Jaguar's focus on quality - Telegraph McPherson says: "We spend an hour a day finding the root cause of any and every quality issue - and we deal with it." All this is a long way from when talking about Jaguar quality and reliability was a very expensive joke. Certainly, Jaguar always had a reputation for value; the E-type looked terrific and offered a far cheaper alternative to a Ferrari or Porsche - but its longevity was not a priority for the company, says Phil Weeden of Jaguar World magazine. "Quality really took a tumble in the shadowy BL ownership days, with labour unrest and outdated processes still in place, while the Japanese and Germans" engineering quality gained prominence. There is a story of a worker during a major production strike nipping into the plant to eat his lunch from the walnut picnic tray of an XJ on the silent assembly line. That was the level of respect then for the company, its products and its management. When Sir John Egan became chairman of Jaguar in 1980 he uttered the challenge: "We have to stop making hard-shoulder cars." Sensible approach but not something to be achieved overnight. But by 1986, things did seem to be improving when Jaguar wheeled out the latest version of the XJ6. It incorporated much new technology, including a strange mix of digital and analogue instruments, and was supposed to put to rest past quality issues. It proved to be too much, too soon. Seriously underdeveloped and rushed into production with questionable component quality (door handles were brittle and broke, so some owners couldn't even get into their posh cars), it was destined to represent Jaguar's shame, states Weeden. Ironically, the car achieved high sales figures after its launch, so the number of disgruntled owners was similarly very high. "A real double-whammy," says Weeden. And when Ford took control of Jaguar in 1989, executives likened the company's Browns Lane plant to a backward Russian factory. So a massive game of catch-up was instigated. Yet it was not until 2003, with the new generation XJ, and 2006, with the redesigned XK, that the real quality climb became convincing. "But you can't just bolt on quality - it has to be designed in," says McPherson. Design director Ian Callum, who has had a major role in putting Jaguar at the top of the quality charts, certainly knows that. Important though a car's overall styling is, it is the perception of strength given by a high-quality surface and the fit, finish and often feel of details that are also vital aspects of quality, he says. For example, we take a great deal of time perfecting the trim around the window - the shape and the way it fits in relation to the rest of the car. It is scrutinised in great detail. And we police the process of engineering and manufacturing to ensure that the end result looks as we intend it to. Callum has a team that designs the fit of bodyshell joints and parts to ensure that everything comes together consistently, fitting accurately and easily. Tim Hudson, general manager of Hatfields of Sheffield, one of the country's longest established Jaguar dealers, knows how important all this is: "Driver and passengers feel part of a Jaguar - it is not just a functional vehicle. And that, together with very high quality ratings (warranty claims are significantly fewer) is seeing us achieve conquest sales from other makes. Jaguar's engineering is now truly fantastic and the design futuristic - but not too much so. So it all looks very promising. But as the XF Sportbrake and F-type sports car, first of a lengthy line of new models, appear on the horizon, Jaguar designers and engineers know they must never again be hustled to launch cars like the XJ40. If that lesson is forgotten and Jaguar quality slides, those boots that McPherson inspects might be made for walking - out of the plant, with no guarantee of return.