“More Changes, Announcements At Ford Raises Speculation That Jaguar Sale May Be Forthcoming…”

Ford recently announced its’ 3rd quarter numbers and they aren’t getting any better. Although no one is expecting a big turn around any time soon, losses were the worst recorded in 14 years. The interesting part for Jaguar owners and enthusiasts is that Premier Automotive, Fords luxury unit, reported losses of $593 million dollars, 5 times year previous losses. That isn’t good news.

Jaguar, a British brand of pride, has had a love hate relationship with Ford in that the original purchase of Jaguar by Ford wasn’t viewed favorably by British Loyalists to begin with, however, Ford has done amazing things with the brand since its’ purchase in 1989. Reliability ratings have soared to the highest levels in Jaguars’ history, top 5 with J.D. Power and Associates for years running. Quality has been ‘Job 1’ since the take over and Ford has done an outstanding job by even the most cynical onlooker standards.

Recently, Ford has added Kenneth Leet as a strategic advisor and rumors persist that he may suggest the sale of one or all of Fords luxury brands which include Jaguar and Land Rover. Ford has been pretty tight lipped about the future, including such sales, but one can’t help but wonder with losses stacking up faster each reporting period. Drastic times call for drastic measures and nobody is ruling out any possibilities. Furthermore, Robert Rubin recently resigned from the board. He is also linked to Citigroup Inc, a member of the office of the chairmen, and felt there might be an ‘appearance of conflict’ as his reason for the resignation. Citigroup Inc would likely be involved any sale of Ford assets including Jaguar.

A spokesperson from Browns Lane has said, “Since the launch of its 2004 recovery plan, Jaguar has made significant progress in reducing fixed costs, re-focusing the brand and developing new products and is ‘on track’ with its recovery plan.”

In other related news, XJR-Registry.com has announced a plan for possible acquisition should Ford chose to offer Jaguar up for grabs. Xjr-Registry.com has pledged to set-up a trust fund committing $127.42 as ‘seed’ money for the fund and is accepting donations to prepare for acquiring the XJR brand of Jaguar at the very least.