Jaguar kills off its model line, with no clear plan for the future

Mike Pryce said:
New advert for the branding, repeating Sir William Lyons' view that a Jaguar should be a 'copy of nothing'.
View: https://youtu.be/rLtFIrqhfng?si=46vEmPVDaMdg12RF
Click to expand...

Mike Pryce said:
New advert for the branding, repeating Sir William Lyons' view that a Jaguar should be a 'copy of nothing'.
View: https://youtu.be/rLtFIrqhfng?si=46vEmPVDaMdg12RF
Click to expand...
That was a disquieting sci-fi video of models who looked profoundly uncomfortable and desperately unhappy. Although the Andy Warhol lookalike with the paintbrush did look slightly pleased with himself. Probably just happy for a days work, even ifs it’s the naffest car commercial in recent memory.
 
TinWing,

Like fashion, cars should do a number of things in terms of design. First, basic functionality. I think most drivers were not looking to buy muscle cars or ready to convert hot rods post-war. Or letting loose on the highway at 150 mph. Messerschmitt produced small and inexpensive cars after the war. In the U.S. in the 1950s, Silver Certificates were in circulation. Prosperity due to heavy defense spending, and the post-war increase in births, existed. The country was on the gold standard.

Men and women could buy very nice clothes for not a lot of money. Car designers would be influenced by jet aircraft design and other trends, but as the TV commercials told us, "See the USA in your Chevrolet." It was about families. It was about fun. The Pontiac GTO from 1963 showed a combination of elements. This was the Great Time Out car.

Next was style and a certain degree of elegance. My parents had the mandatory boy and girl and looked just fine dressed up. There was a universal appeal to civil behavior and patriotism. Most people were on the same page. Men like John DeLorean knew this and could transfer such ideas into metal. Today, there is what I call "directionless blandness" in car design. Attention is being paid to trivia like tail lights and headlights. I can picture people with absolutely no knowledge of design telling designers to "make sure it doesn't look like the old stuff." This to give the illusion of living in "the future."

The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) actually succeeds in terms of function and aesthetics. Far beyond the civilian auto industry.

So what should a Jaguar look like? It should look like a Jaguar. I am aware of buyers being conditioned to only want "something new." The false idea that anything - anything at all - is not your father's (fill in the blank) is false. Of course, improvements that save weight without sacrificing safety or that increase fuel mileage, and similar, are not to be ignored. But the arms race in car design appears to be over. The money managers think they can call the shots. They think they can step into the shoes of creatives. The same in Hollywood. How hard can it be?

A Jaguar should have distinctly British lines. It should appear on the road and command attention. That's a Jaguar.
 
I think that Jaguar should return to its roots, making small(er) fun cars for people that can afford a second car for the weekend.
Electric or ICE? Doesn't matter, it should be fun above all. Not another SUV....
 
In the UK Jaguar never shook off its 'Arthur Daley' image from the 80s, selling several generations of the same shape XJ, copies of each other, into the 2010s, then making fatter four-seat Aston Martin DB7-alikes, more copies, designed under Ian Callum.
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I have a sneaking suspicion what is really being revived now is Daimler, for a long time just a rebadged Jag (see pic above), but the version of that company from its pre-Jaguar ownership days. They cost more than most cars of their time and looked 'fabulous'.

That seems like the vibe from the new ad too. See below and https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/th...o-clear-plan-for-the-future.44779/post-727564

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TinWing said:
What is a Jaguar supposed to look like?
Click to expand...
IMO, a Jaguar should refer back to the D and E types from the 1950s. Witness all the US cars harkening back to the design cues of their heydays, like the Mustangs, Camaros, Challengers, etc.

A body shape that looks like the skin is draped over the wheels. Long hood, short deck.
 
Mike Pryce said:
New advert for the branding, repeating Sir William Lyons' view that a Jaguar should be a 'copy of nothing'.
Click to expand...
Nice ad but, sell it cars ? No
the target customer don't know what it see,
is this Fashion ad ? a Experimental music Video ? Art House ?
This Jaguar rebranding effort look more like Paris fashion show...
...were the target customer drive his wife to next fashion outlet

You Sell Cars Jaguar, CARS !

How to do Car ad RIGHT for target customer:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMQnPWjK5pE


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCIF6JF1O5U
 
My hot take is that 99.95% of all car adds are crap anyway* so who cares?

