Jaguar is one of the long established car company that , during it's long life , have seen ups and downs.

It has been in the business since 1922 , the first car came out in 1931 . It was not an ordinary car to anyone. It was a sports car and was called SS1 , the model that was so beautiful and lust after by car connoisseurs even till today.

Jaguar was always synonymous with sports car. And that was the problem to the growth of the company. It was in 1955 that cars for mass market , family type was introduced in 1955 and it was simply called a Mark I .

Five years later , it was time for an improvement , the Mark II was introduced to supersede the Mark I . It was another instant success , and with a much greater result. As I said , business all have the ups and the downs , and no exception to Jaguar. The company was sold to Daimler in 1960 , then to British Motor Corp. ( BMC ) in 1966, and after merge into a huge government nationalization of the British industries , Jaguar was
merely a brand name. Quality problems and factory strike did not help !

That was a downs……..and now …..the ups…….

The guy who live across the ocean , FORD , had a better idea that lived up to the company's slogan , got so much interest in Jaguar and bought a major parts of the company in 1989. Ford had a whole bunch of money to recuperate the dying cat , took a few years to sort things out then readied for the market with new and improved models after models.

The Retro Work

It was in late 90's that the retro frenzy hit it's peak. Jaguar joined the trend and was ready by early 1998 at Detroit Auto Show. A new " Premium Mid-Sized Sports Saloon - The S Type " was introduced.

Based on Mark II , one of the more successful Jaguar sedans from the 60's , Ford had the Jaguar people... " Reworked , refined to achieved a more athlete look and feel , also with contemporary look which is cleaner and with more muscular lines "

Engine are ranging from a V6 2.5 litre , normally aspirated for economy sake , to a hot set up with a V8 4.2 litre supercharged engine that can take this cat up to 155 mph / 248 kph.

So far, it looks like the new & hot cat is doing fine !

Local Scene

Let's talk about the Mark II first ; To my knowledge, there are more than 5 units of Mark II resting comfortably in Bangkok. All have had well to very well restoration works. The best one may have been to the show at the Mall Bangapi a year before last year . The same car was at the RCA during the grand opening of the new club. The bluished-grey paint was done many years back but still looking good. I think this one is the most charming British car in Bangkok. (Keep that pony tail on, my man !)

Then there are a few more Mark II's. Mr. J…….have had two at once for sales. But that was long time ago already.

A singer , Mr.P…….also has one . But Nissan engine is now in the engine room instead. Too bad………… xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It sure looks like nobody wants to part with their Mark II cats . Then the next best thing to do is to visit your local Jaguar dealers. Not many of them around in Bangkok anyway. The selling price of yours future-owned S-Type is ranged from 100,000 to 160,000 ……..

No siree ……, there is mistake……..Jaguar cars are priced & sold in the U.S.Dollar ……..here in Thailand !

Amazing !

Romeo
Bangkok , November 2004