1998 Jaguar Xj8 Base Sedan 4-door 4.0l on 2040-cars

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Jaguar Land Rover in talks for Southern US factory

Jaguar Land Rover is getting serious about global expansion, and that means it can't only build its vehicles in the UK anymore. The British automaker is cutting the ribbon at its new plant in China tomorrow, marking the opening of its first factory outside the UK. In 2016, it will open another factory in Brazil. But the latest intel has it that JLR is looking into a US factory, as well.
The report, which comes to us from the Sunday Times by way of Automotive News Europe, indicates that the company is evaluating locations for a North American factory, with options centering around Southern right-to-work states like South Carolina, where BMW operates its plant in Spartanburg and a wide array of other automotive operations are based as well. The JLR plant would reportedly ramp up to a capacity of 200,000 units per year.
In related news, while that new plant JLR is inaugurating in Changshu, China, is initially slated to produce the Range Rover Evoque, it is also expected to start building the new Discovery Sport as well - just like the Halewood plant in the UK that has handled Evoque assembly from the start and which just built its first Discovery Sport, as well.

2022 Jaguar I-Pace gets quicker charging and better in-car tech

Jaguar's electric I-Pace crossover is entering the 2022 model year with small but meaningful technology updates under the sheet metal. It takes less time to charge, and it offers passengers a more intuitive infotainment system. Spotting the visual changes made to the I-Pace requires an impressively well-trained eye. Designers added Atlas Gray accents on the grille, and a Bright Pack joins an updated Black Pack on the list of options, but Jaguar's first EV looks largely the same. Aruba, Caldera Red, Portofino Blue, and Eiger Gray appear on the palette of available colors. It's what's inside that counts for 2022. The I-Pace gains a cabin air ionization system with 2.5PM filtration and a new infotainment system called Pivo Pro already announced for the European-spec model. Shared with the Land Rover Defender among other models in the corporate portfolio, it lets users access up to 90% of common tasks from the home screen in two taps or less, according to the manufacturer. One of the new features packed into the software is an EV-specific navigation system that shows available charging stations along the selected route and provides an estimate of how long drivers will have to wait before their car charges. Motorists can choose the charging stations they want to stop at, regardless of waiting times and charging speeds, or they can let Pivi Pro select the ones it thinks will get them to their destination with the least downtime.  Speaking of charging, the now-standard 11-kilowatt onboard charger zaps the I-Pace's lithium-ion battery pack with up to 63 miles of driving range in 15 minutes when it's connected to a 100-kilowatt DC charger. The crossover's maximum driving range remains pegged at 234 miles, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Jaguar is not making major mechanical changes to the I-Pace for 2022, and the high-performance variant we wrote about in 2019 hasn't landed yet, so the crossover carries on with a pair of electric motors (one per axle) that jointly develop 394 horsepower and 512 pound-feet of torque. Jaguar quotes a brisk 4.5-second sprint from zero to 60 mph thanks in part to the through-the-road all-wheel-drive system.  Pricing for the 2022 Jaguar I-Pace starts at $69,900 before destination and incentives enter the equation. Interestingly, it's now only available in a single trim level called HSE; the S and SE models have been dropped from the lineup.

2014 Jaguar XKR-S GT claws at the driving enthusiast in us

If you still find yourself coming up a few seconds short per lap in your Jaguar XKR-S, the British automaker has introduced the XKR-S GT - a cat specifically tuned for the racing circuit - at the New York Auto Show.
While Jaguar has left the supercharged 5.0-liter V8 unchanged (550 horsepower and 502 pound-feet of torque), it has tuned and tweaked all the items that really make cars go quicker on the track (e.g. suspension, aerodynamics, contact patches, brakes). A once-over reveals upgraded go-fast goodies including a new ventilated hood, extended wheel arch spats, reworked front end with a bespoke front splitter and canards, a massive rear wing, height-adjustable adaptive dampers, active exhaust, carbon-ceramic brakes and sticky Pirelli Corsa tires. Try as we might, the driver in us can't find anything we not to like about this enthusiast-tuned coupe.
Of course all of the upgraded XK goodness doesn't come easy, or cheap. Jaguar will limit North American sales to just 30 units and price each at $174,000. Learn all the juicy details in the official press release below.