A business case is not the same as wisdom. Certainly, Jaguar needed an
entry-luxury model to compete against the BMW 3-series and Mercedes-Benz
C-class. Yes, the company, owned by Ford, had access to a very
successful world car platform, the Mondeo, which Americans knew as the
Ford Contour. There was money to be saved. But in its attempt to turn
the front-drive compact car into an "all-wheel drive" sports sedan,
Jaguar ran smack into the limits of platform engineering. The result was
the English version of the Cadillac Cimarron, a tarted-up insult to a
once-proud marque and a financial disaster for the company. It hardly
matters that the X-Type was not that bad a car. Young affluent buyers
had the feeling they were somehow being grifted. They were.
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