大象传媒

Land Rover employees are continually annoyed by media reports that we are a company losing money. We have growing and record sales, and have made substantially increasing profits over recent years. Get the facts right!!

Ford's stratgey with Jaguar was never a good direction, the X-type looks dated and the new XK should have been out years ago when teh trend for grand tourers was really taking off. Jaguar really ought to concentrate of selling serious luxury tourers as it did in its heyday.
The emphasis on producing volume cars caused a public perception that a jag is a mondeo in new clothes (which is utter rubbish of course).
Any new investors in Jaguar would do well to look at the resurgence of BMW through niche brands such as the 6 series and the mini. Once a serious niche credibility is built and the marque regaisn it's prestige, then in a move reminiscent of Porsche's foray into luxury 4x4 markets, it would be possible to diversify.

My recent experience of owning a new Jaguar was not a happy one. It was unreliable and needed a number of major fixes 鈥� but was never right. The dealer was not interested and hadn鈥檛 come to terms with customer service. So I sold it. I鈥檝e no sympathy at all for Jaguar as they only have themselves to blame.

I would like to buy Jag and Land Rover company one day. This will be when I become a Billionair. Is there anychance that I can have a Jag for free then I will be advertising its brand and this should then pull more buyers and hopefully turn the industries into profit making not losing money.

Here we go again!
Yet again Land Rover is being dragged down by ailing car sales. At least BMW could see where to cut it's losses and split Land Rover / Rover.Land Rover was sold because of public & media outcry over BMW cherrypicking. Ford on the other hand has attempted to shore Jaguars crumbling walls off the back of Land Rovers continued and rising success. It only takes one bad apple!

I think the comment about Ford turning Jaguar from a sleek cat into a groggy moggy a bit wide of the mark. I seem to remember that Ford were horrified at the outdated methods that Jaguar were using when they took over the plants in 89 which suggests the sleek cat had long gone. Reliability was a joke then which I think has been dramaticaly improved under Ford. However I do think think that the X type was the wrong way to go as it is not what Jaguar cars are about.

Jaguar have made bad cars for decades and only under Ford ownership have they improved slightly. Jaguar used to be a premium brand, however the X-Type (Mondeo in drag) made for the masses has devalued the marque. It's time that Ford packed up and went back to Detroit.

I think employees have every reason to be concerned because of the possiblity of these companies being acquired by asset-strippers and/or people without experience of manufacturing.

Robert Peston's throwaway remarks are ludicrous. I have driven various models of Jaguar for nearly 20 years and they are really good cars. One of the problems is the motoring press continually comparing Jags unfavourably with German cars. They never give the British car industry a break, with predictable results.

I just wish the 大象传媒 would get its facts right before listening to the business anylists it employes,firstly midlands today reveald in march Land Rover profits best ever,all of a sudden we are losing fistfulls of money?? could the correspondants firstly answer the question when did Land Rover start losing money especially now that we are working enforced overtime (solihull roadmap)because of planned sales which we were told we had to build an extra 3016 cars this year above forecast sales?? as for jaguar ford have spent nearly 20 years trying to turn round its fortune but if you want to sell top brand vehicles you need top brand components most people are paying for the name and getting a ford galaxy/mondeo interior for the price of jaguar/landrover.I blame British government for the mess of our manufacturing industry it seems like we have no protection unlike in the states and other european countries.

I agree with Peter from Merseyside.
My experience with a new Jaguar was one of faults, bad service and an unhelpful dealer.
Not what you expect when buying a so-called premium brand.
I, too, sold mine and invested in something else.
If others have done the same it's no wonder Jaguar is in trouble.

The Jag was a disaster before Ford took over the company. It was unreliable as hell. Ford turned that around but still couldn't sell the car in sufficient volumes to make it profitable. Overcoming Jag's reputation for unreliability was a hill too high to climb.

Every one knows that some Jaguar models are built on a Monadeo Chasie. That does not help your reputation when you are trying to promote a car in the same league as the Mercs & BM's

I can't agree with Robert that Jag was a "sleek cat" when Ford took over. In 1989, the model range relied on the ageing XJ/S and the XJ6 which had been in development since the early '70s. Many aspects of the models since then have been excellent, in particular the powertrains and the ride and handling, but the styling during the '90s got stuck in a retro mindset, leaving much of the current model range looking dated despite the current S-Type and XJ being excellent cars.
Ford's mistake was an over-ambition to match the German brands in market sectors where they were already well-established (X-Type vs 3 Series), combined with insufficient investment to allow for the required product development.
I've never worked directly for Jaguar or Land Rover, but I've been in automotive consultancy in the Midlands for the past 12 years and have witnessed the frustrations of many Jaguar engineers at not having the resources to enable them to produce the products that the brand deserves.

Of course it's rubbish to say that a Jag is a Mondeo in new clothes - it's a Mondeo in old clothes! The X Type is the worst company car I've ever had - I wish I'd kept my old Mondeo.

A friend of mine had an X-type jaguar, and was the most dissapointing car he had ever owned. For the firss year of ownership it spent as much time in for repairs as it was on the road. For every week it was driven, it spent a week in the garage.

The finance deal was for 5 years, after 3 years he cut his losses and traded the car in for a new Skoda and has never looked back.

At the same time, I had a 'proper Mondeo' that the X-type is based on, and that was rubbish as well.

All in all, the position Ford is currently in is well deserved. They need to get back to basics and improve build quality.

So Ford bought Jaguar and Land Rover to add luxury cars to their European portfolio? After the failure of the last Scopio model that's not really a suprise. The X Type Jaguar (which definitely is a Mondeo in new clothes) seemed to bridge the gap the Scorpio left, but after seeing a review of the top of the range of Ford's new Mondeo the other day I think the X type now seems superfluous. So perhaps it's no surprise Ford want to sell off Jaguar now... It won't make any difference to me though, I'd still prefer a Jaguar over a Ford any day.

My own opinion is that Ford has turned around two struggling brands quite significantly. You only have to look at the latest L-R model line-up (Range Rover + Sport, Discovery III and Freelander) and the improvements to quality in Jaguar since the 1990s. I'm not sure Jaguar sales truly reflect the quality of the cars and I'm impressed that the current Land-Rover line-up is highly desireable and extremely competent.

Whooooaaa there, Jaguar's are now superb quality vehicles, and since being under Ford now have superb reliability too. How can your correspondent forget the hideous unreliability and appalling quality workmanship of Jaguars under Leyland prior to Ford's ownership. For the first time ever Jaguars really supercars. Just wake up and stop running down the very best of British

This could be the making of Jaguar. I've had three XKs and all have been brilliant; but the dealers are woeful. It's like buying, well, a Ford. Whoever buys the company should lock the designers and engineers in a very comfortable ivory tower and take a sledgehammer to the dealer network.

Jaguar has the potential to be a succesful business. However it needs to produce cars that are in demand. BMW are beggining to suffer because they have ignored the public and gone their own way. How many new shape 3 series do you see??
Jaguar has a brilliant brand, that matched with the right products could be higly lucrative. I see no reason not to compete in the 25k plus market for saloons. The key to this market, is the uniquness of each vehicle. Every BMW 3 series used to look different (new shape doesnt have lots of exterior options), every mini looks different.
How different does each x type look? Even the new XK has loads of options, and it appears to be working.

I too have had a bad experience owning a X-Type 3.0. It is now 3yrs 9 months old and since the warranty expired I have had two repairs required. The second one, a bearing failure in the 'Transfer box' has just happened and I have been waiting 2 weeks for the part to be delivered to the dealer. Cost to repair will be over 拢2,000 but Jaguar have agreed to pay half. I will probably sell soon in fear of what else will go wrong.

Well I hope whoever buys Jaguar invests in the company and introduces new models so that they offer the same breadth of range as that provided by Mercedes / Audi / BMW

I do have to say that our 2005 X-type 2.5SE has been excellent and much better made and more reliable than our previous car a Mercedes C200K. Whatever else Ford have done the quality of Jaguar has improved under their ownership

Jaguar and Land Rover brands are symbollic to the British automotive industry and internationally acknowledged as long term British heritage. Investment by Ford has encouraged an improvement to quality and global direction for both companies, and is not associated with the recent financial losses and struggles the companies have been experiencing. Increased competition, green ecological issues, globalisation amongst others are all attributing to the automotive industry as a whole facing difficulties. The current climate focussing on green economic vehicles has hit the industry hard and for companies which have historically developed large prestige vehicles it will take some time to react to the changing market. This will happen, and companies tend to survive - although larger companies have a much greater inertia and change does not happen overnight!!

The world is changing. People are looking more at cars which are economic to run and environmentally more friendly.

This doesn't mean Jaguar is dead in the water but it does mean that it has to expand its range to include smaller engined sports car if it wants to stay active in that market. Whatever it does will though require significant investment and I doubt the PE companies will be up for this.

LandRover is a different kettle of fish. It is successful and it is profitable but the trend is against "Chelsea Tractors". Time for some long term thinking there as well methinks.

Overall though both these companies could survive and prosper but not with today's fast buck approach.. It takes time, patience and darn good management to build a car company. I ddon't think PE companies are that smart. As to Russian billionaires then think TVR... That will put you off the idea rapidly.

Would someone please care to quantify how Jaguar has become a "groggy moggy"? Please start by comparing sales volumes and model line up before and after Ford ownership. Looks to me like Jaguar are doing extremely well for themselves under the Ford oval. I grant you that financially Jaguar aren't the best. But then again, how does it compare before and after Ford ownership?

Ford's attempt to move upmarket with Aston Martin, Jaguar and, don't forget, Volvo, surely made strategic sense. With the demise of models such as the Scorpio as an 'executive' saloon, and the Probe as a 'sports car' Ford proved yet again what a disaster their designs were in Europe - so it was wise to look elsewhere.

Differentiating by brand rather than just price must be the key to any car manufacturer's future.

To mess up one niche brand may be bad luck but to mess up three looks like carelessness...

Environmental issues are at the top of the world agenda, so is there really a long term future for the "Luxury"/"Prestige" & 4x4 "Gas Guzzlers" car market, I doubt it.
Only fools with more money than sense would invest substantial amounts in Jaguar or Land Rover brands. Having said that, some Arab investor will come along, I doubt any Asians or even Russians would invest in "拢拢拢 Guzzlers"

I'm sorry to hear Peter of Merseyside blame the demise of Jaguar on one poor dealership. My experience is the complete opposite. I am now on my second Jaguar and the dealer could not have been better. It's like going to visit an old friend with the option of getting a new car while you're there.

I have had no major problems and only one minor problem in the last 6 years. Let's hope they can find an owner who appreciates a good product and good service.

For anyone with a little inside knowledge of the car industry and a basic ability to speculate, the sale of Land Rover and Jaguar is no big surprise. This has been an inevitability for quite some time. Furthermore, with the membership of Ford's PAG division dwindling, I wonder just how long Volvo will remain part of the Ford family.

Jaguar historically made sleek, modern, aspirational cars. Ford's big mistakes were (i) to pander to what it percieved it's US buyers wanted - conservative, retro styling - where the real market opportunity was in younger, more athletic, "sporting" orientated cars (ask both BMW and Lexus); and (ii) making it's platform sharing just too transparent. Audis manage to share major mechanicals with Skodas and Seats but no-one seems to care whereas the X Type has always been a "Mondeo in drag" (unfair in truth, but undeniably the market perception). The brand has been devalued and eveyone now sees them as cars for old people. But there's hope - there remains a deep seated affection for the marque amongst motor-literate people and the new XF (S-Type replacement) looks to be heading in the right stylistic direction (provided they ditch the Mondeo switchgear and manage to differentialte it from a mid-size Lexus). With dynamic new ownership and a proper focus on what its customers want, they will still sell like hot cakes.

