Beautiful Red 2002 X-type Juguar on 2040-cars

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2014 Jaguar XFR-S is the power and the fury

If there's something wrong about a sedan with a 550-horsepower supercharged V8, we don't want to hear about it. Instead, we want to marvel at the car in person, which is fortuitous because Jaguar has officially unveiled the 2014 XFR-S at the 2012 LA Auto Show. That blown 5.0-liter V8 dishes up a full 502 pound-feet of torque, which is good enough to shuttle the four-door to 60 mph in a scant 4.4 seconds. And, thanks to a start stop system and a few other fuel-saving tricks, the 2014 XFR-S gets away without being hit by the gas guzzler tax.
That's all good news, but we're just as excited about the fact that engineers managed to crank up the vehicle's chassis stiffness by a ludicrous 30 percent. Stiffer dampers and springs also give the car a little more poise, and a wide-open exhaust lets the whole world know you're kicking down their door. You know, in case the electric blue paint and wild body work didn't tip your hand. Check out the full gallery above for a closer look.

Jaguar E-Type Series 3 gets tasteful upgrades thanks to E-Type UK

The Jaguar E-Type is one of the most important and recognizable cars of all time. The E-Type — also called the XK-E here in the U.S. — was in production from 1961 until 1975. That said, when most people think of E-Types, they think of the early Series I cars. The later ones (especially federalized models with those horrendous bumpers) don't get much love. E-Type UK, a restoration shop in England, is giving those Series 3 models a second life. The car in these photos is a 1974 Jaguar E-Type V12. This Series 3 underwent a 3,000-hour restoration, getting a number of upgrades along the way. The engine — originally displacing 5.3 liters — has been enlarged to 6.1 liters. It ditched the original Stromberg carbs for a custom downdraft fuel-injection system. Just take a look at those velocity stacks. The car has also been fitted with a custom stainless-steel exhaust system. Power is sent to the rear through a new close-ratio five-speed manual transmission. E-Type UK says it now makes 284 horsepower at the wheels. Other upgrades include a new steering rack, adjustable suspension with new torsion bars, AP Racing brakes with four-piston calipers and ventilated rotors and custom one-off 62 spoke 16-inch Turino wire wheels wrapped in whitewall tires. New louvres and air ducts were added to help cooling. All external lighting has been upgraded to LEDs, including the daytime-running lights. Inside, the E-Type has been fitted with air conditioning, modified heated leather seats from an XJS, iPod and Bluetooth connectivity, piano black trim and a red start button. The interior, including the factory hardtop, has also been fitted with Dynamat to reduce road noise. The car even has remote door locks. E-Type UK didn't post the price for this car, but a similar S3 E-Type is listed for GBP190,000, or about $250,000. If Series 3 or V12-powered cars aren't your thing, the website has a few listings for Series 1 cars with the classic inline-six. There's even an XK120 under the "sold" listings. Related Video:

2023 J.D. Power APEAL Study shows new-car customer satisfaction scores slip

J.D. Power survey results have been slightly up but mostly down for automakers this year, literally. In February, the 2023 Vehicle Dependability Study showed an overall decline compared the 2022 a month before the Customer Service Index Study did the same. The trend reversed in June with a better overall score on the 2023 U.S. Electric Vehicle Consideration Study than in 2022, then declined again the same month on with a lower overall score on the 2023 Initial Quality Study. The declines continue with the 2023 J.D. Power U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study, overall satisfaction among the 84,555 respondents down two points overall compared to 2022, to 845 out of 1,000 points. Because last year's score dropped compared to 2021, this year marks the first consecutive decline in the study's 28-year history. The study tries to "[measure] owners' emotional attachment and level of excitement with new vehicle" after 90 days of ownership by asking new owners to rate 37 attributes in 10 areas around the vehicle, such as the feeling they get when they hit the accelerator. Satisfaction with nine of the attributes is down this year versus last, fuel economy the only segment to show better results with 15 points more satisfaction. Styling and infotainment are big drags on satisfaction. Responses to new car exterior looks tallied 888 points, down from 894 last year, the largest drop in this year's study. On the digital side, less than half of those surveyed this year said they prefer using a manufacturer's built-in infotainment. From 70% of respondents in 2020 preferring to use a manufacturer's in-house software to play audio instead of Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, that's 56% in 2023. Going all-in on Google appears to have the best effect. J.D. Power said that vehicles with both Google's Android Automotive Operating System (AAOS) and Google Automotive Services (GAS) "score higher in the infotainment category than those with no AAOS whatsoever. AAOS without GAS receives the lowest scores for infotainment of the three categories."  Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power, said, "Despite the technology and design innovations that manufacturers put into new vehicles, owners are lukewarm about them. While innovations like charging pads, vehicle apps and advanced audio features should enhance an owner’s experience, this is not the case when problems are experienced.