Jaguar (car)

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Jaguar

Type	Subsidiary of Ford
Founded	1922
Headquarters	Browns Lane, Allesley, Coventry, England, United Kingdom
Key people	Geoff Polites (CEO) Bibiana Boerio (Managing Director)
Industry	Automotive
Products	Automobile
Employees	c.600
Parent	Ford Premier Automotive Group
Website	Jaguar.com

Jaguar Cars Limited is a British based luxury car manufacturer, originally with headquarters in Browns Lane, Coventry, England but now at Whitley, Coventry. It was founded as SS Cars Ltd in 1922 and changed its name to Jaguar in 1945. The company has been owned by Ford since 1989.

Jaguar's main competitors include BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Lexus, Cadillac, Infiniti and Volvo, also, in the past, Rover.

The name is pronounced /ˈdʒægjuːə/ "jag you are" in the UK, //ˈdʒægˌwɑɹ// "jag wahr" in the USA. The colloquial "Jag" is acceptable in both countries.

1 History
2 Historical Models
3 Notable models
4 Engines
5 Current Models
6 Concept Models
7 Sports car racing
8 Jaguars in fiction and the media
9 Image gallery

[edit] History

Founded as the Swallow Sidecar Company in 1922, by two motorcycle enthusiasts, William Lyons and William Walmsley, the Jaguar name first appeared on a 2.5 litre saloon in 1935. This name was given to the entire company when SS Cars Ltd was renamed Jaguar Cars Ltd after World War II because of the unfavourable connotations of the initials "SS" (from their use by the Schutzstaffel in Nazi Germany).

The distinctive Jaguar badge

Jaguar made its name in the 1950s with a series of elegantly-styled sports cars and luxury saloons. The company bought the Daimler car company (not to be confused with Daimler-Benz), in 1960 from Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA). From the late 1960s, Daimler was used as a brand name for Jaguar's most luxurious saloons.

Jaguar merged with the British Motor Corporation (BMC), the Austin-Morris combine, to form British Motor Holdings (BMH) in 1966. After merging with Leyland and Rover, the resultant company then became British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC) in 1968. Financial difficulties and the publication of the Ryder Report led to effective nationalisation in 1975 and the company became British Leyland Ltd (BL).

In 1984, Jaguar was floated off as a separate company on the stock market - one of the Thatcher government's many privatisations. It took the Vanden Plas name with it. It was then taken over by Ford in 1989-1990. In 1999 it became part of Ford's new Premier Automotive Group along with Aston Martin, Volvo Cars and, from 2001, Land Rover. Recent reports speculate Ford might sell Jaguar in order to infuse much needed capital into its own operations. [1]. Since Ford purchased Jaguar in 1989 it has yet to earn a profit for the Dearborn-based automaker.

Jaguar cars gained something of a reputation for unreliability during the 1970s and 1980s, however this has improved considerably in the last 20 years. Since the company has been under the Ford Motor Company umbrella, reliability and build has improved dramatically, even surpassing that of Audi and Mercedes-Benz, with the company coming 7th (out of 30) in the J. D. Power Customer Satisfaction Survey (the '242-million mile road test'), and the S-TYPE model coming 9th out of 105 cars in the same survey. However, nowhere has the turnaround in the quality of the cars been more obvious than in the 2003 Top Gear Survey, where the XJ8 (X308) model came first.

The company was originally located in Blackpool but moved to Coventry in 1928 to be at the heart of the British motor industry. Today, Jaguars are assembled at Castle Bromwich in Birmingham and Halewood in Liverpool. The historic Browns Lane plant closed as a vehicle assembly plant in 2005 leaving the XJ, XK and S-Type production at Castle Bromwich and the X-Type at Halewood.

Since Land Rover's 2002 purchase by Ford, it has been closely associated with Jaguar. In many countries they share a common sales and distribution network (including shared dealerships), and some models now share components and production facilities. In September 2006 Ford also bought the rights to the Rover name and it is now part of Ford's Premier Automotive Group.

