If Sir William Lyons can take credit for anything, he can take credit for demonstrating that it was possible to match the bespoke coach built individually made car to one on a production line, at half the price. He did it so well that within a decade, only Rolls Royce and Bentley were still making luxury cars in the old craft tradition. In 1945, the name SS, which by then had the implication of the notorious Nazi Police, was officially dropped from Jaguar's title.
Once Jaguar offered something much better at a lower price, their rivals not only lost their market, they lost their point. Until the recovery of the German industry in the 1970s, and the Japanese assault on the luxury market in the 1980s, the Jaguar had no equivalent. It was a phenomenon, whose influence may have been difficult to comprehend in the 1990s, following the remarkable improvement in the style, status, and quality of middle class volume produced cars such as the Ford Mondeo. Jaguar reigned supreme, and it carved its own niche in what had been the upper premium segment and the opposition was annihilated.
Once Jaguar offered something much better at a lower price, their rivals not only lost their market, they lost their point. Until the recovery of the German industry in the 1970s, and the Japanese assault on the luxury market in the 1980s, the Jaguar had no equivalent. It was a phenomenon, whose influence may have been difficult to comprehend in the 1990s, following the remarkable improvement in the style, status, and quality of middle class volume produced cars such as the Ford Mondeo. Jaguar reigned supreme, and it carved its own niche in what had been the upper premium segment and the opposition was annihilated.
