I’m not going to lie: yesterday was not my best day, nor our best Morning Dump. It started out fine and then went quickly off the rails. And, sure, it was a privileged sort of bad day where I felt miserable for long chunks of it, and things kept going wrong, but the sun came up today, and everyone has all their limbs.
My goal for this morning was just to take it easy. Just to get the fun news. It’s almost membership renewal time, when we hold our breath to see if all of our original members still like us and keep their memberships rolling. It’s more important than ever this year as the AI-ification of everything has hit our bottom line.
So my instinct, in the morning around this time, is just to keep the vibes good. Avoid politics as best I can in an effort to keep the comments happy and positive. Well, it all went wrong. Sorry.
I already knew I’d write about the reported sacking of JLR design guru Gerry McGovern, which is a delicate thing to discuss and can be as political as you want to make it. New car affordability? No one likes to talk about it, but people are finding it harder to shell out the money car companies are asking for right now.
A solution to that? The White House is proposing further rolling back emissions requirements, which, at least in the near term, is going to do almost nothing to solve the affordability issues, especially in the face of tariffs. There’s a can of worms I’m not tempted to open. And, finally, it does look like the EU is going to roll back its own emission requirements.
I have no safety goggles to put on this morning, and I’ve been informed that the goggles do nothing. Instead, I will shield myself in memes. Specifically, I will use Tim Robinson. He’s becoming something of an unlikely avatar for modern life, playing characters both trapped in a larger system out of their control and then, when offered a little bit of agency, largely flailing helplessly around. I feel that.
Did They Really Escort Gerry McGovern Out Of The Building?
Ok, head right into the lion’s mouth. Let’s do this.
Gerry McGovern is the powerful but controversial JLR designer who built a career around a number of very successful designs. The MG F, the Range Rover Evoque, and, more recently, the new Defender.
None of those designs explain why he’s controversial. It’s the decision to blow up all of Jaguar’s design conventions to make a car that looks like a concrete shithouse, and then dress it up with a bunch of faux transgressive Art Basel artistic nonsense. It’s exactly his style.
Our own Adrian Clarke, who worked with ‘Uncle Gerry’ at JLR, made the point that Jaguar had to do something to rescue the brand from redundancy. Perhaps. I’ve now seen the Type 00 in person and, frankly, it’s not for me. That’s ok! However, the bad feelings it generated were poorly timed for JLR, which was about to face tariffs and then a crippling cyberattack.
So what happened? According to Autocar India, this:
Jaguar Land Rover’s chief creative officer, Gerry McGovern, has departed the company, marking another high-profile exit following CEO Adrian Mardell’s retirement in August this year, a story first broken by Autocar and Autocar India. According to sources, McGovern was sacked and ‘escorted out of the office’, though details remain unconfirmed. An email to the company seeking confirmation of the news went unanswered.
McGovern’s sudden exit comes swiftly after PB Balaji assumed the CEO role on November 17, 2025, succeeding Mardell after a structured transition. McGovern, long regarded as a favourite of the late Ratan Tata, enjoyed strong backing during Tata’s influential tenure at Tata Group, which owns JLR; with Tata’s passing, that key support waned, leaving him more exposed to internal shifts.
No one knows anything right now, and no one is commenting, but take it as a sign that Autocar India was the first to report this. JLR’s parent company, Tata Group, is an Indian company, and when you use an Indian outlet to spill your Tetley, well, you might be sending a message.
This feels coordinated.
Why did this happen? The Brits, who have barely a fleeting concept of a car industry, are all excited about it. Chris Harris impaneled an emergency podcast to discuss it:
The notion discussed in the podcast is that one of two things is happening:
- A personality clash somewhere that McGovern is losing.
- New CEO PB Balaji believes that the company’s direction is wrong.
I think both can be true at the same time. When things are going well, you can absorb the slings and arrows. When things are going poorly, as they surely are for JLR, it’s a lot harder.
When Adrian comes out of his bunker, I’m sure we’ll have more on this.
