Jaguar Owners Club

I know its quite a way ahead but may be worth putting it in your year planner now. 9th August XKEC Rally * XK8/XKR Enthusiasts Club (XKEC) Summer Show & Shine T: 01590 614614 events@beaulieu.co.uk

I would also ask them to guarantee that their diagnosis will actually solve the problem otherwise it could be money spent in the wrong area.

Hi Kelly....and welcome to the club ! Always make sure that you don't handle the glass when fitting it as the oil from your skin will create a hotspot on the bulb and as Trevor has said, excessive heat transfer is a killer for bulbs. If you do touch it accidentally, clean it with an alcohol based cleaner and that should do the job. Good luck Trevor (another one)

Hi Keith, As Trevor says the remap option is the best route and I have personally never tried the bolt on box method so in fairness I couldn't really say whether they work well or not. Regards Trevor

Excellent ! love this sort of response from car manufacturers.

Hi Paolo...and welcome to the forum! I have just had a look on eBay and there are a couple on there...but worth watching to see if the exact one you want turns up. http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.Xjaguar+xjs+window+motor&_nkw=jaguar+xjs+window+motor&_sacat=0&_from=R40 Other Jaguar suppliers are quite plentiful throughout the UK. Regards Trevor

Hi Mick Try this link...hopefully that should sort it. If not, there are devices on eBay that can interface with your car and provide Bluetooth connectivity. http://www.jaguarownersclub.com/forums/topic/9270-bluetooth-connectivity-guide/ Let us know how you get on Regards Trevor

Hi Jessica...and welcome to the club! good to see that we have some American Jaguar owners in this forum Feel free to ask any questions and I'm sure someone on here can help you Regards Trevor

Norman Roper in his 1952 Jaguar X120 in the Teton Mountains near Yellowstone National Park The group of cars parked outside one of the rustic hotels on the Rally through the Rockies tour. San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge provides the backdrop for Norman Roper and his 1952 Jaguar XK120 during the Rally through the Rockies tour. Rally cars shipped from the U-K outside a hotel in Cranbrook, B.C. during the Rally through the Rockies tour : Norman Roper and his 1952 Jaguar XK120 at Pebble Beach in California. Isle of Man resident Norman Roper and his 1952 Jaguar XK120 alongside the Queen Mary in Long Beach. Norman Roper driving his Jaguar XK120 into Afton, Wyoming during the Rally through the Rockies tour. Norman and Mary Roper with their restored 1952 Jaguar XK120 at Death Valley National Park. VANCOUVER – It is no coincidence that the Club of Ancient Automobiles & Rallies began a 7,000-kilometre tour in Vancouver last September. There would be a rally through the Rockies and then into the U.S. with many stops along the way, including Las Vegas, Death Valley, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The trip took 32 days. The club motto is “Don’t just polish it — use it.” Organizer Norman Roper, a retired newspaper publisher from the Isle of Man, just happens to have a cousin living in Vancouver from the branch of the family that immigrated to Canada a century ago. Norman visited his cousin Cliff Haller at his Delta home where he builds street rods and is currently working on a modified vintage Ford woody station wagon. Norman and his British car buddies had their classic cars shipped from Southampton to Tacoma, Wash. on a giant roll-on roll-off car freighter to begin what they call the Route 89 Rally. They picked their cars up on Sept. 2, overnighted in Seattle and then drove north to Vancouver’s Pan Pacific Hotel to prepare for the beginning of the rally. “Touring at a leisurely pace in your old car is a wonderful way to see a country, observe its culture and meet interesting people along the way,” Norman says of his 16 years in the club. His first rally with wife Mary in their 1936 MG-TA was a 5,800-kilometre tour from Halifax to Florida. “Since then, we have been well and truly bitten by the rallying bug,” he says. With the 35-member Club of Ancient Automobiles, the couple has visited 26 countries including a European tour of the Baltic region. The clutch shaft of his MG broke on the return trip through Germany and the car was “sent home in disgrace.” For the West Coast trip, Norman and Mary chose their 1952 Jaguar XK120 modified for long-distance touring. outfitted with a Borg-Warner T5 five-speed transmission. He restores his cars himself as “therapy” and is just finishing a 1962 Jaguar MKII saloon. Club members meet twice a year for long weekends to decide where to go next. For the Route 89 Rally, members shared the tasks of arranging the route, car shipping and hotels as well as marine and driving insurance. A “road book” is given to each participant, but the route is only suggested and participants can take side trips. Cars participating in the Route 88 Rally included the Ropers’ 1952 Jaguar XK120 roadster, two Jaguar E Types, a 1965 Alfa Romeo Spider, 1966 Alvis TF, 1957 Bentley S-1 Continental and a 1964 Sunbeam Tiger. After picking up his Jaguar in Tacoma, the car began to misfire and finally stopped on Interstate 5 heading to Seattle. It was an early test of the roadside assistance that had been arranged because the special dual battery setup was not charging and was completely dead. Norman had already researched North American sources for parts and had a pair of new batteries shipped to the Seattle repair shop within 24 hours. Once the rally began in Vancouver, the route would take the seven British participants and one from New Mexico through the Rocky Mountains to Lake Louise and then south into Montana where they would pick up Route 89 and visit Glacier National Park, on through Wyoming to Yellowstone, then to Salt Lake City and into Nevada. The convoy of classics turned west leaving Route 89 heading into the Mojave Desert to Las Vegas and then into the searing heat of Death Valley. “Within 24 hours, we would see snow on the Tioga Pass as we entered Yosemite National Park,” Norman says. The final leg of the journey was to San Francisco and then a tour down the Pacific Highway 1 to Long Beach where the cars would be shipped back to England. The group overnighted on the Queen Mary ocean liner in Long Beach. “This proved to be the best possible choice for us to stay for the finale of our rally,” Norman says. “We had a spacious first-class cabin which, like the rest of the ship, was fitted out with its original 1930s fixtures and decor.” With cars delivered to the dock for the trip home to England, the group had their final dinner together on board in an opulent private room in the Sir Winston’s Restaurant on Oct. 3 and then said their goodbyes the next day. A jolly good end to a smashing trip, they might say. Alyn Edwards is a classic car enthusiast and partner in Peak Communicators, a Vancouver-based public relations company. Contact him at aedwards@peakco.com By Alyn Edwards, Driving

