By: Cathy Droz
The Jaguar Alive experience sounds more like a circus coming to town than the new marketing initiative launched by Jaguar Cars of North America. Yes, the “live” Jaguars used in this promotion actually represented the lineup of infamous Jaguar cars known throughout the world. The white lines painted on the pavement at the Phoenix Cardinal Stadium parking lot looked more like those employed at the Bondurant’s racing facility, helping facilitate our test drives of these new “cats.”
As if the cars weren’t good looking enough I was able to interview the Brand Vice President of Jaguar, David Pryor, who was welcoming visitors and/or media that day. Pryor appeared to be twenty-five years old and fresh out of prep school. Living dangerously, he agreed to let me interview him in one of the beautiful Jaguar’s front seats while I battled the obstacle course set up by the racing team. I had to perform some heavy duty multi-tasking because I wanted both the interview and to deliver the best time on the course.
David answered questions as best he could as I swerved from side to side. He sat there “white-knuckled”, but was as cool and crisp answering my questions as was his Polo shirt and boyish smile. I asked how Jaguar got a young man like himself, and what was his role? He insisted he wasn’t as young as he looked (I know I have bras older than him) and informed me his role is to raise the profile of this iconic brand.
Jaguar already has a terrific product line-up with the new XJ and the updated 2012 XK and XF. The cars offer state-of-the-art technology, seductive design and are fantastic to drive. We have the building blocks he said; now it’s time to take the next step. Prior to Jaguar David Pryor was at Porsche; with his story sounding much like Allen Mullaly going from Boeing to Ford… I’m sure we’ll see the same good results.
Invited guests and
the public were able to have an up close and personal look at the brand, letting them sample the entire lineup much like a wine tasting in Napa. An individual was able to select from “simulated” city drives, different types of racing, or if one felt nostalgic, simply view some vintage Jaguars under the beautiful white tents. By the way, I owned a 1983 Jaguar XJ-6 before Ford took over and the leaper was still considered an icon of the brand. Wow, has it changed, not a leaper in sight.For those wanting to test their racing prowess on a closed circuit test course, experienced instructors such as Adam Andretti, Robert Guerrero and Davy Jones were available to provide expert tutoring on safe performance driving techniques. I came to the event wanting to drive with Adam Andretti. Several years ago I interviewed his grandfather Mario on the radio and again in person… he talked about Adam and his interest in the industry. Meeting him and having him as my coach for one of the timed runs was such a thrill. What a nice young man and so much fun.
My Two for the Road partner, Cathy Burford, was there and spent a lot of time talking about fly fishing with Adam which seems to be another one of his favorite pastimes.
The brand is changing, appealing more to a younger demographic and it is obvious to me that the more exposure Jaguar has to the public the sooner the word gets out there.
Cathy Burford and I experienced them all… the XJ Flagship sedan, the XF luxury sport sedan, the XK coupe and convertible and we got a big shot of adrenaline test driving the XKR-S, which is the fastest production sports car Jaguar had manufactured; man can it move.
I think the Jaguar Alive Driving experience was a great name for the event… I know I felt more alive after racing with Andretti, sampling quiche at lunch, coming in with a great race time and especially interviewing David Pryor in the passenger seat while going 80 miles an hour. Talk about a captive audience!
For more about Jaguar, go test drive one at your local dealer or go on line and enjoy the cat walk.
www.jaguarusa.com
The Jaguar Alive experience sounds more like a circus coming to town than the new marketing initiative launched by Jaguar Cars of North America. Yes, the “live” Jaguars used in this promotion actually represented the lineup of infamous Jaguar cars known throughout the world. The white lines painted on the pavement at the Phoenix Cardinal Stadium parking lot looked more like those employed at the Bondurant’s racing facility, helping facilitate our test drives of these new “cats.”
 |
| Cardinal Stadium - Phoenix, Arizona |
David answered questions as best he could as I swerved from side to side. He sat there “white-knuckled”, but was as cool and crisp answering my questions as was his Polo shirt and boyish smile. I asked how Jaguar got a young man like himself, and what was his role? He insisted he wasn’t as young as he looked (I know I have bras older than him) and informed me his role is to raise the profile of this iconic brand.
Jaguar already has a terrific product line-up with the new XJ and the updated 2012 XK and XF. The cars offer state-of-the-art technology, seductive design and are fantastic to drive. We have the building blocks he said; now it’s time to take the next step. Prior to Jaguar David Pryor was at Porsche; with his story sounding much like Allen Mullaly going from Boeing to Ford… I’m sure we’ll see the same good results.
Invited guests and
the public were able to have an up close and personal look at the brand, letting them sample the entire lineup much like a wine tasting in Napa. An individual was able to select from “simulated” city drives, different types of racing, or if one felt nostalgic, simply view some vintage Jaguars under the beautiful white tents. By the way, I owned a 1983 Jaguar XJ-6 before Ford took over and the leaper was still considered an icon of the brand. Wow, has it changed, not a leaper in sight.For those wanting to test their racing prowess on a closed circuit test course, experienced instructors such as Adam Andretti, Robert Guerrero and Davy Jones were available to provide expert tutoring on safe performance driving techniques. I came to the event wanting to drive with Adam Andretti. Several years ago I interviewed his grandfather Mario on the radio and again in person… he talked about Adam and his interest in the industry. Meeting him and having him as my coach for one of the timed runs was such a thrill. What a nice young man and so much fun.
My Two for the Road partner, Cathy Burford, was there and spent a lot of time talking about fly fishing with Adam which seems to be another one of his favorite pastimes.
The brand is changing, appealing more to a younger demographic and it is obvious to me that the more exposure Jaguar has to the public the sooner the word gets out there.Cathy Burford and I experienced them all… the XJ Flagship sedan, the XF luxury sport sedan, the XK coupe and convertible and we got a big shot of adrenaline test driving the XKR-S, which is the fastest production sports car Jaguar had manufactured; man can it move.
I think the Jaguar Alive Driving experience was a great name for the event… I know I felt more alive after racing with Andretti, sampling quiche at lunch, coming in with a great race time and especially interviewing David Pryor in the passenger seat while going 80 miles an hour. Talk about a captive audience!
For more about Jaguar, go test drive one at your local dealer or go on line and enjoy the cat walk.
www.jaguarusa.com
No comments:
Post a Comment