Maria Sharapova celebrates Land Rover’s 60th anniversary

Tennis player Maria Sharapova has been busy—from endorsing Sony Ericsson a few weeks ago to Land Rover on Friday, celebrating its 60th anniversary.
   The tennis player went to Malibu, Calif. for the Indian-owned car brand’s celebrations, joining actress Camilla Belle, soccer players Michael Bradley and Clint Mathis, and actors Travis van Winkle and Luke Ford.
   In 1948, Rover Cars, looking to keep its factories occupied with a stopgap model after World War II, decided to remake the Willys Jeep using aluminium.
   But the model proved so successful than when the new postwar Rovers arrived in 1949, the Land Rover continued in production.
   British Leyland, which Land Rover was part of, released the Range Rover in 1970, marrying the off-road ability of the Land Rover with the luxury and power of Rover passenger cars.
   Eventually, Rover and Land Rover became part of BMW, which later sold Land Rover to Ford. This year Ford sold it to Tata Motors of India.
   The celebration is a sign that it’s business as usual for the famous British brand—and that Tata management is aware of its new unit’s heritage.