Honest John says that you should seek advice before buying a classic Jaguar A fully restored and updated Jaguar Mk2 can cost at least £100,000 Paws for thought I thoroughly enjoyed a ride in a 1954 Bentley SD, used as my daughter’s wedding car, which made me think about buying a classic Jaguar Mk2. What do you think? BG, Harrogate Expect to pay £4,000 for a basket case and at least £100,000 for a fully restored and updated example. By Honest John 7:00AM GMT 14 Dec 2013

"It drives like no Jag I’ve ever driven before. In a good way." Ollie Marriage reports That's a lot of initials. Aren't there just. First, in 2006, there was the XK, then the XKRarrived with a supercharger to partner the 5.0-litre V8, then along came the XKR-S with yet more power and control, now this, the XKR-S GT. Which is something altogether different. Guessed as much from the size of the wing and general... attitude. Yeah, it is quite hard to ignore, isn't it? Visually it's all wings, dive planes and easily scrapeable carbon, which, since the advent of theBentley Conti GT3 racer, don't look quite as out of place as you'd expect, given they've been added to a large, front-engined grand tourer. This isn't a grand tourer any more, then? Don't be facetious, of course it isn't. The easiest, most throwaway comparison is against the Porsche 911 GT3 of course, and while that's not inaccurate exactly, it's not spot-on, either. The areas of commonality are clear: they're both expensive, track-orientated machines that look good in white and have stripped cabins. But where the Porsche is honed and tight and endlessly engineered with astonishing traction and grip, the Jaguar has a more bespoke, charismatic feel. Where the Porsche has been developed from the outset to terrorise apexes everywhere, you can tell the Jag started out with a very different work ethic and has had its focus realigned. Ah, like forcing a round peg into a square hole? Exactly that, but in a good way. Though the end result may only post a 7m 40s lap of the Nürburgring - where a GT3 is over ten seconds faster and a Nissan GT-R Nismo a sub-7m 10s - the point this car is trying to make is that pure speed isn't the be all and end all. It aims to deliver an experience as much as raw speed. To quote David Pook, the project's chief of steering, handling and dynamics, "we weren't chasing the GT3, that's not a performance level we were aiming at. Instead we wanted lots of really exploitable performance". Isn't that just a way of saying Jag hasn't done much to the underpinnings? That's what we suspected until we started reading into the work that's been done - the fundamental work, not the visual flim-flam. Because what this does is take elements of the new F-Type and re-engineer them back onto the XK. The steering rack is faster, the whole rear axle is new, on the front suspension only the upper arm is carried over, there's more camber on the wheels - the list goes on. It doesn't include the engine and gearbox, though, which have been left alone. The aim was not more power here, just a purer driving experience. Besides, 542bhp and 502lb ft of torque at 2500-5500rpm is hardly shabby, is it? Jaguar claims a limited 186mph max and 0-60mph in 3.9 seconds. We say the former is happily achievable, the latter would need a surface with exceptional traction. Just as well those brakes look a bit trick, then. Well spotted - they're brand new carbon ceramics, developed ultimately for the forthcoming F-Type Coupe, but getting their first outing here. They're giant: 398mm at the front, 380mm at the back, but perhaps most significant of all, compared to a standard set-up they reduce the all-important unsprung mass by a total of 21kg. That's over 5kg less a corner for the suspension components, springs and dampers to deal with. Speaking of which, the Jag features springs that are stiffer by a whopping 68 per cent at the front and 25 per cent at the rear. What's happened to the weight? Good question. It's gone down, but not by that much - about 40kg reckon Jaguar, so still weighs in the region of 1713kg. Ripping out the unwanted sound deadening and back seats, plus replacing the fronts with lightweight buckets is offset by the insertion of the cage. Beyond that though, Jag hasn't put the GT on too much of a diet. Where the GT3 has fabric pull tabs for door handles, the Jag still has a full keyless system, plus a heated steering wheel. Yes, really. For those moments when you need to make the sweat evaporate from the alcantara, we assume. Are those moments frequent? What do you reckon given it comes wearing Pirelli Corsa track day rubber and we were driving it in December? That it was beyond frightening. That's what I thought, too. Until I drove it. Now, I'm not going to say it's a pussy cat, because clearly you need to be circumspect, but you can work with it, play with it to a degree I didn't expect. Partly this is down to the fundamental friendliness of the front-engined layout, but compared to the F-Type, the XK's 120mm longer wheelbase means it's less snatchy as your backside isn't perched directly over 500 angry horsepowers. But that isn't the first thing you notice about the XKR-S GT anyway, because it takes a bit of time to work your way up to a realization that track day tyres somehow work in winter. What is, then? Well, once you've got yourself settled in the low slung seat and toyed with the harness vs conventional seatbelt debate (you have a choice of both in here), you jab the starter button. Noise occurs. Possibly more noise than anything road legal that I've driven before. Now, the F-Type V8 S is a very noisy thing, I run one as a long termer and drive about the