In the glory days of air travel – when you could still smoke and fly without the fear of being groped and fondled by security personnel wearing latex gloves– some passengers were lucky enough to commute from the terminal to their hotel in the back of an airport limousine.

These stretched cars, with their multiple rows of seats and doors, were essentially the primitive precursor to the modern day shuttle bus.

Jaguar has admitted that it is currently working on a new sedan that will be the entry-level model of the range. Smaller than the XF, the new model is expected to have a starting price of around £28,000 (€31,850/$45,685). According to Adrian Hallmark, Jaguar's global brand director, the sub-£30,000 premium car market is four times larger than that of sedans priced above £30,000 (€34,120), so developing a cheaper, smaller Jaguar makes a solid business case.

Jaguar has been touting the aluminum-intensive construction of its XJ sedan since the previous-generation model was introduced back in 2003.The automaker claims that use of aluminum in lieu of steel can result in a 40 percent reduction in weight.

Tatas-owned Jaguar Land Rover will eventually make all of its models with lightweight aluminum bodies to save on gas and reduce climate-changing CO2 emissions.So said Tata Motors Chairman Rata Tata earlier this week, adding that the two iconic brands are also developing hybrid engines for use in future JLR models.

In addition to improvements in fuel economy and emissions, that degree of weight reduction should also improve acceleration and handling.In line with its newfound appreciation for lightweight cars, Jaguar Land Rover is experimenting with hybrid powertrains.

A kinetic energy recovery system may be in the cards for the XJ line in 2011, while Land Rover has been working on an Electric Rear Axle Drive that could debut in the upcoming LRX compact Range Rover.