[Famine]

The359

Ford owns Jaguar

Not for much longer.

With the closure of Browns Lane, Ford are also putting Jaguar up for sale.

I guess they finally got bored of trying to make a cheap luxury car based on a cheap repmobile saloon and still make money out of it.

[GilesGuthrie]

kensei

*yawn*

While I am neither a fan of Jaguar or Ford I do have to respect the fact that Ford just pulled the plug quickly, they didn't drag it out half-assed for years. Though you could argue that that is all they have been doing with jaguar over the past 5 years. It is a shame to loose the Jaguar mark, but it is for the better.

This lets one of the outsiders hungry to get into F1 have a chance to buy the team and get started. While a private (non-factory) team might not challenge for a championship right now they are vital to the sport as they actually want to be there.

I hope Jordan gets bought out and someone pics up Jaguar and both teams are run and run well.

Cosworth? Big deal. Worthless engines, let toyota or honda sell engines. Let GM buy cosworth for the sad sad pathetic IRL and champ car leagues.

Ford leaving WRC, if it happens is a bigger deal. They are right on the cusp of winning a constructor and drivers title, if they stick another year or two.

Oh well. Let Ford sell their lame cars and pickups in the USA, support NASCAR and isolate themselves from world motorsport.

*yawn*

You have no appreciation of history and heritage.

To understand what the name Ford means in Formula 1, go look up "DFV engine".

[Solid Lifters]

I heard about the rumor of the Jaguar team being sold to the owner of Red Bull, but I wasn't sure if that was true. Maybe, it is, and he might snatch the team up and start his own team with it.

Ford is starting to remove themselves from car racing, but I don't think they'll say good-bye to all car racing. I heard they were thinking about racing the GT in Le Mans, and American Le Mans. I hope that's true. It's starting to get boring watching the Corvette team win everything.

[The359]

Famine

Not for much longer.

With the closure of Browns Lane, Ford are also putting Jaguar up for sale.

I guess they finally got bored of trying to make a cheap luxury car based on a cheap repmobile saloon and still make money out of it.

Jaguar isn't for sale, they're just closing down one of Jaguar's plants. Jaguar still has 2 other plants which will handle the workload for the XJ, XK, X-Type, and S-Type. They're just trying to cut costs by downsizing, the same as they're currently doing for Land Rover.

I should point out that Ford is currently planning on entering the 2005 Mustang into Grand Am Cup as a development program for it to move on to bigger and better things.

[RacyBacy]

Solid Lifters

I heard about the rumor of the Jaguar team being sold to the owner of Red Bull, but I wasn't sure if that was true. Maybe, it is, and he might snatch the team up and start his own team with it.

It is likely that the Red Bull keep-you-up-all-night-to-finish-the-essay drinks manufacturer will now buy the company.

The head guy at Red Bull, Dietrich Mateschitz, is angry at Sauber (Red bull sponsors them) because they have secured Jacques Villeneuve for 2005 instead of his protégé Vitantonio Liuzzi.

Jordan and Minardi have deals to use the Cosworth engines in 2005. It will be interesting to see what happens in that department. Oh, and where is Mr Coulthard going to go now?!?

[kensei]

GilesGuthrie

You have no appreciation of history and heritage.

To understand what the name Ford means in Formula 1, go look up "DFV engine".

I do appreciate the past in F1. I know all about Cosworth/Ford's history in the sport. That being said I don't want to dwell on the past either. Sure they have a remarkable history in F1, so that means they can make a sub standard engine in 2004 (30+ years after their salad days) and be ok because of their history? Nope. Same with Ford. Jaguar is (or was depending on who you ask) one of the top car makes in the world, with a long racing history (sportscars mainly). To see them lingering at the bottom end of the grid year after year due to their parent company not fully supporting them was rather sad. Sad for the "history" and sad for their current brand.

This is 2004, not 1974.

[millencolin]

The359

Ford does CART as well, and they have a semi-connection to Aston Martin Racing in sportscars.

The Ford-Cosworth engines in Champcars (cart) situation is

- CART own all the engines, and leases them out to the teams, they also do all the repairs etc etc

so they're safe, as for extra funding.....i somehow doubt it, with no other suppliers in Champcars, Ford wont put in any more money into something with no competition

[usernamed]

you know what this means....3 cars per team.

edit: Eclestone on Jaguar

[Pupik]

kensei

This lets one of the outsiders hungry to get into F1 have a chance to buy the team and get started. While a private (non-factory) team might not challenge for a championship right now they are vital to the sport as they actually want to be there.
...
Oh well. Let Ford sell their lame cars and pickups in the USA, support NASCAR and isolate themselves from world motorsport.

Unfortunately, few F3, F3000, or sports-car teams have made a sucessful plunge into F1 in recent years. In fact, with the exception of Toyota, there haven't been any new teams in Grand Prix racing since Jaguar took over the helm of Jackie Stewart's team in 2000. I don't see any team finding the cash to afford to jump in. Look Jordan and Minardi, they are struggling to stay at end of the grid; we may not see Eddie Jordan in 2005, and it's hard to believe Paul Stoddart can still keep things afloat. In fact, nobody but the big manufacturers/corporations can afford to stay in F1 with any success.

