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Thursday, September 6, 2007
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   Thursday, September 6, 2007

After Aston Martin, Ford to Sell Jaguar?
Tongues are wagging nonstop over the latest breaking news to hit the auto industry.
The British government is reportedly negotiating with car giant Ford over the possible selling of the U.S. carmaker's Jaguar and Land Rover brands. According to a report by BBC, the Dearborn automaker has briefed politicians that it is planning to sell its British luxury car marques, Jaguar and Land Rover.
“Ford Motor Co. is seeking buyers for its Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover brands in Europe as the money- losing automaker tries to focus on North America”, two different sources familiar with the matter said.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday: "We are in touch with the company. We still believe both Land Rover and Jaguar are highly successful companies and will have a highly successful future."
In 1989 Ford spent £1.6 billion for buying Jaguar and £1.7 billion in 2000 for Land Rover. These two manufacturers’ employee number is equal 19,000 workers in the UK.
On Monday, different sources acquainted with the matter were quoted as saying that Ford had hired investment banks to explore options including the sale of the two luxury British brands.
Investment banks including Goldman Sachs, HSBC and Morgan Stanley are reportedly helping Ford to explore the sale of the two brands, the sources said Monday. Neither Ford, nor the banks has given any comment on the situation, saying that they would give more details next week.
Ford has been cutting costs in a bid to offset declining sales. The automaker is in the process of a massive restructuring, and the firm reported a loss of $282m for the first three months of 2007.
Analysts have wondered for some time what Ford might do with Land Rover and Jaguar, neither of which has performed well.
Both firms are part of the Premier Automotive Group (PAG), as was Aston Martin.
In March the troubled US automaker sold sports car firm Aston Martin for £479m ($924m) to a UK-led business consortium headed by Banbury-based Dave Richards, boss of motorsport firm Prodrive.
In a separate report in City AM, private equity firm Alchemy Partners was said to be lining up a £3bn offer for the two luxury brands.

Meanwhile, the news of Ford considering putting its British luxury car marques Jaguar and Land Rover up for sale has prompted Union leaders to voice out concerns.
National officer of the Unite union, Dave Osborne, said today: "We are very concerned to hear these reports and we are seeking an urgent meeting with Jaguar/Land Rover. We find it difficult to understand why Ford would want to sell a successful, growing and environmentally improving brand like Land Rover, and a marque like Jaguar, which is a significant player in the luxury market and one that Ford has invested heavily in. Our prime concern is the job security of our members."
Jaguar, which makes top of the line Jaguar oxygen sensor, has about 10,000 staff at sites in Coventry, Birmingham, and Liverpool, while Land Rover employs about 9,000 in the West Midlands and Warwickshire.
Ford is expected to make an official announcement in the next few days.