place mostly giggling at the absurdity of it. But the noise in the F is a bit... forced. Here, it's the full Le Mans, a purposeful burble and braaaap, followed by the gurgle and chunter of delicious overrun. It takes a little while before you discover the Dynamic Mode switch, which further liberates the exhaust. Jag admits the catalyst pack in the GT isn't standard. Apparently it passed all the necessary drive-by noise regulations. In all seriousness, I've no idea how it achieved that. Noisy then. And hard-riding, too? Not exactly. When we went out to do the pictures you see here, our photographer, Rowan Horncastle, reported that the car looked like it was jinking about all over the place, but on board the experience is much more placid. However, if you're thinking that means Jaguar has pulled off the trick of making the GT retain its essential ‘Jaguarness' you'd be wrong. It drives like no Jag I've ever driven before. In a good way. I was never a fan of the XKR-S - for me it didn't go far enough, it didn't take the XK in a new direction, move the game on far enough or show that Jaguar could do something different. This does. It's an XK transformed. So yes, the ride is more than tolerable, but the lack of roll, the incisive and immediate front end (the track width is up by 52mm), the commitment you can use through corners, the feel through steering and chassis, these are all new to the XK. New and exciting. So it's useable on the road? It is indeed. It's not really deflected by camber, and traction is surprising. Up to a point. If you jab the throttle, 502lb ft will arrive at the back axle with all possible haste and the GT will spit sideways just as your foot so inconsiderately commanded. So you need to be smooth, use the weight wisely. Take liberties with the brakes by all means - they're superb, amongst the very best carbon ceramics we've used, full of feel and power - just be a bit wary of the engine and gearbox, primarily because this uses the old six-speed automatic, which is slower on the uptake than the eight-speeder fitted to the F-Type. Upshifts are slightly slurred, but such is the torque and engine response that it's not too much of an issue. One gear does it all? Third or fourth. Both are rampant and I'm not sure I ever used full throttle. Normally this bothers me as it hints at traction issues, but somehow it didn't here, probably because speed was being heaped on plenty quickly enough and I was enjoying the noise so much. Special mention to the steering, too. It's not super-precise and brimming with jiggly feedback, but after a while you realize how well synced it is to the chassis, how you know exactly what the car is up to. This trustworthiness meant I was always surprised quite how much speed and grip the Jaguar was able to find in conditions that are about as alien to track day cars as it's possible to imagine. But British buyers can't get hold of it, can they? The original plan was that Jag would only build 30 left hookers for the US market, but it subsequently decided to make 10 available in the UK. It's now saying that up to 50 could be produced in total depending on demand. It's not a big chunk of business, even with the car costing £135,000, but as a brand-building exercise, it's a very valuable one. OK, fundamental question: did you enjoy it? Way more than I thought I would. I hadn't quite realised how full-on it would be, nor how absorbing to drive. No, it's not as incisive or scalpel-like as a GT3 and I'd have liked to have seen more weight taken out, but it is astonishingly muscular and charismatic, with an utterly addictive engine and, thinking about it afterwards, it does have recognisable Jaguar traits - the surprising suppleness and traction, the chassis' well balanced ability. Most of all though, I'm really happy to see how far Jaguar has managed to move it on from the standard XKs. This new direction bodes well for the future. More like this, please Jaguar.

i Future cars may be inspired by the construction of centuries-old English buildings. (Photo : Jaguar) In order to improve future products, Jaguar Land Rover is studying ancient wall constructions and the structure of trees, according to the automaker. Dr. Wolfgang Epple, Jaguar Land Rover director of research and technology, said he feels that there are lots of parts of nature and "non-automotive engineering" that can be used towards the development of more efficient structures. "Cars have been developed for just over 100 years, but nature has been evolving over millions of years," Epple said in a statement. Epple feels that wall-construction techniques used for older English buildings are an intriguing structural study which could help the automaker. Jaguar vehicles could eventually feature the same weight-saving approaches found in those buildings, according to a company press release. During a media dinner this week, Epple said that his R & D department is also "intrigued" by trees, mentioning the difference branches in the summer weight when compared to branches with leaves in the fall and bare branches in the winter. Epple also said that the department is looking into composite reinforcement for new aluminum body structures, more compact engines, and to improve fuel injection systems in gasoline engines to improve fuel economy numbers. Applying nano-technology to batteries is also being considered to improve Land Rover's hybrid-model program, according to the automaker. Much of this research will take place at the new National Automotive Innovation Campus which will be built on the Warwick University campus in 2014. Dec 13, 2013 11:52 AM EST | Matt Mercuro (m.mercuro@autoworldnews.com