People Are Having A Hard Time With New Car Prices
Whenever I write about how to time buying a new car, I get a response that’s like: you sure about that? I always try to caveat that, because of the K-Shaped economy, it’s hard for a lot of people to imagine spending any amount of money on a car, let alone the average $50,000 transaction price. Still, I get why people find the idea of buying a new car so foreign right now.
The Detroit Free Press covered these feelings earlier this week, pointing out that many people are shunning new cars at their current prices. Those prices are expected to go up even though, at the beginning of the year, it looked like affordability was starting to improve:
All of this is a sharp U-Turn on the road to prosperity the auto industry was traveling at the start of the year. That was when many analysts forecast modest growth in U.S. auto sales for 2025. Cox Automotive said on Jan. 26 that new vehicles sales would reach 16.3 million by year’s end, stating that “positive economic” conditions combined with “improved buying conditions should lead to a 2%-3% gain” over 2024 total sales.
That was before President Donald Trump, in March, instituted 25% tariffs on imported autos and auto parts, the latter of which are used in many domestic-made vehicles. Trump later implimented 50% tariffs − the taxes paid when a good crosses a border − on aluminum and steel, which are used in most domestically produced cars.
Many automakers held off raising manufacturer’s suggested retail prices due to tariffs. But J.P. Morgan Global Research said in September that the cost to the industry of the combined tariffs on vehicles and parts will be around $41 billion in the first year and automakers and consumers are expected to share the burden equally, with a projected 3% increase to new vehicle price inflation at some point.
The world is a complex place, and tariffs aren’t the only cause of price increases, but they’re a big part of it. It’s possible you think that this pain in the near term is worth it for geopolitical or industrial policy reasons. Hopefully, this will cause some automakers to reach for more affordable models after years of Trimflation.
It’s hard to say, but tariffs are certainly not helping, and at some point, presumably, prices will have to go up.
President Trump To Roll Back Standards To Address Car Affordability
Gee, car prices are going up? Who could be responsible? (OK, Tariffs aren’t the whole issue, but they’re not helping).
I’ve covered in detail before how I think the discussion around the EV tax credit and other policies led to this idea of an “EV Mandate” in the United States that wasn’t exactly real, but also not exactly false, and was all around bad politics.
President Trump, sensing that inflation is not exactly under control and that the automotive market is stumbling a bit, has stepped in to fix it by rolling back stricter emissions policies from the previous administration.
What does that mean? No one is quite sure. Reuters has the scoop, but the details are scarce.
Are car prices higher because of efficiency standards? Yes, and no. The rush to make electric cars was both a response to regulatory requirements and a desire to make Tesla margins, which made it seem like everyone wanted EVs. The scrapping of those plans and the shift in focus back towards hybrids and other cars has a real cost, which at some level has to be paid for.
Is that the main reason for the price of cars going up? I’m not sure that it is, frankly, and I’m also not sure that rolling back standards is going to dramatically cause prices to drop as Bloomberg explains:
Easing fuel economy requirements is unlikely to swiftly lower prices for consumers. Carmakers plan their lineups years in advance, meaning changes stemming from policy shifts take time to appear in showrooms. Tariffs enacted by Trump have also raised automaker costs by billions of dollars.
The move also threatens a policy that would have reduced household fuel spending and slashed planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions. The Biden administration had said the standards would cut gasoline consumption by almost 70 billion gallons through 2050 and save US consumers more than $23 billion in fuel costs. That translates to about $600 in savings over an individual vehicle’s lifetime.
Stellantis’ shares rose as much as 3% after Bloomberg reported the planned announcement, touching a session high. General Motors Co.’s stock erased earlier declines to trade up 1.1% at 3:42 p.m. in New York.
There’s going to be an Oval Office meeting later today, and, at least, Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa will be there. If there’s any company that could benefit, it’s the one with the aging lineup that makes a lot of Jeeps.
