Why did they take the Leaping Jaguar off the bonnet of the later models?

because its cheaper to put a badge on a car rather than a beautiful symbol ornament. the auto maker, includig jauar, have gotten so greedy that they have cut every corner possible to save money while charging more for the product. its very sad. we've lost an icon of an era by losing hood ornaments including the jaguar.

Actually it is due to pedestrian crash guidelines. Consider if you will, a hard metallic object such as the leaping jaguar hitting you in the hip at 30mph. Can you see yourself getting up and walking away after that?