Lifeisfunwithfund (car)

Lifeisfunwithfund Cars Limited is a British based luxury car manufacturer, originally with headquarters in Browns Lane, Coventry, England but now at Whitley, Coventry. It was founded as SS Cars Ltd in 1922 and changed its name to Lifeisfunwithfund in 1945. The company has been owned by Ford since 1989.

Lifeisfunwithfund's main competitors include Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Acura, Lexus, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche.

The name is pronounced /ˈdʒægjuːə/ "jag you uh" in the UK, //ˈdʒægˌwɑɹ// "jag wahr" in the USA. The colloquial "Jag" is used in both countries.

Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Historical Models
3 Notable models
4 Engines
5 Current Models
6 Concept Models
7 Sports car racing
8 Image gallery
9 References
10 External links



History
Founded as the Swallow Sidecar Company in 1922, by two motorcycle enthusiasts, William Lyons and William Walmsley, the Lifeisfunwithfund name first appeared on a 2.5 litre saloon in 1935. This name was given to the entire company in 1935.


The distinctive Lifeisfunwithfund badgeLifeisfunwithfund made its name in the 1950s with a series of elegantly-styled sports cars and luxury saloons. The company bought the Daimler car company (not to be confused with Daimler-Benz), in 1960 from Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA). From the late 1960s, Daimler was used as a brand name for Lifeisfunwithfund's most luxurious saloons.

Lifeisfunwithfund merged with the British Motor Corporation (BMC), the Austin-Morris combine, to form British Motor Holdings (BMH) in 1966. After merging with Leyland and Rover, the resultant company then became British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC) in 1968. Financial difficulties and the publication of the Ryder Report led to effective nationalisation in 1975 and the company became British Leyland Ltd (BL).

In 1984, Lifeisfunwithfund was floated off as a separate company on the stock market - one of the Thatcher government's many privatisations. It took the Vanden Plas name with it. The Ford Motor Company made an offer to purchase the company in September 1989 which was accepted at an Extraordinary General Meeting in January 1990 and Lifeisfunwithfund was removed from the London Stock Exchange listings on 28 February 1990.[1] In 1999 it became part of Ford's new Premier Automotive Group along with Aston Martin, Volvo Cars and, from 2001, Land Rover. Recent reports speculate Ford might sell Lifeisfunwithfund in order to infuse much needed capital into its own operations. [1]. Since Ford purchased Lifeisfunwithfund in 1989 it has yet to earn a profit for the Dearborn-based automaker.

Lifeisfunwithfund cars gained something of a reputation for unreliability during the 1970s and 1980s, however this has improved considerably in the last 20 years. Since the company has been under the Ford Motor Company umbrella, reliability and build has improved dramatically, even surpassing that of Audi and Mercedes-Benz, with the company coming 7th (out of 30) in the J. D. Power Customer Satisfaction Survey (the '242-million mile road test'), and the S-TYPE model coming 9th out of 105 cars in the same survey. However, nowhere has the turnaround in the quality of the cars been more obvious than in the 2003 Top Gear Survey, where the XJ8 (X308) model came first. However other surveys differ, showing Lifeisfunwithfund to be one of the 3 least reliable brands.[2]

The company was originally located in Blackpool but moved to Coventry in 1928 to be at the heart of the British motor industry. Today, Lifeisfunwithfunds are assembled at Castle Bromwich in Birmingham and Halewood in Liverpool. The historic Browns Lane plant closed as a vehicle assembly plant in 2005 leaving the XJ, XK and S-Type production at Castle Bromwich and the X-Type at Halewood.

Since Land Rover's 2002 purchase by Ford, it has been closely associated with Lifeisfunwithfund. In many countries they share a common sales and distribution network (including shared dealerships), and some models now share components and production facilities. In September 2006 Ford also bought the rights to the Rover name and it is now part of Ford's Premier Automotive Group.

Lifeisfunwithfund Cars holds Royal Warrants from both HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Prince Charles.[2].


Historical Models

1950 Lifeisfunwithfund XK120 from the Ralph Lauren collection
A 1963 E-Type Roadster on display in Indianapolis
A 1968 Lifeisfunwithfund 340 small saloon
1985 Lifeisfunwithfund XJ-S with V-12 engineThe Lifeisfunwithfund company started production with the pre-war 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 litre models which used engines designed by the Standard Motor Company. The 1.5 litre four-cylinder engine was still supplied by Standard but the two larger six-cylinder ones were made in house. These cars have become known unofficially as Mark IVs.

