Autoblog

Geoff Polites, who's stewardship of Land Rover and Jaguar improved the health of both properties, has succumbed after a long illness. Polites led Jaguar and Land Rover back to collective profitability, and kept a steady hand on the helm during the upheaval surrounding the sale to Tata a month ago. While rumors swirled and pundits punned, it was Polites leadership that kept Jaguar and Land Rover on an even keel, with heads down and concentrating, instead of freaking out. Polites spent 40 years in the automotive business, and rose to CEO at Jaguar Land Rover in 2005. Both brands have strong, stylish product portfolios with name cachet, and David Smith, CFO of Jaguar Land Rover will step in as acting CEO for now. Press release after the jump.

[Source: Ford]

UPDATE: Shot removed at request of Jaguar


After a lengthy investigation, we've traced this clear shot of the production Jaguar XF back to Road and Track's website. The buff book's digital division published an article online titled "Top 20 New Cars for 2008". One of those cars is the Jaguar XF, and Road and Track, which we're suspecting already has its hands on a boat load of long-lead press shots, decided to publish one for the people ahead of the vehicle's official debut later this month. We'd link to the article for you, but that would only encourage this kind of behavior.

The profile shot gives us a nice view from which to compare what's changed on this car's relatively short path from concept to production. For starters, the production car has the corporate fender vents found on nearly all Jags rather than the stylized vents from the concept. The wheels also appear to be the same ones we saw in our last batch of spy shots that revealed the car's naked arse. From the side, those taillights look like they were directly ported from the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, as well.

Though we can see a bit of the face here, it's tough to tell whether we like it or not. The concept has been largely toned down, with the car exhibiting proper real world proportions, functional door handles and the like. Was the essence of the C-XF Concept preserved? We'll find out later this month when Jag officially hands over the goods.

[Source: Road and Track via Jaguarmania via Motor Authority]

With the BMW 7-Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class getting mixed reviews on their quirky styling, the Jaguar XJ sedan remains one of the most elegant luxury sedans on the market. Not to rest on its laurels, though, Jaguar is apparently preparing a mild face-lift of its range-topping sedan.

The subtle update appears to be purely cosmetic. From the spy shots we can see that most of the bodywork will carry over unchanged, with just a few tweaks at the front, back and on the side of the front fenders. Ironically, with the body-cladding, the XJ looks more like a BMW up front, where the revised version will get what appears to be a new airdam and possibly an evolved grille and/or headlights. Around back the big cat is treated to a new rear bumper. And the test mule appears to be wearing side-vents like those on the top-of-the-line Portfolio trim level, which could indicate that the air vents will trickle down through the full model range.

Jaguar's still got a long way to go before it can pose a serious challenge to the big German marques, but that won't stop it from trying.

[Source: Edmunds Inside Line]

Say what you will about the Jaguar X-Type wagon, shooting brake, you know it's a Jag when you see it. The same goes for the XJ, which was totally redesigned yet still retains its identity as an XJ and nothing else. In fact, the entire Jaguar line has a nice family look about it. The man responsible for the Jaguar design language, Ian Callum, has been awarded the highest honor the UK can muster for designers, the Royal Designers for Industry award. The honor is given to recognize designers who have "achieved sustained excellence in aesthetic and efficient design for industry." In a nutshell, we think what they're trying to say is that since taking the design reins at Jaguar in '99, Ian Callum has made Jaguars look great without resorting to excess frippery. Callum also has had a hand in shaping various Aston Martin, Ford, TWR and Ghia vehicles throughout his career. With the debut of the new XK coupe, it looks like there'll be no shortage of gorgeous Jaguars for us to drool over anytime soon.

The full press release can be found after the jump.

[Source: Jaguar]