The passing of Ford could be good news in the long run. In my opinion they were never the right partners for Jaguar. The X-type was in no way a Jaguar and at the launch of the new XJ I even mistook it for the old model. Unfortunately a lot of customers seem to have thought the same since. Not great business decisions Mr Ford!
I wish Jaguars well and in particular their workforce and look forward to a new era of sporting luxury cars at reasonable prices, as was the trdition.
GC Stead

Jaguar's problem is one of perception not helped by its links with Ford.
Unlike Peter from Merseyside my Jaguar XJ TDVi has been utterly reliable and is a sensational car.It knocks spots off the relaiblity of my previous car , a BMW 530d. Yes the turbos have needed tweaking but I never was aware of the problem which was fixed during a routine service and only served to give me greater confidence in Jaguar's quality and reliability.
I think the problem is that there is a perception that BMW and Mercedes are more relaible but if you look at any study of quality and reliability Jaguar consistently come towards the top of the list , just behind the Japanese marks and ahead of BMW and Mercedes .Maybe the links with Ford are the casue of the consumer perception which is highlighted by the comments about the X Type . The Ford Mondeo is a terrific car and a more luxury version under a Jguar badge is no bad thing except that is not how the press describe the car. Good Luck to Jaguar and Land Rover and the guys who make these fine cars

I would call it grossly misleading to suggest Jaguar was a sleek cat in 1989. The XJS was already 14 years old, they were still turning out XJ12s, essentially a 21 year old design, and the appallingly built XJ40 was the mainstay, even if BL had never seen fit to engineer it for Jag's one great asset, the v12 engine. That took Ford until 1993 to rectify.

Given that starting point Jaguar's Ford-backed management have done a pretty good job, I'd say. Nick Scheele, architect of much of that success, is highly respected and went on to head up Ford globally.

It may not be perfect (S-Type too old and oddly styled, X-Type is a rebodied Mondeo and you can't get away from that) but given where they started I'd day it's been a vast improvement.

I have seen the new C-XF (pictured above) in the flesh. Due to be released next year, and due to shut up anyone who reffers to Jag as a "Groggy Moggy".

This bodes ill. Just look what happened to Rover when it was bought out by private equity firms with no real committment to running a car manufacturer. I'm worried that a few years down the line both Jaguar - one of the most iconic luxury brands - and Land Rover will face a similar fate.

The purchase of Jaguar was a mistake by Ford at the price paid - the product and the facility was falling down. The were duped by GM in a blind bidding war and lost by winning Jaguar. However Ford have stuck with providing high investment in product, facility and most criticaly quality. Maybe the time of the Jaguar brand has passed. The bigest risk to employess will be to pension rights, far to high a commitment for any fly by night investment return.

It became inevitable that Jag would be dumped by Ford. No company can keep pumping millions into a black hole with no visible means of a return, especially when they are also in the mire! As the old saying goes 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 keep flogging a dead horse鈥�. The management and engineers are all too arrogant and had their heads in the sand for years. It is only a question of time before the big cat moves to the East!!

As a Jaguar owner/driver for over 25 years I think Jaguar is lucky to still be in business.

The cars have always been a pleasure to drive, but the reliability and servicing costs take away all the pleasure.

My father has a Range Rover which has been off the road in the repairers for 9 weeks now, waiting for a new axle, and apparently there are none available in the country.

Apparently Ford have already sold-off/outsourced their spare parts operation as a penny-pinching exercise and it's a complete mess - which must be very concerning for a number of owners, particularly considering the reliability reputation of Land Rover products...

Hopefully whoever buys it can make a better job of things

Land Rover running at a loss? Not quite
Let's hope the government doesn't allow Land Rover to be sold to a foreigh investor. It's a legendary British marque that should remain British and British owned. Perhaps British passion is what's needed to show that the Land Rover marque is and can continue to be a success!
It would be an absolute shame to lose this pioneering company to the Chinese or Russians.

Jaguars decline is a function of the exchange rate with the USA. In the late 90's over 75% of Jaguars were sold to the US, at that time the dollar was about 1.45, its been running since the millenium nearer 2, the cars are now too expensive to make a profit, however as it is marketed as 'British' making the cars in China or wherever would undervalue the brand so it loses on both fronts. Fundamentally however you need to make cars that people want to buy and you can then sell them at a price that is profitable, the new S, X & XJ over the past 8 years have missed their markets, it was then bound to fail. Pity now to sell the company as things appear to be on the up with new cars on the way people will want to buy.

Modern Jaguars are just tarted up Ford Mondeos and everyone knows that they're not 'real Jags'. And only Ford could put a diesel engine in a Jag and bring out an estate. What a mess.

Under Ford's ownership things have gone pretty well for Land Rover. They are now cranking out a new model every year - previously it was about once a decade! Sales are up, profits are up. Build defects, especially on the new Freelander are down. Crucially the revised Defender has improved, and not destoyed a very British motoring icon. However, Jaguar has been losing Ford money hand over fist, and as the Freelander 2 production is shared with Jaguar at Helwood it looks as though the sale of Jaguar has to include Land Rover. Let's hope a British private equity buyer wants to bring these two brands back home.

I must say that my experience with a new Jaguar was totally different to Peter from Merseyside. I bought a new diesel S-type in March last year and without doubt it is by far and away the best car I have ever driven. OK, there have been a few minor niggles (and a recall) but my local dealer has fixed the problems quickly and efficiently and lent me a car whilst the work was done.

I would definitely buy another one and the company (I if I had the money !)

Rob in Somerset

Now is the time for Britain to show the world that we are the best at designing and building specialist cars.
After all, all the Formula 1 teams have their factories here in the UK, because this is where the majority of their components are made. And nothing in the car market is more specialist than an F1 car.

I have got to say that I actually love Jaguar and with the right people backing them they can be a great manufacturer again. Up until a year ago I owned an X-Type and loved driving it. The build, style everything was spot on. The only thing that let them down was the servicing and the dealership. The service I received from the dealership and servicing department was frankly shoddy. Originally I bought from a great dealer, but they were sold to a large company and all of the staff who some of whom had worked there for the past 10 years or so (a great feat in car dealer terms) all went and it destroyed everything that was great about the dealership. The other problem was the servicing. I do very little miles, around 6000 per year and the cost of the yearly service was near 拢500. This was for a routine service and nothing wrong with the car. It took all day, quite literally, having to drop the car off at 8am and wouldn't be allowed it back until 6:30pm and no courtesy car was allowed unless booked 4 weeks in advance. The one time I did do this they let mine out to someone else! After a few of years of this I decided it was not worth it. Whoever does buy this great brand needs to get this part of the business correct. I for one would jump back to a Jaguar if they sorted this problem out. They are a wonderful brand and long may they continue!

I have been a repeat customer for a few years but have lost faith in Jaguar when it's UK "customer service" told me that it would not help me with a technical problem since I lived abroad and "had no interest to provide help to overseas customers". I have adopted the same philosphy and have now bought a new Japanese car, with a somewhat different customer service attitude. Jaguar has not been watching the competition but was always confident people would buy just because of the name.

Jaguar had the misfortune to be tied up in the same stable as Aston Martin for all those years when they were both part of Ford's PAG. Two historically competitive brands were instead pigeonholed by their foreign masters. While Aston Martin enjoyed technical autonomy and flourished, Ford turned Jaguar into a middle-class, middle-aged, middle-weight brand. It is criminal that the F-Type concept was not developed into a full-fledged supercar, and that the bland, underendowed X-Type was ever allowed to see the light of day with a Jaguar badge on the nose. As for the marque's motorsport traditions, Ford dragged the Jaguar name through the mud (and gravel-traps and grass verges) during a farcical foray into Formula 1 - they also managed to run the efficient privateer outfit that Jackie Stewart sold them into the ground while they were at it.
So good riddance Ford, please take the X-Type and all those diesels with you as you leave.
Hopefully whoever the new owners are, they will have more respect for the history of grace, space, pace and motorsport glory that Jaguar represents.

This seems to be another example of the media's apparent delight in knocking British industry. In fact, Jaguar have some excellent products including the stunning XF waiting in the wings - and it regularly achieves customer and dealer satisfaction ratings way above the German marques. I have just bought my second X-type after test driving it back-to-back with the best of the competition, and have found the car better to drive, better made and more reliable than BMWs and VWs I have had previously.
If Ford made an error, it was not getting into the European diesel market sooner - and perhaps clinging a bit too much to nostalgia. I think they now have the model range about right, and abandoning the "compact executive" sector would be a mistake. It is a pity Ford don't feel able to stick with it for another few years as without them, Jaguar would be in a far worse state than they are today.

For anyone questioning the reliability of Jaguar cars, I would ask them to take a good hard look at JD Powers surveys where Jaguar has always performed well often beating the Teutonic rivals. I should know I worked for Jaguar as an engineer for 5 years. Now on VIP helicopters, I mourn the passing of a great British Brand. What we are seeing now is glorified recievership.

I think it is a great opportunity to bring the British marques back under British ownership away from the big multinationals like Ford and GM. Critics have too often commented that Jaguar and Land Rovers are representative of a Ford spare parts bin and this has hampered the impression of quality and luxury in recent years. As both a big Land Rover and Jaguar fan I hope that the brands are bought by genuine enthusiasts rather than some VC's trying to make a quick buck and, along with Aston Martin, put British premium car brands back on the map.

These companies face a serious medium to long term threat in that large gas guzzling cars are becoming increasingly unfashionable in the face of growing eco-chondria.

I predict Jaguar will be gone in 5 years, LR may survive as a small maker of commercial 4x4s.

The writing is on the wall for bling encrusted "luxury" SUVs like the Range Rover.

Not a good investment.

Both Ford and Land Rover had pretty dire reputations for quality prior to Ford's involvement, and both appear to have made significant improvements in this area - Jaguar in particular appears to have at least caught up with the German, if not the Japanese premium brands. While Land Rover appears to have progressed under Ford, Jaguar has suffered from weak marketing and a muddled new product strategy. A change of ownership/management and strategy will probably be no bad thing. It would be good if they could survive with some degree of independence rather than being bagged by another brand-hungry group.

It is interesting that Ford are in such dire straights when Toyota are soaring! Ford have, in recent years, tried to emulate the Toyota production system but failed. Maybe they should try harder.

There is a basic problem with Ford's ownership of Jaguar. A luxury car should be just that - something of extreme quality that you aspire to own and are proud of. Not a Mondeo with a different body and a different badge........

Jaguar definitely had some of the most distinctive styling in the industry. While the Ford-era models are less distinctive, at least the quality has improved from abysmal to mediocre. I鈥檇 rather a 鈥済roggy moggy鈥� that starts than a 鈥渟leek cat鈥� that spends more time with my mechanic than me.

Ford like many American firms appear not to understand the European market at all. I think it came as a big shock to them when BMW sales over took Mondeo sales, and they have been trying to understand that ever since. They foolishly thought that sticking a Jag badge on a Mondeo would be all they needed to do to enter the market (and yes Hemel an X is a Mondeo underneath). They have subsequently tried to enter the market with Mazda and Volvo and now are back trying to take the new Mondeo into that market place by putting Bond in the driving seat. Bond should never drive a Mondeo! Although thankfully Bond appears to have survived, Jag probably won't.

