All Entries in the "JAGUAR" Category
Jaguar XJ Interior Needs A Rethink
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img Jaguar Cars ::: Jaguar XJ Interior
JAGUAR has engineered a fairly remarkable about-face in fortunes since Tata Motors embraced the British icon in 2008. Given that Jaguar was derided as a firmly retro division of Ford’s Premiere Auto Group, bent on serving up lukewarm rehashes of 60s memorabilia, Jag’s now taken a leap – no puns – into the 21st century with truly avant-garde design. With mixed results. The new interior is an iffy case in point.
Our German CEOs Are Better Than Your German CEOs
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img Kevin Kusina for ADLX ::: Dr. Ralf Speth, CEO Jaguar-Land Rover
CREDIT Dr. Ulrich Bez, the former Porsche engineer and current CEO of Aston Martin for providing the sharp, unsentimental, efficient leadership that the UK based bespoke car maker needed to transform itself into a global success story. So, how much credit can be given to the fact that Dr. Bez is German? Difficult to say, but you might ask the current heads of Bentley, Jaguar-Land Rover, MINI, and Rolls-Royce.
On The Jaguar XKR-S…
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img Jaguar Cars ::: Jaguar XKR-S
IT’S a sorry bit of irony that in marking the anniversary of possibly the world’s sexiest car – the Jaguar E-Type – the designers at Coventry have given us the rather tawdry bit of kit now known as the Jaguar XKR-S.
50 Years: Jaguar E-Type / XKE
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img Jaguar Cars ::: Jaguar E-Type Anniversary
MOST automotive milestones pass quietly. Goodness knows, were we cognizant we’d celebrate Ferrari’s birthday annually. Or morn the death of icons like Delahaye and Duesenberg. But, truthfully, few dates really merit our attention quite like the Jaguar E-Type. This year’s Geneva Auto Show marks the fiftieth exhibition since Jaguar unveiled the impossibly sensual E-Type to stunned Swiss audiences a half century ago. For Jaguar, it marks a bittersweet time as, by most aesthetic accounts, Coventry has never bested this swinging 60s icon of seduction.
Fast Cat: Jaguar X350 XJ Testing
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: YouTube ::: Jaguar XJ Testing
UNLOVED though the previous generation (X350) Jaguar XJ was to many, the flagship Jag was nonetheless a very potent executive saloon. The supercharged V8 available in the Vanden Plas and XJR models, for instance, was torque rich and provided glorious exhaust notes and induction sirens seemingly tuned for the Ferrarisiti’s ear. The big cat could, as you’ll note in this video, really handle a corner.
Economist Marks Impending E-Type Anniversary
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img via Jaguar E-Type Net ::: Jaguar E-Type (XKE) 50th Anniversary
MARCH, 2011 marks the 50th Anniversary of the Jaguar E-Type (XKE); Jaguar’s sexiest of sexy roadsters and aerodynamically slippery 2+2 hardtop GTs. All these years on from the 1961 Geneva début, the E-Type remains a timeless icon whose significance in automotive design cannot be understated.
The Economist, mostly a political publication, is taking note of this significant automotive milestone. But rather than highlighting the E-Type’s sexual revolution; the paper focuses instead on Jaguar engineer Malcolm Sayer’s many innovations including the E-Type’s independent rear suspension, disc brakes, and wind-tunnel prototype testing, among others. A great read.
Jaguar Losing Its Way With Wagon & CUV?
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img via IMCDB ::: Jaguar XJ-S
THERE‘S a scene in Clint Eastwood’s 1997 Savannah-based whodonnit Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil where the main characters, Jim William (Kevin Spacey) and John Kelso (John Cusack) take a ride into the night in a Jaguar XJ-S V12 coupe to seek guidance from a black-magic witch doctor named Minerva (Irma P. Hall). Why do they seek out voodoo medicine? At this juncture in the movie, our leading characters feel like they’ve lost their way. Perhaps the same can be said for Jaguar execs…
Jaguar: No AWD, But We Do Have Winter Mode
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img Jaguar ::: Jaguar’s Winter Mode
ABSENT all-wheel drive models in its US lineup, Jaguar’s making a point of marketing the “Winter Mode” setting on its 2011 models in advance of that slipperiest of seasons. From Jaguar.com:
“Now every 2011 Jaguar car is equipped with Winter Mode, so you can drive with confidence all year long. At the push of a button, the engine, transmission and Dynamic Stability Control join forces to deliver maximum traction and increased control. “
Pretty sure that the “TRAC” button on my mother’s (X300) XJ6 did a similar trick. More to the point: Audi, BMW, Benz, Volvo, etc. have sold Winter features for some time. Even on their all-wheel drive models.
What Else Are Dreams For… If Not To Come True?
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: YouTube ::: Jaguar The Dream Come True Advert
I think I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for the XJ40 series Jaguar.
Inadvisably modern, Jaguar designers saw fit to embrace 80s edge and scrap 60s curves. It was a decision they’d roll back in the mid-90s with the smooth-as-silk X300 series, but, we can still appreciate the earlier XJ’s stoic lines.
This advert is a reminder that Jaguar has long banked on its Swinging Sixties caché. That said, who can’t help but empathize with the commercial’s young protagonist who dreams one day to own his own Jaguar. Our story culminates with a classic Voice-of-God V.O. intoning,“What else are dreams for, if not to come true?”
How true. Chances are, though, today the young lad’s driving an Audi A4. Diesel.
Just sayin’.
