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2018 Jaguar F-Pace S is a fun but thirsty travel companion

I love road trips. I've moved across the country twice, spending weeks living out of my car, eating granola bars and sucking down energy drinks like it was finals week all over again. I get a huge kick out of calculating fuel economy, stretching out tanks of gas or diesel until the low-fuel light begins to sear itself into my retinas. I try to take each and every one of our long-term vehicles on some such trip. Not long after our 2017 Jaguar F-Pace S arrives, my wife and I decided to see some family in Asheville, North Carolina, roughly 10 hours and 700 miles from our home in suburban Detroit. Now, I knew from the outset this was going to be a far different experience than our previous long-termer, a 2017 Jaguar XE diesel. I managed to eek out nearly 700 miles per tank, averaging 42 mpg over 2,000 miles with that car. But the 380-horsepower supercharged V6 in the F-Pace is rated at 18 city/23 highway with a combined rating of just 20 mpg. Not good, and — unlike the XE — I didn't think I could do much better without greatly altering my admittedly aggressive driving habits. Still, I wanted to take our blue bomber to the Blue Ridge Parkway, so onward I went. There were a few other things I was worried about over what was sure to be another 2,000-mile trip. The F-Pace's suspension was a bit stiff thanks to the sporty S trim. The 20-inch wheels don't help matters, though things could be worse (some people on staff wanted to get 22s). At least they look good. Still, the seats are comfortable and the radio is top-notch. LCD Soundsystem's latest album had just come out, so I put it on repeat and headed south. The first part of the trip was going to be both the most boring and the most economical. The roads in Michigan and Ohio are flat and straight. It isn't until you hit Kentucky and head into the Appalachian Mountains that things get interesting. Just set the radar cruise control and barrel down Interstate 75 with as much urgency as you dare. I forgot my Valentine One at home. The ride was firm but not as bad as I imagined it might be, at least once we got off of Michigan's pockmarked pavement. The F-Pace tracked straight and true, but I became acutely aware that the steering wheel itself was out of alignment, leaning just slightly to the left. Fuel economy was fine, but I was just meeting the EPA estimate, not beating it like I usually manage to do.

Lister Knobbly returning to limited production for 60th anniversary

Lister Cars was one of the pedigree names of British racing from its founding in 1954 and then on and off until the early 2000s. The company combined its own lightweight chassis with engines from other manufacturers, many of them British (and especially from Jaguar). Last year, the name and the intellectual property were sold to a new company that planned to revive the brand. For Lister's 60th anniversary, it is building a new version of one of its most famous racecars, the 1958 Lister-Jaguar Knobbly. The 2014 Listers are built to the exact specifications of the original cars, and the aluminum bodies are hand-formed on the original jigs. It is offered in racing trim starting at 249,000 pounds ($409,618) and is certified for FIA historic racing. There's also a road-legal version starting at 259,000 pounds ($426,060), if you don't intend to race but do intend to drive. There are two engines available, just like in the original car. A reproduction Jaguar D-Type 3.8-liter inline-six with dry-sump lubrication pumps out 330 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque with a four-speed Jaguar gearbox. The other option is a 4.6-liter Chevy V8 with 315 hp and 290 lb-ft with a four-speed manual transmission. The Chevy-engined version also gets a slightly altered body with a higher hood to clear the engine. The first 2014 Listers will be delivered in the UK this April. Unlike many of these boutique sportscars, the racing version will be available to US buyers, but Lister won't federalize the road version due to the high cost. Scroll down to get all of the details about the revived racer. LISTER MOTOR COMPANY LAUNCHES NEW 60th ANNIVERSARY BROCHURE AS THE ORDER BOOKS BEGIN TO FILL New 60th Anniversary Lister Jaguar brochure now available 50 per cent of 2014 production already sold First cars to be delivered in April, 2014 Road-going variant to be offered at GBP259,000 + tax Race-going version to be GBP249,000 + tax. Following the recently announced purchase of the Lister Motor Company in May 2013, the company is delighted to announce that it has now published its 60thAnniversary Lister Jaguar brochure, which fully outlines the specifications for its fantastic recreation of the iconic Lister Jaguar 'Knobbly' racing car.

BMW and Jaguar Land Rover to jointly develop electric car tech

FRANKFURT – BMW and Jaguar Land Rover on Wednesday said they will jointly develop electric motors, transmissions and power electronics, unveiling yet another industry alliance designed to lower the costs of developing electric cars. Both carmakers are under pressure to roll out zero-emission vehicles to meet stringent anti-pollution rules, but have struggled to maintain profit margins faced with the rising costs of making electric, connected and autonomous cars. "Together, we have the opportunity to cater more effectively for customer needs by shortening development time and bringing vehicles and state-of-the-art technologies more rapidly to market," said BMW board member Klaus Froehlich. BMW and Jaguar Land Rover said they will save costs through shared development, production planning and joint purchasing of electric car components. Both companies will produce electric drivetrains in their own manufacturing facilities, BMW said. The BMW Jaguar Land Rover pact comes as rivals FiatChrysler and Renault explore a $35 billion tie-up of the Italian-American and French carmaking groups. Nick Rogers, Jaguar Land Rover's engineering director said, "We've proven we can build world beating electric cars but now we need to scale the technology to support the next generation of Jaguar and Land Rover products." BMW was in talks with rival Daimler about developing electric car components but was also in discussions with Jaguar Land Rover, a company it once owned, to explore an alliance on engines. BMW already has a deal to supply an 8 cylinder engine to Jaguar Land Rover. Carmakers are increasingly open to sharing electric car parts because the technology is expensive and because customers no longer buy a car based on what engine a vehicle has. "Carmakers are much less precious about sharing electric car technology because it is much harder to create product differentiation with electric car tech. They all accelerate fast, and everybody can do quality and ride and handling," according to Carl-Peter Forster a former chief executive of Tata Motors and a former BMW executive. Jaguar Land Rover is still run by former BMW managers, including Ralf Speth the company's chief executive who spent 20 years at BMW prior to joining JLR, and Wolfgang Ziebart, the engineer who oversaw Jaguar's I-Pace electric car program, who is a former head of research and development at BMW.