Europe Reportedly Going To Tweak 2035 EV Mandate To Include More Hybrids, Biofuels, Et Cetera
If you trust German financial newspaper Handelsblatt, then the EU is legit considering slowing its planned 2035 EV mandate.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz ( CDU ) had demanded in a letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday that the EU should also take “highly efficient” combustion engines into account in its revision of fleet emission limits from 2035 onwards.
When asked whether the EU would allow not only hybrid cars but also conventional combustion engines, Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas told Handelsblatt: “We are open to all technologies.”
The Commissioner added: “Chancellor Merz’s letter was very well received.” The Commission will include “all technological developments” in the new regulation – “including the role of zero-emission and low-emission fuels and advanced biofuels.”
What this actually looks like on paper is hard to say. Frankly, I don’t know, and that’s ok. Not everyone has to know how to do everything. Though it’s becoming increasingly clear that EV mandates aren’t going to work for large chunks of the planet’s populations. [Ed Note: And, even though politics are hard to predict, this still should have been obvious from day 1. At least one company, Toyota, understood it, even in the face of heavy criticism (including from one of our own contributors). -DT].
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
This one is straightforward. It’s the theme song from the criminally underrated sitcom “Detroiters.”
The Big Question
What’s the best JLR design that’s not the E-Type?
Top photo: Netflix, Jaguar
Huh, shocking that a government mandate meant to tell consumers what they will buy was doomed to fail. Almost like most manufacturers went along to avoid the ire of politicians and stock analysts. Weird.
Best JLR design…
Classic – Jaguar XJC (screw the E-Type, it’s overrated)
Contemporary – Jaguar XE (both the normal version and the Project 8)
Honorary Mention – Jaguar F-Type (it looks great, but side-rear visibility is rather poor)
I’m all about breaking the mold but the e-type is exactly rated as it should be. I used to work for a guy with a sizeable jaguar collection and every e-type he had was exquisite every time I saw them. Convertible, coupe, series 1 or series 3, it didn’t matter. And that’s even with a whole room full of XK120s right nearby. Which were gorgeous in their own right.
It’s always going to be an awkwardly proportioned beaver tail to me. I can give the convertibles a pass, but the coupe is horrendous. It doesn’t take a lot to “fix” an E-Type, but hardly anyone ever does because of its sacred status.
A sunny morning and having all my fingers and toes (less ambitious than counting limbs) is often how I manage to reconcile trying for another day.
Then I will make coffee and sing a song to my dog about how her body is shaped like a rhombus… it’s not, but I never get to use that word since learning it in grade school, and she doesn’t seem to mind at all.
I’m not really in the market for anything new atm.
I’m listening to: Tyler Childer’s single “Bitin’ List” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkeP-swMgZ8&list=RDvkeP-swMgZ8&start_radio=1
Edited to add that I just noticed there’s been a decent sized bird inside my house for I don’t know how long. It was perched up on the zoom lens attached to an old super 8 camera on a shelf. I just shooed it out, and look forward to finding out where it might have pooped inside the house over the next few days, per usual.
“Bitin’ List” is a fantastic song. There’s definitely more than a few herbs on mine.
The pre-facelift XK8 is the most gorgeous JLR design outside of the E-Type (mostly because it’s a modern iteration of it). I had one and absolutely loved that car (when it wasn’t in the shop)
If David Caradine has showed us anything, it is that people are remembered by what they did last, not by what they did.
Same for “our own” Adrian Clarke who called us idiots in that same article linked above. Last and only thing I’ll remember him by as I skip him further.
Adrian was, and is still correct.
He showed to be a pompous dick. The fact that he was laughably incorrect as well is but a detail.
Hey, simmer down, and leave our pompous dick alone!
We like our Adrian for having an opinion and an eloquent, funny method of expressing his opinion, formed from formal education and years of working within his professional sphere. Doesn’t mean we always agree with him – I disagreed with his assessment of the new Type 00 – but I respect him.
Autopian differentiates between opinion and a factual article, and doesn’t obfuscate that it provides both types of reading. Adrian is consistent, and I haven’t known him to waffle or chicken out about his opinion.
