Re: Yet another XK8 sighting report

[stephen kurtzman <stephen@kurtzman.com>]

Sorry I couldn't reply to this letter sooner. I was out on a 1200 mile trip
in my new XK8. It performed like a champ -- quick accelleration, sure
handling, smoothe ride, perfect acoustics in the sound system. It may not
be Kirbert's new legend, but it is a great Jaguar nonetheless.

>After hearing all the other people's comments on how this car looks better in
>real life than in pictures, I was ready for that -- I have had that
>experience before.  However, my impression of this car was WORSE than the
>pictures.  I won't be saving my pennies for one of these cars, and I can't
>imagine that teenagers will be planning to go to med school just to be able
>to afford one the way they did for the E-type.

Tastes differ.

>I had been anticipating a chance to find out if those buck teeth in the cowl
>were removable.  It appears that removing them would be unwise, since they
>are there to decorate a large tubular structural member that goes across the
>opening.  This structural member needs painting flat black BAD -- the chrome
>rib doesn't totally cover it, and the clearly visible unfinished metal tubing
>looks like something Ford would do.

There is no unfinished metal tubing visible on mine. Further, those buck
teeth are a neutral grey color on mine, so they don't stand out as some
photographs make them appear.

>The dashboard is atrocious.  Lots of beautiful wood, but the distinct
>impression that the wood isn't the dash -- it's just a pretty covering over
>the real dash underneath.  Like, "it's really plastic, but 'quality' cars are
>supposed to have wood, so we slapped some wood on TOP of the plastic."  To
>add insult to injury, they stenciled the "XK8" insignia on the far right
>corner, so the passenger would know what car he's riding in.  Not a
>gold-plated trim piece or even gold lettering, but some tacky-looking tan
>paint.  Ford strikes again.  MUCH better if they had left it off -- wonder if
>it can be rubbed off?

The dashboard in my car is wood. Because I like my car, I have no need to
imagine that there is some evil plastic dash board lurking underneath.
Further more, the "XK8" and "Airbag" insignia are inlaid gold trim on my
dash. I don't know what you saw Kirbert. Perhaps the light caught the gold
from a bad angle as you peered in the window and just imagined the worst.

>17" wheels.  I suppose that's the trend these days, and considering the cost
>of large 15" tires, I would have at least gone to 16".  But 17"?  I dunno.
>Would expect the ride to suffer, but I can't vouch for that, didn't ride in
>it.  I don't think the wheels are very pretty either, but they are a lot
>better than some others these days.

I can't say whether the ride suffers because I can't do the side-by-side
comparison. I can say is that at 120 mph the car feels smoothe and
connected to the road and has plenty of power to spare. The suspension is
tighter than a regular saloon, but a little softer than in an XJR. It does
give a better ride than the XJR.

>One more note: As an XJ-S owner, I can now feel proud of my back seat!
>Although I normally would never ask anyone over 5 feet tall to sit in it, it
>is the back seat of a Rolls Royce compared to the back seat in the XK8
>convertible!  I really don't understand why the car companies do this kinda
>shit -- what good does it do to install a totally unusable back seat?  Why
>don't they just install a good storage compartment instead?  Or design a
>single seat facing sideways?  That feature also smacks of Ford.

The local dealer said they went to a seat instead of a package shelf back
in the XJS because owners demanded it.

>I'm glad it's selling well for them.  I hope they are investing the profits
>wisely; their long-term outlook doesn't look too good to me.

To each his own. The XK8 won't hurt Jaguar's long term. And the upcoming
supercharged version will do wonders. The one thing I miss from the XJR in
the XK8 is the kick and whine of the supercharger. I'll have to see what
Jaguar does with the X200 before reading the tea leaves.

SJK (the anti-Kirbert :-)
95 XJR
97 XK8

---

References:

• Yet another XK8 sighting report
• From: "Kirbert" <palmk@mailer.gadcomm.net>

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