Boost

My cousin is on the board of directors at TATA and I have some insider information. He heard one of Tata’s strategies is to replace all NYC YELLOW CABS with Indian made Jaguars and by 2013 they plan to control 90% of the car Taxi market world wide.

S4cabriofoxone - 12/8/2007 12:09:31 AMView My AgentSpace

-2 Boost

If you're talking about Mercedes SL550 vs. Jaguar XKR... I would take the XKR, no questions asked. The Mercedes doesn't look as good, is more expensive, slower and not as nice on the inside.

EnvyofyouRS5 - 12/7/2007 12:54:27 AM

0 Boost

"Jaguar has a right to be concerned. Its a luxury car"

Jaguar motor company has no say in anything right now, if they did the brand would not be looking for a different factory to build cars. Sollution to Concern is an issue jaguar should have looked into, back when Ford( a company with no tie to any luxurious lifestyle marquee cars) was on the buyers block.

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farabira1 - 12/7/2007 2:36:00 AM

+6 Boost

I am sorry but i am not going to pay 50 grand for an indian luxury car, that is what the average uninformed buyer is going to think. I know that it is a bit unfair to the indians and TATA, but most of the buyers are ignorant and they'll classify it as cheap as indian curry. Also i am sure Merc and BMW owners will have a go at Jaguar owners by calling their cars rubbish because it is indian and how can they compare to the machines made in Germany. I am sorry, i am not trying to sound racist, even i am an indian, but that is what will happen, and buyers fearing such prospects will forego of the idea of buying a jaguar, because they can no longer call it british, a name that has an aura in the western world, indian sounds a bit weak and poor, not luxurious, sorry that is the truth.

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Gofast_321 - 12/7/2007 2:42:54 AM

0 Boost

I agree Jag need to be concerned! It needs a owner that knows how to engineer & build quality cars, such as Porsche, BMW, Audi, VW, Lexus & Mercedes. Being owned by a European or Japanese brand will over time allow Jag to produce quality cars.

Sorry guys no racism implied, but Americans & Indians don't really engineer quality cars. What they do is produce excellent Hollywood films and well the Indians gave us Karma Sutra and the curry, No.1 dish in the UK!

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c36amg - 12/7/2007 4:23:44 AMView My AgentSpace

0 Boost

is jaguar trying to grow or go down further... indians are not going to help.... they need to show further commitments.


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S4cabriofoxone - 12/8/2007 12:11:02 AMView My AgentSpace

0 Boost

They're not "trying" to go anywhere. Whoever buys them, buys them--Jaguar has no say.

SL65AMG - 12/7/2007 5:14:07 AM

+2 Boost

I understand why Jag dealers are worried. The indian automotive industry is way, way behind even the South Korean one. I think the Chinese auto industry will pull very quickly ahead of them in a few years. Tata's products are cr@p (putting it mildly). And they are the biggest indigenous auto manufacturer in india

If we look past the smokescreen of india becoming a "superpower/industrial giant/world leader" in the near future, I don't think there is a single area of engineering-based industry that India leads in the world, or is considered first class. They simply have not demonstrated that they have the competence or ability to produce top quality engineered products

If I were a stakeholder in Jag/LRover, I would try to go down the Chrysler route...and not destroy the my reputation with TutTut

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SL65AMG - 12/7/2007 9:53:59 AM

+5 Boost

Toughy: if India's engineers were that good, then their auto industry would be at an aceptable level..instead they produce utter tosh like Mahindra and TutTut. Their engineering based industrial out put (in terms of quality and innivation) is behind even South Korea's

Your comment about India's space superior to the European Space Agency is soooo laughable!!

Jaguar is an aspirational brand...it needs people that have a vision to run it to allow it to stay up with the competition (Merc, BMW, Audi, Lexus etc) Tata would prolly scavenge it and suck it dry

cdoke - 12/7/2007 11:59:55 AMView My AgentSpace

+5 Boost

"You think it is laughable when India is sending people on the moon before the European or may be the chineese? Even the US is behind schedule on this."

