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Jay Leno drives the Jaguar F-Type Project 7

Even for Jay Leno, Monterey Car Week is a special experience. After all, his collection is absolutely massive, but vehicles show up for this exclusive event on the California peninsula that even Jay doesn't know about. He's giving us a just a tiny taste of this year's event in the latest episode of Jay Leno's Garage. The majority of this clip is dedicated to an in-depth look at the Jaguar F-Type Project 7, and Jay gets the details direct from designer Ian Callum. The two of them are old friends after doing the 2014 Mille Miglia together in a Jaguar XK120. After getting a mountain of info about the inspiration behind this special F-Type, they go for a ride on some beautiful California roads to listen to the wonderful, crackling exhaust. Following the drive, Jay finds a racecar from the teens that he is completely unfamiliar with. Thankfully, the mechanic is nearby to shed some light on this rarity. We hope there're more videos to come about Leno's visit to Monterey Car Week, but hopefully his team can fix some of the sound issues in this clip.

Jaguar F-Type Project 7 leaks in production trim ahead of Goodwood debut

Just yesterday we brought you word that Jaguar was planning to bring something special to the Goodwood Festival of Speed this year - the first product of its Special Operations division - and now we have it right here.
Previewed in concept form last year, Jaguar's big reveal appears to be the production version of the Project 7 show car - an extreme speedster version of the F-Type. Though we still don't have official details, these images leaked courtesy of 4WheelsNews show that the roadster seems to have lost little in the transition from concept to reality.
The bright blue paint job has been replaced by a more British shade of green, but the white trim - including the racing stripes running across (not up) the hood, the grille surround and the number circle on the door - appear to have carried over. As has the D-Type-inspired, fin-like, single raised cowling on the rear deck, though now positioned behind the left-hand driver's seat instead of the right. The wheels are fresh and the front lip spoiler looks even bigger, and the rear wing appears to have been reshaped.

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.