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Jaguar Land Rover likely to build US plant... in three years

Jaguar Land Rover may very well open a plant in the United States, but the latest word has it that it'll be another three years or so before the company even makes a decision on the matter. The prospect first came up on our radar back in October when we reported that JLR was considering building a plant in the South. Georgia governor Nathan Deal even flew to the UK to solicit JLR's business. Former parent-company chairman Ratan Tata subsequently confirmed the idea was under consideration last month. And now the British automaker's CEO has told Automotive News that JLR will need a US assembly plant to fuel its growth in the vital North American market, but that'll it'll take a while to get going. The reasons for the delay, according to chief executive Ralf Speth, are threefold. For one thing, the automaker has its hands full at the moment opening plants in other locations: last year it opened one in China and this year it opened one in Brazil. It also recently opened a new SVO facility, an electric-propulsion R&D center and a new engine plant all in the UK, and can only handle building so many new facilities at a time. JLR will also need US suppliers of aluminum components to step up their game, as the company relies heavily on aluminum construction for their vehicles. US automakers shifting to aluminum for models like the new Ford F-150 will encourage American suppliers to get into the game, but it may be a while before they're up to Jaguar Land Rover standards. Finally, JLR will need to increase its sales potential in the US in order to justify local production. Speth says the company would need one model of which it could sell 30,000 to 40,000 units in the US alone, and it sold less than 18,000 units of its best-selling the Range Rover Sport here last year. In fact the entire Jaguar brand sold less than 16,000 units throughout all of last year in America, with Land Rover selling far more at over 50,000 units to contribute to total sales of over 67,000 units. Related Video: Featured Gallery Jaguar Land Rover Engine Manufacturing Center View 16 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Jaguar Land Rover Plants/Manufacturing Jaguar Land Rover jaguar land rover jlr

Junkyard Gem: 2005 Jaguar X-TYPE 3.0

During the Premier Automotive Group phase of Ford's ownership of Jaguar, it seemed to make sense to create a Jaguar that non-oligarchs could afford. By taking the Ford Mondeo (sold as the Ford Contour/Mercury Mystique on our shores) and adding luxury touches plus Jaguar styling, the X-TYPE came into being and hit American showrooms starting in the 2002 model year. Fast-forward a decade or two and it's no sweat to find entry-level European luxury sedans lined up in your local Ewe Pullet. Here's a decal-enhanced '05 X-TYPE 3.0 AWD I found in a yard near Pikes Peak a couple of months back. This car shows signs of having been loved dearly by its final owner. Since the paint is Topaz Metallic, which is sort of a gold shade, its name became Goldie. Goldie was sweet, it would seem. Perhaps the dripping-blood decal indicates that Goldie's sweetness was alloyed with cruelty. Paw-print, bloody-claw-mark, and Jaguar stickers abound. Goldie has eyes both at the top of the windshield and on the front bumper. Her headlights appear to leak blood. Those who might criticize these customization touches come face-to-face with this message at the windshield's lower edge. How would such a treasured machine end up in a place like this? As we see here, at some point Goldie got hit hard in the right rear, and the crash damage was too severe to be worth fixing. I hope everyone involved was wearing their seat belts. The interior looks to have been pretty nice before junkyard shoppers began prying off trim parts. Someone bought the stick-on hood scoop and the "Leaper" hood ornament. You can't have too many JAGUAR emblems! This is the newest junked Jaguar I've documented; the oldest was a 1969 XJ6. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Sometimes the best part of giving is the thank-you you'll receive.

London skyscraper caught melting cars

A new skyscraper under construction in London is apparently to blame for some mysteriously melting car parts on the city's surrounding streets. The 37-story building at 20 Fenchurch Street, nicknamed the "Walkie Talkie" for how it looks, features a convex side of glass windows that apparently concentrates the sun's rays like a kid with a magnifying glass. Instead of smiting ants, however, the building was caught focusing its sun-sourced laser death beam on an innocent Jaguar XJ parked on Eastcheap street. The intense heat managed to melt a sideview mirror, plastic C-pillar cover and Jaguar emblem (scroll down for an image of the damage).
Fortunately, the construction company, Land Securities, had some scruples and reportedly left a note on the car for its owner reading "Your car's buckled, could you give us a call?" They've also since apologized and agreed to pay for the £946 done - about $1,500 - in damages by their blazing hot building. A joint statement with the Canary Wharf district in which the building's located was also released. In it, the developer acknowledges concerns about the reflected light and says it's looking into the matter. The city has also decided to close a few parking bays that could be in the building's line of fire, so to speak, until a solution can be engineered. Since news of the melting Jag broke, other vehicle owners have also come forward claiming the building, re-nicknamed the "Walkie Scorchie," has damaged their cars, as well.
This isn't the first shiny-new-building-attacks-cars story we've heard - architect Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles was built amidst concern that its polished ribbons of stainless steel were blinding motorists and causing accidents, along with raising the temperatures of nearby buildings with its reflected light. The building's surfaces were later given a matte polish.