You are misrepersenting most people...(m) (archive)

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You are misrepresenting most people on this board. There have been many comments form owners that say they enjoy not seeing other X-Types at every stoplight, but also recommend its purchase to other people. Sales of the X-Type are beginning to be encouraging, but still nowhere close to the BMW 3 Series. That's good, a least at this time, because most of the Jaguar dealers are not geared up to service tripple their current volume of cars. Sales of BMW's gradually increased over the years and allowed both the manufacturer and its dealers to grow in steps as sales increased. If you read some of the posts in the archives, you will see that owners have also made suggestions to improve or enhance their enjoyment of their cars. The "Insider" has asked for these comments several times and has gotten many posts on that subject. What you have expressed in your posts, however, is a desire for Jaguar to make a BMW 330 with a Jaguar outer shell. Many current owners of X-types, me included, have previously owned BMW's and prefer the X-Type's overall dynamics. Because the X-type is new to the market, as opposed to the BMW 3 Series, which enjoys a great track record, more people will currently shop and purchase the BMW. Not a bad choice, but not for everyone. Neither is the X-type. Jaguar seems to be listening to people who feel the cars, with several option packages, are too expensive. Jaguar extended the $2100 dealer incentive on the 3.0 and they have made options like the sunroof available without having to buy the entire X1 Premium Package.

But, the X-Type will hopefully never become a BMW 330. Not because the 330 is not a good car, but because the dynamics are not what makes a car a Jaguar. The driving experience of the 330 and X-type are different, on purpose. Both were designed and engineered to perform in a way the manufacturers believe expresses the "soul" of their brand. Take a look at the new 2003 S-Type "R" as compared to the BMW M5. Both are mid-sized cars based on their standard models, both have v8 engines, both have 400hp, both have 6 speed transmissions and both have performance tuned suspensions. Jaguar decided to only offer an automatic transmission, BMW decided only to offer a manual transmission. Jaguar tuned the suspension for a more compliant ride at the expense of handling, BMW tuned the suspension at the expense of ride. Different philosophies. Isn't that good?

Jake, your going to figure out a few things about this board (if you haven't already).

1) A lot of people here see it as a positive if Jaguar actually sells few X-Types because most people prefer its competators, and don't WANT Jaguar to do anything to make the car more attractive to others. I'm not talking about opposing changes that dilute its quality or charactor, but options that would let them still have the same thing they have now but let others get an X-Type configured more suitably to their own tastes. This strikes me as strange. The positive kind of exclusivity is when you've got something many want but few can get - not when you've got something nobody else wants. Let's look at an extreme but familiar example - the infamous Ford Edsel. Before anybody gets in an uproar, I am NOT calling the X-Type an Edsel. The Edsel illustrates the point, though. Ford had high hopes for this car, but almost nobody wanted one. I'm sure that some of the people who did felt "exclusive" because they had something different, but the car was not a commercial success and Ford dropped it. Of course it's a collectors item now, but at the time it was a flop and its name became synonomous with "flop" for a generation. I'm sure that what Ford wanted was for it to be the best selling car in its class - not something almost nobody wanted so that the handful who did could feel "exclusive".

2) People here get offended even by constructive criticism intended to help the Jaguar brand. I guess peoples egos and self-image get very wrapped up in their cars, so they take it personally. I'm sure the management at Jaguar doesn't, though.

The person posting here under the name Insider is a Jaguar employee, and has told us that management has him reporting on what is written here. This is basic market research. I work for a consumer products company, and I can tell you that the recipe for success is "the consumer is boss". I'm 100% certain that Jaguar wants to make the X-Type the best seller in its class (while still making a profit, of course). Some of the package grouping is no doubt based on manufacturing efficiency (although with today's technology I'm sure more consumer choice is the wave of the future rather than less). Jaguar will certainly tweek the packaging (and other aspects of the car) in future model years based on consumer opinion - when you decide whether or not to buy you are voting, and they care why you voted for the competition if you did. If they can figure out how to make you (and people like you) happy without busting the budget or making an even larger group of consumers unhappy, they will do it. I'm pretty sure the last people they will listen to are the ones who would forgo buying the car just because too many other people have one:)

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