'Saving Jaguar' - book by John Egan

[dbdb]

I see Sir John Egan has written a book detailing his time at Jaguar Cars. It was published on 1st July. I have only just noticed it, so it could have been discussed on here before - if so, then my apologies!

It is available form Porter books as a signed copy:

http://www.porterpress.co.uk/john-egan---saving-ja...

Amazon stock it as an unsigned book at slightly less money for the economical amongst us:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Saving-Jaguar-John-Egan/dp...

ISBN: 978-1-907085-31-4

Author: Sir John Egan
Specifications: Hardback, 224 pages, 240mm x 170mm (portrait)
Publisher: Porter Press International
Illustrations: Approximately 80

I have bought a copy and will be interested to read his insights into Jaguar at that time and hear his version of events.

[jith]

I would love to hear some thoughts on not only this book, but anyone involved in Jaguar in that era. I was involved in the worst aspect of it, which was facing the customer who had paid very good money for what had to be the worst build quality in a prestige automobile in that era.

Did he personally actually save Jaguar, or could there have been another, perhaps more preferable, answer? Those are the real questions.

J

[deadslow]

I ran an '86 4.2 for 6 years and its still the most reliable car I've ever owned.

[jith]

deadslow said:

I ran an '86 4.2 for 6 years and its still the most reliable car I've ever owned.

With respect deadslow, you are one person with one car that was built 6 years after Egan took over.

The rot started in the early '70s, and I could tell you stories about brand new cars that would make your hair curl. This was all about very, very bad management and virtually no quality control.

I had police vehicles sitting in the garage waiting for cylinder head gaskets. It took them 7 or 8 weeks to get them from Coventry to Glasgow!! The gaskets were blowing at less than 10k!!

Bear in mind, in those days there was no Euro Car Parts or similar companies and Jaguar would absolutely not permit what they termed spurious parts to be fitted, despite the fact that the genuine Jaguar stuff on many occasions was crap!

Not a nice time to work on these cars, believe me.

J

[deadslow]

jith said:

deadslow said:

I ran an '86 4.2 for 6 years and its still the most reliable car I've ever owned.

With respect deadslow, you are one person with one car that was built 6 years after Egan took over.

Yes, but I think the point I am making is that Egan, though later damned with faint praise by Ford, made a real effort to pull Jaguar back from the quality brink. I am sure the 70s and early 80s jags were rubbish. All my pals told me I was mad to buy a Jag at the time and regaled me with stories of legendary unreliability. But my 86 car was brilliant, and superior in every way to the E28 528 which preceded it..

[jith]

deadslow said:

jith said:

deadslow said:

I ran an '86 4.2 for 6 years and its still the most reliable car I've ever owned.

With respect deadslow, you are one person with one car that was built 6 years after Egan took over.

Yes, but I think the point I am making is that Egan, though later damned with faint praise by Ford, made a real effort to pull Jaguar back from the quality brink. I am sure the 70s and early 80s jags were rubbish. All my pals told me I was mad to buy a Jag at the time and regaled me with stories of legendary unreliability. But my 86 car was brilliant, and superior in every way to the E28 528 which preceded it..

I agree with you about Egan and the fact that he made a real effort: no question about that. The biggest problem for me was the relationship with the Thatcher government. Regardless of what you thought of her, and as a Scottish engineer I hated her guts with a vengeance, she was a destroyer of industry and companies, and this makes me distinctly uncomfortable about the eventual sale of Jaguar to Ford and her involvement in that.

I have to say deadslow, in almost all circles you would have a real fight on your hands re the E28 528i. It was a superb motor car. The handling alone would leave the Jaguar for dead on any road. The interior and luggage space was far superior and the way the car handled and the dash ergonomics are still rated as some of the finest ever. I just don't know what to say to you about rating the Jaguar as superior; it is to me, having worked on dozens of both of these vehicles, simply ridiculous.

J

[deadslow]

jith said:

I have to say deadslow, in almost all circles you would have a real fight on your hands re the E28 528i. It was a superb motor car. The handling alone would leave the Jaguar for dead on any road. The interior and luggage space was far superior and the way the car handled and the dash ergonomics are still rated as some of the finest ever. I just don't know what to say to you about rating the Jaguar as superior; it is to me, having worked on dozens of both of these vehicles, simply ridiculous.

J

Yes, this is what all my pals said when I bought the Jaguar. But they were left laughing out of their arses when I hadn't even changed a lightbulb in 6 years.

[ClaphamGT3]

Back in the early/mid seventies, my Grandparents briefly ran an E12 528 and a late S1 XJ12 simultaneously.

My Grandfather, extremely knowledgeable about cars, always maintained that the BMW was conceptually inferior to the XJ but was rendered a better car by superior execution

[dbdb]

Jags in the late 1970s certainly had a lot of quality problems. I remember my parent's neighbours Daimler Sovereign 4.2 seemed always to have something wrong with it.

By the mid-late 1980s quality must have improved though. My father replaced an E28 528i automatic with a 3.6 litre XJ6 in 1987. The Jaguar was a better car in pretty much every way - and actually more reliable. The Jaguar was not problem free (he once got stuck in it through door handle failure!!) but his BMW E28 was really quite troublesome and stranded him more than once.

[jith]

Halfway through my copy now and a very good read. Also a real eye opener re Egan's view on the unions.

Will come back when I finish it.

J

[Alex]

In Autocar today, Steve Cropley says he could not put this book down.

Just ordered a signed copy.

[engineer666]

Can't comment on the E28 528i but can comment on the E28 M535i handling which had the same semi trailing arm suspension which when on the limit was very tricky on anything but smooth dry roads and as regards wet conditions on smooth roads or not so smooth roads, well lets just say hold on and counter steer.

But what a car the E28 M535i was (back in 1985) having used it at FMC as one of many cars as a comparison to the original Sierra 3 door Cosworth and then later to develope the Sierra Cosworth 4 door Sapphire into a road bias road car.

As regards the book from JE its worth reading Norman Dewis "DEVELOPING THE LEGEND" to get a development engineers view as well as the CEO / managers.

I think the Phase3 4.2 XJS was one of the best and in the same price range as the 7 series BMW etc. and not the 5 series, which was in a lower priced terriory.

Just ordered the book

[jith]

engineer666 said:

Can't comment on the E28 528i but can comment on the E28 M535i handling which had the same semi trailing arm suspension which when on the limit was very tricky on anything but smooth dry roads and as regards wet conditions on smooth roads or not so smooth roads, well lets just say hold on and counter steer.

But what a car the E28 M535i was (back in 1985) having used it at FMC as one of many cars as a comparison to the original Sierra 3 door Cosworth and then later to develope the Sierra Cosworth 4 door Sapphire into a road bias road car.

As regards the book from JE its worth reading Norman Dewis "DEVELOPING THE LEGEND" to get a development engineers view as well as the CEO / managers.

I think the Phase3 4.2 XJS was one of the best and in the same price range as the 7 series BMW etc. and not the 5 series, which was in a lower priced terriory.

Just ordered the book

A man after my own heart, engineer.
This was mine in 1985.



I was a Jaguar specialist, but I drove the BMW, although I have to say, I wouldn't thank you for a new one now; they just don't have the build quality. But you're right, it was a fantastic car.

I had a Schrick cam fitted and gas flowed the head and the car's performance was awesome. But the best thing about it was the way it handled and sat on the road. Magic memories!

You'll love the book.

J