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Chrysler's New Owner Might Buy Jaguar and Land Rover
http://www.turbodieselregister.com/articlelive/articles/46/1/Chryslers-New-Owner-Might-Buy-Jaguar-and-Land-Rover/Page1.html
Ken Freund

I’ve always been crazy about anything with an engine.

After years of pestering my father, he finally let me drive a car - at nine years of age. At 14 I taught myself to drive stick shifts and then how to ride motorcycles. Later, I also learned to fly and have had my pilot’s license for 22 years. Working on, riding, driving, restoring, photographing and writing about all these wonderful machines has always been my passion. I've been an auto vo-tech and smog test instructor, certified master technician, vehicle inspector, shop foreman, service manager, service director, and shop owner. Over the years I’ve owned about 35 bikes and 50 cars and trucks, a lot of which I wish I had never sold!

 
By Ken Freund
Published on 07/16/2007
 
Just when I thought we could start thinking about something beside Chrysler’s change of ownership, this came along. Ford has announced that its Land Rover and Jaguar divisions are for sale, and Cerberus, the firm that just bought a controlling interest in Chrysler, is said to be among the possible buyers.

Ford’s desperate financial situation is forcing the sale; Jaguar and Land Rover could possibly be sold for $1.5 billion or less. That is much cheaper than the $5.5 billion Ford originally paid for the two companies and it has lost billions more on them in the ensuing years.

The good news is that the Land Rover and Jaguar brands may be priced right and a good match for Chrysler. Jaguar could give Chrysler a premium car brand and Land Rover’s high-end SUVs could slot in above Jeep.

The bad news is, if Cerberus isn’t successful, it could bring down Chrysler and our beloved Dodge brand as well. There are a lot of challenges. It is very costly to develop new vehicles and efficient drivetrains, especially now with strict emission regulations, super-clean diesels and complex hybrids. The only way to contain costs would be to share components with Chrysler products, but this dilutes the premium brand’s reputation, as we’ve seen before. If Land Rover and Jaguar couldn’t make it on their own, and couldn’t make it under Ford’s control, how can we expect them to make it now?