2003 Jaguar X-type Base Sedan 4-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

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 announces continuation run of 1953 C-Type race cars

Jaguar is adding the 1953 C-Type race car to its Jaguar Classic "Continuation" line of historic cars. These factory-built cars are crafted to the same specifications as their inspirations, making them some of the most accurate replicas of any classics available to the public.  For the C-Type, Jaguar turned to the 1953 Le Mans-winning works car, which was powered by a 3.4-liter, 220-horsepower straight-six sporting three Weber carbs. Unlike the road cars, the racers wore disc brakes at all four corners, which is good news for anybody who is purchasing one of these to drive.  "Driven by some of the most-admired racing drivers in history, the C-Type laid the foundations for Jaguar’s success in endurance racing and is synonymous with design and engineering innovation," said Dan Pink, director of Jaguar Classic. "Seventy years on, Jaguar Classic is proud to be able to utilize the latest innovations in manufacturing technology – alongside traditional skills and unrivaled expertise – to reintroduce this legendary car for a new generation of enthusiasts to enjoy." While a new generation of enthusiasts may get the opportunity to drool over a factory-fresh C-Type for the first time, these continuation cars won't exactly be flying off the assembly lines. In fact, the production pace won't come anywhere close to that of the original. Jaguar plans to build just eight examples to be delivered prior to a motorsports-themed celebration event for those lucky customers. (Just 53 were built in the original 1950s production run, of which 43 were sold to private owners.) If they're so inclined, owners of the new C-Types will be able to race their cars in sanctioned vintage series. FIA-approved harness mounts can even be included from the factory. Despite that nod to convention, Jaguar's key motivation with the C-Type revival is staying true to the originals. "Building on the experience gained with previous Jaguar Classic Continuation programs for Lightweight E-Type, XKSS and D-Type, Jaguar Classic engineers consulted the Jaguar archives and cross-referenced scan data taken from an original C-Type in conjunction with the latest computer aided design (CAD) technology, to create the most authentic new C-Type possible," Jaguar said in its announcement. Jaguar is even throwing a bone to those of us who will only be able to admire these beauties from afar. As of Wednesday, a configurator tool for the new C-Type Continuation is available on Jaguar's website.

2021 Jaguar F-Type Luggage Test | Get away, and look extremely good doing it

Just like the Porsche 911 I performed a luggage test on not too long ago, the 2021 Jaguar F-Type is not a luggage-hauling machine. It’s a sports-car-oriented grand tourer, and it also happens to be stonking fast with a supercharged V8 under the hood. Since the engine is in the front, that leaves the rear trunk for all the cargo coming onboard. Assuming you want to take your F-Type on vacations and longer journeys (you do), the respectably-sized boot will come in handy. Jaguar says the coupe (what weÂ’re testing) has 14.4 cubic feet of space, whereas the convertible just about cuts that space in half with only 7.3 cubes. From a numbers perspective, the Jag just edges out the 911 (13.8 cubic feet of space combined between the frunk and rear seat). However, weÂ’ve learned to never take those numbers at face value. I use different equipment than Riswick does in Portland: Two carry-on suitcases sized (24 inches long, 15.5 wide, 10 deep); one carry-on suitcase (21.7L x 13.7W x 9 D); one medium-size suitcase you have to check (24.5L x 16.8W x 11.5D) and one larger, full-size suitcase (33.8L x 21.5W x 13D). The second full-size suitcase didnÂ’t get the call up, because one look at the luggage compartment was all I needed to know that two of them werenÂ’t going in there. Getting into the luggage compartment is luxurious enough for a Jag. Use the button on the fob, a toggle switch on the interior, or press the button under the lid. ItÂ’s fully powered going up and down, so you can devote all of your bodyÂ’s energy to wrestling the car around corners. The space itself is rather shallow and hindered by a privacy cover that hangs low. YouÂ’ll need to remove that shade to take advantage of the entire space, but we started with it on to see what could fit under it. This F-Type is low, so even though you have to lift things over the rear bumper, itÂ’s not horribly strenuous. I initially slid two of the carry-on suitcases in. Those fit lying flat, but there wasnÂ’t much extra space. To take advantage of what was left, I squeezed in the fancy bag (22L x 8.8W x 12D). With the privacy shade intact, youÂ’re not going to fit any more suitcases than that due to height restrictions. A very shallow item could slide on top of the inboard suitcase, but it would have to be very short. Another configuration I tried showed that the medium suitcase and one carry-on could fit. Additionally, the full-size suitcase also fits if itÂ’s in there alone.