And before anyone complains - I like my Mondeo very much, but unlike most people i don't care it doesn't have a BMW badge.

Ford are a global mass production car manufacturer.Jaguar is a small niche manufacturer of Luxury cars.They were never compatible.The one positive thing that has come out
of this marriage is that without the Ford financial support there would be no Jaguar today.It will be interesting to see if there is a buyer out there who will take on both Jaguar and Land Rover as Ford are saying they must.I have my doubts.The two companies have integrated during the past few years but it is not rocket science to pull them apart.There should be a number of people interested in the companies
as stand alone but together ?

As usual the talk is all about profits(lack of) and billionaire's picking up there latest toy from the sweet shop,the real tragedy here once again is the people who sweat to get the product on the street's,the working class man,we need protection from the world wildlife fund as after ten years of a caring sharing labour government we a in serious danger of extinction!
Funny how it's always british production worker's who WILL lose job's.
Never mind let's get on tone and gords wagon and "diversify"

Land Rover and Jaguar were amalgamated into one firm, but while Jaguar has consistently lost money through bad desisions, (e.g. joinging the volume car market; making a car that looked like a Rover but more expensive; loosing loyal customers...), Land Rover has consistently made a profit. Saldy this is swallowed by Jag losses. However, it would be nice to see someone research their story properly and GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT. As mentioned by several commentators to this story, Jaguar have an attitude problem. Land Rover should never have been tied to them.

I've recently bought a Jaguar and it's the best car I've ever owned.

I think there is some stigma attached to the Jaguar brand being owned by Ford, so selling it to someone else may not be a bad thing.

Let's not forget though that Ford ploughed a lot of money into Jaguar, improved the quality of their cars and strealines production.

Regret reading about Peter of Merseyside's bad experience. My Jaguar has been great, everything I expected. The local dealer courted my business (compared with rival German brands) and has since treated me well - customer service was one of the reasons I bought. Looking forward to Jaguar moving away from Ford, however, if only to kill that Mondeo tag. The marque still has some prestige, some cachet (I was quite surprised by the reaction of mates when I got mine), but the new owner needs to strengthen the uniquely British luxury look and feel that Jaguar still just manages to achieve. If that is done there is no doubt I will buy another. Hey, I will probably buy another anyway, for not one of its rivals appeals to me. German brands may be technically excellent, handle well, and certainly shift, (I have driven many as hire cars), but they are otherwise soulless. Looking forward to the new model Jaguar later this year.

All that Jaguar have managed to do since 1989 is to very successfully devalue the brand. X type Jaguars are just rehashed Mondeos. They have totally lost their way and when compared to what used to be their peers like Mercedes or BMW there is no comparison nowadays.

I think Hermal Shah has got his facts wrong regarding the Mondeo story. The Top Gear television programme showed that much of the X-type is just a Mondeo, including all of the running gear and almost everything that is not normally on view to the user. If this was 'utter rubbish', why didn't Ford deny it? Ford destroyed the Jaguar marque by trying to make it into a popular car alongside the rest of the Ford range. They failed miserably but did create a brand with a reputation similar to that of British cars of the 1970s.

Learn from the east reduce cost and improve qualty that is the only way to surive these days. There is no point in mourning the closure as it was in the making.

I have owned a few Jaguars in my time. I was always attracted by the three "aces" of the marque - Grace, Space and Pace. However, after the initial enthusiasm of buying another one, the old chestnuts of poor reliability, huge running costs and not having the use of the car when it was in the garage for protracted repairs always came back to haunt.

Eventually I turned over to Mercedes - somewhat reluctantly it has to be said - but they are just as comfortable and much much more reliable.

If we could get Jag personality into a German made piece of engineering - wow - what a combination!

One of the key problems for Jaguar has been with their design and image. Sadly neither appears to have progressed much beyond the 1980's. Ford were never going to succeed in the luxury market - they being the company that built the Scorpio !.

One has to look to Germany to see how the volume luxury market is done well.

Private equity will not have the resources to make Jaguar succeed within the volume market. Either a major Japanese producer gets involved or else we see Jaguar reduced to a niche player.

I too, like the other owners, have a long history of unreliability and servicing costs. So much so, that a car rental company set up a branch next door to my Jaguar service point, knowing that they were on to a good thing. But the funny thing is, the general view is that Jaguar's reliability actually improved since the Ford takeover. Especially since they got rid of the Lucas electricals. I wonder what these cars were like prior to Fords takeover.

The problem is that Ford are a mass production organisation. Land Rover, Jaguar and Aston Martin have never been or meant to be mass produced. There was a time when you were buying one of these brands knowing you had a unique, individual, personal customized vehicle, knowing it was built by craftsmen & women who took care, time and pride in there work. Now you don't. You have a car exactly the same as the next car built on a production line that is run to achieve quantity as apposed to quality. These cars are no longer "built" they are assembled. All that matters when cars are mass produced is numbers. Why would you want to pay top dollar for a Jag, Aston or LR knowing it's the same as nearly every other Jag, Aston or LR.

As a Land Rover owner for almost 10 years, I'm also surprised that the company is still in business.

The current luxury marques are a privilege to own and an undisputed pleasure to drive, however, fuel cunsumption actually worsens with each new generation so much so that the 'Land Rover Experience' is an exceptionally painful one!

Perhaps the new owners-to-be will give the current management a much needed kick (in every sense of the word ;)) from this perspective.

I totally agree with chris and peter and from a womans point of view having owned a 'Jag' i was glad to see the back of it. Customer Service..what a joke...and the servicing and running costs wiped the smile off my face. Jaguar i fear no longer command any place in the luxury market...after all if i had a 拢1 for all the comments of "but its really a Mondeo"...i would be seriously better off than the money i received for selling it. Ford have completely ruined what was a beautiful beautiful car.

Government should not be surprised. In recent years they have demonised those who drive Jaguars or Range Rovers, portraying them as completely the opposite to their supposedly-green policy.

So Ford have seen the writing on the wall and got out.

Long term Jag driver.

With any luck Ford will divest Volvo
as well and save all of us Volvo
owners from worry over quality being manipulated by an
American car company.
Terry

There are three reasons for this sale:

Cash, Cash and Cash.

Ford need to improve cash flow (in and out) much more than they need the long term profit potential of Jaguar. If they don't sell Jag and Range Rover the rest of the business may not survive.

It's a truism of business that that 10 companies fail for lack of cash for every one that fails for lack of profits.

Who wants to buy a "Luxury" car that's basically a fancy Mondeo. I see too many Jaguars being driven by builders and their ilk towing trailers or carrying pipework,timber etc.on roofracks. I'm afraid you can't consider the brand to be prestige anymore. The price of entry is too low.

Last year I purchased (second hand) a top of the range Jaguar Majestic that cost its original owner 拢60k.

It is absolutely splendid, far and away the best car I have ever had in 30 years motoring, and I hope that Jaguar's new owners go back to making just top end cars, where they excel, and abandon the false hope the X-type brought of being a volume car manufacturer.

I used to have a Land Rover Discovery, which I loved. Great vehicle, but having sold the horse and horse trailer I no longer needed it, so I traded it in. I looked at Jaguars but dealer apathy and vehicle reliability worries turned me away - I bought an Audi A8 instead.

I have had several Jaguars and strongly disgree with comments made about customer service and reliability. In any recent index Jaguar outperforms nearly ALL other manufacturers in customer satisfaction and mechanical reliability. The servicing costs also compare favourably to Merc or BMW equivalents. They remain arguably the most pleasurable, reliable and beautiful cars on the road today.

I am on my second XKR (Portfolio model to be delivered at the end of this summer) and 3rd Jaguar. With little fear of contradiction, Ford's inept management has rendered a great marque to zombie status. I do hope that a buyer would turn Jaguar to prestige by adding real value, after all, look at Aston Martin!

I sympathise with the workers. Most complaints from Jaguar owners or potential owners are about the cars being old fashioned, poor reliability or the treatment from dealers. The poor guy on the line manufacturing the cars have no influence on these things (most unreliablity due to electronic components). They will still be the first blamed for a lack of success if the company is in trouble.

I bought a 3 series BMW and when I was about to make the purchase, the only difficult choice was, BMW or Audi. I never even considered a Jaguar. The sad thing is that the new XK and the next S look stunning. Enough to steal BMW/Audi buyers.

I have the perfect suitor for Jaguar. The company has the right pazaz & immage to match a true luxury car & the immagination to make it rise from the ahses to be great again - Virgin.

I've had a break from owning Jags. When they are back on form I might just buy another one. As for now, it'll have to be an Aston.

I have a 2000 XKR. It has been the best car I have ever had and has never broken down and I think the servicing costs are reasonable. It certainly has been a far better experience than I had with the BMWs I had before.

LAND ROVER IS A TOP NOTCH COMPANY WITH A TOP NOTCH FUTURE. The only reason it is being sold is to make Jaguar look attractive and because Ford are in such trouble in America. LAND ROVER makes good profits and is expected to continue to make even better profits as long as it isn't dragged down with Jag. Ford are selling LAND ROVER very reluctantly and whoever buys it will be getting a real jewel! I hope it goes to a company who will continue to keep it as a World leader in 4x4s AND keep it British.

Until November last year I owned a '94 XJ6 Sport - brilliant motor.

Although I can well empathise with comments on running costs, the quality shone through.

Shame about Ford's venture into the X-Type and the new version of the XJ.

No matter what the X-Type is, it has been sullied by the connection made to the Mondeo.

In the process of making the XJ "comfortable", Ford lost the classic, racy, style that realy set the model off against the competition.

If the new owners can revitalise and rediscover the Jaguar "class", then I may buy another in the future.

The so-called analysis you have made concludes in the headline grabbing comment "Ford has turned a sleek cat into a groggy moggy". I simply can't see the evidence for this in your text.

We have to wait and see for what price and at what cost in terms of jobs etc the businesses are sold for before any such comment can be made.

And such short memories.....Would Halewood have remained employing people once the Escort was replaced by Focus if Jaguar/Ford hadn't attempted to sell 200,000 X type pa?

Think original E-Type Jag.
What has BMW done with the original Mini.
Therein lies the answer for Jaguar.

Never let the facts get in the way of a good headline! The groggy moggy was what Ford acquired. Jaguar has been transformed by Ford and its acquisition by that company saved it from oblivion. By the end of this year the model range will be peerless. Ford's global problems are forcing it to sell out too soon to get its just reward for a brilliant effort! That's business!

When Ford took over Jaguar their product line was terrible. The aging very unreliable XJS and XK6/12.

The strategy was clearly to turn Jag's output into a series of products similar to BMWs. i.e. X=3, S=5, XK=6, XJ=7.

Although the strategy was flawed the products were improved quite considerably especially in terms of reliability.

To say that Ford ruined the brand is rather harsh.

Perhaps the unions should ask Ken Livingstone to lay off his anti 4x4 campaign if they want to survive. There are a lot of people out there being brainwashed into blaming the consequences of an over-populated world on 4x4 drivers instead of on the greedy breeders who have more than 2 kids.

I'm not surprised Ford want to get rid of land Rover. They live on past reputation and sell shoddy vehicles at exhorbitant prices. Their dealerships couldn't care less one they've got your money. I bought a Discovery ES and had nothing but bad experiences throughout.

