Jaguar’s decline tells tale of tarnished brand

Another reason for Jaguar’s fall from grace is styling. Ford has been criticized for letting the look of Jaguars age said Linkov. Jaguar’s flagship model, the XJ, which starts at just north of $64,000, has kept the classic Jag look from the 1950s and ’60s until very recently, he said. That look might appeal to Jag aficionados, but not necessarily to a broader group of consumers.

In fact, Jaguar’s main models — including the X-Type midsize sedan, starting at about $35,000, and pricier S-Type sedans that sell for upward of $49,000 — have deviated little from the old-fashioned Jaguar look. Only the XK sports coupe has taken a new style path.

“The Jag was the luxury vehicle for kings and queens that the common person could still snap up,” Linkov said, but the hand-crafted interiors with “burl walnut” and “Peruvian boxwood” might not appeal to today’s buyers, he added.

The lower-end Jaguar models have faced tough competition from Audi’s A4, the BMW 3 Series and the Cadillac CTS, not to mention models from Acura and Lexus, said Linkov. And Jaguar has not always measured up, he said.

“When you’re competing with the A4 and BMW, you have to offer more than a leaping cat on a basic Ford,” he said. “People snap up A4s because they want the feel of driving a luxury car, but they don’t want to pay $60,000 for it. The basic Jaguar X-Type doesn’t do that. It’s just not the really well-rounded vehicle that those buyers expect. Also, in the U.S. Jaguars are smaller than the average sedan, and that’s not good because we like our cars to be big.”

“The XK convertible and coupe are nice vehicles and they have smooth engines, but they’re really more touring cars than sports cars” Linkov continued. “And they trail the Porsche 911 Carrera, which is the same price.”

Still, despite its troubles Jaguar, one indication that the Big Cat may be able to turn the corner, at least in terms of style, is the C-XF concept, which made its debut last year at the Detroit auto show. The sedan indicates a bold new direction for the automaker, said Linkov.

“This is an exciting car, and it looks like all the money Ford has spent is actually going somewhere,” he said. “More importantly, the car looks refreshing to consumers, even if it’s the same old Jaguar underneath.”

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