"when the majority of XJS's have rotted to pieces, the remainder will be worth something to collectors"

We're getting to that point now...

 

Does it matter? These cars are stunning and a credit to the owners who appreciate what they are. i am 35 yrs old and wanted an XJS since I was 10, they day I bought one (having never driven one before) they looked as classy and elegant as they always did. People say you should never drive your childhood heroes, well I did, and am still doing without any regrets. May car will stay with me until it's time to pass it along to my son - who also loves it (he's 7).
They will always be a classic to me.

 

And that's all that really matters.


Happy XJS-ing :-)


Cheers
DD

 

EXACTLY!!!

I drive my '88 32 miles round trip to work every day on I-20 and I-55 in every type of weather. It has rock chips on the leading edge of the hood, a cracked windshield (as do 99% of the cars in Mississippi), and door dings from other cars. It gets washed less than a half dozen times a year, and I never coddle or pamper it. Also, if I don't hit triple-digit speeds at least once every day, I don't feel like I even drove the car.

The XJS is a beautiful and fast car, but, it is, after all, just a car. Drive the wheels off of it. Maintain it as best you can, for as long as you can afford. Enjoy the experience. Tell your grandkids about the cool car you once owned after it rusts out from under you.

 

howlinowl i just want to ask ....have you done any suspension work on your car?? You seem to talk really bad about it and compare to american cars that are VERY boaty. Mine is right now but i have driven a renewed one and it was fantastic.

the fact is the rubber that came on the car was CRAP and new it was mediocre at best. If you havent replaced it then it is now in fact absolute CRAP. If you replaced it or even went so far as to put new polys and shocks on it you would see what it can do.


Are you listening to yourself? You are comparing a NEW car from the 70s to a 20 or 30 year old car....does that not tell you right there how good the handling should be if an XJS thats got 20 year old rubber handles like a NEW gran prix???

 

It's the thread that WOULD NOT DIE!!! (cue spooky music)

The original question was if the XJS would become collectable. I had stated that similar styled cars from the same period had not, therefore I didn't see any reason why the XJS would.

I seem to remember hearing or reading somewhere that the XJS was designed for the american market. That the X-type that it was replacing was a strong seller in the US and Jaguar wanted to continue the strong sales. They went as far as designing the XJS as a coupe without a convertible option in the beginning because it had looked like the US was going to ban convertibles from the market. So, if that were the case....I imagine that the Jaguar designers would look to see what styles were strong sellers. Late '60s to early '70s and the Grand Prix was coming into it's own. Pontiac was the luxury/performance arm of General Motors at the time (remember the Wide Track ads?). The original American muscle car (Pontiac GTO) and GM's first pony car (Firebird, followed later by Chevy's version...Camaro) came from the Pontiac division. Seems almost natural for Jaguar, a luxury/performance make of it's own to look toward Pontiac for inspiration The Grand Prix was designed with a long hood, short rear deck and originally had a big block engine. Pontiacs designers actually looked to the Duesenburg (I probably mis-spelled that) for inspiration. They went as far as labeling the sub-models the same as the old Duesenburgs (LJ, SJ). Look at the XJS. Long hood, relatively short deck, powerful engine up front.

However, the Grand Prix and it's brethern (Monte Carlo) were never marketed as performance cars. I don't know how the XJS was marketed here in the US (or elswhere, for that matter), but the Grand Prix and Monte Carlo were marketed as Personal Luxury cars. Posh (for american cars) interiors, twin bucket seats with plus two rear seating, room for luggage and enough power to take it on the interstate and travel over long distances in comfort.

If you placed a XJS in a line-up with a early '70s Grand Prix and a Ferrari Daytona Spyder and asked the "average" Joe which one of these things don't belong (remember the old Sesame Street song?) He'd point to the Daytona. Even though both the XJS and the Daytona are classified as "GT" cars and the Grand Prix is a "Personal Luxury" car, the XJS would still be perceived as a "Personal Luxury" car by Joe Average (maybe I should say "Joe Average American"....perceptions could be different in Europe). Guilt by association.

As far as handling....I haven't rebuilt the suspension as of yet in my XJS. But I wouldn't be surprised if the springs in the later models (facelift) were progressive for a softer ride. And no matter how good the suspension is, those are awful skinny tires on a very heavy car. A car with all the engine weight over the front wheels. And when you go hard into a turn, and the skinny tires want to go right or left and all that engine weight wants to keep going straight, and the tires loose there grip.....that's understeer. The suspension is only as good as how well those small patches of rubber hold the road. My old Mach 1 still had understeer even with all the aftermarket springs, shocks and anti-sway bars with poly bushings. If it had enough oomph engine-wise to break the rear tires loose, you could have compinsated for it by fish-tailing the rear end out (a technique they used with the old Shelby Cobras....imagine the weight of a 427 over the front wheels of one of those) but it didn't...

howlinowl

 

I think you meant to say "E-Type" and the last 2-3 years it was prodcued they often languished on showroom floors. It was outdated, plain and simple.






And look what they came up with ! It was an oddball design then and it was oddball at the end. Many car enthusiasts were disappointed. Some horrified! Fortunately the car got rave reviews from a drving standpoint.








If you look at 20 years of XJS advertising (I have a large collection) it's very easy to see how the marketing changed....at least the USA marketing.

First, it was never marketed as a sportscar. Comfort was *always* touted, as it *always* is in Jaguar advertising. However, performance/power/technical aspects played a prominent role in the advertsing. For a few years the car WAS competetive from a driving/performance standpoint. Competitive, that is, against other "GT" type cars. Not Porsche 911s.

