Jaguar Sale Official
Finally. After all the “soon, soon” stories, Ford have announced the sale of Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors for approximately US $2.3 billion. Upon closing, Ford will make a payment of approximately US $600 million to the Jaguar Land Rover pension plans.
I wish Jaguar all success under the new management.
Jaguar Sale Imminent?
India eNews reports that the Memorandum of Understanding between Ford and Tata will be signed on Wednesday, effectively making Tata the new owners of Jaguar and Land Rover.
Some of the important details that have been settled include Ford topping up the “substantial” deficit in the workers’ pension fund, Tata agreeing to maintain the existing jobs and plants, and to continue sourcing engines and transmissions in the UK. Tata’s recently confirmed arrangement for a $3billion loan completes the list of requirements that were causing delays.
Given the long and public path that this has taken, I would have expected the sale to be completed nearly a week later, on April 1st.
The 100 Most Beautiful Cars of All Time
The Telegraph asked its readers to nominate the Most Beautiful Car of All Time, and recently published the results. Nine Jaguars made it in to the Top 100 … I guess that I was the only one that voted for the Jaguar 420!
1 - Jaguar E-type
3 - Jaguar XK120/140/150
11 - Jaguar D-type/XK-SS
12 - Jaguar Mk2
27 - Jaguar XJ6
47 - Jaguar XJ-S
67 - SS100
80 - Jaguar XJ220
81 - Jaguar XK
Pimp My XF
The largest volume Jaguar dealer in the U.S.A., Galpin Jaguar of Van Nuys, California, thought they’d drum up some interest in the Jaguar XF by producing a custom version. The interest on the web is mostly negative, for example: Kitschy Cat; Californian Dealership Defile the Jaguar XF; and a reference to Funkmaster Flex.
The two-tone paint scheme, 22-inch, color-matched Forgiato wheels, smoked tail lamps, blacked-out window trim, and matching black and burgundy leather seats really make a statement.
In my mind, that statement is “stick to selling cars, you have absolutely no talent for designing cars.”
Why Jaguar would ever send them another new vehicle is beyond me.
A Different Jaguar Sales Delay
WhatCar? is reporting that there are some distribution delays of the Jaguar XF in the UK, where deliveries of the more than 4,000 pre-ordered cars were due to start on March 1st. The reason given is a little unusual …
We are aware that some customers are experiencing a small delay with getting their cars, and we are working hard to resolve that problem. However, the delay is a result of us wanting to ensure each car is delivered at its absolute maximum standard. There is high demand for the car, and we want to make sure that each one is delivered with the latest software. There’s no point delivering a car and then taking it back in for updates at a later date.
For a moment, I thought that I was reading about the Atari game console!
Jaguar XKR-S Announced
Jaguar unveiled a limited edition run of the XKR at the Geneva Motor Show - there will be only 200 XKR-S produced, and only for UK/Europe in both left- and right-hand drive.
The engine is untouched, other than allowing it to rev high enough to move the XKR-S to a top speed of 280kph and producing a 0-100kph time of 5.2 seconds.
In addition to lowering the standard car and making some styling tweaks, Jaguar have added a variety of performance parts and a custom Bowers & Wilkins sound system to the Black on Black beauty.
Jeff Healey R.I.P.
Jeff Healey died yesterday in Toronto after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was only 41.
Jeff was probably best known for his searing blues guitar, and his appearance in the movie Road House, for which he wrote the soundtrack.
I really enjoyed Jeff’s later Jazz Band efforts, specialising in early jazz music of the 20’s and 30’s, and his weekly radio show My Kinda Jazz on JazzFM91 featuring selections from his huge collection of jazz 78s.
Read all about him on the official Jeff Healey site.
Jaguar Sale Delayed?
India’s Economic Times reports today that the sale of Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata, widely expected to be formally announced by Ford on March 5 or 6, will be slightly delayed due to outstanding issues regarding ongoing supply of engines, platforms and technologies.