Jaguars are a minority among the millions of cars in the United States, but every year thousands of Americans still seek them out, passing by the more popular German and Japanese brands and opting for cars made by a quintessentially British company that nearly disappeared in the seventies and hasn't been British owned since 1992. Confessions of a Jaguar Owner sets out to explain why those drivers make such a choice and how they are rewarded (or punished) once the choice is made. The book begins with the author's initial reaction to his own Jaguar purchase, including a certain ambivalence about technologies such as computer aided suspension and dynamic stability control. He also learns a very low-tech lesson about what happens when you scrape a Jaguar wheel against a curb in a lovely seaside town. He begins to wonder why he bought such a car in the first place. Such thoughts lead to comparisons to some of Jaguar's chief rivals and to a search for the origin of the Jaguar brand identity by tracing the history of the company from its founding almost a hundred years ago. The author also checks up on what modern automotive pundits have to say about Jaguars, both on the Internet and in traditional media outlets from Car Talk to Top Gear. Then it's on to the more down to earth concerns of Jaguar ownership. How fast can I go in this car without killing myself or losing my license? Do I really need a front license plate? What is the J-Gate? Will my friends and relatives outwardly mock me but secretly envy me if I buy this car? And even more critically, what effect will a Jaguar have on attracting potential partners or on keeping the one I have? Also includes an overview of the current new and used market, noting possible pitfalls and zeroing in on where the bargains are to be found. Contains 37 color photographs, including shots of iconic Jaguar classics and a variety of Jaguar rivals.
About the Author: Michael Witbeck is an educator, auto enthusiast and writer who has lived and worked in various parts of the world including Japan, Spain, Yemen, Cyprus, Turkey, Oregon and Utah. In all these places he has managed to find something to drive. A Jaguar owner since 2012, Michael's automotive history also includes a couple of Triumphs, a seventies Ford Pinto, an eighties Toyota Land Cruiser, a nineties Mazda Miata, and a 2004 Nissan 350Z. The details of his vehicle history and of his somewhat checkered personal life are the subject of one of his previous books, a memoir entitled Auto Biography: A life in the age of the automobile. Michael grew up between a pear orchard and an alfalfa field, both of which he remembers well as they were the places where he first learned to drive the family tractor. In addition to the tractor, his driving experience in the early years included an incident with a 1963 Ford Thunderbird and a gas pump. Michael has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Utah, but swears that both the Confessions of a Jaguar Owner and his automotive memoir are more or less true, almost entirely. He currently lives in Oregon with a lovely wife and a good-looking dog. He is also the author of an ebook novel entitled The Adventures of Rudi the Rational Man, which tells the story of Rudi the do-nut maker who loses his job but meets a very peculiar mute at the unemployment office, which in due course leads to an encounter with the mysterious Rhonda Lingo, then to a difficult sojourn abroad, and finally to rebirth as a muffin baker and the holder of a least a part of the secret to everything. The Adventures is available at Smashwords.com or at the iBookstore. Auto Biography: A life in the age of the automobile is available from GrassRootsBookstore.com