Gradually, and quite obviously during the final few years, the car was no longer particularly impressive from a technical/driving aspect, and the style was growing old, so Jaguar freshened it up (body colored bumpers etc at the end) and really pushed the whole style/elegance/prestige/luxury aspect of the car. References to power, technical attributes, acceleration, Jaguar racing history, etc all but disappeared.

So, your "personal luxury car" description is apt, IMHO. A car to take to the tennis club, yes, but I don't think anyone thought of it as a powerful, capable "GT car" for tearing across continental Europe, tackling the Alps, and slaying challengers with a single swipe of the mighty V12 sword.

The fact is, the later cars are splendid to drive and very capable. But there was certainly no emphasis on "performance".

By the time the XJS was nearing the end Jaguar had other ideas in mind to re-ignite the "high performance" aspect of its heritage.






Which requires definition





Relatively few people use, or even care to use, tire smoking, power-induced oversteer as a routine method of rapidly getting thru the twisty bits.

"Drifting" crowd and exhibitionists excepted, of course!

Be it gross oversteer or gross understeer, you've lost traction either way.

Cheers
DD

 

And of course if you lose traction you lose forward momentum and end up going slower so it's bit pointless really.
I must be getting old.

 

honestly 235s aren't that small, the only time ive broken traction accidently is in the rain and i regularly drive much faster than everyone else through corners in total comfort.

Ill admit i've never driven the car REALLY aggressively, which is the only way to see how a car handles. I just know it would destroy whats left of my bushings.

the fact is the XJS competed and won when it was used as a race car. To me any car that is used to race and does well is a pretty good merit in terms of handling

 

Interesting to see the veiws held by the main market buyers. In europe it was definitely marketed as a GT in the true sense of the word: Touring in grand style, which on these shores means a fast, comfortable and stylish vehicle capable of gobbling up huge distances while leaving the occupants fresh as daisies at the end of the trip. And of course ample luggage room for two. Also, a true GT would always get a nice place alotted by the doorman of the grand establishments.

It was definitely not seen as a sportscar like the 911. It was to be relaxing and forgiving. A 911 was anything but until they sort of tamed the wayward rear end. The latter achievement is a bit like Ettore Bugatti's statement about Rolls Royce: Engineering's triumph over design.

And dare I repeat it, what other car did 150mph with impeccable behaviour out of the box (ref Bob Tullius)?

Had the XJ-S had build quality / reliability been on par with the german makes from day one sales would have been huge. After all, despite the quality horrors of the late 70'ies it survived which was no mean feat at all!

 

When you consider the engineering age and *design intent* of the XJS you will conclude that the XJS "handles" very well.

If you compare it to cars with a *different design intent* or that have benefited from modern engineering, you will find it lacking.

Cheers
DD

 

Frankly, how the XJS performs (especially in comparison to modern cars) will never be a factor in its collectible status. It's the looks and the smooth ride. Plus the prestige of having a V12. It's a car you drive because you love it and you CAN. And there won't be too many of them going forward. Buy 'em while you can.

 

i now feel really down!!

just went on E-bay motors, checked XJ & XJS , 6 cars sold for under $1000, one nice looking 78 XJS coupe,V12, went for $375.

it seems we all may be dreaming about hi value.

and at a local foriegn car show ,the topic came up about the unrealibility of early Jags(and LUCAS), even French and German stuff was not up to US standards, toss in Italion while at it!

last week i had my XJS appraised by a hi-end car guy(he has 5 ferrari, 3 Lambos, 2 R8 Audi, hot rods, Resto stuff, lot of nice custom stuff on the show room floor.

he took some pix and said he would speak to some others in this line of work,
you want to feel bad ,,try $5000. top number.
my car is close to perfect in comparision to most XJ-XJS 76-89.
it has ZERO RUST! a great driving car, and i think faster than any other XJS.

and i try not to think how much money i'v put into it.

 

I'll just add that the "fast" element of "GT" formula implies not only engine power/speed but also brakes, stability, and roadholding that are up to the job.

If you minimize or remove those attributes all that's left is "comfortable and stylish" :-)

Cheers
DD

 

So all those high end motors that cost 10 or 50 times what a reasonable XJS costs: do they provide 10 or 50 times the enjoyment?
If you have paid out 50 grand on a car that is only twice as good in every respect as a decent XJS then you have been royally screwed!
I buy an XJS because I like the car, not because I expect to make any money out of it (fat chance of that).
And yes, they are collectors cars; I've collected 2 at the moment!

 

Prices will go up; it's inevitable. Buy em up now.

 

Yup, a decent XJS represents lots of bang for the buck

Cheers
DD

 

Which similarly styled cars?

 

OK, everyone here has an honest opinion, BUT what has not been ANSWERED, is why are some perfectly good cars, have no useful value??

case in point; this guy,in Miami FL. super rich, big car collection, has a perfect 1965 Ferrari 275, when asked what do you use for a daily driver car, he said i rent yrly a HUNDAI Accent, again asked why, he said, the accent rides better, better on fuel(most annoying to stopping for premieum fuel), heat & cooling better, simply put it is a very practical car, but it aint worth a tinkers damn, even if you crash it!

can anyone come up with REAL answer to this car market, and i dont want to hear about.they only made a small number of ferrari, my car is the only 78 Jag roadster V12 in the USA, that makes it a small number, but no value!!

 

Indeed, in this context fast means effortlessly covering the distances. So brskes etc must all be there. Unless you want a car sick passenger the XJ-S is pretty much up to the job even today. Passengers generally object to high g cornering and hard braking so by the time the XJ-S gets ragged you will have one irate passenger.