Is the Jaguar nearly extinct

[Brown, Jon Brow]

The future looks grim for the iconic British company as Ford looks to sell it.

US managers have come to favour some form of disposal aimed at 'simplifying Ford'. They view Jaguar (and Land Rover) as a distraction from the business of fixing Ford's troubled North American operations.

Jaguar is seen as a liability due to it's losses and little financial value.

But the main problem is it's product portfolio.

X-Type - uncompetitive due to it's old man looks in a market dominated by modern stylish cars. Desperately needs high performance 'R' version. Starting to get a little dated.

S-Type - You wouldn't let your children pull a face like it does.. How can a car based on the old Lincoln LS be competitive with great cars like the 5-series and E-class. And it's nearly 10 years old.

XJ - a car styled in the 70's. Engineeringly it's fine, but it has nothing advanced or unique like a £60,000+ car should.

XK - Looks great but again has no unique features.

Instead of building boring Estate cars, Jaguar should be making cars like this
http://www.diseno-art.com/images/F-Type.jpg

[trumperZ06]

;) Jaguar lost it's way and has been lost in the Wilderness for years.

Having owned a few Jag's... XK 140, XK 150S, and 2 XKE's, I've never was able to understand... why people would put up with all the niggling problems... when choosing a sedan.

Lyon's sold an antique marque to Ford... who bought it's reputation. Ford tried to remake it... even entering Formula 1... with little success.

All this is amazing... when we compare Jaguar to Aston Martin !!! Aston's future looks bright, while Jaguar languishes, hoping to be aquired.

[CCFanatic]

That what Ford does. It takes over companies, or starts them(for example Visteon) and in only a few years they are sold because they become failures. They loose money and become just like the rest of the Ford failure bin. It is real sad though. The 50's and 60's Jags were beautiful cars, and that is what the Jaguar name was known for, but maybe their time has come.

[CharlieJ]

I completely agree Jon.

With any luck the company will have more ideas along the lines of the S-type replacement. As long as they're given a proper chance.

[tannat]

I remember cheering on the Group C TWR Jags about 20 years ago at Le Mans....

Would be a pity for this company to go under.......

[call_me_andrew]

Ford's not looking to sell. Ford is the only company that wants it right now. Anyone else would have given up on it. Last time I checked, Ford turned Aston Martin around nicely. Just give them some time.

[Donney]

I hope the Jaguar is not extinct, Jaguar is necessary it has such a rich history that it should not be lost.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

Its next years S-Type replacement :D

http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/resources/2006/12/jaguar_c_xf_concept_1.jpg

It's far better than the S-Type but I think it's a bit too fat around the rear.
http://www.jaguar.co.uk/uk/en/latest/news/current/CXF_182D8110-1D22-4C87-8120-D274BE130040.jpg

[Jag_Warrior]

Ford's business model is the ONLY thing which makes Jaguar appear to be in dire straits. Jaguar now sells more cars per year than it EVER has. For 2006, Jaguar ranked at #4 in J.D. Power's survey of design defects, ahead of Lexus, Nissan, Honda, Toyota and Acura. But when you're owned by a clueless group of passionless bean counters, who initially projected "success" at 200K total production units annually,and reality was closer to 100K production units annually, you will most likely have a problem or ten. Jaguar's main problem now is similar to Ford's main problem (big surprise): matching production capacity to REALISTIC market demand.

Personally, I rather like the looks of the S-type. But the new XF should do very well in its place (even though I see more Volvo than Jaguar in its lines). With new ownership for Jaguar, and likely Land Rover, the great marque should do well going forward. But IMO, Ford is a slowly sinking ship. I look forward to the day when Ford unloads Jaguar (and Land Rover). At least in the U.S., there is so much private equity money sloshing around, it's not even funny. If Cerberus would buy a dog like Chrysler (mostly so that they could get their hands on Jeep), surely someone with vision would buy Jaguar.