Ford Motor Co. is placing its Land Rover and Jaguar brands on the auction block in an attempt to salvage a financial nightmare, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

The wheels have come off for Ford. The beleagured auto manufacturer had its worst year ever in 2006, losing $12.6 billion. Another $282 million fell through the floorboards in the first quarter of 2007—a number “stronger than expected,” according to ceo Alan Mullaly. Ford has cut jobs, offered buyouts, and shut down factories in the past two years to try to stem the losses. Now Ford is parting itself out just to stay in existence.

Ford wants to refocus the company, and recoup some losses, by sacrificing its Land Rover and Jaguar brands. Industry rumors indicate that Volvo may also be on the chopping block. After purchasing the three companies in the past two decades, Ford’s luxury line of vehicles turned out to be lemons, sucking billions in resources. According to Cliff Feltham of the Independent, a few organizations have expressed interest, including carmakers bmw and Hyundai, and private equity firms like Blackstone, Alchemy Partners, Apollo, and Cerberus Capital. Other options include billionaires and venture capital consortiums. Ford already sold its Aston Martin line to one such firm for $848 million earlier this year. The uncertainty of a buyer also leads to uncertainty for almost 20,000 employees, many of them in Britain.

By selling off its high-end branches, Ford is actually becoming a much smaller company, lessening Detroit’s impact on the car trade. The move highlights an entire American automotive industry in a slump.

One company that isn’t buying Land Rover or Jaguar is Ford’s cross-town rival General Motors, which has endured its own set of billion-dollar setbacks. Now companies across the Pacific are snatching up the business of both American and world consumers. Toyota is rapidly becoming the biggest player in U.S. autos, and China could lead the world in car manufacturing as soon as 2012.

Ford’s precarious financial position has led it to the edge of oblivion. It is doubtful, with rising competition in the East, that Ford will be able to fully recover. Selling off Land Rover, Jaguar and possibly Volvo is all but an admission of defeat. Once an industry leader, Ford is now glad to lose only a quarter billion dollars in three months. Along with GM’s woes, it doesn’t look like there is much left in the tank for the American autoindustry.