Jaguar Cars holds Royal Warrants from both HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Prince Charles.[2]

[edit] Historical Models

1950 Jaguar XK120 from the Ralph Lauren collection

A 1963 E-Type Roadster on display in Indianapolis

A 1968 Jaguar 340 small saloon

1985 Jaguar XJ-S with V-12 engine

The Jaguar company started production with the pre-war 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 litre models which used engines designed by the Standard Motor Company. The 1.5 litre four-cylinder engine was still supplied by Standard but the two larger six-cylinder ones were made in house. These cars have become known unofficially as Mark IVs.

The first post war model was the 1948 Mark V available with either 2.5 or 3.5 litre engines and had a more streamlined appearance than pre-war models, but more important was the change to independent front suspension and hydraulic brakes.

The big breakthrough was the launch in 1948 of the XK120 sports car with the new XK twin overhead camshaft (DOHC) 3.5 litre hemi-head^[1] six-cylinder engine designed by William Heynes, Walter Hassan and Claude Bailey. This engine had been designed during the long nights during the war when they would be on fire watch in the factory. After several attempts a final design was arrived at. That is until owner William Lyons said "make it quieter". The car had originally been intended as a short production model of about 200 vehicles as a test bed for the new engine until its intended home, the new Mark VII saloon, was ready. The XK120's reception was such production continued until 1954 and it was followed by the XK140, XK150, and E-Type, keeping Jaguar in the sports car market.

Introducing the large Mark VII saloon in 1951, a car especially conceived for the American market, Jaguar soon found itself overwhelmed with orders. The Mark VII and its successors gathered rave reviews from magazines such as Road & Track and The Motor. In 1956 a Mark VII won the prestigious Monte Carlo Rally.

The 1955 Mark 1 small saloon was the first monocoque (unibody) car from Jaguar and used a 2.4 litre short stroke version of the XK engine. In 1959, the car was improved with a larger engine and wider windows and became the Mark 2, one of the most recognizable Jaguar models ever produced. It would be popular with British police forces for its small size, light weight, and powerful engine.^[2]

The Mark VIII of 1956 and Mark IX of 1958 were essentially updates of the Mark VII but the Mark X of 1961 was a completely new design of large saloon with all round independent suspension and unibody construction.

The independent rear suspension from the Mark X was incorporated in the 1963 S-Type which closely resembled the Mark 2, and in 1967 the Mark 2 name was dropped when the small saloon became the 240/340 range. The 420 of 1966, also sold as the Daimler Sovereign, put a new front onto the S-type, although both cars continued in parallel until the S-Type was dropped in 1968. The Mark X became the 420G in 1966.

Of the more recent saloons, the most significant is the XJ (1968-present), still the definitive Jaguar saloon car for many. Since 1968 the Series I XJ has seen major changes in 1973 (to Series II), 1979 (Series III), 1986 [Europe] / 1987 [United States] (XJ40), 1995 (X300), 1997 (to the V-8 powered X308), 2003 (the present model, X350). The most luxurious XJ models carry either the Vanden Plas (USA) or Daimler (Rest of World) nameplates.

[edit] Notable models

Sports cars:

XK120 (1948-1954)
XK140 (1954-1957)
XK150 (1957-1960)
Jaguar E-type (1961-1975)
XJ-S/XJS (1975-1996)
XK8 (1997-2006)
XK (X150) (2007)

Large Saloons

2.5 Litre (1935-1948)
3.5 Litre (1937-1948)
Mark IV (1945-1948)
Mark V (1949-1951)
Mark VII(M) (1950-1957)
Mark VIII (1957-1959)
Mark IX (1958-1961)
Mark X/420G (1961-1970)
XJ6 (1968-1997)
XJ12 (1972-1997)
XJ8 (1998 to present)

Small Saloons

1.5 Litre (1935-1949)
Mark 1 (1955-1959)
Mark 2 (1959-1966)
S-type (1963-1968)
240/340 (1967-1969)
420 (1966-1970)
S-type (1999 to present)
XF (2007)

[edit] Engines

Jaguar has designed in-house four generations of engines.

