2005 Jaguar Xk8 Convertible*52,000 Miles*mint!!!! on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 1984 Jaguar XJ6

The original Jaguar XJ first appeared in American showrooms for the 1969 model year, after an excruciatingly long development process that included a final-innings merger of Jaguar's parent company with a manufacturer of heavy-duty vehicles. And then Jaguar used that same basic platform for various iterations of the XJ until the last V12-engined cars hit the showrooms for 1992. Six-cylinder XJs switched to the new XJ40 platform for 1988, however, which makes today's Junkyard Gem one of the later Series 3 XJ6s to hit our roads. This one was in very nice condition when it arrived in this Denver self-service yard recently, so be prepared for pain if you're an XJ lover (no, not the other kind of XJ). Just over 100,000 miles on the odometer, which is just over 2,700 miles traveled for each year of this luxurious saloon's life on the road. Other than some damage that I'm nearly certain was caused by junkyard shoppers, the interior is just about perfect. Most of the upholstery looks new, the door panels are pristine, and the wood trim isn't cracked. The only obvious flaws are some cracks in the dash pad and a bit of fraying on some leather here and there. Of course, the sun's glare is a little harsher in the Western United States than it is in Coventry, so you must expect some interior damage. It lived in Texas for a while during the early 2000s. There's a University of Wisconsin sticker on the rear window, so this car may have done a few cross-country moves during its life. How much did it cost new? The MSRP was $31,100 for the 1984 XJ6, which comes to about $90,435 in 2022 dollars. I was driving a 1968 Mercury Cyclone that cost $200 in 1984 dollars when this Jag was new, and a new XJ6 seemed about as far out of reach to me as an intergalactic starship (though beater early-1970s XJ6s were well within my price range— if not my wrenching skill-set— at the time). Anyone who has heard "Dead Man's Curve" knows that you just don't mess with the curves on Sunset Boulevard or with a Jaguar straight-six (the XJ was in the early stages of development when the song came out, so the narrator of the classic teen-tragedy song wrecks his Sting Ray while racing an XKE). This one displaces 4.2 liters and made 176 horsepower when new. The V12-powered XJ-S coupe had 262 horses, but cost $34,700 ($100,900 today).

Jaguar demanding customer data from reluctant dealers

Nearly every major business is collecting consumer data these days, and keeping that data secure has come to the forefront of many customer's minds. Jaguar Land Rover North America's decision to begin requesting more customer info from its dealer network appears unfortunately timed, however. If it had come a few years ago, it might have been ignored, but in today's climate of heightened awareness, a few dealers are pushing back. To put the showrooms in an even tougher position, JLR NA is threatening to deny quarterly incentives if they do not turn over the customer data, according to Automotive News.
JLR NA instated the nationwide plan, which it calls Single View CRM, on February 7, but according to Stuart Schorr, Jaguar Land Rover North America Vice President of Communications, the automaker has been negotiating with its dealers to institute the new program for over a year. Schorr tells Autoblog that no financial information is being shared, noting that such data is limited to customer details, including things like what vehicles they own and whether they have any pending service. The initiative is meant to "improve customers' and owners' engagement with the brand," he said. Also, the company is not accessing dealer data itself; instead showrooms are asked to enter the info into JLR's database.

Ex-Jaguar design boss Ian Callum starts his own design firm

A month ago, Ian Callum stepped down from his position as Jaguar's director of design. In a 20-year career with the English sports car maker, Callum's pen has traced the lines of everything from the original XK, the XJ, the F-Type, I-Pace, and more. Before that, he made use of employ at Aston Martin by contributing to the original DB7, the DB9, the previous Vantage, and the first Vanquish. After a career in service to OEMs that's been brilliant enough to earn him a CBE, for Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Callum has stepped up to take the reins at his eponymous design firm, called "Callum." Established with four fellow ex-Jaguar executives, Callum will design and engineer bespoke and limited-edition creations in the worlds of art, audio, automotive, fashion, lifestyle, and motorsports. The other trio of founding members are program director David Fairborn, engineering director Adam Donfrancesco, and commercial director Tom Bird. Fairbarn was the head of bespoke and special commissions at Jaguar Land Rover, where he helped bring the Lightweight E-Type to life. Donfrancesco left his role as engineering manager for JLR 's bespoke and special commissions; before that, he developed road and race cars like the Aston Martin GT8 and GT12. Bird, after stints at PWC and Barclays, had been commercial manager at JLR, where he shepherded the C-X75 concept into the James Bond movie Spectre. Callum said of the venture, "I wanted to get back to the essence of creativity; the challenge of producing something wonderful and personal. To design the alternative has always been my mantra, but always the beautiful alternative and something to enjoy." The man's still contracted to Jaguar as a brand ambassador, but at 64 years old, he feels "I've got maybe 15 years of design aptitude left, and I want to make the most of it." With 18 employees and based in a 20,000-square-foot facility in Warwick, the firm is ready right now with the engineering and manufacturing machinery to create products in-house. Even with the company's wide remit, we expect to see Callum take a stand in the automotive space. He admitted that he'd "like to take some of the cars I've designed and maybe redo them a little bit," but the team will always consider the entire vehicle, looking to upgrade dynamics and handling, too. We're told the first project will be announced soon.