Jaguar Wants a Smaller Model to Compete with the BMW 3-Series & Co.

With a lineup that comprises only three models – the XK coupe and cabriolet, XF sedan and XJ flagship limousine –, Jaguar needs a smaller, more affordable car in order boost sales and successfully compete with the likes of the BMW 3-series and the rest of Germany's premium offerings such as the Mercedes C-Class and Audi A4. According to the brand’s new global director, Adrian Hallmark, the automaker is currently considering a small sports car positioned below the XF that could spawn numerous variants including a four-door sedan.

“We need different models. We need lower priced models”, said Hallmark. “Whether we do one, two or three body styles, we can still decide. But we have to be in the lower price.”

The process is still in its initial phase and it’ll take at least four years until Jaguar will bring something to the table, but Hallmark promises that the new model won’t be anything like the ill-fated, Ford Mondeo-based X-Type that was first offered a decade ago.

“We don't want to be fighting it out in the fleet business with little engines and small wheels and discounted 25 percent”, he said. “If we go into the smaller car market, we want to build elegant cars with great technology that give a sense of occasion and position us above that competition -- where Jaguar should be.”

By Csaba Daradics

Source: Autoweek

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Jaguar Wants a Smaller Model to Compete with the BMW 3-Series & Co.

With a lineup that comprises only three models – the XK coupe and cabriolet, XF sedan and XJ flagship limousine –, Jaguar needs a smaller, more affordable car in order boost sales and successfully compete with the likes of the BMW 3-series and the rest of Germany's premium offerings such as the Mercedes C-Class and Audi A4. According to the brand’s new global director, Adrian Hallmark, the automaker is currently considering a small sports car positioned below the XF that could spawn numerous variants including a four-door sedan.

“We need different models. We need lower priced models”, said Hallmark. “Whether we do one, two or three body styles, we can still decide. But we have to be in the lower price.”

The process is still in its initial phase and it’ll take at least four years until Jaguar will bring something to the table, but Hallmark promises that the new model won’t be anything like the ill-fated, Ford Mondeo-based X-Type that was first offered a decade ago.

“We don't want to be fighting it out in the fleet business with little engines and small wheels and discounted 25 percent”, he said. “If we go into the smaller car market, we want to build elegant cars with great technology that give a sense of occasion and position us above that competition -- where Jaguar should be.”

By Csaba Daradics

Source: Autoweek

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New Honda App Allows iPhone Users to Catch Characters from TV Spot as they Appear on the Commercial

In a ground-breaking campaign, Honda has merged the worlds of iPhone Apps and traditional commercials, be they on your TV, computer screen or mobile phone. Created to celebrate the launch of the revised Honda Jazz [Fit in the U.S.], the new interactive app allows iPhone users to virtually catch animated characters as they appear on screen in the firm's new TV advert 'This Unpredictable Life' and drop them into their phones, more or less in the same way you'd use a PS3 Move or Nintendo wii motion-controller.

The Japanese carmaker said it’s the first time the so-called screen-hopping technology has been used with a commercial.

The App is called "Honda Jazz – This Unpredictable Life" and can be downloaded for free from Apple's iTunes Store. Once installed, iPhone users can begin watching the spot from their TV, or on any other device, including a PC or even a second iPhone with the app installed, and collect up to four characters and three mystery objects. Honda said that users can then interact with each of the stars of the film, for example, the toy space monkey can be made to dance by singing into the phone.

The new advertising campaign was created by Wieden + Kennedy and Nexus, the team behind the Japanese automaker's 'Hate Something, Change Something' commercial for its cleaner diesel engines in 2004.

The TV spot will debut in the UK on 1 February at around 21.45 on ITV1 and Channel 4 but for those in a rush, it is already available on YouTube. Scroll down to watch the film, and if you happen to own an iPhone and try it out, share your experience in the comments section below.

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