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Jaguar Land Rover opens first overseas factory in China

Anyone who's a car fan knows that Jaguar and Land Rover cars and trucks all come from the UK. And while we don't doubt that will remain true for the most part, it won't be an absolute truth for long, as the British automaker has just opened its first factory overseas.
Its new plant in Changshu, China, is the result of a $1.8-billion joint venture between JLR and local automaker Chery. It covers some 4.3-million square feet and will, once at peak capacity, produce 130,000 units specifically for the Chinese market, where JLR sells over 100,000 vehicles each year to make it the company's single largest market worldwide.
Production at what's officially known as the Chery Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Company will start with the Evoque, of which one in five globally are currently sold in China. Production will eventually encompass three models. We already know that the Discovery Sport will be next, but the third model line has yet to be announced. JLR has confirmed, however, that the Changshu plant will produce unique models and derivatives specifically for the Chinese market, so we wouldn't be surprised to see a long-wheelbase version of the forthcoming XE or next-generation XF assembled there to satisfy local tastes.

Junkyard Gem: 2000 Jaguar S-Type

My junkyard studies of Jaguars have focused mostly on the four-wheeled felines of the 1960s through 1980s, but plenty of more recent Jags may be found in U-Pull-type yards around the continent. Today's Junkyard Gem appeared in a Northern California boneyard last summer, and it had stories to tell. Once Ford took over Jaguar in 1990, the idea of a midsize Jaguar saloon to steal sales from the BMW E39 5 Series and Lexus GS seemed like an increasingly good idea, and so a name used on a mid-1960s version of the Jaguar Mark 2 was revived for use on a car built on the same platform as the Lincoln LS. Both the new S-Type and LS appeared during the 1999 model year, and both are fairly easy to find in your local Ewe Pullet today. American S-Type buyers could choose between a 3.0-liter V6 and various flavors of V8 (including a hairy supercharged V8 good for 400 horses in the S-Type R). This car has the V6, which was based on the Duratec out of the Taurus and made 281 horsepower. In theory, American S-Type (and Lincoln LS) buyers could get a five-speed manual transmission on V6-equipped 1999-2003 cars … but I've never seen a three-pedal S-Type/LS, and I've been looking hard. As you'd expect, European S-Type buyers could get both manual transmissions and diesel engines for the duration of the car's 1999-2007 production run. This car has a ZF six-speed slushbox. The interior looks to have been in good condition when the car showed up here, and the original manuals were still in the car. Some of the wood trim got a bit cracked in the California sun during the car's two decades on the road. That sure looks a lot like a Kia Amanti nose, doesn't it? The Amanti appeared a few years later and showed strong S-Type (and E-Class) styling influence. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Beyond beautiful. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. History repeating.

Jaguar's famed design director Ian Callum is quitting

Jaguar's director of design Ian Callum is officially stepping down. Callum has been with the company for over 20 years, leading numerous important and legendary designs. To name a few, Callum is responsible for recent cars like the Jaguar F-Type, XF and I-Pace. He also designed the C-X75, which was a concept hypercar that Jaguar absolutely should have made. "I have had an incredible career at Jaguar," Callum says. "One of my biggest highlights was creating XF because it represented the beginning of a new era moving Jaguar from tradition to contemporary design — it was a significant turning point in our story." Callum also says he isn't done designing cars — he's even going to continue to act as a consultant for Jaguar after his departure. It's unclear what his main project will be after he leaves in July, but he's left the door open for himself. "I came into this role with a mission to take Jaguar design back to where it deserved to be. It has taken 20 years, but I believe I have achieved what I set out to do. Given the strength of both our products and the design team I feel that now is the right time to move on, both personally and professionally, and explore other design projects," Callum says. In addition to slick sports cars and sultry sedans, Callum is also responsible for leading Jaguar into the era of SUVs and crossovers. He headed up the design for the F-Pace and E-Pace. We found both of those to be some of the better looking crossovers on sale today, so props to Callum for finding and implementing the Jaguar style in the inherently unstylish crossover format. Callum has designed plenty of great cars outside of Jaguar, too. A few examples include the Aston Martin DB7, DB9, Vanquish and Ford Escort Cosworth. Our big question is, what's next for Callum? Whatever car he decides to design is probably going to look the business, so we're excited for any projects he gets involved in after Jaguar. Taking his place at Jaguar is current creative design director Julian Thomson. He's been with the company since 2000, and has previously worked with Ford, Lotus and Volkswagen.