We asked you to share your most embarrassing winter driving stories - here are the winners A little while back we offered you the chance to bag a set of winter tyres courtesy of Dunlop in exchange for sharing with us your funniest and/or most embarrassing winter driving stories. A commendable number of entrants ticked both boxes and reading through them was a most enjoyable way of spending a couple of hours but we had to pick our 10 favourites and here they are. So big congratulations to PHers Nigel Ogram, Lewis Elliott, Christian Gardner, Simon Hiscock, Michael Rennie, Duncan Lavery, Ben Williams, Brian Spratt, Andy Downey and Phil Playle. The stories they shared include a policeman falling on his ass, several doomed attempts to impress girls, handbrake turn SNAFUs aplenty, improvised snow-busting initiative that'd put the A-Team to shame ... and a man freed from his frozen car by a Geordie with a bottle of wee. Many thanks to all that took the time to enter and to Dunlop for supplying the tyres. At least 10 PHers are now looking forward to a white Christmas! Nigel Ogram"My motoring career had started with mum's Mini 850, which I continued with a 1275GT. Eventually I graduated to a white Citroen BX GTI, which is where this story comes from. Over the years, I'd become fairly adept at handbrake turns in the Minis so when the first snow arrived I thought I'd impress my work colleagues with my driving prowess in the BX. I reckoned I could do a full 180 and park it in the usual bay. That's when I discovered that the handbrake on a BX works on the front wheels... The damage to the car was minimal, but the damage to my driving reputation was total and permanent." Lewis Elliott "Pre-winter 2010. Bought an ultimate winter daily - a 1992 Hilux Surf. It was fitted with a lift kit, a winch bumper with bullbars, 33-inch off-road tyres, switchable Hi-Lo 4WD. It was a real machine. "My young naive mind was going to learn quickly. Roll on the snow. I was trundling through 90 miles a day. Day after day passed. Snow, snow and more snow. The M8 was closed. The Hilux made it through every day. Unfortunately this year of 'Surf didn't have a centre diff, so off came the 4WD when the snow disappeared from the main driving line. A small Toyota Yaris pulled up beside me on roundabout onto a dual carriageway. Lights turned green. Off I go with old Yaris beside me. "Oh look snow on the road ahead, I'll show Mr Yaris how to get through this - if in doubt flat-out." Nope, not the case, 2WD doesn't work like 4WD and some fud had switched it off - yep, me. "Is that my back end?" Why yes it is ... central Reservation ... front bumper over. Mr Yaris gone. I had driven like such a dick nobody let me reverse off of the barrier. Head hung in shame as I eventually extracted myself. Needless to say I never drove like that again." Christian Gardner"Around four years ago I was a student with a Honda Civic Sport, nicknamed 'The Mountain Goat' as it never got stuck anywhere, ever. On a fairly unadventurous trip I was coming back to my flat during a particularly bad winter in Newcastle. Handbrake fun ensued and as I neared the corner to turn into my street, I saw three student girls walking towards me. Knowing that girls find nothing more attractive than a well-executed handbrake turn, this was the perfect set up. "What followed was a slightly more enthusiastic than planned, very sideways entry into my street that by pure fluke became a perfectly controlled slide for some distance. Think Ken Block but more arse twitching inside the car! Recovering the slide, I judged the stop to the millimetre, finishing the slide in a parking space right outside my flat door. "Feeling unbelievably proud of myself I open the door, prepare my best "That? Pah, easy..." face, and place one foot onto the pavement. As my weight goes onto my foot, it starts to slide from under me, but I am past the point of no return. As my right foot gracefully skims across the icy pavement, my left tries to follow for support but simply spins on the ice like a cartoon character trying to escape impending doom. As my body follows, my arm becomes twisted in the seatbelt, and so, in slow motion, I slide out of the car into a heap on the floor. You know when snow is on the ground and seems to absorb all sound, giving an amazing silence? Well that silence was soon shattered by the laugher of the three girls who had watched it all unfold." Simon Hiscock "In 1992 I was a police traffic patrol officer and at 6am one winter we were called to a report of an accident between Deddington and Hopcrofts Holt in Oxfordshire. I had ridden my motorcycle to work at 5am along the same road so thought it would be OK but when we left Deddington our car - a rear-wheel drive Vauxhall - was all over the place at just 30mph. On a straight we saw an MG about 100m ahead on its roof at the side of the road - thankfully with its driver safe but unhappy. I touched the middle pedal to start braking but the ABS cut in straight away at 30mph and we simply did not slow down. As we got to the crash site we were still at about 15mph and my