By Steven Symes 
While we’ve covered how some automakers made changes before President Trump imposed reciprocal tariffs and others immediately after, it seems some were caught flat-footed. Not surprisingly, Jaguar with its recent brilliant rebranding strategy is one of them.
Learn why Tesla and BMW sued the European Union over tariffs.
This is being spun as some sort of sob story in certain media outlets, but with the President of the United States letting his intentions be known beforehand, one might call it poor business management.
First up, as reported by Reuters, Jaguar Land Rover (which is based in the UK but owned by Indian giant Tata) is pausing shipments to the US because of the hefty 25 percent tariffs.
Of course, this is a tremendous loss. Jaguar isn’t really making cars as it moves to destroy its entire heritage. In the meantime, people who make too much and have little sense won’t be able to burn their money up on new Range Rovers and Defenders to prove how little they care about their personal finances.
Truly a tragedy!
Another British brand owned by a foreign company, Lotus (which was bought by Chinese giant Geely) has paused US imports indefinitely, according to Car and Driver. Literally, dozens of prospective Emira shoppers in the US are crying into their chardonnay right now. They might have to resort to buying a Mercedes-AMG or Porsche instead.
The horror!
Finally, we have Audi, another brand people buy to communicate to others they like to throw away money on maintenance and repair bills that rival college tuition. Automotive News says all Audis that were going to be shipped to the US are now being held back.
In other words, there’s a finite supply of new Audis here in the States. How will mechanics put their children through that ultra-expensive liberal arts college? Think of the tremendous loss to society!
It’s a national emergency!
Don’t you feel sorry for these foreign automakers that failed to make a plan in the months leading up to exactly what President Trump said he would do? They are pure victims and their financially strapped customers are suffering as a result. After all, they couldn’t stoop so low as to consider buying a Tesla, so what are they to do?
Image via Jaguar Land Rover