Jaguar drops X-Type from US lineup
So anyway, that new 2009 Jaguar X-Type we showed you this morning -- the one currently being crucified in the comments? No need to worry: it's not coming here. On the same day it announced the updated version for the rest of the world, Jaguar has officially pulled the plug on the X-Type in the US. The car's biggest sales year was 2003 when it was first introduced, and it has not met expectations since. Not even the introduction of the wagon for MY 2005 helped. Of course, perhaps if more people knew the wagon existed in the first place, it might have made somewhat of a difference. I say this as I carry on a parallel IM chat with Neff, who had no idea the wagon was available in the US until about 5 minutes ago. Suffice to say that the estate could have been marketed more effectively. The 2008 model (above) will continue to arrive until March, and after that, the X-Type turns into a pumpkin. You'll probably be able to snag a nice deal on one at the local Jaguar store, and there's no shortage of value-priced examples on the used market, either. Jaguar expects the XF to make up for lost sales of both the S- and X-Types when it arrives.
[Source: AutoWeek]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
EquinsuOcha 3:09PM (10/12/2007)
The X-Type is dead! Long live the Mondeo!
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David 3:19PM (10/12/2007)
OOOOOF! That was a hit. And I had just left a major compliment on the 09 post. Oh well....get em while they're hot and bargain hard. Overall, they're are decent and solid cars.
Now...should I go buy another?
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Alex 3:27PM (10/12/2007)
"Overall, they're are decent and solid cars."
really? my brother's '03 was a damn POS. Car was in the shop constantly. We would joke that that for the price of an X-Type he got an S-Type. However, my dad's estate is running strong...
maybe my brother got a bad apple.
blogged to death 3:41PM (10/12/2007)
Maybe not as a coworker of mine has lots of problems with the electronics and doors, and the transmission is making a whining noise. Jaguar of course can't repeat it (I can hear it) and his warranty just passed. Seems the cars resale value plummets so he's been afraid to sell it but now that he has to pay all these out of pocket repairs on a car with less than 50k miles he has to.
Toledo Guy 10:23PM (10/12/2007)
Alex, you don't think that in 5 YEARS that Jaguar made a few quality improvements to the car? C'mon, be slightly realistic....
It is a shame, because I've always liked the looks of the car, and the wagon is a good SUV alternative. But I wouldn't buy one unless I could get one of the Ford employee lease deals. But since the Jaguar/Land Rover dealer here in Toledo closed after less than two years in business, I guess its really not an issue!
big L 5:54PM (10/12/2007)
Jag never gave it a chance. The pricing was too high with all the options some of wich were packages. It was like a sales gimmick for the s type. byt the time the X was outfitted you wre in S type v 6 territory.
Like a step up program.
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ryan 3:25PM (10/12/2007)
if that was the redesign, good riddance. i really love the jaguar brand (as far as looks go), but i have to say no to that one.
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SPG 3:29PM (10/12/2007)
Like I said in the last post, it's a nice car and I'd drive one.
However, I kinda think this car should be rebadged the...
Lincoln Versailes.
Not because the Versailes was so great but because it too was a rebadged Ford roughly in the same category.
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Gardiner Westbound 3:38PM (10/12/2007)
This bow-wow will not be missed.
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Menice 3:40PM (10/12/2007)
it WAS something we said... yeah!
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Gregg 3:57PM (10/12/2007)
In spite of all the criticism--some of it deserved--the X was a pretty car with a lot of luxury and great potential. It was actually not just badge-engineered, although based on the very good Mondeo. It always had rear biased AWD, and the thought to have a three sedan lineup (like Mercedes, BMW, Audia and Volvo) was not out of line for Jaguar.
What Ford-Jaguar did not do is continually upgrade and promote it. The AWD wagon was hidden under a bushel, but that is a pleasant, good looking and quite useful vehicle.
The European version is finally getting a 6 speed transmission. Ours could have used more sound deadening as well, and more power choices. And Jaguar product cycles are just too long. Woulda coulda shoulda. Like so much of what Ford has touched in the past few years, they begin with a strong premise and then abandon the thing. The X-Type deserved far better.