I've been an employee of Jaguar for many years. Having seen many senior (Ford) staff come and go it will be a relief to gain some stability. I see this as a great opportunity for both Jaguar and Land Rover as the products are truely wonderful and they have many new derivatives and models up their sleeves, which are sure to be winning vehicles.

Many employees have suffered at the hands of these "Mr fix it's" from Ford. Their bullish attitudes affect moral and the ethos has completely changed. Many staff have suffered from stress and depression which is prevalent throughout the Company.

Let's get a great owner who truely loves Jags and Land Rovers. We can then get on and deliver the fabulous vehicles that we all admire so much!

I have recently purchased an X type Jaguar 6 months old and it is far and away the best car I have ever had. I compared it against Audi, BMW and similar and it beat the lot in comfort, gadgets, style, cost and spec. I will be buying another one, possibly an S type. I think the change from Ford will be a good thing, divorcing it from a bland brand.Anyone who thinks they are unrelaible should look in Which car, they are amongst the best, just behind the Japanese.

Your forget that under Ford Jags became much more reliable. The old joke about Jags needing to stop for repairs as often as they stopped for petrol are now out of date.

As an ex Ford employee involved on the periphery of the relationship with JLR I cannot believe the rubbish Robert Peston has come up with.

Jaguar was dead on its feet when it was bought by Ford at what was at the time seen as a seriously inflated price. Ford invested hugely in new manufacturing processes and facilities as well as new model development for Jaguar. It has allowed it to expand out of its pre-historic Brown's Lane Plant and into new facilities in Halewood and Castle Bromwich, has expanded its product range from 2 to 4 carlines and has allowed it access to major cost sharing on its crossover platforms.

Product quality is on a different planet from the old days at "British Leyland" Jaguar.

The fact that Jaguar has continued to lose money (over $1bn last year) is more about the strucutral shifts in the car market and the lacklustre design that has come out of Jaguar itself than any lack of support from Ford.

Ford of Europe makes (a little) money, Land Rover makes money, Volvo makes money, Aston Martin made money. Spot the odd one out.

I have to agree with some of you. Jaguar was a mess when Ford bought it in 1989. Lets start off with the electric system which was a total nightmare and as anyone who owned a Jag from that era can tell you it was very unrealiable. The V-12 had a passion for overheating and burning through the already bad electric wiring. Rust was a common problem in the body panels and the climate control system was one of the most complicated I've ever seen installed in a car. Ford has had to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into Jaguar just to make the car semi dependable. They have resently starting making the cars more modern looking but I can't say they look bad now. I have to give Ford some credit in styling because they had to start from the inside and work their way out and make the cars more dependable before they could spend more money to bring out new body styles. I will give you the fact that some of the dealers suck and that parts are very expensive. However, I must say I am still in love my 1993 XJS and it still turns heads whenever I take it out for a drive.

Yet again anothe British car maker in trouble,lets hope they don't ask to be bailed out. BRITISH means nothing thesedays,just lazy,overpaid,greedy workers and not only in the car industry.

I see everyone complaining about Jaguar sharing the Mondeo platform for the X Type and how the devalues the brand.. and I think that is rubbish

The whole auto industry shares platforms..up and down

VW Shares a platform with Bentley, Renault with Nissan, For And oh yes Aston Martin... Auto makers focus on a making a few platforms really good and this only benefits the consumer..

Fiat/Alfa Romeo was losing money (and style) big time until they started sharing platforms..

Also note that the XK shares a platform with other vehicles.

So stop complaining

The jags have got better but the rot set in when they started using Ford bits, in short the originality and style those cars had soon went out of the window in a similar way to Ford owned Mazda and Volvo which also use Ford bits! Ford has slung out the sleek cat into the gutter and it's come back worse looking more of a groggy sloggy moggy!

I disagree that Ford is to blame in someway for Jaguar's demise. The has both haemorrhaged and devoured billions of US dollars; $11.2bn in fact during Ford's stewardship of it.

I considered the sale of Aston Martin the dawn of a new era for Jaguar - being allowed to compete with a fellow British marque which has often prwevented the Coventry firm from achieving its true potential.

Jaguar's 'old man' image hasn't helped the beleagured company's case either. Drivers have taken their custom elsewhere, and the results have proven to be damaging for a company once considered a world great.

No, don't blame Ford. Blame chief brass at the top of the company who hadn't the balls to change Jaguar's design direction years ago and are now desperately playing catch-up. 'Shelving' glorious concept designs which always received much media acclaim is point in case.

Can the leaping cat defy extinction? Time will tell.

Why has everyone forgotten JCB's interest in Jaguar?

Wouldn't it be great if JCB bought them? They could introduce their world-leading diesel engineering into Jaguar's products.

As an avid Jaguar admirer and driver, its sad to see a lack of commitment from one of the world's leading motor manufacturers to the prestigious Jaguar brand. I'm sure however that once a buyer/investor is sought that Jaguar will still lead the way in the UK luxury car market.

I am fifty-one years of age and do not consider myself nearly old enough yet to qualify for X-Type ownership, which to me is indeed a Mondeo with the pipe-and-slippers treatment gone wrong. What a terrible and costly mistake.

Ford never turned Jaguar into a groggy moggy. It's been losing millions a week since they purchased it. With over capacity at Halewood, and lack of board continuity within the UK group, Ford has finally reached the realisation that they cannot continue to build large quantities of a luxury vehicle in two major plants. Funny how we realised that 4 years ago!
So with what automotive brand could XK, XJ and the new XF sit, if reports on X-Type demise are true? Only time will tell

All this old tosh about the X-type devaluing the brand because it's based on a Mondeo is frustrating. The Mondeo chassis is one of the finest on the road as anyone who has driven one will know. And what do you think an Audi A3/A4 is based on? VW / Skoda / SEAT all share the same platforms.
How about the X-type devaluing the brand? BMW build the 1-series, Audi has the A2 and Benz build the A-Class, all of which are low rent compared to their traditional market and yet they don't get hammered in the same way. Mercedes build vans and BMW build motorcycles yet seem to make success out of all of it. Ford took a dying company and have tried hard to make it work. Now is the time for someone else to try to build on that.

All the main comments so far are about Jaguar and it's poor quality / reliability. Yes under Ford it has improved but it will always have the image of an old mans car with his peaked cap.

On the other hand, nobody is really mentioning Land Rover and it's great sucesses including making a profit that offsets Jaguars losses. I have been a Land Rover owner for many years and think it makes great products.

One point that needs to be made, if they are sold, they too could have the UK manufacturing closed and moved abroad with impact of substantial job losses in the UK. This would have great impact on the Government with financial support to the unemployed and great loss to the manufacturing industry.

We need to keep both Jaguar and Land Rover as British built products.

We have to get real ,Ford are an American company having to deal with a difficult financial situation. They have been over ambitious in thinking that they could sort out the problems of the British luxury car manufacturers, when BMW had tried and, at the same time continue to run volume car plants .We have to accept that the legacy of "Red Robbo" will always taint the actual production of cars in this country.Whereas our car designers have (in the past)produced some of the most iconic designs,they have often been far beyond the capability of the production facilities .Perhaps we will have to accept that both Jaguar and Land Rover will end up being mainly made in China.

Lets remember Ford have alway produced mass production cars the luxury business has to have the image to suit the cost and the ford broand dosn't say that no matter how you market it. A high brand need a qaulity PR and back up service so it needs to be sold.

I realised that there would be problems for these 2 car companies when they were referred to on R4 Today this morning as simply brands. Here is my take.
Ford tried to emulate what VAG and others were doing and share platforms (chassis) and other components across its companies. This can lead to savings but you need to be careful, as then you may have a Mondeo dressed up as an X Type and importantly still feeling like one to drive. The more up market the car the more difficult it is to do this successfully. Another example of this would be the Audi A3/VW Golf/Seat Leon/Skoda Octavia, all based on the same basic platform and running gear but just about managing to be distinctive enough. BMW do not share platforms with anyone, but they are staring to share engines - but the lack of sharing preserves the DNA of the 'brand'
I do not see Jaguar's future in the high volume sell it cheap market. Smaller volume and quality would be the way for me. The worry though is where to get the money for new model investment?
Land Rover are doing better now but their big advantage, the 4 wheel drive off road know how has been taken by both BMW and of course Ford, who will retain it when they sell. Land Rover products are also very expensive in my view compared to the competition. They really need to green their image as soon as possible

I have owned two S-Types now (having run German Marques before) and I absolutely love them. (Looking forward to the C-XF tremendously.) Compared with my previous E-Class, the S-Types are wonderful to drive. My current year old 3.0 Sport is a great balance of comfort and handling, and the dealers have been courteous and efficient.

I do agree that the S-Type devalued the brand. So if that dies, I will not be sorry, personally.

I'm disappointed how few correspondents have made the link between this proposed sale and UK Government policy, driven by ill informed and extreme pressure groups, which seems to wallow in bashing and taxing anything successful into submission.

In Germany, there is no car bashing campaign, far better public transport and the government protects the unlimited motorways to ensure their manufacturers' technology stays ahead of the game.

I have run used jags for years,since purchasing a mark seven saloon in 1963 and getting hooked.Apart from the 2.4 litre they were always brilliant but prone to rust till British Leyland got hold of them and inflicted them with the then british disease of unreliability.When they escaped from from this they made a superb series 3 XJ6 and XJS for a while but when Ford took them on they improved them totally to the standard that Sir William lyons would have been proud of.I still run a seven year old XJ sport which is sleek,quiet and performs well.I hope that a British consortium takes Jaguar next and continues Fords work,but does away with the Mondeo bit and concentrates on the luxury aspect.

Having owned both Mercedes and Jaguars I can clearly state that the Jags are the more reliable vehicles. My friends with new Mercedes and BMWs have nothing but problems with them - broken switches, power windows that fail, trim that comes off etc. Plus the new BMWs are just plain ugly. My Jag is a few years old but I still have people asking me if it is a new car. There is nothing more beautiful on the road than an X300/X350 series XJ sedan and the leather cannot be better even if you own a Rolls, Bentley or Bristol.

The X-type was a dud although they are popular in the US where no one has heard of a Mondeo. What I would like to know is who though it was a good idea to build the new V-8 motor with a ceramic water pump and plastic timing chain tensioners and guides? There in lie the resurgence of relaibility issues. Oh and don't forget Nikasil!!

Retro is cool and popular in the States the new XF probably will not do that well over here.

I've run a (used four-year-old) Mercedes S-Class for the last year. Worst car I've ever owned - and online owner forums confirm that I am one of many suffering the sam experience. Those who think German means quality are out of date. My Merc is being sold to get rid of a bumdle of trouble.

By comparison, a review of Jaguar owners' online comments (reinforced by my own experience a few years ago of owning an XJ6) confirms that in practical terms their reliability and longevity is pretty equivalent to the competition now.

There's no justification for a "British is best" little-Englander approach, but let's at least try to be objective about Jaguar.

Here in the US, Landrovers are becoming more and more popular. Our family has had three LR Discoveries and have been very pleased with them. I hope whoever buys Jaguar/Landrover will replace the looks-like-every-other-SUV-LR3 with the wonderful Landrover Discovery - which they stopped making in 2004.

Cheers from Washington State!

