On February 12, 1957, fire broke out at Jaguar’s Browns Lane plant in Coventry, England, destroying hundreds of finished cars. Mercifully, there were few injuries, and owing to the herculean efforts of the company’s workers and distraught managers, the plant was up and running again within a week.
It’s not often that a carmaker takes a time-out from making cars, but when disaster strikes, there’s not much choice. A scheduled cessation, on the other hand, such as Jaguar’s recently announced plan to pause making vehicles entirely, is exceedingly rare. Less common still, Jaguar production won’t cease for just weeks or even months but for as much as a year or more. The news might lead one to believe that the parent company’s name, JLR (for Jaguar Land Rover), may henceforth…
