My wife and I did something crazy this weekend. More details will come in a later blog post, but we embarked on a spur-of-the-moment 2,500-mile round-trip road trip.
Over the course of two and a half days.
Why would we do such a thing? Well, as my mom said, because we’re the kind of people who like to do fun things in the amount of time other people think is impossible. So, after work on Friday and before returning to the grind Monday morning, we drove from Spokane, WA to Palisade, CO and back. Most of the way there we talked about cars, and one topic was Jaguar’s presence in America.
My wife respects the brand but thinks it’s on the way down. I believe the new XE and F-Pace will do for Jag what the Cayenne did for Porsche.
Then again, we can’t even agree on how to pronounce the automaker’s name.
Cindy is adamant that Jaguar is pronounced, “Jag Whar.” So many people in America call it, “Jag Wire” and the automaker’s commercials tend to say something like, “Jag You Are.” We agreed to just call it “Jag.”
However you say it, you can’t deny that Jag is on the verge of something great. The new XE is a BMW 3 Series competitor that could, for the first time, actually challenge the veritable little Bimmer. Car and Driver says the XE
will be full of advanced tech, starting with its aluminum structure to help reduce weight and aid fuel economy. Powertrains will include a turbo four, a supercharged V-6, and a diesel. An eight-speed automatic will be offered and a manual will appear later. Rear-wheel drive will be standard and all-wheel drive will be optional. Look for its debut in early 2016.
The F-Pace is Jag’s first SUV. Autoblog says,
For the American market, the model-year 2017 crossover will launch with a 380-horsepower gasoline V6 mated to an eight-speed transmission and all-wheel drive. Later in 2017, a 180-hp four-cylinder Ingenium diesel is expected to be added to the lineup.
The article also says that Ian Callum, Jag’s design chief, expects the F-Pace to be the best-selling vehicle Jaguar has ever built.
Jaguar has only sold 11,000 vehicles in the U.S. over the last nine months. Porsche, for comparison, sold nearly 35,000 by September 1. Thanks to these two new models, I think Jag’s numbers will skyrocket in the coming years and prove to my wife that I was right.
The pronunciation, however, is still up for debate.
Will a new Jaguar XE or F-Pace be on your shopping list?
-tgriffith
Find Certified Pre-Owned Cars and Used Cars in your area at CarGurus.
