2012 Jaguar Xj on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Jaguar celebrates 60 years of the E-Type with six pairs of restomod cars

Jaguar is celebrating 60 years of the E-Type — which was known as the XK-E in the United States — by giving 12 cars a full in-house restoration that includes a handful of 21st-century updates. Sold exclusively in pairs, the six coupes and six convertibles are inspired by the cars shown in Geneva during the model's introduction in 1961. Developed to replace the XK150, the E-Type was presented to the public and the press on March 15, 1961, at the Geneva auto show. Two examples made the trek from England to Switzerland: a gray coupe wearing registration number 9600 HP and driven by publicist Bob Perry, and a green roadster registered 77 RW put in the hands of official Jaguar test driver Norman Dewis. Both cars were driven to the event; the coupe arrived in Switzerland minutes before it was scheduled to make its debut, and the roadster was rushed to Geneva the following day. Jaguar chose not to re-release either car. Instead, it will paint the six coupes in a special shade called Flat-Out Grey, and it will give the six convertibles a coat of Drop Everything Green. It pointed out that both colors were created specifically for the 60 Edition models, and that neither will be used on another car. Edition-specific emblems created by Jaguar's design department appear on the hood and on the fuel cap, among other parts. Jaguar E-Type 60 Edition View 11 Photos Sitting in the cabin is like traveling to the 1960s. The driver faces a wood-rimmed steering wheel with drilled spokes (and a non-original 24-carat gold horn button), analog gauges, and an array of switches on the dashboard. Coupes receive Smooth Black leather upholstery, while convertibles get Suede Green leather. Don't look for power windows or automatic headlights. You'll need to manually roll down the windows and turn on the headlights. There's tech if you look, however. Jaguar concealed a modern infotainment system with satellite navigation and Bluetooth connectivity, for example. While that's available on any of the resto-modded E-Types the firm builds, the 60 Edition cars stand out from with an engraving of the route from Jaguar's headquarters in Coventry to Geneva, Switzerland, on the center console. It's created by hand in 100 hours by Johnny Dowell, who also goes by the name King Nerd. On the coupe, the engraving reads "I thought you'd never get here," words spoken to Perry by Jaguar founder Sir William Lyons after he arrived in Geneva.

Our love of SUVs is killing people in the streets

Americans are fond of supersized fast-food meals and colossal convenience-store fountain drinks, even though they're clearly bad for our health and U.S. adults keep getting fatter. We also like large vehicles, and our love affair with SUVs is killing people in the streets. According to a recent investigation by the Detroit Free Press/USA Today, the increase in SUV sales over the past several years coincides with a sharp rise in pedestrian deaths in the U.S. — up 46 percent since 2009, with nearly 6,000 people killed in 2016 alone. With SUV sales surpassing sedans in 2014 and pickups and SUVs currently accounting for 60 percent of new vehicle sales, it's no wonder Ford announced in April plans to cease U.S. sales of almost all passenger cars. And this followed Fiat Chrysler's move to virtually an all-truck, -SUV and -crossover lineup. While the Freep/USA Today investigation found that the simultaneous surge in SUV sales and pedestrian deaths comes down to vehicle size, it also points to a lack of action on the part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), even though it knew of the dangers SUVs pose to pedestrians. Also blamed are automakers dragging their feet on implementing active safety features. Using federal accident data, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) determined that there was an 81 percent increase in single-vehicle pedestrian fatalities involving SUVs between 2009 and 2016. Freep/USA Today's analysis of the same data by counting vehicles that struck and killed pedestrians instead of the number of people killed showed a 69 percent increase in SUV involvement. As far back as 2001, researchers at Rowan University forecasted a rise in pedestrian deaths as Americans began switching to SUVs. "In the United States, passenger vehicles are shifting from a fleet populated primarily by cars to a fleet dominated by light trucks and vans," the researchers wrote, with light trucks comprising SUVs.

Jaguar Land Rover might buy another luxury brand that it doesn't need

It seems that Jaguar Land Rover may be getting bigger in the near future. According to Bloomberg, the company is looking at acquiring some tech companies, and possibly yet another luxury car brand, provided that it fits with the current lineup of cars. On the surface, this makes some sense since Bloomberg reports that a whopping 78 percent of Tata Motors' revenue comes from luxury brands. And of course, any kind of tech acquisition could be useful considering the rapid development of electric and autonomous vehicles. But dig a little deeper, and a possible luxury brand acquisition just doesn't make sense for Jaguar Land Rover. The main reason for this is that the Jaguar and Land Rover brands have the luxury market thoroughly covered. Both brands offer full luxury lines from entry-level to high-end ( Discovery Sport to Range Rover on the Land Rover side, and XE to XJ on the Jaguar side). They also cater to every kind of luxury, from sporty vehicles such as the F-Type and SVR Land Rovers, to cushy luxury machines such as the XJ and Range Rover. So whether the company is competing with BMW or Mercedes, Jaguar and Land Rover have the bases covered. There aren't any other typical luxury brands that would actually add anything to the current lineup. In fact, adding another conventional luxury brand could actually result in the new brand poaching existing Jaguar and Land Rover buyers, rather than picking up new ones. What would make more sense for Jaguar Land Rover would be to pick up either a more mainstream brand, or an ultra-luxury marque. Neither Jaguar nor Land Rover has something that competes directly with the likes of Ford or Toyota in the mainstream game, or Rolls-Royce or Bentley at the top of the luxury heap. Picking up a brand in one of these segments would allow JLR and Tata Motors to actually expand offerings and pick up more sales, rather than having an internal competitor. What path would be ideal? Probably going even farther upmarket. Supercar makers and ultra-luxury brands continue to sell well, and there's the potential for significant profit by layering on features and content to existing platforms. Perhaps the best possibility for a high-end complement to Jaguar Land Rover would be Aston Martin. Not only does it have a strong reputation and line-up, it also could handle both supercars and luxury sedans, thanks to its Lagonda sub brand. Of course it would require Aston Martin to be receptive to a purchase.