By Mike Rutherford

13th September 2006

There are many reasons why I haven't written about Ford's alleged desire to get shot of its struggling Jaguar division. But my main excuse is this: among the 300,000 employees at the US-based corporation, I have access to a well informed insider. And he (or is it a she - I'm not saying!) told me weeks ago I'd be barking up the wrong tree if I got sucked into the 'Is Jag For Sale?' debate.

	I’m not sure if Aston’s posh HQ is really worth £1billion – but it wouldn’t be a bad thing if the firm leaves Ford

"Think laterally," my mole whispered. "Are you saying it's Land Rover that's up for grabs?" I asked. "Closer, but you're still taking a too blinkered view," was my informant's last word on the subject in late August.

I considered every permutation - from a Jag/Land Rover package, to one or either brand being franchised out to a cost-efficient specialist. After all, while Ford - which has just appointed a new chief executive, Alan Mulally - likes the lucrative business of vehicle design, engineering, parts supply and commercial rights, it's less keen on the tiresome chore of running production lines and employing armies of workers to man them.

Many of these people have been forced out recently, and there are even reports that thousands more are being offered generous pay-offs to walk away. But for starters at least, Ford has shocked everyone by announcing that it will be selling off its 'lateral' company, Aston Martin, lock, stock and barrel.

Makes sense when you think about it, doesn't it? Whether Aston's posh production and administrative centre at Gaydon, Warwickshire, is worth the asking price of around £1billion, I'm not sure. But I am convinced it won't be a bad thing for the marque to leave Ford, which is losing big money at the minute.

Even if an overseas buyer comes in, so what? Outside the US, Ford is a foreign company. It's not as if we're talking about a British-owned sports car firm being snapped up by a predator from another nation (as with BMW grabbing MG/Rover/Land Rover/MINI). No, this is more a case of a true Brit but foreign-owned firm being bought up by another corporation from overseas. Nothing wrong with that.

Talking of foreigners, Aston chief Dr Ulrich Bez did more than anybody to take the brand from nothing to where it is today - a painful thorn in Ferrari's side. And thanks to his contacts in Germany, the US and South Korea, he'll have no trouble finding somebody to take Aston off Ford's tired hands. Maybe it will be a former employer, Porsche or BMW. Or Jac Nasser, Ford of America's ex-chief. Or possibly Martin Leach, previously top man at Ford of Europe and now working with wealthy Russians. They can all afford the asking price. Maybe the doctor can raise the money himself, and become owner as well as chief exec?

Yet the dark horses in all this are the South Koreans - and in particular, the ambitious, cash-rich Hyundai Group. As my fellow columnist Ray Massey explained (Opinions, Issue 926), Hyundai admits the only way it can muscle in on the prestigious sports car market is to buy an established Western firm - preferably one with a successful motorsport heritage. But Jaguar, with its Mondeo-based X-Type and high-profile F1 failure, isn't quite upmarket enough. Aston Martin is. And the brand's success in the Le Mans 24 Hours is a bonus.

What's more, Dr Bez, his wife and kids speak Korean. If the Malaysians can buy Lotus, the Chinese can take away MG Rover, the Germans can end up with Rolls-Royce plus Bentley and the Russians can snatch TVR, don't be surprised if it's the South Koreans who capture Aston Martin.

Mike Rutherford writes for the Times, Daily Telegraph and Independent, presents ITV's Pulling Power and is founder of the Motorists' Association

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