By on September 13, 2011

 

Now that Carl-Peter Forster has given notice, another German executive of Jaguar takes center stage: Ralf Speth, chief executive officer of Jaguar Land Rover Plc.  Being born in the U.K. as a son of a German diplomat, Forster speaks flawless English with those Teutonic undertones that fit a car CEO well.

Speth on the other hand …. let’s just mention that Speth (that’s not pronounced as “spat”, Bloomies!) is an alumn of Rosenheim University . I had no idea that Rosenheim has one.

Please don’t take Forster’s job. Please?

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21 Comments on “Thank God Germany Never Invaded England...”


  • avatar
    Zackman

    Interesting headline, especially that Europe is looking to Merkel to stabilize Europe! Didn’t Germany try that three times already?

  • avatar
    LDMAN1

    Strange. JLR lost the plot on the Land Rover side but is getting it right on Jaguar.

    • 0 avatar
      JJ

      Lost the plot on the Land Rover side?

      They got a great deal on LR when the oil price was so high that even the people who could still afford one weren’t exactly running to the dealership (not least because buying one was frowned upon at that stage).

      Then the oil price went down, they did some nice upgrades to the RRs and sold a good bunch at an undoubtedly tidy profit.

      The new Evoque has seen pretty much rave reviews so far. Yes it maybe a bit of a departure from the core brand if you define that as the defender but really it’s a more efficient stylish car for soccer moms the world over.

      I’d say they’ve done pretty well so far, but I wonder what happens when the core models require completely new replacements.

  • avatar
    HiFlite999

    They didn’t need to invade; the British monarchy has been mainly German since 1714. :)

    • 0 avatar
      mike978

      No need for cheap shots at Her Majesty the Queen. If they were so German why did the UK and the Commonwealth fight for 6 years? Two more than the US did. As you know the monarchy has little practical power so your point is moot.

      • 0 avatar
        FreedMike

        I think you missed the sarcasm in his statement.

      • 0 avatar
        Robert.Walter

        Powers, like cultures, whether on the rise, or on the decline, usually fight to try to preserve what power, whether great and small, it currently has.

        By the way, the royal family, which Elizabeth II has been known to refer to as “the family business”, in order to be seen as less germanic, rebranded itself during the war:
        – Windsor out of (IIRC) Hannover
        – Mountbatten out of Battenberg

  • avatar
    LordDetroitofLondon

    Isn’t the queen German?

    • 0 avatar
      Educator(of teachers)Dan

      Ze haus of Vinsor. Ja!

      “The House of Windsor is the current royal house of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V by royal proclamation on the 17 July 1917, when he changed the name of his family from the German Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the English Windsor, due to the anti-German sentiment in the United Kingdom during World War I. Currently, the most prominent member of the House of Windsor is Elizabeth II, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms.” – from Wikipedia

    • 0 avatar
      mike978

      No the Queen is British. Born in the UK. Or do you think where one is born and raised and lived all of ones life is irrelevant?

      • 0 avatar
        Educator(of teachers)Dan

        Lighten up. She’s German in the same way I’m Swiss and German(Frutschi was the name of my ancestors) but my ancestors have been here for 100s of years. I was just being a wisenheimer and I’m guessing “Lord Detroit of London” was too… judging by his avatar.

      • 0 avatar
        LordDetroitofLondon

        Dude, chill out! I was just being a wise ass, in the TG style. ;P

      • 0 avatar
        cackalacka

        Nya Ha!

        Your sovereign had to change her name.

        For more fun with the House of Saxe-Coburg, Google “Prince Albert jewelry.”

        Think about that the next time someone slips you a Canadian quarter.

      • 0 avatar
        Zackman

        My mother was Russian. My adopted family was German. What am I? Some guy who likes cars! Who cares where I came from?

    • 0 avatar
      eldard

      I thought the Queen’s a reptile from the Subaru star system?

  • avatar
    Robert.Walter

    If England would just dispense with the monarchy, all this discussion would be more or less moot.

    To be honest, we all owe a debt of gratitude to the Normans for invading England and managing to stay as long as they did. Without this pivotal event, we would not be communicating in the fine (easy to learn, easy to get better at, and with all the functionality to equally describe – with ease and efficiency – the most complex technology or sublime feeling.)

    By the way, this was one of the worst interviews I’ve ever seen. He betrays his roots as son of a diplomat with his son of a gun tastes-great-less-fillinng generic and mostly useless responses.

    Is he naturally uncomfortable before the camera or just desperately in need of a long-overdue potty-break?

  • avatar
    F_Porsche

    I dont find his English all that bad. Luca di Montezemolo obviously sounds a lot more charming. You should check him on Youtube. It’s hilarious.

    BTW Bertel, Rosenheim doesn’t have an University. As you might remember there is something like a “Fachhochschule” simply translated as university even though it really isn’t.

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