Too true - here's what I did to keep part of the "retro" look but also make my STR appear more modern.

 

Nice ride there! Like the headlight treatment. It is the individual taste factor of these cars that grabbed me immediately. I was actually looking for an XJS-12, when I happened upon my "Cat. I said: "might as well give it a little try. The mature gentleman and his absolutely adorable wife were nice enough to offer!"......WHAM!! Immediate love! I think the real trick is to keep up on the maintenance and not let anything slip. Follow that advice and I don't know how you you could help but love these cars. Form follows function and my '06 STR's function is second to no car I have ever driven. Certainly no car I could ever hope to afford to own!!

 

Have to return the compliment, love that pic of your car. The headlights on my car are absolutely standard, no mods whatsoever except for the " Brutal" treatment of the adjusters.

You're so right about the maintenance. Thanks to this forum, I had a checklist of everything that the STR might need (e.g. lug nuts, DCCV, battery, coolant hoses), and have fixed them all. Maintenance and fixit costs reached 5 figures in year 1. For this year to date, maintenance has been $520, and the car has been completely trouble-free, a real joy.

 

You're comment - which references a statement I made in another thread about the similarities between my old ('95) Taurus and my '01 S-Type, in which I paraphrased my mechanic's observations that the S-Type was a "glorified Taurus" - is not appreciated.

In fact, it's pretty sad that you feel a need to use childish sarcasm to mock people like Richard Moss and me, whose opinions are different than yours. It speaks volumes about you as a person.

And for the record, I see you own a post-facelift '03 S-Type 3.0L V6. So you can't possibly appreciate why Richard might feel the way he does about his pre-facelift 2001 S-Type 4L V-8, unless of course you've owned one of these. Have you?

 

It seems that referring to an S-type as a Taurus or a 'rebodied Ford' creates almost as much upset as the infamous octane or oil/filter wars.

Some make this reference from lack of knowledge I'm sure, others might do it trying to get a reaction.

If the co-development of the S-type platform and the Lincoln LS, later shared with the Ford Thunderbird is studied it will become obvious that there is nothing in common or interchangeable with a Taurus beyond their both being 'cars'.

It would at the same time be just as inaccurate to call a Lincoln LS a 're-bodied S-type'. Neither is a re-body of the other.

Truce?

 

An S-Type is a rebodied Aston Martin by the same argument - sounds much better!

 

So in reality I'm driving an Aston Martin? Hey, I feel better already....

 

They were owned by Ford up till 2007, so those owners must be driving a Taurus or Mondeo as well.

 

"They were owned by Ford up till 2007, so those owners must be driving a Taurus or Mondeo as well" ... and by the same token the new Jag owners must be happy to be driving a Tata Nano.

Tata Motors to Replace Starter Motor in 1.40 Lakh Nano Models


I think the S-type looks are terrific when looking at it from the front - however the rear leaves a lot to be desired.

 

I don't care for the chromed later rear but I like the dechromed one.

I quite like the DB9, though...

 

Neither I, nor the mechanic to whom I referred in the other thread, made any reference to a "rebodied" anything, Mikey. My comments in that thread were taken way out of context. I was vilified for suggesting any similarity between a Taurus and the '01 S-Type I own, notwithstanding my personal experiences as an owner of both cars, and the experiences of my highly qualified, extremely honest, reasonably priced indie mechanic - who by the way also owns a Jag.

I don't appreciate being the target of someone's childish sarcasm because I stated an opinion different from his, based on my very real experiences with the cars being discussed. If you can't have an opinion on this forum without fearing that someone else will ridicule you for it then it will damn near impossible for us to learn from each other, won't it?

 

I think you're taking personal offence where absolutely none was meant by myself or anyone else. The 'rebodied' comment was made by another poster.

The topic of S-types supposedly being something Fordish/Taurusish goes far beyond this thread or this website. It's been around since before I bought mine and has turned into one of those commonplace stories about Jags almost all owners hear frequently, usually from the non-cognoscenti. Just last week I was approached by somone who repeated the 'it's a Ford' story and the 'it's always in the shop' story back to back. He was convinced they were both true. I asked why, if the car was just a Ford, would it need to be in the garage so often. Conversely, if it was so unreliable, how could it be a Ford? He had no response of course.

