JDCC President's Report May 2008
Fellow JDCC Members,
The anticipated sale of Jaguar Cars to Tata Motors of India was announced on 26 March, and there was little that was new or unexpected in the detail of the announcement. The price of $US 2.3 billion plus $US 600 million to the pension fund was in line with predictions. A troublesome aspect for the Ford and Tata negotiators (which should have been obvious, but was not picked up in media commentary) was how to manage (and presumably progressively dismantle) the extensive technology and component sharing between Ford and Jaguar that has produced the world class Jaguar cars we enjoy today. As part of the deal Ford will provide engineering support, R&D and IT technology, accounting support and other services until the Tata-owned Jaguar develops its own capabilities. No wonder the deal took many months longer than expected to negotiate!
On the social scene, what a great six weeks of activities for Jaguar Drivers in Canberra! In particular, a big thank you to the members who organised the April events and to those who participated.
Some 11 Canberra members attended the Jaguar National Rally in Geelong over Easter in March, which was superbly organised by the Victorian Club. By now most will be aware that the Sir William Lyons Trophy for the top Concours D’Elegance car was won Eldon Smith with his beautiful 1934 SS1. Thankfully, the huge effort (and no doubt investment) put into this restoration was recognised by the judges, ahead of a very nice (but virtually new) Jaguar X350. The general display area was filled with a magnificent collection of earlier and modern Jaguars, with a range of XKs and E Types to appeal to those of us attracted to the sportier cars, along with a good spread ranging from a “barn find” SS100, various small and large sedans from the 1950s and ‘60s, many excellent XJS’, to immaculate X330s and 350s. The venues, organisation of events, hospitality and the excellent running commentary over a PA system at the display venue all set high standards for other Jaguar Clubs to match in future Rallies. I know our editor has a selection of photos, so enjoy them!
The Winery Run/Crisp’s Café lunch received good support from members, with a very full dining table out on the Crisp’s Lane covered deck, excellent food and company. The gentle drive to and from Crisps Lane through green vineyards was very pleasant. The call on Brian and Janet Johnstone’s new tasting room at McKellar Ridge to sample the recent vintages, and to see the current vintage underway, was much appreciated, and set the scene for the rest of the day. A fantastic array of Jaguars outside the tasting room really looked the part, and Janet even sold a few more of her paintings! Perhaps the venue needs to be renamed “McKellar Ridge Winery and Gallery”!
A few didn’t resist the opportunity to visit other wineries in the Murrumbateman region, including the relatively new Yarrh Winery, which impressed with the modern architecture of the winery and function room, as did the enterprise of its management in providing wine tasting platters and jazz for the many visitors enjoying the alfresco dining area under the adjacent trees. Worth a future visit when they open on the odd Sunday.
The second Club event was the Burrill Lake weekend courtesy of our hosts, Jim and Marea Kennedy. The format of the trip was the same successful one as in 2006, with a convoy leaving from the meeting point at Bungendore Railway Station shortly after 10am for a smooth run down the King’s Highway to the Kennedy’s pleasant little Edgewater Motel at Burrill Lake. After checking in, a short drive to lunch at the nearby Milton “Pie Shop” restaurant, then off to individual activities, such as golf for a few of our more energetic members, sightseeing in nearby centres, antique hunting and just walking along the beach and enjoying the beautiful weather. That evening, we came back to the Kennedy’s weekend hideway overlooking the Mollymook beach, with only the threat to our idyll being wayward golf balls from the nearby course, which encouraged careful parking of Jaguars under the protection of trees in the nearby reserve. A great BBQ dinner that evening topped off the day. The self catering arrangement seemed to work well, helped with plenty of champagne courtesy of our kind hosts and a BBQ which coped well with a huge workload. A fairly decadent and cholesterol-filled Sunday morning breakfast at Edgewater was completed before a cloudburst at 11 am sent everyone off to their cars for a return back to Canberra. Once again, very many thanks from the Club and the participants to Jim and Marea for hosting our visit to this beautiful part of the world.
The call on the scarce weekend time of event organisers (and participants!) over the last six weeks was such that the Committee reluctantly decided that the annual get-together with the Traditional Boat Squadron on Lake Burley Griffin should be postponed to another date. If you didn’t get the email advice of the late cancellation, our apologies, but please let the Secretary know your current email address.
Happy Jaguaring
Paul Sutton
