A recent item on the news will probably go unnoticed by most people, due to its seeming irrelevance in the wider context of things, especially in the midst of global economic turmoil. I am referring to the sale of Jaguar to Tata Motors.
Most Americans are quite aware of what Jaguar is, in fact the brand is an object of desire for many people in the country. They are unable to measure, however, the significance of the name for the British.
The British motor industry was once a proud one, boasting a large number of manufacturers such as Austin, MG, Rover, Triumph, Hilmann, Humber, Morris, Sunbeam, in addition to luxury car manufacturers and high performance autos such as Rolls Royce, Bentley, Daimler, Aston Martin, and Jaguar, and dozens of sports cars manufacturers such as Lotus, Bristol, TVR, Morgan. Gross mismanagement, labor problems, quality issues, poor design practices, market developments and British Leyland meant the demise of most of these brands, and the sale of others to foreign concerns.
This meant that eventually Jaguar was sold to Ford. The impact of such sale was not that bad, considering that Ford also built cars in England for many years so the deal was considered “close to home”.
Under Ford ownership, the brand proved to be less profitable than previously thought, and as Ford is strapped for cash, the brand was put for sale. For half the price paid 17 years ago, when the dollar was mighty and strong.
Although a notch down from Rolls Royce, Bentley and Daimler, Jaguar ownership was nonetheless prestigious. Additionally, Jaguar was a prominent name in race tracks, having won Le Mans many times during the fifties, resuming race tracks activities in 1976, which resulted in two more Le Mans victories, plus a couple of world sports car championships. Until recently, Jaguar was the only foreign brand to have won a NASCAR race. Eventually, Ford decided to feature the brand in Formula 1, positioning it against other luxury car manufacturers Mercedes and BMW. The Formula 1 branding was a major disaster and after five years, the team was closed and assets sold to Red Bull, blemishing Jaguar’s racing heritage.
One cannot say that India looks at British imperial times with fondness, in fact many of the country’s woes today can be traced back to imperial times. By the time India got its independence from Britain, it had a huge population, and was one of the poorest countries on Earth, with seemingly unsolvable problems.
A few decades down the line, the very huge size of the Indian market and globalization made the country – or at least part of it, the wealthy part – a player in the business world.
So it must be with a lot of pride from the Indian side, and great disgust and sadness from the British side, that venerable Jaguar and Land Rover brands were sold to the Indian Tata Group. A sort of reverse imperialism.
This is more or less the equivalent of the American Cadillac brand being sold to an Iranian company.
Bork Su 