It is a matter of fact that there are no interchangeable parts of consequence between an S-type and a Taurus. In particular, the Taurus is front wheel drive with a transverse V6 vs. the rear wheel drive Jag with conventional fore-aft orientation of the engine. Completely different platforms. In my mind this kills any comparison right there.

In looking at the Taurus, I find only small resemblance to an S-type as compared to say, a Hyundai Sonata of the same age. I used to be known at work as the 'the guy with the fancy Hyundai' till they realized their comments didn't bother me.

 

What? I don't remember a thread about S-Types & Tauruses. ::sigh::

My comment refers specifically to a mechanic at an independent shop here in Knoxville, Tennessee. I posted my story months ago. The shop claims to repair Jaguars and other foreign cars. I brought my '03 S-Type in for a vacuum leak (cracked PCV hose), replacing a knock sensor, and a failed #5 ignition coil. They initially told me it would take 3 days. After almost two weeks, and learning via the forums that with the right parts a competent DIYer could have done the job in a weekend, and a good mechanic could have done it in an afternoon, and I probably could have done it myself in a week, I requested the car back. The service manager handed me the keys and said "It is still running rough." While I plugged in my own scanner he said "I don't know much about S-Types, but the technician who worked on your car said it is basically a Ford Taurus." I suggested the Lincoln LS was a closer sibling, and then asked why my #5 ignition coil was still reporting failure. They kept the car another day and replaced the coil, as I had asked in the first place. I've never gone back to that shop. Frankly, I would have been happy letting them say it was a Kia Amanti as long as they fixed it right and in reasonable time.

Also: 1) I actually like the looks of the 2010 and later Ford Taurus. If someone offered to trade me a working Taurus for my S-Type and all its issues, I'd probably make the switch. 2)You may not want to name-drop your mechanic in the midst of this forum. Someone wanting to check him out for their car repair needs might find your other thread via Google and take the internet rantings of car enthusiast forum users seriously.

 

>In looking at the Taurus, I find only small resemblance to an S-type

But there was a strong corporate theme at Ford at the time. I actually mistake Mercury Sables from the rear with S-Types, until I get a little closer.
==================================================
Jaguar: Grace, Pace, and Space - Sir William Lyons

 

Sorry meant to include an S-Type pix, too

 

This brings us full circle to realize that lots of cars look similar to other cars, same OEM or not. Nobody else here has ever seen a Chrysler Concorde approaching and thought for a moment it was an XK Jag? Chrysler 300 for a Roller or Bentley?

We were following a really nice looking Mercedes SUV the other day and were impressed enough to pull up close to get a good look. I wondered when they changed their corporate symbol to a stylized 'M' then realized it was a actually an 'H'- on a Hyundai. OOOps. Still a nice looking car.

 

This thread proves that we all see resemblences of certain vehicles in other vehicles, and that varies from individual to individual just as it should. Absolutely nothing wrong with that....

As for my 2005 S-Type, as long as it continues to stay on the positive side of the cost/benefit analysis I created for it just before I offered on it way back during the depths of the 2008/2009 depression in December 2008, I'll keep it as my daily driver. It continues to serve me well and I still think it's a great bang-for-the-buck rear-wheel-drive highway-cruiser sedan. Works for me....

 

Right from the start, I was quietly convinced that Ford was making design changes to blur the difference in appearance between Jags and some Ford models. The changes were subtle, and made to Ford models, not to Jags. One that I recall was a change to rear license plate areas on some Lincoln and Mercury models.

Some of the posts, photos and comments here confirm those early thoughts.

 

Jags are cool...all cars can be trouble...not all cars are cool though

 

Over here it's often compared to the Rover 75 in terms of styling. I can't see it myself. Apart from the fact that they both have 4 lights and a grille they look quite different to me. And there's only so many ways you can style a boot.