so, this happened.....:

Hi,

I have just purchased a new Jaguar and wondered if I can fit the Jaguar hood ornament and if so where. I found your site as being the best informed but cannot find anywhere that says whether it is legal or not to fit one in the UK. I have the Leaping Jaguar ornament ready to fit I just need to know if it is legal.

Your advice would be welcome.

Regards,

Ken

My reply:

You're talking to a Californian... we do whatever we want to, (we blue dot tail lights, we remove fenders, and take off hoods, install new rims and fat tires, and install hydraulics to make lowriders, etc) and cops are to busy with drug dealers and illegal aliens to give any attention to "equipment" issues on out vehicles.

If you need to worry about a hood ornament on your Jag, then ask the vehicle inspection station people, or your Jaguar dealership.

Or, ask your wife if you can have your balls back for a moment, to make a decision on whether or not you want to put a statue on the nose of your car to restore the phallic symbol that Jaguar left off in recent years when too many women complained.

And that, is a car guy's advice on hood ornaments.

Maybe you were looking to see what a soccer mom would say about it. I don't know, but when they show up to work after dropping their kids off at school I can ask them.

(In 2005, the European Union forced carmakers to meet minimum standards for pedestrian safety, based on damage caused in frontal collisions. The removal of upright hood ornaments helped meet the requirements and rather than make different hoods for different countries, many international automakers—including Jaguar—removed the hood ornaments altogether.)