Land Rover Defender 110 , 1988, Left Hand Drive Diesel on 2040-cars

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Jaguar Land Rover considering Mexican plant

Jaguar Land Rover has been expanding its production out of the UK and into overseas markets, and according to the latest word from Bloomberg, the British automaker is considering spending more than half a billion dollars to build a new assembly plant somewhere in Mexico. Since the Range Rover Sport and Evoque are two of the company's top sellers in the US, those would reportedly be the most likely to be manufactured at the Mexican plant, although Jaguars could follow as well. The automaker was previously said to be leaning towards a location in the Southern US, and while it could conceivably proceed with plans for both, it would be more likely to go with one or the other. State and local authorities below the Mason-Dixon line have been soliciting the business with various incentives, but lower labor costs South of the Border could prove more attractive to JLR and its parent company Tata. It wouldn't be the first, after all. Over the past month alone, General Motors committed to building the next Chevy Cruze in Mexico, Toyota did the same with the Corolla, Hyundai was reported to be considering a similar step, and Ford announced two new plants in the country amounting to a $2.5-billion investment. Luxury automakers like Audi, BMW and Mercedes have also been delving into Mexican production as well, blazing a path that JLR could potentially follow. The British automaker recently opened a plant in China and another in Brazil, while investing in additional facilities in the UK as well.

Kia leads J.D. Power's Vehicle Dependability Study for 2022

For the first year ever, Kia leads J.D. Power's annual Vehicle Dependability Study with a score of 145 problems per 100 vehicles. Buick (147) and Hyundai (148) round out the top three. The highest premium brand on the list is Genesis, with a score of 148. It's common for so-called "mass market" brands to lead this particular study, according to J.D. Power, as "premium" brands "typically incorporate more technology in their vehicles, which increases the likelihood for problems to occur" and aren't necessarily built to a higher standard that less-expensive brands. The highest-rated single nameplate is the Porsche 911. It's the third time out of the past four years and the second year in a row that Porsche's quintessential sports car has taken top honors. Porsche as a brand sits in seventh place (162) just behind Lexus (159) and ahead of Dodge (166). At the very bottom of the list is Land Rover with a dismal score of 284; the SUV specialist held the same unfortunate distinction on last year's list. Ram (266), Volvo (256), Alfa Romeo (245) and Acura (244) also performed poorly. The overall industry average score sits at 192 — mass market brands average a score of 190 while premium brands sit 14 points lower at 204. While Tesla is unofficially included in some of J.D. Power's results, the agency says the sample size it has access to for this study is too small to include. As has been the case for the past several years, infotainment systems dominate the list of problems reported by owners. Popular (or unpopular, depending on your point of view) complaints include built-in voice recognition (8.3 PP100), Android Auto/Apple CarPlay connectivity (5.4 PP100), built-in Bluetooth system (4.5 PP100), not enough power plugs/USB ports (4.2 PP100), navigation systems difficult to understand/use (3.7 PP100), touchscreen/display screen (3.6 PP100), and navigation system inaccurate/outdated map (3.6 PP100). While problems with the car's infotainment and technology packages are indeed bothersome, it's important to remember that such issues aren't usually leaving owners stranded with an immovable vehicle like a broken transmission or blown engine would. Culling infotainment complaints from the results would reduce the average problem-per-100-vehicle score by a staggering 51.9 points. The vehicles included in this study are from the 2019 model year. That means owners have had three years to get to know their cars and trucks. It's the 33rd year that J.D.

Jaguar Land Rover to skip 2016 Detroit Auto Show

Jaguar Land Rover won't attend the 2016 Detroit Auto Show in January because the automaker will shift its focus to other international shows instead, the company confirmed to Autoblog. "Following a review of our global consumer engagement program, the decision has been made not to exhibit at the Detroit show in 2016," said a company spokesperson told Autoblog. The story was first reported by Automotive News. JLR will continue to attend other US auto shows in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles; plus those abroad in Geneva, Frankfurt, Paris, Beijing, and Shanghai. "We recognize that the Detroit show is a world-class Tier 1 auto show, however, we have had to make this decision to sharpen our focus as indicated," the spokesperson said. Detroit Auto Show PR Manager Max Muncey told Autoblog that the organizers already knew JLR wouldn't be there. "We are in discussions with other automakers to fill that spot," he said about using the open space. The show expects 70 percent of the floor plan in 2016 to be different from last year. The automaker used the 2015 Detroit Auto Show to announce diesel versions for several models, and it revealed the name for the Jaguar F-Pace there. JLR reportedly now has a plan to cut the equivalent of $6.8 billion in costs without firing workers and increase production to a million annual deliveries by the end of the decade. Related Video: