RE: Jag: we got it wrong
Discussion
I think there must be some irony in claiming the X-Type wasn't styled very well now that we have the hugely bland XF. Being in mind that I own an S-Type, when I first showed my wife an XF and asked her who she thought made it, she said she wasn't sure, but thought it must be Japanese. At least when you look at the X-Type you know it's a Jag without having to check the badge. Jaguar have swapped character and brand recogintion for mass sales. Fair enough, but I miss proper looking Jags.
The thing is - a slightly more aggressive pair of bumpers, some better wheels and a dashboard not trying quite so hard at Retro-bingo and the look of it would be very different and (dare I say it) potentially much more appealing to the younger demographic that they were supposedly targeting. What the X Type ended up as was a product for retirees that were too rich to resort to buying something like a Hyundai i3. That doesn't make it a bad car, but it did make it a failure.
VladD said:
I think there must be some irony in claiming the X-Type wasn't styled very well now that we have the hugely bland XF. Being in mind that I own an S-Type, when I first showed my wife an XF and asked her who she thought made it, she said she wasn't sure, but thought it must be Japanese. At least when you look at the X-Type you know it's a Jag without having to check the badge. Jaguar have swapped character and brand recogintion for mass sales. Fair enough, but I miss proper looking Jags.
Really? The XF looks far more like a proper Jag to me than the overgrown Mitsuoka Viewt S-type.VladD said:
I think there must be some irony in claiming the X-Type wasn't styled very well now that we have the hugely bland XF. Being in mind that I own an S-Type, when I first showed my wife an XF and asked her who she thought made it, she said she wasn't sure, but thought it must be Japanese. At least when you look at the X-Type you know it's a Jag without having to check the badge. Jaguar have swapped character and brand recogintion for mass sales. Fair enough, but I miss proper looking Jags.
+1 to this.First time I saw the new XJ on the road and pointed it to my partner, she wouldn't believe me that was a Jag and kept saying it looked like a Vauxhall.
300bhp/ton said:
+1 to this.
First time I saw the new XJ on the road and pointed it to my partner, she wouldn't believe me that was a Jag and kept saying it looked like a Vauxhall.
Well, Vauxhall did rip off the design with the Insignia. I understand Norman Dewis approves of what Ian Callum is doing and has said Bill Lyons would have done the same. If it's good enough for him...First time I saw the new XJ on the road and pointed it to my partner, she wouldn't believe me that was a Jag and kept saying it looked like a Vauxhall.
RoverP6B said:
VladD said:
I think there must be some irony in claiming the X-Type wasn't styled very well now that we have the hugely bland XF. Being in mind that I own an S-Type, when I first showed my wife an XF and asked her who she thought made it, she said she wasn't sure, but thought it must be Japanese. At least when you look at the X-Type you know it's a Jag without having to check the badge. Jaguar have swapped character and brand recogintion for mass sales. Fair enough, but I miss proper looking Jags.
Really? The XF looks far more like a proper Jag to me than the overgrown Mitsuoka Viewt S-type.Were sales of it all that bad? You still see plenty on the road today, although I remember about 8 years ago seeing how cheap relatively new ones were in car supermarkets. The saloon always looked a bit odd to me, too upright and somehow squashed up but seeing an estate on the road yesterday reminded me the estate was quite good looking in the right spec/wheel combo.
RoverP6B said:
300bhp/ton said:
+1 to this.
First time I saw the new XJ on the road and pointed it to my partner, she wouldn't believe me that was a Jag and kept saying it looked like a Vauxhall.
Well, Vauxhall did rip off the design with the Insignia. I understand Norman Dewis approves of what Ian Callum is doing and has said Bill Lyons would have done the same. If it's good enough for him...First time I saw the new XJ on the road and pointed it to my partner, she wouldn't believe me that was a Jag and kept saying it looked like a Vauxhall.
Jaguar XJ production 2009 -
VladD said:
The XF has no features that distinguish it as a Jag at all. As has been observed, ask Joe Public what it is if they are not familiar with it, and they haven't got a clue.
Rubbish! The fluted bonnet over the headlights, the E-type central bulge, the '68 XJ elliptical grille... the front wing vents from the XK... the shape of the side glazing is also notably similar to the 1968 XJ...VladD said:
I think there must be some irony in claiming the X-Type wasn't styled very well now that we have the hugely bland XF. Being in mind that I own an S-Type, when I first showed my wife an XF and asked her who she thought made it, she said she wasn't sure, but thought it must be Japanese. At least when you look at the X-Type you know it's a Jag without having to check the badge. Jaguar have swapped character and brand recogintion for mass sales. Fair enough, but I miss proper looking Jags.
You are in the minority that miss the Grand Father clock on wheels styling.And of that minority most are either p!ss stained, senile or dying. Sorry to appear rude - but that is the truth of it.
FWDRacer said:
You are in the minority that miss the Grand Father clock on wheels styling.
And of that minority most are either p!ss stained, senile or dying. Sorry to appear rude - but that is the truth of it.
Agreed. Up to X308 it was fine, but X351 is the car X350 should have been to start with. Remember when Bertone came out with a 'classic Jag' concept a couple of years ago? It was very poorly received.And of that minority most are either p!ss stained, senile or dying. Sorry to appear rude - but that is the truth of it.
Er, somewhat selective memories surely! What really killed the X, was a lack of competitive and sector specific powertrains! Basically, who want's a cheap jag, but still with the "big" engine options from the full sized cars? When they finally twigged this, and offered it with the 2.2d, it was actually a very strong seller for them!
300bhp/ton said:
RoverP6B said:
300bhp/ton said:
+1 to this.
First time I saw the new XJ on the road and pointed it to my partner, she wouldn't believe me that was a Jag and kept saying it looked like a Vauxhall.
Well, Vauxhall did rip off the design with the Insignia. I understand Norman Dewis approves of what Ian Callum is doing and has said Bill Lyons would have done the same. If it's good enough for him...First time I saw the new XJ on the road and pointed it to my partner, she wouldn't believe me that was a Jag and kept saying it looked like a Vauxhall.
Jaguar XJ production 2009 -
RoverP6B said:
VladD said:
The XF has no features that distinguish it as a Jag at all. As has been observed, ask Joe Public what it is if they are not familiar with it, and they haven't got a clue.
Rubbish! The fluted bonnet over the headlights, the E-type central bulge, the '68 XJ elliptical grille... the front wing vents from the XK... the shape of the side glazing is also notably similar to the 1968 XJ...
To be fair to Jag, it was Ford who told them what to build. The original X type mule's were Mondeo's with bits of X type grafted on, 3.0 petrol & AWD was the only option then (Mondeo estate rear floor). They were developing a X type 'R' with a supercharged 3.0 too but that got pulled (transmission problems).
Not a bad car but not a great car either. Ford were more interested in commonality than individuality though, keeps costs down & that is what Ford do better than most.
Not a bad car but not a great car either. Ford were more interested in commonality than individuality though, keeps costs down & that is what Ford do better than most.
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