Article on the XK.

Ian Callum Wants Another Jaguar XK, Seems Rather Unhappy the Jaguar XK Was Killed Off

 

Interesting article. I'd love to see the next gen XK model, but we'll have to wait til 2021ish.

I just hope they don't forget the burled walnut dash, i read once that younger folks feedback was that the wood made the cars look like an old man's car.

You don't see much wood in the XJ's anymore.

John

 

That may be a very tough task indeed. Demand for the XK series had been declining for years. I think Jaguar will have a difficult time bringing back the XK series and actually turning a reasonable profit on it....

 

"The Fourth Turning" is an amazingly accurate sociological book from 1996 that identifies four generational profiles that cycle--always in the same order--through four stages of life. The profiles are Prophets, Nomads, Heroes and Artists. The current generations are commonly called Boomers, Gen-X, Millennials and Gen-Z. The four life stages are Elders, Managers, Workers and Children. The "turnings" are the points at which each generation moves to the next stage of life.

I burdened you with all that in order to postulate this: The XK mystique (handcrafted sumptuous graceful elegance incorporating cutting edge power and technology) appeals primarily to early Heroes and early Prophets as they reach their peak earning years. That indicates to me that the next strong market for the XK we all know and love will not begin until around 2045.

Is that too far-fetched?

 

There are very few 2+2 Convertibles still on the market--I don't think they sell well.
Bentley
BMW
Ferrari (California Backseat even smaller than the X100)
Maserati
Mini
Rolls Royce

 

I think that there is a market for 2+2 convertibles, but that the market is for younger people. Young couples with small children. The kids will fit in the backseat for quite a few years. The price point has to be much lower than any Jaguar. Look at the success of the Mustang convertible. I got a lot of use out of my 280Z 2+2 and Mustang coupes and convertibles. I would like an XK coupe, but would prefer something like the old MBZ SEC and XJ6 coupes.