4dr Sdn Premium Luxury Low Miles Sedan Automatic Gasoline 4.2l Dohc 32-valve V8 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

UK car output falls 14% in March, may get worse with no-deal Brexit

LONDON — British car output fell for the 10th month in a row in March, hit by a slowdown in key foreign markets, and the sector stands to suffer a lot more if the country leaves the European Union without a deal, an industry body said on Tuesday. Output tumbled by an annual 14.4 percent to 126,195 cars in March, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said. Exports, which account for nearly four out of every five cars made in Britain, were down by 13.4 percent. The SMMT said analysis it had commissioned predicted output would fall this year to 1.36 million units from 1.52 million in 2018, assuming London can secure a transition deal with the EU. If Britain has to rely instead on World Trade Organization rules for its trade with the bloc, which include import tariffs, output is forecast to fall by around 30 percent to 1.07 million units in 2021, returning to mid-1980s levels, the SMMT said. The forecasts were produced for SMMT by AutoAnalysis, a consultancy. Prime Minister Theresa May has secured a delay to the Brexit deadline until Oct. 31, giving her more time to try to break an impasse in parliament over the terms of Britain's departure from the EU. Foreign minister Jeremy Hunt traveled to Japan earlier this month to try to persuade the Japanese government and Toyota, which has a big presence in Britain, that London was determined to avoid a no-deal Brexit. "Just a few years ago, industry was on track to produce 2 million cars by 2020 — a target now impossible with Britain's reputation as stable and attractive business environment undermined," SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said. "All parties must find a compromise urgently so we can set about repairing the damage and diverting energy and investment to the technological challenges that will define the future of the global industry." (Reporting by William Schomberg, editing by David Milliken)

Jaguar could morph into an electric-only brand and explore new segments

Jaguar is set to morph into an electric-only brand whose products will be aimed directly at Tesla's and Polestar's, according to a recent report. Its future range will allegedly include alternatives to the Tesla Model 3 and the Polestar 2. Nick Rogers, the head of Jaguar-Land Rover's engineering department, told British magazine Auto Express that a small electric Jaguar "would be great." His definition of small is different than, say, Smart's; don't expect the company to release an alternative to the ForTwo, or something along the lines of a Renault Twizy. Instead, he's likely referring to a model positioned below the XE, which is currently the smallest Jaguar, in terms of size. If approved, the car will be about the same size as a BMW 1 Series, though it might sit a little bit taller. Adding a few inches of ground clearance would give engineers more space to stuff a battery pack under the floor, while allowing its marketing department to reach a wider audience by presenting the hatchback as a crossover. "We need to think about that. That's a really cool space that we ideally want to be in, and ideally our customers want us to be in. It's extremely relevant at this time," he said. This isn't the first time we've heard that Jaguar is starting to think small. In June 2020, we reported the company is considering replacing the aforementioned XE and the XF with a single compact model that would almost certainly be offered as a hatchback and as a sedan. Jaguar's transformation into an electric-only manufacturer is allegedly the brainchild of Thierry Bollore, who will take the firm's reins in September. He recently led Paris-based Renault, which is also allocating huge resources to electrification. We know the next-generation XJ (shown in spy shots taken far north of the Arctic Circle) will be offered with an electric powertrain (though internal combustion variants will be available, too), and Auto Express learned an XE-sized battery-powered model placed in the Model 3's segment is very likely, too. Finally, at least for now, an electric SUV tentatively called J-Pace will reportedly enter production in the coming years. It's too early to tell what the future holds for the E-Pace, the F-Pace, and the XF, though we wouldn't be surprised if the latter does not get a replacement. Where the F-Type would fit in an electric-only range hasn't been decided yet; sealing its fate one way or another will be one of Bollore's first tasks.

Jaguar F-Type Project 7 leaks in production trim ahead of Goodwood debut

Just yesterday we brought you word that Jaguar was planning to bring something special to the Goodwood Festival of Speed this year - the first product of its Special Operations division - and now we have it right here.
Previewed in concept form last year, Jaguar's big reveal appears to be the production version of the Project 7 show car - an extreme speedster version of the F-Type. Though we still don't have official details, these images leaked courtesy of 4WheelsNews show that the roadster seems to have lost little in the transition from concept to reality.
The bright blue paint job has been replaced by a more British shade of green, but the white trim - including the racing stripes running across (not up) the hood, the grille surround and the number circle on the door - appear to have carried over. As has the D-Type-inspired, fin-like, single raised cowling on the rear deck, though now positioned behind the left-hand driver's seat instead of the right. The wheels are fresh and the front lip spoiler looks even bigger, and the rear wing appears to have been reshaped.