If you’re skipping Adrian’s writing in the future, no worries…
To the outside work looking in, collectively, all of us, including Adrian, are idiots, as this is why we are all here at The Autopian. Tis a silly place, but quite comfortable.
I know, been here from the almost beginning. Hence knowing the difference between a member and a contributor and which one feeds the other.
That specific piece was shit. Not in the message (which was still wrong), but in the tone. Possibly a protective overreaction or an overprotective reaction.
Don’t you guys remember jokes about Brits ?
A British gentleman ends up on a desert island. When found three years later, his rescuers see that he has built three identical huts. So they ask – why the three huts if you’re alone ?
“Well, the first one is my house.
The second one is my club.
And the third one ? Why, the third one is the club where I will never, ever set a foot in.”
I have my third hut here.
Only Brit Joke I know, barely remember it: A weekend fox hunt was about to begin. The Lord of the Manor swiftly mounted his horse. The startled steed jumped about until it caught a rear hoof in one of the stirrups. The Lord looked down, considered the situation for a few moments, and said the the horse, “Look here, there is simply not enough room up here for the both of us”.
“What’s the best JLR design that’s not the E-Type?”
Firstly the E-Type is a narrow track abomination. It’s certainly no XJ220, which itself was no XJR15.
But if I have to drive it and see it every day I’m going to have a Jag XJ-C, preferably a Daimler Double Six.
I’ve been designing engines for OEMs for decades, but after the EU lead the UK on a drunken stumble around potential future regulation it was just easier for my employer to sack all the ICE guys and hope it’d be ok. I wish them the success they deserve, especially is the EU allows ICE and biofuels after 2035 (and why shouldn’t they? Burning fossil fuels is the problem, not internal combustion).
I should really spend my first non-automotive pay check on joining the Autopian.
Yes, joining and supporting this publication helps us all.
> What’s the best JLR design that’s not the E-Type?
The pre-facelift, Euro-spec XJS V12, and it’s not even close. One of the most beautiful cars ever designed outside of Delahaye.
Pre facelift XK8 would like a word…..seriously though Jag had some bangers in the 90s
XK8 is a close second 😉
I’ll give you that the original bumpers suit the design better, but overall I think the facelift really made the XJS, especially at the back.
The facelift ruined the back 😀 those weepy tail lights in the original are perfection.
Mmmmmm… they are more unique, and I prefer colored lenses over smoked or clear lenses… Nah, the facelift back is still better.
Though one other thing I missed, while the facelift got (almost) full-size windows, they also made them frameless. There’s pros and cons, but for a GT car? That seems like a terrible choice. Who wants wind noise drowning out their Jaaaaag’s engine note?
Here’s a few radom thoughts that will piss off a lot of people:
The new Jaguar is hideous. The new Defender is just another SUV. The Defender should be utilitarian. The new one is not. I currently own a Jaguar. I have owned a Series II Land Rover. Both were the epitomy of what a British vehicle should be. Question your sanity for buying it, enjoy the hell out of it when you drive it in the intended way.
I actually really like my XE. The CDA is very good, which helps with the outstanding highway fuel consumption and low wind noise. The ride is comfortable. The handling is excellent. I compared it to my son-in-law’s 3 Series BMW and bought the Jaguar. And the aluminum body will not rust away here in the land across the river from the state of billion dollar frauds.
A big part of the cost of new cars is related to the massive investment needed to design BEVs. Those might work really well for commuter cars in milder climates. It is -10F outside my house. Any takers on my drive to Winterpeg and back to Fargo right now? I didn’t think so.
What amazes me is that two of my recent employers have thrown away massive amounts of working capital on battery powered tractors. The business case for those is laughably small. I have to assume that they were done to curry favor with certain powerful people. Lookie here… We got one of them battery powered thingies! At triple the cost of a diesel engine tractor.
And finally, I didn’t vote for Trump because he is a loose cannon rolling around on the deck of the good ship populism. But he did make some noises about allowing Eueospec cars.
Oh, and Autopian: your software sucks big-time.
Oh No! There’s an Affordability Crisis! Quick! Do the thing we wanted to do anyway!
