Picking up Pizza, the guy and gal behind the counter were arguing wether my F-Type R was a Ferrari or a Porsche. I can see the Ferrari since it is Salsa Red and the lines are gorgeous, but not the Porsche, I see no resemblance to anything Porsche.

 

In a random sample of people, I would guess 90-95% have no idea what kind of car the F-Type is. The default Ferrari or Porsche answer is a safe bet, since I would say those are the 2 big names in sports cars. I can definitely see it being mistaken for a front engine RWD Ferrari: F12, 599, California, etc. Take off the Jag bading, put on some Ferrari stickers, paint it red and probably 99% of people would believe you that it's a Ferrari.

 

Don't ever say a Veyron is a VW. Owners get defensive! During Monterey Car Week at the Quail Lodge I said that the Veyron looks like a bug, as in lady bug, insect. Alexg said it is afterall a VW. The lady passenger of the Veyron heard and shouted, "It's not a Volkwagen!!!" The thing I don't like about the Veyron, besides the look, is how owners get these nasty limited editions to be different. Crazy, weird paint schemes, etc., just to be "1 of 1". I like being unique too, but man some of these gold plated Veyrons are just ridiculously ugly. As always, just my opinion

 

To me, the F-Type is definitely Jaguar but screams Aston Martin in styling cues. It is crazy how is confuses people. The more I drive my car, the more I love it and realize how exclusive it really is.

It’s funny to hear owners complaining in the BMW forums that BMW has lost its way (steering feel, sound, reliability, sportiness, exclusivity, etc.) and then knock Jaguar. While I don’t want Jaguar to become mainstream, I believe the F-Type is the start of a whole new generation of cool things to come. I am really liking the XE and C-X17 concept.

 

People most often confuse my F-Type with an Aston, since there are quite a few AM's in SF. I always thought it was similar to Aston too, especially given that Ian Callum designed the Vanquish and DB9 before the F-Type.

However, I recently parked next to a Maserati GranTurismo Sport and was stunned at how similar the two cars look from the front and from the side (although the tails are quite different). I actually walked up to the wrong car when I got back to the garage.

Seeing the two cars side by side was pretty interesting. The stance on the Maserati was about an inch lower than the F-Type, and it does highlight an observation vic55 made that the F-Type might sit a bit too high.
In due course I'll lower the springs on my F-Type, but I'll likely wait a bit: the Maserati had a few really painful looking scrapes on the front lip.

BTW, the F-Type is definitely a sleeker looking car IMO, but Maserati has some amazing wheel choices: the GT had the Nero Neptune wheels which looked sick.

 

Big fan of the Maserati. You know, poor man's Ferrari Looks and sounds great. Love the way the front looks. Almost went with it instead of the Jag. But then, much like the new Aston GT, it's such an old platform/car. Some nice discounts on them right now though for those interested.

Incidentally, went for a drive today with the Bay Area Jaguars today. For the 3rd time now I got it looks like a Tesla comment. Was filling her up when a guy and his wife thought it was a Tesla. He just ordered one (a Tesla) for Dec delivery. Maybe it's just the San Francisco Bay Area, where Teslas are everywhere! Still can't see it. One is a huge sedan, the other is a medium size coupe! Told him I'll take it as a compliment, since Teslas are nice cars. Great if you need to deal with a commute.

 

I have always liked the Maserati GranTurismo!

Even my wife gets confused about the F-Type. I took her for lunch and shopping today and had the F-Type valet parked. When we were ready to leave, I gave the attendant my ticket and we waited for someone to pull the car around. There were two guys ahead of us and their all black McLaren 12C rolled up with the Jaguar right behind it. My wife started to walk towards the McLaren as if she was going to get into it. I laughed and she was shocked when I told her it was the wrong car. At least she didn't confuse it for a Tesla, as there were several of those around too, and a Tesla dealer across the street.

 

That was a hilarious moment. She got really upset over a strangers comment, the insecurity... I think to be fair she was 'Marketing fluff' for Sales Team Bugatti.

I know the Veyron is an incredible piece of engineering, however I've never liked the looks either and we are afterall, all entitled to our opinions aren't we?