Historical engines:
- Jaguar XK6 engine - inline-6
- Jaguar V12 engine - V12
- Jaguar AJ6 engine - inline-6
Current engines:
- Jaguar AJ-V8 engine - V8
- Jaguar AJ-V6 engine - V6

[edit] Current Models

The current Jaguar line-up includes the following models:

Model	US Type	Price Range	Notes
2007 Jaguar Model Line-up
XJ	full-size luxury sedan	$64,250 - $116,000
S-Type	luxury sport sedan	$46,500 - $66,500	To be replaced by the Jaguar XF
X-Type	near-luxury mid-size sedan and wagon	$33,500 - $37,500
XK	sports car/Coupe/Convertible	$75,500 - $93,000

[edit] Concept Models

R-D6 - Compact four-seat coupe
XK-RR - A high-performance version of last generation XK coupe.
XK-RS - Another performace-spec version of last generation XK convertible.
Concept Eight - Super-lux version of the long-wheelbase model of the XJ.
R-Coupé - Luxury four-seater coupe, closest competitor being the Bentley Continental GT.
C-XF
F-type - Roadster, similar to the XK8 but smaller

[edit] Sports car racing

The company has had major success in sports car racing, particularly in the Le Mans 24 Hours. Victories came in 1951 and 1953 with the C-Type, then in 1955, 1956 and 1957 with the D-Type. The famous race was then left for many years, until in the mid-1980s Tom Walkinshaw's TWR team started designing and preparing Jaguar V12-engined sports prototypes for European sports car races. The team started winning regularly from 1987, and with increased factory backing the team won Le Mans in 1988 and 1990. Jaguar Sport:

Jaguar C-Type (1951-1953)
Jaguar D-Type (1954-1957)
Jaguar Lightweight E-Type
XJ220 (1988)
XJR-15 (1990)

