Jaguar

As someone who's spent a great deal of time in (or more accurately, underneath) British cars, I find the word 'Jaguar' to be synonomous with luxury, style and great suffering. Thankfully, my dad never expressed any interest in owning an XJ or XK, and it remained a sort of Holy Grail of mechanical difficulty. “At least,” I'd say to myself, when some important part of the Land Rover had gone fatally 'sproing', “At least we don't have a Jaguar.”

But that doesn't mean I don't drool all over an E-Type whenever I come across one in a parking lot. They're like automotive goddesses with the curves of Aphrodite and the mood swings of Shiva. And you have to remove the rear end just to change the brakes.

Actually, the E-Type is perhaps a bit too obvious a choice. Everyone loves that thing, even people with hemp pants and communists. If I had to pick a favourite Jag, it'd be the big saloons: the '66 Mark IIs and the '68 420s. For me, these big cats are all about flash cockney villains, jewel heists and Italian Jobs, Michael Caine and John Osborne. They're cool enough to turn a Roger Rabbit into a Roger Daltrey.

And here's the thing: when I see a big Jaguar on the street, I think to myself, “That's the business.” With the exception of the excreable X-Type, every Jag is a true icon, an undiluted expression of the marque.

Founded in the '20s as a motorcycle sidecar company, Jaguar began producing sports cars in the thirties. However, it wasn't until the late forties that Jaguar really came into its own with the XK120 sport-saloon. Developed during war-time fire watch on the factory floor, the XK120 was a revolution in speed and luxury.

For instance in 1952, during a high-speed trial, a team of three drivers lapped an XK120 for 168 consecutive hours at 210 km/h, covering over 27,000 kms and stopping only for fuel and driver changes. In a time when most British cars would have struggled to break 100 km/h, this was like driving non-stop at double the speed limit from Vancouver to St. Johns, Newfoundland, and back again, twice in one week.

It was this sort of ridiculous achievement and numerous racing victories that built Jaguar's reputation for speed, while their burled wood and leather interiors were building a reputation for luxury. Sadly, by the late sixties, the actual cars were being built by British Leyland, which had built a reputation on being bad at building things.

Still the indisputable character of Jaguars remained untouched, if a bit rusty, up until the Ford Motor Corporation snapped them up in 1989. Between '89 and 2007 Jaguar earned Ford a profit of nothing, zero, nada, while turning out beauties like the XKR coupe, and yawnfests like the Mondeo-based X-Type.

Jaguar is now owned by India's Tata motors, which is probably the best thing that could have happened to them. Modern Britain is all chavs and ASBOs, David and Victoria Beckham, lager louts and football hooligans. India on the other hand, is proably the greatest preserver of English culture in the world. The P.G. Wodehouse appreciation society has more members in India than any other nation.

Combine this with the recent modernization of the country, and you have the perfect ownership for a company that's always lived on a heritage of speed and old-world charm, combined with modern technology. Consider the new supercharged XKR with its classic long-nose short-tail profile and E-type oval grille. With over 500 horsepower and a trick suspension, it brings supercar speed to the table, but it does it with a refinement and character only an Aston-Martin could match (at twice the price).

With the current economic turmoil, Jaguar remains one of the only luxury automakers that doesn't have a cluttered, diluted lineup. BMW has nearly ten model lines with various trim levels, and cheap financing. Mercedes has three different SUVs and the A-Class entry-level vehicle. Lexus's I250 is a luxo-badge at a Toyota price.

If you're in a Jaguar though, there's none of that cheapness. You might not have the one with the biggest engine, but it's going to be something very special nontheless. Perhaps this excusivity will mean a rebirth for Jaguar, an upswell in sales and a return to profitability. Either way, any time you see an old XJ or XK on the road, be sure and give them a salute.

Saying a few Hail Marys for their powertrain wouldn't go amiss either.