<http://www.detnews.com/2002/autosinsider/0208/05/c01-553112.htm>

Some quotes:

-"Jaguar's sterling quality reputation, the result of a decade of hard work, took hits late last year when the all-new X-Type compact sedan drew complaints about vibrating propulsion shafts, rocking seats and temperamental trunk latches -- all of them now fixed." <-- As I have been saying for the longest time, ALL PROBLEMS WITH FAULTY X-TYPE'S DRIVESHAFT NOISE ETC. HAVE BEEN FIXED! Do you guys believe me now?

-"Derision from competitors [!] and Jaguar purists followed, capping a whispering campaign that labeled the X-Type as little more than a dressed up Ford Mondeo with which it shares some parts. Yet 2-liter X-Types, aimed at the upwardly mobile, helped push Jaguar sales in the United Kingdom up 104 percent through June."
Also, AutoWeek found that "the chassis itself shares only six small panels with its blue-oval counterpart" and that "this particular parts-sharing, it turns out, only gives the Jag its chassis 'hard points' and its engine blocks, but not much else".

-"A recent rough patch during the launch of the X-Type appears to be smoothing out and sales are beginning to exceed forecasts. A face-lifted S-Type, criticized at its debut a few years ago for an interior too reminiscent of a Lincoln, now looks unmistakably Jaguar and it's showing in the sales figures."

-"Through June, Jaguar sales in the bellwether U.S. market were up 62.1 percent over last year, easily outpacing rivals Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Lexus. In western Europe, sales of Jaguars surged 66.1 percent, compared with 3.6 percent for Audi, 0.4 percent for BMW and flat sales for Mercedes."

-"Less than two years away is an X-Type all-wheel drive wagon, called a "sportsbrake" by company insiders. A six-cylinder diesel engine for all Jaguar sedans is under development by Ford engineers in Aachen, Germany, and is expected to debut in 2004. Both innovations are expected to drive Jaguar sales sharply higher, especially in Europe."

-"Since its introduction, residual values on leased Jaguars are rising while those of several German rivals are staying flat or declining."

-"Jaguar had the misfortune of scheduling the X-Type's U.S. launch for September. Would-be consumer enthusiasm dampened by the terrorist attacks ebbed even further when customers learned many of the X-Types sitting on dealer lots were pricey 3-liter sport models, not more modest 2.5-liter versions with more affordable lease rates.
   Jaguar acknowledged it badly miscalculated and moved quickly to correct the error. But dealers started reporting quality problems in the early X-Types, which company executives blame for Jaguar's two-place slide from the upper reaches of the influential J.D. Power and Associates quality rankings.
   Since then, X-Type sales have continued to climb. Overall, the 18,662 X-Types sold through June are fewer than 100 cars behind the Audi A4, an established model in the segment. BMW sold 34,253 3 Series sedans and Mercedes sold 22,746 C-Class sedans in the same period.
   'We've had our glitches -- hands up to those, we're not perfect,' says Robert Dover, who heads the operating committee overseeing Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin. 'Jaguar is a challenger. We're challenging the established order.'"

http://www.just-auto.com/features_detail.asp?art=444

(just confirmed on http://www.us.jaguar.com/default.asp?levels=3110 that the S-Type manual is in fact a Getrag)