Has Ford's ownership of Jaguar improved or worsened Jag's quality as a product?

Has Ford's ownership of Jaguar improved or worsened Jag's quality as a product?

Gehgh

Vastly improved it. Prior to Ford's ownership, Jaguars were possessed by the devil.

Raiding the Ford parts bin really isn't that bad of an idea. I've had a lot of experience with late model Jaguars (I currently own a 2001 S-Type, and used to own a 2003 X-Type), as well as Fords (I've owned two 1990s T-Birds, a 2001 Taurus, and four Grand Marquis's, including a 2004).

As much as Jaguars get panned for using "Ford switchgear" like the car magazines complained about, does it really matter if a Jaguar uses the same window switch as a Thunderbird, as long as it works? ("It works" is something you honestly couldn't say about Jaguar switches in the 1980s when they made their own stuff.)

Ford bought Jaguar in 1990. Their high point for reliability was probably from 1993-1997. During those years, Jaguar was still making essentially the same cars that they were before the takeover, but Ford was investing the money to make them more reliable. After that, when Jaguar began releasing new cars designed under Ford's ownership, things went downhill again.

The early XK8s had serious issues with their V8 engines. Early S-Types had transmission woes and electrical gremlins, and X-Types also suffered transmission problems, as well as problems with the transfer cases, and issues with vacuum leaks on the V6 engines. All three of these were vastly more complicated than the old XJ40s and XJSs Jaguar was making when Ford took over, and could be considered teething problems.

Eventually, they got their act together, and the newer cars are vastly better than they were in the early 2000's. The last Jaguar model developed under Ford control was the XF sedan, essentially an updated, rebodied S-Type. When Ford finally got everything straightened out, and had the XF ready for market, they sold Jaguar to Tata of India.

Jaguar had a lot of problems under Ford's ownership, but they had even more before. Had Ford not bought Jaguar, they wouldn't be here today. However, Ford could have done a lot better job with the company when they did own it.

The 2003 X-Type I used to own was drop dead gorgeous, had plenty of power, and handled like it was on rails. Drive the car, and you wouldn't care it shared a floor pan with a Ford Mondeo. What I did care about was the fact that it was obvious Jaguar cut corners with interior quality, the transmission blew out at 100,000 miles, and the Macphereson strut front suspension was not exactly durable. I was told the transfer case was essentially a ticking time bomb, but I sold it before I had to worry about that.

The 2001 S-Type I currently own also has its share of issues, the biggest being the non-operational traction control. Again, it's a beautiful, fast, refined car with a lot of potential, but a lot of issues in the execution. I'm a gearhead and a Jaguar enthusiast, and I'm not afraid of getting dirty and spinning wrenches, but some of the stuff I can live with, or fix, your average buyer cross-shopping with BMW and Mercedes wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole.

When Ford owned Jaguar, they were Mondeo's in a cat suit. Now that TATA of India own them, they've vastly improved. They used their own parts whereas Ford raided the parts bin to make them.

Then again, Ford no longer owns Jaguar: they were dealt to Tata of India in 2008. And they were every bit as bad back then as laslo says.