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N0KFQ > TODAY 08.02.16 16:40l 51 Lines 2241 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 84127_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Feb 8
Path: IZ3LSV<IW0QNL<JH4XSY<JE7YGF<7M3TJZ<HG8LXL<N0KFQ
Sent: 160208/1536Z 84127@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.65
1985
Jaguar founder dies
On February 8, 1985, Sir William Lyons, the founder of the
British luxury automaker Jaguar, dies at the age of 84 in
Warwickshire, England.
Lyons was born in Blackpool, England, on September 4, 1901. In
1922, the motorcycle enthusiast co-founded the Swallow Sidecar
Company with his neighbor William Walmsley. The company started
out making motorcycle sidecars, then turned to producing its own
cars. In the early 1930s, the company was renamed SS Cars Ltd.;
its first Jaguar automobile, the SS Jaguar 100, debuted in 1935.
During World War II, the company's plants were used to make
airplane and auto parts for the British military. Following the
war, the company changed its name again, to Jaguar Cars Ltd., to
avoid any association with the Schutzstaffel, the Nazi
paramilitary group also referred to by the initials "SS."
In 1948, Jaguar released the XK120, which was capable of reaching
speeds of 120 mph and helped the company stake its claim as a
sports car brand. By the 1950s, Jaguar was exporting its
high-performance cars to America. In 1961, the automaker
introduced the E-type (known as the XK-E in the U.S.), a sleek
two-seater with a bullet-like silhouette that was the fastest
production sports car on the market at the time of its launch.
The iconic roadster won accolades for its design and in 1996 an
E-Type became part of the permanent collection of New York City's
Museum of Modern Art (it was only the third car to do so).
In 1956, Lyons was knighted for his contributions to the British
auto industry. A decade later, Jaguar merged with the British
Motor Corporation to form British Motor Holdings, which later
became part of British Leyland Ltd. Lyons retired from the
business in 1972 and spent his remaining years raising livestock
on his farm. He died in 1985. In 1990, Jaguar was acquired by the
Ford Motor Company. Ford sold Jaguar, along with fellow British
luxury brand Land Rover, to India-based Tata Motors in 2008, for
approximately $2.3 billion. For Tata, the maker of the Nano, the
world's cheapest car, the deal was referred to by some as a move
from "mass to class."
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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