Ford to sell Jag and Rover
01-03-2008, 05:26 AM
#1
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Ford to sell Jag and Rover
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Old news, but this is getting closer to a reality with Ford trying to raise money by selling Aston and now Jag and Rover.
Ford paid more than $5B for Jag and Rover and will sell them for less than $2B combined as well as pumping (?) who knows how many Billions into them over the last 20 years.
I think it will be good to sell Jag if it doesn't make any money. But I have to imagine the buyers (Inda's Tata motors) will gain far more than what they are paying less than $2B for the brands but all the know-how that goes into making a modern car, like a cheat sheet for modern engine/tranny system that would cost a lot to develop on their own.
I would like to see Ford spend some money on products, and make something world-class not just something OK for an OK price.
__
The first thing I would do would be see about making a Civic/Fit fighter out of the Focus. With gas being so expensive it'd be nice to see a great US small car that could get 30+ MPG and cost in the teens.
Old news, but this is getting closer to a reality with Ford trying to raise money by selling Aston and now Jag and Rover.
Ford paid more than $5B for Jag and Rover and will sell them for less than $2B combined as well as pumping (?) who knows how many Billions into them over the last 20 years.
I think it will be good to sell Jag if it doesn't make any money. But I have to imagine the buyers (Inda's Tata motors) will gain far more than what they are paying less than $2B for the brands but all the know-how that goes into making a modern car, like a cheat sheet for modern engine/tranny system that would cost a lot to develop on their own.
I would like to see Ford spend some money on products, and make something world-class not just something OK for an OK price.
__
The first thing I would do would be see about making a Civic/Fit fighter out of the Focus. With gas being so expensive it'd be nice to see a great US small car that could get 30+ MPG and cost in the teens.
01-03-2008, 07:38 AM
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Ford needs the money from the sale, bad. Jaguar has been a money pit ever since they bought it. Land Rover is in desperate need of an entire lineup refresher. Both companies will require significant investment to make competitive and Ford doesn't have the money. Ford is so cash tight they may even sell Volvo in the next year or two. Ford makes good, maybe even great cars, they just don't sell them in America.
The first generation Focus was a good car and it stacked up fairly well to the Japanese competition when it was released. Even the SVT version was okay. The problem with the Focus is we are still on the first gen platform. Europe is towards the end of the second generation chassis, I think they get the 3rd this February. We can get the second generation hardware not as a Ford, but as the Mazda 3. You can even get a Focus Cabrio in the UK. Our Focus has been long in the tooth for quite some time.
The Fusion is a nice car but the European Mondeo is so much better. The first time I saw one was in the latest Bond movie, Casino Royale. I thought to myself why re-engineer the wheel and develop the Fusion when you could just bring back the Mondeo? We originally had it as the Contour.
The Five Hundred/Taurus could have been a good car but they put the wrong motor in it. By the time they figured that out they had changed the name back to Taurus and the competition left them even further behind with new models.
In Australia you can have the Falcon. A performance oriented rear wheel drive platform that can accept a wide array of engines and will probably underpin the next generation Mustang. The Falcon is a touch smaller than the Taurus so don't be surprised if they bring it over as its replacement. Possibly even lengthen the chassis and finally kill off the Crown Vic.
For small cars Ford has the Fiesta and even smaller Ka. Both are decent but not as good as there Japanese counterparts. They, however, aren't sold in America and don't know if there are plans to do so.
Ford makes decent product for different markets. Why they don't bring the best stuff to there home market is beyond me. There new CEO sees it the same way and hopefully Alan Mulally will change things. I want to buy "American", but there hasn't been anything I would make the jump for yet. There are alot of people in the same boat.
The first generation Focus was a good car and it stacked up fairly well to the Japanese competition when it was released. Even the SVT version was okay. The problem with the Focus is we are still on the first gen platform. Europe is towards the end of the second generation chassis, I think they get the 3rd this February. We can get the second generation hardware not as a Ford, but as the Mazda 3. You can even get a Focus Cabrio in the UK. Our Focus has been long in the tooth for quite some time.
The Fusion is a nice car but the European Mondeo is so much better. The first time I saw one was in the latest Bond movie, Casino Royale. I thought to myself why re-engineer the wheel and develop the Fusion when you could just bring back the Mondeo? We originally had it as the Contour.
The Five Hundred/Taurus could have been a good car but they put the wrong motor in it. By the time they figured that out they had changed the name back to Taurus and the competition left them even further behind with new models.
In Australia you can have the Falcon. A performance oriented rear wheel drive platform that can accept a wide array of engines and will probably underpin the next generation Mustang. The Falcon is a touch smaller than the Taurus so don't be surprised if they bring it over as its replacement. Possibly even lengthen the chassis and finally kill off the Crown Vic.
For small cars Ford has the Fiesta and even smaller Ka. Both are decent but not as good as there Japanese counterparts. They, however, aren't sold in America and don't know if there are plans to do so.