passenger politely informed the slightly bemused MG driver we would come back as we sailed past (slowly) with the ABS chattering. I stopped 20m past the site and reversed back, at which point my passenger got out and promptly slipped over on the sheet ice. Our police car, the crashed MG and my colleague's boots were most definitely on summer rubber!" Michael Rennie"Not long after passing my test a group of friends and I decided to go to the Lecht ski centre for a day snowboarding. Our three-car convoy set off from Dundee around 5am to make the slopes for opening time. The convoy consisted of my 1990 Nissan Micra, complete with stupid wide wheels, Recaro seats, roof box and three hefty passengers. My mate Al was in his 1.0 Rover Metro complete with super skinny tyres, OMP buckets and massive rust patches and Claire, who had just passed her test, had her mum's Fiesta. It had dumped with snow the previous night and the driving conditions were difficult all the way from Dundee to Glenshee but the ploughs had done their best and the roads were mainly clear. "So far so good until we arrived at the road to The Lecht. There hadn't been a plough up this far yet so there was eight inches of fresh snow on the road. I quickly realised we were going to struggle; my wide tyres were the cheapest Teflon ditch finders going and had a barely legal amount of tread left. I was leading the convoy and even though the other cars had enough grip and were able to climb the hill there was no space to let them pass, I had to keep moving. The mighty Micra was slowly losing momentum and coming to a halt, we needed more traction. "Right lads, get on the bonnet!" I shouted, winding my window down. After a bit of encouragement my three friends climbed out the front windows of the still moving car and onto the bonnet. Success! We had traction and started to move up the hill again. 10 minutes of frozen fingers later they were back in the car and warming up and we were at the top of the hill. Unfortunately for them there were three big uphill sections and they had to repeat this process every time we hit an incline but the unconventional traction control worked! We made it to the ski centre a little bit later than planned but the only other cars in the car park were a couple of Land Rovers. This meant deserted slopes and great snowboarding for the whole convoy." Duncan Lavery "Out on a very early date with my now fiance and I turned up on a cold February morning in my Ford Mustang. Went out for a day in the Lakes with a meal and a walk whilst the snow fell all around us - very romantic! We returned to the car and I noted the car park was rather slushy and slippy... The Mustang was going nowhere. If I was going to get out of the car park to the safety of the A-road (which was ice free) I needed to take drastic action and get some grip. So I asked my dear girlfriend to take the wheel of the car and drive it while I got out and pressed down on the rear to try and 'encourage' some grip. "Having never driven a left hooker or an automatic she initially refused but I assured her all would be fine and we would be home in the warm in an hour or so drinking tea and laughing about the car getting stuck. I retreated to the back of the car and proceeded to press down on the rear end and shouted for her to press the accelerator gently and smoothly, which she did. My plan had worked! "I shouted to her to ease off the accelerator but instead of easing off she decided to press harder. The Mustang accelerated forward with me trying to hang on and grip the rear spoiler but I lost my grip and ended up in a freezing puddle of slush/ice/dirt and other debris. Mustang and girlfriend shot away like a bullet towards the road. At some point she managed to brake and the car then drifted sideways towards the road, where it joined and found its grip, and she pulled it over to the kerb. "The drive home was rather tense, I was soaked to the skin and freezing, feeling very down and thinking I almost lost my love, and my girlfriend! She sat there in the passenger side grinning and saying how she was a much better driver than me and how she learned to drift on Gran Turismo. Needless to say she doesn't get to drive my current RS4!" Ben Williams "I had been using my ancient 1981 Porsche 944 as a daily car for a few months and was starting to enjoy getting back to traditional, old-fashioned motoring. This all went well until the weather changed. On the morning in question I needed to travel from my home in North Yorkshire to London. "The first problem was that the car had frozen solid. I soon got myself in by pouring a kettle of boiling water over the doorframe and was under way. I knew I should have nipped into the loo before I left home but I didn't, meaning by the time I arrived at the station I was bursting. I slid the car gracefully into a prime space by the ticket machine, whipped off my seatbelt and went to get out of the car. The door was frozen solid again. I was entombed in ice and needed to empty my bladder in short order. I steeled myself for the embarrassing 'clamber out of the window in a nice suit' move and then remembered that the windows were frozen shut too. "Something would have to be done. I started banging on the window to try and attract one of the queuing ticket people. One brave bloke - a Geordie called Michael - wandered over and I managed to convey my plight. He laughed. He laughed a lot. He turned and told the queue of people. They all laughed a lot. "The helpful chap put pressure on the window from the outside while I operated the switch from inside. The window came down about six inches and wouldn't budge any further. At least I had a channel of communication but I didn't like what he suggested next. 