Jaguar XF 2.7 D Test
Car magazine’s latest update on their long-term test of the Jaguar XF 2.7 D diesel is an interesting read. Apart from pace, which is due to be improved by the new 3.0 litre turbodiesel engine, the car is a hit. Tim Pollard summarizes:
In a nutshell? The XF is a great drive.
It suits my executive car wants better than any other rival …
2010 British Car Show Cancelled
Autocar reports that, following a thorough consultation with the UK motor industry, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has decided to cancel the 2010 British International Motor Show due to the global economic crisis. They do not have firm plans for the return of the show, and Autocar speculates that it may not be before 2013.
Paul Everitt, chief executive of SMMT, explains:
We didn’t want the situation of planning a show against a background of uncertainty, so we crystallised debate very quickly: could manufacturers commit to the show for 2010? The manufacturers are all in the process of making redundancies, cutting salaries, cutting working hours and trying to save money. It would have been foolhardy for them to come to us and commit to spending very significant amounts of money at such a time. Unsurprisingly, the people we asked all said they couldn’t commit, so we have canceled.
Jaguar Earns Top J.D. Power Ranking
OJOA members Dan Lyon and Peter Edwards each pointed me to an Associated Press article in the Globe and Mail reporting on Jaguar’s surge from 10th to 1st spot in the annual J.D. Power’s vehicle dependability study.
Neal Oddes, director of product research and analysis at J.D. Power, is quoted as saying:
We see improvements all over the board with Jaguar. The improvement at a nameplate level is significant.
Thank you Dan & Peter, keep those Tips coming!
Jaguar XF Wagon
AutoBlog is suggesting that Jaguar will be taking a prototype of an estate version of the XF to the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, with the real thing being available six months later.
I’m a great fan of fast, sporty wagons, especially without pretensions of off-road abilities … bring it on!
Jaguar XE Rumours
TopSpeed.com and Motor Trend both ran short items about the rumoured Jaguar XE sportscar that is supposed to be based on a shorthened XF / XJ platform and feature the latest 5.0-liter AJ-V8 Gen III engine, which should offer lots of go.
Ratan Tata, whose company now owns Jaguar, is quoted as having told Autocar:
I don’t believe we can afford to emerge from the recession as we are. We need to emerge with something shiny and new, which is why we are re-prioritizing the roadster right now.
Jaguar Voters Vote Result
On March 5th, the Liverpool Echo reported that the JLR staff had voted nearly 70% in favour of accepting a four-day working week and a pay freeze for a year. Let’s hopr the economy picks up in that time, or job losses are inevitable.
Technological snafu
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Apologies for the pause in posting, I had a computer implosion that gave me enough grief to get me off my butt and transfer everything from a very old box to a newer box. Nothing very exciting, just the grind of setting up the many applications that I use and, finally, here we are … normal programming is resumed. |
Jaguar Workers Vote
The BBC reports that the vote for a pay freeze and a four day week in exchange for two years of no compulsary job losses started today for Jaguar Land Rover Employees. The unions have backed the deal, which affects 15,000 workers and could save JLR £70m a year. Results are expected on Thursday.
£600m Chinese order for Jaguar
The Financial Times reports that Jaguar Land Rover has received an order for 10,000 Land Rovers and 3,000 Jaguars over the next three years. This is the same volume that was sold there last year, but does suggest that China expects JLR to be around for a few years.
The size of the order is a little bigger than the loan that JLR has (so far unsuccessfully) sought from the British government.