Most profitable car company in the world last year based on volume/scale?
ans: Porsche
Porsche volume very small - circa 120,000 cars/year with a large proportion of that being the Cayenne 4x4 - not exactly true to their sports car heritage - but...profitable!

enough said

A Jaguar Land Rover Business Model must include:
the need to trim the product line. The XJ and X type must be removed from the marketplace immediately. They must then produce a small sports car that is the envy of the world and remind everynone of the originality & ingenuity of the E-type without any carbon copies or retro styling - i.e. CREATE Heritage do not WORSHIP it as Jag have consistently done.

With the successful XK and the new XF these 3 models would provide a positive and simple business model. This should be built upon by initially ensuring the company can re invent and re-launch these specific models at 3-4 yr intervals. THEN you can consider growing the model line up with a cross over or a 4x4...but only by using the PROFITS from the core model range... probably in 8-10yrs

Ultimately Ford did not spend their money wisely. They threw money at Jaguar and it was too much too soon. This forced growth by Ford did not allow the business the opportunity to expand responsibly and grow the brand.

X-Type = big mistake poorly executed
Diesel - Too late
S-Type - Far Too Retro
XJ - Too Conservative and too similar to the old model.
US Dealer Influence - TOO MUCH

So much technology and innovation in these vehicles - but ultimately nothing that turns heads on the street and that is what the premium sector is all about and gets people in the showroom

Land Rover on the other hand are successful...breaking volume records and profitable but they need to improve quality significantly and then get Green and fast....or the tide will turn rapidly.

So very sad to see the fall of one of England麓s truly classical symbols. Perhaps the reason of Jaguar's fall is that Ford is a company run by commoners. Whereas when Sir William Lyons was at the healm, Jaguar had sense, spirit and direction. Sir Lyons was at first a designer, and even better yet an excellent businessman as was Henry Ford. Jaguar has neither designer, sorry Ian, back to Scotland with you! nor businessmen, sorry Mark, back to Princeton with you! Only when another Bill Lyons waiting to be knighted comes around with the Jaguar essence, can the new generation of Jaguar automobiles be born.

Ok,My XK 8 was locked into the 1950's with everything.(but it is timeless beauty) From the way the doors sounded when closing to the steel body parts.
However it is and still is the most beautiful car on the road, before Ford tried to produce a USA muscle car to replace it. Jaguar does need to update production continually but it is a Jaguar and I purchased it for everything it is known for, problems included. Aswell as being aesthetically beautiful it is without doubt the most comfortable and seductive car I have ever driven.
There is a quality there, that is respected world wide, do not lose this it is a part of Britain's identity that represents quality, style , endurance, longevity and durability. A taste of "Englishness" known world wide.The Brand image is allready established, and can not be replaced. It is as important as the 大象传媒 and the British Council for promoting the UK around the world. It is also more important to us than Bentley or Rolls.
Both Jaguar and Landrover need to be retained here in Britain at all costs and not lost to China,India or Eastern Europe.
I am looking forward to my next Jaguar regardless.

Mr Peston has clearly found a nice turn of phrase with "sleek cat to groggy moggy". Sadly, it's a completely inaccurate representation of the Jaguar business, and of the work Ford have done. Jaguar was a complete mess when Ford took over, with dated products, ancient facilities and little money to invest. Whilst the business has not performed as Ford would have wished, there's no questioning that the company is now in a far better state for any buyer - in terms of product, investment and infrastructure. The same applies for Land Rover, and Ford have been able make them turn a profit. Mr Peston needs to get his facts right before he makes such headline grabbing statements - he's clearly a long way out of touch

I hope we get some new "analysis" here from the Beeb. This was an extremely shallow piece. Jaguar in 1989 was a joke; twenty years of lemons pushed out of a plant with two Rube Goldberg assembly lines that belonged in a museum and did more to get in the way of workers' ability to produce good cars than help them. Ford put in serious investment, consolidated and modernized assembly, and stabilized the company and improved quality from disastrous to safely average.

Where Ford struggled is that they have never exactly been ambassadors for style; and they never really reconciled the conflicting tugs of different Jaguar customers. Some wanted sports cars, others wanted something more practical, say with a large boot, and in Ford's earnest efforts to please everyone, we were treated to the ungainly sight of Jags with sleek front ends and fat rears.

Treating platforms as "brands" isn't necessarily all bad; in addition to the poor Mondeo front-drive platform, Jaguar got Lincoln's excellent rear-drive platform, the DEW98, for use in the S-type. But Ford needed to be more selective; the Mondeo thing was dumb, dumb, dumb. Besides, with Ford abandoning DEW98, there's no good company commitment to a rear-drive four door, which Jaguar desperately needs to maintain; Ford appears to have decided to compete with Lexus rather than the Germans.

There are some terrible innaccuracies in this report. Jaguar was in no way a 'sleek cat' in the 1980's and is in better shape now than it was then. (still, not great I have to admit but at least not using machines built in the 1920's).
Jaguar's mistakes have been to concentrate on the X-Type when they should have re-launched the E-Type, (they could have done what BMW did with the Mini!) to then make a complete hash of the X-Type with the styling, and then to launch each new XJ as a new car when they all look exactly the same (yes, the 70 year olds wanted it identical to the one they bought 30 years ago but what about appealing to some NEW customers too??)...

Jaguar would probably not have survived if Ford had not stepped in and invested an enormous amount of money.

The only reason land Rover and Jaguar are sold together is that they share production in Liverpool.

Quality at Jaguar has improved under Ford ownership.

The x-type Mondeo story that people go on about does not make sense.

Many Audi's are Volkswagens, yet one never hears the same argument?

A Volkswagen is no better or worse than a Ford.

The biggest problem is that people now want agrassive german cars, and that the old image and style that Jaguar symbolizes is no longer wanted.

It is best seen in how the british public rejects its own brands, and seems only interested in the tasteless and agrassive german cars.

A country that once supplied the world with some fantastic engineering marvels (cars, aircraft, etc.) has lost it.

Land Rover is languishing in stellar sales of it's Range Rover sport in the California market and totally ignoring it's heritage as a primer 4x4 vehicle. When something else becomes trendy they will be in serious trouble, and I think Ford sees this coming.
Defenders, which sold in the US nearly a decade ago, are STILL selling for their original purchase price, or greater in some cases, so why can't we buy a Defender? Because it might tarnish Land Rovers image of "Luxury only go off road when it turns into the market" type of vehicle.
It is a real shame that Land Rover is leaving to 4x4 market to Jeep alone when they manufacture a better vehicle in the Defender.
The North American market is flooded with look-a-like vehicles and Land Rover is just another in the very crowded roads now, they all look the same. Even the new LR2 (Freelander in the rest of the world) looks like a Volvo/Ford, nothing to distinguish it from the masses. I think the new Buyer should be very cautious of what it turns Land Rover into.

Landrover has great and growing future. I own an 2006 LR3 HSE. I bought it after owning a Mercedes ML430 (2nd only to my 1991 Ford Taurus in unreliability) and after test driving a comparable Toyota Land Cruiser.

What Landrover does well; the off-road capability, mechanical engineering and styling. Where they need some work; paint and trim; the little stuff, like plastic seat latches that are too fragile. If they improved that stuff they would reduce dealer visits for small defects and be up there with the best on quality.

That said, when you're offroad, there's nothing better.

I have owned 3 Jaguars; 2 X-Types and an S-Type. All have been superb cars and the current 2.7 Twin Turbo Diesel is a fantastic machine. I have never had a reliability problem with any of the cars and I have always received first class service from the dealers. I have not been so pleased with the BMWs I ahve driven. Based on my experience I will definitely buy another Jaguar - especially the new XF. Jaguar has a great future ahead of it with the right owners and investment.

Groggy moggy? Yes! Jaguar needs to get back to basics. Reliability has always been somewhat of a problem; however, their design efforts went down the tube in the mid-1970s. The current line lacks the excitement and inspiration that were engendered by the XKE back in the 60s. The XK seemed to be a move in the right direction, but it was not offered with a manual transmission and is a bit bulkier than it should be. The XJ is mundania personified. The S-type is probably their most inspired recent design offering. The X-type totally lacks excitement. They need a new offering that is as exciting and forward thinking as the XKE was in its era. Without that, I don't see much future for the company.

Well, the 1700 "Update" confirms my belief that I wouldn't trust many of these so-called experts to buy my groceries. So Land Rover - with generally appalling customer satisfaction and reliability ratings, and producing only a niche product which combines high prices with huge running costs, high taxation and an increasingly unpopular image, is a good buy. And Jaguar, with products across a wider range of markets, capability in low-emissions technology (e.g. aluminium) and satisfaction ratings the best in Europe - plus a highly acclaimed new model in the wings - is not. What am I missing?

If Jaguar is to survive, the production should be directed primarily to the American market. The XJ and S Type should be fused into a single 4 door model. As well a 2 door coupe XJC or XJS should be reintroduced into the market. A 2 door 2 seater rear-mounted engine to replace the XK, will be necessary to compete against Porsch and Ferrari. Hope the new boys at Jaguar will take heed.

Ford showed a complete inability to manage it's brand portfolio based on the product placement in the last Bond film, "Casino Royale".

Jags and Range Rovers were given to the extras while James himself gets a dynamic driving sequence in a MONDEO !!! (OK, he did get to write-off an Aston Martin too). This illustrates Ford's fundamental lack of understanding of their brand equity. James should have at least had a Jag... oh wait...

Jaguar needs a new owner who understands that you need a luxury vision when you want to build a luxury car.

Neither Land Rover nor Jaguar, alone or in combination, is big enough to develop the technology needed to survive in the future. i.e. hybrid power trains followed eventually by fuel cells.

This is what Porsche have already realised and why they are forced into ever closer ties with VW and its group. They have sown the seeds of their own survival, regardless what the ill-informed have to say on the subject.

No private equity firm has the money or interest in developing these technologies. They have only one purpose and that is to make a fast buck. Their only option would be to buy such technology in from a third party, which would not be economically viable. For example, the Honda V6 in the Rover 827 cost Rover about 拢3,000 whereas a fully dressed Rover KV6 built in-house (or a Land Rover V8) cost about half that.

Therefore, would you all please get real and realize that Jag and Land Rover (Like Porsche) MUST depend off a large car manufacturer for future technology if they are to have any chance of a medium or long term future. That means individually or as some sort of paired sale.

Perhaps the most logical buyer would be Renault-Nissan.
Carlos loves a challenge and his real forte is bring back marques from the dead. Look at Nissan.
Renault could do with an up-market brand for itself and the Alliance could provide the necessary wherewithal, e.g. take one Infinity and add a Jaguar skin, job done.
Nissan could take on Land Rover and provide the necessary platforms for future Land Rovers, whilst positioning their respective models outside too much direct overlap.
Nissan鈥檚 plants in the US could build the Jags and Land Rovers for local consumption. The Nissan plant does OK in the UK, so that might save the maximum number of jobs over here.

Seems logical to me.
Just needs Ford to do the decent thing and for Carlos Ghosn to go for it鈥�
(After the Ryton closure, don鈥檛 even suggest Peugeot.)

