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Jaguar Land Rover develops 'transparent' A-pillar and ghost car [w/video]

Jaguar and Land Rover are known for making highly covetable luxury, performance and off-road vehicles, but the British automakers are on a bit of a technology bent lately. Keen to show that it can not only keep up but lead the way when it comes to safety and convenience features, JLR has come out with two more systems to show the way forward. JLR's new 360 Virtual Urban Windscreen system, showcased on an XJ sedan, adopts two novel approaches to getting around town. First up is the Transparent Pillar system, which uses a combination of cameras and display screens embedded in the A, B and C-pillars to make them virtually disappear. Instead of acting as blind spots limiting the driver's visibility, the system uses the roof pillars to display what's going on around the car. If there's an obstacle hidden by the A-pillars, the system shows you the potential hazard as if the pillars weren't there, and brings the obstacle to the driver's attention. If the driver turns his or her head to see a vehicle passing alongside, it projects the vehicle on the inside of the B- or C-pillar. The second technology integrated in the next-generation head-up display is the Follow-Me Ghost Car Navigation system, which takes a page out of the video-game playbook by projecting a "ghost car" on the windscreen that the driver can then "follow" instead of listening to turn-by-turn directions or looking at a map in the dashboard display. The system is similar to what Jaguar recently showcased on an F-Type for track use, but applied for more practical use on city streets and highways. The release of these systems also follows the integrated smart navigation and infotainment system displayed on the Range Rover Sport and the Transparent Bonnet showcased on the Discovery Vision concept. Though these new technologies might not be quite ready for production applications, their impressive sum total goes to show that Jaguar Land Rover is ahead of the curve when it comes to reducing driver distraction and increasing the driver's visibility. Scope out the latest systems in the press release and video below for a closer look of what the future holds for British-style luxury motoring. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Jaguar Land Rover opens first overseas factory in China

Anyone who's a car fan knows that Jaguar and Land Rover cars and trucks all come from the UK. And while we don't doubt that will remain true for the most part, it won't be an absolute truth for long, as the British automaker has just opened its first factory overseas.
Its new plant in Changshu, China, is the result of a $1.8-billion joint venture between JLR and local automaker Chery. It covers some 4.3-million square feet and will, once at peak capacity, produce 130,000 units specifically for the Chinese market, where JLR sells over 100,000 vehicles each year to make it the company's single largest market worldwide.
Production at what's officially known as the Chery Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Company will start with the Evoque, of which one in five globally are currently sold in China. Production will eventually encompass three models. We already know that the Discovery Sport will be next, but the third model line has yet to be announced. JLR has confirmed, however, that the Changshu plant will produce unique models and derivatives specifically for the Chinese market, so we wouldn't be surprised to see a long-wheelbase version of the forthcoming XE or next-generation XF assembled there to satisfy local tastes.

Daily Driver: 2015 Jaguar XJL AWD

Daily Driver videos are micro-reviews of vehicles in the Autoblog press fleet, reviewed by the staffers who drive them every day. Today's Daily Driver features the 2015 Jaguar XJL AWD, reviewed by Seyth Miersma. You can watch the video above or read a transcript below. Watch more Autoblog videos at /videos. VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: [00:00:00] Hey everybody, it's your old pal Seyth here with Autoblog. I am in the 2015 Jaguar XJL. That L is for a long-wheelbase. The engine powering this car is the 3.0-liter supercharged V6. My cameras inside probably didn't pick up a lot of that, but the supercharged 3.0-liter does have a nice little growl to it, especially in sport mode [00:00:30] where I'm staying higher in the rev range. It doesn't have that same big, luxurious, meaty, whoofly V8 sound as the naturally aspirated 5.0-liter used to. At 340 horsepower, 332 lb-ft of torque, this engine has everything that you need. I think that they say the 0 to 60 time is around six seconds. Frankly, the car feels a little bit faster even that that. Again, we're talking about a large long-wheelbase car here. What's particularly interesting and [00:01:00] relevant to the weather that you see behind me right now, is that this car is not rear-wheel drive. It is in fact all-wheel drive. Even going into this, knowing obviously that I was in an all-wheel drive car, the first drive really reveals it to handle a lot like a rear-wheel drive vehicle. That's appropriate. That's what you want in a car of this class. Something very luxurious and that has a reputation built on sporting dynamics as opposed to sort of just comfort and refinement. [00:01:30] Jaguar's goal with an all-wheel drive system like this is to make the car still feel very much like a rear-wheel drive vehicle but give you just enough ability to be able to pull out of a corner smartly when the grip is a little bit lower than you'd expect it to be. Obviously if there's some snow on the ground, that's a helpful thing. Or on a day like today, when I'm coming out of a corner on a slightly slippery road, being able to put the power down is advantageous. To be honest, so far the application has been really seamless. The power seems to be [00:02:00] flowing from the engine just to the rear wheels. I feel like I'm getting a little bit of assist, right now I'm entering a corner at a moderate speed and not really slipping at all. It feels like a rear-wheel drive car. I've always loved this XJ.