The appreciation of beauty is not defined by the age of the beholder. The means of acquiring something of beauty is a tempered by many things.

I don't think I will ever be too old to appreciate beauty when I see it, hear it, smell it or taste it.

My first lust for a Jaguar was from 9 years old. Now I have the means to have one at a few years short of 60.

 

I think you make my points clear. One should not have to wait that long to enjoy a Jag!

 

Hopefully, the new XE will avail itself to more of the masses. Maybe an XD at some future point will pitch against the small car segment? Or an XC micro? What would an XB or XA look like?

 

I traded my '14 Corvette stingray with 8000 miles on it for a '11 XKR 175 with 18K miles. At the time I was considering the trade, I mentioned it to my 21 year old son who was disappointed that I was going to trade for an "older gentleman's car". Then I showed him this video, at which point he said 'Go for it, I want to drive it. The Jag is way cooler than the Vette.'

 

I bought my X type because I wanted a cost effective vehicle to run didn't have a great budget as I had recently got divorced and the ex missus wiped my finances out, but needed a car that looked the part for my job as a consultant. The x type was perfect and ticked all the boxes, it got me many lady friends who thought I was loaded, and in todays sad image conscious world played its part, its also comfy and nice to drive. I tend to drive slow when I'm in the mood, mainly because if you drive them hard, they cost a fortune to run but also give it a blast when I feel like it and are in the mood, usually when on the Motorway, they come into their own then. I'm 47 BTW. I don't particularly like the image that comes with German cars and think this is a great alternative. Oh Previously had a type R Honda....

 

I'm 29, and I've had my XF for 3 years now so shrug. There are a few of us younger guys out here.

 

Everyone has missed the most obvious reason....

Jaguar skipped an entire generation and the only people who remember the glory days of Jaguar are between 60-80.

After the 1960's, their design language stayed the same, they abandoned racing (for the most part), and their reliability when to crap. Also, remember they went from a company that was about sports cars and sport sedans to big bloated luxury cars with tons of wood trim.

The 70's and 80's saw Jaguar destroy their reputation with horribly made cars and nothing close to modern styling. Except for David Coverdale's love for the brand and showing the cars off in his Whitesnake videos (remember Tawny Kitaen), nobody would have even remembered that Jaguar was still in business.

Compound that with the Ford days and the X-Type debacle, Jaguar had died at being an inspirational brand that the "youth" would have cared about.

Enter Ian Callum, Mike Cross and Russ Varney. These 3 men are responsible for the substantive resurrection of Jaguar. When Tata bought JLR, it further allowed these 3 to continue the resurgence.... Since 2007, this company has progressively changed direction creating cars that most people like, care about and want. It takes time for people to notice the shift but it's happening. The next 5 years will see Jaguar rise in prominence like BMW did in 1999 to 2003.

At that point, Jaguar will be "cool" to everyone.

 

Why is the average age of a Corvette owner 61?

In large part, it comes down to price. Not many young people can afford cars in the $50-80k range.

Jaguar also suffered from the same disease as other other recently dying/deceased brands (e.g., Buick and Oldsmobile) -- they forgot their roots and spent too much time trying to retain what amounted to an aging demographic.

Fortunately, they seem to have realized this by luring Ian Callum, replacing the god awful S-Type with the XF, launching the new F-Type, and redesigning the XJ. I'm just disappointed they didn't do something more interesting with the XK.

I never thought about buying a Jag until I first laid eyes on the XF back in 2008. I test drove one when they first came out and knew it'd be mine one day. After recently celebrating my 37th birthday, I became the proud owner of an XFR.

While the average Jag owner is still up there, I think I'm living proof that the brand is succeeding in their attempt to appeal to a younger demographic. But those changes don't happen overnight.

 

I didnt think I would own a Jag until I looked at the XF in 2011. At the time I was looking at an Audi S5 and Infiniti M56. The XF was the last car I test drove and it was the one I ended up leasing. Last year I got a CPO 2012 XFR and I love it. I agree with the statement about missing a generation. Sure I thought the x and s types were nice but definitely catered to an older crowd and style. The new styling is much better. Again, it will take time to catch up.

 

That's just about personal taste. I hate the XF styling but love the S-Type. See - personal taste.

Being more like the German cars has worked so far in terms of somewhat better sales of Jaguars, though Land Rovers are the big sellers. Moving into China may, too.