I feel sorry for the workers of both brands who for years have worked to high standards and improved the quality in recent times. However many of the problems are from the past ie marketing mistakes ( X-TYPE) which has not reached anywhere near the numbers being mentioned in 2001 and the first Discovery was of poor quality. In this time the German and Japanese luxury car brands have taken advantage of this and as the likes of Lancia know - mud sticks in this industry.
In the USA Jaguar had only sold 6000 cars to the end of May which I cannot accept is purely down to exchange rates. When you consider that Lexus have sold 99000 in this period it puts things into perspective and they are only a 17 year old company who dont have the history of Jaguar.
In the UK Jaguar have sold 6100 cars in Q1 and Lexus 4500 so Lexus are closing in on them on their own turf! And the German brand figures are at least 4 times Jaguar.
Land Rover may have a future but I fear Jaguar have a rocky path.
Good luck to all who work for these companies

I'm afraid,from abroad, the whole thing (the failing UK car industry - again) seems to be symptomatic of a more general malaise in the UK: a loss of skills in design and production. And the thing is that when I read the British press this seems to be regarded as inevitable and a good thing, as you move over to "service industries", the main products of which seems to be greed and corruption. Sad really.

Glyn Jones has a good memory! I also recollect the media reports after Ford bought out Jaguar - something along the lines of "the cupboard was bare" - relating to future designs and plans....

So Sad , Having owned a number British cars Iwould never own another !

Not sure that the 'sleek cat into moggy groggy' ephithet sounds particularly informed or expert. The Jaguars offered for sale at the point when Ford picked the company up were not particularly stylish, let alone sleek. They went rusty when other manufacturers were getting the hang of rust-proofing, and to some extent you still needed to buy two to guarantee that at least one would work when you needed it to.

Ford's Quality Management Systems delivered far higher levels of quality and cost effective manufacturing. The workforce knew why they were proud of being at Jag, rather than feeling obliged to make up reasons for being proud. Jaguar's management approach allowed the blokes in Coventry and Birmingham to turn out car after car to a quality and consistency that other car makers at all points in the market aspired to.

Jaguar itself became a centre of excellence within the Ford Group for many of these quality management practises. I worked for one of their suppliers for many years, and the Ford / Jaguar partnership was a quality customer, hard-nosed and commercially astute but also innovative, daring, and willing to sign up to cutting edge technologies and processes.

I can understand that Ford might not feel confident in continuing to service such a broad spectrum in the market, but I can't help thinking that industry is about to lose something here.

Good luck to both parties.

I have owned Jaguar XJ models since 1970s and currently have an XJ Super V8 LWB. There is no doubt the quality of these cars have improoved greatly under Ford ownership. The mistake they made was to launch the 'mass market' X type which has devalued the brand as it was not executed properly. The XJ Super V8 is a great car and compares favourably with the BMW 760, Mercedes S600 and Lexus LS460

It鈥檚 not Fords that are to blame its Jaguar and Land Rovers serious lack of quality. In the U.S. nobody cares about Jaguar or LR, they wrote their epitaph thirty years ago as unreliable underperforming machines. Jack Nasser or what ever his name was saw lots of cash at Ford and decided to spend it on broken down British companies that had any thing but stellar performance, I guess its a British thing the U.S. doesn鈥檛 understand. Billions of Ford dollars latter here we are. I say fire sale! Before any more is lost or there completely valueless.

Who would make 4x4s in a country where the media is intent on convincing us they're evil? I'm not surprised Ford has got out. Perhaps the Govt could encourage the new owners (maybe JCB WOULD be good) to invest in hydrogen power and alternative sources, perhaps by putting some of the money they take from motorists that way.

jag needs to focus on making some of the gorgeous concepts they've shown us over the past decade, and by making the cars that people want, and focussing on niches and craftsmanship (the quality is better now than pre-ford), they might just be able to be successful again.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if these great British companies could be Great British companies?

Ford have improved jaguar without doubt, but it is not enough. Not enough, for Jaguar now and in the short term not enough to save Ford.

Jaguar cars:-. 10,000 workers producing less than 90,000 cars a year.. Compare this to Toyota 200,000 cars by 3000 workers that's the problem.

Why?
Ford have tried to solve problems by installing control methods based on Japanese principles, total control management or as ford call it 'ford production systems', FPS. This has improved quality and other factors

But the layers of workers needed for this strategy are vast, thousands of workers push paper about justifying the facilities and its performance basically every action is monitored recorded checked and then analysed.

The production facilities are modern sleek and very lean in man power. Engineers time and reduce the workers actions but the problem is now the overhead of this total control, the workers who are directly employed in manufacturing must total no more than 3000, the rest is the problem.

I wonder how US production facilities are being run?

Venture capitalists will solve this problem short term but long term the cost for new platforms will be beyond the knowledge and reserves of most them. A sad day.

From a worker at the Factory that built the planes that help save the free world, Castle Bromwich

Jaguar's problem is it's poor leadership. Ford provided the: capital(billions), technology(improved reliablity!) and other resources. Yet, it has managed to loose money every year since 2001. They are not responsive enough to crises, because Ford will always bail them out. Prime example, it claimed that retro design is its problem. Yet, the VW Beattle, Range Rover, Mini, Porsche 911(40+ years old) and RR Phantom --are selling well. Jaguar of late just has no talent to design retro cars. Finally, it created and lead the V12 luxury market, only to depart from it in 1996.

Good Grief! must we forever endure this nonsense about the X-Type being a Mondeo? It is an opinion most fondly held by those who have never even driven an X-Type, let alone owned one. Having owned many Jaguars, at present we have two X-Types which have proven to be absolutely reliable, well made, comfortable, distinctive enough and Jaguar enough to elicit constantly favourable comments. As others have said, Jaguars are now far ahead of Mercedes and BMW in quality (I bought mine as a result of a direct comparison with BMW), and much of this has been the result of Ford's investment AND their responsible stewardship. The 大象传媒 has cited the opinions of industry "analysts" who appear to have no real experience of the cars.

Since an early age I feel strongly about the Jaguar and Land Rover marques. The decline of Jaguar has been because of its inability to keep up with launching new models of its range and this has led to customers been left with a brand new car which has been slightly tweaked from a 10 year old design. Both Jaguar and Land Rover need to have a solid foundation set before the companies move on. I would build a long term plan, concentrating on how these two brands can lead the way in producing luxury vehicles that have minimal impact on the environment whilst in keeping with their history and traditions. Jaguar has had some wonderful concept cars over the years and has failed to deliver, the new XK is a step in the right direction but Jaguar need to keep modernising with its C-XF concept, an overdue replacement for the S-Type and indeed the X-Type needs a new design.
The new owners of LR and Jag need to tread carefully to survive in this fierce market, they need to adapt and make sure that quality control remains paramount throughout. Good luck!

Ford Europe is being punished for Ford America's inability to perform. Ford Credit and Ford Europe are bailing out the parent company year after year and despite the now-superb quality of European Fords, America still churns out dross, sales are slipping and work practices outdated.

It's a crying shame that a successful child company is being ground to dust by a lazy parent.

I have been driving a new Jaguar X-Type 2 litre diesel for 12 months, having previously driven BMWs & Mercs, among others. It is undoubtedly the best car I have had, in all respects & is now relatively affordable.
I hope a new buyer will not reinvent a niche product at an unaffordable price.

When will they work out:
" its the product stupid !"
Jaguar now has a great product with the XK, a poorly styled fantastic XJ and a dated X type and S type.

Jag needs to move upmarket, ditch the X type completely, and concentrate on the higher value products. The XK yes the XK needs the Landrover 3.6 v8 Diesel to sell in big numbers in europe , as does the XJ, and S Type. Performance diesels are where the sales volumes are! See BMW and Mercedes!
Niches too, engineer estate (shooting brake) versions of the S and XJ to appeal to buyers with children, 30-40 somethings.
Restyle them so they dont look as old as a Morgan. When can we have a "modern" Jag, one that doesnt make you feel like wearing tweed!

Also a Jag Boxter! a Jag Range rover ( see Audi Q7, should be easy as one company )

Go for the cool and monied market segments and leave vectra land to well,, Ford!

Ford have made big mistakes,how can two different Brands be interlinked, one is a Jaguar Prestige,luxury Brand, the other is a 4 X 4 Off Road Brand, How can these to company's be interlinked.
Ford knew they cannot sell Jaguar on its own due to the loss it's making.
The only way they can sell Jaguar is with Land Rover.
Ford have purposely moved the Freelander 2 from Solihull to Merseyside, so this will show any new buyer the two companies are interlinked.

鈥楪lorified Receivership鈥� sounds about right, It sounds like Jag is going to go the same way a Rover, there鈥檚 to many really good manufactures out there all making excellent cars 鈥� it鈥檚 survival of the fittest and it sound like the Big Cat has run out if its puff.

If Ford can鈥檛 get Jag to make money then fool you if you think you can! If you was loosing Billions of pounds a year wouldn鈥檛 you get shot of them?

Shame about Ford selling Land Rover big loss to Ford and hope LR don鈥檛 get dragged down with Jag, the link with Fords great Diesel engines is good for LR.

LR range is the best it has ever been and I have a new 2007 Defender on order, with worth 45000 miles of Co2 off set, so why do the 鈥楪reenies鈥� have a problem.

Although I don't drive a Jag, you only have to look at the JD Power satisfaction survey to see how far they have come. The XJ and S-Type perform better in satisfaction (and have done for a few years) than their German Counterparts. I almost bought an S-Type 2.5 Sport a few years ago and have to say it was a nice car - the main problem was that it wasn't as dynamic as the BMW 5-Series I eventually bought. The dealer bent over backwards to help me and I cannot fault the effort made. I believe the problem is that the X-Type was rushed through Development to try and beat the ever-increasing 3-series sales. As a result, reliability has always been poor and sales have diminished on the back of this. Plus, the X-Type styling is a matter of opinion but mine is that it is too staid and still resembles the "Arfur Daley" XJ6 looks. The current XJ andXK, nice as though they are, look too reto to really pull in the sales. Even the BMW 7-Series seems to attract wannabe Stevie Wonders!

Lol - my commenst about the X-type not being a Mondeo were meant to be ironic ;-).

I KNOW it's a Modneo, although it's smaller space-wise and looks more dated than the new Mondeo. This in itself wouldn;t be a big issue, apart from the fact that the engines, trim and other features simply do not blow away the prospective purchaser. Look at the innovative 3,5 and 7 series, the excellent new C-class, the amazing S4 or RS4, the luxurious and extremely highly specified new Lexus models. These are all what Jaguar should have been aspiring to beat. Instead, given the inflated production costs in the UK, we saw Ford aim at the 5 and 3 series exec markets, where the X-type and the S-type simply didn't cut the mustard compared to the competition. Not their fault really, as the Teutonic manufacturers came out with some vastly improved and competitively priced models in that period (and maanged to play down the reliability issues for some reason, which jaguar never capitalised on)

Land Rover is a great brand, selling loads of cars and making plenty of money.

Why do the government and press continue to try and kill its success and hurt British workers.

The German's don't continually knock their car companies.

Start supporting a company that is successful, has huge customer loyalty and products that compete on a global basis.

I own an X-type 2.5. It is a great car, better than the 325 or the C-class. It introduced me to Jaguar and whilst I would not buy an S-type I am now looking forward to buying an XF.

There has been a lack of investment in all the Jag models, particularly over the last 5 years. The X-type is still the same car it was in 2001. The competition has moved on... and yet the X-type ride is still better than that of an A4, 3 series or C-class. The cabin feels better too. Unless of course you want to drive round a race rack... in which case the BMW has the Jag beat!

People here are going on about Jag devaluing the brand with the X-type. Merc has the A class and B class, both of which are awful. Yet the Merc brand remains the most desired in the luxury sector. The X-type was a good decision and too turn Jag into a niche manufacturer would be a mistake and would be the end of the company.

