2001 Jaguar S-type Base Sedan 4-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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Who picks car colors and materials? Designers like Hannah Custance

As automotive journalists, we're often asked "how did you get that job?" People usually didn't even know you could do such a thing. In this 7 Questions series, we're highlighting other jobs in the automotive industry that you might not have heard about before. What do they do, how'd they get to do it and other questions about their particular corner of the car world. Slowly but surely, the automotive landscape is becoming more colorful. Look beyond the unrelentingly conservative palette of white, black and gray most buyers opt for and you'll see the increased use of exterior trim types beyond the usual chrome. There's gloss black, of course, but also other metallic finishes like gold or copper. Those can be found inside, too, where there's also an increase in colorful leathers and trims, innovative fabrics, new wood types and finishes, and greater creativity in general. So where is this change coming from? The answer is designers like Hannah Custance, the color and materials design manager for Jaguar Land Rover. Her team's latest effort is also its magnum opus, the 2022 Range Rover. Although saddled with the expectations that comes with one of the automotive industry's classic nameplates, the all-new Range Rover is also a celebration of cutting edge manufacturing and fashion-forward materials selection. We sat down with Hannah at the L.A. Auto Show to find out more about color and materials designers, how she ended up in the industry, and advice she might have for young designers out there. It has been condensed for brevity. Autoblog: What does a color and materials design manager to do?Hannah Custance: I basically look after a team of designers who design finishes for every A surface on the car. So, that could be exterior finishes. It could be interior trim materials, soft materials, hard materials, chromes, metals, woods, ceramic – that's one of the new ones – anything you can kind of touch and see is color material design. Autoblog: How early in the design process does your team become involved.Hannah: Right at the very start. In fact, we look at materials that don't have a product assigned to them or a car assigned to them. So, it takes actually a very long time for us to get materials approved and fully validated. We have to find suppliers that are willing to work in automotive and our test standards are incredibly high, some of the highest in the industry.

Ride like a royal with Queen Elizabeth II's Jaguar X-Type

The British royal family may be best known for more high-end machinery such as Land Rovers, Bentleys or even King Charles' wine-powered Aston Martin. But not everything was quite so flashy, such as this 2009 Jaguar X-Type wagon, which was owned and driven by the late Queen Elizabeth II. And now it could be yours, since it's heading for auction. We heard about it via Robb Report, and it's being sold by Historic Auctioneers in the U.K. It was very clearly owned by the royal family, as evidenced by the photos of her driving the car, and apparently its initial registration was a royal plate number. We also noticed that in photos of her driving, there's a dog barrier in the back, so the queen's corgis may have been onboard at some point, too. It also has a little over 70,000 miles and has a comprehensive service history. Set aside the royal connection, though, and the X-Type is a relatively unexceptional car. Though it features plenty of Jaguar trimmings from the exterior design, to the wood and leather interior and the J-gate shifter, underneath it was based on the front-wheel-drive Ford Mondeo. In America at the time, that was seen as beneath a luxury brand, particularly to be based on a Ford. Jaguar executives later even admitted that they made some major mistakes with the X-Type, which were rectified with the spiritual successor, the rear-drive XE. The queen's example of the X-Type is, unsurprisingly, about the best-equipped version. It has all-wheel drive and the 3.0-liter gas-powered V6. In the U.S., gas V6s were the only engine options, with a 2.5-liter available early on. It made 227 horsepower and 206 pound-feet of torque. In the U.K., though, there were turbodiesel four-cylinder engines available, as well as front-wheel drive. It also has a lovely tan leather interior with the aforementioned wood trimmings. And being a wagon, it's the most practical. According to Historic Auctioneers, the X-Type wagon was also the first Jag that designer Ian Callum worked on, who went on to revitalize the brand with clean, modern designs for the next decade. The car will be auctioned on November 26 in the Mercedes-Benz World auction. No price estimates were given. With its royal connection, it will surely go for more than your average old Jaguar. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

2017 North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year finalists revealed

The finalists for the 2017 North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year were announced Tuesday at AutoMobility LA ahead of the 2016 LA Auto Show. Approximately 60 judges, including Autoblog's editor-in-chief Mike Austin, evaluated over 40 vehicles and named three models as the finalists in each category. The award for the Utility Vehicle of the Year is new for 2017 and separates SUVs, crossovers, and minivans from pickup trucks. The finalists are: Car of the Year: Chevrolet Bolt Genesis G90 Volvo S90 Truck of the Year: Ford F-Series Super Duty Honda Ridgeline Nissan Titan Utility Vehicle of the Year Chrysler Pacifica Jaguar F-Pace Mazda CX-9 The winners for the 24th annual NACTOY awards will be named on January 9 at the Detroit Auto Show. Related Video: Chevrolet Chrysler Ford Honda Jaguar Mazda Nissan Truck Crossover Minivan/Van SUV Electric Luxury Sedan north american car of the year NACTOY