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Jaguar was originally founded in 1922 as the Swallow Sidecar Company, by William
Lyons and William Walmsey, who were motorcycle enthusiasts. The name first
appeared on a 2.5 liter saloon in 1935, but after World War II the entire
company took over the name because the initials SS reminded people of Nazi
Germany.
In the 1950's Jaguar became well known for a series of stylish sports cars and
elegant luxury saloons. The company bought the Daimler car company ((no relation
to Daimler-Benz) from the Birmingham Small Arms Company in 1960, and used
Daimler as the brand for their most luxurious saloons from the late 60s on.
A merger with the British Motor Corporation, owner of the Austin-Morris, in 1966
resulted in British Motor Holdings, which merged with Leyland and Rover and
became British Leyland Motor Corporation in 1968, but financial difficulties led
to effective nationalization of the company in 1975, and then it became British
Leyland, Ltd.
Jaguar was separated again in 1984, taking the Vanden Plas name with it, and was
subsequently taken over by Ford around 1989. In 1999 it joined Aston Marton,
Volvo and Land Rover (added in 2001) as part of Ford's Premier Automotive Group,
though it has never earned a profit for the Dearborn-based Ford.
While Jaguar did have a reputation for being unreliable during the 1970s and
80s, it has improved markedly under Ford's umbrella, surpassing Audi and
Mercedes-Benz by coming in at number 7 out of 30 in a J.D. Power survey. The
s-type model came in at number nine out of 105 in the same survey, the
242-million mile road test.
Today, Jaguar continues to live up to the original vision held |
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