The F-Type must be a big financial gamble.

 

As JagV8 says its about personal taste. I grew up in the UK and when I came over to the US I thought all US cars were really ugly back then as my taste had been shaped by what I was used to.
Now I see so many makes of cars that look the same, at least from a distance, and I think to myself why do I want a car that looks like every other car on the road. I am also amazed that so many new "performance" cars are still not that much better than my 10 year old XJR which is able to carry 5 people in comfort if needed.

 

HA! Age is perception. I have a 79 El Camino 8second race car, a 12 second lowered suburban (both big engines SB and BB and nitrous) a offroad daily driving Nissan Frontier with a custom super charged 480hp V6. and 3 Jaguars. I daily drive the 04 VDP on my 66mile round trip commute and listen to classical music to keep 100mph blast to a only once a week minimum on those long desolate country roads to and from work. Ill be 53 next month. This says nothing of a good friend and neighbor down the street with 15 Oldsmobile 442's and 3 of the are W-30's. There are alot of burnout marks in front of his house and he's alittle older than I at 73!

 

If could have afforded to buy a good jaguar at the age
of 14
I would have bought one ! Always have loved jaguar style
, but instead I bought a 71 XA falcon wagon and a datsun
180 b p610 and a trail bike , with plenty of change left over
From wot a jag at the time would have cost! Had a lot of fun with all three
And still have the datsun today After 25 years!
Will never sell it ! Now I have 06 Kawasaki kx250 for a trail bike, a 86 Suzuki gsxr750 yoshi and an 06 gsxr750 for my sportsbike combo, a turbo / injected 5 speed datsun p610 for fun, a big black 4x4 mitsy van for recreation and trail bike transport, a 72 HQ Holden v8 253 for a hot rod and an Opel omega gsi3000 to go places very quickly , and newly to me a jag str for fast comfort and grunt!
I'm 39 could have bought a jag 14 years earlyer in life
but the Opel stole my hart for its top speeds and unreal handling ! Never had the need to better it , but couldn't pass the jag up when I wos offerd it
Shame fully my 230hp Opel will Cain the 400+hp str for both speed and corner ability and I know the jag is speed limeted but no excuse for it's handling !
But I do love the jag all for wot it's good at mainly passing and comfort style
And silky ness , horses for courses any way ! I'm. 39 love my jag and
I bet there's a million diferent reasons people buy them when thay do at what ever stage in life , I find it hard to belive it's an age thing over affordability and practicality thing !

 

Oh gee I dunno, maybe because jag has had a bad reputation in the states for a very long time. When they got more of a foot hold they were more of a Ford company, and then they released that x-type nightmare and all of the old "jaguars are not reliable" belief was reinforced.

 

this is true, not only to your location. Where Im at, theres people who drives luxury cars and cant afford $400 monthly insurances..

 

its amazing how theres a few who are 19-22 whose been having a newer jag for 3+ years. I say kudos to them who are able to get it sooner and younger than the rest of us

 

>x-type nightmare and all of the old "jaguars are not reliable"

Oh, come on, that is such a cheap shot. Have you ever really seen or driven an X-Type? They are great cars and the AWD was to die for (at least until the AWD XFs showed up).

And really what's not totally cool about a Jaguar station wagon?

The X-Type was the introductory Jaguar so of course it wasn't as refined as a XF. But they drove really well (they even had a 5sp) and were well made.

The hit against them was that they looked like Jaguars and, as we all know, Jaguars are only driven by old men...

It was tough for them to compete against 3-Series BMWs and A4 Audis.
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Jaguar - it's not an automobile, it's a Motorcar

 

I'm 32 with a 09 XF supercharged... For me it was more of an "I'm growing up" thing.... I've had the muscle cars, 4x4 trucks jeeps bikes and every other toy I could afford.... Now there is just no replacement for comfort... Oh yea and combined with the 420hp I can keep my youth.... Lol

 

Might be old, but the track is my playground. Nothing better than to leave a street stoplight and blow the youngsters fast and furious out of the water. Also run high speed bass boat. If you slow down at my age they might cover you with dirt. As for reliability if you don't maintain them religiously or run them hard they will break. My rule since 1965. Self maintained, self repaired. Restoring MKI to use as Rallye, PDX, Solo car. Not slowing down until the Hymns.

 

I'm 74 and drive it like I stole it