Clay models might seem like old-school car design, but most carmakers, including Jaguar, still use them to flesh out the details of their vehicles. Jaguar chief designer Ian Callum says you have to: it’s only in this form that you see how a car looks before locking into production pieces. “It’s always a surprise when you cut a car,” he says.

In the case of the new XK, Jaguar’s multiple clay models dictated some of the car’s fundamental features, too. An early pass at a longer XK went belly-up in consumer clinics. “Buyers said, ‘Don’t make the car bigger,’” Callum recalls. Out came 4 to 5 inches from the wheelbase. Too, stylists and engineers had toyed with the idea of making the XK a hardtop convertible—but abandoned the notion when they realized that packaging a folding hardtop would mean squaring off and enlarging the XK’s tail.

Even after being vetted out with the clay model, finishing touches will always draw fire. The oval air intake on the XK’s nose has been a source of early criticism, drawing some unfavorable comparisons to the front end on the 2000 Ford Taurus. Callum says there’s a logical explanation for it: brother Moray, Mazda stylist and owner of an E-Type coupe, reinterpreted the latter car’s front end for the more pedestrian Taurus. And now it’s come home to roost on the XK, where Ian Callum points out that the oval shape and size are nearly identical not to the Taurus, but to Jaguar’s iconic XJ13 racer.

Check out TCC's review of the new XK coupe and convertible and an exclusive walkaround of the new XK with Ian Callum on Tuesday, Feb. 1.

What sort of incentives do you expect when you sign on the dotted line for a property? Perhaps a freezer or a dishwasher. But how about a Jaguar? That’s the amazing deal one real estate firm is offering when you buy a residential, retail, or commercial unit. You could even get a fleet of cars; the small print reveals if you opt for a full office floor you get ten X-Types. It’s certainly one way to shift the slow-selling sedan. You’re waiting for the catch, aren’t you? We’d love to tell you there isn’t one, but… you have to buy the property in the Arab Emirate of Dubai, and the company behind it, Damac, says it will only deliver the Jag there, too. Still, you could always ship it home. —Richard Yarrow

In a press conference held at NASCAR’s Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C., this afternoon, Toyota announced that it would be accelerating its NASCAR program with entries in the Nextel Cup and Busch Series utilizing the Camry model beginning in 2007.

The announcement was made by Dave Illingworth, senior vice president and chief planning and administrative officer for Toyota Motor Sales, USA.

“Next year – 2007 – will be a special year for Toyota in more ways than one,” said Illingworth. “Toyota will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in the United States, and we will be joining the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, America’s premier racing series. Toyota has been an important part of the U.S. motorsports community for almost 25 years. We’ve competed and won in different series and on tracks across America. Toyota drivers and teams have won championships in a variety of different series. But, if you want to compete against the best, in America that means NASCAR.

“We look forward to February of 2007 when the green flag waves to start the Daytona 500 and the starting lineup features the Toyota Camry.”

Toyota has been competing in NASCAR since 2000, starting out in what was then known as the Goody’s Dash Series for four-cylinder sedans, winning its first race in 2001 and capturing the series championship in 2003. The company moved up to the Craftsman Truck Series in 2004, where it has noticeably contributed to raising the competitive level of that series. Toyota has been racing in America for 24 years, having competed and won championships in IMSA, CART, IRL and off-road racing. Their trophy shelf includes coveted hardware from events including the Rolex 24 at Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, the Baja 1000 and the Indianapolis 500. Toyota is also currently competing in the Formula 1 World Championship.

The company, as the first Japanese-owned firm to compete in what has traditionally been an all-American series (if you overlook the fact that Dodge is now part of the German-owned DaimlerChrysler empire), is sensitive about wanting to be welcomed into the “NASCAR family” and not alienating any fans. Illingworth took pains in his announcement to point out the many manufacturing plants located in America, the number of jobs created by Toyota and the millions of cars and trucks that are constructed on these shores.

Illingworth was welcomed by NASCAR CEO Brian France, who joined him in unveiling a Nextel Cup Camry. Illingworth said that, unlike the Craftsman Truck Series, no Nextel Cup or Busch Series Toyotas will have Toyota sponsorship, and that the manufacturer support will be on par with what other manufacturers currently provide in the Nextel Cup and Busch series, with no vehicles being engineered and/or built by Toyota Racing Development, as was the case with their entry into the Craftsman Truck Series.