'Wee into this' he said while passing me an empty water bottle. 'Now pour it around the door. I felt scared and alone. Alone with a bottle of my own wee in my hands. There was nothing for it. It went down my sleeve. It went on the leg of my trousers. A bit went into the carpet in the footwell. But most of it went around the door and with a shoulder barge I was out. I was free (albeit standing in a puddle of my own wee). I felt like the Birdman of Alcatraz. I turned to thank Geordie Michael but he had gone. As I sat on the train I thought back to the happenings of the last 10 minutes. Was Geordie Michael an angel? Shall I wash my hands before I have a bacon roll? Why do bad things happen to good people? All I know is that old cars in the winter time need all the help they can get." Brian Spratt "Returning to Birmingham from my brother's house in deepest Staffordshire one winter's night, a snowstorm developed and the windscreen wipers packed up. I fiddled under the bonnet with increasing frozen fingers but couldn't identify any particular cause - but how to get home? In the boot were my hiking boots and I took the long laces from them and threaded them between the blades and back into the car via the side windows. My wife and I then resumed the journey home with a Chuckle Brothers style of 'to you Barry - to you Paul' using the laces to clear the windscreen. We were stopped by a policeman about half a mile from home who wanted to book me for having an unroadworthy vehicle. I pointed out that nowhere in the type approval regulations did it say that wipers had to be electrically powered. He queried it by radio with his sergeant and was told to stop messing people about in a snow storm and to get back to the police station. Whereupon he asked us for a lift!" Andy Downey "Driving back from the match (Newcastle had won, and Leeds were an excellent team at the time) probably about 7pm, I was in a joyous mood following NUFC's spirited performance, and had taken some of the more interesting B-roads when I neared home - I was enjoying a great drive, overtaking a whole load of slower vehicles along the way, the dark allowing me to clip the apex on right handers safe in the knowledge that no headlights in the opposite direction meant no oncoming traffic. "Progress was immense, the MR2 was never the quickest car, but boy could it provide a lot of feedback over bumps, crests and cambers. I was planted to the road - I may as well have been Juha Kankkunen I was driving that well. All until there was a sudden flurry that literally came out of nowhere and sent me in to some epic oversteer as I crested out of a 180 degree left-hander - tried a dab of oppo, tried a bit more power, no grip at all, only one thing for it - hit the brakes and hope... "Well, on that night, hope was well and truly with me. The brakes didn't really do anything but throw me sideways off the road, through a (thankfully open) gate into a farmer's field. A metre and half either way and it'd have been a big stone pillar but I was well and truly stuck, little pop-ups still beaming out light into the road whilst the string of cars I had been overtaking with such valour only minutes earlier, slowly paraded past. "The next two hours were spent locating the farmer's house, convincing him that he did want to get his tractor out of the barn to pull me out of the field (think it cost me £30 in the end), and crying a little inside every time I glanced down at my previously pristine Nike Air Max (red to match the car). Somewhat crestfallen, I continued on my journey home by getting back to the A1 as soon as possible, and plodding home ever so gently. My ego might have taken a bit of a bruising, but at least my MR2 was back to normal after a trip to the car wash." Phil Playle Year: 1998. Location: Tring, Hertfordshire. Weapon: Peugeot 405 1.9 GRI. Upon entering Dundale Road to pick up the beautiful Miss Brown, who is working at the same company as me at the time I see her waiting in the distance in her winter finery - a warming image on such an icy day. I decide now is the time to hit the loud pedal and 'get the back end out, rally-style', in a bid to impress her. Alas, during said manoeuvre, my steed reminds me that it is in fact front-wheel drive, and simply slides straight towards the kerb, bouncing ungainly up it and buckling my wheel and suspension in one slick move. "The silence is deafening as we both share the cold 501 bus together to Hemel Hempstead."

