subject: Jaguar Feels The Pinch In 2009 [print this page] Jaguar is an iconic British maker of luxury cars founded by Sir William Lyons in 1922. Originally a maker of motorcycle side cars, Jaguar switched to the production of automobiles with the production of the Mark IV saloon and coupes in 1935. Jaguar has had several ownership changes since the 1960's, and its last ownership change happenned in 2008 when Ford sold the automaker to Tata Motors of India. Jaguar was sold together with Land Rover to Tata, and together they form the Jaguar Land Rover division of Tata. Jaguar currently produces three models for the world market. The Jaguar XF is Jaguar's newest model, having been introduced in 2008. The XF is a mid-sized sedan that is available with either a 3.0 liter V6 diesel or gasoline engine. The XF is also available in a higher performance version, called the XFR, that is powered by a 5.0 liter supercharged V8.
Jaguar's flagship model is the XJ. The XJ is a full-size four door sedan that is powered by a range of V8 gasoline engines. The base engine is a 5.0 liter V8 engine producing 385 horsepower. The two optional engines are both supercharged 5.0 liter V8 engines, one producing 470 horsepower and the other producing 510 horsepower. The XK is a luxury tourer that is available as either a two door coupe or a two door convertible. Global sales for Jaguar were only slightly affected by the global downturn in 2009, owing primarily to the introduction of the well-received XF model in the previous year. The XF replaced the outgoing S type, and garnered a significant sales improvement over that model. Jaguar sales were down by only 4 percent in 2009 compared to 2008, a considerably better performance than most other luxury carmakers.