LOL. Could you please explain to me how, exactly the United States is behind in sending someone to the moon? Sure we haven't done it in a while, but we first did it 38 and a half years ago. China intends to send an astonaut to the moon around 2020- 51 years after the first person walked on the moon.

cdoke - 12/7/2007 12:06:24 PMView My AgentSpace

+3 Boost

Correction: 2024 is the date China intends its first astronaut to walk on the moons surface- 55 years after the first person to do so.

cdoke - 12/7/2007 12:21:39 PMView My AgentSpace

+3 Boost

"Since they have done it once"

You just cannot get anything right today can you? The United States has sent 24 people to the moon 12 only orbited it, and the other 12 actually landed on it. I belive there were 9 missions in total- all of which were under the Apollo program. Apollo 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 are all of them I think.

cdoke - 12/7/2007 1:18:38 PMView My AgentSpace

0 Boost

Nah, I'm not mena enough to beat you with a stick ;)

cdoke - 12/7/2007 1:20:33 PMView My AgentSpace

+1 Boost

Maybe I need to give you a stick to beat me with over all of these typos. Maybe it's the batteries in this wireless keyboard...(right)

1000rrRider - 12/7/2007 5:05:12 PM

+1 Boost

Poor old Russia a country almost ten times smaller then India but per capita almost ten times richer has contributed way more in aerospace technology, innovation, science and manufacturing then India however I still would not want a Russian company buying Jaguar.

mnair - 12/7/2007 10:29:15 PM

+1 Boost

You must be one of those trash who has never seen anything more than your town. Do know who or what Tata is ? Do you anything about their engineering divisions ? Go and search on Tata group and their companies.

Have you heard of INCAT ? INCAT is a Tata company. Check out it here

http://www.incat.com

kuripr - 12/7/2007 6:59:25 AM

0 Boost

Sell it to YUGO. :)

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M35MT - 12/7/2007 9:01:29 AMView My AgentSpace

+3 Boost

The UK should buy them both back.

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MaindrianPace - 12/7/2007 9:28:49 AM

+2 Boost

Jaguar need a rigourous shake up from top to bottom. People, products, branding, suppliers, marketing... I believe jaguar needs to work on all of it, I can see in the future they could be sucessful with the right kind of leadership, unfortunately I think the only people capable of turning Jaguar around are 'ze germans' and lets face it, what the hell would BMW, Audi or Mercedes need with Jaguar?

They need a volume seller but the Mondeo/X400/X-type is not the car to do it IMO. I believe they need a smaller more affordable sports car, light weight, maybe 2-3 litre turbo, then a decent 5/A6/E competitor, a decent 7/A8/S competitor, then maybe something to compete with the upcoming 'baby' rolls, and dare I say it an SUV (or even X6 style car)... I think alot of Range Rover buyers would go for it. And lastly, they need to make an XK that lives up to its reputation!

I'm British, many of us will defend Jaguar just because they are 'british', I don't like 'em at all! But as the company I work for supply them, I'd rather they didnt disappear!!!

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S4cabriofoxone - 12/8/2007 12:16:11 AMView My AgentSpace

-2 Boost

"I think alot of Range Rover buyers would go for it."

Eh, seeing as how Land Rover and Jaguar are holding hands, this wouldn't make sense. Jaguar should be the car division, Land Rover, the SUV division. They could be under one umbrella company, though.

"And lastly, they need to make an XK that lives up to its reputation!"

Really? Because you don't think the 2007 model does? It's stunningly beautiful, has excellent handling, a luxurious interior and engines that are... adequate. The XK doesn't need significant improvement.

Otherwise, I agree with your sentiments.

S4cabriofoxone - 12/9/2007 2:03:14 PMView My AgentSpace

+1 Boost

LOL, it seems like someone went through and thoroughly de-boosted ALL of my comments in this thread.

OOohhh, I'm scared.

MaindrianPace - 12/9/2007 3:45:42 PM

+1 Boost

Ido hope that you are not inferring that I've de-boosted all of your comments, as that simply isn't true! Since the days of esf I think I've have only de-boosted you 2 or 3 times, as your arguments are normally rational at least (even if I disagree with some of them)....

... germannut and huu76 on the other hand......................

I do see that Range Rover and Jaguar products could sit alongside each other. The jag for instance wouldnt need the off road engineering the RR has. And as far as the XK goes, visually it's alot closer to Hyundai than Aston Martin in my eyes!

S4cabriofoxone - 12/9/2007 9:02:47 PMView My AgentSpace

+1 Boost

No, I knew it wasn't you, because it starts at the very beginning of this thread. It is a bit funny, because I've noticed that I'm agreeing with people who have "+3" and "+4," while I get a "-3" from a similar comment.

