JLR is reportedly leaving out the main person behind the controversial rebrand – Jalopnik

Good morning! It’s Wednesday, December 3, 2025 and this is The Morning Shift: your daily digest of the most important car news from around the world, all in one place. Here are the top stories shaping the way Americans drive and get around.

In today’s edition; Jaguar is reportedly firing the creative chief responsible for the controversial Panthera concepts, Trump thinks scrapping fuel economy standards years in the making will make cars cheaper today, gasoline prices average $2.99 ​​in the U.S., and a number of Russian Porsches have died due to problems in space.

It took weeks for JLR to restore full production capacity, and the company is now in no position to risk building a car that half the people hate. Nothing is official yet, but reports are circulating online that Jaguar’s Chief Creative Officer, Gerry McGovern, has been fired by his new boss at Tata Motors, according to Coach India:

McGovern’s sudden departure comes soon after PB Balaji assumed the role of CEO on November 17, 2025, succeeding Mardell following a structured transition. McGovern, long considered a favorite of the late Ratan Tata, enjoyed strong support during Tata’s influential tenure at Tata Group, owner of JLR; With Tata’s death, that important support waned, leaving him more exposed to internal shifts

McGovern had major responsibility for Jaguar’s controversial rebranding under the Panthera project, which was widely criticized for diluting the brand’s legacy. Autocar India reported deep internal strife, with a leaked 2022 letter from 25 to 30 design team members to McGovern protesting the outsourcing to Accenture Interactive, which they said sidelined their expertise and collaborative culture.

Reports claim that McGovern was not only fired, but escorted from the building. Cruel. It seems JLR has forgotten all the hard work he put in during his 21 years with the company, such as bringing back iconic vehicles like the rebooted Land Rover Defender.

Lowering fuel economy standards is a painfully obvious way for President Trump to play into the hands of the eco-loving hippies and the previous administration while pretending to care about the affordability crisis. Real experts in the car market know what is causing the increase in car prices, but that does not stop Trump from using these kinds of pointless half-steps to hang a ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner on his crumbling economy. Automotive News puts the issue very briefly and succinctly:

Car prices have also risen as domestic automakers increasingly prioritize profitable, high-end, feature-rich models over lower-margin entry-level models. As they retire the plug-in models, consumers are left with vehicles that are less efficient and more expensive.

Relaxing fuel economy requirements is unlikely to reduce prices for consumers anytime soon. Automakers plan their lineups years in advance, meaning it takes time for changes resulting from policy shifts to appear in showrooms. Trump’s tariffs have also raised automakers’ costs by billions of dollars.

The move also threatens policies that would have reduced household fuel spending and reduced planet-warming carbon emissions. The Biden administration had said the standards would reduce gasoline consumption by nearly 70 billion gallons through 2050 and save U.S. consumers more than $23 billion in fuel costs. That translates to a savings of approximately $600 over the life of an individual vehicle.

Trump said in March that he “didn’t care” if his tariff hassles caused car prices to rise (and they have), so forgive me for being suspicious that Republicans want to do all this in the name of helping the little guy.

In early December 2022, months after Russia invaded Ukraine, US oil prices were around $81 per barrel. Last year, crude oil traded around $70 a barrel. Today, a barrel of crude oil sells for as little as $59.

Oil prices have fallen as supply continues to exceed demand.

US oil production continues to break record highs, although it is only slightly higher than a year ago.

The bigger driver is the fact that OPEC has ramped up production this year, something the producer group has refused to do in recent years.

At least Trump has set all the other prices, such as groceries And energyright? Oh…Oh no.

Cars wouldn’t start, some stopped without warning, and some even experienced fuel lockup as a result of the fault Moscow times reports. A representative of Russia’s largest dealer group questioned whether the closure was intentional, but so far there is no evidence this was a terrorist attack on Porsche owners.

The Mirth Mobile, denied. Shame.