Old Peter

The XK is a great car, but I preferred a saloon car, as we only have one car since we sold my wife's bright red Rag Top XR31 ten years ago. We take the grandchildren out and need a 4/5 seater. The S Type is a great looking car, very comfortable and roomy, can go like a sports car, as well as being like a very sedate saloon. Peter.

Cardiff Arms Park, Charlie. Now known as the Millennium Stadium. The home of Ruby Union in Wales.

Hi Charlie and Trevor, I have been to England , Ireland, Wales and Scotland to watch Rugby, and have had some great times. The most memorable time was when I was at the Arms Park sitting in the seat reserved for the Lord Lieutenant of Mid Glamorgan -- he couldn't go and gave me his ticket. Old Steelworkers network! Peter.

Hi Lyn, I don't go to Newport any more since I retired, but I used to go to Llanwern and Orb Steelworks at lot. And indeed I was often seen at Cardiff Arms Park [bought a pint for Barry John once] for internationals. Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the Club, Sam. If you had been in Earls Barton this afternoon you would have seen me. Looking forward to the Pics. Regards, Peter.

I don't have Jaguar voice in my S Type, although it appears it is set up for it. But I have heard that those who have it get a bit annoyed when it doesn't recognise various words, and accents can be a problem. Peter.

Hi Keith, With your speed at about 68mph on a flat road, your rpm should be 1950 with the 2.7 litre diesel engine. I then switch on CC. A bit different with the petrol engine. I use 1950 revs as the second turbo charger comes in at 2000rpm. I assume you have the 3 litre petrol engine which is very different. Regards, Peter

Appeals don't work. "You did it" is what they say, and you can refer it to the magistrates court, where they will say " Not seeing the sign is not our fault". Fine £100 plus costs £32.50. Pay your £80, sit in a police station for 4 hours, say nowt, no 3 points. Peter.

This one was road works on a dual carriageway with a normal 70 mph limit. I did not see any speed limit signs but slowed down to 50 mph, which is the usual temporary speed limit. This time it was 40 mph and even the wife did not spot any signs either. But a speed camera at a very high level took a photo and I now have to go on a speed awareness course. Peter.

Keeping an eye on speed!! Watch out for variable speed limits and temporary ones too. One did me last month. Peter.

Hi Dave, I live at the edge big conurbation, and the roads are frequently not suitable for cruise control, and when on the motorways there are spots where you know that you have to drive the car. I have 130 miles to drive tomorrow on the M6 and the M1 and I can't see myself thinking of switching on CC. Peter.

Very useful to know, Dave. When I use CC I usually set it at 1950 rpm which gives me 68 mph and the best fuel economy. Peter.

Hi Adrian, An interesting issue, and I think you have got to the nub of the problem. I have never removed seats for about 50 years -- the last car I did that on was a 1962 Triumph Herald -- but I do believe that it is not too difficult. To prevent it happening again, deeper pockets would be the solution :) Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the Club, Muhammad. I am afraid that I have not experienced that Dashboard message, but on the other hand I have not experienced travelling at 100mph either, with national speed limit of 70 mph in the UK. I guess your S Type has a 4.2 litre supercharged engine which could all be going into top gear when driven at 100mph and it could be a slight jerk from the gearbox. I am slightly tempted to take my S type out onto the local dual carriageway and give it a bit of a power and see if it happens to me, but the speed cameras and the local police take a dim view of exceeding the speed limits. Regards, Peter.

Looks good, Chris.

I will also look into that, Mark. The problem has never occurred since. I think the previous owner just used to leave it in Park Mode.

I haven't encountered that before, Keith, but I would check out your braking system starting with the DSC switch.

Hi Trevor, The XF was the first generation of the new models -- but designed under Ford Ownership. But I do appreciate you were not disagreeing with Ken. TATA came in really reaping the fruits of what Jaguar/Ford had sown with the X type - Jaguar's first big production run, and the S Type which was designed basically in Detroit. Regards Peter.

Hi Bill, I left Widnes for North Wales -- worked there -- in 1967, then to Derbyshire in 1971 -- changed jobs, and then to Sutton Coldfield -- promotion -- 1982. Still here. I did have a season ticket at Widnes Vikings till this season. I read a lot about hub your problem on a few sites and a lump hammer was mentioned more than once. Regards, Peter.

I think Ken has got a very good point, Trevor. Jaguar had been quite moribund in many ways for a few years without producing a car that could be within the reach of the general public. Ford, with its fairly vast volume car experience and technology, decided to discontinue the Ghia version of the Mondeo and use the Jaguar Badge on that Model for a very short time until they saw the light and let the Jaguar engineers design a car that was a real Jaguar. OK, they used the Mondeo platform and some of the Ford technology, but sharing parts has been done for years and still is and will ever be so. Ford had a very good manufacturing base with Halewood and it was ideal to produce a volume car. Had the X Type not been a success, then TATA would not have been interested in purchasing Jaguar when they did. The other thing that Ford did while owning Jaguar was encouraging the Jaguar design team to start to design the new generation of Jaguars when they decided to discontinue the S Type [also a contributor to making Jaguar a success] and start production pf the XF. And long may this success continue. Peter.

Welcome to the Club, Terje. I think you are our first member from Norway, and I can see that you love your Jaguars. Let us see some pictures when the bumper job is done. Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the Club, Kenny. The X Type is a beautiful car but sometimes much maligned by the ignorant, and the 2.5 litre engine is also a very good and reliable unit. I had the X type SE AWD with the 2.5 V6 which was my first Jaguar till I was carjacked. There are plenty of members who are very knowledgeable and who will also like to share some of your experience too. Regards, Peter.

Glad it is sorted, Bob. Driving a Jaguar should always be comfortable -- there are some advantages of being 5' 6". Regards, Peter.

I have a good bottle of the Irish Whiskey still unopened from my 80th birthday 2 months ago. Here we have cocktails before dressing for dinner at weekends. As for food, we have our fish sent in from Grimsby, and our vegetables from the allotment. And as it is past the glorious 12th there is plenty of grouse. Peter.

Hi Alex, That is a nice car --- the same colour as mine. I have dragged it into iPhoto, and will print it off and put it in my photo gallery, which is in the corridor between one half of the upstairs in my house. Your X Type could have sat in a dealers showroom/garage for a few months before being sold. A friend of mine always used to buy his cars prior to a facelift or new model in order to get a better price. That is why you could well have a chat with him. Regards, Peter.