That Jaguar symbol may look as though it is moving fast but that is no indication of the speed with which Ford will be able to unload the Jaguar and Land Rover brands. That is the speculation coming from Topspeed and could very well be the concern of Fords Board of Directors, along with Ford’s President Alan Mulally.
Mulally expressed doubt that the credit volatility of world markets would slow down the sale of Jaguar and/or Land Rover. However there are very few indications coming from the mouth-pieces of Ford nor any interested buyers that the case is otherwise.
Topspeed further intimates that the effects of the uncertain credit markets in North America and Europe could open the door for other interested parties not effected by international credit. Namely, Russia and China may yet have a buyer step forward that might be looking to expand their own brands into other markets and could use an affiliation with Jaguar or Land Rover as a stepping stone.
The only thing that seems certain at this point is that we are sure to hear more on this topic in the months or year to come.
Well it would seem quite a lot if the name happens to be Daimler! A name that has been associated with Jaguar since the early sixties, after Jaguar acquired the rights to use the name. During which time Daimler always represented the top of the range Jaguar model, in fact the Daimler XJ6 Vanden Plas, was the premier car to come out of the Jaguar factory in the series two days.
However the name never appeared on any models that went stateside, for some reason, maybe because they found it hard enough in those days to sell the one car, let alone confusing things with various models too.
The problem is that Daimler Chrysler is a stand alone company, while Ford own Jaguar, also own the rights to use the name Daimler, which could result in some serious problems and confusion for consumers, if a Ford owned Jaguar came out with a Daimler badge and at the same time Daimler Chrysler were trying to sell a high end car, well its just crazy or is it?
It would appear that the two auto giants have come to some sort of an arrangement, that will see both companies using the Daimler name, now as mentioned earlier is that not going to be confusing for people? Exactly what the arrangement is remains a secret for now, so we shall have to wait and see.
All bids must in by July 19th originally Ford wanted to sell the Jaguar and Land Rover businesses as a complete package, but it does appear that they may be considering to sell the companies off individually. Which really means that there is a lot of interest in Land Rover and non at all in the luxury brand Jaguar.
There does appear to have been a massive interest in these two companies, unlike the sale of Aston Martin which had a whole load of billionaires and consortiums showing an interest, this does not appear to have happened with Jaguar and Land Rover, in fact it would appear to be that the most likely buyer would be Cerberus Management, who are finalizing the purchase of Chrysler from Daimler. Jaguar and Land Rover would actually make a good fit into this business, but as with any purchase of this nature the buyer would be looking to refinance as soon as they possibly could, and reduce the outgoings of the business.
So even if and when the companies or company are sold, the future for the current plant and workers is not going to be safe, but the names of two luxury brands would live on, which has to better than what would face them if nobody bought the companies from Ford.
Even though the deadline is in a little over a week from now, it is not known when Ford will decide and announce who the new owners will be, the story drags on.
This Jag concept car was unveiled in January. At the time, I wasn’t sure what I thought about it. But I think I’m mostly underwhelmed. Some of the interior features are nice, but in my opinion, the exterior is too derivative. A little too bulky too. It’s good too see Jaguar moving forward with their designs, but I’m honestly not lusting after this sucker.
After three intensive test sessions, the management of Team Peugeot have announced their driver line up for the 2007 Le Mans series and of course the jewel in the crown, the 2007 Le Mans 24 hours race.
Marc Gene (Spain) - Nicolas Minassian (France) - Jacques Villeneuve (Canada)
As normal there is a good F1 presence within the Le Man series paddock, which just goes to show how competitive it is to get into a team and stay there. But there are only four places up for grabs, the drivers will need to show the team managers, Serge Saulnier (Team Manager) and Michel Barge (Peugeot Sport Director) who will be the best choice for the places, this does not necessarily mean who is the fastest, this sector of motor sport relies more on team work than in single seater racing, so there are many factors in decided the final selection.
The car that the team will be using is the Peugeot 908 Hdi FAP, which is a completely new car, engine, gearbox, and chassis. The engine is a V12 and initially was supposed to deliver around 700 BHP, reading between to lines, it appears that the Peugeot engineers have yet to achieve this.
After a long wait and seeing all those digital images of Jaguar XKR GT3, finally the Coupé is revealed to the public today. With a large gathering in the NEC Birmingham, the Autosport International Show has attracted some of the top line cars in the Industry. This is definitively one of the most successful show for Motorsports.
This monster is powered with 4.2 liter V8 supercharged engine with a 475 bhp. It has full aluminium body which has some modifications from the older versions.
Richard Lloyd is one of the brain behind the design of this car. Along with him, a team of experienced squad had worked on the XKR model. Richard along with Apex Motorsports has revealed the first set of images of this car.
Even though its in pretty early stage, the first car built is already sold. That’s right. It is sold to Stuart Scott, MD of East Anglia’s Cambridge Business Travel. It is later announced that Scott along with an un-named co-driver with be giving it a round in a programme of six events.
After three intensive test sessions, the management of Team Peugeot have announced their driver line up for the 2007 Le Mans series and of course the jewel in the crown, the 2007 Le Mans 24 hours race.
As normal there is a good F1 presence within the Le Man series paddock, which just goes to show how competitive it is to get into a team and stay there. But there are only four places up for grabs, the drivers will need to show the team managers, Serge Saulnier (Team Manager) and Michel Barge (Peugeot Sport Director) who will be the best choice for the places, this does not necessarily mean who is the fastest, this sector of motor sport relies more on team work than in single seater racing, so there are many factors in decided the final selection.
The car that the team will be using is the Peugeot 908 Hdi FAP, which is a completely new car, engine, gearbox, and chassis. The engine is a V12 and initially was supposed to deliver around 700 BHP, reading between to lines, it appears that the Peugeot engineers have yet to achieve this.
