The New Reality of the Global Economy

The Washington Post on the company that makes India's Nano mini-car:

To make the move [to selling more affordable cars in markets like India and China], U.S. automakers need capital. Maybe that's why Ford is selling off its prestigious Range Rover and Jaguar brands. Just a few years ago, these brands, which exude an oh-so-British sense of privilege, were part of a core strategy to capture a piece of the high-end luxury automobile market. But Ford is trading in prestige for practical global business realities. In one of globalization's supreme ironies, cash-rich Indian companies are snapping up the brands and companies left behind by the mad rush to profit from Asia's billions. The two top contenders to buy Range Rover and Jaguar from Ford? India's Mahindra and Tata Motors. Surely we are at a turning point when an Indian company -- in just one week -- unveils a car so cheap that U.S. manufacturers simply can't compete, for a market they've never tried to tap, and emerges as the likely buyer of two of the world's most expensive luxury brands owned by that most iconic of U.S. companies, Ford. And surely the glow of the American century is beginning to dim.