Ford makes decent product for different markets. Why they don't bring the best stuff to there home market is beyond me. There new CEO sees it the same way and hopefully Alan Mulally will change things. I want to buy "American", but there hasn't been anything I would make the jump for yet. There are alot of people in the same boat.
01-03-2008, 10:15 AM
#6
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wills2k106 hit the nail on the head - Ford is profitable overseas and has great foreign product, but its American product is crap. and it makes no sense that it operates this way. It needs to what GM did and import its foreign product for sale here and start building world-class cars for America, not just the rest of the world.
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01-03-2008, 11:26 AM
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We will get a preview of potential Falcon sales. Pontiac is bringing over the Holden Commodore as the G8. It is very good value for money on paper and anyone who has driven it loves it. They may just use the Commodore and Falcon at there respective dealers to replace aging front wheel drive hardware. The Impala, Grand Prix, and Bonneville are all slated to be replaced by the Commodore. If rumor holds true the Falcon will replace the current Mustang chassis, 500/Taurus, and Crown Vic variants. It won't go over well with drag racers because of the IRS but everyone else will prefer the better ride.
01-03-2008, 11:34 AM
#9
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I always wanted to understand, why British car brands can never survive and be very profitable to owners, these brands are being passed from owner to owner, Rolls Royce, Jaguar, Rover, Aston Martin and couple more I can't remember. why that never happened to french cars for example ?
01-03-2008, 01:12 PM
#10
Originally Posted by wills2k106,Jan 3 2008, 08:38 AM
Ford needs the money from the sale, bad. Jaguar has been a money pit ever since they bought it. Land Rover is in desperate need of an entire lineup refresher. Both companies will require significant investment to make competitive and Ford doesn't have the money. Ford is so cash tight they may even sell Volvo in the next year or two. Ford makes good, maybe even great cars, they just don't sell them in America.
The first generation Focus was a good car and it stacked up fairly well to the Japanese competition when it was released. Even the SVT version was okay. The problem with the Focus is we are still on the first gen platform. Europe is towards the end of the second generation chassis, I think they get the 3rd this February. We can get the second generation hardware not as a Ford, but as the Mazda 3. You can even get a Focus Cabrio in the UK. Our Focus has been long in the tooth for quite some time.
The Fusion is a nice car but the European Mondeo is so much better. The first time I saw one was in the latest Bond movie, Casino Royale. I thought to myself why re-engineer the wheel and develop the Fusion when you could just bring back the Mondeo? We originally had it as the Contour.
The Five Hundred/Taurus could have been a good car but they put the wrong motor in it. By the time they figured that out they had changed the name back to Taurus and the competition left them even further behind with new models.
In Australia you can have the Falcon. A performance oriented rear wheel drive platform that can accept a wide array of engines and will probably underpin the next generation Mustang. The Falcon is a touch smaller than the Taurus so don't be surprised if they bring it over as its replacement. Possibly even lengthen the chassis and finally kill off the Crown Vic.
For small cars Ford has the Fiesta and even smaller Ka. Both are decent but not as good as there Japanese counterparts. They, however, aren't sold in America and don't know if there are plans to do so.
Ford makes decent product for different markets. Why they don't bring the best stuff to there home market is beyond me. There new CEO sees it the same way and hopefully Alan Mulally will change things. I want to buy "American", but there hasn't been anything I would make the jump for yet. There are alot of people in the same boat.
The first generation Focus was a good car and it stacked up fairly well to the Japanese competition when it was released. Even the SVT version was okay. The problem with the Focus is we are still on the first gen platform. Europe is towards the end of the second generation chassis, I think they get the 3rd this February. We can get the second generation hardware not as a Ford, but as the Mazda 3. You can even get a Focus Cabrio in the UK. Our Focus has been long in the tooth for quite some time.
The Fusion is a nice car but the European Mondeo is so much better. The first time I saw one was in the latest Bond movie, Casino Royale. I thought to myself why re-engineer the wheel and develop the Fusion when you could just bring back the Mondeo? We originally had it as the Contour.
The Five Hundred/Taurus could have been a good car but they put the wrong motor in it. By the time they figured that out they had changed the name back to Taurus and the competition left them even further behind with new models.
In Australia you can have the Falcon. A performance oriented rear wheel drive platform that can accept a wide array of engines and will probably underpin the next generation Mustang. The Falcon is a touch smaller than the Taurus so don't be surprised if they bring it over as its replacement. Possibly even lengthen the chassis and finally kill off the Crown Vic.
For small cars Ford has the Fiesta and even smaller Ka. Both are decent but not as good as there Japanese counterparts. They, however, aren't sold in America and don't know if there are plans to do so.
Ford makes decent product for different markets. Why they don't bring the best stuff to there home market is beyond me. There new CEO sees it the same way and hopefully Alan Mulally will change things. I want to buy "American", but there hasn't been anything I would make the jump for yet. There are alot of people in the same boat.
Imagine if Ford's lineup was the current euro Focus, 500, Mondeo, Explorer and Expedition, trucks, Edge, and Mustang... GM gets the hint and are bringing over their foreign products and yet Ford is just resistant, however got it almost perfect for Mazda.