As Peter says...a lump hammer is sometimes the only course of action, lol If the engine is restricted to a certain RPM and the engine lamp is on then it is probably in limp home mode for a particular reason. However the throttle housing area does tend to gung up with carbon and a good clean should improve things. Also, pay attention to the electrical connections...make sure they are clean and connecting well.

The Jaguar line-up includes just four models: the brand new F-Type, the sumptuous XF and XJ sedans, and the sporty XK. The latter first appeared on the market in 2007, which makes eight years now. Eight years in the life of a car is like 80 human years. But life doesn’t end at 80! Heck, these days being 80 isn’t like it used to be. Fifty years ago, the few 80-year olds out there were old geezers. Today, many octogenarians lead very active lives. For various reasons, we’re aging better. The Jaguar XK is one of those 80-year olds whose heart and legs remain solid. Even more so than a lot of youngsters... You’re either a pro or you’re not The Jaguar XK still turns heads and garners thumbs-up of approval. Just imagine its brawnier version, the XKR. There’s even an XKR-S and, for five lucky (and rich) Canadians, an XKR-S GT. We recently had the opportunity to test drive an XKR. We tested the same model for a week in 2010 and we were curious to know if time had taken its usual toll on it. I must say that the last three years have been less kind to my body than they have to the XKR. Life is so unfair! In fact, this lovely English car is showing its age primarily in the passenger compartment. Sure, it’s top-notch in terms of luxury, quality of materials, and assembly in general. However, since it arrived in 2007, the central console has lost its traditional shifter in favour of a very modern drive selector that disappears as soon as you cut the engine, like on all current Jaguars. People always get a kick out of that – as long as it works. Personally, I never had the slightest problem with this drive selector on any of the Jaguars I have tested but, knowing the English brand’s (now owned by Indian manufacturer Tata) poor reputation for reliability, questioning this system’s durability is completely justifiable. Compared to the version tested almost four years ago, the car has gained a factory-standard rear camera. Although the audio system and communication centre of the center screen don’t seem to have evolved in terms of design, I cursed much less while using it this time around. Since the menus haven’t been improved, my ability to understand them must have. Some buttons and levers located on the steering column are reminiscent of the sad era when Ford owned the brand. The grocery bags strike back The front seats prove very comfortable. On the other hand, the back seats are fit only for grocery bags – and preferably those that aren’t ones to complain. Surprisingly, the trunk is reasonably large. Not for a set of golf clubs, but sufficient for the grocery bags that you’re unable to put on the back seats. And if you think that Jaguar has hit rock bottom in terms of back seats, remember that there’s an even less agreeable convertible, too. Pleasure you can hear Nothing’s changed with the engine for years. The XKR has a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 that produces 510 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 461 lbs.-ft. of torque at 2,500 rpm. With numbers like that, it goes without saying that there’s a lot of available power lurking just underneath your right foot. The roar of the V8 in flat-out acceleration is pure pleasure, but making your ears happy has a direct effect on the wallet. Even with proponents of Sunday driving, the V8 easily averages 11.5 L/100 km, so you can imagine what happens when you aren’t careful. At the end of our week-long test drive, our XKR had consumed 14.2 L/100 km, which is within two-tenths of what we recorded in 2010. As you’d suspect, this isn’t the type of Englishman that likes common 87-octane beer. No sirree! It runs on 91-octane scotch! With only six speeds, the automatic transmission is starting to get outdated. Today, in a car class that includes the Porsche 911, BMW 6 Series and Mercedes-Benz SL, at least seven speeds are a must. Like the other versions, it comes with rear-wheel drive. It’s possible to deactivate all of the driving aides to have some fun fishtailing and creating a big white cloud of smoke that smells like burnt rubber. That’s what I’ve been told, anyway... Taming a cat is not as easy as it sounds Because of its feline name, the Jaguar is often compared to a cat. As everyone knows, a cat has two sides to its personality: one that likes its daily dose of petting, and the other that sends its master packing. In comfort mode, the suspension isn’t too bothersome, though it’s a far cry from the immense XJ sedan. The seats are extremely supportive, which means the occupants (it goes without saying that I mean those in front) can go on long rides without any problem. Visibility is surprisingly good, except in back, of course. The steering is lively and offers good feedback from the road. Saying the handling is safe would be an understatement. You’ll be shocked at how you’ll be able to take corners faster and faster without breaking a sweat. The electronic differential does an extraordinary job of always transmitting maximum power to the road without sacrificing grip. Even the most docile cat has a mean streak. Select Sport mode and you’ll see what I mean. At 100 km/h, the engine goes from 1,800 to 3,000 rpm, the transmission becomes entirely manual and the rear wheels want nothing more than to sprint off into the sunset. And that can only be done on a race track or at a safe location. The Jaguar XK is due for an update. Let’s hope that the next generation will be less expensive (ours sells for a whopping $111,000!), offers usable back seats and more fuel-efficient engines. In the meantime, the XKR remains an extremely attractive car that, at 80 years old, still has a lot to offer. Evaluation Test model 2014 Jaguar XK Trim level R Coupe Price range $98,625 - $179,000 Price as tested $109,125 Warranty (basic) 4 years / 80,000 km Warranty (powertrain) 5 years / 80,000 km Fuel economy (city/highway/observed) 13.9 / 9.2 / 14.2 l/100km Options N/A Competitive models Aston Martin Vantage, BMW Série 6, Chevrolet Corvette, Mercedes-Benz Classe SL, Porsche 911 Strong points A work of art on wheels Guaranteed luxury Superior performance Exquisite sound in acceleration Solid handling Weak points High fuel consumption (super only) Poor resale value Insulting back seats Expensive Unproven reliability Fuel consumption If you’re worried about fuel consumption, buy yourself a Prius. Value for price Worrisome resale value and reliability. But what do we care? Styling Only the Jaguar F-Type is nicer-looking. Comfort Surprising for such a dynamic car. Performance Fantastic! Overall We don’t like it, we love it!

