The car (top) is the ‘futuristic’ Jaguar Type 00, and the one below it is the currently in production 2024 Cadillac Celestiq. Notice any similarities?
Last month, Jaguar’s marketing department released the stupidity shown below. An ad campaign ripping-off the iconic United Colors of Benneton ads of the 1980s. Jaguar didn’t even include a car! The ads were so bad many thought they were fake. And if the worst car commercial of all time was not a joke, the new car had better be revolutionary.
Yesterday in Miami, Jaguar displayed the Type 00 concept car. The rebranding of Jaguar signals it’s re-invention as a manufacturer of luxurious electric vehicles, and the zeros in the name indicate that this one is the genesis, the original.
Their new tag line; copy nothing.
How bitterly ironic that is! Because the vehicle is just Jaguar’s copy of the 2024 Cadillac Celestiq luxury electric vehicle which has been on the market for a year now.
Look at the two cars and the similarities are abundant. A long nose implying a huge, powerful engine, Passenger compartment pushed back, over the rear wheels. Tiny front overhang, huge rear overhang. C-pillar directly over the rear wheels. Gently curved shape to the rear hatchback area. Exclusive luxury vehicle with an electric powertrain.
Copy nothing Jaguar?
This was just marketing hype. Some outrageous way to draw attention to a tired old British ‘heritage’ brand. In that sense, the marketing campaign was successful.
But the actual Jaguar Type 00 is just a concept car. It has no door handles. No side view mirrors. No rear windshield either (just a rear-view camera, which is not legal). This car is meant to express a new ‘design language‘ and roughly outline the overall shape and proportion of what future Jaguar models might look like. It’s nothing more than a design study.
And it seems the Jaguar studied GM’s luxury division Cadillac very closely.
It should be Jaguar CC. Before Jaguar put out the copy of the Teletubbies ad, I read an article questioning Jaguar’s viability. I think Jaguar may be on its way out.
I doubt Jaguar’s profitability or viability. It must be hard for a legacy brand (with iconic cars and a rich racing history) to see newbies like Tesla sell so many cars AND get so much attention.
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Jag’s rebranding seems very desperate. Almost too little too late. Big car companies started talking about ‘electrifying’ their cars almost a decade ago. Now many car companies are realizing electrification may not be the solution and are scaling back electric vehicle plans.
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The Tele-tubies / Benneton ad was just misguided. I cannot believe anyone thought it was a bright idea.
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But I had high hopes for this NEW car. I thought Jag would create something special. But yet another over-priced, over-powered car is nothing new. And to completely rip-off Cadillac was just pathetic.
Did you watch Mazda’s unveiling of the Skyactiv-R RX-9 a few years ago? The RX-9 is one-concept prototype: https://www.automachi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Mazda-RX-9-10-of-13.jpg
I remember seeing the concept car, but being confused whether it was a hardtop Miata or a new RX.
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I just watched an unveiling video and I noticed a particular phrase the announcer used: “…innovation and tradition…”
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And that’s what Jag missed.
Exaclty.
Modeling asks people to do some cray things.
Yeah. Cameraman stands there and says ‘Look indifferent and disdainful of the world around you.’
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The image of that Tilda Swinton looking lady holding the yellow sledgehammer is hilarious. Her spaghetti arms couldn’t swing that (and I like how pristine the hammer is).
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I am just so disappointed in everything Jaguar did here.
I believe the F-Type was Jaguar’s last breath of life. It would be much more dignifying if the owners had just pulled the plug and killed the brand before going through this shameful rebranding process.
This is shameful. And there’s nothing original about what they’re doing. Which is pathetic.
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Wow! Going electric like everyone else did years ago. Now the EU is even rolling back its EV targets because people aren’t buying electric cars despite massive government subsidies. Seems like the perfect time to jump on the bandwagon.
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At least if this new car was a stunner, revolutionary shape, something special… I could ignore the stupidity of the ad campaign which completely rips off the United Colors of Benneton from the 80s.
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I guess it’s hard to pull the plug. Even harder to come up with something “new”.
Wasn’t the F-Type the one with the plastic timing belt tensioners (that often broke and made the engine self destruct)?
I didn’t know about it, Chris, but that sounds like something Jaguar would do, for sure. Reliability was never on the list of Jaguar’s qualities.
Jaguars are about speed, style and power. Who needs reliability when you have enough cash to buy a Jag!
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Yesterday I was watching YT videos about this rebranding debacle, and someone brought up the self-destructing engines from the F-Type. I’m sure it was just a big PR headache, and not really a big mechanical problem. Once a dozen engines blew up, I’m sure they changed all the tensioners.
Jaguar’s new slogan ‘copy nothing’ must be a typo; they probably meant ‘copy everything’! 😂 I guess their designers were so inspired by the Celestiq that they accidentally hit ‘Ctrl+C’ instead of ‘Ctrl+V’. 😜 Can’t wait for their next model, the ‘Jaguar Model S-Type’ (complete with a fruit basket in the backseat). Maybe they’ll even throw in a free pair of Crocs with every purchase! 🤣
Look, I get it. Designers are influenced by other cars.
But Jaguar shouldnt make a big deal about its Copy Nothing slogan if theyre not being otiginal.
A pair of crocs… funny.