2008 Jaguar Xk Convertible Awesome Color And Condition on 2040-cars

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Jaguar XF Sportbrake headed for the door? Maybe not [UPDATE]

Update: A Jaguar spokesperson reached out to put the brakes on the XF wagon's demise, writing, "Jaguar Land Rover North America President and CEO Joe Eberhardt did not discuss the status of the current Jaguar XF Sportbrake, which is currently in the Jaguar lineup — making up 20 percent of XF sales. The remark was that in the long term, features and types of vehicles that are less popular would likely not make it into the United States. The current Jaguar XF Sportbrake remains in the lineup and is available at retailers and for ordering, including for the upcoming 2020 Model Year which should be announced soon. This should be good news for wagon enthusiasts." Indeed. Previous story appears below: The Jaguar XF Sportbrake only just got here, hauling its first load of mettwurst and Coca-Cola to a junior varsity soccer tailgate party in 2017. According to a report in The Detroit Bureau, the comely wagon could be on the way out later this year thanks to two massive turnaround campaigns. The outlet interviewed Jaguar USA CEO Joe Eberhardt, who conveyed the message that only the strongest products will live. That means no more manual transmissions after this year, simplified trims, and easing up on diesels. It also means, in TDB's words, "you'll no longer see wagons ... in the U.S." If this ends up true, it would be a shame. Wagon sales were up 29 percent in the U.S. last year. We just included the XF Sportbrake as one of the potential reasons Audi teased its Twitter fans about the return of Avants. And if there's anyone who doesn't like the XF Sportbrake, we haven't met them. Our review said the slinky wagon "Puts SUV appeal on ice." Jalopnik called it " The best-kept sleeper wagon secret you can buy." Road & Track labeled it " A high five to America." High fives and good secrets don't pay the rent, though. The push for global sustainability after last year's shocking Q4 loss at Jaguar Land Rover has compelled two turnaround campaigns called "Charge" and "Accelerate." One focuses on immediate cost matters, the other takes the long strategic view. Both need to incorporate the fact that Jaguar's crossovers, the F-Pace and E-Pace, represent 70 percent of Jaguar sales. On that matter, Eberhardt said, "I don't want to say the speed of change took us by surprise, but they were too quick for us to react to immediately.

Jaguar I-Pace makes transition to production with hardly any changes

It looks like Jaguar designer Ian Callum wasn't kidding when he said the I-Pace concept was "a preview of a five-seat production car that will be on the road in 2018." Based on these spy photos, the production I-Pace will look darn near identical to the concept. The prototype seen above, in a unique and rather groovy green camouflage wrap, retains the swoopy cab-forward design of its concept predecessor. The headlights have the same shape and still sweep back nearly to the front wheel wells, and the door handles are still flush mounted ovals placed low on the doors. At the back, the crisp crease marking the trailing edge of the hatch is intact, as well as the triangular points on the rear spoiler. There have been a few minor changes here and there. At the front, the grille doesn't have quite as much depth as the concept, and the base of the front bumper doesn't have as aggressive an air dam. The big heat extractor vent in the hood is also gone. The rear bumper has also been rounded off a bit more with a simpler rear diffuser. The side glass is in production form, so now there are seams that show where the glass rolls down. It appears the rear doors will have quite a small glass opening, as the seam is roughly at the half-way point of the window. If the mechanicals of the concept end up as unchanged as this prototype's exterior, expect the production I-Pace to have a pair of electric motors that will produce 400 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque. Jaguar estimates these will propel the car to 60 mph in about 4 seconds. The motors will be supplied with power from a 90 kWh lithium-ion battery, which Jaguar says will provide a range of 220 miles. With a target date of 2018, we would expect to see the production model revealed at the end of 2017 or early in 2018. Related Video:

Top torque-to-weight ratios under $100k, $50k and $25k

Horsepower may steal a lot of headlines, but the always-more-complex torque figure is often a critical one for both the workingman and the motoring playboy. The measure of rotational force represents the twist that can liquefy one's tires or haul one's horse trailer. Good stuff.
It follows then, that as with the horsepower-to-weight list that we assembled for you a few months ago, a list of cars that offer the most pound-feet with the fewest pounds to carry, is an interesting one to break down. Sure, there's a big difference in how the torque is applied from a turbocharged six-cylinder in a Swedish luxury sedan and a massive heavy-duty truck's turbo-diesel. But being the car/stat geeks that we are, we think it's kinda neat that those two vehicles rank near each other where torque and weight intersect.
As with the horsepower list, we've given you figures as pounds per every one pound-foot. Again broken down into broad price categories, we've got a mixed bag of 2014 and 2015 models here, too. Every effort has been made to select the most up-to-date prices and specs, and we've also to omitted some '14 cars that won't be re-upped after the ongoing yearly changeover.