Jag have under invested in product development, the "gorgeous" marketing strategy is ill concieved. A general lack of marketing investment and lack of visibility has also hurt Jag. Consumers don't know what Jag brand stands for now? What are they buying!

These issues have contributed greatly to Jag's demise.

It's interesting to note, from the various commentaries, that the downfall of Jaguar is apparently attributed to their use of a Mondeo platform (a gross over-simplification) for their X-type entry-level model.

Why is it then that nobody ever mentions that an Audi, or its cousin the Volkswagen, share the same platform as a Skoda?

Platform re-use is commonplace in the motor indistry, and has always been so. So why do we love to vilify Jaguar, and not the German brands who do the same?

The X-type is Jaguar's best selling model.

I am delighted with my X-type, which has proved to be both utterly reliable, and above all - a great drivers car, over the last 2 years.

Most comments that have been posted talk about the image that Jaguar and Land Rover have had in the past and the "Value" they have added to Ford's. If Jaguar and Land Rover havent been doing so well in the market, what has Ford done to add value to these brands? We all know that a marriage would be successful when each adds value to the other. Ford did misinterpret and mismanage their buys.

Jaguar R.I.P I'm sorry to say. Its been on 'Life Support' since 1989 and Ford, who in fact broke, can't keep it going any longer. Land Rover could prehaps remain viable if manufacture and main distribution was moved into the Euro Zone. The two brands simply don't go together. Unless the U.K. joim the Euro, I don't expect the Japanese to be assembling cars in th England in 5-10 years time or the next Mini bar one. The British market is too small and the cost of juming the channel to high.

Books are being cooked somewhere, this is a nice investment for someone.
Total landrover sales 200,000 per year, average cost of the range 拢35,000. Turnover 拢7,000,000,000 (7 Billion). Jaguar sales 80,000 per year, average cost of the Jaguar range is 拢28,000. Turnover 拢2,240,000,000 (2.2 billion). Therefore the joint brands turnover is 拢9,240,000,000 (nearly 10 Billion pounds per year) and they are making a loss what a load of hidden rubbish. Someone is getting rich.

I worked at Jaguar's Castle Bromwich site for some 8 years for a tier one supplier. The site was transformed from a wreck that looked much as it had done after the second world war, (complete with camouflage paint), to a modern production facility. This was all down to Ford's money.

Unfortunately the product life cycles were too long, and the styling of the cars too conservative to meet Fords volume expectations.

Modern production plants can only be profitable if they are working at near capacity. The XJ aluminium body-shop was installed to manufacture some 32,000 cars per year on two shifts. At current volumes the plant is running on one shift, and probably for only 3 - 4 days a week. On this basis it's not difficult to see where the losses come from.

Ford knows that even with a face lifted model, a large sales improvement is unlikely and that the plant will be difficult to make profitable. The key would to have had a flexible manufacturing line that could manufacture more than one model, and by altering the model mix as sales change, keep the total volume at a profitable level. However Ford doesn't have the large amounts of money required for this type of facility to invest at this point.

Time to cut and run I'm afraid.

Our "S" type Jag, without a doubt is superior to any other vehicle on the road. No finer engineered car exists, I am stunned by this news. Ford never marketed this vehicle properly. I grew up with Jags, and have owned Aston Martin's, Rover's, several Rolls Royce's, plus the normal Ford repertoire. Anyone who thinks the Jag can be compared to a Cadillac or Lincoln is dreaming. They both drive like tin cans in comparison as do Mercedes, Audi, BMW and any other car you care to name. The Jag glides so smoothly and is so quiet it鈥檚 like flying. If I choose, I can floor it any see any other vehicle you care to name disappear in the dust behind me. The Jag is the finest vehicle on the market, the quality and performance of this vehicle is unmatched. It is a part of British History and should be owned by a British company committed to maintaining it's quality and performance. This vehicle is flawless!

Jaguar, Land Rover. Blue-blood, by-royal-appointment-to-HM-Queen(HRH Prince of Wales, HRH Duke of Edinb...etc.,etc.), English motoring icons, reclaim for British ownership, run into the ground by non-tradition regarding yankees, etc., etc.. Blah, blah, and double blah.

I'm not the first here since story broke to point out that Jaguar was a shell masquerading as a marketing triumph in the mid-80s, under Sir(get that!) John Egan and his privatisation sponsors in the Conservative government. FoMoCo were duped, and by stupid, blind rivalry with GM to buy it at exorbitant cost in '89.

Don't forget that Ford Execs at the time said that the maunfacturing facility at Browns Lane was only comparable to auto plants in the Soviet Union, and most of the machine tool stock still dated from WWII or just post. And we all know what a lash-up the XJ6 XJ40 replacement was. Ford must have bought it purely for the name, i.e. the brand, the image, the pedigree. Sound familiar?(see BMW purchase of Rover Group for one in '93)

Jag seem to be getting a bad rap from most of the comment here and elsewhere in comparison to the reputedly handsomely-profitable Land Rover and its 250K+ production level and climbing. But, but.

Jaguar has distinct technology, lightweight aluminium alloy body construction on the XJ8 and XK. It has near as dammit on a par with the best build quality as measured by JD Power in the States. The S-Type, after being overhauled from its roots in the Lincoln DEW98 world car by Reitzle(ex-PAG boss) is considered objectively as a mechanically fine car, for its powertrain, ride, handling etc.. Whereas Land Rover by virtue of selling 4x4s over the last decade when they've been the height of fashion has seemingly done no wrong.

Land Rover was every bit as bad as Jag when sold off by British Aerospace in 1993. They were still basically milking a 1970 design - the original Range Rover - in two guises, 4-door RR and Discovery and an "in-house" engine line that dated back to the sixties when it, the V8, was bought from Pontiac who had designed it for marine apps. in the late 50's! Their diesel engine line was bought in too, from the Italians. So much for a vertically-integrated, core competence, blue-chip maufacturing champion. Also, it was BMW who were paid by Ford in 2000 when they tookover to finish off the engineering and development of the current model well-regarded Range Rover. So let's not hear any more about BMW stealing the crown jewels 4WD technology when they sold Rover. They appear to be doing just fine with their recently updated sophisticated 4WD system in the MkII X5. Plus, Land Rover has currently, really none of its own powertrain in-house, having swapped out BMW units for Ford. They have all Jaguar-Ford powerlants: V8 petrols from Ford Bridgend, and all diesels plus 4cyl Transit diesel for Defender from Ford Dagenham(Mondeo 4cyl, V6/V8 puma diesels). As to gearboxes, ZF definitely for autos and Getrag possibly for manuals(both German). But Land Rover's real and lethal problem is weight and high fuel consumption. Hence the contrast to the pioneering work of Jag in lightweight construction. A typical Discovery weighs the best part of three tons when occupied and barely manages 25mpg even with the diesel! The Lexus RX Hybrid and soon to be introduced such-like from Mercedes and BMW are its nemesis. But here's the real punch. In contrast to Jaguar, Land Rover is as of now still performing abysmally in the the JD Power faults per 100 new vehicle survey/test - flat bottom last in fact. In other words after 7 years of BMW ownership and seven years of Ford's it still can't manufacture, predominantly at the Solihull plant, its four main core vehicles(new Freelander II excepted) to anything like industry-standard quality. I haven't got the figures to hand but I believe they're around 400 faults per 100 vehicles compared to the best of 100 or so(Jag's around 110-120 I think).

All those Land Rover supporters out there should bear in mind the above and the implications for trying to separate off a "robustly healthy, successful" Land Rover from a "sickly, about to-be-sacrificed" Jag, where resides the competence for its powertrain requirements and future, desperately-needed lightweight body construction technologies.

So to recap, Ford was stupid in the first place to buy Jaguar, and has wasted billions of its shareholders' money back in the States to the detriment of it own core operations, trying to make it on a par with the German triumvirate of Merc/BMW/Audi worldwide. The final straw was probably seeing the dollar fall to worth less than 50p. But I also think they were stupid to buy Land Rover in 2000, at the height of the, in this country at least, still unpricked bubble of 4x4/SUV vogue. They, the FoMoCo were probably led astray by a charismatic, but at bottom, salesman, Jac Nasser, into acquiring posh marques like trophies. They, the Premier Automotive Group were almost saved by Wolfgang Reitzle, an engineer at heart, but not before he fell out with the former, and PAG has appeared to be rudderless since.

So the real problem and danger lies with Land Rover I believe. The mania for high-end 4x4/SUV is unabated in this country and to an extent on the continent now that LR can offer decent comparatively economical diesel options. But America is a busted flush for most all gas-guzzlers since their gasoline doubled in price and for Land Rover, the expected continued slow decline of the dollar is going to hurt more and more. Plus the European Union bods are about to try to implement a requirement for emissions of no more than 160(150?)grammes CO2/kilometre per vehicle produced average on manufacturers in a few years time. Land Rover's average currently accross its five vehicle ranges must be north of 250. Any prospective buyer of Land Rover/Land Rover&Jaguar will know all this and will probably be having the same reservations over its supposedly success-assured future.

I can't see what all the fuss is about, if you want a quality prestige car with the reliability and customer service to match, look no further that the brand of LEXUS.The winner of the J.D.Power award for the last 7 years.Where are BMW,or MERCEDES. The Japanese are NOT COMING, THEY ARE HERE.

Let's not forget that this isn't really about Jaguar or Land Rover. Ford is the brand in trouble, maybe not in Europe but certainly in the United States. It's not really a judgement on the quality or profitability of PAG (Volvo/Jag/LR ex-Aston), they are just the victims of Ford's scramble to save its own core business.

Most commentators on Jaguar so far range from the inverted snobs (you can usually tell them by their spelling) to the fanatical felophiles (I'm one).
I came fairly late into Jaguarland, buying an early model 'S' Type in '99. Not a bad car, but I was always a bit wary of the suspension set-up (with good reason it turned out). The subsequent revisions seem to have sorted out design and dynamic short-comings (the 'R' is a snorter). S Type written off (at slow speed round a roundabout), insurance payout bought me a 6 mth older XJ8 - what a looker! and the creamy V8 ... Got worried about having to save the planet single-handed, so 2 yrs later had it converted to LPG. Such was the flexibility of the V8 that no discernible fall-off in performance was apparent (fuel savings covered LPG installation cost in 18 mths). Parted with XJ8 after it had accumulated more than acceptable number of supermarket trolley dings (poor spelling and bad steering seem to go together with inverted snobs). Opted for new XJ, even though its steroidal looks didn't compare - that said my TDvi (Sports) with fat tyres looks mean. To those ignoramuses who haven't tried out Jaguar's take on diesels - this V6 oil-burner is smoother/quieter than the petrol equivalent and makes Mercs sound like Albanian tractors (maybe that's where they are made): off the mark it leaves even the XJR behind.
If a new owner can combine the new Callum designs with Jaguar's proven technical innovation, then I'm not a Chinaman. Basically all European and US manufacturers will be dead in 15 years time as Far Eastern manufacturers overhaul them in terms of quality, design and eco-friendliness as well as price. But I will still be driving my Jaguar.

I think Jags and Land rovers are gas guzzling pigs use a bike!

Why not marry up Jaguar, Aston Martin and Land Rover. I think they'd be a lovely family.

It seems very strange that ford should be considering selling Land Rover at all, after all, didnt they just purchase the "Rover" brand name recently for a disclosed sum??

