Nah, you missed the mark there, Lance, with a rather cavalier dismissal of valid concerns. Moreover, the comments you refer to were more of a cold, calculated investor-type look at what multiple professional financial analysts have said.

Tata will be fine. But, neither Tata, nor any other large corporation will underwrite the Jaguar marque indefinitely if it doesn't carry it's weight. For example, GM is now very successful, but Pontiac, Oldmobile, and Saturn marques are now gone. Ford dumped Mercury, etc. Chrysler dumped Plymouth, and those are just recent examples. Those profits you cite are almost entirely attributable to Land Rover. If his source of "personal pride" doesn't perform, Mr. Yadav would likely be out of a job if he didn't do something similar, or else try to divest it like Ford did, and Daimler Benz dumped Chrysler.

There's no reason to sweat about our current pride and joy, which is a wonderful machine. It's not a short-term danger, it's a question of long-term survival in a very competitive industry. I'm very high on Jaguar, personally, and I root for them to succeed. But, I don't like some of the things I'm seeing, like inattentive customer service, and a demonstrated inability to get critical new products quickly (like the XE) into the U.S. market.

 

Jaguar Land Rover's U.S. Plant Must Wait For More Sales

http://europe.autonews.com/article/2...due-in-3-years

 

Thank you for that compliment. As a financial professional, that's the only way I look at the financial strength of businesses I invest in.

 

That was an interesting choice of tiny snippets out of my post selected for your purpose, but I could have sworn that you previously said the very thing you quoted came from "nervous Nellys." However, thanks for clarifying that's how your investment decisions are made.

 

I'm thinking of leasing a Base F-type. What sort of MF and residual did you get?

 

Just sent you a PM with financing info.

 

Man, you guys are scaring me from getting a Jag. Maybe I should just stick to BMW and get an M4!

 

I wouldn't let anything mentioned in this thread sway you from getting the Jag, especially if you are going to lease.

 

Seattle,

Now that would be a very boring choice. The F-Type is an extraordinary machine, and the M4/M3 pales in comparison. I've owned 8 of them, including 3 M3s from 3 different generations.

People here are almost universally impressed with the car and very happy with it. The concerns discussed in this thread are long-term ones having to do with Jaguar's ability to create a well-rounded product line, particularly a strong entry-level car. They have the 2-seater segment nailed, but that's a small segment.

 

 

If you're really not a "people-person" and don't want or need attention,play it safe and go with the M4....But if you want to own one of the sexist cars on the planet that I guarantee will stop everyone...and I do mean everyone...in their tracks, go for the Jaguar.

That being said,with the release of the XE stateside next year followed by the new XF and the SUV, Jaguar has plenty of exciting offerings if they can only get them to market soon enough...and that's the big IF.

 

f_in_seattle: please don't take this the wrong way but in my opinion you're over thinking this. I do not mean to infer that buying or leasing an F-Type doesn't require a thought process - weighing whatever measures you need to measure (not at this price) - but this car "spoke" to me without nary a concern in the world (other than how I was going to pay for it).

Seeing and hearing what the Product Manager had to say about Jaguar (starting with its history) and Tata's commitment (and the future) to the brand merely solidified what I already knew the moment I set eyes on the F-Type (a convertible) never mind driving it:

I HAD TO HAVE ONE NO MATTER WHAT. Damn the torpedoes and anything else. (Including how to pay for it). As the Product Manager said to me, more than once, "get an F-Type, you'll love it"

Go for it and you won't look back. I take that back...you will, in the rear-view mirror.

 

Yes you should stick with BMW, more F-types for the rest of us!

If Jag goes away, it will be years from now. I sure as hell wouldn't let rumors scare me off.

 

Wow, I wasn't even that scared when I was looking at a Lotus Evora during the whole Dany Bahar fiasco and when they brought less than a 100 over.

 

That's a really good point. I purchased a Lotus when the company was on very shaky ground, just because of it's world-class handling. To this day, I've never driven anything that sticks and carves corners as effortlessly as a Lotus chassis. It's a car that makes average drivers look really proficient.

 

Being an XFR owner I'm wondering how many who would have bought an XF this year are waiting to see what the XE or new XF brings. The design is 8 years old with just one refresh. And they do depreciate too much. But so do a lot of other high end cars.

And I wouldn't be here if they didn't, as a new XFR just wasn't in my budget. And what it's doing is introducing a different demographic to what wonderful cars Jaguars are. So now people like me will praise the brand and all of my friends who are not car people will take a closer look at Jaguar because I bought one and LOVE it.

I think the next 5 years will be pivotal in Jaguar's future. With the products that are set to be introduced, the American public will either accept Jaguar in their new role as a car for a younger generation that is actually as reliable as the other luxury marques...or it will have to survive as a niche brand. Unfortunately, I don't see a lot of middle ground for profitability.

 

Jaguar is not going anywhere. Worldwide they are doing ok. They are pushing for stand alone dealers which could shrink the dealer base. They did this with Land Rover and it finally worked out. JLRNA has definitely made the least of what they have. The XJ gets decent write ups but is small volume like Audi A8L. The XF has outlived it's model run much as has the Maserati GT and GTS. Plus the dealers never have enough XF's to matter. And they are not Porsche that seems to sell everything even ugly Panamera's and over priced Macan's at ridiculous prices. Only Porsche and maybe Mercedes is in this position.

 

I was under the impression the delay was due to the fact the awd was not available yet. I could be wrong.

 

Guys...if Jaguar survived 1998 to 2008, then doesn't it stand to reason that they will be fine from 2015 to 2020?? They have great cars, good press, and good buzz.

When I bought my 2010 XFR, they had nothing competitive except arguably the XK. I took a leap of faith, and although I will admit that I was a little nervous, I was blown away by the entire Jaguar experience. I love the car, loved the Performance Academy, love the service, and enjoyed all of the special owners events I was invited to.

Jaguar is better than ever. There is a lot to be enthusiastic about especially with the product pipeline on the way.

I am on my second of many Jaguars....