Here's be da wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar_AJ-V8_engine



Says the engine was developed for use with Nikasil liners. The change to iron liners happened after high-sulphur fuels ate up the Nikasil.



Am I to understand that Porsche has been using Nikasil liners since the 1970's without any (significant) problems?

well, there you have it.. the internet did indeed say its true.. can't argue with that. Keep the cat!!

Well, good news and bad news. Or bad news and good news? We passed up the cat.



And bought a '97 BMW 328iC with 70k miles on the clock.

Something about British autos like Jaguar and Land Rover make repair shops smile 'cause there always seems to be an abundance of them laying in there apart to some degree.



A few friends of mine have the 3 and 5 series bimmers and don't really have any complaints, but they are meticulous about maintenance on the cars they own.

Yeah, as nice as the car was, and seemingly cheap, I couldn't get comfortable with the fact that the cylinder coating could be toast and I would have not an engine, but a paperweight that would cost as much as the car to replace. Not to mention the various and sundry "little things" that seem to go wrong with Jags on a regular basis.



We cleaned the bimmer up today. It looks pretty nice. Drives great. It's an auto, but that's what the wifey wanted. She daily drives the Mazda 3s 2.5 with the 6-speed.