1990 Jaguar Xjs Classic Collection Coupe 2-door 5.3l, Almost Perfect !!!! on 2040-cars

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Rising aluminum costs cut into Ford's profit

When Ford reports fourth-quarter results on Wednesday afternoon, it is expected to fret that rising metals costs have cut into profits, even as rivals say they have the problem under control. Aluminum prices have risen 20 percent in the last year and nearly 11 percent since Dec. 11. Steel prices have risen just over 9 percent in the last year. Ford uses more aluminum in its vehicles than its rivals. Aluminum is lighter but far more expensive than steel, closing at $2,229 per tonne on Tuesday. U.S. steel futures closed at $677 per ton (0.91 metric tonnes). Republican U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is weighing whether to impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, which could push prices even higher. Ford gave a disappointing earnings estimate for 2017 and 2018 last week, saying the higher costs for steel, aluminum and other metals, as well as currency volatility, could cost the company $1.6 billion in 2018. Ford shares took a dive after the announcement. Ford Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks told analysts at a conference in Detroit last week that while the company benefited from low commodity prices in 2016, rising steel prices were now the main cause of higher costs, followed by aluminum. Shanks said the automaker at times relies on foreign currencies as a "natural hedge" for some commodities but those are now going in the opposite direction, so they are not working. A Ford spokesman added that the automaker also uses a mix of contracts, hedges and indexed buying. Industry analysts point to the spike in aluminum versus steel prices as a plausible reason for Ford's problems, especially since it uses far more of the expensive metal than other major automakers. "When you look at Ford in the context of the other automakers, aluminum drives a lot of their volume and I think that is the cause" of their rising costs, said Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting at auto consultancy LMC Automotive. Other major automakers say rising commodity costs are not much of a problem. At last week's Detroit auto show, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne reiterated its earnings guidance for 2018 and held forth on a number of topics, but did not mention metals prices. General Motors Co gave a well-received profit outlook last week and did not mention the subject. "We view changes in raw material costs as something that is manageable," a GM spokesman said in an email.

Jaguar buys world's largest collection of British cars

Whether you're looking at Bertone going bankrupt or Spyker facing (and subsequently resolving) a large tax bill, it's saddening to see an automaker having to sell off its factory collection. That's why we're glad to report that there are still some acquiring historic vehicles from their pasts. Like Jaguar, which has just bought the largest private collection of classic British cars in the world.
The collection of 543 cars was painstakingly assembled by one James Hull, a British dentist with some 50 dental clinics to his name across the UK and who was keen to find the right buyer to take possession of his life's work and preserve it for years to come.
Of those 543 cars, the majority are of British origin, including over 130 Jaguars. The collection includes seven XK120s, several C- and D-Types, a rare XKSS, eight E-Types, thirty Mark-series Jaguar sedans, nineteen XJS coupes and convertibles, some twenty XJ sedans as well as some pre-war SS models and Swallow sidecars and coachbuilt specials from the company's early days. Among the many noteworthy examples are a rare SS100, an alloy-bodied XK120 and an MK X owned by company founder Sir William Lyons himself, as well as Winston Churchill's Austin, Elton John's Bentley, and racing driver and motorcycle rider Mike Hailwood's E-Type.

Jaguar gives us our best look yet at the XF Sportbrake wagon

Not quite a month after the first official teaser, Jaguar has provided a much clearer look at the new XF Sportbrake. Instead of the overhead shot, we get to see front and sides almost completely unobscured. Almost. The official reveal isn't until June 14, so the car is still covered in camouflage. Since Jaguar will be the vehicle supplier for Wimbledon, and Andy Murray will reveal the car, Jaguar fitted a tennis-ball vinyl wrap. Despite the vinyl wrap, we can still get a pretty clear look at the car. Unsurprisingly, from the B-pillar forward, the XF Sportbrake is identical to its sedan counterpart. From the rear-door back, the roof is obviously extended, and the rear window's rounded corners lead us to believe the previous model's blacked-out D-Pillar has been ditched. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Jaguar also released a video about driving the XF to a remote Scottish tennis court. We don't particularly care about that, but the video does provide some brief glimpses of the Sportbrake's backside. From the looks of it, the taillights are the same between the sedan and the wagon. The rear bumper and exhaust treatment look very similar, too. As previously mentioned, the Sportbrake will be completely revealed on June 14, and the car will be available later this year – and in the US, as a Jaguar representative confirmed to Autoblog. So if you've been eying an F-Pace, maybe wait just a little longer to try out an XF wagon. Related Video: