The Jaguar XJ is a full-size luxury saloon. The model has been in production since 1968 with the first generation being the last Jaguar car to have creative input by the company's founder, Sir William Lyons, although this is disputed as some Jaguar historians claim that the second generation XJ – the XJ40 series – was the last car which Lyons had influenced. The XJ40 originally launched in 1986 and went through two major revamps in 1994 (X300) and 1997 (X308) for a total production run of 17 years. In early 2003, the third generation XJ – the X350 – arrived in showrooms and while the car's exterior and interior styling were traditional in appearance, the car was completely re-engineered. Its styling attracted much criticism from many motoring journalists who claimed that the car looked old-fashioned and barely more modern than its predecessor, many even citing that the 'Lyons line' had been lost in the translation from XJ40 into X350 XJ, even though beneath the shell lay a highly advanced aluminium construction that put the XJ very near the top of its class.