More Ford cash for Jaguar

Ailing Jaguar wins £534m Ford support By Times Online

Jaguar has won a £534 million injection of capital from Ford, its US owner, after the weakness of the luxury car market left the marque in a "serious" position.

The prestige car company, which received a £260 million injection from Ford last year, said that it was in negotiations over the accounting treatment of the latest recapitalisation.

Jaguar's plea follows continued losses, which reached £601.1 million in 2003 and are believed to have remained in nine figures last year.

A company spokesman said that the size of the latest recapitalisation reflected the "serious needs" of the business.

"Jaguar is struggling at the moment," he told Times Online.

While Jaguar has made significant progress in Ford hands, plans to raise sales to 200,000 cars a year, from 125,000, were abandoned last year amid tough competition in the premium market and a drift among wealthier motorists towards SUVs. Jaguar in September announced the closure of manufacturing at the Coventry plant where it was founded, and the loss of more than 1,000 jobs, to match better manufacturing capabilities with production needs.

"We have faced and tackled the fundamental reality that Jaguar simply cannot support three assembly plants," Mark Fields, the executive president of Ford Europe, said at the time.

In the US, Jaguar has struggled to maintain share of a market heavily reliant on buyer incentives, and at a time of dollar weakness.

The £534 million charge is believed to cover a write-down of Jaguar's investments and is independent of the cost of job losses.

When one knows what this really means, it is appaling: Another billion $ just to keep "Ford's Mess Knbown As Jaguar" afloat for another year, covering Ford's mess as they go. Mr. Fields, you are right, Jaguar does not need 3 assembly plants. A simple solution: close Halewood and end the X-Type fiasco NOW!

Since the disaster called Jac Nasser first laid a hand on Jaguar, Ford has done more to destroy this proud & historic marque than all the efforts of Mercedes, BMW and Lexus combined. Even the gross incompetence of British Leyland pales in comparison to Ford's mis-management of Jaguar.

Jaguar can no longer design great cars, race to win (or, race at all), or even sell the cars it builds. All it can do now is look foolish and lose money.

FORD: FIX IT OR SELL IT, NOW!

Im not surprised Jag are in financial trouble - Read the entry 3 up ref the S type misfire because the owner once drove through a puddle !!!

Stu

Im not surprised Jag are in financial trouble - Read the entry 3 up ref the S type misfire because the owner once drove through a puddle !!!

Stu

I have been in quite a bit of rain with my S-Type without issue. That's like saying Chevy is in trouble because my 03 Avalanche went back to the dealer 3 times for an A/C problem. Jaguar has problems - but doesn't every company right now? I read that none of the US automakers are running at a profit since 9-11. I think my Jaguar S-Type has great fit/finish; performs well; and I have only brought it back to the shop once. Every new car finds it's way to the shop in the first 6 months. It's par for the course these days - these cars have more shit in them than a space shuttle!

Neil Randle wrote: I stand with Stuart Adair. My 2004 S type R is a fantastic car to own and drive. I traded in a 98 Cad ETC and the Jag is quicker and faster and TIGHTER that any Cad I've owned. In the shop once and that was for an initial front end alignment. Has beautiful finish and fit. Love it.

You see, my point is this. Jaguar is not a Peugeot or a Renault - Its a quality expensive car. I would expect a mass produced Renault to have some quality issues but I would not in a million years expect a new Jag to have any sort of issues. You pay good money and have the right to expect a superior product.

Watch this newsgroup and you will frequently see people with new Jags report the sort of problems that I would expect from Renault. NEVER EVER should any S type have a problem in the wet - Its not acceptable to say its a one off fault - Jags are too expensive to have one off faults.

Jag has suffered from poor build quality since day one, I have said this before and I say it again - Its the British attitude to quality thats the problem. Let the Japanese build Jaguars and the quality will be spot on !!!

Stuart

Agreed.