[edit] Jaguars in fiction and the media

The Jaguar Mark 2 saloon gained a reputation as a getaway car among the British criminal fraternity in the 1960s. As a result, Mark 2s have featured in many British crime films, including Robbery, Get Carter and Mona Lisa, as well as in the popular television series The Sweeney. However, the best known fictional Mark 2 is probably the car driven by Inspector Morse in the British television series of the same name (also seen on PBS).
Popular 1980s British television series Minder regularly saw character Arthur Daley initially driving a silver Jaguar XJ6 Series 2, then later a pale primrose Daimler Sovereign Series 3.
Robert McCall (Edward Woodward) in the 1985-89 CBS TV series The Equalizer drove a black '85 Jaguar XJ6 with the licence plate "5809-AUG".
British Prime-Minister Tony Blair is driven in a bottle-green Jaguar XJ8. His predecessor, John Major, used a modified XJ6. Blair's Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott gained the nickname "Two Jags" for his use of two Jaguars, one of his own and one supplied by the Government, when he was supposed to be promoting the use of public transport.
Jaguar E-types are featured in the films The Italian Job, Robbery, The Odessa File, Brannigan, Silver Streak, 52 Pick-Up, Car Trouble and About Adam. An E-type also replaced Emma Peel's usual Lotus Elan for the 1998 film The Avengers. Harold, of Harold and Maude, had an E-type hearse.
In the 1968 movie Danger: Diabolik, Diabolik drove a black E-type. His love interest, Eva, drove a white one.
In the film "The usual suspects", Pete Postlethwaite drives a black Jaguar XJ saloon
In the 1997 film LA Confidential Pierce Morehouse Patchett (David Strathairn) is shown to have a Jaguar XK120.
In the 1980 film The Blues Brothers blonde model Twiggy is seen in a metallic gold E-type, from which she speaks to Elwood (Dan Aykroyd).
Austin Powers drove a Union flag-decorated E-type, calling it a Shaguar in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.
In Austin Powers in Goldmember, an XK cabrio painted in the same Union flag style as the E-type of the 1st movie. The car was driven by Tom Cruise spoofing Austin Powers.
Mike Gambit in The New Avengers and Simon Templar in Return of the Saint, both had an XJ-S as their usual transport.
The made-for-cable 1989 film The Heist (shown on HBO) featured two dark green Jaguar XJS coupes - they were used during a bait and switch scene where contraband was hidden in the trunk panel.
The 1970s cross-country race comedy The Gumball Rally features a Jaguar E-Type that never leaves the starting line in New York due to electrical problems.
Sting was ferried in an S-Type in the music video for his song Desert Rose. Because of this, the song has been used in past Jaguar commercials. While Jaguar does not use the song anymore, the song is still associated with the firm.
The Jet Li movie Danny the Dog (AKA Unleashed) featured a Series 3 XJ, .
The nickname for a Jaguar - "Jag" - is mentioned in many songs, such as Snoop Dogg's Riders On The Storm, Usher's Yeah and Lil' Flip's Rollin On 20's.
In the song Jaguar and the Thunderbird, Chuck Berry describes a race between a "sky-blue Jaguar and Thunderbird Ford."
1950s Jaguar XK120s were used in the films The Green Man and Too Many Crooks, while XK150s were featured prominently in Play Misty for Me, To the Devil a Daughter and Blue Ice.
Leonard Shelby, the main character of Memento (2000), drives a Jaguar XK throughout the film.
The 2002 film Die Another Day of the James Bond series of movies featured a Jaguar XKR. The car was driven by the character Zao in some scenes of the movie, including a chase/battle against Bond's Aston Martin.
In the movie Love Actually, The British Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) is driven around in a silver XJ.
Angelina Jolie stole a silver XJ220 nicknamed "Bernadene" in the movie Gone in 60 Seconds. There was also an obscure XJ stolen by another character.
A maroon XJ6 and a silver XK8 convertible were driven in The 51st State, also known as Formula 51.
Halle Berry drove a red XK8 convertible in the movie Swordfish.
Ryan Phillippe can be seen driving a black XK140 roadster in the film Cruel Intentions. It is also at stake in a wager between his character and Sarah Michelle Gellar's .
In the song "Call Me Lightning" by The Who, there is the line "my XKE is shining so brightly" (which mis-identifies the E-type). In their song "Jaguar," there is the line "Every lovely spot near or far,/ You can reach them too in your car,/ Or you might be there now if you own a jag already."
In the song "Deadman's Curve" by Jan and Dean, the Corvette races an E-type (which is mis-identified as an XKE).
On the British motoring show Top Gear, in the "Cheap Coupes that aren't Porsches" challenge, James May bought a "1000 year old antique" Jaguar XJS (for £1500 - approx $2500 US) which broke down all the time, probably due to going round the track at 140mph in the first test. Due to very good results in the first two challenges and a fixed engine in the endurance race, May won on points, but conceded the win to Clarkson, who would have won the challenge if he hadn't "ruined" his car. Top Gear also featured a stunt involving a XJS being driven at full speed over the lauch ramp on the Royal Navy carrier Ark Royal and into the sea.
Most recently, many Jaguar XJs were featured in the James Bond film, Casino Royale. They were driven by the villains, but James Bond was chauffeured in a Mk IV.
Sacha Baron Cohen was escorted in an X308 Vanden Plas in the film Ali G in da House.
The eponymous characters of the 1987 British film Withnail and I drive from London to the countryside, and back, in a worn out, S-type, Jaguar.
Angelina Jolie has an XJ220 in the film Tomb Raider.
A left-hand drive German-registered XK150 featured in the 1974 film the Odessa File.
A white Jaguar XJ featured in the promo video for Here I Go Again by rock band Whitesnake. In the video, Tawny Kitaen dressed in white is dancing seductivley on the bonnet of the car. At the time, she was lead singer David Coverdale's girlfriend. This was parodied in the video for '1985' by pop punk band Bowling for Soup. In the video, a mother longing for her youth dances on top of a white Jaguar XJS. The line 'she was going to shake her ass, on top of Whitesnake's car' relates to this parody.
Rock star Pete Doherty has a fondness for Jaguar XJ's and has bought several. This has been mainly down to the fact that he has either crashed them or had them impounded.
In the film Drop Dead Fred, Elizabeth's cheating husband works as a salesman at a Jaguar dealership.
In Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, Romy works at a Jaguar dealership. She 'borrows' a XJS to make a grand impression at her high school reunion.
Hannibal Lecter drove a Jaguar XJR.
An XJ features in the promo video for 'Just Looking' by rock group The Stereophonics. In the video, the band drive it into a lake.
In the film The Big Steal[3]]Ben Mendelsohn plays Danny Clark, a shy 18-year old who only wants two things out of life: to go out with Joanna (Claudia Karvan) and to own a Jaguar. When he is given the familys immaculate 1963 Nissan Cedric for his birthday he trades it for a 1973 Jaguar but crooked car dealer Gordon Farkes (Steve Bisley) switches engines on him. Danny and his friends help him steal back his engine.

