Naked Science Forum
General Discussion & Feedback => Just Chat! => Topic started by: DoctorBeaver on 26/03/2008 19:19:41
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Ford have sold Jaguar and Land Rover to Indian vehicle manufacturer Tata. I have nothing against Indians - they are a very educated and industrious race; but their vehicle-manufacturing skills leave a lot to be desired. Tatas rank as some of the worst vehicles on the road.
Tatas were popular in Uganda when I lived there in the early 90s. They still had cable-operated drum brakes!
Jaguar & Land Rover are 2 of the most famous and historic marques in the world. What chance now that Jaguars will continue to stir the blood, or Land Rovers remain the vehicle of choice for serious off-roaders. [:(]
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"their vehicle-manufacturing skills leave a lot to be desired."
They have just made a significant step to improve them.
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True, up to a point.
Tata have said they will continue producing vehicles in this country; so, yes, they will have existing expertise to call on. But there is no guarantee that will continue. Labour in India is only a fraction of the cost in the UK. And remember that Tata owns Corvus, and there were some decidedly dodgy dealings there. It doesn't exactly inspire confidence.
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Looking at Tata's history on Wiki, it seems probable at this time that Tata are not going to bring large scale manufacture into India, although rationalisation between its various acquisitions seems inevitable.
The other question one must ask, no matter how cash rich Tata might be, having expanded as fast as it has for the last decade, whether it is not over stretching itself (even if it can cope with the financial implications, that is a lot of management integration it has to manage).
The reality, as the Jaguar workers realise, whatever future they have is problematic (and recent EU legislation has done nothing to help it).
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You have always need to purchase a mechanic named Reggie when you bought your Jaguar. That is not tre about Land Rover, though.
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You have always need to purchase a mechanic named Reggie when you bought your Jaguar. That is not tre about Land Rover, though.
Used to be a problem, but I don't believe it has been true since Ford took hold of them. Cannot say what Tata will do to them.
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You have always need to purchase a mechanic named Reggie when you bought your Jaguar. That is not tre about Land Rover, though.
That was only for the U.S. market to make them seem more like American cars. It didn't work, though, because Jags could go round corners.
Unreliability of Jags was only a brief blip (mainly the earlier XJ6 models). Historically, they were very reliable and, as George rightly said, have been again since Ford bought the company. The new models are fabulous.
If you haven't already seen it, take a look at the XF. Designed by the same guy who designed the Aston Martin DB9 - and boy does it show!
(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.autocar.co.uk%2FcontentImages%2F%2FCar%2FJaguar%2FXF%2F14127793013.jpg&hash=05404bc02fd3cd66ae3ad82dc972789a)
http://www.diseno-art.com/encyclopedia/vehicles/road/luxury_cars/Jaguar_XF.html (http://www.diseno-art.com/encyclopedia/vehicles/road/luxury_cars/Jaguar_XF.html)
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Interesting, all those facts and figures but no indication of the MPG (gas milage).
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According to http://www.topgear.com/drives/B8/XX/roadtests/01/01.html (http://www.topgear.com/drives/B8/XX/roadtests/01/01.html) "The combined average fuel economy figure is 37.6mpg, and it emits 199g/km of CO2."
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True, up to a point.
Tata have said they will continue producing vehicles in this country; so, yes, they will have existing expertise to call on. But there is no guarantee that will continue. Labour in India is only a fraction of the cost in the UK. And remember that Tata owns Corvus, and there were some decidedly dodgy dealings there. It doesn't exactly inspire confidence.
I cant see production being transfered to India.
Tranferring the build of these vehicle to india would cause a loss of quality and and most importantly with these makes of vehicles kudos which would cause a major loss of sales and revenue. I mean would you spend £50'000 on a land rover designed or bulit in New Dehli.
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Personally I can't wait for my curry to be delivered in an XJ220 !
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Personally I can't wait for my curry to be delivered in an XJ220 !
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A super charged Vindaloo [:D]
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Personally I can't wait for my curry to be delivered in an XJ220 !
A super charged Vindaloo [:D]
LOL...well it would certainly get you to the vindaLOO in good time before the splatfest ...
sorry !! [;D]
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Or you could always get your self one of these.
Eat a few vindaloos and you could power it the brown Green way using waste energy :)
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Or you could always get your self one of these.
Eat a few vindaloos and you could power it the brown Green way using waste energy :)
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Hee hee !!...the ultimate recycler !!
Nice one Michael !!
I would not want to be behind the exhaust !!!
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Personally I can't wait for my curry to be delivered in an XJ220 !
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It had a Metro engine.
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Or you could always get your self one of these.
Eat a few vindaloos and you could power it the brown Green way using waste energy :)
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I'm not going to mention the dipstick. I'M NOT!
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I cant see production being transfered to India.
Tranferring the build of these vehicle to india would cause a loss of quality and and most importantly with these makes of vehicles kudos which would cause a major loss of sales and revenue. I mean would you spend £50'000 on a land rover designed or bulit in New Dehli.
The trouble with that argument is the definition of 'construction'. Typically, that is used to mean final assembly, but extensive sub-assembly could in theory be transferred to all parts of the globe without any substantive impact on reputation.
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I ordered a curry last night !!...
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