When Jaguar erased its social media presence two years ago to relaunch the brand with a bunch of bright colors and androgenous actors, the car world was in uproar. How dare Jaguar, the brand that built an image on being an automotive bad boy, erase its history, only to announce a giant EV that no one asked for?Well, the stunt did one thing; it gave Jaguar mode headlines and more time on the lips of everyone than the brand has arguably ever had. But it also caused a mega backlash, and the jury is still out on whether the brand's creative director, Gerry McGovern, was fired for the rebranding or not. But, very recently, Jaguar changed... it brought back the heritage it had thrown out two years ago. Jaguar is still pursuing the Type 00 EV, but at least it's finally remembered who the heck it is.JLR The Colors Remain, But So Do The Classics If you scroll down Jaguar's Instagram gallery, the earliest posts you'll see are of the reveal of the Type 00 in concept form. No F-Types, no XE SV, no XJs, no classic Mark 2, not even an E-Type. Most of the posts since have been much of the same, with fashionistas poring over the Type 00.But 13 weeks ago, something changed. Jaguar decided to celebrate 90 years of the brand, and while the reel it posted centered on the forthcoming Type 00 - or whatever it ends up being called in production - it also payed tribute to the icons that came before it: the D-Type, E-Type, and XJS.Now, those icons take pride of place on Jaguar's social media channels, each having dedicated posts highlighting their beauty and the unique place they have in the Jaguar lineup. Sure, Jag is leveraging their designs to showcase where the Type 00's overall proportions come from, but I don't care. It's a sign that Jaguar has remembered who the hell it is, or at the very least who the hell it was. Jaguar Not Backtracking On Its Electric Future Jaguar still remains committed to an electric future, so don't think the renewed focus on the classics means the V8 or inline-six are making a comeback. Type 00 development is nearly at an end, the prototype drives have been conducted, and later this year, the 1,000-horsepower four-door super-GT will be unveiled in production form, with the $100k halo relaunching the brand in a higher market segment than its previous attempts at being a BMW and Mercedes-Benz rival.Thereafter, there will allegedly be a new sports car, but also a halo SUV, all of which will be electric. Jaguar has committed to this, despite the rest of the world pivoting back to combustion in some form. Examples of such a pivot include Porsche, which had planned to be almost entirely electric by 2030 and which has now written off billions of dollars to re-engineer new halo models as combustion-powered. Bentley will still have a new electric SUV, but the rest of its models are sticking with fossil fuel.Even Rolls-Royce, who was arguably best suited to going electric, has announced the V12 will be sticking around. BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Toyota, the list goes on. Name a brand, and I guarantee they'll have backtracked on their electric plans in some way. Or at the very least, they've delayed them. But Jaguar? Jaguar remains committed. And it doesn't really have a choice. It has already written off an entire lineup of cars to pursue this reimagining of its own identity.Jaguar How Different Things Could've Been When I say an entire lineup was written off, I mean it. Ian Callum, the man behind the designs of the Jaguar F-Type, F-Pace, I-Pace, and every recent Jaguar that didn't look 50 years old by the time it was unveiled, recently opened up about Jaguar's current plans. Callum is no longer involved with the brand, but admitted that he had designed an entire replacement lineup for the F-Type, F-Pace, XF, XJ, and more."Julian Thomson and I created quite a lot of new Jaguars before I left and while he was still there, and they were all taken away. They were all stopped. And even the current cars were stopped. The replacement of those cars, like the XF and the F-Type, and the F-Pace, they were all in the cards, they were all being done. The XJ was nearly finished. That was all stopped. Just like that. Start again."- Ian Callum, former Jaguar designerCallum says he knows why they were stopped, but that there was no foundational reason for that. He spoke on a recent podcast and actually had a certain amount of praise for Type 00, which has divided opinion on its design. But according to Callum, who spoke recently on the Road to Success podcast, there are a number of strong ties to the brand's past, and he points out the proportions being "ironically, based on the old XJS," which was a car Callum found particularly inspiring in his time with the automaker.Bring A Trailer According to him, Type 00 is a 'statement car' and the foundation of a "brave new world" for the brand. But it lacks one thing: beauty."It's a handsome car, it's bold, it's brave, and it's got a lot of good design attributes about it. But it's not beautiful. And Jaguars need to be beautiful. Yes, it's very strong, and it's got a lot of character, but it's not beautiful. And for me, it's too retro."- Ian CallumSo things could've been different, and they nearly were, but Jaguar threw it all away, and now it remains committed to the Type 00. But at least it's no longer ashamed of its past - something I accused the brand of being when Type 00 was announced. Jaguar's Gamble Could Be Its End In America I'm glad Jaguar hasn't turned its back on its history, even if I'm not enamored by what it plans for the future. However, whether I believe in it or not, I think Jaguar has an uphill battle trying to get back into the American market with any success.Jaguar was hardly a household name in the states when Type 00 was announced. It had been on a steady decline, and models like the XE had left the US market while the F-Type was aging and the F-Pace was struggling to keep up with rivals. It's a genuine pity, as the last generation of Jags - with the exception of the E-Pace - were all great to drive, if a little overpriced and lacking the quality of their rivals.But Jaguar has effectively removed itself from the US market, retaining dealer presence only because the Jaguar branding remains affixed to Land Rover dealers. But when Type 00 eventually arrives, Jaguar is facing an uphill battle, barefoot, in the snow, both ways. Not only is it trying to relaunch in a market where it was already a footnote, but it will be doing so after an effective two-year absence. And it will be doing so with a nice product costing north of $100,000, positioned as a rival to Porsche and Bentley instead of Mercedes and BMW, and crucially, with a powertrain America has turned its back on.Putting an entire brand on hiatus for two years to reinvent itself may have worked in England, where there's enough national pride to keep the brand going, but in America? I don't know if the brand will be able to pull it off. Time will tell, but in the two years since Jaguar killed its old brand identity, America is a very different place, not just politically but automotively, too.But hey, cheer up, at least it's willing to brag about its coolest cars of yesteryear again.