Ford, LCC (ACH) Renews Ties with UAW, DLEG, MIOSHA
In a move to further stress the importance of employee health and safety conditions in its Michigan manufacturing facilities, Ford Motor Company and Automotive Components Holdings, LCC (ACH) have renewed a partnership with the United Auto Workers (UAW), the Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth (DLEG) and the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA).
The agreement renews a partnership agreement first formed in the state of Michigan in 2002. It was signed again by officials from each of the partners at the UAW-Ford National Program Center in Detroit on Monday.
The agreement covers all Ford Motor Company manufacturing facilities, including the company's ACH locations. It aims to continuously reduce work-related injuries and illnesses at the company's Michigan manufacturing locations by optimizing the resources of the partners in the development and administration of plant health and safety standards.
According to Joe Hinrichs, Ford Motor Company vice president, North America Manufacturing, "Pulling together the leadership and resources of Ford, ACH, the UAW and MIOSHA creates a powerful team as we work together to improve our already-high standards of health and safety in our plants." He also added that Ford is proud of its history in Michigan - particularly of its record of significantly reducing serious on-the-job injuries in recent years.
"As our ACH operations continue to go through significant periods of transition, one thing must remain constant - the safety of our people," said Al Ver, Ford Motor Company vice president and CEO and COO of Automotive Components Holdings, LLC. "ACH also can benefit from the partnership and the resources available through this agreement."
Ford, ACH, the UAW and MIOSHA are jointly developing a process for data reviews and issue resolution, as well as coordinating site visits and monitoring inspections. Inspection protocols include, but are not limited to ergonomics, heat stress, electrical safety, working at heights, noise control and personal protective equipment.
"Through this agreement, we will be working to create a safe and productive work environment for UAW members at Ford and ACH," said UAW Vice President Bob King, who directs the union's National Ford Department. "Workplace safety is always a huge priority for our union. It's important that our members know that we're working together with Ford and with OSHA and that everyone in the organization is empowered to focus on safe work practices.
"None of us can afford to be complacent where the health and well being of UAW members and other Ford employees is concerned," said King. "We've experienced some painful reminders of what happens when things go wrong - and this agreement is an important opportunity to work together to make things right. We're proud to be part of it."
The agreement will require Ford, ACH and the UAW to track plant health and safety incidents, submit an annual safety report to MIOSHA and hold an annual plant review with MIOSHA representatives. MIOSHA also will conduct an informal walk-through of the facility during this review and may return to a facility if it wants further data or reviews of specific health and safety issues. Company and union representatives will meet with MIOSHA to conduct the annual review.
"We are proud to sign this formal partnership with the UAW International Union, Ford Motor Company and Automotive Components Holdings, which says we are all on the same team that makes worker safety priority number one," said Keith W. Cooley, director, Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth. "We're also pledging our support for your continued success as you work to revitalize our automotive industry working together we can build a stronger Michigan."
Other state-specific partnership agreements were reached to cover Ford Motor Company facilities in Minnesota in 2004, Indiana in 2006 and Kentucky earlier this year.
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With about 260,000 employees and about 100 plants worldwide, the company's core and affiliated automotive brands include Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo, and Mazda (also maker of quality Mazda oxygen sensor). The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford's products, please visit www.fordvehicles.com.


CD Players: Going the Way of the Dinosaurs?
Are dash-mounted CD players going the way of the dinosaurs? Will they be obsolete before we know it, just like what happened to the 8-tracks and quadraphonic sound?
A vice president from Siemens VDO seems to think so, and thinks that it would even be good riddance for us all. At the Ward's Auto Interiors Show in Detroit last week, Frank Homann, vice president of Siemens VDO's Interior Electronics Solutions group said that the never-ending advances in digital music devices, the take-them-everywhere cell phones and finicky customers who expect to customize their vehicles with portable devices, will push CD players out of most vehicles as early as 2012.
The demise of the dash-mounted CD, Homann said, will free up valuable space on the dash for all the other cool gizmos drivers can not do without these days, like the cell phone, personal digital assistant and music player.
Already many manufacturers are putting new sound technologies in their vehicles.
DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group for example, has offered its U Connect system to allow people with Bluetooth phones to connect to a speaker phone in the car for the past two years. Recently the automaker has introduced the My Gig system which will burn CDs to a 20 Gig hard drive in the dash. Now with something like that, who needs a CD player right?
Later this year Ford Motor Co. is also set to introduce its Sync system – an innovation that will connect a driver's phone to the vehicle, as well as allow an iPod or other music device to be controlled by the car's stereo. The system can also play music saved on a flash drive by connecting to a USB port in the car.
Chris Dragon however, director of marketing for audio company Harmon/Kardon, doesn't see carmakers opening their dashes to just any devices, "(Carmakers) make a lot of money on those technology packages that include CD players and other things," he said. "I don't see them opening up their electrical architecture to outside people any time soon."
Many of the changes in future interiors will start in the more nimble aftermarket arena, Dragon said. Harmon/Kardon sells a number of aftermarket devices that are popular with consumers, including the Guide and Play GPS 500 that can store music and movies, as well as GPS navigation.
Homann says automakers could save between $20 and $40 a vehicle if they eliminated CD players. They also could save money in other ways, such as consolidating some of the electronics behind the dashboard, he noted. But all of this will have to happen over a period of time.
Most new models in the market now come with an auxiliary input jack to allow owners to plug and play their music devices. Carmakers have also recognized the need to have more electrical sources in a vehicle so drivers can recharge their phones, iPods and laptops.
In 2006, Infiniti -- maker of quality Infiniti oxygen sensor– was first in the industry to offer a hard drive for storing music in its 2007 Infiniti G35.