, jag-you-are's current owners have put themselves in a rather bad place by adding rather too much production capacity in the mid to late teens, so their situation requires an increse in demand for their cars or reduced capacity. With the Chery tie-up they have the entry point into the Chinese market, but that productionse is probably going to need to come from Chinese (Chery) plants, as the Chinese economy looks to be rolling over and car brands are starting to drop away in a manner reminiscent of early 20th century Detroit. Frankly, after Brexit the U.S. , Britain & Canada are their logical market as margins are at least more promissing, but if threatened new tarrifs come into being, there is a rock, there is a hard place, and they are somewhere between. Notwithstanding the Dow and S&P being in record territory, if Elon is seriouslt going to take 2 trillion out of budget in 18 mos. there will almost cerrtainly be a recession. urther I think Jag (Tata) needs to sell off some of their capacity (to a Chinese manufacturer trying to avoid E.U. tarrifs) and move further up-market with SUVs (as much as it pains me) with models more F-pace than I-pace using Rover platforms. I only hope that Tata does well enough in their own market that they can carry the Jag brand for a few years at a loss. Yes, I am in the "banana peel" generation, but I still feel this design language is Jaguar:
This is video so appropriate for the day after National Turkey Day! Over in the "Nothing" thread, we were talking about screaming chickens on Firebird hoods. Here is a most interesting video from a design standpoint covering the evolution of "The Bird:"
John is one of my best friends. The Screaming Chicken has been an issue for years. Success has many fathers, failure is an orphan.
Take-rate was high, and it all worked out - though did GM have a fulfillment outfit pre ASC, Motortown, etc., that could've accommodated and saved John the trip? (though that seemed to turn out pretty cool, too ...) Like a Stradale or Scud stripe - if you're selling one today, ya kinda want the screamin' chicken?!
Had lunch recently with Mr. Schinella and the then Chief Engineer of Pontiac Division. They were telling me the hoops they had to jump through to get the plant to agree to apply the Chickens. The line workers weren't happy fighting with the decals.Heat guns were used in ample supply. Bill Mitchell was against the bird at first, but John prevailed. The rest is history. ASC, Motortown were never involved with the Trans Ams, but we did plenty of projects with them over the years. Have one hanging in my garage. Image Unavailable, Please Login
First impression: bit of a mash-up between a Lyric & 300C. Harry's video was quite informative. Target markets: U S, China, UK, EU in that order. The concept has a bit of a "gangsta" vibe; it will be interesting to see if that ship has be sailed by intro. If not, sales in the States might be decent. UK? Trying to harken back to those 'bad boy' days when the bank robbers drove a Mark 2 perhaps. China strikes me as a realistic target market. The Chinese are not really encumbered by the sporting history of the marque, the design is avant-garde enough to appeal (I worked there for two years), and it certainly makes a statement, but that top and looong hood are going to be a challenge in Chinese traffic! "Concept Design" so intened as much to soften resistance to the less extreme production version. perhaps. I don't understand the Brick Facade combined with the letter slot top, but this car is clearly not intended for me!
and in other design news, Elon Musk, having alienated the Italian judiciary has commissioned Alessandro Costanza to design the "Cyber-Villa!" in Trentino Alto-Adige. Image Unavailable, Please Login
McGovern should be ashamed of himself. This is what he thinks is the best possible from the studio? The words used to promote this is irritating in the level of mental manipulations to justify it. If one has to talk that much to "sell it" then it must be able to stand on its own visuals. Somewhere I saw a comment that described this as being a 4th term student design. I would add to that as further explanation, beccause4 one can draw and do fancy renderings that doesn't mean that they have yet learned taste.
So, I get what they are doing, but disagree with what they are doing. It seems like desperation. Maybe that's what's needed to save the brand but its like jumping off a bridge to avoid being shot. The end result is the same. Design wise, I completely disagree. Its fine to be bold and different and unusual. But I don't think what they've created looks attractive. And it will probably look worse in ordinary traffic. The interior, frankly, is horrific. I don't consider it bold at all. Its just Tesla on steroids. It looks like bad Italian Sci Fi movies from the 60's. I do not understand 4 other things. 1) the long hood. What the heck goes in there? 2) the overly chucky (fat) body 3) the reason why they went with an AC vent in the front and rear, 4) the colors other than just being outrageous. I think in its simplicity they might have had something. But its just too fat and the little details they do have a just not attractive. And I'm not sure as a design language where you go from here. If this is their design for everything in the future, its going to be really dull really quickly. In short, as piece of design it is "bold"-- but not "attractive". And for a brand in trouble that cannot sell everything it does (I'm looking at you Ferrari) without question, its more a statement of art than product design. And, like a banana stuck on a wall with duct tape, its bold but about as useful.
Well summarized. Interestingly, a mutual friend and I are communicating with a former Jaguar designer. His response was wait till I see it in the metal. Ok, fine. But like the Tesla Cybertruck, it's a bold move to 'spit on the table' and do something drastic, but....... I'm reminded of a quote I heard early on in my career that still resonates: " You can walk through the lobby of the Ritz Carlton Hotel with your unit hanging out of your pants and that's 'different'. But that doesn't make it good" One thing I hear over and over is "all cars look the same" So I certainly give them credit for spitting on the table and getting everyone's undivided attention. Over the past 5 yrs, who if anyone was talking about the brand or the cars? No One. Now everyone is weighing in on the topic. Now the internet, along with the mainstream media are covering this move. Most responses have certainly been negative, but I give them credit for having the brass balls to make such a move. Is this good? Don't know, the jury is still out. Is it for me? Of course not, but then I'm not the target market. All the keyboard warriors lamenting about how the brand is dead, the ads suck and the car is ugly. My guess is not one of them is a Jag customer. Their buyer base is dead and dying off. Time to move on. Cadillac went through the same kind of death march 20 yrs ago, and that's still a work in progress. They matched BMW, and no one cared. As far as the new design vocabulary for Jag, it certainly borders on the Simple like Simon school of design. I wish it had a bit more detailing, in that to my eye it looks unfinished. Again, we'll see. The baby blue & pink color schemes..... Stay tuned.
Dig it. It's interesting. It disregards the brand, so we'll see if they paid too much for a factory ...?
I agree with this but.... its just too FAT. I have a feeling it could have worked if they looked closer to that E type they keep pointing too. It reminds me of a Hollywood prop for a villain. With about 30% of the fat removed it might have been something. Its OK to be hold. Just be good at it. And the interior ---- ugh. There's no hope for that one. And who the hell thinks adding a physical barrier between the driver and passenger is "a good thing"? Here is my problem. Why even bother calling it a Jaguar. There's literally nothing "Jaguar" here. Start fresh and call it Moderno or something if they like modernism so much. They are fighting with their own past too much. Explain to me how the brand "Jaguar" helps when all you do is say we're ignoring the last 100 years.
just to come back to reality, this is a comcept car and the production car will look very differently. some of the design elements may cross over but the production car will have more traditional proportions. and nobody will buy it. think Saturn car business model from the early 1990’s.
It IS desperation. Jag IS desperate as the traditional buyer is dying off. So they need to do something crazy and bold like Tesla did with the Cybertruck. Doesnt mean ti will work, but doing what everyone else is doing most definitely isnt going to work. I applaud Jag for what they are trying (design wise not marketing wise), even though it doesnt appeal to me.
