Ford’s Reliability Suffers in Consumer Reports Survey, Japanese Brands Rule and Europeans are a Mixed Bag

Consumer Reports has published its 2011 annual auto survey in which the main point of interest, as the report states, is a sharp decline in Ford’s so far “solid reliability record”: the Detroit carmaker dropped 10 places in the overall reliability ranks.

According to CR's survey, which is based on responses from 1.3 million vehicles owners, Ford’s drop from 10th to 20th place among 28 carmakers can be attributed to two main factors. The first is that all three of Ford’s new models, i.e. the Explorer, Fiesta and Focus, scored below average in reliability in their first year on the market.

Read more »

Car Nut Heaven: London’s US$7,875 a Night Jaguar Suite

If James Bond ever needed a permanent residence in London, chances are it would look a lot like 51 Buckingham Gate Taj Suites and Residences’ Jaguar Suite.

Costing £5,100 (US$7,875) a night and decked out in oak veneer, leather, damask and stainless steel, general manager Prabhat Verma describes the suite as a, “24-hour Jaguar immersion experience”.

There are also historical photos, framed hood ornaments and 1:100 scale model cars scattered throughout.

Read more »

Top Gear Spotted Filming Christmas Special in India [with Video]

In a recent interview with WitneyTV, Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson let slip out that this year's Christmas special episode will take place in India.

Being that all episodes are filmed several months before they hit the airwaves, it doesn't come as a surprise that the British TV show's crew were snagged in Mumbai this month.

Along with a short video clip showing Richard Hammond and a modified classic MINI Cooper that we found on Youtube, the guys over at IndianAutosBlog tipped us off about a set of pictures they took during the filming of the Christmas episode of Top Gear.

Read more »

Report: Jaguar and Land Rover to Build Cars in China in Partnership with Chery

What do you do when you are a luxury carmaker and sales aren’t going as well as expected? Simple: you invest in China, as despite the cooling car market, buyers continue to have an appetite for foreign luxury cars.

In July, we reported that Jaguar and Land Rover owner, Tata Motors, would invest heavily in the two brands in order to improve their sales, especially those of Jaguar, which are on a sharp decline.

Read more »

Study Shows that New Porsche 911 Garnered the Most Web Buzz from the Frankfurt Motor Show

Now that the 2011 International Auto Show in Frankfurt has passed into history, analysts are crunching the numbers to see which carmakers and models sparked the crowd's interest the most.

UK-based Kantar Media Precis released the results of a study that looks into the number of online stories from websites, Tweets, blogs and other social media starting from two weeks before the first press day of the Frankfurt Motor Show on Aug. 30, 2011, until the end of the second press day on Sept. 14, 2011.

The study reveals that the most talked about model on the internet was the new Porsche 911 sports coupe, while next up was the Mercedes-Benz B Class small MPV, followed by the BMW i3 Concept hatch, the Audi Urban Concept studies and the Ford Evos Concept.

Read more »

SPIED: Jaguar Begins Work on C-X16 Coupe with Test Mules

It has only been a week since Jaguar pulled the curtains back on its new C-X16 concept model at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, but the British automaker has already began work on prototypes that will eventually lead to the production model, which is expected to hit the market as early as 2013.

At a first glance, the prototype seen in these fresh spy shots may seem like an XK Convertible, however, a closer look reveals that it's a test mule, meaning engineers are using body parts of an existing model on a different platform.

Read more »

Rumors: Jaguar-Land Rover to open new Engine Plant in UK

When Tata Motors acquired Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford in 2008, it had to buy powertrains for the models that were already in production by the British group's former owner.

Now, as part for their expansion plan, Tata Motors is considering the opening of a new engine plant, according to British newspaper Sunday Telegraph. If the report is indeed accurate (the company wasn’t available for comment) it will be built in Wholverhampton in central England and employ around 2,000 workers.

Read more »

IAA 2011: C-X16 Production Concept is “The Future of Jaguar Sports Cars”

Jaguar is so far under-performing, recording a 27% sales drop in the first quarter of the year. Indian owner Tata Motors is determined though to turn its fortunes around by investing US$2.5 billion annually for the next five years in the British luxury carmaker and its Land Rover stable mate in order to develop 40 new models and variants.

A spiritual successor to the legendary E-Type is certainly a good start: a modern sports coupe along with a roadster variant boasting compact dimensions and 21st century design and driving dynamics. This is exactly Jaguar’s main attraction at the 64th Frankfurt Motor Show: the C-X16 “production concept”, as the study is officially named, clearly pointing at a road-going model.

Read more »

New Jaguar C-X16 Concept Hints at a Porsche Cayman and 911 Rival [50 Photos + Video]

Jaguar is bringing a new sleek concept car named the C-X16 to the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, which opens its gates on September 13.

Following the release of a single teaser rendering, the British carmaker unloaded a slew of photos and information on the concept that is believed to lead to a production model sitting under the XK and aiming at the likes of both the Porsche Cayman and 911.

Read more »

Clarkson's Jaguar XJS Sports Train Pulls into the World of Top Gear Exhibition at Beaulieu

The World of Top Gear Exhibition at Beaulieu in Hampshire, England, has just added another toy from the popular TV motoring programme to its collection.

The new addition is the Jaguar 'Sports Train' that was featured in the fourth episode of season 17 when Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May set out to build the best automotive-pulled train.

