FORD has just announced the closing of the old Jaguar factory. It hopes to save $180 million…but about 2000 jobs will go. Is FORD giving up on the marque? I believe that FORD has poured a lot of money into Jaguar…but tghe brand isn’t selling well.
Is it soon to be lights out for the famous old brand?Sir Lyons would be spinning in his grave if he knew! 
It doesn’t look like Jaguar will fold, although it’s true that they’re not doing well financially.
No, what it looks like is that Ford is trying a new form of “brand management”, what with all the parts and engine sharing, although the bodies are very much different.
I like the new Jags. The XJ is an impressive piece with the unique aluminum body, I’ve always liked the XK series, and the X and S-Types are pretty sharp looking. They all have the potential performance specs. It’s just that nobody is buying because they see them as Fords and not Jaguars.
Not that that’s a bad thing, mind you. The old Jags were good looking but their build quality sucked.
There were some hints in the news reports that Ford are looking to move some Jaguar production to the US. Which kind of makes sense, given that’s their primary target market for these cars.
Put it this way - ten years ago, who’d have thought sales of the Mini could be outstripping supply in the US? It’s a fickle world…
Here’s what Ford has to say: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=509&ncid=749&e=8&u=/ap/20040919/ap_on_bi_ge/ford_outlook
Pasted a couple of the paragraphs. Wall Street thought it was a good idea and ford traded up on Friday.
In England, Ford said it plans to halt operations at its Browns Lane Jaguar plant by the end of 2005, and consolidate operations of the luxury brand into its Castle Bromwich plant. Ford also said it will reduce Jaguar’s remaining production plan for 2004 by 15,000 units.
“We have too much capacity, and that is our underlying structural problem,” said Joe Greenwell, chairman and chief executive of Jaguar and Land Rover.
In particular, Ford officials said Jaguar’s U.S. sales had been disappointing and that cost improvements at Jaguar and Land Rover had been slower than expected — a situation the company pledged to correct. The weak U.S. dollar has also hurt profits.