Bad reputation now for Jaguar drivers ! A Bradford man has appeared in court after heroin with an estimated street value of £40 million was found crammed into a Jaguar car. Read more of the article: http://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2013-12-12/in-pictures-jaguar-heroin-haul/

Hi Steve....and welcome to the club! Your mechanic is right with allowing it to turn into a more permanent fault as sometimes they do not manifest themselves until it actually does go completely faulty. Normally, a fault like this I would recommend a Coolant Temperature Sensor as its this time of year that they fail and would lead to similar symptoms that your car is displaying. The sensor can go out of operating range, which is when the warning light will come on or you could change it quite easily and cheaply to just see if it changes anything in the meantime? It can also substantially affect your fuel economy by overfuelling the engine if left unattended. Hope this helps? Regards Trevor

Hi Stan...and welcome back ! As Peter says...it sounds like an EVAP problem, albeit probably only a temporary glitch. If you have a code (such as P0123) I can narrow down a little bit more, but otherwise if you clear memory and switch lamp off then it should take care of the problem. The following is a forum link to Technical Abbreviations used in modern vehicles if it helps. http://www.jaguarownersclub.com/forums/topic/9076-technical-abbreviations/ Regards Trevor

Hi Alan....and welcome to the club....and to the wonderful world of Jaguars! As Peter has stated, there really should be an under tray on your car but most Jag specialists will probably have one or two leaning up against a wall in the workshop where they have forgotten to refit it (talking from previous experience). Hopefully some other members have experienced the fuel gauge issue you are referring to and can comment on it? Regards Trevor

Blimey, you've travelled quite a bit Trevor!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UpFys4Xci_M

STARTECH has launched their Jaguar XKR and XK program at this year's Frankfurt Auto Show. The STARTECH Jaguar XKR program features a new aerodynamics package which includes spoiler flaps that attach to the front apron, LED daytime running lights and a carbon-fiber rear molding. The STARTECH Jaguar XKR sits on 21 inch rims and is equipped with sport springs that lower the ride height by 40 mm. The interior of the STARTECH Jaguar XKR features a leather and Alcantara upholstery, bamboo wood and aluminum trim elements and various carbon fiber accents. STARTECH Press Release: Exclusive, innovative and individual: These three attributes best describe the STARTECH accessories program for the latest Jaguar XK and XKR models, which is available for coupes and convertibles. A customized XK Coupe that celebrates its world debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show IAA 2009 in Frankfurt/Main gives a good first look at the complete product lineup for the British automobiles. The engineers and designers from STARTECH (Brabus-Allee, D-46240 Bottrop, phone + 49 / (0) 20 41 / 777 547, fax + 49 / (0) 20 41 / 777 111, Internet www.startech.de) have developed subtle sporty body modifications, custom-tailored 21-inch forged wheels with corresponding ride-height lowering and eye-catching interior options. Adding sporty emphasis to the elegant lines of the two-door with subtle components was a challenge the STARTECH styling team mastered with great success. The team developed spoiler flaps that attach to both sides of the production front apron. They upgrade the car’s appearance and reduce lift on the front axle. All STARTECH aerodynamic-enhancement components are made from carbon fiber. To make these components not only ultra-light but also extremely strong STARTECH uses the same ‘Prepreg’ production process in an autoclave used in motor racing and aerospace engineering. The face of the Jaguar is further upgraded with daytime running lights. Using precise-fit design elements these lights are beautifully integrated into the stylized air vents on both sides of the bumper. The STARTECH carbon-fiber rear molding serves as the perfect backdrop for the two tailpipes of the exhaust system and gives the rear of the Jaguar even more character. The exclusive STARTECH looks are further characterized by STARTECH forged wheels customtailored for the XK models. The three-piece Monostar J Diamond Edition wheels intersperse polished surfaces with brushed-look sections and are miles apart from the rest. The same is true for the wheel sizes, which were selected specifically for the sportiest Jaguar model. The front wheel houses are filled to the max by size 9Jx21 wheels with tires in size 255/30 ZR 21. In the rear tires in size 295/25 ZR 21 mounted on size 10.5Jx21 wheels strive to provide maximum traction. STARTECH sport springs are specially calibrated to these tire/wheel combinations. They lower the ride height of both body styles by some 40 millimeters (1.6 inches). Exclusive interiors are a particular STARTECH specialty. The interior designers transformed trends from exclusive high-end living into the XK without overpowering the sports car’s British character. The company upholstery shop has created a fully leather interior made from the finest, especially soft brandy-colored leather. A new combination of contrasting cords and double seams using an especially thick thread creates an entirely new and yet very English ambiance in the cockpit. The STARTECH interior program also offers countless other color combinations in leather and Alcantara. More than 100 different colors are always in stock, special requests such a leather color that matches a favorite lipstick or other item can also be fulfilled. New bamboo wood trim elements replace the precious-wood and aluminum trim available from the factory. The wood color is specially matched to the brandy-colored leather. A special bleaching and staining process makes it possible to match the leather color exactly. This STARTECH innovationalso gives customers a choice of open-pore, matte or high-gloss surface finishes. Genuine carbonfiber trim sets with different structures and colors are yet another option for customizing the interior. Further exclusive ideas for the interior are scuff plates with illuminated STARTECH logo and highquality floor mats bordered with color-coordinated leather.

The aftermarket specialists from Arden revealed recently their new program for the Jaguar XKR-S, which receives several styling updates as well as performance upgrades. The Arden Jaguar XKR-S comes with a new body kit that also manages to improve the downforce on both axels of the car. The aero package includes a new front bumper, side skirts, a rear diffuser and a boot lid spoiler. Arden's XKR-S features a new front grille, a set of 21-inch alloy wheels and a new exhaust system with two double tailpipes on each side of the car. For the interior of the Jaguar XKR-S, Arden is offering a leather upholstery with Alcantara inserts, aluminum pedals and various trim parts made from carbon, chrome or wood.Arden is also offering a leather/Alcantara sport steering wheel and a bespoke entertainment system. The 5.0-liter supercharged V8 engine of the Arden XKR-S develops 645 hp and 803 Nm of torque. However, the power kit is still under development at the moment. Arden did not announce the price of their new mods for the Jaguar XKR-S

haha....Brilliant!! Trevor, I believe you seemed to have captured the Jaguar owner defined look for 2014 ! However, I didn't see that model of Jag available in next years line up though