Let's face it, you aren't going to turn a profit running an F1 team, and the knowledge gained from racing in such a restrictive series has, at best, very limited applications in the road-car sector. Few manufacturers can afford to foot the bill for racing, unless Microsoft, Coca-Cola, and Wal-Mart suddenly change their respective industries!

Ford heavily underestimated what was required to run sucessful F1 team; very little in the way of developing the car during the course of the season, lots of internal bickering and wrangling during the time of Rahal vs. Lauda, and not a very impressive recruitment of drivers (save Eddie Irvine). It would have been acceptable had it been a tiny marque like Pagani, TVR, or Panoz running an F1 team they way Ford ran Jaguar. But when the world's Number 3 auto maker can't run the racing end very professionally, it's almost funny.

Ford probably wants to focus on winning a NASCAR title; failing that, it needs to start making (importing?) some interesting vehicles that a certain group of race-bred Americans may want to actually buy.

[Pupik]

GilesGuthrie

You have no appreciation of history and heritage.

To understand what the name Ford means in Formula 1, go look up "DFV engine".

Ford's involvement with the Cosworth DFV was mostly at the initial stage of the project, and after the run-away sucess of the engine in 1967, Ford pretty much left the entire project in the hands of Costin and Duckworth. After 1970 or so, individual teams found private racing firms (Mader, Novamotor, Nichollson, et al.) to re-build the engines and tune them a bit for each team's needs, and Ford's involvement was pretty much in name only.

Ford Motor Co. did make a "comeback" in 1986, with the V6 turbo engines for Beatrice/Lola, Benetton, and later on, Sauber. Ford aided Jackie Stewart's team's entry in 1997, and bought it outright at the end of the 1999 season.

Sorry to double-post.

[Famine]

The359

Jaguar isn't for sale, they're just closing down one of Jaguar's plants.

Indeed. But they are ALSO selling Jaguar. Seriously.

[Eagle]

I think it's sad. I too had expected with the possible pending WRC withdrawal that Ford would be funding their own F1 marque or at least better developing engines to help the lower teams. I guess that's not the case.

Dietrich Mateschitz is one of the people who've expressed an interest in getting into F1, buying a team or heavily funding one. He'd been in talks with Jaguar before this announcement, so we'll see where that goes. To my knowledge Sauber had only filled one race spot for next year with Villeneuve, but I could just be forgetting someone. I thought Luizzi was still in with a chance, he had quite a successful test for the team last week.

Arden International were keen to get into F1 earlier in the year, so perhaps they'll make the jump, but the costs are increasingly astronomical. I don't know how Ferrari manages to keep funding it really. I'd love to see their balance sheet.

[RacyBacy]

Famine

Indeed. But they are ALSO selling Jaguar. Seriously.

Jaguar for sale!

[TsLeng]

If I am sultan of brunei...or some rich guy...I'll buy Cosworth straightaway.

1. I could make some money developing engines for others.

2. I can use the current F1 engine. i.e. put it in my sports car and use it on track!
Even better, put it in a MPV and use it on public roads(albeit illegally)

If...........that could happen....

[millencolin]

RacyBacy

It is likely that the Red Bull keep-you-up-all-night-to-finish-the-essay drinks manufacturer will now buy the company.

Hell yeah, they work like a treat for essays. saved my arse a few times thats for sure.

Dietrich Mateschitz has been saying for a long time that he wants his own f1 team, and this is the best chance he will get. if he doesnt take up this oppotunity, its likely there will never be a red bull f1 team

[Drift260Z]

chaser_fan

Personally. I have never seen the point of the big manafaturers entering F1. To get the recognition that they want requires coming first and the only manafacturer that is capable of that, to be uite honest, is Ferrari. And how many people can actually afford to buy and run a Ferrari? Not many.

but don't forget, Ferarri was built on the money Enzo Ferarri had from Grand Prix racing. the only reason Enzo sold street cars was so he could fund his racing career. so if he didn't race in GP racing, Ferarri as a car manufacturer would not be around.

so even though I don't like Ferarri completely dominating F1 this year(and probably next few to come), I think it is fitting. a company should be able to master what it was built on. besides, it just like back in the day when Williams dominated. it will start to get interesting when the other teams actually beat the top dog.








rock.

[Drift260Z]

TwinTurboJay

Pretty soon its just going to be Ferrari, Honda and Williams

don't forget Renault, or you will pay!!!!!!.












rock.

[millencolin]

pupik

Ford Motor Co. did make a "comeback" in 1986, with the V6 turbo engines for Beatrice/Lola, Benetton, and later on, Sauber. Ford aided Jackie Stewart's team's entry in 1997, and bought it outright at the end of the 1999 season.

Dont forget that Michael Schumachers first f1 championship back in 1994 was a FORD powered Benneton

[Arwin]

I think the disappearance of Silverstone from the F1 Calendar next year puts this story in a bit more perspective too.

[slackbladder]

I'm not sure Ford know what to do with Jaguar. It has Aston Martin for its luxury end and Jaguar for...err..family saloons, ala X-Type? Hmmm...were they trying to compete with BMW, Audi etc? Why don't they just make the damn F-Type?

This and the very real possibility of no Silverstone in the F1 calander is grim news for motorsports and car manufacturing in the UK.