Jaguar in trouble...oh and a really stupid mistake....

[Chaos in 1983!]

Jaguar seems to be in trouble...but we all knew that...but read up...the last bit is quite funny...and a really dumb advertising move...

Jaguar Wonders Who's Got `Ocean's Twelve' Gem: Doron Levin Aug. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co. executives aren't saying they wish they had never heard of Jaguar. More losses and another debacle like the one near Monte Carlo's casino may cause them to reconsider. Fifteen years ago Ford spent $2.56 billion to outbid General Motors Corp. for the luxury British carmaker. And why not? Jaguar was an elegant, classy brand that looked ideal for attracting elite customers, those who turned their nose up at Lincoln, Ford's main luxury car. Whether through Ford's mismanagement or ill fortune -- or a bit of both -- Lincoln and Jaguar both are floundering, and this in an industry that survives by deriving disproportionate profit from expensive models. Though Ford never has broken out operating results by brand, it's understood that Jag has yet to turn an annual profit. At the 2002 Paris Auto Show, Ford president Nicholas Scheele inadvertently told reporters that losses that year could amount to a stunning $500 million, prompting a rueful Bill Ford Jr., chief executive, to say later that ``somebody spoke more than they should have.'' Jaguar's travails hadn't been a secret, only the amount. On July 19, Ford reported that its Premier Automotive Group, to which Jaguar belongs with Aston Martin, Land Rover and Volvo, had a second-quarter pretax loss of $362 million. Volvo, the other big part of PAG, is doing well. Don LeClair, Ford's new chief financial officer, noted afterward that finding a fix for Jaguar is ``a high priority.'' Low Regard Bill Ford Jr. has said he's counting on Lincoln and PAG to generate a third of Ford's pretax profit by 2006, which the company forecasts will reach $7 billion that year. Trouble is, Jaguar's costs are too high, and its regard among luxury buyers has fallen too low. Ford executives mostly blame current losses on unfavorable currency swings between the dollar and the British pound. Jaguar is built at three U.K. plants. ``And we have acknowledged that cost improvements have gone slower than he expected,'' said Simon Warr, a spokesman for PAG. Jaguar's smallest model, the X-type, and the midsize S-type, share major components with other Ford models, the European Mondeo and the Lincoln LS. Thus, buyers for whom prestige is important can't see reasons to pay a premium for either, whose starting prices are $30,000 and $45,000 respectively. The ultra-luxury XJ -- which starts at $60,500 and competes with the Mercedes S Class -- has had wonderful reviews, though its aluminum body is expensive to produce. The two-seater XK sports car, at a starting price of $70,500 and introduced in 1996, cries out for a fresh design. A Key Departure ``The XJ is a great car to drive, but it looks a little heavy, compared to the model it replaced,'' said David E. Davis Jr., editor and founder of Automobile magazine. Davis believes the departure of Wolfgang Reitzle, the ex-BMW executive who led PAG and was forced out in 2002, has hurt the Euro-luxury division. ``There's no one at PAG to defend against Ford conventional wisdom,'' said Davis. ``Reitzle was a magician.'' To boost Jaguar's image in Europe, Ford helps to sponsor a Formula One racing team -- a venture estimated to cost a few hundred million dollars a year. The results have been dismal, with Jaguar amassing seven points and eighth place in the latest Constructors Champion standings, far cry from first-place Ferrari's 184 points. ``When you have so little success you really have to ask if the sponsorship is hurting you,'' said Mac Morrison, a journalist who covers racing for AutoWeek magazine. 108-Carat Diamond Missing Perhaps the utter lack of regard for Jaguar's racing efforts helps explain why the team agreed to place a $322,000, 108-carat diamond belonging to an Israeli merchant, in the nose of one its cars at the Monaco Grand Prix on May 27. The publicity stunt -- meant also to benefit a new movie, ``Ocean's Twelve'' starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt -- went awry when rookie driver Christian Klien crashed the car into a metal barrier on the first turn. The gem vanished, of course. And so far a new $40,000 X-Type Jaguar, offered as a reward by the diamond's owner, has failed to elicit its return. Ford can wipe the egg of its face, and save some cash, by dropping out of F1 racing for a while. Jaguar's sagging image among luxury buyers is more troublesome. Mark Fields, head of PAG and the wunderkind who helped turn around Ford's Mazda affiliate has been handed that task. The alternatives facing Fields won't be cheap, and may include moving to a less costly manufacturing site, like Eastern Europe or even China. Most important will be the performance, quality and design of new Jaguars and whether they motivate enough buyers to write large checks.

[blah]

i love jaguars, they are my second favorite luxury brand after BMW, the S-Type has the best damn looks, they are so hot.

[aks]

such a shame!! my dad has a jaguar, and it's a really nice car. i drove it (and dented it first day, shows how capable i am) and it's really really nice.

as for the diamond, that's jus hilarious but i heard about it before. u cannot get much worse than that for a dumb advertising move!

[DjPtsatsot]

Haha, that publicity stunt went so terribly wrong! what were they thinking? and i wonder what happened to the daimond! Maybe some little kid found it! 8)

[aks]

as if you would take a $40,000 X-Type over a $322,000 108-carat diamond!! wat are Jaguar thinking?

[SilviaEvo]

who would be stupid enough to let a rookie drive a car with a 322K 108 carat diamond on the front?!!?

[aks]

Originally Posted by SilviaEvo who would be stupid enough to let a rookie drive a car with a 322K 108 carat diamond on the front?!!?

who else but jaguar?

[ferrari550]

let alone the 322k diamond, who would let him drive the f1 car, lol. i think that is a bit more expensive

[Ford Capri 2.8i]

To be honest, i have never seen any sense of the purchase (by a big brand) of two smaller brands which have the same profile of client, and they compete each other on the market, such as Jaguar and Volvo for Ford, and such as Lancia and Alfa Romeo for Fiat, for instance, the purchase of Alfa Romeo for Fiat has been very costly, once after purchasing a new brand, the company has to be renewed completely in order to get this brand available to share the components with other brands of the same group

[Vansquish]

The part I don't understand is why you'd put a diamond in the nose of a car that was that likely to crash...just doesn't make any sense.

[bmagni]

Originally Posted by Vansquish The part I don't understand is why you'd put a diamond in the nose of a car that was that likely to crash...just doesn't make any sense.

right, u dont do that in a jaguar and less probably in monaco

[Paco]

The big problem with Jaguar is as old as the way to Rome. A lot of sources have predicted this trouble and Ford has let it happen.

The problem of Jaguar is their slow pace of innovation and adaptation to the fast-changing market. They bring out the craziest and best-looking prototypes you could imagine, but then fail to make the quick transition to production models. Ford has adapted this technique with good result (New Edge-design: Focus, Ka, SportKa) but fail to see that Jaguar also has to make a similar statement, since a lot of marques have gone up-market (Audi, Mercedes, Volkswagen, BMW). They have to put something against the sheer quality and luxury of the 'Big Germans'. They should therefore exploit their heritage and timeless design.

Time to wake up the sleepers

[cityslickerhick]

Jaguars are lovely cars. I admit that publicity stunt was a bit stupd hahaha. The f1 business is also a bit dodgy. However, you must remember that jaguar has built some of the most innovative and interesting cars of the last 50 years. If jaguar want to become successful they should create advanced, contempary cars which maintain core values, the rd6 is an example of this. Jaguar is full of innovation i think it has great potential lets hope ford has the balls to let the revolution happen