Ford selling off Jaguar and Land Rover

According to news reports, Ford has decided to get rid of it's two UK luxury brands -Jaguar and Land Rover. This is probably part of it's restructuring programme. This news comes as a surprise because Ford had invested heavily on these two marques and they are doing OK. Jaguar was bought in 1980 for £1.6 billion.

Read the CNN report here.

According to the Economist, this is the latest sign that

the turnaround at the world's third-biggest carmaker is not going well.

Workers at the Jaguar's Whitley plant (their HQ) here in Coventry are quite worried about their job security. As much as I hate to say it, the fact is that making cars here in the UK is no longer cost effective. This news follows Peugeot's decision to close their Ryton plant.

Latest news indicates that Cerberus, the private equity group that just bought Chrysler, has indicated interest in the companies. However, Cerberus has declined to comment. Read the report here.

Tags: binley car industry coventry ford jaguar land rover

Enhanced Jaguar XKs revealed

Jaguar revealed enhanced XK and the X-TYPE ranges, which will be released in 2008, at the Canary Wharf Motorexpo.

For your information, Jaguar's XK is available in 3 versions - Coupé, Convertible or the Supercharged R version. All of the cars were made from constructed from aluminium for lightness, strength and rigidity, feature a new Sequential Shift 6-speed automatic transmission and offer 2+2 seating.

Check out the pics and you will agree with me when I say that they are look STUNNING.

The XK coupé in Liquid Silver.

The XK coupé comes with Jaguar Sequential Shift 6-speed automatic transmission, steering wheel-mounted paddles. Advanced features include Computer Active Technology Suspension, Dynamic Stability Control, an intelligent lighting system, Adaptive Cruise Control and the Jaguar Smart Key System.

According to Jaguar, the coupe accelerates from 0-60 mph (0-100 km/h) in 5.9 [6.2] seconds and has a maximum speed of 155 miles/hr (250 km/hr). It is priced at £60,097 (OTR).

The enhancements on the XK were mostly cosmetic. They now have 20-inch double five-spoke Senta alloy wheels, Jaguar Premium Surround Sound, heated front windscreen and bright finish alloy pedals as standard.

The XK convertible in Frost Blue.

The XK Convertible has a folding roof that can be lowered or raised automatically in less than 18 seconds.

Prices start from £66,097 (OTR)

According to Jaguar, the convertible goes from 0-60 mph (0-100 km/h) in 6 [6.2] seconds and has the same maximum speed as the coupe', i.e., 155 miles/hr (250 km/hr).

Both cars come with the option of a normally aspirated 4.2 litre V8 engine which delivers 300bhp.

On the other hand, you can have the award winning XKR sports car powered by Jaguar´s latest generation, supercharged 4.2 litre V8 420bhp engine.

Launched in 2006, the low frills car has a stunning top speed of 185mph with a 0-60 acceleration time of just 4.5 seconds.

The price for the Supercharged coupé was £67,585 (OTR) and £73,585 (OTR) for the XKR convertible.

Besides the above mentioned enhancements, the new XKRs now features a new high-performance braking system with 400mm front discs and 350mm rear discs.

With the new enhancements, the revised price of the XKR Coupé is now £70,097 while the convertible is now £76,097.

As for the interior, which one do you prefer:

1. Caramel with Burr Walnut Fascia


2. Ivory with Poplar Fascia
or

3. Warm Charcoal with Aluminum


As for the X-Type, the only "enhancement" is a new mesh grille and two new colors: Blue Prism and White Onyx.

Tags: jaguar xk xkr

Jaguar C-XF coming to the UK

Jaguar's concept car made its debut on 7 January at the NAIAS in Detroit. It's a four-door sedan powered by a 4.2-litre supercharged V8 engine.

The car, which was designed in Whitley, in Coventry, has been called as the "sexiest four-door we've seen from Jaguar in years," by Dutch Mandel, editor and associate publisher, AutoWeek. The magazine named it the best of the best at the North American International Auto Show and also awarded the car the Editors Choice Award for Best in Show 2007.

The C-XF makes it's official UK debut at the official opening of Ricoh Arena on the 24th of February.

It will be built at Jaguar's state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at Castle Bromwich, Birmingham.