I love Jaguar, but Jaguar dissagrees.

[Ottobon]

I remember in the second grade deciding that me and my friend Kenny were going to be in a rock band called "The Jaguars." Sure it was a dumb name, but i think it goes to show that even though executive cars are a boring subject matter to 7 year olds somehow Jaguar eluded that. There has been something very emotional and human about them for as long as i can remember, and while I'm on the subject of being young, i remember crystal clearly that as a unbiased 10 year old i preferred the looks of the old XK to that of the DB7. Sure they looked similar at the time, but somehow the XK just looked more like it knew what it wanted to be then any of the Aston Martins of the 90s. My main concern and the reason i write this thread is that at the present it seems as though Jaguar would rather be Hyundai. Not so much the current line up, but the upcoming line-up. I don't have much of a issue with the XK, nothing that hasn't been said already, but the new S-type and X-type are both embarrassments. The S-type was already looking bad, and now its even worse. And while the X-type isn't necessarily bad, theres nothing that makes me think "better not cut that guy off if i want to live" when i look at it. So really the whole point of buying a Jaguar seems gone. I remember looking at the CF-X and thinking "Yes! this could save Jaguar" and now i feel betrayed because what they have churned out looks more like "mass-market" styling then anything else. I recently noticed, with alot of excitement to be honest, that Jaguar listed "XF" on its website, sadly this seems too have the profile of a Lexus and a front end dictated by Marketing instead of style, damn


What do you think?

Pictures:

(upcoming Jaguars, not sure which is which because all the mags say something different)







XF:




I suppose every car manufacture has had at least a generation of so-so looking cars, i just wish Jaguar could have chosen to have such a moment during a period in which they weren't going bankrupt.

[Spectre]

The first two were artists concepts of what the S-Type and XK replacements would look like (respectively), the third is the XF artists' concept, and the last IS the XF.


Ford just has no idea what to do with Jaguar and keeps hiring "diversity appointees" who have no clue either. Historically, NO Jaguar designed by committee instead of being ramrodded by one man has ever done well.

[efoolution]

Originally Posted by Spectre

[...]the third is the XF artists' concept, and the last IS the XF.

And I just thought "hey, the last one doesn´t look that bad" ...

I don´t like the headlamps, but the side of it, the hood, the grill ... looks fine. Certainly not much of Jag in there, but the last S-type looked like a Rover and the last X-type like a Mercedes E-Class. So this one looks a bit Lexus. So what? I´d prefer it to it´s predecessor ...

['CruiserMan]

I'm starting to think, that with the big push to rid itself of the "olde-worlde" reputation, Jaguar may loose some of it's defining qualities.

I really like the XJ. Why? Because it's stayed pretty much to the same formula, the same styling (save for the XJ40). To borrow some ideas from J. Clarkson (originally regarding Aston Martin), a Jag should be big, heavy (if in feeling if nothing else), dark, damp and green. It should feel fast and competent, but still have an air of solidity about it.
This is particularly evident if we look at the cars they made under British Leyland. You took one look and you immediately knew you were looking at a Jag.

The XF, if I may be so bold, has a whiff of Hyundai about it. It's mostly the nose and lights that bother me. The S-Type may be somewhat fish-like and much criticised, but it's a Jag in all senses.
The X-Type, perhaps could be styled as the XF. But then that's a Mondeo, with leather seats and Hyundai styling. Pass.

I don't really know if there is a future for Jaguar at the moment, and that's sad. I love their core products(XJ/XK), which are pretty much traceable back to the original XJ and the XJS. They're characterful cars in a world full of 250km/h German dishwashers. It seems most people prefer the dishwasher, and I can't see myself forking out cash at any stage for a Jag that looks like a Hyundai.
P.

[Cobol74]

Why is it that loads of car companies (including Jaguar) decide that they don't want their current demographic but want to go after another? Honda (in this country at least) was the older persons car of choice. They have been desperate to upset these people and sell to whom? I do not think that they actually know - viz new CIVIC.

['CruiserMan]

Perceived financial gains? I'd guess they figure that a younger person is more likely to buy a high-spec'd model, and they make a larger profit.

It certinally worked for Caddilac, and it seems to be working for Mazda.

[Zuhaib]

Well its not perceived gain, it is actually gains. Its because, at lest in the US, its the younger group that spends a lot of there money (reason why Honda would want to go youth) but also cars that have appeal to the youth market also do well with the Middle Age group/Baby Boomers as we call them here.
A guy who is 50 and could spend the money on a Jag would want a "cool" car that maybe he can use to impress the 25 year old girl at work, not a car that says old person.

Jaguar, at lest here in the States has two major images to over come. One, reliability, which is a reason why I no longer have an S-Type, and 2nd the image of old people. But the new S-Type (XF) just looks like, bleh. It does not have any defining qualities. The old S-Type, while had a weird looking face it was weird and because of that you knew it was something special (and was a PITA.. but i digress.)

[Wizegui]

I've sat in the old S-Type, and believe me the interior was cheap. The chrome ring around the damn door was falling off, even on a brand new one. But to be honest, I'd rather have the S-Type, rather than the XF with a Vauxhall Vectra interior. Shame on you Jaguar. Shame on you Ian Callum for face lifting the XJ.

[Dsemaj]

Man, if I ever see Ian Callum, I'm going to punch him in the face for doing that to the XJ. Looks like it's freakin' grinning at you ALL the time.. Jason Plato hit it right on the nial. It's not a big enough change to get a younger demographic interested, and they've just annoyed their loyal fanbase.

@Wizegui oh yeah.. that is a truely horrid interior.

[sgb33f]

looks like a buick

['CruiserMan]

That's a bit scary actually... They're too similar for my liking.

Honestly, if I'd never seen it before, and you asked me what brand it was I'd say Lexus. If I didn't say Hyundai first.

[DTMracer]

What jaguar should produce are classy but menacing cars like the current XKR (my neighbor has one, and it seriously turns me on everytime I see it parked outside his garage. Going for a short drive in it just makes me want one even more).