"The jag for instance wouldnt need the off road engineering the RR has."

Ah, you should've said that. THAT makes sense.

Although I have read about a future Land Rover crossover called the "Range Rover County" or something along those lines. Not sure if I want that to happen. It would be more beneficial as a Jag, for Jaguar fans and for Land Rover fans.

"And as far as the XK goes, visually it's alot closer to Hyundai than Aston Martin in my eyes!"

To each his own. In the XK, I see not an Aston, but a truly modern, sexy, fresh Jaguar convertible that I can't take my eyes off of. It has curves that make the SL look dowdy.

M53R - 12/7/2007 9:49:27 AMView My AgentSpace

+4 Boost

As long as the product is Jaguar not TATA, why would anyone be concerned?

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cdoke - 12/7/2007 11:23:41 AMView My AgentSpace

+3 Boost

What did I say above? "far more egregious lies have been told about Jaguar"

The above is an example- at least in terms of their recent history.

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no1listensanyway - 12/7/2007 10:58:50 AMView My AgentSpace

0 Boost

Jaguar is company that is bueracratic, backwards, and inefficient. Hopefully the possiblity of sale to Tata will give them an incentive to clean up and lean up.

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kuripr - 12/7/2007 11:11:55 AM

-3 Boost

Maybe Jaguar can take over the poor man's luxury segment, if TATA buys them.

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1000rrRider - 12/7/2007 12:41:47 PM

+4 Boost

India has never been know for any advance, innovative, high tech, and well crafted manufacturing, which will be required to compete with the German or Japanese manufacturers. Most of India’s manufacturing is still 3rd world quality and not even on par with China, most products are low tech or cheap copies. Tata has no chance to compete with innovative German engineering. India as a 3rd world country will only make people run away and form Jag and tarnish its name. This will be a final nail in Jags coffin.



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1000rrRider - 12/7/2007 1:11:44 PM

0 Boost

India has never been know for any advance, innovative, high tech, and well crafted manufacturing, which will be required to compete with the German or Japanese manufacturers. Most of India’s manufacturing is still 3rd world quality and not even on par with China, most products are low tech or cheap copies. Tata has no chance to compete with innovative German engineering. India as a 3rd world country will only make people run away from Jag and tarnish its name. This will be a final nail in Jags coffin.



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mnair - 12/7/2007 10:39:34 PM

+2 Boost

Once again another trash who has not been out of his town and will point to Indian in South America. Dumbo go and check out who and what your talking about. Tata's market capitalization is about $72 billion dollars that is both GM and Ford put together plus more.

check this out

http://www.tata.com/0_companies/index.htm

pelucidor - 12/7/2007 1:19:05 PM

+2 Boost

Proton (crap car company - I have driven some) owns Lotus in Malaysia (3rd world country) and have done wonders with the brand and image and profitability over the last 12 years.

However I am nervous about TaTa owning Jaguar. There is staggering corruption and waste in many large Indian organizations, and I am not sure if Jaguar will get the funding and long-term perspective it needs. I doubt image will be effected, but products might starve...


Personally I wish Honda would buy Jaguar and kill Acura (Honda has old ties to UK car industry - not all good of course). Make next TL the new X-Type, make MDX/RDX the Jag SUVs (with lots of changes of course) and of course keep the good Jag vehicles (XJ, XK, new XF).

Honda automatically gets a good RWD chassis, an ok V8, and great designers (all sorely needed). Jagaur gets incredible R&D, great management, long term vision etc. Perfect match in my mind - no doubt everyone here will tell me where I am wrong...

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1995e34 - 12/7/2007 1:21:54 PM

-1 Boost

if a jewish man can buy a german mercedes, an american can surely buy an indian jag.

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mnair - 12/9/2007 12:57:47 AM

+2 Boost

Hey just shoot off. Go and research Tata technologies before you say another word.

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1000rrRider - 12/7/2007 2:52:56 PM

+2 Boost

Per capita Bulgaria is about five times wealthier then India and about 160 times smaller. Only reason an Indian company can even afford a struggling British company is because of its uncontrolled growing population of 1.1 billion people which is more then Europe and North America combined. People pay big bucks for luxury vehicles and expect the latest in technological innovations mostly from Germany and Japan even a hint of Indian engineering in Jaguar will make people go elsewhere. For a growing company like Tata this is only good news they will have access to Jaguars technology and get mass exposure. Then they will start dumping their cheap Tata’s world wide.

