Range Rover owner tries to make lemonade out of lemon

One way of extracting automotive revenge

It seems that a UK Range Rover Sport buyer was so tired of having is SUV repaired that he applied vinyl stickers to the side of his Rover detailing all of its problems and parked his ride in front of the dealership.

This is a time honored tradition. I remember reading of a disgruntled Saturn owner parking his car in front of a Saturn dealership with big "Saturn Sucks" stickers.

Given that these cars are parked on public streets, there isn't much that the dealer can do provided that the owner abides by all parking restrictions. Of course, they could try to make customer happy, but sometimes no compromise can be reached.

For more info: Check out the full story at the Daily Mail.

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Have You Ever Been Annoyed By a Land Rover Commercial?

Bay Area television stations have been pummeled by a version of this commercial. We don't get the Flaming Lips backing track, but the same script is there. The ad asks some ridiculous questions, such as "Have you ever protected nobility?" and "Have you ever seen the curvature of the earth?" Certainly the intent is to convey Land Rover's heritage, but in my opinion it comes off as crass. Now multiply hearing those same questions being asked about five times during every local newscast and I have a new line for them, 'Have you ever been annoyed by a Land Rover commercial?" Why yes I have!

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Weekend at Geoff's

4/21/ update: Further stories on the cause of Mr. Polites death indicate that he had been battling with cancer. Autobiographical information in this Sidney Morning Herald article indicate that he was a real top shelf fellow: scrapping fancy executive perks and visiting with workers on the assembly line. To further tug at your heartstrings, Mr. Polities was returning to Australia to meet his first grandchild. Sadly, his condition worsened and he was taken to the hospital before he could meet her. He did however get to spend a few last moments with his beloved dog Don.


4/20/08 post:

In a most unfortunate turn of events, Geoff Polites, CEO of Jaguar and Land Rover since 2005, has passed away at age 60. According to news coverage, Polites has been battling a serious illness for two years. His death had nothing to do with the 6 litre Methuselah bottle he is holding in this picture.

Polites was expected to stay on after the sale of Jaguar / Land Rover was complete. David Smith, Jaguar and Land Rover's chief financial officer, will take over until a successor can be found.

source: associated press

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Jaguar + Land Rover = Credit Kryptonite

Given how Ford has struggled with Jaguar, it's no surprise that Moody's says it may cut the ratings of Tata Motors if it buys Ford's Jaguar and Land Rover units, saying the acquisition could create "substantial" challenges for the Indian company. Yah think?

Of course the premium brands could afford Tata Motor's instant credibility in the global marketplace, but at what cost? Some American dealers are recoiling at the idea of Indian ownership and let's face it Ford isn't selling Jaguar due to its fabulous sales performance. Jaguar is at a crossroads. The new XF could be a real triumph for the brand. I'm not all that smitten by the car personally, but the strength of its initial order bank does bode well.

The British brands are being sold for a pennies on the dollar. "Ford paid five to seven billion dollars for the companies depending on how you do the conversion and adjusted for inflation. And it has pumped in 10 billion dollars more in trying to turn the brands around," said Chirag Shah, analyst at Mumbai's Emkay Securities. Tata's bid of around 1.5 to 2.0 billion dollars would certain represent a tremendous bargain.

If Tata does end up signing the papers, it is likely that it would be "steady as she goes" for awhile while Tata finds its way. A Times Online story states that Tata would likely name a top Ford executive in Europe as chief executive of the Jaguar-Land Rover group.



sources: afp, afp, times online

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Will Jaguar / Land Rover Decouple After Sale?

Even though Ford is intent on selling its premium brands Jaguar and Land Rover as a package deal, the new owner of the companies may opt to sell Jaguar after the purchase according to an Economic Times article. One of the reasons that Ford has wanted to group the two brands together was because of the increased cooperation between the nameplates: Land Rover products use the Jaguar AJ-V8 in a number of models and the new LR2 is being manufactured at Jaguar's Halewood plant. Exactly who would buy Jaguar isn't discussed in the article, but I imagine that a private equity firm or a Chinese manufacturer might be interested.

The top three bidders that Ford is working with are rumored to be Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and private equity firm One Equity Partners. TPG, Terra Firma and Ripplewood are apparently out of the running.

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Land Rover / Jaguar: The Return of Mahindra

Indian carmaker Mahindra has teamed up with private-equity group Apollo to field a bid for Ford's premium carmakers. Up until recently, Mahindra was thought to have backed away from making a play for the marques leaving fellow Indian carmaker Tata the top candidate.

Ford has several concerns that it wants addressed by any potential buyer. Firstly, Ford wants to make sure that it's intellectual property is protected so that its technology doesn't come back to compete against it. Secondly, Ford wants to continue to do business with Jaguar and Land Rover including supplying powertrains. This would mean that Ford would probably want to maintain a minority stake in the venture.

In a quote from London's Sunday Times, one advisor involved in the talks said “I’m not sure who the new owner of Jaguar and Land Rover will be, but I’m pretty sure it will be an Indian company."

Source: TimesOnline

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Tata Top Bidder for Jaguar / Land Rover?

According to a number of sources, Tata Motors' bid for Jaguar / Land Rover seems to be gaining an edge over other interested bidders. Tata Motors Limited is India's largest passenger automobile and commercial vehicle manufacturing company was established in 1945 as a train manufacturer. Tata could be offering a premium for Ford's luxury nameplates with the hope of leveraging economies of scale with its existing infrastructure.

Unions are due to meet the shortlisted bidders later this month. Ford plans to sell the business by the end of this year or the beginning of 2008.

Regardless of who wins control of England's storied brands, Ford may want to hang on to an equity stake in the operations in order to lock the buyer into long-term supply deals with its network of engine and transmission plants in the UK.

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Dalai Lama's Land Rover To Be Auctioned Off

The Dalai Lama’s 1965 Land Rover Series II 88" Station Wagon is going up for auction on EBay paired with a chance to sit next to actress Sharon Stone at an upcoming Dalai Lama gala in San Francisco. If that wasn't enough, you also get to meet with the Buddhist guru as part of a private teaching session in India next March. Richard Gere may or may not be hiding in the back of the vehicle when you pick it up.

The reserve price on the auction is set at $75,000 and begins on Friday, November 2. You can check out the entire restoration process here.

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