What is Jaguar Land Rover’s Future?

By Christopher A. Sawyer

Another Detroit show come and gone, but one thought remains rattling around in my head: What about Jaguar?

Despite what everyone might believe, even though it was sold to Tata Jaguar is still in the orbit of the Ford Motor Company. Every one of the cars it produces today owes something to Ford, whether it is the engines, switchgear or the electrical architecture. It is based on work begun under Ford’s ownership.

Soon that will have to come to an end. Ford has moved on, and is in the process of revamping its range of vehicles and components. Already, the Focus has replaced from the platform that supplies the underpinnings for the Land Rover LR2 and Range Rover Evoque. The powertrains also are much modified, and Ford will stop supplying the older versions as soon as the agreements with India’s Tata, Jaguar Land Rover’s new owners, allow.

Click to read more ...

Did Lincoln Flunk Marketing 101?

By Christopher A. Sawyer

Lincoln brought the latest MKZ to the L.A. Auto Show for its production debut, and hid it in a corner… behind smoked glass walls so tightly drawn that it was impossible to get a clear photo of the car. If you could get past the people guarding the entrance to the next generation model, that is. Perhaps they were there to stop scribes from stealing the pictures hung on the back wall.

The rest of the stand was magnificent, populated by seven classic Lincoln models from the brand’s history. Good idea. Lincoln needs to be reattached to its history; one that skims over the Bill Blass and Gucci years, the pimped-out Mark Whatevers, and the Lincoln Versailles, among others. Inserting seven iconic Lincolns on the floor as examples of what Lincoln was, and could be, makes a lot of sense as a concrete illustration of the level of style, luxury and quality Ford has planned for it.

Click to read more ...

Alfa Romeo, Mazda and Volkswagen

By Christopher A, Sawyer

Undoubtedly Mazda's best-known vehicle, but will an affordable sports car built off this base be enough to establish AlfaRomeo in North America?I was listening to VW Group of America President and CEO Jonathan Browning’s speech to the Automotive Press Association in Detroit when I suddenly realized that any plans to revive Alfa Romeo in the U.S. will be a struggle. Barely a week before Browning’s speech came word that Sergio Marchionne was talking to Mazda about building a sports car together. This quickly turned into an announcement that the next Mazda MX5 (the Miata) would be built alongside a new Alfa Spider in Japan.

Many were stunned by the announcement, but it was typical of Marchionne. He has often stated the need for Fiat to build and sell five to six million vehicles per year if it is going to survive and prosper. Below that level, he says, costs escalate rapidly. There isn’t enough volume across which to spread engineering and development expenditures, especially when governments are piling ever more regulations and China is waiting in the wings to unleash its capacity and cost advantages.

Click to read more ...