[Healeys] Classic names are part of Tata deal

[rfeibusch1 at earthlink.net]

Tony Lewin

Automotive News | March 27, 2008 - 6:46 am EST
Tata Motors will get the right use three classic British auto-brand names as
part of its $2.3 billion deal to buy Jaguar and Land Rover.

Included in the deal are the Rover name and the Jaguar-owned names of Daimler
and Lanchester. Ford bought the rights to the Rover brand name from BMW in
September 2006 for
>an undisclosed sum to ensure no other automaker could use it and cause
>confusion with the Land Rover brand.
>
>"We acquired the Rover trademark in the interests of protecting Land Rover,"
>said Ford of Europe spokesman John Gardiner. "So it's also in the interests
of
>the new owner of Land Rover to have it."
>
>BMW obtained ownership of the Rover name when it bought the Rover group in
>1994. In 2006, BMW refused a request from China's SAIC to use the Rover
brand
>name under license. SAIC had bought some assets of the ailing MG Rover group
>and now builds cars called Roewes in China.
>
>Jaguar acquired the rights to sell cars badged as Daimlers in 1960 from the
UK
>Daimler car company that was founded in 1896 and licensed by Gottlieb
Daimler
>to use his internal combustion engine. The UK Daimler car company also owned
>the Lanchester brand name.
>
>You may e-mail Tony Lewin at autonews at crain.com
>
>- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>Daimler finally ditches Chrysler following name change
>
>New brand name is confirmed as Daimler AG
>
>DaimlerChrysler has expunged the memory of its ill-fated merger with the
>American carmaker Chrysler after finally agreeing on a name change.
>
>Following months of debate, shareholders yesterday approved changing the
>manufacturer's name to Daimler AG.
>
>Despite chief executive Dieter Zetsche's insistence that the company take
the
>name, shareholders, who had wanted to include Benz in the company's
masthead,
>were satisfied by a compromise.
>
>Benz name
>
>Co-founder of the German company Karl Benz will be honoured by changing the
>name of the company's premium division Mercedes Car Group to Mercedes-Benz
>Cars and renaming the van unit Mercedes-Benz Vans.
>
>DaimlerChrysler Bank will also be renamed Mercedes-Benz Bank.
>
>The changes will see the remaking of corporate material, including
letterheads
>and websites, and will cost between b,50 - 60m (B#34.6 - 41.5m).
>
>The decision to use Daimler complies with an agreement struck between the
>German manufacturer and Ford in August, which gave DaimlerChrysler
permission
>to use the Daimler name.
>
>The Daimler name is currently owned by Jaguar.