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N0KFQ > TODAY 26.03.12 19:16l 62 Lines 3170 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 19753_KB0WSA
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Subj: Today in History - Mar 26
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Sent: 120326/1650Z 19753@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.49
Mar 26, 2008:
Ford sells Jaguar and Land Rover to India's Tata
On this day in 2008, the Ford Motor Company announces the sale of
its Jaguar and Land Rover divisions to the Tata Group, one of
India's oldest and largest business conglomerates, for some $2.3
billion--less than half of what Ford originally paid for the
brands. The sale came at a time when Ford, along with much of the
rest of the auto industry, was experiencing a sales slump as a
result of the global economic crisis. For Tata, which earlier
that year had unveiled the Nano, the world's cheapest car, the
purchase of the venerable British-based luxury brands was
referred to by some observers as a "mass to class" acquisition.
Jaguar, known for its high-performance luxury autos, grew out of
the Swallow Sidecar Company, which was co-founded by William
Lyons (1901-1985) of Blackpool, England, in 1922, to make
motorcycle sidecars. In the early 1930s, the business was renamed
SS Cars Ltd., and in 1935, its first Jaguar automobile, the SS
Jaguar 100, launched. Following World War II, the company changed
its name again, to Jaguar Cars Ltd., in order to avoid any
association with the Schutzstaffel, the Nazi paramilitary group
also referred to by the initials "SS." In 1948, the XK120, which
was capable of reaching speeds of 120 mph, made its debut and
helped Jaguar stake its claim as a sports car brand. By the
1950s, Jaguar was exporting its high-performance cars to America.
In the early 1960s, the automaker introduced the E-type (known as
the XK-E in the U.S.), a sleek two-seater with a bullet-like
silhouette that was the fastest production sports car on the
market at the time of its launch. The now-iconic roadster won
accolades for its design and in 1996 an E-Type became part of the
permanent collection of New York City's Museum of Modern Art
(just the third car to do so). In 1989, Jaguar, which had already
undergone several mergers, was acquired by the Ford Motor Company
for $2.5 billion.
The first Land Rover debuted in 1948 and was the brainchild of
Maurice Wilks, the head designer for the British car company
Rover, of which his brother Spencer Wilks was the managing
director. Maurice Wilks had used an old American-made
Willys-Overland Jeep to do work at his farm in England; however,
the Jeep was plagued by mechanical problems and Wilks decided to
design a more reliable vehicle. He intended it to be used for
farm work and be more versatile than a tractor. The resulting
Land Rover, known as the Series 1, had a boxy, utilitarian
design, four-wheel drive and a canvas roof. Such features as
passenger seat cushions, doors, a heater and spare tires were
initially considered extras and cost more. The rugged Land Rover
was well-received by the public and ended up being used not just
for farm work, but by police forces, military organizations, aid
workers in remote places and travelers on expeditions where road
conditions were poor or non-existent. In 2000, Ford purchased
Land Rover, which by that time had also undergone several
ownership transitions, for $2.7 billion.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: n0kfq@winlink.org
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