Jaguar is a British car manufacturer that specializes in the manufacturing of luxury vehicles with its headquarters based in Whitley, Coventry, England.
It all started in 1922 when two motorcycle enthusiasts by the name of William Lyons and William Walmsley founded a company they named Swallow Sidecar company that manufactured motorcycle sidecars. In 1934 Walmsley sold his shares to Lyons who then changed the company name to S. S. Cars Limited. In 1935 the S. S. Jaguar model was introduced, and in 1945 the company name changed to Jaguar Cars Limited.
Here we take a look at the history of the Jaguar company, its meaning, and the meaning of its symbol. Please read on.
History of Jaguar Motor Company, Ltd.
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In 1922, two gentlemen named William Lyons and William Walmsley founded the Swallow Sidecar Company. Originally the company specialized in making motorcycle sidecars and later ventured into developing bodies for passenger cars.
In 1934 Walmsley decided to sell his shares, due to which Lyons registered a new company by the name S. S. Cars Limited and issued public shares to raise capital. S. S. Cars Limited, extended its business into complete car production in association with Standard Motor Co, which led to the introduction of their first car, the SS Jaguar 2.5-liter Saloon, soon followed by a 3.5-liter Sports model named S. S. Jaguar 100 – and a star was born.
In 1945, William Lyons changed the company name to Jaguar Cars Limited. Why? “Unlike S. S. the name Jaguar is distinctive and cannot be connected or confused with any similar foreign name,” said Lyons.
In the 1950s, Jaguar quickly gained fame with people from all corners of the planet pursuing the unique design and luxury features found in Jaguar models, which also featured great looks and were technically ground-breaking. The earlier C-type, D-type, and E-type Jaguar were the popular models.
However, Jaguar had a hard time keeping up with demand. This in part was due to some shortage in materials, specifically steel. In trying to avail this, the company forged some strong partnerships which enabled them to give drivers what they wanted.
In 1966, Jaguar Cars merged with the British Motor Corporation, to form an enlarged company renamed British Motor Holdings (BMH).
In 1968, BMH merged with Leyland Motor Corporation and became British Leyland, which was nationalized in 1975.
In 1990, Ford bought Jaguar and in 2000 they bought Land Rover eventually selling them both to Tata in 2008. Tata created Jaguar Land Rover as its subsidiary holding company, and in 2013 they merged to form Jaguar Land Rover Limited becoming a single design, manufacture, sales company, and brand owner for both Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles.
What Does the “JAGUAR” Mean?
The Jaguar is an animal that when leaping forward means it’s on a mission, and if that leap is combined with a jump then the mission is about to be accomplished. This essence is reflected by Jaguar cars hence the choice of the jumping jaguar as its symbol which essentially is the spirit animal of the car manufacturer. Although the jumping jaguar hood ornament no longer appears on the hood of Jaguar cars, the famed logo is still highly revered.
The leaping jaguar is a symbol of strength, power, precision, and elegance with all these traits being evident and highly regarded by Jaguar. The new front roaring jaguar emblem still represents these characters whereby the metallic and silver coloration represents sophistication, the red represents the brand’s passion for driving and sports car culture, and Jaguar models are still designed and manufactured in the UK with this spirit in mind.
What Does the JAGUAR Symbol Mean?
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In World War II ‘SS’ was the name of the notorious Nazi security apparatus, after the war ended Swallow felt the need to disassociate itself with the Nazis, so they decided to stop using the SS brand, and Jaguar became the official brand name.
In 1945, the Swallow company began using the leaping forward Jaguar as its emblem that we know today.
Some of the things you need to know about the Jaguar Symbol are:
- The Jaguar brand’s core values are grace, elegance, performance, power, and ambition to move forward. And that is just exactly what the Jaguar symbol is meant to represent.
- To comply with pedestrian protection and safety laws, the chrome-plated Jaguar hood ornament had to be discontinued, with its place taken by a two-dimensional growling face of a jaguar badge in silver, metallic gray, and black
- New Jaguars have a circular emblem with a roaring front-facing silver jaguar cat with a red background and silver border placed at the center on the front grill. These new Jaguar colors of silver and metallic gray symbolize modernity and sophistication, while black embodies integrity and performance, and red is for the passion for the drive.
Conclusion
Jaguar established its name on the higher echelons of luxury and sports car manufacturers from the 1930s with plenty of revered classic cars most notably the earlier C-type, D-type, and E-type models.
Fast forward, Jaguar still manufactures cars, with several modern Jaguars with good reliability ratings. These new Jaguars handle beautifully, have exceptional performance, and have good fuel economy.
From this historical review, we conclude that Jaguar is a reliable brand that has proven time and time again that their cars are worth to be considered when you are in the market for a new car.
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I am a Telecom & ICT specialist with a career spanning over 15 years in the demanding Tanzanian telecom industry.
I am also an avid DIYer with a good knack for everything technical and a wealth of vocational skills, with automotive being the top, and here I am writing about cars.
In 2017 a guy created a WhatsApp group called MyCar for the sole purpose of members helping each other with all matters regarding cars. I joined this group in 2018, and with my enormous wealth of knowledge regarding cars, and my readiness to share the knowledge with others, I became a top contributor, and that didn’t go unnoticed, as one member thought I was a potential writer and had contacts with Be Forward Japan who were looking for writers then. Fast forward to January 2020, I began writing for the Be Forward blog with 2024 being my fourth year.
As far as I can remember, I love cars, and growing up in the farming and tourist city of Arusha Tanzania in the ’80s and ’90s, I ended up being drawn to the Ranger Rover Classic for leisure and Land Cruiser 70 pickup as a workhorse. These were tough cars then, cars that could take you anywhere any time no matter the weather.
