The Next Big Thing?
I found this video featured in a comment this morning on Curbside Classics. The comment that the video was included as part of, concerned an article that displayed a storage yard and three decrepit looking XJS' and an equally decrepit looking Lincoln Mark IV. The article stated that the XJS (s) and the Lincoln had served similar purposes for similar buyers. I didn't quite agree with that, and posted my own my opposing comment. Essentially my point was that the Jaguar was meant for high speed travel on the Continent. While the Mark IV was built for high speed cruising on this continent. Different conditions, different driving environment, therefore different machinery. While the Jaguar could fulfill the role of silent, comfortable, high speed travel on both continents, the Lincoln was built to perform under typical American conditions of straight highways and typically lower speeds. It would be out of place on the Autobahn and other high speed European motorways.
The video is a Haggerty production featuring Magnus Walker who opines on what he thinks that the next big collector opportunity might be.
Watching this video, seeing two Jaguars being driven through a night time downtown LA cityscape and out in the open country was refreshing. The XJS is not a car commonly seen in enthusiast media. It's nice to be reminded how impressive these cars look in motion.
The video closes with predictions that the XJS will soon start to appreciate in value. I've been hearing this for years.
Media like this helps to develop and maintain energy and enthusiasm among the faithful. It helps me to remember that I've already got one of these cars in sitting in my garage.
I know it sounds somewhat terrible to admit this, but I just don't get too excited thinking about driving around in the XJS. It doesn't deliver much of an experience. The exhaust note doesn't sound like anything special, and it's not like it's got tremendous acceleration off the line. I don't find driving it any more exciting than driving my Ford V6 truck.
The XJS doesn't start to feel interesting until it's traveling faster than 80 mph. Then the performance comes from the engine winding out as it achieves high speeds. If you never drive the car over 70 mph. you'd never see anything special about it. My car needs suspension work so I seldom drive it faster than 65-70 mph. occasionally on the freeway and only for a short distance.
The XJS is fast enough, but I haven't experienced any kind of visceral thrill from it yet. I know that it won the Brock Yates Cannonball Run once, cruising at speeds of 130 mph.
On the other hand, I find that my Mustang GT is a hoot to drive. Mostly because of the great sounding FlowMaster exhaust. I love stepping smoothly into the throttle and listening to the engine rumble and roar as revs rise before it shifts gears. Sound and feel are important. I rode Harley Davidsons for over twenty five years. HDs are all about the experience; the look, the sound, and the stability. They are plenty fast enough, as long as you aren't trying to race somebody!
My GT is much the same, It's plenty fast enough. I don't have any particular desire to replace it with a quicker car, just to have a quicker car.
My '07 Mustang V6 coupe is a triumph of gearing over power. I'm pretty sure that it's as quick as my old GT. It's rated at 15 hp less, but the superb five speed automatic puts all of it's power down, just where and when it's needed. Truthfully my '96 V8 GT is pretty poorly geared, too tall overall and it needs to kicked down to gain any real acceleration. But it cruises just fine, and the fuel economy is pretty good. The V6 beats the V8 by a few miles per gallon. Like a Harley, the GT has it over the 2007 V6 for the total experience.
Lately I've been looking for a 2005 to 2009 GT convertible. I prefer the retro styling of this model. The GT will not deliver as good mileage as my '96, I think it's only rated at 22 mpg. freeway as opposed to the V6 which is rated at 24 mpg. but I've achieved over 27 mpg. with my own '07. I expect that I might be able to exceed the EPA estimate. My '96 is rated at only 22 mpg. highway also, but I regularly get 25 mpg. or more. Maybe it's the FlowMasters?
The 2011 to 2015 3.7 V6 Mustang is the real champ. It delivers 305 hp and 29-30 highway estimate mileage. So it should deliver earlier GT type performance, combined with much better mileage. Perhaps this would be a better choice. The 2011 and newer cars come with factory dual exhaust. I can't say that I especially like the styling better. The front end is okay but that high rear bumper doesn't impress me. However the interior was substantially improved in both styling and quality.
I've read that Mustang sales have been down for years. I'm not surprised, they've gotten to be pretty expensive. I checked out some '20 models at the dealer and they were close to 40 grand for what I wanted. My '07 was only listed at 23 grand and was marked down three or four grand for an end of the year clearance. It is a Pony model with leather seats, Kicker stereo with multi disc CD and ABS.
I started out talking about the Jaguar and now I'm going on and on about Mustangs. They are two different things. One is elite and one is plebeian. One is unnecessarily complicated and finicky. The other is straightforward and reliable. At this point in time I'm beginning to prefer the simpler option.
It's almost enough to get me moving. But if I do get to work, I won't be working on the XJS. The Explorer comes first.
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