Ford Motor Co. has confirmed it is reviewing the future of its Jaguar and Land Rover makes and may sale both landmark brands.

"We are working with our financial advisers on the best option for the future of Jaguar and Land Rover, and nothing is ruled in or out," said John Gardiner, a spokesman for Ford's Premier Automotive Group, which also includes the Volvo brand.

The Financial Times of London said that Ford has asked Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and HSBC to advise the company, but unlike Mr. Gardiner, the newspaper said Ford was already in the early stages of a sale. One source said the plan to sell the two firms was known internally as "Project Swift," denoting the speed with which Ford would like to get a deal done.

Reaction to the news in England was swift and angry. " We find it difficult to understand why Ford would want to sell a successful, growing and environmentally improving brand like Land Rover, and a marque like Jaguar, which is a significant player in the luxury market and one that Ford has invested heavily in," said Dave Osborne, national officer of the Unite Union.

Analysts believe any possible sale may be driven by Ford's chronic need for more cash to develop new products . More than any other domestic company, Ford has had to resort to selling basically the same car under different badges and almost identical styling, a practice that General Motors and Chrysler long ago dropped because it proved unpopular with consumers and resulted in poor sales.

The question is whether Ford will be able to fetch a top price for either Jaguar or Land Rover, which are being packaged together. Both brands come with baggage, analysts add.

"Jaguar has always been a problem since Ford took them over going back into the '80s. They've spent a lot of money on them turning them around," said George Magliano, director of automotive industry research at Global Insight.

Jack Nerad, editorial director for Kelley Blue Book, agreed, "These days, not that many car companies would be takers for these companies, and the car business is a very difficult one for non-car company people to move forward in."

Apparently, several auto companies including Fiat have considered the purchase and backed off, analysts say.

Rumors also have floated that Ford is discussing a possible sale of Volvo, the Swedish luxury carmaker, to BMW, but Ford has denied that.

But if Ford sells Jaguar and Land Rover, and if rumors about Volvo prove to be true, the moves would mean that the Premier Automotive Group, once conceived as a way to diversify Ford's portfolio, would no longer exist. Aston Martin, the only remaining brand in the group, was recently sold.

Ford bought Jaguar in 1989 and Land Rover in 2000, and the PAG was formed in the late 1990s as a way of giving Ford a leg up in the luxury car market. All of the brands in the group have had flagging sales this year, with Jaguar having the most difficulty.

"Although Jaguar has cachet, you wonder how much of that has been rung out of the brand over time," Mr. Nerad said. "The premium-to-luxury segment is extremely competitive and Jaguar for decades now has been fighting a false reputation for being troublesome, but that's a fairly deep-seated perception in the public mind and a difficult one to fight."

Jaguar also is fighting demographics, Mr. Nerad said. "People who know the Jaguar name have started to lose clout in the marketplace. Age is catching up with them. Back in the '60s and '70s, Jaguar was a phenomenal car, but Jaguar does not have much of a cachet now because it has become too Ford-like as time has gone by."

Tom Libby, senior director of industry analysis for J.D. Power Information Network, disagreed, saying he believes both the Jaguar and Land Rover brands "have a lot of positives. They both have created clear brand images, but both are niche brands and that's the problem ."

Jaguar's biggest problem is that it doesn't "have any crossovers, so it stays a very small niche brand . But Jaguar has the name. It has a lot of appeal and a lot of potential in the upper end of the luxury market."