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Frankfurt Motor Show Notes: Why Jaguar decided to build an SUV

It was inevitable. Jaguar had to make an SUV, and that notion became reality this week with the debut of the F-Pace, an all-wheel-drive five-seater that will launch in the United States next spring. Some purists may cringe. But in an era when Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin, and other traditional luxury brands are all building or (planning to build) SUVs, Jaguar had to evolve. While it seems like a leap for Jaguar to make an SUV, longtime design director Ian Callum said it's been in the works for years. "The first time I was asked the question was when I arrived 16 years ago," he said. So in 1999 (and probably well before that), Jaguar was already thinking SUV. What took so long? "It wasn't a priority," Callum said. Jaguar was concentrating on fixing its existing lineup, which was pockmarked with holes and poorly selling products, like the X-Type. Along the way, Jaguar and sister brand Land Rover were sold by Ford to Indian conglomerate Tata Motors. Flash forward several years, and Jaguar and Land Rover are both experiencing a resurgence in the United States and around the world. Jaguar's lineup is flush with the E-Type's modern successor, the F-Type, plus a new version of the XF. The XJ received a 2016 freshening, and the smaller XE sedan is on the way. Jaguar put its house in order as other factors conspired to make a crossover timely. Fuel prices stayed relatively low, and consumers in the US and China remained steadfast in their love for utility vehicles of all stripes. Making a Jaguar SUV became a priority. "The world was telling us in no uncertain terms this is what they wanted," Callum said. "Not to be in the sector would be a little naive for the sake of purity." Jaguar proved its intent two years ago when it revealed the C-X17 crossover concept at Frankfurt, and the final production model is close to the prototype's striking looks. "I thought we managed to maintain that spirit," Callum said. It's a true Jaguar, with cues from the F-Type, 1968 XJ, and other famous models. Who would have thought Jaguar would make an SUV? "I certainly didn't," Callum admitted. But the F-Pace is here. If Callum is okay with it, purists can be, too. Quick Hits Opel retrenches for 2016 and beyond Opel used the Frankfurt show to display its new generation of the Astra, a critical vehicle line for the German division of General Motors.

Why all of this year's F1 noses are so ugly [w/video]

If you're a serious fan of Formula One, you already know all about The Great Nosecone Conundrum of 2014. Those given to parsing each year's F1 regulations predicted the strong possibility of the so-called "anteater" noses as far back as early December 2013. Highly suggestive visual evidence first came after Caterham's crash test in early January, with further proof coming as soon as Williams showed a rendering of the FW36 challenger for this year's championship. That car earned a name that wasn't nearly so kind as "anteater."
Casual followers of the sport - or anyone who gets the feed from this site - probably don't know what's happening, except to wonder why the current year's F1 cars are led by appendages that would make Cyrano de Bergerac feel a whole lot better about himself.
The short answer to the question of ugsome F1 noses is "FIA regulations and safety." The reason there are various kinds of ugsome noses is simpler: engineers. The same boffins who have given us advances including carbon fiber monocoques, six-wheeled cars, double diffusers and Drag Reduction Systems are bred to do everything in their power to exploit every possible freedom in the regulations to make the cars they're building go faster - the caveat being that those advances have to work within the overall philosophy of the whole car.

Hamilton wins in Singapore as Vettel crashes out from pole

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Lewis Hamilton took a huge stride toward his fourth Formula One title on Sunday by winning an incident-packed Singapore Grand Prix after Ferrari title rival Sebastian Vettel crashed out at the start. The Mercedes driver now has a 28-point cushion over the German with six of the 20 races remaining. Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, who also emerged from the opening lap carnage unscathed, was second for the third year in a row with Finland's Valtteri Bottas completing the podium for Mercedes. "God blessed me today for sure," said Hamilton, who set a lap record on his way to a third win in a row, as he spoke from the podium on a night where everything fell into his lap. "I came here today really thinking it was about damage limitation, and we've come out ahead. So I'm very grateful," he said later. "To come to a track that was potentially our weakest circuit, and come away with a win like this and those points, it's really such a fortunate scenario... so I definitely have a skip in my step." The Briton cashed in after Vettel, Ferrari team mate Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull's front row contender Max Verstappen smashed into each other as they raced off the wet starting grid and into the first corner. Raikkonen had made a storming start from fourth, Vettel a less impressive one from pole position while Verstappen went for the middle ground and was caught in a Ferrari sandwich as they converged. The stewards summoned all three and decided no driver was predominantly to blame. BITTER BLOW The first race to be hit by rain in the decade that Singapore has hosted Formula One had started in treacherous conditions, puddles gleaming in the floodlights, after a formation lap behind the safety car. With Hamilton starting fifth, everything looked set for Vettel to retake the overall lead that he had surrendered only two weeks earlier at Monza in Italy. And then it all went wrong, the collision with Raikkonen punching a hole in the side of Vettel's car before he spun into the wall at turn three. "It's bitter but it's done," said the German, a four times Singapore GP winner, whose retirement ended a run of 18 successive points finishes and left him with a mountain to climb. "Championship-wise it's a big step forward," recognized Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff. "The quickest car and the quickest driver were out within a minute into the race and that can happen all the time.