Instructions unclear, one brown manual diesel was purchased.
Mr. McGovern was tasked with creating something outrageous and eye catching. It’s awful, but Jaguar loved it and couldn’t wait to trot it out. Lead balloon. For following directives he’s treated like the Secretary of War (groan) treats an admiral.
The synthetic fuels exemption is the obvious end game. It’ll be massively more expensive and limited to enthusiasts trying to keep their V8s on the road, as it should be.
The rest are much better served by electrics, especially in 2035 after 10 years of battery chemistry improvements. We can realistically expect double the range holding battery size constant, or just halve the battery size and gain even more from the weight savings.
Factoring in energy efficiency, Gasoline is 50x more energy dense in terms of mass than today’s battery chemistries. Until that number shrinks to 10x or so (a 5x improvement in energy density), EVs will not make sense for general purpose vehicles across the board. City commuting and last mile delivery works today.
As chemistry improves, the niches that EVs make the most sense for will grow. The packs themselves need to shrink total mass, as that is the biggest negative feedback loop in EV design. The less the pack weighs for a given capacity, the less structure you need to support it, lower output, lighter weight, more efficient motors can be used, and less crash structure is required for safety. All of those items getting lighter further reduces required capacity and thus size/charge time.
Once it’s reasonable to get 200mi in all conditions staying inside the prime use window (current 10%-80%, 285mi max), with charge times mirroring 15gal of gas, EVs make sense for the vast majority of people.
But without some massive change in technology, most of that energy in gasoline is wasted. My BEV battery holds the equivalent energy of 2.5 gallons of gas and gives me 300 mile range.
The batteries are good enough now for a majority of users, energy density isn’t the issue here. Adoption is also not an on/off switch, it’s a process. All those gains will be made, but require investment and promise of a market to buy those developments.
You misunderstood my statement. At 35% efficiency for ICE, and 95% for EV, gasoline power is still 50x more energy dense per unit mass.
The lightest EV for sale today is the Fiat 500e from what I can find, at 2,952lb and $32,495 msrp. That only gets you a max of 149mi, and is a tiny car for how heavy it is. All that mass saps power.
At a gas to battery density ratio of 10:1, you’re in Honda Civic CRX territory. Half the 500e’s 37kwh pack gets you 372mi and 325lb of pack mass, likely reducing structural mass as well. 117hp in a 2600lb car is enough for just about anyone considering a 2 seat city commuter.
Yes ICE engines are significantly less efficient overall. The problem for EVs currently, is ICE powered vehicles are still significantly cheaper to purchase, much more convent to refill with energy (time is valuable, gas station on every corner), and are a well proven technology.
EVs will become more practical over time as charging networks build up, tech improves range/cost, and become increasingly normalized. We’re not there yet. The vast majority of homes don’t have a L2 charger installed, many apartment complexes have no way to overnight charge, and cities are still figuring out how to charge curb parked vehicles. The full conversion timetable is much longer than the politicians hoped.
The concept you’re referring to is not energy density (energy/volume), but rather specific energy (energy/mass). Using the right terms conveys a message more clearly.
Energy density, specific energy, and other constraints really do ruin EVs for us automotive autists. But John Q Public really isn’t going to notice or care as long as the cost to buy and run the car is comparable to or better than a combustion vehicle, and the driving experience (in boring traffic conditions) is close enough to or better than a CV.
Thanks for the correction on specific energy. I’m ashamed for the error since, engineer.
What John Q public does notice is the lack of charging infrastructure (especially if you can’t charge for free at work), range hit from cold weather (northern states), and electronic system malfunctions.
Unfortunately, most consumers do not price in maintenance at all when buying a vehicle. The expectation is largely that all routine maintenance other than tires is covered by the dealership (new purchase) or completely ignored (used). All that actually matters for most buyers is the monthly payment. Even insurance cost is largely ignored during the purchase.
Until EVs can offer a comparable experience at comparable price, they won’t sell to genpop. This is why sales fell off a cliff once the federal incentive was removed. Only ideologs and early adopters will pay the premium by choice, which are very saturated markets at this point.
