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I never thought I’d be saying this, but: Jaguar should be doing more to promote the final F-Type.

Not for an antiquated love of sports cars or the V8, mind, but to properly catalogue its history.

But first…

“Today Apollo Future Mobility Group signals its intent to define the performance EV mobility experience by revealing the advanced engineering prototype codenamed G2J. This will underpin a highly exciting and anticipated suite of new electric performance vehicles.

“The beautiful form of this test car is just a hint of the future design of a series of performance cars that will take the Apollo hypercar DNA and apply it to create the most exciting sporting focused EVs on the planet.” – Eric Ho, Group Chairman, Apollo Future Mobility Group

Specs? None. But damn—the G2J sure looks terrific, doesn’t it? Apollo released zero details on this prototype—a winning strategy, in my view. It’ll earn lots of press and leave people wanting more.

G2J, advanced rolling engineering prototype. • Apollo Future Mobility Group (YouTube)

see also :: Apollo Reveals Path to Electric Performance Future with Rolling Engineering Prototype • Apollo Future Mobility Group

One of the biggest misses when I worked at BRP was the awful understanding of content and media production, especially surrounding photography and photo shoots concerning year over year updates.

It’s not just them, obviously—many companies do it. One hundred percent of the marketing is focused on 10-20% of the lineup that’s new.

I’ll skip ahead to the problems with under-promoting your lineup: existing customers aren’t sure what’s new throughout the lineup if there are minor changes; sales and dealer channels lack new materials for promoting their profit-driving bread-and-butter models; and new customers don’t know if they’re shopping for an X, DS, RS, x DS, x RS, x RC, x MR, Turbo, Turbo R, Turbo RR…

As I recommended and higher-ups ignored, 100% of the pre-launch photo shoots and marketing materials should be about 100% of the lineup—digital artists can only do so much, and you never know when you’ll need fresh images for sales promos later in the year.

Insert agencies with KPIs weighted toward selling the new new, and it’s not rocket appliances to see why marketing spends are heavily invested into the latest and greatest 10-20%.

Jaguar has, with the F-Type, a long-running model facing declining sales and the end of its line. The company has spent millions on creating promotional materials for the car through its lifetime, and is presenting one last hurrah for coupé and convertible…with galleries of highly-processed images.

This is the most crucial time for driving the final F-Type in the real world, photographing it in the real world, and filming it in the real world: otherwise it will simply blend in, and leave enthusiasts’ minds without one last roar.

I’ve witnessed many qualified buyers not realize they were six months too late in purchasing a model, simply because they had no idea it had even been dropped.

By not capitalizing on an opportunity to write this final chapter, Jaguar would be putting the F-Type’s merit and conclusion up to interpretation.

F-TYPE MARKS 75 YEARS OF JAGUAR SPORTS CARS AND ITS FINAL MODEL YEAR UPDATE • Jaguar

I can’t get upset at Renault for entering the EV market with the low-cost Twizy. I can get upset at Renault for (at least at the moment) not continually updating the model, seemingly content to letting its early market share erode. I’m also upset it was never sold in Canada—even though it was announced for Quebec, through a distributor.

Monthly? Just $99 Cdn., in 2016.

Here’s the next Twizy, called a Mobilize-not-Renault Duo and Bento (boxy butt). It’s a class down from the microlino we looked at yesterday, and classified as a quadricycle. You can’t buy either—they’re subscription-only.

Yet again we have compelling, city-focused, low-cost electric cars that have been placed into a niche so small that their long-term success is no sure bet. I’d be dropping a few shipping containers of ‘em at the Port of Los Angeles, sell the first batch at cost, and worry about their “legality” as road vehicles in court.

Small, cheap, EVs tied to “innovative” business plans don’t tend to survive—even ones as compelling as the Duo and Bento.

Mobilize Duo: fun for city mobility • Mobilize

see also :: Sir Stirling Moss and his Renault Twizy • Renault UK

When you spend your days in the darkest corners of Microcar Internet, you end up learning interesting factoids, like that Formula 1 designer Gordon Murray once helped to re-engineer a tiny sports kit car called the Midas. His collection? Notably expansive but it’s all so minimalist.

And not a retro gas pump to be found… 🤩

Read up at speedster.news for what ol’ Gord is up to these days—this tour is all about celebrating several obscure vehicles—yes, even the Midas—that this decorated engineer finds noteworthy. The looks on host Jonny Smith’s face during the tour? Same here. 😲

Private Garage Tour of Gordon Murray's new Car Cave • The Late Brake Show

see also :: 2023 Gordon Murray Automotive T.33 • speedster.news

Is anyone surprised first-generation electric pickup trucks aren’t able to do everything their diesel counterparts can? *checks comments*

Oh.

Well, credit to The Fast Lane for its years of conducting and perfecting its towing tests—I consider them among the best (and most watchable) for consumer-focused information on the topic of towing.

Buying their own vehicles goes a long way to earning my trust—these aren’t manufacturer-supplied rigs. With EVs, TFL continues testing the limits of what pickups can do on one of the most demanding climbs in the U.S.

I won’t spoil the results, but did screenshot an interesting comment about how much energy this one particular Hummer consumed during testing…

Only One Makes It - GMC Hummer EV vs Ford Lightning vs The World’s TOUGHEST Towing Test! • The Fast Lane Truck

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