I have an 05 S-Type 4.2. It had an issue with a paint flaw, needed a new front windshield due to some sort of flaw in the actual glass, and had something or another fixed in the engine (a ticking sound). Now the serpentine belt is squeeling. IMHO, all vehicles have problems (I typically buy a new car once per year); and I think it is more important to get good service than to expect not to need a car serviced under warranty. I recently sold my 03 Chevy Z06 Corvette; and I bet that was in the shop 8 or so times over a 3,500 mile period. I used my 03 Avalanche as the trade-in for the 05 Jaguar; and that Avalanche was ALWAYS in the shop. In fact, the dealer and I had been talking about giving that car back using the Lemon Law as the tool for getting out from under that vehicle. The A/C never worked right; and that was replaced (all mechanical and electronic parts) 5 or so times. There were also some recalls, and engine problem, transmission problem, suspension problem, and even a chassis problem. And that car only made it (barely) to about 20K miles.

I agree that a car should not start to have an electrical failure due to inclement weather. But whoever started the thread has not reported back what the dealer found wrong with the car. OTOH; I have an S-Type and have driving it in the rain, through massive puddles, and have never had any H2O related issues.

I read a JD Powers Report recently on Jaguar; and Jas is one of the top 3 manufacturers for customer satisfaction and quality. The results of the test were published in USA Today on 4/29/04; and the only vehicles with less problems (per 100 vehicles; first 90 days of ownership) were Lexus and Caddilac. And of those two; they were within 9 cars per 100 of Jaguar.

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I own a 97 xj6 and love it. I dont think I would want to buy a jag manufactured by ford, today. I have heard many stories on new jags and high maint cost. What is the diff between a ford tempo and todays jag? price!

Maintaining a $55K S-Type should not cost the same as a $14K Taurus. If you have to ask what it costs, you can't afford it.

Hi,

How do you come to such a conclusion. Better reliability perhaps, but certainly not better. Better than what? I see a cheapened product aimed at the masses; certainly conflicts with the Jag image. Personally I like it when someone tells me what a pile of shit my Jag is. I'll respond "Yes. But I can afford it."

Perhaps because you already paid for the service. I would certainly feel a little guilty charging so much for a Mondeo/Toreass. ;-)

Frodinsisted on

Let's face it. Long ago the marketeers realise American's dont "know" what "quality" is anymore. Many companies built very high quality products only to go broke. Take Stereo equipment - Back in the 8late

70's and 80's you could buy great quality and reasonable prices. The comes along the Mosfets and other amazing chips. Then led displays and remote stacked units. This was the end of getting good quality at a reasonable price, now you have to spend BIG dollars to get what used to be standard.

Look how Mtv killed the Music industry. You can not be a star unless you are good looking and fit a certain mold. Talent is most certainly not high on the list.

People think if its shines, has a nice stereo, and leather, that its "quality". I have a friend who owns a Ford dealership, I used to be a Jag-man in a monkey suit. Yes there have been some improvements, but most certainly a reduction in "quality". But that is my opinion.

Ford is going to bail on Jag. The word is out...Jags still have major problems, Jags have no resale , and that Ford owns them. Ford has more recalls than Chryler and GM combined. My fathers Lincoln cost him about 1k a month in repairs to fix the air suspension, the same kind on the new jags. When I was younger I put three $1k engine computers in my Mustang in three years; always just out of warranty.

I wanted a newer Jag...drove them all. I went to the BMW shop and drove the M5, M3...... new cars are BS. I am going to buy a sweet e-type to park next to my Amazing, delicious 1985 BMW 635csi. Enjoy your Fords!

DieInterim

You've hit the nail on the head Blake - Someone has said to you that you have a pile of shit jag.

Nobody would ever say that about one of the classic older ones !!!

Incidentally I certainly dont regard the new ones as crap, just that Jaguar is trying to produce an exceptional car but cant come up with the quality. I was following a very nice Series 3 XJ12 today around Bristol when a friend who was in the car with me commented that he always used to regard the pecking order as being Rolls Royce, then Jaguar - Shame we cant say the same today.

Stu

Right you are, Stu. Ford KNEW from all the research, all the focus groups and verbally from the old Jaguar Cars management that using their typical badge and parts bin engineering tactics to try and turn Fords into Jaguars would not work, the public would not accept it. (Hell, it's never worked in the US when Ford's tried to turn Fords into Lincolns, for that matter.) Yet, despite it all they did it anyway, and the dismal sales & financial results speak for themselves. Now the US Company has just gone through another reduction-in-force to the tune of 10% and announced ANOTHER reorganization (this makes three in the last two years.)

