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AUTO ENTHUSIAST
I know that The Business Report's auto reviews usually run in the ExecStyle section, but this is getting ridiculous. Our latest subject boasts sumptuously deep-pile lamb's wool floor mats.
The 2005 Jaguar XJ Super V8 is Jaguar's $89,995 top-of-the-line, long wheelbase big dog. Uh ... actually, that should be big cat.
With the longest wheelbase, 124.4 inches, and longest overall length, 205.3 inches, in its class, the SV8 offers plenty of room to stretch out, relax and enjoy a DVD on the rear seat entertainment system. Or as executives are known to do, break out the laptop computer, Blackberry and cellphone.
The SV8 is graced with a harmonious exterior design and walnut burl, business tray work tables that fold down from the front seat backs like a commercial airliner's. Nothing says executive like a smooth, long wheelbase sedan with tray tables, and nothing says style like the SVS's design.
The SV8 offers the epitome of XJ style, prestige and presence with its long curvaceous lines. It features subtle changes in proportion from its standard wheelbase counterpart and detail, including an attractive mesh grill and new, 19-inch diameter, aluminum alloy wheels, which differentiate it from its German competitors with their decidedly Teutonic design elements.
It also lacks the overly complicated driver's interfaces that current Audis, BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes have been burdened with. The...