Is coming out with this remarkable vehicle to replace the Jaguar Marquee. http://www.popularmechanics.com/auto...s/4251491.html Enjoy the lines of our Jags, while we can! LOL!

 

Don't be so quick to trash TATA. Take a look at this suggested XK replacement.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsAr...aspx?AR=247559

Now THAT is looking much better than the current style!

 

Hmmmmmmm. I did not trash Ta Ta, in fact, I am happy that they were able to purchase Jaguar and keep them in business. Did you see the LOL at the end of my post, and realize what that meant? It is pretty ironic that England, with its long history of colonization and so forth, including India, has now had one of its premier auto companies taken over by an Indian company. As they say, what goes around comes around.

 

That look appears to be a combination of Corvette C6 (side view) and Maserati (front grill). Quite a dramatic departure from the current design.

Doug

 

Well, Doug, it seems pretty clear that Jaguar is reaching out to a different segment of the marketplace than they have inhabited since their inception. I suppose that they have done a lot of market research and made their decison to go in that direction. I guess us old guys who fell in love with the original XK8 body style, a clear evolution from the XKE, are fading into the dust. Now, apparently, they are moving Jaguar in to another direction, at least with the XK concept.

 

Diesel powered XK - now that's a bodacious Ta Ta

 

Hey Kev--The only way I can even think of affording cars of this caliber is on the resale market. So the good news is that these types of dramatic remodels should make the current generation more affordable for guys like me if and when I get tired of my current 2005 model.

Doug

 

I was at a dealer near Manchester on Sunday, and the salesman said Jaguar are repositioning themselves. Reason being that the traditional Jaguar buyers are dying off and the younger chaps want something different.

Part of this is the cars are also going way up-market to Bentley territory, hence dropping the X-type. I suppose it is all about more profit from fewer sales. X-type has been quite popular here in the UK, but not popular enough apparently.

 

I dunno. Anyone here really interested in a 300 hp diesel swap into their Jag?

Watch TV and see what is being advertised. It is high dollar cars.

Economics is curious. I remember long ago (when Cadillacs and Lincolns were the premier American cars), a Cadillac dealer explaining, "no matter what happens with the economy, we always sell the same number of Cadillacs."

The economic downturn (across the Western world) affects working people and the middle class. They are afraid to buy a new car even if they could swing it.

People with money always have money to buy what they want. So trying to sell fancy pickup trucks for $40-$50,000 isn't working anymore and even genetic work-a-day cars are stagnant. But people with money can still by what they want. The more you go up the price ladder, the less the companies are affected by current economics. So Ferraris still sell. Ford F150 sales are way down.

Novelty cars like the XK8/R rarely are profitable. They are banner cars to protect the image of the badge. It is clear that the Jag Sedans are so successful (excellent appearances) that Jaguar will put their efforts there. It doesn't cost much more to make a car selling for $150,000 than a car selling for $80,000 - so the margin of profit vastly higher.

Those super costly models then also help sell the almost-as-good lesser models. For example, Porsche used the 928 (that cost 2 1/2 times the cost of the average house) to sell gobs of 924s/944s. The same for Mercedes. Their mega costly super cars serve to sell their still impressive but much lesser cars at much lesser prices. Somehow, then, that makes $80,000 seem a really low price.

I see little future for the XK8/R. They'll run the style as long as they can. A new model, if any, will be putting different skin on their sedan drivetrain and chassis - almost like a factory installed body kit. That's my prediction.

High dollar cars are in. Low cost vehicles are out. That's the current economic circumstance.

I also predict that any company that believes it will succeed by selling $100,000+ cars marketing how "green" they are (low power, great mileage and "green-ness") will find that a failed venture unless it brings government subsidies. Luxury cars at luxury prices are not bought by people who compare gas-pump price signs to try to save a penny or two a gallon. People buy $100,000+ cars to show off the ability to excessively spend money superior to the masses - a form of showing self-assigned special status upon economics, not to show environmental restraint and economic utility.

 

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Most mainstream upper-end automakers apparently have the greatest success by offering a broad range of products, some of which dip down into the "ordinary Joe" territory. For example BMW and their 3-series, Mercedes and their C-series, Cadillac and their CTS, etc.

On the other hand, there are those manufacturers that absolutely do NOT want the bourgeoisie. Porsche, Ferrari, Bentley, etc.

Just different business models--whatever works.

Doug