Porsche 914 Driver Door Window Vent Glass on 2040-parts.com

Market view: why the Jaguar XJ has an uphill battle

By Glen Brooks Motor Industry 10 July 2009 16:11 It’s a sobering thought for Jaguar management that no matter how good the new 2010 XJ is, it’s never going to be a big seller. The global market for large executive saloons was in decline long before the Great Recession appeared, the buyers in this segment increasingly tempted by models as diverse as the BMW X6, Infiniti FX, Cadillac Escalade or Mercedes GL-Class crossovers and SUVs. The generation that was chauffeured in an S-class or XJ is retiring, with the owner-drivers who succeed them soon to be preferring a Porsche Panamera, Aston Martin Rapide or Audi A7.

Jaguar F-Type public debut at Goodwood Festival of Speed

Jaguar are giving the F-Type development prototype its first public outing at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. It’s less than three months since we discovered that the C-X16 would be the new Jaguar F-Type, but there’s been plenty of news on the spiritual successor to the E-Type since then, even though it’s the best part of a year before the F-Type launches. We know that the F-Type will come not only with the new supercharged V6 but that there will also be a V8 supercharged version of the F-Type on offer which, if it gets the full fat 550bhp version, will be a very swift cat indeed.

Mercedes SLK-Class

The third-generation Mercedes SLK (now 'SLK-Class') will make its world debut at the Geneva motor show next month. While this all-new, third-generation model retains the overall proportions of the outgoing model, its design language is very different. Soft, subtle forms are out, particularly around its DRG, were a brutal grille, complete with bold chrome bar and star, takes center stage.