Jaguar Journal November/December 2022

Jaguar cars stir the emotions – they always have and they always will. Emotions, by their very nature, are not constrained by pure logic – they arise spontaneously and are subjective. If it were not so, every JCNA member would agree with me that soccer is the greatest sport and Liverpool Football Club its greatest exponents. OK, bad example – I should have cited something that is open to reasonable debate, rather than self-evident fact. Let’s try again. “If it were not so, every JCNA member would agree with me that fish and chips taste better when eaten from newspaper with the vinegar soaking through.” Not convinced? Well, all I can say is you’ve clearly never eaten them from any chip shop near Anfield stadium after a 3-0 home win…

Time was when Jaguar car testing consisted of little more than basic running checks on the roads around Coventry. Things got a bit more organized post-war, when bench testing of all engines plus significant runs out into Shropshire and beyond into Wales became commonplace, eventually including faster out-of-town mileage on the upgraded A45 and nearby motorways. Major developments were tested at the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA) in nearby Nuneaton, supplemented by extensive runs in Europe. Fast driving on French, German and Italian highways and mountain roads provided a stern test regimen, in turn supplemented by purpose-built hot-weather facilities at Death Valley in the US and winter testing facilities in Scandinavia. Having covered pretty much the entire meteorological heat spectrum, last August Jaguar Land Rover took testing to literally a…

As this year comes to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for making 2022 a very successful year. JCNA is a strong, healthy organization. The end of the year also brings elections, when six of our twelve regional directors’ two-year terms open up and the Nominating Committee oversees the process of identifying candidates for those offices in accordance with JCNA bylaws. The Nominating Committee checks if the outgoing regional directors (whose terms end at the AGM) are interested in serving again, determines whether there are any vacancies, and reviews nominations from the clubs and members in these regions. When an incumbent declines to run for an additional term, and no new nominations are received, the JCNA president and regional director from the affected region…

Out West is alive and well and doing just fine, thank you very much. Those of us who live on the west side of the country are blessed with great weather, open highways, diverse scenery and expensive gasoline. The Southwest Region encompasses seven states and twelve JCNA clubs. The membership is as diverse as the country is broad. We have concours, rallies, tours, social events and more. Our events are held in the most interesting places, such as the Jaguar Owners Club of Los Angeles (JOCLA) concours at the Battleship Iowa museum. JOCLA also staged several tours and interclub events with the San Diego cub, Inland Empire club and Jaguar Associate Group (serving the Bay area). The San Diego Jaguar Club held their concours at the historic Spanish Landing on…

IT’S ABOUT SHARING Through an initiative orchestrated by Paul Petach, president of the Seattle Jaguar Club, the Canadian Prairies Jaguar Club (CPJC, now one year old) has been working this past year with the Northwest regional directors and other club presidents to share information and expertise to assist each other’s clubs. These regional meetings occur monthly and topics discussed range from sharing contact information for excellent guest speakers, club member cars for sale, sharing newsletter information, succession planning for chief judges, and webpage synergies, as well as collective marketing and advertising proposals. As these various initiatives take shape and form, a greater sense of community is developing amongst the NW region JCNA affiliate clubs that we hope will spread to our respective club members. This is all about helping each…

PAY-AS-YOU-GO, BUT DID YOU KNOW? I suspect that when buying a car most people will do their research, read reviews, investigate prices and road tests and then settle on the make and model that they want. After deciding on the car, you then need to choose a trim level and required options, based in some way on the cost of individual options versus their benefits. Is a starlight roof on your Rolls-Royce Phantom really worth an extra £12,350? Could you live without Carpathian Grey paint on your Jaguar XE and save yourself £970? What about £500 for heated seats on your new BMW? Finally, you’ll settle on your spec, place your order and that will be that. Or will it? What if your car came with lots of other features…