*Unless you think your car is going to fly, go through a volcano whilst doing 360s on an empty road made out of gummy bears with creepy smiling people in the back seat while not disturbing your iced coffee in the cup holder on a regular basis.
 
Mike Pryce said:
The ad has got millions of views and even Musk has engaged with it. No such thing as bad publicity?

Maybe the'Daimler' approach will go the whole hog too:

www.autocar.co.uk

New-look Jaguar's biggest challenge could be its name | Autocar

Bold rebrand has been met with a mixed – but broadly negative – response on social media
www.autocar.co.uk www.autocar.co.uk
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Problem is that Jaguar was refused permission to register the "Daimler" name as a trademark in the USA back in 2009. From the verdict:-

"In sum, when we consider the evidence as a whole, we find that the USPTO [US Patent and Trademark Office] has made out a prima facie case that DAIMLER is primarily merely a surname and that applicant has not rebutted this prima facie case

Decision: The refusal to register is affirmed."

So while "The Daimler Motor Company Limited" is still a company registered in the UK as a wholly owned subsidiary of Jaguar Land Rover Limited, wih its ultimate parent being Tata Motors Limited in India, it hasn't traded for some considerable period of time, nor had any other transactions as it has been classified as "dormant".

Wiki has a footnote:-
"Jaguar now shares the rights to the Daimler name with Daimler AG, the German car manufacturer created when DaimlerChrysler was split up. Jaguar agreed terms in 2007 which allow the German company to use the Daimler brand as the title of a trading company, a trade name, or a corporate name – rights it did not hold previously. The renegotiated terms did not affect Jaguar's rights to build Daimler cars. A spokesman for Jaguar said, "The extended usage agreement does not affect either company's existing right to use the Daimler name for a product." "The Times, 28 July 2008.


This is where it gets complicated. Mercedes-Benz AG (formerly Daimler AG between 2007 and 2022) also had an interest in "Daimler Truck" which it spun off as a separate listed company in 2021 and which sells trucks and buses under a variety of different brand names.

I would think it highly unlikely that Tata/JLR would choose to revive the Daimler name even if it still holds the rights to do so, when there has been such a close association of the name with Mercedes-Benz until relatively recent times.
 
I don't blame them. Who wants to miss the smell of gasoline while fueling your car? The market does not want change.
 
I don't think the Daimler name is being revived, but perhaps it's 'brand values' are.

I know they cannot use the name in the US and did not after the 60s - IIRC what were called Daimler in the UK were called Vanden Plas in the US, i.e. the more expensive/luxurious Jaguars.

I think they may still have the right to use that name over there but doubt they would.

This article shows how 'jaGUar' now aim to shock, shed 85% of their existing customers and use bold colours. Gerry McGovern has been scathing in the past about what Jaguar had become. https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money...admits-wont-appeal-traditional-customers.html
 
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Mike Pryce said:
I don't think the Daimler name is being revived, but perhaps it's 'brand values' are.

I know they cannot use the name in the US and did not after the 60s - IIRC what were called Daimler in the UK were called Vanden Plas in the US, i.e. the more expensive/luxurious Jaguars.

I think they may still have the right to use that name over there but doubt they would.

This article shows how 'jaGUar' now aim to shock, shed 85% of their existing customers and use bold colours. Gerry McGovern has been scathing in the past about what Jaguar had become. https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money...admits-wont-appeal-traditional-customers.html
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It seems JLR still have the rights to the Vanden Plas name in the US but haven't used it since 2008. For the rest of the world the rights to the name are held by Chinese Govt owned car maker SAIC.
 
Another cancelled Jag. The 'J-Pace' that would have been its largest SUV, a sibling to the Range Rover.

www.autocar.co.uk

Cancelled Jaguar J-Pace revealed in new images | Autocar

Premium SUV, axed three years ago, would have been a sibling of the current Range Rover and Range Rover Sport
www.autocar.co.uk www.autocar.co.uk
 

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Rhinocrates said:
Another cancelled Jag. The 'J-Pace' that would have been its largest SUV, a sibling to the Range Rover.

www.autocar.co.uk

Cancelled Jaguar J-Pace revealed in new images | Autocar

Premium SUV, axed three years ago, would have been a sibling of the current Range Rover and Range Rover Sport
www.autocar.co.uk www.autocar.co.uk
Click to expand...
If I wanted a British made SUV, I'd buy a Range Rover. I'd need to find one with a higher beltline than the 1990s version a friend had, though. I felt freaking naked with the bottom of the windows just above the seat level...
 

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