Toyota will host a media event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Tuesday night, at which time some of the teams and sponsors who will campaign Camrys will be introduced.--John Gardner

Ford Motor Co.’s "Way Forward" plan came off like Jerry Bruckheimer -- heavy on the pyrotechnics but short on plot and dialogue. There were all the standard fireworks, 14 plant closing, thousand of jobs axed and plenty of executives walking around in sack cloth and ashes. Bill Ford, even boldly told off Wall Street, suggesting he wasn't going to play their game any more, nor offer annual guidance about the company's profits -- or lack thereof. Mark Fields talked about sharpening the brands, countering critics who’ve insisted Ford must kill Mercury. Fields even promised Ford would build a new, ultra-modern, ultra-efficient factory somewhere in North America to deal with the markets swing back to cars - particularly small cars, sales of which are expected to grow by 40 percent. This part of the plan is good and suggests Fields has already separated himself from the truck-obsessed executives that have run the company for the past 15 years. It also suggests there really is hope in Dearborn.

One tactical mistake by Ford's quarterback was in not showing off any of the new small cars the company obviously has in its product pipeline. I've heard all the arguments against letting the product cat out of the bag too soon. But this was the time to break the rule for Ford to offer a reason to root for the home team again. Hybrids alone just don't cut it. The plan was very thin on other details about product. Fields, for example, refused to discuss what's going to happen to the old Lincoln Town Car. Are they just going to dump and abandon the segment altogether? Ford didn't really offer any answers.

The rest of the plan, like one of Bruckheimer plots, (think Con Air), seemed to require a suspension of any inclination to disbelief. I doubt anyone on Wall Street was very impressed by the suggestion that Ford's North American Automotive Operations won't make a profit until 2008 or that the company's cash reserve will drop during 2006.

John Murphy, the auto analyst for Merrill Lynch, said in a note to the firm’s clients that while the plan is a step in the right direction any assumptions that Ford will be able to maintain its current market share are suspect. The $6 billion in material cost reductions also sounded a whole lot like the old fashioned squeeze-the-supplier formula, even though COO Jim Padilla asserted he’s simply looking to eliminate waste and build a new relationship with “partners.”

Brian Johnson, an analyst with Sanford Bernstein in New York, who attended the Ford briefing in Dearborn, said a lot of observers were expecting more details and said one of the key things Ford didn't address is how the company plans to get everyone in the organization moving in the same direction. Having a small team come up with an action plan is great exercise. Getting everyone to put it into operation is a whole different issue.

Another concern is that the Way Forward seemed to ignore is the impending debut of new trucks from Toyota and GM. The plan seems to assume these vehicles won't have much of an impact on Ford's business model but there is good chance they will, Johnson said.--Joe Szczesny

Most of the the attention about Ford's "Way Forward" plan has focused on the anticipated plant closings, job cuts and overall cost-cutting. But Ford executives also have been hinting that the turnaround plan will include some insight into the company's future product plans. Up until now, and with the rare exception of the likes of the Mustang or Fusion, Ford's product plans haven't exactly impressed anyone, especially customers. So the company continues to lose ground in segments where it once had a solid foothold -- such as minivans and small trucks.

Only last week there was a flurry of stories that Ford was getting out of the minivan segments. Ford officials, starting with Ford President Jim Padilla, have insisted it isn't true and a Friday piece in the Detroit Free Press by their auto critic Mark Phelan suggested Ford intends to reinvent the minivan concept. That’s not out of line with past comments from folks like design director J Mays, who was particularly proud of the 2005 “people-mover concept,” the Fairlane.



A minivan renewal would address only one of the segments Ford needs to become a serious player again. It also must come up with a new rear-drive platform, especially for Lincoln. The company's current rear-wheel-drive platform actually dates back to Lee Iacocca's days at Ford. Ford also has to come up with a replacement – or, more accurately -- several replacements for its dowdy Ford Focus. How about the more technically sophisticated European version, or even the striking segment-buster, the C-Max, which again is sold only in Europe?



Ford apparently has begun looking for answers. At least that’s what analysts who’ve had an inside track on company plans are hinting. One tells TheCarConnection that he believes Ford is thinking about building a compact pickup truck on the same assembly lines used for the F150. It would be a great way to revitalize the Ranger segment while proving just how well Ford’s push for flexible manufacturing really works. Clearly, Ford needs to cut costs, but like GM it also has to dust off its product plans in segments it neglected over the last decade or more.