Now that Jaguar/Land Rover is sold and Volvo might be next? (Ford announced that Volvo will declare a loss in 2007)

And will customers pay a premium for an Indian brand?

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/...iness/ford.php


Good riddance. All that money wasted. Imagine if they had focussed on SVT instead. And spent a fraction of that money buiding cars for true enthusiasts.

 

Tata motors? you gotta be kidding me.....

 

In French, Tata means goof or goofy.

So, when shopping for a premium car, you have the choice between Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Cadillac or that goofy brand...

 

After-tax profit at Tata Motors, which is publicly traded, increased 21 percent in the first half of this fiscal year to 9.94 billion rupees. Not all of the profit goes to shareholders, though - some goes to charity.

WTF is a rupee?

 

Haven't you ever played Zelda: Ocarina of Time?

 

You need several of them to see her tatas:

 

Rupees are roughly 40/1 so they made $500M in six monthes... that's a hell of a lot better than Ford has been doing.

From my time in India, I'd buy one. Tata makes a good vehicle (and some really fun tiny cars).

Plus you get to say you love your tata.

 

Will Ford now Focus on SVT?

You mean will they Contour their operations to allow for a performance brand?

Will Ford's executives see the Lightning?

They Mustang knowledge that SRT8 is winning the HP battle.

 

Eye mull of mush sheen.......

 

How many rupee's for the girl

 

Ford needs to focus on making cars that match GM's new batch of cars, not a small nitch of vehicles that make little profit for the company.

 

doesn't matter who the owners are - look at Lotus they're going quite well in Europe (not sure about over there in the US) under Korean ownership. The problem with Jag & Landrover was pure and simple Ford bolluxed it up total mismanagement (to give you an idea look at hmmm let's see - SVT ).

 

Agreed.

The Detroit 3 have been described as some of the worst run companies in the world. (all industries). Toyota, Honda and BMW build decent cars but when all metrics are considered, they are the best managed companies in the auto industry and they do a much better job at taking care of their customers.

Ford has incredible issues to deal with but Chrysler is in complete turmoil.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1198..._us_whats_news

Worst of all this current crisis is causing Ford to alienate its best customers. Try putting trough a warranty claim or filling a complaint with FoMoCo? You'll be treated like a bag of dirt. Valid warranty claims are being denied and charged back to dealers and customers with total disregard.

 

Yup...I was true blue all my life. Bought a jeep last year, and will never buy another Ford (unless they start selling Ford GT's for 5 grand) until I hear and see overwhelming proof of increased customer treatment. I love my jeep and yes, the way the Jeep service department treats me!

 

Well, hopefully the arrival of Jim Press, a longtime Toyota President (and the first non-Japanese member of Toyota's board), will bring some of that Toyota magic to Chrysler. I've always regarded GM as the best built but most poorly designed American cars, and post-Iacocca Chrysler as the best designed but most poorly built cars (Ford doesn't seem to do anything right). A little Toyota build quality infusion could do a lot to improve Chrysler's position.