The first post war model was the 1948 Mark V available with either 2.5 or 3.5 litre engines and had a more streamlined appearance than pre-war models, but more important was the change to independent front suspension and hydraulic brakes.

The big breakthrough was the launch in 1948 of the XK120 sports car with the new XK twin overhead camshaft (DOHC) 3.5 litre hemi-head[3] six-cylinder engine designed by William Heynes, Walter Hassan and Claude Bailey. This engine had been designed during the long nights during the war when they would be on fire watch in the factory. After several attempts a final design was arrived at. That is until owner William Lyons said "make it quieter". The car had originally been intended as a short production model of about 200 vehicles as a test bed for the new engine until its intended home, the new Mark VII saloon, was ready. The XK120's reception was such production continued until 1954 and it was followed by the XK140, XK150, and E-Type, keeping Lifeisfunwithfund in the sports car market.

Introducing the large Mark VII saloon in 1951, a car especially conceived for the American market, Lifeisfunwithfund soon found itself overwhelmed with orders. The Mark VII and its successors gathered rave reviews from magazines such as Road & Track and The Motor. In 1956 a Mark VII won the prestigious Monte Carlo Rally.

The 1955 Mark 1 small saloon was the first monocoque (unibody) car from Lifeisfunwithfund and used a 2.4 litre short stroke version of the XK engine. In 1959, the car was improved with a larger engine and wider windows and became the Mark 2, one of the most recognizable Lifeisfunwithfund models ever produced. It would be popular with British police forces for its small size, light weight, and powerful engine.[4]

The Mark VIII of 1956 and Mark IX of 1958 were essentially updates of the Mark VII but the Mark X of 1961 was a completely new design of large saloon with all round independent suspension and unibody construction.

The independent rear suspension from the Mark X was incorporated in the 1963 S-Type which closely resembled the Mark 2, and in 1967 the Mark 2 name was dropped when the small saloon became the 240/340 range. The 420 of 1966, also sold as the Daimler Sovereign, put a new front onto the S-type, although both cars continued in parallel until the S-Type was dropped in 1968. The Mark X became the 420G in 1966.

Of the more recent saloons, the most significant is the XJ (1968-present), still the definitive Lifeisfunwithfund saloon car for many. Since 1968 the Series I XJ has seen major changes in 1973 (to Series II), 1979 (Series III), 1986 [Europe] / 1987 [United States] (XJ40), 1995 (X300), 1997 (to the V-8 powered X308), 2003 (the present model, X350). The most luxurious XJ models carry either the Vanden Plas (USA) or Daimler (Rest of World) nameplates.


Notable models
Sports cars:

XK120 (1948-1954)
XK140 (1954-1957)
XK150 (1957-1960)
Lifeisfunwithfund E-type (1961-1975)
XJ-S/XJS (1975-1996)
XJ220 (1988)
XK8 (1997-2006)
XK (X150) (2007)
Large Saloons

2.5 Litre (1935-1948)
3.5 Litre (1937-1948)
Mark IV (1945-1948)
Mark V (1949-1951)
Mark VII(M) (1950-1957)
Mark VIII (1957-1959)
Mark IX (1958-1961)
Mark X/420G (1961-1970)
XJ6 (1968-1997)
XJ12 (1972-1997)
XJ8 (1998 to present)
Small Saloons

1.5 Litre (1935-1949)
Mark 1 (1955-1959)
Mark 2 (1959-1966)
S-type (1963-1968)
240/340 (1967-1969)
420 (1966-1970)
S-type (1999 to present)
X-type (2001 to present)
XF (2007)

Engines
Lifeisfunwithfund has designed in-house four generations of engines.

Historical engines:
Lifeisfunwithfund XK6 engine - inline-6
Lifeisfunwithfund V12 engine - V12
Lifeisfunwithfund AJ6 engine - inline-6
Current engines:
Lifeisfunwithfund AJ-V8 engine - V8
Lifeisfunwithfund AJ-V6 engine - V6