How The Auto Industry Has Everyone Just a Bit Spoiled

Considering that Jaguar has spent over 2.5 billion on the XE you might almost feel a little bad for the brand given the somewhat lukewarm meh reaction outside of the British media. Looking at the elements at play in the XE it's clear that the automotive industry has all of us just a little bit spoiled and it's becoming harder than ever to impress us. The forthcoming high performance variant of the XE will likely match the power output of the famed Jaguar XJ220 super car that was once the fastest car in the world. Much like the XJ220, the XE features plenty of aluminum and is poised to lead a growing group of aluminum intensive cars at increasingly more reasonable prices. While the design is not unexpected, the XE does take the best of the XF while skipping the strangeness of the XJ. Impressively it does so with an aerodynamic coefficient of just .26 without looking like a Prius or a jellybean. Not to mention it's light years ahead of the awkward turtle X-Type it replaces. The XE is an excellent start to take a look at the state of the auto industry in the Fall of 2014 and how we take it for granted at times.

Full size luxury sedans are breaking into the 3s to 60 all while delivering 30 mpg on the highway. As impressive as that go is, the stop might be even more so as there are 5,000+ pound SUVs that will outbreak a Lamborghini Murcielago.

Are you satisfied with the progress of the auto industry or do you think there are areas where it could do better?
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TheSteve - 9/9/2014 12:25:49 PM

+4 Boost

"it's becoming harder than ever to impress us" is just another way of saying "your competition has raised the bar, and that's where your prospective customers are now looking." As in the survival of species, your choices are few: Adapt, migrate, or perish.

Don't blame consumers for being "spoiled." Blame the auto-maker for not measuring up to the expectations their competitors have set!

chewy - 9/9/2014 5:38:50 PM

-1 Boost

Specs wise it looks like Jaguar is actually ahead of the competition in this case. The V6 is as strong as the 335i and in the ballpark of the S4 and C400 and we know there will probably be a 380 hp version. The V8 numbers should be at least at the level of M3/C63 and future RS4. Given the aluminum content it should be fine on weight and the claimed drag coefficient is better than the competition too. It looks great from a spec sheet standpoint.

MDarringer - 9/9/2014 8:16:17 PM

+1 Boost

The XE is boring as hell to look at. THAT is its sin. Jaguar flushed cash down the crapper.