A number of people on Wall Street believe that Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) needs to sell off some of its non-core businesses. Some investors speculated that Jaguar would go first. Analyst estimates showed that the unit lost money in 2005.

However, it appears that Aston Martin will be the first unit out the door. According to media reports [subscription required], motor racing executive David Richards will lead a group that will pay $859.5 million for the small car company.

The sale still leaves Jaguar, Volvo and Land Rover in the house. Why Ford would want to own them is a mystery.

According to Ford's own figures, Jaguar's U.S. sales fell 21% in the first two months of 2007 to 2,581 units. It makes very little sense for a car company the size of Ford to bother with Jaguar. After all, Ford which sold almost 378,000 cars in the same market during that same period. Land Rover's sales were down 9% to 6,539 for that period.

No matter how high the margins are on these vehicles, there is no way that management can justify spending any resources on them given their small contribution.

Ford's problems appear to be getting deeper. Domestic sales fell 16% for January and February. If the company does not part with its other small car units it is making the mistake of not showing that it can focus on the businesses that matter.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

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