The Jaguar brand has a problem in the USA that it earned in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s along with a few French and Italian brands (Citroen and Alfa, I’m looking at you). Jaguar broke the big rule. You can’t build an absolute piece of crap that’s not compatible with the heat and mountains and long distance drives in this country and then when your products fail to operate properly, neglect the owners. Jaguars used to break down often because they weren’t built for the climate and they were assembled poorly with substandard parts. For the cherry on top, the dealers were shady, the mechanics weren’t adequately trained, and the parts inventory was almost nonexistent. Many American cars were poorly built turkeys, too, but you could get them fixed. Mercedes had their share of breakdowns, but the company did a great job recruiting effective dealers and training the mechanics so you could get your Mercedes fixed. Jaguar simply half-assed almost every aspect of the business for decades.
I think Jaguars have been relatively reliable for a long while now, but prospective customers have heard all the stories from their boomer parents and grandparents, and from magazines and forum anecdotes. Jaguar only has one shot. They have to make cars so beautiful they make the buyer say, “I want it, I don’t care about the heartbreaks that will surely occur, I must have it.” That’s what the XK-E, the XJ, and in my opinion, the XJ-S was. The German pillbox thing pictured above isn’t going to do it for them.
I’m am big fan of 50s Jags. my dad had a XK 120 back in the day, that car was art. Gorgeous up until he wrapped it around a tree. It’s steering wheel is in my Westy now.
I have always wanted to get a Mark VII and make a sleeper out of it with a 2JZ to keep a 6 under the hood.
I’m not sad to see Gerry McGovern leave the building.
What he does may work for LR/RR – but his talents (ahem) have no place with Jaguar.
Most beautiful Jag?
I’m torn between the X100 XK8 Coupe and the X150 XK Convertible.
Jaguar says “Ta ta” to Gerry McGovern.
Do consumer trucks or HD trucks have an exemption of pedestrian crash standards in other markets?
Can you have a factory steel bumper in Europe like the Bronco and Wrangler?
I would love unified standards but I think the big three, Toyota, and their truck customers will fight tooth and nail to prevent it because their trucks would have to undergo fundamental redesigns of their most profitable products.
No idea of those are allowed, but that’s why a unified standard would have to give-and-take on various international rules to come up with one unified set of rules. Also, I’d think that anything aimed at the commercial market (such as HD trucks) would be separate from ones aimed at regular consumers.
Car makers might fight it, but their savings might be big enough to where they are willing to be more open to these changes. There are tons of models we’ll never see in the US, as well as US models which will never be shipped overseas solely because of these emissions and safety rules. You unify them and now you’ll be able to sell your vehicles to literally tens of millions of more consumers. That might be enticing enough to wrap that steel bumper in 20 cents worth of plastic to pass some unified rule.
I don’t know the actual numbers but I got the feeling when those mandates were given those saying it wasn’t going to work were not in the minority. It was a big push from the Henny Penny the sky is falling crowd. I doubt if even 20% of the population was for it and no automotive manufacturers said it was a good idea.
Manufacturers want to play on easy mode. The US government might comply, but global competition won’t.
I believe this particular story in fact includes the information the European Union is already rolling their mandates back as well.
“Faux transgressive Art Basel artistic nonsense” .. that’s certainly a new level of psychobabble.
I might be able to describe that ad campaign in fewer words, but I couldn’t do it better.
Tim Robinson is the least funny person to achieve comic success since Will Ferrell.
This is the most true statement I have read today.
Thank you!
I find both so funny, and I fully agree with your comment. It really really makes me ponder what it is, specifically, that makes something, or someone, amusing!
You sure about that???
Ferrell got traction by doubling down on buffoonery. If saying the obvious is anathema to polite society, shouting it can get a laugh. Clever? Hell no. Funny? Sometimes.
Robinson’s style falls flat for me because it rarely makes it past the setup. If there’s a traditional formula for comedy, it might go something like “That’s right, but that’s wrong… that’s funny!”
