Landrover to be sold a Indian company....

**matbor** · 21st December 2007, 09:10 AM

Not sure if this has been posted, but anyway !!

from : Vroom with a whew! Tatas set for motown debut-The United States-World-The Times of India

[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']Vroom with a whew! Tatas set for motown debut[/FONT][FONT='Arial','sans-serif']
21 Dec 2007, 0052 hrs IST , TNN[/FONT]

WASHINGTON: When the patriarch Jamshedji Tata traveled to the United States in 1902, he visited many cities in the country’s rust belt, looking for technology for his proposed steel mill in India. But India's greatest business visionary searched for other opportunities too.

He went as far down as Georgia looking into the cotton industry, and in the north, he touched Michigan. There was only one reason he did not eye Motown and its most famous product. It wasn't even born. By the time the Ford T-model debuted in 1908, Tata had been dead four years.

Nearly a century later, Tata scions are poised to set right that historical missed opportunity by buying Ford's premier brand Jaguar and Land Rover, for an estimated $ 2 billion plus. The deal could be announced as early as Friday, various business media outlets are reporting, although Ford itself maintained a studied silence. But the natter in the auto industry is that the auto giant wants to get the deal out of the way before the Christmas holidays.

The world greatest automotive society is agog -- even horrified -- at the prospect of a Tata-owned Jaguar and Land Rover. Much of the debate has centered around Tata’s ability to handle luxury brands at a time there is great attention on its Rs 1 lakh car ($ 2500), whose January 10 debut is also the talk of the auto world.

How can Tatas own both the world's cheapest car and a luxury brand? For the record, Ford has announced that the latest model of the Jaguar 2009 XF sedan will go on sale March 1, 2008 at an MSRP of just under $50,000 with a standard V8 engine.

In contrast, Tata's $ 2500 scoop is less than the price of a Segway or some specialty bicycles sold in the US.

But if the Tata legacy is any indication, the US fears may be overstated. Tata's Indian Hotels run some of the world's finest luxury resorts.

During his 1902 visit to the US, the patriarch was so shocked by the condition in the American steel cities that he wrote to his son Dorab, who was handling the Jamshedpur project: "Be sure to lay wide streets planted with shady trees....Be sure there is plenty of space for lawns and gardens ...Reserve large areas for football, hockey and parks. Earmark areas for Hindu temples, Mohammedan mosques, and Christian churches."

Still, the image of India as a poor country incapable of making or marketing luxury brands persists -- perhaps for good reasons. One blogger wrote last week that "Instead of the Jaguar XK-R, we may soon see an XK-Vindaloo."

But early this week, as the inevitability of the Tata take over sunk in, another called the deal 'Gandhi's Revenge.'

"Family-run Tata certainly has the means, and the metal," Todd Lassa wrote on the Motor Trends website, referring to the Tata's acquisition of steel-maker Corus.

"For the Indians, owning these symbols of British civilisation is nothing less than poetic justice."

Ford has had a long and enduring relationship with India going back to pre-Independence days. Many Indian leaders of that era used Ford automobiles and there were Ford dealerships across India. The Ford patriarch, Henry Ford, exchanged correspondence with Mahatma Gandhi even though they were poles apart in their approach to life -- one a champion of the machine age and the other a fan of human labor.

Gandhi once sent Ford a "Charka" (a spinning wheel) as a gift. Little could Ford have foreseen that his scions would be turning over two luxury brands to an Indian company in return.

**Landy110** · 21st December 2007, 09:42 AM

That's interesting.
I like the bit about India owning English luxury brands being "Poetic Justice"
I guess we just wait and see.

What is the Tata that costs $2,500.00
Defenders hand made in India might come down to $10,000!!!!

**matbor** · 21st December 2007, 09:46 AM

From what I have read it will be finialised in the next couple of days !!

But who knows !!

**matbor** · 21st December 2007, 09:55 AM

Ford chooses Tata for Jaguar and Land Rover Dec 19 2007

By John Duckers and John Revill

Indian industrial giant Tata will be named as the preferred bidder for Jaguar and Land Rover on Friday.
The group has had its £1 billion bid accepted by Ford, which is selling the luxury carmakers which together employ 13,000 people across the Midlands.

The firm has beaten off competition from rival Indian firm Mahindra and Mahindra and private equity group One Equity Partners. Final details are expected to be tied up in the next six weeks before the sale is completed.

Sources at Land Rover said: "It is definitely Tata. There is one final meeting and so long as there is no last minute hitches, which are not expected, then an announcement will be made on Friday."

Officials are coming to the UK from India for the announcement. Staff and the government are all supportive of the deal, the source added, while it will ensure the companies and the jobs stay in the West Midlands.
The deal was welcomed by union leaders. Des Quinn, industry officer for the Transport and General Workers' Union section of Unite, said: "We cautiously welcome this development, although the devil will be in the detail.

"We think the Tata bid is in the best interests of our members. They come from a manufacturing background, and the experience of other people they have taken over has been good.

"They allow the management to manage and are investing in it. They are cash rich and they can afford the price, as well as invest in the future.

"Generally we think they are the better buyer for Jaguar and Land Rover."

Tata bought steelmaker Corus for £4.3 billion last year, while the firm also owns Tetley Tea in the UK. Mr Quinn added that the Mahindra bid fell down becasue of its links to private equity – with the Indian firm working with Apollo.

"When a private equity firm buys a company, the cost of buying it often goes onto the companies books. If anything then goes wrong how do you refinance the business?"

icBirmingham - Ford chooses Tata for Jaguar and Land Rover

**drivesafe** · 21st December 2007, 10:31 AM

I’m not a Ford fan and never have been but they have done some good for LR and TATA was the one potential buyer that would be of benefit to LR in the long run.

From all the reports about the other two front runners, they were both interested in the company’s assets, primarily the factory and the land it sat on rather than any long term operation.

The long term prospects of this company, hopefully now looks very rosy.

Can't wait to see the new Raj Rover

**Ace** · 21st December 2007, 11:02 AM

Live as we know it has ended. Get out while you can, we are all going to die.

**Chris** · 21st December 2007, 11:09 AM

I drove a Tata once a while back and it was an aweful experience.

**Ace** · 21st December 2007, 11:13 AM

My mechanics say they named them Tata because when you buy one you say tata to youre money. From what i have heard from those who bought them in rylstone from a dealer in bathurst (who nearly went broke selling them) they are terribly unreliable. The bloke who did the shearing for my ex inlaws bought one and within 15000km it had all new suspension, new engine and gearbox and numerous other things.

Having said that they have lots of money so some cash injection into land rover with the current engineers might be a good thing

**Scouse** · 21st December 2007, 11:47 AM

Originally Posted by Ace

My mechanics say they named them Tata because when you buy one you say tata to youre money. From what i have heard from those who bought them in rylstone from a dealer in bathurst (who nearly went broke selling them) they are terribly unreliable. The bloke who did the shearing for my ex inlaws bought one and within 15000km it had all new suspension, new engine and gearbox and numerous other things.

Are you sure you're talking about Tata & not Land Rover here ??

**loanrangie** · 21st December 2007, 01:51 PM

Lets face it, its not like LR will suddenly be moved to India, apart from the R&D and the parts sharing it wont be any different to ford/ bmw or honda owning it- if that were to happen then it will go down the dunny.

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