ANY doubts that Ford was serious in its #1.6bn takeover of Jaguar have long since disappeared, given the company's record production figures, specification enhancements and much more determined quality control, never mind the early announcement of a new mid-range saloon to be unveiled in the autumn.

The XJ8 saloon remains one of the most characterful designs in the executive car class, with a formidably powerful version in the form of the supercharged XJR.

Jaguar is the only manufacturer in this category to continue with what is essentially a Sixties approach to body design, heavily modified and updated in detail though it may be.

In its class, the side-on silhouette of the XJ8 and the top-level Daimler variants is unique. The next big Jaguar will certainly have more conformist styling, but from the point of view of elegant exterior lines the present XJ saloon has very few rivals.

The same can be said of the gorgeous looking XK8 and XKR coupes and convertibles, which have the advantage of being clearly cars of the Nineties in all their visible features, as well as being high performers and, in the case of the XKR with the supercharged V8 engine, a supercar at a remarkably low price for what it offers.

Of course, as many foreign exotics have shown, it is possible to have a dramatic and ultra-fast car, with a respected name, which customers shun because the materials and workmanship simply do not match the designer's ambitions.

Before the takeover, Jaguar was drifting towards that unenviable position. However, strong management control applied by Ford means that Jaguar now has the prestige to match its heritage and the appeal of some very special designs.

Ford's other British subsidiary, Aston Martin, is not intended to reach anything like Jaguar production figures. It is, as it has been under so many other owners through the years, a prestige, low-volume manufacturer of specialised sports and GT cars.

Lacking the cross-fertilisation with Jaguar, Aston Martin would almost certainly have gone under within the last decade.

At least, the DB7, powered by a one-generation-back supercharged Jaguar engine of 3.2 litres, would not have been possible in anything like the form in which it reached production. This was the car which brought Ian Callum's team at TWR Design to worldwide attention. Their recent Project Vantage prototype, though publicised purely as a concept car, was also enthusiastically received.

However, the company's other model range, the V8, continues with Aston Martin's own, older 5.3-litre engine. Much more expensive, and hand-built to order, the V8 Vantage has just passed the 200-unit production mark.

With these cars, as well as a busy restoration division, and under ownership which seems serious enough about encouraging this tiny corner of a multi-national empire, Aston Martin appears in better fettle than it has been at any time since Lionel Martin built his first prototype, with a Coventry Simplex engine in an Isotta-Fraschini chassis, back in 1914.