If I had $1m to spend on a car, my choice would certainly not be a Veyron.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

"What are those, like 30 grand?" -some guy I work with asking about my R first time I brought it in.

 

Hmmm... Customer Principal of the last few years asked this question. I mentioned that children of all ages tended to stop, point and grin.

He paused, and said: "I'm one of them!"

 

When Tesla was doing their street testing of the Model S in Los Angeles a couple of years ago, before they were released, I used to see them lightly camouflaged, driving down Coldwater Canyon, only they stole so many styling cues from the Jaguar XF, that I was sure I was looking at the next model XF. I was surprised when they unveiled it and I realized that it was not an XF.

While I don't have an F type (2 XKRs), on the rare occasions that I take my 1972 De Tomaso Pantera for a ride, no one (except car guys) has any idea what it is. Most often mistaken for a Ferrari, but often called a Lamborghini (very similar looking to a Miura, I guess) or others. When I take it to the track a couple of times a year with SoCal Audi Club, it always garners questions, and no one believes it's a 42 year old car. But like the F type, it's always compared to much more expensive or exclusive cars, so it's always a compliment.

 

The Pantera has aged nicely. Some cars age quite well.

 

Very nice Pantera!

 

To make it more driveable, tomorrow we're adding fuel injection to replace the Holley carb. Holley makes a custom fuel injection unit that fits inside of a cylinder that looks and measures exactly the same size as the carburator it's replacing. Kinda cool. Although years ago I replaced the puny oem radiator with a huge Fluidyne one to prevent overheating, which every Pantera experienced at any temperature above 70 or if stuck in traffic for more than a few minutes, it still runs hot and is nerve wrecking watching the temperature gauge (which is one of the reasons I don't drive it alot in town) climb into or near the red zone. So, we're adding two sucker fans as well, and two new mufflers. It's funny because it will run on the track all day long in 100 degree weather without any problem. As long as speed and air pass through that front grill opening, it's happy as a clam. Maybe now, I'll feel more comfortable taking it out more often. With as little as I drive it, I should probably sell it, but I just love the body and the idea of a purely Italian design with an American V-8. And finally, I don't like the wide bodied later cars, that although more aggressive looking don't have the purity of design nor the sleekness of the 1971-1972 models.

 

Little kid walking in the mall with his mom: "Mom, that car sounds like it is growling!". Cute!

 

Not necessarily strange as we've all heard similar things, but driving back home on Sunday I was stopped at a light and I heard the guy in a van right by me say to his passenger "that's one bad *** Jaguar".

I couldn't have agreed with him more!

 

Something similar has happened to me. Twice now.

I was in Dynamic Mode on the freeway in stop-and-go traffic. Things started to clear a bit, so I applied a bar shot of low-end grunt to bathe in some "can't-seem-to-get-enough" F-Type rasp. A truck quickly pulls up next to me, pausing alongside to check things out. Other then my being aware he's there, I slow down enough to enjoy a brief YOLO moment of controlled misfire. Suddenly, the guy jams his accel, taking off like a howler monkey in heat, with his exhaust (or what is left of it) blaring back in pedal-to-the-metal agony. Quite something, actually. His version apparently of "Mine is bigger than yours." The second time the same thing happened a few weeks later, I had a good idea of what was coming. I laughed for miles afterwards--it made my commute.

 

I've had a few similar experiences... various cars come up, hit the pedal and blast by.. the cars that do this are never very fast.
Lawrence.

 

The worst was when I was driving the new Viper. It seemed like every Toyota sedan driver wanted to race me. I did have a bike try to run me on an on-ramp, dumped the clutch, car went sideways a bit, and wife started screaming. All in all a fun time but that car gets old really quick, way too loud in the cab.


In the F-Type mostly I get folks roaring up to give me a big thumbs up, always puts a smile on my face. The Purple gets a ton of attention, folks really have no idea what the car is and they can see it for miles.

 

I'm driving home from my morning golf game. Weather in SF is amazing. I have the windows rolled down. In traffic I see two motorcycle cops. Thought they might want to see my registration since I still haven't put on plates. I turn off active exhaust so not to be loud. They roll by. 1st cop, "badass ride man" 2nd cop, "sweet ride"