There's a pretty interesting interview recently with Ford's global head of creative design and he made it quite clear that they had a very long development horizon for positioning Lincoln and bringing it back from the dead - which it almost was, and still almost is. If the economy hadn't turned, aside from a global calamity the likes of which none of us can really imagine, Lincoln would also be RIP. The conversations about what ultimately happened with Jaguar go way back, but the most recent cycle was in the 2005+ time frame. Ford bet big and lost on the X350 and S-Type, and combined with the ultimate failure of the X-Type. They then doubled down with the CX concept and really wanted to see some return from the XF and X351, so they continued to plow money in. They had some very astute economists who ultimately succeeded in negotiating terms that resulted in the mortgaging of basically everything Ford owns, and the banks, quite frankly, helped Ford come to the conclusion that the side brands had to go.

Fast forward, and you see what is becoming a Herculean effort by Ford to get Lincoln up to speed because they need a luxury brand - and now they have cash again to do it. Could Ford reacquire JLR? Stranger things have happened, but it might quite frankly be more likely that a Hyundai would be the acquirer if TATA can't go it alone or along with some acquisitions. I could see him buying Volvo from Geely - the Chinese are not seeing what they'd like there, for sure.

Sorry about the longwinded answer

 

Tata can go it alone, they are no stranger to the automotive market and are equivalent to Ford in size.

Tesla has proven that you don't need to have market scale in order to build world class cars with highly innovative engineering.

 

One thing that is so true, yet it seems like companies forget it all the time, is that a great product will cure and overcome an awful lot!

 

exhibit one in the case against re-associating with ford in any way. behold;

 

My observation over the decades is that automobile companies who prevail are those that are financially sound and have a "Car Guy" CEO at the helm.

 

And yet the X Type was the best selling Jaguar of all time. On it's own with out all the "Ford" perception and media bias, it's an excellent car. Odd how people bashed it for being Ford based, yet the Ford it was based on won European car of the year and was widely held as best car in sector.

The X Type was ahead of it's time for having AWD (exception for Audi being the pioneer), as that has now become an essential feature of every luxury brand. It was the reason I bought one, and I'll never have another car without it.

 

No Doubt..The X-type was and is a sweet little Jaguar..I got the 03 3.0 from new and it ran like a gem..had a few little problems as they all have..but never left me stranded...Never regretted owning it...Lead me to want the XF eventually.

 

The X Type had the best awd system of any car of its era. It was a delight to drive but if you bought a bad one it was awful. I loved mine for two difficult years under extended warranty then used it to lever myself into the XF.

The new awd system in the XF is if anything even better than the Ferguson (Ricardo now) system used in the X Type. They have in common a lack of mechanical connection between the front and rear axles. The X Type used a viscous coupling, albeit driving a planetary gearset, and the XF uses an electro hydraulically controlled clutchpack.

The new baby Jaguar will come with awd and the new ZF 9 spd transverse drivetrain. I don't see Jaguar switching to the slightly heavier DCT boxes. Now if they could also develop a competitor to the new baby Merc's 355 hp 2.0 turbo four they'll have a winner.

The new Jag crossover based on the new Evoque/Freelander will also use this ZF drivetrain. I'm betting the sedan will be based on the same platform.

The torque converter in these transmissions will soon be replaced by a powerful electric motor, replacing the starter, the torque converter and the lockup clutch. You'll get a boost of torque on demand, electric only mode for say 20 mile journeys and a stop start system you really won't notice.

 

Ten Cars That Should Never Make A Comeback

 

Three of the seven don't belong on that list, including the X Type.

The Catera was based on the Omega which won European car of the year and was the basis if one of the all time great super Q sedans: the Lotus Carlton. Later versions include the excellent Holden Monaro sold here as Pontiacs. The latest Camaro is just an Omega in disguise (in drag actually, terrible styling).

The Ferrari Mondial was and remains an excellent car. Its direct descendents include the 348 and 350. Indeed, it isn't a stretch to say the current 458 is also descended from this car.

 

While it is certainly my opinion that the X-Type does belong on the list (and is the obvious reason why UCLA posted the list), you have absolutely got to be kidding that you think the new Camaro is related to an Omega. If you do believe that, there is a gaping hole where your platform knowledge is supposed to be.

