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Jaguar design boss admits X-Type was a mistake

History has a way of repeating itself, especially in the auto industry. When Jaguar was owned by Ford, the British brand attempted to field a competitor for the BMW 3 Series, called the X-Type. Based on the bones of a Ford Mondeo, it aped the styling of Jaguar's flagship model, the XJ, while borrowing liberally from the Ford parts bin. That was 2001.
Now, in 2013, Jaguar is planning a new 3 Series challenger based on the platform previewed by the C-X17 Concept, while Ford is attempting to take the latest Mondeo upmarket. The moves have both brands recognizing where, why, and how the X-Type failed. "It didn't look mature or powerful or anything. It was just a car," Jaguar's current head of advanced design, Julian Thomson, told PistonHeads. Basing the X-Type on a front-drive car while giving it styling that was meant for a rear-driver lead to proportions that "were plainly wrong," Thomson told PH. Ford's European head of quality, Gunnar Herrmann, added that the X-Type was "a fake Jaguar, because every piece I touch is Ford."
For what it's worth, the X-Type's successor in the segment will sport rear-drive, with plenty of input from Ian Callum. Thomson described the new model, which would challenge the 3 Series as having, "Big wheels right to the ends of the car, low bonnet, short overhangs, very low cabins." Sounds good to us.

Ford talking unibody Ranger replacement

Now here's some welcome news. Car and Driver reports Ford is seriously mulling a replacement for the recently deceased Ranger, but the successor to the compact pickup's throne may not look anything like what we've seen from the nameplate in the past.
While speaking at the 2013 Chicago Auto Show, Doug Scott, marketing manager for Ford Trucks, said there's still a market for a smaller pickup, but that buyers expect to see a larger differentiation between the smaller utility vehicles and their full size counterparts in price, capability and fuel economy.
According to Scott, that means a vehicle with a payload capacity of around 1,000 pounds paired with a towing capacity of 3,000 pounds and "a dramatic reduction in fuel consumption." But the biggest piece of that recipe is the price tag, and Scott says to keep the MSRP far enough away from the already cheap F-150, the answer could come in the form of a unibody design. Scott says target customers in this market don't care whether the truck has a traditional frame or not, so long as it's tough enough to do the job and has the capability they need.

2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R vs. 2022 Ram TRX | By the numbers

Ford has responded to the Ram 1500 TRX with its own supercharged supertruck: the brand-new 2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R. Ford may be late to the party, but fans can rest assured that its 5.2-liter supercharged V8 is ready to throw down, packing 700 horsepower in a leaner, more-focused package. You can read all about the new Raptor R in our debut write-up, but if you're curious how it stacks up to the TRX by some of its key metrics, you're in the right place. Let's get started.  Performance Let's go ahead and get this one out of the way. Both of these trucks offer blistering performance figures, but a quick glance at the specs suggests a clear winner. Both the Ford and Ram are half-ton crew cab pickups powered by supercharged V8s, but how that package comes together differs pretty significantly between the two.  2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R Engine: 5.2-liter supercharged DOHC V8 Power: 700 horsepower Torque: 640 pound-feet Suspension: Independent double-wishbone (front); five-link coil with Panhard rod (rear); continuously variable active Fox dampers (both) Curb Weight: 5,950 pounds 2022 Ram 1500 TRX Engine: 6.2-liter supercharged OHV V8 Power: 702 horsepower Torque: 650 pound-feet Suspension: Independent double-wishbone (front); five-link coil with track bar (rear); active Bilstein dampers (both) Curb Weight: 6,395 pounds Conclusion It was looking good for the TRX right up until the end there. Ram has the edge in total power and torque — just barely — but that advantage disappears when you consider the TRX's extra heft. 400 pounds may not seem like the end of the world in the context of these trucks, but weight plays a roll in all aspects of performance. This looks like a home run for the Blue Oval.  Off-road Raptor was the default half-ton performance truck for many years, but with OEMs getting ever more serious about building full-size pickups that can take a beating off-pavement, Ford has leaned harder into the Raptor's high-speed performance. Ram's approach was similar, only with more power — until now, that is. But there's more to off-roading than blasting across the desert.