Commentary > Jag’s Incomplete S-Type
- reposted from Automobiles de Luxe -
By Gunnar Heinrich
There's nothing wrong with retro per se. Retro done right makes for retro chic design which translates to robust sales (which – depending upon the original's history – may or may not be retro in itself).
What we have had at Jaguar Cars is retro on the fly. Retro on the cheap.
The out-going, midsize S-Type sedan serves as primary case-in-point. The car's design simply was not thought through. Does any one remember the hideous half-circle dash on the first year models? Or how about those add-on front spoilers to channel air to the brakes – talk about after-thinking.
Not quite right.
So bad was the design and implementation (i.e. build quality) that Jaguar was under pressure to constantly tinker with the design (and implementation) all the way through the model's lifespan. They never got it quite right with that car. And by and large, buyers never really got it either.
That's too bad. The S-Type had all the makings of an historic comeback for the marque. Back in 1999, there was genuine buzz surrounding Jag's foray into Mercedes-Benz E-Class territory. Ford could've banked on baby-boomer lust for retro had they enabled the S-Type to be very much a contemporary design despite resting on yesteryear's visual laurels.
But it wasn't, so they didn't and by the time that the S-Type looked the best it could (i.e. latest refit), it was too late.
And then a couple years ago, Jag's design team released the concept that might've been S-Type 3.0, but should have been S-Type 2.0 that debuted in the late 90s.
Far more loyal to the original 60's Mark Series in form, this car represents a truly modern (and graceful) interpretation of classic Jaguar tradition. And if you sold it in the hot colors and tall rims such as what's depicted above, a new generation of lusting fans would have fallen for the marque. History, truly would've repeated itself.
Now, at the cross roads, Jaguar must reinvent itself.
- sigh -
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