No one purports that the old pre-Ford Jaguars were reliable cars compared to their competition. That's all been documented ad nauseum. However, there's no comparison between the magic of an E-Type, Mark II or Series III XJ6 and any of the Ford era cars, particularly the Ford-platform cloned S & X Types.

To put it in another context, imagine Porsche being bought by GM (HORRORS!) and ten years later all Porsches are based upon GM platforms. It's ridiculous on the face of it, but this is exactly what Ford has tried to pull off.

In the process of all this madness, thousands of owners have left the marque never to return, and maybe even worse, thousands of dedicated and loyal Jaguar employees have been let go. It's time for Ford to accept that they have no clue what they're doing, other than having a plan for making luxury cars out of recycled aluminum beer cans. It's a shame, it really is.

Thanks Stu, I can afford it. ;-)

Certainly a POS! I gambled with the XJ40 when I bought it, and I have not soured over the purchase. It has been more reliable than my Toyota Supra TT was for me, and it certainly can sprint well. Hey it could be worse, I could turn into an old gumpy BUICK lover.

SoK66,

I get the Jaguar magazine and in every issue they go on and on about the great models and they somehow try to make a connection with today's Jaguar. Bah! I just think its funny how Jag marketing pushes the past image, yet they refuse to follow the cast of what made them so special. Still waiting for the Jag Focus...

Blake

Yes, I wonder what they'll say when history has the final say on the Ford-infected S & X-Types. Some "legends" of automotive history, huh?

There's a fascinating interview with Ford Product Development Chief Richard Parry-Jones in this month's Automobile Magazine. Automobile's interviewer went right at the heart of the mess, and Parry-Jones' arrogant responses show you just what a bunch of idiots the Ford management really is.

In a nutshell, he claims they have to aggressivly deal with the current Jaguar product, yet in the next breath he says Jaguar "can't compete with the giants", i.e, BMW, Mercedes & Lexus. So, in one breath he admits the products are uncompetitive, in the next he dashes any hope they ever will be. Oh, and he also hinted they're going to do an SUV! (Boy, THAT will save Jaguar!) The final outrage, he tries to claim that Jaguar's all-aluminum XJ (& forthcoming XK) "showcase Jaguar's commitment to technology". (I was there when they forced this on Jaguar, all it is is a means whereby they can use the aluminum company they bought under Jac Nasser. In the process they've developed cars (XJ) with gigantic marketplace resistance and massive owner issues in terms of serviceability. We plead with them not to do this, and could point to the market resistance and dismal sales of the Audi A8 as proof. Yet, on they went with the "beer can recycling" process and the sales tell the tale.

In the interview Parry-Jones also blathers on about that infuriating Ford excuse for using their bottom feeder Mondeo platform for the X-Type: "it's got Jaguar DNA". (No, it's got the CRABS is what it's got!) This is just a cover for the real boogeymen, the inept Ford finance thugs and their cost-cutting sickness that forces these "dead-on-arrival" compromises upon Jaguar.

I used to work for these idiots at a relatively high level. I'm disgusted with their lack of talent and just downright cowardice. With the current mentality, these Ford gutless wonders have NO BUSINESS owning a marque like Jaguar.

The odd, and even sadder thing, is to see what they've done with Aston and even the Ford GT. Here we have two low volume financial sinkholes into which their seems to be no end of money to waste, with no chance of ever making a profit, yet they can't do a proper volume sports sedan or sports car for Jaguar? Makes me want to go punch someone in the nose!!!!

>

Please post something showing that the 2005 S-Type Jaguar is based on one of the Ford bodies. And please do not post from geocities. :-)

You are certainly entitled to your opinion; but I would like to see some empirical evidence of some of your bold assertions. To whit:

1) Jaguar S-Type is based on an existing Ford chassis (Taurus, Grand Marquis, etc.). 2) Aston Martin no longer mades a quality product (lower performace than previous years). 3) Lack of design talent. You can start with the Ford GT, which many people (including myself) think is just as beautiful as the GT40. Once you are done trashing the GT, I would further submit that you show a design failure in the body styles of the Mazda RX8 and Miata, Jaguar XK (and the S-Type 4.2, which I own), Thunderbird (very "retro", IMHO, Volvo C70, Aston DB9 & V12 Vanquish (two of the three most beautiful cars available on this planet, along with the Ferrari Modena).