Cringe humor leaves out the amusing part: “That’s wrong!” *pregnant pause* “Anybody? Anybody?” It’s definitely found an audience, but I’m left wondering what I should have laughed at.
I was just talking about “I Think You Should Leave” with someone else, and I got as far as “the premises are sometimes sound! A guy in a hot dog suit, clearly the perpetrator of something, vehemently taking the side of the wronged, vowing to find the person who did this” could be funny! But it all falls apart in the delivery. His sketches almost always devolve into him shouting and screaming, without a punchline so much as a “wow that guy really fell off an existential and emotional cliff in the most puerile and annoying way possible, didn’t he? Wasn’t that a hoot?”
It’s invariably more fun to discuss those setups, then to follow up: what happened? Oh he screamed, like literally just screamed in response to anything and everything? Oh. Okay. The setups never build or ratchet up or do anything clever.
It is to emotionally charged humor what Ow! My Balls! is to slapstick: taken to an extreme that renders it utterly without nuance or subtlety, or even really room to breathe.
If you’re into audio-visual stuff, it’s as if someone set the gain as high as possible 15 seconds in and there’s nowhere left to go, and it’s an overexposed mess.
It works great with the best part isolated as a meme or gif.
“This sketch could have been an
emailgif”.I’d agree with you but then we’d both be wrong.
You misunderestimate Seth McFarlane.
I’ll tell you one thing as a person who obsessively follows auctions for old Porsches and Audis: cars were cheaper 10 years ago – like massively cheaper. I was looking at a 2012 Porsche Cayenne manual base today and it retailed for $55k new. A fucking Porsche Cayenne. Yeah, 2012 was like 13 years ago but you can’t touch a Cayenne right now for much under $100k, and you can’t buy a Macan anywhere close to $55k. That’ll buy you a loaded Kia Telluride these days.
That’s way beyond inflation, and way beyond what most people consider a reasonable luxury. Cars are WAY TOO expensive, and it’s not just because our ‘ol dollar doesn’t go so far. Tariffs are an easy way to reduce the price of cars (i.e. stop the fucking tariffs). The tech and safety features on a Cayenne of a decade ago are the same as they are today, so the development costs have been paid for. Automakers are greedy, most corporations went absolute bananas raising prices during and immediately after COVID. The industry is in a fuck around and find out phase.
Your the first one in a long time here to call out insane corporate profits in the Covid era. Well done.
We drive through the city like explorers going sixty five…
Bought a 2024 F-Type and its so great looking. It’s also a rocket ship and handles like a dream. We went to the international Jag festival at the new car museum Savoy near Atlanta this past fall. During the Friday discussion the panel asked what was thought about the “new” design direction. Surprise, everyone booed it very soundly.
Ooh, yes. The F-Type was SO pretty.
I still think the best one is the “PlayMobil” Discovery from the beginning of this century. Maybe it was called the 3? Just soooo boxy. Love it!
The original 1968 XJ 4-door was also just SO right at that time and very beautiful. That shape just held up so well for many years.
I hate the clown shoe shaped E-type and the lumpy XJS and all the constipated looking round grille ones, old as new. I’m a designer.
The XJC coupe took that gorgeous early XJ and made it gorgeouser. It’s so sleek. There are some great pictures here: https://www.marshallgoldmanoh.com/used-vehicle-1975-jaguar-xjc-v12-c-3431/
I think one of the keys to that era of Jaguar styling was large diameter tires. Not wheels, they had full sidewalls.
Have to agree with you. Not many 1975 models that look better than their 1968 counterparts.
Correct, the XJ-C might be just the most beautiful car ever built.
Also: XJ 13
Pish posh. The hard top XJS was a masterpiece.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pWdd6_ZxX8c
https://youtu.be/QGIBGeR4_GI
Detroiters is great but also full of some very Detroit specific references. I’m not too surprised it didn’t keep going nationally
I still loudly crack up at the mascot unveil at the end of the Quicken Loans episode.