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Rene Curry 12:00AM (10/13/2007)
Greg, you are correct. Just look to the Lincoln LS as a "die on the vine" example.
For Jaguar Ford should have been pulling from the corporate parts bin while focusing on continuous styling & interior improvements to make it a desireable vehicle.
Now that the UK currency is stronger in relation to the dollar, a generic looking X-type will not sell at even higher pricing in the USA.
Owain Ozymandias Buck 4:07PM (10/12/2007)
Are you serious? The X-type had a Wagon model? Dang. I thought I kept up with all things wagon, but I swear, I never new Jaguar sold a wagon in the U.S. until I saw this post. Guess I wasn't their market target. Where did they advertise the thing?
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volvfan88 4:13PM (10/12/2007)
Ford, Ford Ford, when will you get this whole thing together. You are enountering problems to sell Jaguar and Land Rover now. You cant make up your mind on wether or not to sell Volvo. Ford is just dragging on these brands into the ground along with the Ford, Mercury, Lincoln divisions. If I could give Ford a bit of advice it would be this. Divest the entire PAG of Europe. Sell all of the Jaguar shares to a new owner. Keep about a 20% share in Land Rover, because this is a profitable brand, and they can use alot of the Land Rover know how to create supreme SUVS in the Ford lineup. Volvo the gem of the group would be better off sold to a private equity group not another car company to prevent the sharing of technology that Ford so heavily relies on. keep about a 30% share in Volvo to be a blocking minority, and be able to use the safety and innovative technology from Sweden. Ford then needs to pay attention to the market. Watch how GM is producing new Chevy's and Cadillac's. MAtch new Ford vehicles to these GM brands. Mercury could be kept but needs to be more seperated from Ford and Lincoln, let Mercury become the Ford division to rival Buick. Ford can do extremely well with Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and associates Mazda, Volvo, and Land Rover.
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robert bell 4:26PM (10/12/2007)
No big suprise. Ford has disconnected Jaguar from life support and is waiting to ship the carcass to whomever buys it in the pending fire sale.
In dropping the X here, Ford calcuates it won't have to spend the marketing dollars and can make the short term bleeding look a bit less to the prospective buyers, but, the fact is, whomever buys Jaguar will need to put monies into an entry level model somewhere down the line.
Back in the 90s when Nasser was on a buying binge to create PAG many questioned whether or not Ford had the expertise and know how to run a diversified luxury business. Guess we now know the answer to that question. If there is a Ford in your future, it isn't going to be a specialty luxury and/or performance machine.
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marm 5:16PM (10/12/2007)
nothing worse than using whomever when it should be whoever.
TheOne442 5:19PM (10/12/2007)
There was a Wagon?
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why not the LS2/LS7? 6:09PM (10/12/2007)
Holy crap! There's a wagon!
I lurve fancy wagons. I hate the X-Type though.
The EPA fuel economy site calls it the "X-Type Sport Brake" (and shows a pic of the sedan).
2007 economy: 18/24. Ouch.
2008-style economy: 16/22.
That's a tough sell when the A6 Avant Quattro is 19/27 (2007) and 19/25 (2008 rating).
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David 6:40PM (10/12/2007)
I actually thought the X-type was a pretty nice car for the money considering my experiences with them (Grandpa owns one and my mom had one for 2 months before getting... a 3 series). I personally liked it more than the 3 series for the most part.
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steve 7:16PM (10/12/2007)
I liked the idea of the X-Type, particularly when looked at simply as a 6-cylinder, all-wheel-drive sedan with (in earlier models) an available 5-speed manual transmission. The styling and interior looked nice. I was intrigued by the idea of a low-milage used one after I saw the really low prices available on eBay. The wagons did look good, by the way.
I was in the market for a car a couple of years ago so my wife and I went to the local Jag dealer to take a look and test-drive. let's just say that we were so disappointed that we didn't care how cheaply one could be bought.
1- Really noisy (our Mazda Protege5 was quieter and I never considered it a quiet car)
2- Cheap interior (we test-drove two of them, both certified pre-owned cars so presumably in great shape, and they both were full of rattles... some of the interior plastics just looked used-up after
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