We Are Far Too Spoiled to Even Realize It

Considering that Jaguar has spent over 2.5 billion on the XE you might almost feel a little bad for the brand given the somewhat lukewarm meh reaction outside of the British media. Looking at the elements at play in the XE it's clear that the automotive industry has all of us just a little bit spoiled and it's becoming harder than ever to impress us. The forthcoming high performance variant of the XE will likely match the power output of the famed Jaguar XJ220 super car that was once the fastest car in the world. Much like the XJ220, the XE features plenty of aluminum and is poised to lead a growing group of aluminum intensive cars at increasingly more reasonable prices. While the design is not unexpected, the XE does take the best of the XF while skipping the strangeness of the XJ. Impressively it does so with an aerodynamic coefficient of just .26 without looking like a Prius or a jellybean. Not to mention it's light years ahead of the awkward turtle X-Type it replaces. The XE is an excellent start to take a look at the state of the auto industry in the Fall of 2014 and how we take it for granted at times.

Full size luxury sedans are breaking into the 3s to 60 all while delivering 30 mpg on the highway. As impressive as that go is, the stop might be even more so as there are 5,000+ pounds SUVs that will outbreak a Lamborghini Murcielago. And if you forget to brake on your own many new cars will do so for you. If all else fails though you are better off than ever, the IIHS had to invent a new test to keep itself relevant and not hand out a gold star to every model. The older models looked bad at first against a very solid barrier but it didn't take long for newer models designed with the test in mind to pass with flying colors. Sure it's an element of test beating but so is the entire US education system and there should be tangible real world benefits as well. While Dr. Evil might never get his wish of sharks with laser beams your car might soon if the government cooperates and lets through technology that allows you to see twice as far as before without blinding anyone on the other side of the road. If that isn't impressive enough there is also a brand out there on every other brand's radar offering a very stylish and very quick car with a very usable electric range. Sure, the auto industry feels slow compared to monthly app updates and yearly new phone releases but there is also no option for a restart at 85 in the fast lane.

Evolution of Door Handles

Everybody knows about the evolution of dance, but the less well-known evolution of the door handle is nearly as impressive. In the ever more competitive automotive industry design is playing a bigger and bigger role even in previously mundane segments. Likewise, it's not enough anymore to simply to have a great profile to have a striking design, individual design elements such as head lights, tail lights, grilles and even door handles play a role. Even as one of the most functional and simple parts on a car, it is surprising to see the evolution of door handle design over the past couple decades and the way the industry quickly switches from one design to another as it gains popularity. Once just an afterthought, handles have become quite stylish in the last couple of years.

Geneva Preview Show

With the Geneva Motor Show only a week away the floodgates have opened and many manufacturers have released images of the cars that they will debut in Geneva. Without a doubt the most highly anticipated Geneva debut is the upcoming Lamborghini LP-700 Aventador. Lamborghini has slowly but surely revealed its upcoming hypercar by showing the engine, suspension, and its carbon fiber monocoque. While Lamborghini has done an excellent job drumming up excitement over the Aventador without revealing too much, a certain European magazine has revealed a glimpse of the real deal. The Aventador will not be the only high powered Geneva debut as Jaguar has unveiled its most extreme version of its XK to date, the 550 horsepower XKR-S. The S adds an additional 40 horsepower and 41 lb-ft of torque to the XKR along with more aggressive styling. Fellow British based Aston Martin will also be revealing its newest model, the Virage, at Geneva as well. The 490 horsepower Virage slots between the DB9 and the DBS performance and style-wise while incorporating the latest chassis improvements to the Aston aluminum platform. There will also be a convertible version called the Virage Volante. Maserati has a high-performance convertible ready for Geneva as well, the GranTurismo Convertible Sport. It features 11 extra horsepower and 15 additional lb-ft of torque along with sportier transmission and suspension tunings and unique styling elements. On the other side of the performance envelop Volkswagen will be showing its Europe-only Golf convertible featuring a soft top roof that needs only 9 seconds to go down.

Click on the photo to launch the gallery and see photos of all upcoming Geneva debuts and stay tuned for more news throughout the week.

Best of the Paris Motorshow

The biannual Paris Motorshow is always filled with lots of interesting concept and important production debutes, and this year was no different with many exciting and wild concepts taking stage. To make sense of all of the excitement here are the best concept, best Lotus concept, most significant production debut, most outrageous concept and least likely to make it to production technology.

Best Concept

Certainly the toughest category with lots of amazing concepts to pick from including the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento, Audi Quattro Concept, and Jaguar C-X75. However the honor of best concept goes to the Renault Dezir Concept and its Hot Wheels inspired design.



Best Lotus Concept

Lotus deserves and gets its own category for its prodigious output of five concept cars. While all of the sports car concepts featured a very similar design the Elan concept had the crispest and most appealing design with the Espirit concept coming in a close second.



Most Significant Production Debut

This year continued the trend of manufacturers releasing production car debut photos and specifications in advance of the show and thus taking some of the excitement out of the production category. One of the most anticipated production debuts before the show was the Land Rover Evoque. After the dust settled and all of the production cars made their debuts the Evoque was still tops in the category. Featuring fresh modern styling the Evoque brings a new direction for the brand necessary to survive in the future.



Most Outrageous Concept

The Paris motorshow is always good for a few wacky concepts and this year was no different with a handful of four wheeled creations masquerading as cars. However, the Citroen Lacoste Concept takes the win with this collaboration with the famed French clothes brand. Citroen even says they have hopes of making this concept go to production, but it's unknown if they are actually serious.



Least Likely To Make It To Production Technology

A decade or even as recent as a few years ago electric cars were often labeled as pure auto show fantasy land, but with the prospect of actual mainstream battery powered vehicles going on sale this is no longer the case. Thus to make a big splash automakers need to create concepts that use even more innovative and further out technology than battery power. The best example this year was the Jaguar C-X75 concept that featured electric motors at every corner and a pair of micro-turbines for range extension. Jaguar promises exceptional performance and fuel economy that sounds too good to be true, as we can only hope that someday we will finally get our long promised jet powered cars.

Car and Driver Comparison Test: Audi A6 3.0T quattro, BMW 535i, Infiniti M45, Jaguar XF, Mercedes E 350

Car and Driver recently compared this group of five mid size luxury sedans priced in the high 50 to low 60,000 dollar range. After doing several days of evaluating the cars they concluded that no one would be making a mistake buying any one of these cars. However, here are the results.

Mercedes-Benz E 350: 5th place.

The engine was the weakest of the bunch and a little coarse. Works better on the highway than the hills.

Jaguar XF: 4 th place.

The 300 horsepower V8 is no stronger than the competing V6s. Jaguar's fancy gear selector was problematic, and like the Mercedes it wasn't at home on the twisty roads. Not very spacious for the rear occupants.

Infinit M45: 3rd place.

Strong acceleration from the 325 horsepower V8. The sport package that comes with rear steering steering which didn't work too well. Car and Driver did find the Infiniti roomy and liked the transmission and the short breaking distances of the M45.

BMW 535i: 2nd place.

The only car with a manual in the test and the lightest of the group, the BMW was the quickest of the group. The BMW was also the most expensive of the group, almost reaching 64,000 dollars.

Audi A6 3.0T quattro: 1st place.

Car and Driver was impressed by the dynamics of the supercharged V6, best in test steering and good break feel. They also found the ride compliant and the automatic gearbox did what it was supposed to. On the negative side there was tire noise and a few weird controls.