 

>Camaro is related to an Omega

Actually, I believe the current Camaro is based on an Australian Holden design, as was the Pontiac GTO and the G8 sedan. Holden on the other hand has deep ties with Opel.
================================================
Jaguar - it's not an automobile, it's a Motorcar

 

That's absolutely correct. Holden was an extensive user of Opel's platforms through the years, including that of the Omega (RWD V platform)

The Camaro is on the Zeta platform, which is the Holden platform they were designing to replace the V platform that Opel created back in the 60s I think. They were scrambling because the Omega (and the RWD V platform) were being phased out. GM spent many hundreds of millions of dollars developing and refining the Zeta platform and wanted it to be their worldwide rear drive platform, which never panned out entirely. The Zeta platform is now used only by the Camaro and I think one remaining Holden (maybe a Commodore of some sort?) and is likely to soon be gone entirely as well in favor of the Alpha platform that underpins the Caddy ATS and is significantly lighter in weight than the Zeta.

The Camaro and the Opel Omega (of Cadillac Catera infamy) are not related.

 

RPD mmmm Rocket Propelled *****! Catchey...
In fairness, now that Jaguar are part of a Global organisation, they will make cars that appeal to the masses (the big sales) and as such will slowly but surely become just another Eurobox (maybe not so slowly)?
The heritage will remain in the brand name alone! Personally I hope this takes many years to happen, but happen it will.

 

Hang on. That can't be right (meaning I really don't want it to be). The CX-17 is on this platform tho its engine is situated longitudinally. Also, personally I wouldn't take the 3-series competitor seriously if it weren't available in RWD form.

 

Another thought...I don't consider the X-Type to have been a failure. It was the product of an organization that wasn't looking ahead very far. The X-Type deviated from my vision for Jaguar (for what it's worth), and wouldn't fit with Tata's vision for the company now (as I see it). So it's fluky that it was built at all, but that doesn't make it a bad car.

 

I think manufacturers run into a lot of flak, whether deserved or not, when they use a chassis that was originally designed for the "everyday" line, and then try to make it into the luxury line vehicle. The examples are very numerous and include:

Omega-Catera, X-type-Mondeo, Cimmaron-Cavalier, Taurus-Lincoln MKS, Fusion-Lincoln MKZ,

Inevitably the argument becomes "it was a great Ford, but not a very good Lincoln or it was a great Mondeo but not a very good Jaguar. Doesn't mean they're "bad" cars, necessarily, but they just shouldn't do it.

They run into less difficulty when the manufacturer trickles down the luxury platform for use in the lower line or when the platform is originally designed for multiple brands ie, Thunderbird-Lincoln LS-S-Type, or Bentley-A8-Phaeton (though the Phaeton hasn't exactly been a resounding success!)

 

Agreed......personally I loved my X type, and have since got my 22 yr old son into a diesel version.
He ALWAYS gets compliments and comments about how good it looks and how can he afford a car like that.

I think that most Jag owners / enthusiasts clearly know of the Ford liason and 20% was their parts, mostly running gear, but like I've said before, thats not necessarily a bad thing imo.

A lot of his friends of a similar age may take a poke at him and say "its only a Ford Mondeo" which happens to be a pretty great car, still going strong albeit in updated from after all these years in the UK.

These same people are running round in 10 yr old Ford Fiestsa, Vauxhall Corsa'a, Renault Clio's or similar.....No jealousy there then??

Suffice to say I think it was / is a great car, if taken for what it is.....an entry level Jag, a lot of car for not a lot of money in todays terms

 

We leased a 2002 X-Type when they first came out and ours was good. The only problem was the variable ratio steering module was defautled to hiway speeds and was stiff around town. Took the dealer 3 tries to correct it since the X-Type was new.

 

Looks like Jaguar is planning to build all longitudinal drivetrains.

The show car crossover must be based on the "new" aluminum platform rather than a development if the Evoque. This means the new Evoque will likely follow suit.

This means the new "baby" jag won't be very small.

Since Maserati just released their Ghibli which is about as big as the XF and is moving their Quattroporte up a notch probably Jaguar is about to do the same. The new XF replacement is to be bigger than the existing XF

We shall see what actually gets launched.