Ford Motor Company has sold its Land Rover and Jaguar brands to Tata Motors of India for approximately $2.3 billion, ending an odd alliance and beginning an even odder one.

Land Rover has bounced around a bit, having been part of BMW before Ford bought the British nameplate in 2000. Tata is one of the biggest companies you've never heard of, a major Indian manufacturer which came to US attention earlier this year with the introduction of the Tata Nano, touted as the world's cheapest car.

How will the one of the world's most expensive SUVs fare in the same stable as the world's least expensive cars? We'll find out in late 2008, when the Land Rover sale becomes official.

Photo © Jason Fogelson