COVENTRY, Eng: As visual aids go, Jaguar's two-person graphic of where it's going in the future may be one of the best ever seen.
On the left is a 60something guy wearing a dark suit, some over-sized rings and a look that says "I don't know what it is you want, but you can't have it."
On the right is a 20something woman wearing a low-cut spaghetti-strapped little clingie-thingee, a lot of lipstick and a look that says "I know what it is you want, and you can maybe have it if I'm in the mood."
The only thing they seem to have in common are the cigars they're holding, and those stogies presumably represent the tradition of the famous English marque. Welcome to the new Jaguar.
These two pictures are meant to show that Jag is "A brand in transition," going from traditional to contemporary, sedate to dynamic, predictable to innovative, and exclusive to relevant. The company wants buyers born in at least the second-half of the century, a lot of whom have the chromosome that allows you to sing the soprano bits without risking permanent injury.
S-Type started this shift two years ago when it brought the company's entry-level price to its lowest point ever, but most of the buyers of that car were traditional Jag owners who were looking for something for "The Wife." So it's the car Jag showed off to some North American auto writers at its design and engineering centre here that will really move the needle.