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Jaguar Land Rover names new manufacturing chief for EV transformation

LONDON — Britain's biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is replacing its director for manufacturing as it prepares its plants for an electrified future, the firm said on Thursday. JLR operates three factories in its home market but is building its first electric car, the I-PACE, in Austria. The Indian-owned automaker's Chief Executive Ralf Speth told Reuters earlier this year he is waiting for more information on trading conditions after Brexit before he decides whether to make electric cars in Britain. On Thursday, he said Executive Director for Manufacturing Wolfgang Stadler is retiring from the business, to be replaced by Director of Quality and Automotive Safety Grant McPherson starting July 1. "He will oversee the ongoing investment into our UK and global manufacturing, transforming our plants to enable Jaguar Land Rover's exciting electrified future," Speth said. Reporting by Costas PitasRelated Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2019 Jaguar I-Pace deep dive with designer Wayne Burgess

More than 30 vintage Jaguars found, forgotten for decades in a greenhouse

A long, long time ago, some unnamed person realized that storing motorized precious metals in a barn would eventually be passe. This visionary hoarder decided, instead, to collect an assemblage of more than 30 vintage Jaguars in a greenhouse in Beaulieu, England. To passers-by, it would look like someone was tending a crop of blue tarps. To us, thanks to Beaulieu Garage, it looks not like a barn find but rather the first "greenhouse find." The classic car restoration shop wrote in a Facebook post, "we were asked to help clear a private collection of cars," and when Beaulieu Garage saw the array, "An offer was made," and now it has a whole lot of rusted metal looking for good homes. It took a week to get everything out, and the shop said the "parts alone have taken up 12 storage racks, with engines and gearboxes included." While a barn isn't the best place to park a car for decades, a greenhouse is arguably worse. The glass house is a combination of maximum UV levels and rain forest humidity, the ambient moisture free to rust and rot everything the sun can't kill. And early Jaguars aren't known for robust defenses against the elements. Most of the cars are E-Types, many of those the early and more elegant 1960s models. Among the trove are some cars that "you could probably get running in a couple of days," but the photos show there are plenty of long-term projects that rate effort comparable to The Pacific Campaign. Incredibly, Beaulieu Garage is confident that "All will see the road again," assuming the worst problem children can find empathetic buyers. The first salable car has been listed, a left-hand drive, 1960 XK150 3.8-Liter Drophead Coupe with matching numbers that was originally sent to New York. This is said to be the last XK150 the factory painted a cream color, and the fourth-last XK150 ever built. Scraps of the red leather interior remain, the sand colored top looks to be in the same condition. After eight years in the greenhouse, Beaulieu Garage charmingly describes the XK's previous digs as "Dry Stored in the UK." The convertible comes with a heritage certificate, and will cost GBP40,000 ($52,654 U.S.) to trailer home. A Facebook post from today says the shop will get parts lists and pricing up shortly, so stay tuned if you have a lot of time and money you need to find occupations for.

Jaguar is ready for the future, and its cars look the part thanks to Ian Callum

There are few living legends in the car business. Jaguar design director Ian Callum is one of them. The longtime stylist announced Tuesday he's stepping down after a decorated career that's seen the resurgence of Jaguar and its again superlative design. Callum, who turns 65 in July, has overseen Jaguar design for 20 years and shepherded it from an era of mediocrity and uncertainty to success with its current lineup of eye-catching products. The brand's 1990s and 2000s cars, led by the haggard X-Type, were too-often forgettable. But in the last decade, Callum has completely flipped the script, returning Jaguar to its sports-car roots with the F-Type while embracing the new period of electric vehicles and crossovers. "Yesterday I told my team I was leaving as Design Director for Jaguar after 20 years. I've done what I set out to do. Time for a new adventure. I pass the baton onto my good friend and great designer Julian Thomson...." Callum tweeted Tuesday. Thompson, a 19-year veteran of Jaguar takes the reins from Callum, who is staying on as a consultant. The move takes effect July 1. As Callum notes, it's not a retirement, though he didn't elaborate. "Given the strength of both our products and the design team I feel that now is the right time to move on, both personally and professionally, and explore other design projects," he said in a statement. The Scottish-born designer studied at the Royal College of Art and was steeped in the tradition of Jaguar and British cars. He had every reason to resist change. He didn't, instead evolving his dream job into an instrument of evolution, and today Jaguar has the most well-rounded portfolio in its history. With EVs like the I-Pace the brand has an elegant and efficient car capable of taking down Tesla, while the F-Pace and E-Pace crossovers are bringing Jaguar to a new kind of customer. "In my view, the World Car Design of the Year winning F-Type, F-Pace and I-Pace – true game changers – are perhaps his greatest achievements. I believe they will be future icons," Jaguar Land Rover chief executive Ralf Speth said in a statement. Through it all, Callum never lost focus on Jaguar's sense of purpose. Along with Aston Martin, McLaren and Rolls-Royce, Jaguar holds a place in Britain's car culture and broader identity. He recognized when Jaguar rolled out a sports car openly tapped as the successor to the E-type – and then called it the F-Type – it carried the weight of history on its aluminum chassis.