[edit] Image gallery

1937 Jaguar SS 100	Jaguar 2½-Litre Drophead Coupe 1948	Jaguar Mark V Drophead Coupé	Jaguar Mark V Drophead Coupé 1950
Jaguar Mark V Saloon	Jaguar XK120	Jaguar XK120 Roadster	Jaguar Saloon
Jaguar Saloon	Jaguar Mark VII Saloon 1955	Jaguar XK140 Drophead Coupé 1956	Jaguar XK150 Roadster
1963 Jaguar 3.4 Mk2	Jaguar Saloon	1966 Jaguar E-Type (aka XKE)	Jaguar 420G Saloon 1968
Jaguar E-Type Fixedhead Coupé 1971	Jaguar XJ12 Saloon 1974	1991 Jaguar XJR-15	1995 Jaguar XJ6 (Sovereign)
Jaguar XK8

Members of the Ford Motor Company

Jaguar Cars, a subsidiary of Ford since 1989, road and race car timeline, 1940s-1980s v • d • e
Type	1940s					1950s										1960s										1970s										1980s
	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Sports				XK120							XK140			XK150			E-type S1							E S2			E-type S3				XJ-S						XJ-S HE
Saloon											Mark 1					Mark 2, 240, 340
																				S-Type											XJ-C
																						420		XJ6 Ser I						XJ6 Ser II						XJ6 Ser III								XJ6 (XJ40)
	Mk IV				Mk V			Mk VII				Mk VIII			Mk IX			Mk X				420G						XJ12		XJ12 S II						XJ12 Ser III
Supercar														XKSS
Racing							C-Type			D-Type								E-Type				XJ13										XJ-C		Jaguar XJ41& XJ42						XJRs
Corporate ownership	Independent																					BMH		British Leyland															Independent					Ford

Jaguar Cars, a subsidiary of Ford since 1989, road and race car timeline, 1980s-present v • d • e
Type	1980s										1990s										2000s
	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Sports car		XJ-S HE										XJS					XK8 / XKR										XK / XKR
Compact exec																							X-Type
Executive car																			S-Type										XF
Full-size	XJ6 Series III								XJ6 (XJ40)							XJ6			XJ8 / XJR					XJ8 / XJR
	XJ12 Series III													XJ12		XJ12
Supercar													15	XJ220
Racing					XJRs									C							R1/2/3/4/5
Ownership	British Leyland			Independent					Ford