Just 10 years ago, England's infamous Jaguar automobile manufacturer was truly in the dumps, "boasting" more defects per car than the ill-fated Yugo in a J.D. Power & Associates Inc. quality survey. Now, Jaguar is roaring to the top and in a recent study by J.D. Power & Associates Inc., the once-defunct Jaguar is racing ahead of notable brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Lexus. More notably, Jaguar sales are increasing exponentially and in 1999 the company posted its best-ever sales in 77 years. In fact in 1999, exports are at an all-time high with more than 17,000 autos being exported to Europe, marking at 62 percent increase over 1998, with sales to Spain, Greece, and East Europe more than doubling. Back home in England, Jaguar is becoming more popular too. The company sold more than 15,000 Jags in England, an increase of 33 percent over 1998.
             Ford Motor Company acquired Jaguar in 1989 and forged a partnership, investing heavily in the car manufacturer. Ford's automotive segment consists of the design, manufacture, assembly, and sale of cars and trucks and related parts and accessories. The company's cars and trucks are sold and manufactured throughout the world, with the United States and Europe being Ford's biggest markets. Ford's automotive segment produces vehicles under the brands Ford, Lincoln, Mercury Jaguar, and now recently acquired, Volvo. In order to increase international market share of its products, Ford is diversifying its product lines and investing heavily in luxury cars and is actively increasing product lines to maximize on Jaguar's new-found success.
             Ford purchased Jaguar in 1989 for $2.6 million spending more than $6 billion to reinvent one of England's premier auto makers. Ford's famous tag-line, "Quality is Job Number One," represented what was sure the key to success for Jaguar. Ford overhauled Jaguar's product line, worked cooperatively w...