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AUTO_UNION - 12/7/2007 3:37:20 PM

+2 Boost

The best thing for jaguar would be if they were bought by a European car company and regain the "European image" they once had!

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jt716 - 12/7/2007 4:20:20 PMView My AgentSpace

+3 Boost

The main reason that Jag is in this current state is all because of Ford. They simply neglected Jag for the all these years the newest model to be released was the X-type. Which is just a Ford Mondeo under Jaguar sheet metal. The XK took so long to redesign and it is beautiful! If Ford would have paid more attention to Jag and put some effort it would have been up there with MB and BMW

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jt716 - 12/7/2007 4:23:08 PMView My AgentSpace

+2 Boost

Oh and what I think is that Tata is just using Jag to try and bring their products to the USA. I am an Indian and I have been to India numerous times to know that their cars are just full of crap. They might be good for India, but not for the US market.

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jt716 - 12/7/2007 5:17:16 PMView My AgentSpace

+1 Boost

When I mean their cars are full of crap I mean that they arent great for the US and I realy dont know how well they can build cars for the US. Lots of people have been telling that this is one of the main reason for acquiring Jag to get to Europe and the US

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1000rrRider - 12/7/2007 5:38:17 PM

0 Boost

My cousin is on the board of directors at TATA and I have some insider information. He heard one of Tata’s strategies is to replace all NYC YELLOW CABS with Indian made Jaguars and by 2013 they plan to control 90% of the car Taxi market world wide.


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huntr - 12/7/2007 8:09:50 PM

+1 Boost

That would be just what a luxury car company needs---to be a taxi!! I could just hear someone at the country club now-Hey I just got a jag that is just like the taxi I was in yesterday, all it needs now is a bright yellow paint job and all of you will be green with envy. In europe they have some luxury makes as taxi's but it just would not work over here in the U.S.A., dude I need to get a yellow cab, they have so much prestige!!

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JohnTravolta - 12/8/2007 4:31:34 AM

+5 Boost

If I'm can choose one company to take over Jaguar, I'd pick Acura and hope they make Jaguar as well built as possible (without interfering too much with their design).
I saw the new XF at the auto show last week and I think it's the most attractive sedan I've see so far, both the exterior and interior. Even its stereo system is oustanding. The new XK has been doing really well, if you can find one it's almost always selling at MSRP, which is out of reach for most consumers. But the lower priced XF has a real potential to turn Jaguar around. I can imagine it grabing tons of customers from BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, etc if it has great built quality. Since I personally don't know any Indian car company that successfully own/operate reputable automobile brand, I probably wouldn't recommend it. Especially now Jaguar is at a critial point of its operation, it definitely shouldn't add more uncertainty to the company.

The bottom line is, whoever has a solid reputation for managing a luxury car company should take over, the issue of race shouldn't even be in the spotlight at all.


reply to this comment

S4cabriofoxone - 12/8/2007 10:46:02 PMView My AgentSpace

-2 Boost

If you read well... you could see that there was another comment showing how well-paired Honda and Jaguar actually could be.

Dump struggling Acura, and make Jaguar into Honda's luxury brand. There are gobs of more potential prestige to be had in Jaguar, and with the right styling, engineering and marketing directions, it could be transformed into an unprecedented, top-notch company.

Sorry, but right now Acura is a joke. They had their peak in 1987. But it's a lost cause. They had their chance to be like Lexus--to really turn the market on its ear with tons of advertising, production- and publicity-driven excellence--but they didn't. And that's Honda's fault. I love Honda, hate Acura.

JohnTravolta - 12/9/2007 7:59:30 AM

+4 Boost

Honda, Acura, either one is fine by me since both are making the most reliable cars in their segments. The reason I brought up Acura is because they're a luxury (or some people called it near luxury) brand that can be more closely associated with the image that Jaguar is trying the preserve. I mean, for the upper class consumers, it definitely sounds better when they hear Jaguar is owned by Acura, instead of Honda. In addition to the image, I think the high quality control of Acura can really help Jaguar, and Acura does have a marginally better reliability then Honda.
By the way, just because the TL (getting old) and RL (interior too small to begin with) are not selling very well doesn't mean the rest of the car line aren't. Feel free to ask any Acura sales person and see if they're having trouble paying the bills. In 2008, Acura actually plan to introduce the new TL and TSX (both a