| >As far as using the term XKE, I think it must have come from the factory
|some-
| >how. Look at it this way, no-one calls C and D Types XKC's and XKD's. And
|
| >"incorrect" term XKE for the E-Type? It must have come from somewhere, and
| >I suspect the source was at least pseudo-official for it to have had the
| >penetration that it does.
| >
| > Joe
|
| I think the term XKE may have been an unofficial factory term at one time.
| The first E-Types I saw in the very early '60s were always refered to as XKEs.
| I don't even remember hearing the name E-Types until much later.
Well, here's how I read it in one of the E-Type history books I have (I don't
remember which one; I bought a bunch just before I bought my '68 E roadster.)
The factory named the car E-Type because it was a derivative of the
D-Type racer which was an evolution of the C-Type racer, which started
life as the XK120C ("C" for competition). The E-Type was the
replacement for the XK120/XK140/XK150 series of consumer cars. It was
always called E-Type; just read the chrome on the boot lid. Even on
the earliest models it said E-Type. The XKE designation was only used
in the USA and it was invented by the American distributors who
thought the American car buyer was too stupid to realize that the
E-Type was the continuation of the XK series. They figured Joe Buyer
would need to see the letters "XK" to understand what the new car was.
Hence the bastardized name. So we can all thank the guys in plaid
polyester and white belts for the name confustion, and we can all stop
using the name XKE and just use the name the factory intended from the
start.
Glad that's all cleared up :-)
Tim
|