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Jaguars New XJ is introduced.. What do you think?
New Jaguar XJ to grow up
Flagship to be bigger to stay competitive
September 16, 2002
BY JAMIE BUTTERS
DETROIT FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
When Ian Callum was 14, he fell in love at first sight. The proportions, the curves, the visual energy -- he was smitten with the original Jaguar XJ.
Hands and nose pressed against the showroom window, his destiny was set: "I knew I had to be a car designer," he recalls. So it was only fitting that he would be responsible for designing the seventh generation of the XJ, with the challenge of preserving that visual statement in a taller and longer car.
Jaguar will officially unveil its flagship sedan at the Paris auto show later this month. But Callum came to metro Detroit Thursday to show his big XJ to a few reporters and Jaguar collectors at the 4-month-old Jaguar of Novi dealership.
The cars will roll into showrooms for real by next June as 2004 models. Jaguar won't discuss pricing yet, but the current model starts at about $56,000.
And the new one could be more expensive, with a predominantly aluminum body. Aluminum is costly, but it is lighter than steel and can be stronger. Jaguar says this body is 60 percent stiffer than its predecessor.
It will come with a choice of two 4.2-liter engines, including a 390-horsepower, supercharged V8 for the XJR version.
Other power and torque specifications will be announced later, Jaguar said.
But the biggest news of the new XJ is its size. It's about 4 inches taller and 4 inches longer.
Competition from the likes of Lexus and Mercedes forced Jaguar to respond with a taller five-passenger sedan.
Callum's challenge was to preserve the visual heritage of the original XJ while ballooning the sedan to carry a family to dinner.
"This car had to grow up," he said, somewhat sadly.
The interior is, of course, swimming in leather and wood. It features a stylish push-button opener for the glove box and a shiny piano-black finish on the center cluster.
And the door handles are a handshake design that is more elegant, though less convenient, than the common paddle style.
As the XJ has matured, so has the brand, said spokesman Simon Sproule.
Many years, the brand offered only a couple of models. But with the introduction of the midsize S-Type in 1999 and the even smaller X-Type in 2001, it is time to return to the legendary XJ as a "full-line, serious, grown-up car company," he said.
Last year, Jaguar sold more than 100,000 cars worldwide for the first time. And sales have continued to grow this year, jumping 63 percent through August in the United States.
Much of that growth has come from the introduction in late 2001 of the Jaguar X-Type, an entry-level luxury sports sedan that starts at $30,000. Almost 25,000 have been sold so far this year in the United States.
Meanwhile, sales of the XJ fell by almost 40 percent from 1998 to 2001 in the United States, which historically accounts for about 60 percent of XJ sales.
Since the XJ was introduced in 1968 for $6,400, Jaguar has sold 800,000 of them -- more than half of the Jaguars ever made.
But Jaguar is now part of Ford Motor Co.'s Premier Automotive Group of European luxury brands, along with Volvo, Land Rover and Aston Martin. Those brands are expected to deliver as much as $2 billion in profit in 2005. Ford won't say what they earn now.
With its ample headroom, the XJ is going to be his car, said 6-foot-2 dealer Nathan Conyers.
But he is more excited about fast becoming one of the most prolific Jaguar dealers in the world. It helps that Ford salaried employees can get discounts on new Jaguars. "We're seeing a lot of people looking at Jaguar for the first time," he said.
New Jaguar XJ to grow up
Flagship to be bigger to stay competitive
September 16, 2002
BY JAMIE BUTTERS
DETROIT FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
When Ian Callum was 14, he fell in love at first sight. The proportions, the curves, the visual energy -- he was smitten with the original Jaguar XJ.
Hands and nose pressed against the showroom window, his destiny was set: "I knew I had to be a car designer," he recalls. So it was only fitting that he would be responsible for designing the seventh generation of the XJ, with the challenge of preserving that visual statement in a taller and longer car.
Jaguar will officially unveil its flagship sedan at the Paris auto show later this month. But Callum came to metro Detroit Thursday to show his big XJ to a few reporters and Jaguar collectors at the 4-month-old Jaguar of Novi dealership.
The cars will roll into showrooms for real by next June as 2004 models. Jaguar won't discuss pricing yet, but the current model starts at about $56,000.
And the new one could be more expensive, with a predominantly aluminum body. Aluminum is costly, but it is lighter than steel and can be stronger. Jaguar says this body is 60 percent stiffer than its predecessor.
It will come with a choice of two 4.2-liter engines, including a 390-horsepower, supercharged V8 for the XJR version.
Other power and torque specifications will be announced later, Jaguar said.
But the biggest news of the new XJ is its size. It's about 4 inches taller and 4 inches longer.
Competition from the likes of Lexus and Mercedes forced Jaguar to respond with a taller five-passenger sedan.
Callum's challenge was to preserve the visual heritage of the original XJ while ballooning the sedan to carry a family to dinner.
"This car had to grow up," he said, somewhat sadly.
The interior is, of course, swimming in leather and wood. It features a stylish push-button opener for the glove box and a shiny piano-black finish on the center cluster.
And the door handles are a handshake design that is more elegant, though less convenient, than the common paddle style.
As the XJ has matured, so has the brand, said spokesman Simon Sproule.
Many years, the brand offered only a couple of models. But with the introduction of the midsize S-Type in 1999 and the even smaller X-Type in 2001, it is time to return to the legendary XJ as a "full-line, serious, grown-up car company," he said.
Last year, Jaguar sold more than 100,000 cars worldwide for the first time. And sales have continued to grow this year, jumping 63 percent through August in the United States.
Much of that growth has come from the introduction in late 2001 of the Jaguar X-Type, an entry-level luxury sports sedan that starts at $30,000. Almost 25,000 have been sold so far this year in the United States.
Meanwhile, sales of the XJ fell by almost 40 percent from 1998 to 2001 in the United States, which historically accounts for about 60 percent of XJ sales.
Since the XJ was introduced in 1968 for $6,400, Jaguar has sold 800,000 of them -- more than half of the Jaguars ever made.
But Jaguar is now part of Ford Motor Co.'s Premier Automotive Group of European luxury brands, along with Volvo, Land Rover and Aston Martin. Those brands are expected to deliver as much as $2 billion in profit in 2005. Ford won't say what they earn now.
With its ample headroom, the XJ is going to be his car, said 6-foot-2 dealer Nathan Conyers.
But he is more excited about fast becoming one of the most prolific Jaguar dealers in the world. It helps that Ford salaried employees can get discounts on new Jaguars. "We're seeing a lot of people looking at Jaguar for the first time," he said.
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