Its about time the British media got behind these two brands, instead of running down anything in this country that is successful. Don鈥檛 believe all the spin that Ford are saying, that Landrover is losing money. If you were running a company that was losing money would you enforce compulsory overtime on your workers, so you can lose even more money? That鈥檚 what Solihull has been doing since around Easter up to the summer shut down. The plant is building more vehicles than it has ever done in its history and they鈥檙e trying to tell everyone that we are losing money. Somehow it just doesn鈥檛 add up! Perhaps the British media should turn the tables from critising Landrover, to actually find out how much Solihull is making instead of the PAG figures that Ford quote. If you do your own rough calculations on the volume levels from April 06 to Feb 07, around 1 billion in profit has been generated from the Solihull site.
Ford are very good at spin, you would think the Labour party ran them. When the freelander was moved to Halewood, they told the workers that the quality at Solihull is poor, that鈥檚 why it鈥檚 going to Halewood. They forget to leave out a few other problems with building the Freelander at Solihull, mainly the volume levels. As I said earlier Solihull is building more vehicles than it鈥檚 ever done so how could we build another 2100 Freelanders per week, which is what the volume levels needs to rise too. Interestingly, at the time, Halewood was a Jaguar plant and under capacity, so it made sense to move the Freelander up there.
On the issue of the 4x4 gas-guzzler, these people that make these statements are the same people that fly round Europe on cheap flights taking city breaks. The next time they jump on a cheap flight to where ever, then think about how much Co2 emission are being deposited on their short flight.
Landrover is a great brand and lets hope someone buys it, to give it the future the workers deserve.

The best product that Land Rover have launched to date (their whole history) is the new Freelander 2.
This product was engineered by both Jaguar and Land Rover engineers.
It is manufactured at a Jaguar assembly plant with Jaguar work force.
Yes Land Rover are selling cars at a record rate (which is great for the whole business).
And with a lot of work their quality will improve (bottom 3 in ther JD Powers survey) but let us not forget what are the big sellers for Land Rover.
Land Rover sport - Jaguar engines and Jaguar engineering on sports and Handling.
Discovery 3 - Diesel engines supplied by Jaguar.
Freelander 2 - 45% engineered by Jaguar engineers - some areas of the vehicle have been 100% engineered by Jaguar engineers.
Yes Jaguar has had its fair share of disasters most notably the current XJ series. A car designed to meet the USA (Ford) market but they instead design a car that no one likes (a great car to drive but with looks that are out of date).
The X type - a car designed in house but with the engineers hands tied by Ford in adopting a parts bin approach by using Mondeo parts.
But what of the future.
A great product with the new XK.
The promise of a great product with the new XF and the prospect of a great new replacement with the XJ series.
This coupled with a top three ranking in the quality index in the USA (J D Powers), a three year pay deal and a work force that is loyal that wants to work and be successfull.
What more could any buyer ask for.

A Private Equity group taking over Land Rover/Jaguar and making a go of running them from within the UK (even if that means some job cuts), is surely better than Shanghai or Nanjing Automotive taking them over for the brands and intellectual property and moving all production lines to China?

Firstly, I think anyone who has had a bad experience with a Jaguar should really get a grip on reality before making their derogatory comments. Its the individual dealer that is mostly responsible for poor service NOT the car maker! Jaguar is no different to any other manufacturer, in or outside the motor industry. As far as reliability goes I think it fair to say that ALL car manufacturers will have at some point encountered problems with their product and have their share of disspointed customers.
Secondly, as far as Robert Preston's comment goes that Jaguar has been turned into a "groggy moggy" maybe he should spend some quality time around these cars as I do. Then he will be better positioned to make a much more informed comment!!!!!

What is groggy moggy? Is this some jargon or standard english?

Yet again the British motor industry suffers another blow, and the British are to blame. Buying German made crape, years old the British where more patriotic, they would never think of buying so called "cheap gerry built rubbish".
If the British had stuck to buying "British" then the likes of Land Rover and Jaguar would be successful today. The big mistake Ford made was not buying the German crap and shutting it down, production could have then be moved to the UK, and UK workers could have enjoyed success.
The British have only shot themselves in the foot.

When I first saw the Mercedes CLS 4dr. with the sleek beautiful roofline I immediately thought 'oh dear!' That should have been a Jaguar. It's a wonder why the German Marque didn't produce something like that a decade earlier, and stolen the 'style stakes' market that Jaguar had not held on to. I note that the in house design team have made numerous beautiful prototypes over the years, but none have come to market. I hope Mr. JCB decides that both companies are worth the risk - he and maybe Prodrive are the only British hopes.
Good luck to all the employees of both companies - work hard and focus on quality, we need you to continue car making in this country.

I have an old Defender, from when BAe owned Land Rover. I have just installed the British design award (1991)winning 200Tdi engine to improve the power and efficiency. The old LR J19 engine was inefficient, noisy and smelly. Little things go wrong with my Defender quite often. And I love it with all my heart. EVERYTHING that does go wrong can be repaired by yourself cheaply if you can be bothered. They hold their value well. There is no vehicle on earth that can beat it cross-country. One of the best things about the Defender is that it never changes. They really should crack on with making them bio-fuel capable as standard though. Put a pump in every dealership too. Good luck to all who work there and let the Yanks have the Defender back, it was built for that terrain.

Once again I am stunned at the low level of journalistic ability displayed. No one can doubt that all motor manufacturers have had to raise their game in tems of reliability: those that didn't respond to rising consumer expectations failed as with Rover. The fact is Jaguar 2007 (or any of the preceding six years) has a vastly improved product reliability record than prior to the Ford take over. And the product range has improved for the same reason. So no seasoned journalist - or news organisation for that matter - should be allowed to get away with sloppy, lazy comments; something that is on the increase in a world of cheap analysis and crass overblown opionion formers.

I've had an X Type for nearly two years. I've never had a fault with it, The dealer that has performed regular maintenance has been outstanding and always serviced the car promptly and at a cost much lower than what I am used to paying at BMW.

As far as gas guzzling, I get a combined mpg of 45 mpg. This is a great car!

Ford wouldnt know a luxury brand if it stared them in the face. Oh wait, it does, they own Jaguar.

The x-type was the demise of Jaguar's fortunes recently, polish up a few mondeo switches and charge 3 times the price, I dont think so. Might work with the yanks but to here.

Jaguar is a premium brand and if they are not careful they will do the same as GM did to Saab and make it mainstream.

I'd never buy a Jag because they simply dont have anything worth buying.

I have to disagree with anthony about all jags are ford mondeos. WRONG!!! I own/drive a jag s type and i had a drive in my brothers mondeo (Same age 55) what a difference form my jag! it is so so so different to it. I'm sticking with jag and i am definatley buying the c-xf when it comes out in 2008. btw. do you own or have you been in a jaguar (New Style)? Didn't think so! Just keep quiet unless you know what your saying is right. I even had a x-type and it is different to the mondeo. All that jag uses from the mondeo is the chassis. Not anything else, just the CHASSIS. AND THIS IS ONLY FOR THE X-TYPE!!!

I have read a lot of these posts and I am getting a bit fed up of hearing "jags are mondeos". Morons.
The jaguar X-Type shares less than 10% of is boot floor with the mondeo. A few switches and mechanical parts. The suspension set up is totally different, ride quality is far superior. Engines are tuned completely different to offer a more refined drive. Jaguar have made mistakes in the past sure, now they are doing something about it. The XK has exceeded expectations and the new XF is filling order books already! I admit I used to think of Jags as unreliable, old man cars. But now I work in a Jaguar Dealership and see everyday how well built and reliable these cars really are.

Jag never really recovered after the BL years. John Egan made great waves in improving the build and reliability and bringing them back from the brink of obscurity, just look how many units they sold of the late series 3 XJ. Ford further improved reliability and were pretty much forced to continue development of the XJ40 and rushed it into production before it was really technically ready but it had been on the board for so many years that the design was already past its prime.

I had a late S3 XJ12 and now have a mid 1990's X300 series XJ. The amount of Ford influence in the X300 is limited to small electrical parts, the origins of the engine and drivetrain still date from pre-Ford ownership. As an unbiased enthusiast, my view is that Ford continued Egan's drive to improve the fit and finish and overall quality but in the process lost a lot of the original character of the product. The XJ is still a fine piece of engineering though, my experience with the later XJs has been strongly positive. A lot of the sealed modular parts used in the S and X (and a host of other cars) give the reliability issues, not really the fault of Jaguar build quality.

The X Type was the biggest mistake, there should never have been a mainstream car with mediocre design and performance marketed from the stable, it sent out all the wrong signals, trying to vie with the Germans for badge status, something which Jaguar doesn't have enough of. If the cat has a future it's with the XK, I like what I've seen of the XF but also concerned that it might become the next X Type in 10 years and a further step away from true Jag design ethos.

I have a Mondeo as a daily driver and it's been solid, does exactly what it says on the tin. But it's not a Jag, not by any stretch of the imagination. All the foray into the mass market did was drag the marque downmarket and further add to its woes.

I have read all the comments about Land Rover and particularly Jaguar that have been piosted here. Quality has always been an issue with Jag. So too has the legacy the car industry in the UK has been tying to overcome from the days of "Red Robbo" (1960 - 70's) when most of the management did not have a clue how to market and how to address the customers needs. This was made worse by the Red Robbo factions who would strike when they felt like it, produce mediocre vehicles - I have seen some where the inside nearside trim was a different colour from the inside offside, there was no roof lining in some and these had been passed by "quality control". All this added up to a total lack of interest in the job they were doing, the vehicles they were producing, and what was happening to the company they were "working" for. I have been associated with the motor industry for many years until retirement and am not surprised in the sorry state our once great car industry has been in for years. Too late we paid attention to what "you got for your money" from the Japanese regarding reliability, fittings and quality.

No Boxster rival. Enough said. (F-type concept anyone?)

Listen to your customers, by all means, but understand that as your customers get older, they will eventually decline...

...would be a shame if the XF was Jaguar's swansong.

Jaguar will last a lot longer than most of the above pessimists realise , they have heritage and as for the connotations of X type is a Mondeo well it maybe a Ford chassis , but how about Saab ! the chassis is same as a Vauxhall Vectra ,Vauxhall don't make Jets though and Alfa and Fiat plus Lancia some of the models they throw out are really Vectras called Saabs!or Saabs called Fiats ? do Ford still have an interest in Volvo ? Sure they do !Its called business. Does Skoda still have a bad name ? Was the new image given to them due solely to better materials and investment or did good marketing help as it was not an overnight success somebody had to buy the first ones from VW !!(My neighbours wife's brand new VW engineered Skoda ground to a halt with a seized engine after 2 days of ownership and just 87 miles,NO OIL in the damn thing , great Pre delivery inspection)probably Tate and Lyle syrup. I like Jaguars I always have nice to drive and a pleasing style but not too many , yes they have niggles all cars do some people expect far too much from a machine , all cars break down , I haven't touch wood in my 8 Jaguars yet ! I could not or would not change for a Volvo Merc or Bmw err well .... if I wanted a taxi I would go to the train station and hail one !
But Jaguar should use the power of advertising more instead of relying on the sour grapes oriented budding journalists especially on this site !

All Jaguar's were overpriced oil leaking heaps before Ford took over. Too bad Ford couldn't clean up the mess...It would take Ford 100 years and 1 trillion dollars to change the image of what was already a terrible car.