It's a tough year for the media. And, I am not talking about the journalists that cover politics.
I am talking about the scribes covering the auto beat.
The big shots who sit on the World Car of the Year (WCOTY) board think highly of themselves and are sure they're always right. They claimed the Jaguar I-Pace was the Tesla killer and that it was a game changer. They were wrong.
The I-Pace has been a mega flop.
If Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) wasn't in trouble, it could have been swept under the rug. But, times are tough for our friends across the pond. Jobs have been cut and word on the street suggests a sale is coming down the 'pike for JLR.
Coming up next is the highly anticipated Defender. It's slated for a 2019 reveal and the prototype vehicles are nearing the end of their testing.
Recently, JLR's CEO Ralph Speth made it clear that he thinks the all-new Defender is "sensational." Well, of course he would! He's not going to say it sucks! Having said that, our friends from CAR magazine in the UK were keen enough to point out that Speth also was bullish on the I-Pace, which has flatlined.
So, I've got to ask:
Is THIS a SIGN of things to come? Is the all-new Land Rover Defender going to be a flop?
Dr Speth, speaking at the FT Future of the Car Summit in London, said: ‘It was one of my toughest days to stop the old Defender, the icon. I’ve driven the new Defender. Maybe I shouldn’t talk about this, but it’s so sensational on the road and off. It’s pure fun and so capable.’
He was also ebullient about the multi-award-winning all-electric i-Pace: ‘I am very proud about the i-Pace. It shows that in the UK there’s advanced technology. The UK team can do it. It has a completely new design language, with far more space in the interior, as well as the technology...'
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