Technology????

dsteinaz said:

My 2 cars are the '01 DB7 and an '01 Jag XKR. Im confused why the Jag has cruise control, automatic headlights and backup sensors and the AM has none of these routine technological amenities. Any ideas?

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Could be due to several reasons, Im going to give you some why I think it is the case:

1) The DB7 launched in 1994, on a shoe string budget. The DB7 WAS the car that pulled Aston out of the crisis. Given the age and the budget of the car company I would doubt that there was a large list of options to start with. Options were tacked on as the sales progressed (cruise control is an option on the DB7 vantage, i think mostly on automatic versions). There was minimal effort and minimal money involved in the creation and modification of the DB7, at least until the GT model. (See thread Jag XKR vs DB7)
Plus the DB7 was intended to be what the AM V8 is now.. an introductory model. Even after the Virage/V8 vantage (original) demise, the DB7 was considered entry level.

Jaguar had a secure base and tons of experience and money to operate. The XK range built on the initial reception of the DB7 (which came out before the X 100), and they were already involved in other segments (the XJ) in which cars already had the option of cruse control for a while. When the X100 came out Jaguar in fact had the means to completely redevelop a fairly modern car, a new platform, without borrowing much from the XJ-S (unlike the DB7).
The XKR was also jaguar's range topper... so there was no excuse for it not to have all the goods one could get on a cheaper model (ie the XJs).

2) The Aston is not a race car as mentioned above, however it is much more in the sportscar direction than the X100 XK8/R. The DB7 vantage has an engine that delivers peak performance at higher RPMS (provokes the driver to spin the engine up to get the power) than the Jags supercharged AJ16 (intended to deliver smooth performance at low RPM), the aston had manual as an option, while every single Jag XKR (bar the concept double R) was fully automatic.
Similarly most DB7s were ordered w/o cruise control.
ie
The Jag X100 does everything for you, it is a full on luxury GT... the Aston gives you the opportunity to control the car, it is more of a drivers car