Dateline: for September 2003 issue. Compiled by Paul Skilleter

Jaguar ups quality rating

According to the 2003 J D Power and Associates Initial Quality Study, Jaguar is one of the most-improved nameplates in the US when it comes to quality.

Jaguar ranked tenth overall in the influential study - up from 19th last year, and ahead of Honda, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Saab.

The higher rating was due largely to a 22 per cent quality improvement in the X-TYPE's initial rating.

But Jaguar still lags behind Lexus and Cadillac, the latter of which has climbed to the number two slot.

"These are extremely encouraging results, though we are constantly striving to keep improving the quality of our cars," says George Ayres, vice president of Jaguar marketing.

J D Power and Associates 2003 Initial Quality Study is based on responses from more than 52,000 buyers and leasees of new 2003 model-year cars and trucks who were surveyed after 90 days of ownership.

Track testing the new XJ

Fancy punting a new supercharged XJR round the racetrack? Jaguar in the States is giving thousands of owners and wannabe owners the opportunity during its 'Born to Perform' Tour.

As part of Jaguar's XJ launch strategy, owners and prospective buyers have been invited to a day at the races, to test drive the new XJ, as well as soak up the atmosphere of vintage competition.

The 'Born to Perform' Tour kicked off 26 April at the Road Atlanta racetrack in Georgia, which also saw the debut of the two-car Jaguar Select Edition Racing Team.

Participants had the chance to try-out one of 15 new XJs on the track and around a slalom course, with professional driving instructors on hand to give advice.

The seven-event tour has also included stops at Lime Rock Raceway, Connecticut, the Infineon Raceway at Monterey, California (both May 30); and Fontana Speedway, CA (20 June). Other tour stops are planned for Road America, WI on July 17/18, and Moroso Park, near Palm Beach, FL on 31 October 31 - 2 November.

Racing E-type sells for $1.45m

The famous racing E-type that was hidden away in a surburban Los Angeles garage for 35 years has sold again at auction, this time for $1.37m.

One of the 12 all-aluminium factory competition roadsters built in 1963, S 850660 gave the type one of its best endurance racing results when it finished seventh overall and first in class at the Sebring 12 hours event that year (see Jaguar World Vol 10 no 5).

The car was mothballed shortly after, seeing the light of day only when auctioned at Monterey in August 1998, when it fetched $870,050 (£523,230 at the prevailing rate of exchange). The new British owner had the car sympathetically refurbished by Lynx, after which it was raced at Goodwood and Laguna Seca.

Now this remarkable car has been bought by Arizona Jaguar enthusiast Philippe Reyns at the recent RM Auction at Amelia Island, Florida. The latest sale means that its value has increased by more than $500,000, or nearly 60 per cent, in just five years. The car was recently on show at the 2003 Jaguar Clubs of North America Challenge Championship in Phoenix, Arizona in May.

Robbie shows off his Jaguars

British pop star Robbie Williams has just moved to Los Angeles, and the first thing he did was buy a couple of Jaguars to play with.

Robbie recently appeared on the MTV show Cribs, where stars let cameras into their homes. In the show, Robbie proudly displayed his brand new black XKR convertible, and a white 1973 Series 3 E-type roadster with funky orange stripes down the bonnet.

"I love the V12. It makes me feel like James Bond," said Williams. Also in his LA garage, a rented Bentley convertible and a rare Ducati street bike.

X-TYPE US sales go into freefall

Jaguar is struggling to arrest the dramatic sales slump of the X-TYPE in the US. In the first four months of the year, the company sold just 7,677 X-TYPEs, down 41.9 per cent compared to a year before.

In the same period, BMW sold 37,284 3-series, Mercedes-Benz flogged 22,436 C-Class models, and even Audi managed to clear almost 15,000 A4s.

Jaguar execs blame the cut-throat competition in the US luxury market, but others point at the X-TYPE's cramped cabin and downmarket Ford Mondeo roots.

* Jaguar has slipped in Europe too; estimates are that Jaguar sales in Western Europe for April totalled 3,633 as opposed to 5,173 in April 2002.

Karen Miller

Paul Skilleter writes:
We are sad to record the death on May 23 of Karen Miller, Jaguar Cars of North America archivist, long standing JCNA activist, successful XK 120 race driver and Jaguar Quarterly/Jaguar World/JWM special correspondent. She was just 58 and had been suffering from cancer. Typically, although diagnosed over two years ago, she strictly forbade any mention of the fact, and continued working right up until the beginning of this year. A very courageous lady.

Besides founding the archive department in North America during 1991, Karen routinely assisted the PR department which highly valued her knowledge of the Jaguar clubs, company history and product. I had known for over 25 years, during which time she was totally devoted to Jaguar. She will be badly missed at Mahwah, in the wider Jaguar community and here at JWM. A full tribute will appear in our issue published in July.

Meanwhile, our thoughts are with her husband of 22 years,

American journalist drive the new XJ!

In early May, Jaguar chose Scotsdale, Arizona as the site for the XJ8 launch to newspaper and other journalists from the USA, Canada and Mexico. The test route ran on mountain roads north to Sedona, Arizona. En route, there were plenty of opportunities to photograph the new car with the local Saguaro cactus and ever-present mountain peaks. The car met with an enthusiastic reception.

Simon Sproule leaves Jaguar

After some four years as Jaguar's press communications officer, firstly at Jaguar's former headquarters Mahwah, New Jersey, and latterly at the Premier Automotive Group's new headquarters in Irvine, California, Simon Sproule has left the company.

The reasons for his leaving have not been made public, but it is reported that he is now working for Infiniti, the luxury car division of Nissan in the United States.

TWR bought

The design, engineering and manufacturing elements of Tom Walkinshaw's TWR group have been purchased by Menard Engineering. This is the same company which previously acquired the former TWR racing division that built the cars which achieved Jaguar's Le Mans victories of 1988 and 1990 (see News, JWM May 2003). The operation will be renamed Menard Engineering Ltd.

Meanwhile, the cars in the former TWR/Tom Walkinshaw collection - which includes highly significant Jaguars such as the XJR-8 which won the World Sportscar Championship in 1987, and the Group C car which won the 1990 Le Mans race - are being sold The cars involved are , seven Group C and IMSA cars which had been retained by TWR are being sold - the chassis nos. involved are: 185, 190, 287, 388, 891, 791, 688 and 1090.

These include some highly important cars: 1090 not only won the 1990 Le Mans 24 hour race but, as chassis no. 288, won the 1988 Daytona 24 hour classic. Then 891 is a 1991 Le Mans car, 791 is one of only three XJR-14 cars built , and 287 is the XJR-8 which secured the World Championship for Roel Boesel in 1987.

By early June, chassis no. 190 was sold and firm offers had been received for two others. Further vehicles from Tom Walkinshaw's collection include racing BMW saloons, Capris, ex-Jim Clark Lotus Cortinas and Formula One cars. Interested parties should contact Gordon Wyles at Wyles Hardy & Co., tel: 01442 832234 or Steve Carr on 01296 655101 (mobile 07779 156801).

JDHT acquires 'first series' S.S.1

A major gap in the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust's collection of historic vehicles was filled when in May, curator Tony O'Keeffe concluded a deal with Swallow and SS collector Brian Beni to purchase a 1932 model S.S. 1 coupe.

This is one of the few surviving cars from the 500-odd production run of William Lyons' first car, announced in 1931. It was superceeded in 1933 by a completely revised version and very few of the original type still exist.