JustBritish

Jaguar intends to become a copycat by following Porsche’s sales strategy of selling fewer cars with higher profit margins.

The British luxury-car brand has targeted the German sports car maker’s successful business formula after years of losses and underperforming sales under American owner Ford.

Jaguar, along with sister company Land Rover, is on the verge of being sold to Indian company Tata, a transition that is unlikely to change plans to abandon the previous (Ford) strategy of chasing big volumes.

At the launch of the car maker’s new XF model in Monaco, Jaguar’s design director and senior figurehead Ian Callum said the successor to the S-Type signalled a fresh approach for the brand.

“Our aim now as a luxury brand is to aim for about 100,000 units a year, not 200,000 or 300,000,” he said. “That’s about the right size for Jaguar.

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IT IS not a case of if, but when Land Rover will build its smallest off-roader. The LRX Concept was shown at the Melbourne Motor Show last month and Land Rover flew in its chief designer Julian Thomson for the presentation.

He said the four-seater LRX “cross coupe” would go into production in three to four years and would look very similar to the show car.

The LRX is smaller than a Freelander and features a rising waistline, no B pillar, a space-age interior with LED lights in the carpet which is made from recycled drink bottles, and it is powered by a hybrid electric/bio-diesel powerplant.

“The exterior is close to what we will have in production – the mirrors will have to be bigger – but much of it will go into production,” Thomson said.

“Car design is really flourishing and the market is much more open to new designs, but customers want production cars to be like concept cars.

“The real skill of doing concept cars is that they are deliverable.

“I could have put 24-inch wheels on this but it’s not going to happen.

“We ultimately want to make this car and don’t want to create unrealistic expectations.”

Thomson said the LRX addressed what Land Rover will look like in the future. “We want to get more young, urban and female customers to the brand.”

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MPs have demanded a government-backed inquiry into the collapse of MG Rover is forced to publish its findings.

The independent investigation began in June 2005 but has so far not reported any of its conclusions. In January it was revealed it had cost £11.8m.

The Birmingham car maker went bust in April 2005 with the loss of 6,000 jobs.

The business and enterprise committee of MPs has called for the findings to be made public, but the government has refused to set inspectors a deadline.

The government called in fraud and insolvency specialists to help the official inquiry into the failure of the firm, which was bought by Nanjing Automobile Corporation in July 2005.

‘Community destroyed’

Mid-Worcestershire Conservative MP Peter Luff, who chairs the business and enterprise committee, said the inquiry had taken long enough.
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Nice article in the LA Times on the new MINI Cooper Clubman. The article starts of by saying, “It’s my considered opinion that the BMW Mini Cooper is the most successful car design of the last 20 years. What can touch it? Here’s a car that puts a spearmint thrill through you every time you turn the key, a larking, capering, glass-and-steel nymph that nicks past other traffic like it’s mired in molasses. On top of the giddy charge of merely wheeling the thing, you’ve got this utterly charismatic styling, a po-mo masterpiece, a rolling tribute to the iconic Mini (1959 to 2000) designed by Alec Issigonis and built by the British Motor Corp. That’s Sir Alec to you, you peon.”

For the rest of the story, got to the LA Times.

In June 2007, The Lightning Car Company announced its intent to develop electric technology for a luxury British sports car – the Lightning GT. Today sees the unveiling of its evolutionary design. This super car with its outstanding presence & performance is set to put British sports car innovation well and truly back on the map. Designed to accommodate the latest battery and motor technology and reflect its 100% electric power and performance, the electric Lightning prototype is being hand-built by a small team of passionate British engineers, designers and collaborators.

Whilst the rest of the automotive world engages in the hybrid, hydrogen or electric debate, the Lightning Car Company firmly believes its 100% Electric Lightning GT will help kick start the market for performance EV’s. Without a significant positive shift in perception, electric motoring will remain a huge compromise in the eyes of driving enthusiasts and therefore fail to impress the masses. Our vision is shared by the world’s biggest car maker, General Motors, who believes the global oil supply has peaked and a switch to electric cars is inevitable.
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Ok, I know things have been going up in price and that Triumphs have really been undervalued for a very long time, but $44,000 for a TR-4A really is a lot of money. This one was beautiful though, with surrey top and everything.

Check out the full story here at Autoweek, and please let me know what you think!