Read more »

Tata Considers Developing Engines with Jaguar and Land Rover

Tata Motors’ owner, Ratan Tata, confirmed today in the company’s annual report that the Indian carmaker is considering developing an engine in cooperation with its Jaguar Land Rover division.

"To optimize the synergistic strengths between JLR and Tata Motors in India, an examination is also under way on a joint engine development program which would have manufacturing facilities both in the U.K. and India," Ratan Tata stated.

Read more »

It Came From eBay Hell: 1993 Jaguar XJ6 “Airport Limousine”

In the glory days of air travel – when you could still smoke and fly without the fear of being groped and fondled by security personnel wearing latex gloves– some passengers were lucky enough to commute from the terminal to their hotel in the back of an airport limousine.

These stretched cars, with their multiple rows of seats and doors, were essentially the primitive precursor to the modern day shuttle bus.

Read more »

Jaguar’s Ian Callum Confirms Hot R Edition of Upcoming XF Sport Break

We already knew that Jaguar was preparing an estate (or, as they prefer to call it, Sport Break) version of the XF. What we were not so sure about was whether the XF Sport Break would get a range-topping R version like its sedan sibling.

Up until now, that is, because Ian Callum, Jag’s chief designer, recently told the Dutch publication Autovisie that the company will indeed present and XFR variant of the estate. And it will of course be powered by the same 510-hp turbocharged V8 of the sedan, giving rivals such as Audi’s RS6 something to worry about.

Read more »

New Jaguar XF 2.2 Diesel Goes from Birmingham to Munich on One Tank of Fuel

Jaguar is touting it’s new diesel-powered XF 2.2D saloon as the most fuel-efficient model in its history and to back its claims, the company set out to complete a journey from its factory at Castle Bromwich in Birmingham, UK, to Munich, Germany, on a single tank of fuel.

The British company manages to achieve its goal, with the four-cylinder XF covering a distance of 816 miles or 1,312 kilometers on 64 liters of diesel fuel, which gives an average fuel economy of 57mpg UK, equal to 4.9 lt/100km and 47.5 mpg US.

Read more »

Plastic is Fantastic: 1:24 Scale Supercar Exotics Encased In Resin

Here’s something you don’t see every day: a 1970's style resin “sculpture” made by an unknown French artist and featuring various 1:24 scale Ferraris.

There’s also a Lamborghini Diablo, Jaguar XJ220 and Bugatti EB110 in there among others. Props to anyone who can help us identify the rest. The unusual item is being sold by Mantiques Modern [sic] of New York.

For details on price, you’ll have to contact the dealer, but something tells us it won’t be cheap… More photos of the artsy piece in the gallery after the break.

Read more »

Silverstone Organisers Ask: What is the Best British Sports Car of All Time?

The fifteen finalists in the Silverstone Classic’s, “Best British Sports Car of All Time” vote-in have been announced, and boy is there some choice picks. Before we get to that though, can I just point out a misnomer in using the, “of All Time” qualifier?

This assumes (prophetically?) that Britain will not be making any more sports cars in the future, whereas, “Best British Sports Car So Far” would be a far more accurate description. But enough with semantics: who are our lucky finalists? Read on….

Read more »

They Should Have Built It: 2000 Jaguar F-Type Concept

With the E-Type of 1961, Jaguar was back in a big way. Essentially a spiritual successor to the legendary XK120 of the 1940s and ‘50s, the E-Type had everything going for it: looks, performance and price.

Since then, much has changed for the brand. The malaise of the 1970s, the reliability woes of the ‘80s and the reheated design language of the ‘90s all placed a burden on the Big Cat.

Then, at the 2000 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), Jaguar unveiled the F-Type Concept to the world. And by God was it a stunner. The lines were simple yet provocative; the interior refreshingly Spartan and functional for a concept car.

Read more »

Hot Jaguar XKR-S Rendered as a Convertible

Swayed by recent media reports from Britain, Carscoop reader L il-k Amaru returned to his virtual drawing board and photoshoped a convertible version of the hardcore Jaguar XKR-S, which was unwrapped in coupe format at the 2011 Geneva Salon this past March.

If the rumors about the XKR-S Convertible turn out to be true, expect the open top model to feature the same styling and performance modifications as the coupe.

Read more »

Convoy of 50 Jaguar E-Types Run Through the Streets of London

It’s not every day that you get to see a Jaguar E-Type on the road let alone 50 well kept and restored examples of what many regard as the most beautiful car ever made. And that’s exactly what happened today when a fleet of 50 privately owned Jaguar E-types in both coupe and roadster formats travelled in convoy through the streets of London on their way to the 2011 Motorexpo in Canary Wharf marking the sports car’s 50th birthday. Read more »

Jaguar-Land Rover Opens Assembly Plant in India, Rolls Out its First Model [with Video]

Gone are the times when you knew where cars were made just by looking at the brand, and when luxury carmakers made the manufacturing of their vehicles in their home country one of their top selling points. Nowadays, you have BMWs built in China, India, South Africa and the USA, Mercedes-Benz cars made in Russia, Thailand and Egypt and so on.

The latest premium automaker to go global is the Jaguar-Land Rover group, which inaugurated its first Indian factory on Friday. A Land Rover Freelander 2 SUV was the first vehicle to roll out of the assembly plant, which is located just outside Pune in the Maharashtra region of India. We’ll remind you that Ford Motor Co. sold Jaguar and Land Rover to India’s Tata Motors in 2008 after losing some US$15 billion in two years.

Read more »