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Jaguar Land Rover to recall 44,000 vehicles over excessive diesel emissions

Jaguar Land Rover is recalling 44,000 vehicles in the U.K. due to some of its vehicles emitting higher CO2 emissions than were officially stated. The recall is said to affect vehicles equipped with JLR's 2.0-liter diesel engine in cars built between 2014 and 2018. Quite a few models are affected, including the Jaguar XE, XF, E-Pace, F-Pace, along with the Land Rover Discovery Sport, Range Rover Evoque, Range Rover Velar and Range Rover Sport. The excessive CO2 emissions were discovered by the British vehicle certification agency, who then reported it to JLR. The company is reportedly working on a fix that will satisfy the agency and bring the cars back in line with their stated CO2 emissions. As of now, JLR is not saying what the fix will entail. A statement from JLR reads: "The modifications will be made free of charge, and every effort will be made to minimize inconvenience to the customer." The U.K. magazine Which? said JLR told them owners might experience minor changes to the "overall vehicle experience." Reading between the lines there, that sounds like there could be some pretty serious tampering with the engine software, but we'll leave the speculation to a minimum for now. CO2 emissions numbers are used in the U.K. to set tax levels for vehicles, which means JLR could have gotten out of some taxation with its artificially low CO2 numbers. At this point we don't know how badly the numbers are off, so it's impossible to know how egregious the mislabeling is. There also isn't any explanation for why the CO2 numbers are off, but this is all information that could be forthcoming. The 44,000 number could rise, too, because the UK vehicle standards agency says that some gasoline models could also be involved. That would open a whole new can of worms for JLR. Some Jaguar vehicles (XE, XF and F-Pace) offer a 2.0-liter diesel option for the U.S., but Land Rover's only diesel it sells here now is the 3.0-liter V6. For the time being there's no recall out on the diesel or gas engines from JLR in the U.S. There's no chatter surrounding emissions cheat devices like those involved with Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal. Nor does the scale of whatever the problem is come anywhere near the amount of Volkswagen diesels that needed to be recalled or taken off the roads. We'll be keeping tabs on the situation to see if this expands any further than the U.K. Green Recalls Jaguar Land Rover SUV Diesel Vehicles Luxury Sedan

Ford's J Mays feels vindicated by Fusion reception

It's hard to think back now, but the same man overseeing the design of the 2013 Ford Fusion also presided over a rather lackluster period in Ford design, highlighted by vehicles like the Five Hundred and Freestyle. With the redesigned Fusion receiving high praise, J Mays tells Automotive News that he feels vindicated from criticisms suggesting he's not a daring enough designer.
When Mays took over as lead of design in 1997, he admits to having quite an ego ("My head would barely fit through the door some days. I've long since gotten over myself") and the workload to match. With the Blue Oval's portfolio full of premium brands like Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo at that point, along with the bread-and-butter Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models, Mays certainly had quite the challenge.
It was in the mid-2000s that Mays took over just the premium brands, and took on the new title of Chief Creative Officer. At the time, Mays endured some criticism for looking backwards to retro styling, rather than setting a new standard for American car design - criticism that Mays says he is free from with the all-new Fusion.

Carlex Jaguar XJ Coupe restomod is neither British nor understated

The Jaguar XJ Coupe was already an unconventional Jag. The dramatically long two-door was built on a Series II sedan chassis and kept most of the styling in tact, just losing two doors and gaining a whole lot of subtle elegance. However, the customizers at Carlex Design have created an XJC that takes things to the next level (and maybe a few levels beyond that). Based in Poland, Carlex has a history of cranking out modified vehicles for well-off clientele. Past projects have included a race-inspired Land Rover Defender, a yachting-inspired Mercedes G63, an aggressively styled Hyundai Santa Fe, and a gargoyle-esque Ford Ranger. The Jaguar XJ Coupe is clearly a favorite, though. The newest XJC takes the British classic and gives it racier look. De-bumpered and widened with blister flares, it evokes a touring car racer from back in the day. Actually, it's more accurate to say this is what a modern restomod inspired by a fictional 1970s race car would look like, as the real XJ Coupe race cars didn't quite look like this. That's because the wheels are gigantic, big enough to bathe a medium-sized dog in. No in-period race car would have had saucers that large. And while the side view maintains faithful to the classic, its face betrays its era. Circle to the front end and LED headlights and afterburner-style high beams complete the Jag's four-eyed gaze. The original's elegant grille has been replaced with a toothy maw that would look more at home on a SEMA Jeep. Underhood the Carlex sports a V8 (of unspecified origin) delivering 400 horsepower. The company says its brakes are new, and that suspension and air conditioning are suitable for everyday use. The interior has been upholstered in what Carlex calls hand-aged leather. The deep brown color gives it the feel of a mahogany-walled boardroom. Aside from the fluting everywhere, the interior is fairly clean, and less busy than the original XJC's. If we had to pick we'd go with the unflared body of Carlex's old XJC design, but replace its Kardashian-designed dash with this one. Carlex didn't disclose price or production run, but only that a few examples would be built each year. Or, you can try to find one of Jaguar's original XJ Coupes, which were only produced between 1975 and 1978, with a run of fewer than 10,000 units over the four-year span. Given its obscurity it's kind of a strange car to restomod, but perhaps we in the U.S.