Jaguar's Future: Can Tata Succeed Where Ford Failed?
It's a Hell of a good question. Strangely, few Western media outlets have tackled it. While TTAC's take is forthcoming, T he Liverpool Daily Post's Alastair Houghton casts his beady eye on Tata's prospects with the damaged British brand. It may be painful for Jag fans to reconsider the fate of the ill-fated X-Type and re-scan the arterial spray or red ink dogging the cat, but they'll be heartened to read Houghton's historical analysis of the Indian conglomerate's success with other British concerns. The story surrounding Tata's entry into the steel market is especially resonant. “Do you mean to say Tata proposes to make steel rails to British specifications?" Frederick Upcott, Chief Commissioner for Indian Railways reportedly remarked at the turn of the last century. "Why, I’ll eat every pound of steel rail they succeed in making.” Last year, Tata ate Corus, the company that had eaten British Steel. Equally reassuring (to "traditionalists"), the chief executive of the UK India Business Council doesn't see any branding issues. “If you look at Tetley [tea], you don’t see the Tata brand on it at all," Sharon Bamford says. “They put the interests of the brand and the community they serve at the forefront. The process we’ve seen appears to be a typical Tata deal.”
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Well they speak better English than we do, so I would imagine it's no great leap that they could build a better Jaguar.
Will Jag retailers just roll over to Tata or will the franchises be up for grabs? The reason I'm asking is that my local Jag dealer (combined with Lincoln and Land Rover sucks big time when it comes to customer service. You would think with those products they would be kissing your ass from the time you walked in the door till the time you left. I've given up on this dealer and now drive 40 miles to Orlando to get my XK8 serviced. I'll say one thing for Ford's involment in Jaguar, my XK8 is reliable as a brick and has never given me any trouble in 40,000 miles. The only thing that pisses me off is the X-Type which cheapened the brand. Jaguar is passion. Jaguars should exude passion and sex appeal. A man or woman driving a Jaguar should feel, no BE, more attractive, interesting, mysterious and perhaps dangerous than they ever could behind the wheel of a Mercedes, BMW or Lexus The fact is the above statement is true, my Jag never gets lost in the sea of Mercedes, Beemers, or Lexus, its a car that stands out in a crowd because its beautiful and unusual. I get complements on my car everyday. I hope that Tata will take a hands off approach to Jag and give it the resourses it needs to build proper motor cars.
At least Jaguar meant something (a certain je ne sais quois perhaps) what did Lincoln ever mean? best jaguar ever? XJ13