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I’m writing this column a little later than I normally would due to the fact that four snowflakes fell in the South East this morning and the inevitable gridlock ensued… Even so, the vagaries of publishing deadlines mean that it’s still November as I write, but it’ll be December by the time you read this – so get your Christmas shopping done quick or there will be hell to pay! Looking back now, 2010 has been a very positive year for Jaguar, and it began with the driving launch of the XJ. Given that the car had been unveiled in July of 2009 the anticipation amongst motoring scribes had built to near fever pitch once the time came to get behind the wheel – which would have been bad news had the driving experience disappointed. Fortunately, it didn’t, and the reaction to the car was almost unanimously praiseworthy. The proof was that in its first full month on sale in the UK, the XJ outsold its competitor set. Impressive stuff. Of course, a key theme throughout the year has been the celebration of 75 years since Sir William Lyons unveiled the first Jaguars, and there seems to have been a groundswell of public recognition for the brand in the wake of those celebrations. Clearly, none of that would mean a jot were the current range not selling well, but in addition to the XJ both XF and XK models have continued to perform, and though there was a global dip during October, overall Jaguar sales in the financial year-to-date are 21 per cent higher than at the same point in 2009. The result of all that is a real feeling of confidence amongst everyone I’ve spoken to at the company throughout the year, whether they are engineers or executives, and an impression that Jaguar is a happy place to work. There’s been no greater demonstration of that than the news, reported on in this issue, that the trade unions have voted overwhelmingly to accept the pay deal put forward by Jaguar Land Rover which means the threat of plant closures has been removed.