XJ ACROSS THE USA; Three days, 2000 miles in Jag's all-new flagship answers the smallest questions.(Column)

Byline: MIKE FLOYD

"Okay now, where the heck is that frickin' noise coming from?'' I'm about halfway through the Texas Panhandle and all I can think about is that confounded clicking sound.

It sounds like the shutter of my camera, but that's turned off. I'm hearing it at intervals. I shut off the radio. I'm getting hotter... Aha, I've got you now.

The analog clock on the 2004 Jaguar XJ Vanden Plas I'm driving is the culprit. Why, of course, every minute on the minute, the little motor that turns the clock's hands makes the noise. Problem solved. Now it's time to crank up the tunes so it doesn't drive me completely insane. There's still a long, long way to go.

When you're driving more than 2000 miles in three days all by your lonesome, you can't help but notice even the tiniest things about the car you're in.

And when that car is the all-new, aluminum-clad XJ, Jag's seventh-generation flagship and arguably its most important vehicle introduction ever, you will notice the small stuff, because it's so damn easy to take the much-hyped improvements in this car for granted.

My journey with the XJ began in Scottsdale, Arizona, the palm-infested Phoenix suburb; a desert paradise where foofy malls mingle with high-falutin' resorts for the rich and aimless. There are two Jaguar dealerships in Scottsdale alone. Yep, this sizzling hot southwestern swanktown is most definitely Jag country.