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2016 Jaguar F-Type prowls the floor with new manual and AWD options

The Jaguar F-Type has become an instant enthusiast favorite for its alluring design, powerful, sonorous engines and rewarding handling. In short, it's a worthy successor to the iconic mid-century E-Type. But Jaguar hasn't been sitting idly, and it's continuing to refine and enhance the F-Type with subtle yet significant enhancements, including a bunch that are debuting this week at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The 2016 model year brings with it all-wheel drive, which will be standard on 550-horsepower F-Type R models. AWD will be optional on mid-level F-Type S models, which run the 380-hp V6. The system sends all of the supercharged engine's torque to the rear axle in default mode, but it can also be split with up to 50 percent going to the front axle when needed. Jaguar has even added subtle visual differentiators to the the AWD models, fitting them with body-colored sills and a new hood design. The penalty? the AWD system adds about 176 pounds to the curb weight. The F-Type also gets an available six-speed manual transmission for 2016 on V6 variants with rear-wheel drive. While obviously adding a more interactive driving character, the close-ratio manual is about 22 pounds lighter than the automatic gearbox. Jaguar has also given all F-Type models electric power steering, using a stiffer steering shaft to maintain the hydraulic setup's connected feel with the road. The 2016 models will be available in the spring, and pricing will be announced closer to launch. 2016 F-TYPE Gains All Wheel Drive and Manual Transmission Options – The 2016 model year Jaguar F-TYPE sports car receives new powertrain and driveline options – A six-speed manual transmission option will be available in rear-wheel drive V6 models – Instinctive All Wheel Drive® (AWD) extends the performance and dynamic capability of the F-TYPE – The 550hp F-TYPE R is now available in both Coupe or Convertible – All F-Type R models receive AWD as standard equipment, enabling 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds.

2018 Jaguar F-Pace: Heated windshield option may drive you crazy

Our long-term Jaguar F-Pace is stuffed full of options. It's the top-trim S model with the most powerful engine, and we selected five of seven available option packages. The two we didn't pick were the cheapest ones. There were a handful of individual options we selected, as well, and one of them, the heated windshield, is one that you should definitely think twice about before choosing. The reason being that, in this editor's opinion, it's thoroughly irritating. I actually didn't even know our F-Pace had it the first time I signed it out for an evening. At the end of the day, I grabbed the key, walked down to the parking lot and drove it away without a second thought. A couple miles down Woodward Avenue, though, I noticed that my view out wasn't quite as clear as I expected. I figured the windshield was dusty or something, so on went the windshield washer for a few moments. After everything dried off, I had the same issue. I pulled the washer lever again and still nothing. I leaned forward and squinted my eyes, and that's when I spotted the minuscule heater wires across the entire pane of glass. And once I saw the wires, it was almost impossible to unsee them. My unobstructed view out the car suddenly turned into a CRT screen full of scan lines. They never kept me from safely driving the F-Pace (after all, they are extremely small), but I could never completely forget they were there. It's incredibly frustrating and it gets worse at night as the wires combine with oncoming headlights. I'm not the only one who dislikes them either, as Senior Editor John Snyder and Contributing Editor James Riswick voiced their displeasure with the feature. Not everyone in the office feels this way about the heated windshield, though. Associate Editor Reese Counts said that they don't bother him one bit. And in cold weather climates like Michigan, it should be handy for clearing snow, ice and condensation from the windshield. With these differing opinions, then, this is an option that you'll definitely want to experience for yourself before actually choosing it. You might find it unobtrusive or you might find it insufferable. As for me, I don't think I could deal with having those wires in my face all year 'round. I would rather spend 10 percent of the year when we have accumulating snow and ice scraping it off manually so that the other 90 percent of the year I have a crystal clear view of the road.

Rising aluminum costs cut into Ford's profit

When Ford reports fourth-quarter results on Wednesday afternoon, it is expected to fret that rising metals costs have cut into profits, even as rivals say they have the problem under control. Aluminum prices have risen 20 percent in the last year and nearly 11 percent since Dec. 11. Steel prices have risen just over 9 percent in the last year. Ford uses more aluminum in its vehicles than its rivals. Aluminum is lighter but far more expensive than steel, closing at $2,229 per tonne on Tuesday. U.S. steel futures closed at $677 per ton (0.91 metric tonnes). Republican U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is weighing whether to impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, which could push prices even higher. Ford gave a disappointing earnings estimate for 2017 and 2018 last week, saying the higher costs for steel, aluminum and other metals, as well as currency volatility, could cost the company $1.6 billion in 2018. Ford shares took a dive after the announcement. Ford Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks told analysts at a conference in Detroit last week that while the company benefited from low commodity prices in 2016, rising steel prices were now the main cause of higher costs, followed by aluminum. Shanks said the automaker at times relies on foreign currencies as a "natural hedge" for some commodities but those are now going in the opposite direction, so they are not working. A Ford spokesman added that the automaker also uses a mix of contracts, hedges and indexed buying. Industry analysts point to the spike in aluminum versus steel prices as a plausible reason for Ford's problems, especially since it uses far more of the expensive metal than other major automakers. "When you look at Ford in the context of the other automakers, aluminum drives a lot of their volume and I think that is the cause" of their rising costs, said Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting at auto consultancy LMC Automotive. Other major automakers say rising commodity costs are not much of a problem. At last week's Detroit auto show, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne reiterated its earnings guidance for 2018 and held forth on a number of topics, but did not mention metals prices. General Motors Co gave a well-received profit outlook last week and did not mention the subject. "We view changes in raw material costs as something that is manageable," a GM spokesman said in an email.