It’s a done deal, Ford has sold LR

Frankly I dont have a problem with it.

TATA, having acquired another british crown, may well do well to look after the stewardship of an icon.

remember, India has a huge and wealthy middle class which is sucking up quality vehicles expotentially...

it's in TATAs interest to do their best....

a long time ago, Hyundai was a 'poo-pooed' brand, but their gear today is pretty damn good, (i30 d for example) and now TATA have a fabulous brand to make even better....

the 'fender is dead, long live the 'fender!!!


GQ

I worked in Mozambique in 2000-1 and there were a lot of Tatas there.....
cheap...cheap...cheap. You could tell there was a Tata in front of you in the line of city traffic because of the issuing smoke screen.

It used to be the standard joke of ...knowing you were in a 3rd world country by counting the number of goats and Tatas between the airport and your hotel.

In all fairness though, the Indians are truly, more Brit than the Brits...and they are a looming economic power.

Tata are more than cars, cars are a spin-off from Tata Steel...the sixth largest steel producer in the world...and growing.

Can't be all bad I say.
I would hazard a guess that there are more Tata dealerships in OZ now than Land Rover dealerships, particularly outside the capital cities. If they were to reinforce the "working class" credentials of the LR brand and actively market and support it where they are best suited (regional/rural OZ), then they would get my support.

I'm really concerned for the quality of product they might produce. What if they start making vehicles with poor body fit and leaky engines......oh:angel:

India being India may decide that making new build Series 1 s would be good, they still make the Morris Minor in India.

"The show's not over until the fat lady sings..."

As far as I'm concerned, until it is announced "Officially" it is not a done deal. TATA may well be one of the favorites in the running but AFAIK there's nothing official yet.

M

Friggin useless poms (heirachy)fault in the first place how can you send bust a company that sells and supplies 200 countries armed forces of the world with specialist vehicles, let alone private sales of an iconic marque:confused:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DirtyDawg

Friggin useless poms (heirachy)fault in the first place how can you send bust a company that sells and supplies 200 countries armed forces of the world with specialist vehicles, let alone private sales of an iconic marque:confused:

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Because everyone else is driving down costs, improving quality, have big outputs, off shore manufacturing and are world leaders in their own right.

LR's a subsidiary only, does not make cars in Asia where they'd be cheaper and have no low end offering (ie like the japs do).

What, the cheapest LR would be 20K up on the cheapest jap 4WD? I'm not saying they're comparable in ability or even quality, but if you've only got 35k and want a 4WD you're not gonna buy an LR, are you?

Tata may have an answer to that, even if it is unpalatable to us.

I was horrified when the Malasian company Proton bought Lotus. However it would appear that they have been a reasonable owner to date so there is hope :)

Can you imagine the "new" LR, with fantastic paint jobs and baubles across the top of the windscreen?

Bring it on.:(