Are U.S. Jaguar Dealers Racists?
Though local labor unions approve of an Indian owners for the venerable Jaguar brand, stateside dealers want none of it. "My concern is perception, and perception is reality," said Ken Gorin, chairman of the Jaguar Business Operations Council, to The Wall Street Journal (as reported by The India Times). "I don’t believe the US public is ready for ownership out of India for a luxury-car brand such as Jaguar… I believe it would severely throw a tremendous cast of doubt over the viability of the brand.” Though working for former Ford CEO money whiz Jac Nasser and the cash leveraged Equity One make for optimal conversation at high tea, the marble-lined showroom stockers should remember this: money talks and bullshit walks. If Jaguar sells the right cars at the right price, it won't matter from whence the leaping cats come, or which nation builds them. If Ford can sell Mexican Fusions, and GM can sell Australian Pontiacs, and Porsche can sell Finnish Boxsters, and BMW can sell German MINIs, why can't you sell Indian Jags? For shame.
More by Sajeev Mehta
![Jaguar's Sexy XF Sportbrake Looks Doomed in the U.S. As Brand Enters Triage Mode [UPDATE]](https://cdn-fastly.thetruthaboutcars.com/media/2022/07/10/8916916/jaguar-s-sexy-xf-sportbrake-looks-doomed-in-the-u-s-as-brand-enters-triage-mode.jpg?size=350x220)
Comments
Join the conversation
Well unfortunately the Jags would smell of Curry, and no truly blue blooded scion could tolerate that for long...
Alfamike: its not India's fault that Chicken Tikka Masala was voted the UK's most favorite dish. Tell the blokes (with Indian job security) screwing the Jags together to stick with blood pudding on workdays. :)
Interesting take on this by Andrew Leonard, who has written lots of smart things about Globalisation at the not-so-smart Salon.com: The Ludicrousness of White Cachet http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/2007/12/18/white_brand_value/index.html
Dear Mr. Leonard, Right, it's all about racism. We can all be assured of that now, because you have put it so simply. WHAT were we thinking to doubt it? We know, for instance, that in India several types of French curry powder have taken off and are gaining market share rapidly. Well, maybe that is true (though I did make it up), but how many American's would prefer French curry powder to an Indian import? No, when your neighbor decides to try their hand at curry, they will not likely be buying something with french on the label. Also, cowboys supposedly threaten to string up people who serve them salsa from anywhere north of I-10. Is that racism as well? (I learned this bit the same place you learned about how all white people are racists). Sorry, but the only way you can write this off as racism so simply is if you are predisposed to do so. People with any respect for others whatsoever would be more considerate before stating,or spreading, an accusation of racism, which in our society is considered an awful offense. And while we are actually trying to engage our minds, what reason other than trying to buy the cache would Tata have?