January 2025 | Issue 774 | Page(s) 3 | Gaynor Cauter
Welcome to 2025 and another issue of Jaguar Driver – your Club magazine. January is always a bit of a challenge because the mag is produced in the run-up to Christmas and being a ‘housewife’ (of sorts), as well as the editor, I have to stop thinking about Jaguars, wheel bearings and rust, and start thinking stuff-thatturkey, buy-those-presents and writethose- cards – not to mention makethose- beds and buy-those-crackers – and all this while producing another magazine you will all enjoy reading. At least I hope you will!
This month we were set something of a challenge because December was all about Jaguar, pink cars and protest, and now that our members have had their first taste of Jaguar’s new ID for the electric age, followed by the concept itself, in all its Miami Pink glory, many of them are sharing their feelings on the Letters page.
However, now that the initial furore has died down and the other magazines have had their say, I thought it would be good to let a man whose ‘day job’ is business and management analyse where JLR is headed. I hope you will read Craig Mitchell’s considered appraisal of the Jaguar launch in an extended Factory Floor – he has some interesting insights, made even better by James Morgan’s stunning layout.
Paul Walton is back this month, at the wheel of a rare and pretty feisty XJR575 (lucky chap), while Paul Guinness weighs up the pros and cons of buying a classic S-Type. Often overshadowed by the Mk 2, the S-Type was a very good car that failed to attract the recognition it deserved (other than from the getaway drivers of the 1960s, of course). You won’t find a good one for a song these days, but the S-Type is still a very affordable classic saloon, with all the speed, handling and comfort you would expect of a Jaguar.
You will also find the new Calendar at the back of the magazine, packed with dates and events for the coming year, including new venues for the summer Breakfast Club meetings, plus two notable dates in May and September to celebrate this year’s big anniversary – 50 years of the XJS. If you are lucky enough to own one of these beautiful sports cars, you might like to join us at Whittlebury Park, near Silverstone, on Sunday 3 August, when we hope to assemble a huge display of XJS models at this year’s JDC National Day. Booking details will be appearing in the magazine soon.
Finally, I wish you well for the year ahead and look forward to seeing you at the NEC on 21-23 March for the Restoration Show (for your member’s discount code, see the full-page ad in this issue) and on Sunday 13 April at Stoneleigh for Jaguar Spares Day.
Gaynor
