JAGUAR UNDER FORD
Jaguar has been owned by India’s Tata Motors for the last 14 years, but arguably its most successful era was under Ford ownership. The Coventry firm’s relatively brief return to independence in 1984 (after years spent as part of the mighty BL empire) came to an end six years later, when Jaguar was acquir ed by Ford for its Premi er Automotive Group – a division that would eventually include Aston Martin, Lincoln, Volvo and Land Rover.
Although Jaguar never made a profit under Ford ownership, the company’s American-ownership era was vital to the marque’s success. Ford’s deep pockets meant that, at last, Jaguar was able to invest in expans io n, takin g what a two-car line-up (the XJ40-series XJ and long-running XJ-S) at the start of the ’90s to a fully refreshed four-model range by the early 2000s. Just as important, however, was Ford’s focus on quality and reliability, with welcome improvements throughout the range.
The XJ40 evolved into the more traditional-looking X300 in 1994, and three years later came the first V8-engined XJ when Jaguar’s new AJ-V8 made it under the bonnet to create the X308, a model later usurped by the all-aluminium X350. The XJS was replaced by the much-admired XK8 and XKR in 1996, while two years later came the retro-influenced S-Type to take the Jaguar saloon fight to the BMW 5 Series. Finally, 2001 saw the
