Trying to Sharpen Jaguar's claws

摘要

SOMETHING MAKES SPORTS car enthusiasts care very deeply about Jaguar, the venerable British nameplate that has, alas, been owned by Ford Motor since 1990. For the brand that earned devotion with the sexy postwar XK-120 and iconic E-Type, the American ownership of Jag has been a good-news, bad-news affair. While Jag's quality, once a bigger joke than Richard Harris singing MacArthur Park, is now top-drawer, it's brand elan has never been worse. Sales of Jaguars have been plummeting recently and Jag hasn't helped its image by foisting a 30,000 dollars front-wheel-drive compact sedan, the X-Type, on the public. That brings us to the newest cat from Coventry with an assist from Dearborn, Mich. This sleek, curvaceous, burl-walnut bedecked, 80,000 dollars-plus new XK convertible is Ford's best attempt yet to restore to Jag the burn that has long been absent.