THE long-awaited introduction of the new 1999 S-type Jaguar took place at Birmingham in Britain last month and was hailed as a great success.
Only the London Times apparently did not like the new car and slated it in its columns on the day of the launch.
All other observers, both motoring professionals and industry experts, thought the car was a major step forward for Jaguar, taking the company into new markets in direct competition with the BMW 5-series and Mercedes-Benz's E-class.
In fact, the new S-type is a little larger, both inside and out, than the 5-series and about the same size as the Mercedes.
The addition of the S-type to Jaguar's line-up is expected to more than double its annual output of about 40,000 cars.
On a fleeting visit to Hong Kong last month - deliveries will not start until next spring - most people lucky enough to get a glimpse of the S-type agreed it was one of the more beautiful cars to be introduced in recent years. At Birmingham it was voted Car of the Show.