Congratulations or Condolences? Ford Motor Company made the smartest play in car history today by dumping Land Rover and Jaguar on TATA of India. Given that many Americans who have owned one of these beasts at least once, never did it again, the service history and routine wallet-jacking of the dealerships will now be reconciled with the understanding that along with our customer service phone help lines, the Jaguar-Land Rover are going overseas as well! Great that Ford has now embedded itself in the next emerging auto industry of the 2nd largest democratic country. With everyone in the US still driving these wheels, hoping to make their next stock million on India, one can only smile on this fortuitous opportunity. Sad for TATA, who will now find out what FORD really means, in any language; Fix or Repair Daily, Found on Road Dead, or any of the other not-so-lovely acronyms. Of course Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata offered these words of wisdom…”We have enormous respect for the two brands and will endeavour to preserve and build on their heritage and competitiveness, keeping their identities intact,’ he said in a statement. Yeah right. Well, their stock went up, but let’s see what happens the next six months as the market continues to roil and the dealers find they can’t handle the jokes. Can Cerberus get Russia to buy 80% of Chrysler? ]]>