Ok, while I'm not a Jaguar owner, and I know this is really coming down to
personal opinion, let's see if I can stretch this topic a little further....
I will concede that the XJ-SC is perhaps the rarest of the series, but for
Americans, the car was sent to us to keep people interested until the full
convertible arrived. The press at the time was pretty lukewarm about the
XJ-SC, and begged for a drop top, not a car whose roof panel and rear window
pops out. Or maybe it's just me; although the rarest, I personally find it
the most unappealing of all XJ-S's.
I also agree that saying the '76-'96 XJ-S' will be future classics is too
much of a generalization. I think the best XJ-S' date from 1983's XJ-S HE up
to the 1989 version. The HE was the car's first major upgrade. I believe
after 1989 when Ford owned Jaguar, they slapped on bulky body-colored bumpers
and huge, plain looking slab-sided alloy wheels. It just looked awful, and
destroyed the grace of the original car's lines.
Yes, prices are cheap for these cars, but there are reasons. One of which is
the cost of ownership, a similar problem that keeps Porsche 928 prices way
down. Sure, I could trade my car in and get a pristine XJ-S, but I could
never afford to maintain it. Second, there are those out there who dismiss
the car as no worthy successor to the E-Type. I choose to look the other way.
The E-Type was a once in a lifetime car that really cannot compare to
anything else.
And may the lesson of the E-Type, in turn, teach us something of what could
become of the XJ-S. An enthusiast told me back in the 70's, a used E-Type
could be had for much less than a Porsche 911. People bought the E-Type and
just drove them into the ground. Hence, when they started disappearing, a
huge restoration market emerged, which leads to where we are today. This will
never happen on such a scale with the XJ-S, but it's worth a thought. I heard
the same thing happened with the Ferrari 246 Dino's.
Tom
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