Jaguar XJ Concept
Spy shots and concept photos published in British publication Car (which I came across via Autopia) reveal a Jaguar XJ that has been redesigned to ensure that Jaguar ultimately meets the same fate as Volvo: obscurity and unpopularity. Abandoning the traditional makeup WHICH MADE THEM LEGENDARY – ahem, excuse me – Jaguar’s design chief Ian Callum appears to have engineered yet another interchangeably-styled luxury sedan. 2011 XJ test mules that were spotted on the test track were heavily disguised under the body work of the current model XJ saloon’s, but I’m not fooled. According to sources, the Jaguar XJ’s new design direction is a heavy crossbreeding of the Aston Martin Rapide and the Bentley Continental GT, which several auto enthusaists have heralded as a much-needed revision of the Jaguar XJ’s “outdated style.”
Sigh.
Ok. Let me break this down for you: when Ford bought Volvo in 1999 they performed the same kind of overhaul, abandoning the “turbo brick” styling. The result was a retooled Volvo that looked like little more than a high-end Ford Taurus. Now, thanks to that brilliant maneuver, Volvo’s popularity as a brand has been “put in the back on the discount rack, like another can of beans,” (to quote Billy Joel). The only motorists that are still enthusiastic about Volvo are the loyjala fanatiker like myself who remain true to the original Volvo line, manufactured from 1927 to 1999. As a matter of fact, if you ever crack open the pages of Rolling Magazine (the official publication of the Volvo Club Of America), you’ll notice a distinct lack of anything influenced by Ford.
2011 Jaguar XF Spy Photos
Like Volvo, Jaguar’s design isn’t merely an odd, “outdated” aesthetic, it’s a tradition-rich design upon which Jaguar’s legacy has been built. If it’s drastically altered to resemble yet another Bentley look-alike, you will effectively destroy the only traditional thread the Jaguar XJ had left to cling to. Granted, the entire Jaguar line has suffered a fall from popularity, but tampering with its only remaining prize-winning formula isn’t going to change that. I say to Jaguar: leave the XJ alone and focus instead on fine-tuning the two models that are already trying to embolden the mix, the Jaguar XK and the XF. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself sitting next to Volvo on the discount shelf. I hope you like beans.
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