Jaguar now Tata-owned. Who knows, maybe they can turn it around. One big
step would be if they got a new ad agency. When was the last time you saw a
print ad or commercial that showed the car? Have they been that embarrassed
that they haven't wanted to show it? (That new sedan (What is it called?)
looks like a Suzuki from the front.) But, then, that may be the Ford
culture. Same can be said of Aston Martin. The U.S. advertising is all
geared to women who don't buy their cars. Even the factory is now back
racing. That's a nearly all-male audience. Again, a typical U.S. auto
industry disconnect from reality.
I was a auto writer back in the '70s & 80's & saw that disconnect up-close &
personal. My years in Detroit were filled with Detroit-speak. A couple of
incidents with execs at one of the Big-3 convinced me they would rather stay
the same and lose sales, than change and be competitive. That's just what
they did.
Let's hope that Tata gets Jaguar back on track to the fame and products it
had "back when."
As for Rover -- well, I knew the guy who started them in the U.S. He did
good. Even set them up in Maryland instead of Detroit, New York or LA. I
don't know how their sales or quality has been lately. But, let's see.
Norm Sippel
I remember when XKEs were new.
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