From Brandweek/Adweek: a new marketing campaign for Land Rover that leaves a bad taste in our mouth. Ad agency Young & Rubicam Brands took the Land Rover LR3 to actual disaster areas and filmed it among the wreckage to create spots that present the SUV as a ‘hero car’. The campaign’s theme is called ‘Created for the one,’ the idea being that the Land Rover LR3 was designed to handle that one unexpected event like a snowstorm, flood or hurricane.
Imagine you’re overweight. A friend of yours tells you about a diet he got great results from. If you do the one simple thing he did, you’ll lose around 1,000 pounds. You’d try it, wouldn’t you? That’s what’s in store for the next generation Range Rover, with plans to give the Posh-UV an all-aluminum chassis.
Over the past half century Land Rovers have become synonymous with naturalists and peacekeepers the world over. The Land Rover factory in Solihull, England turned out the first of those famous off-road vehicles 59 years ago and yesterday, the four millionth example of the breed rolled out the plant and into the hands of the Born Free Foundation. Since these vehicles have so often been used explore and film nature, the historic model will be used to help preserve it.
Head’s up if you’re one of the 33,000 owners of 2002-2004 Range Rovers. The NHTSA has launched an investigation into those vehicles’ front driveshafts and differentials. The government agency said it had received 38 owner questionnaires pertaining to the situation and 17 of those claimed the drivetrain parts had failed while traveling at 40 mph or more.
Lot Number 1536.1: 1993 Land Rover Defender 110 White/gray/black
Here’s a vehicle that sticks out like a sore thumb among the muscle cars and high profile customs at Barrett-Jackson. It’s Defender 110 number 194 of only 500 made back in ’93. The Defender 110s were real-deal off-roaders that could tackle just about any conditions. This particular one is just about perfect with only 13,500 original miles on the clock. Sure it has the rather antiquated and weak 3.9-liter V8 engine, but 135 hp was considered adequate at the time. OK, maybe not, but still it has enough grunt to make it through most situations you’d encounter thanks to its permanently engaged 4 wheel drive, differential lock and 5-speed manual transmission. Almost seems a novelty to see a stick in a Land Rover nowadays with the public’s penchant for auto trannies.
Land Rover’s Freelander 2 has been crowned SUV of the Year by BBC Top Gear at the magazine’s annual awards celebration hosted by Jeremy Clarkson. First unveiled at the British International Motor Show in London earlier this year, the Freelander 2 is on sale this month, and already, 1,500 of the new models have been sold.
The pic isn’t anything official from Solihull, but it is reportedly based on reality. The fine fellows at Jalopnik found this little Rangie, which looks to be about the same size as the VW Tiguan. We’re digging the exoskeleton look with bold Rover family cues like the large vents ahead of the doors.
Smacking their foreheads and uttering, ‘We could have had a V8!’ Land Rover is apparently considering an LR2 Sport of sorts, according to Edmund’s Inside Line. Why not, when you already have a V8 engine like the Yamaha 4.4-liter V8 from the Volvo XC90/S80 in the corporate warehouse? The plan is feasible as the engine swap would be pretty straightforward. The Freelander 2 LR2 shares many subplatforms with the Volvos.
I’ve finally gotten around to integrating the photo gallery into the design scheme of the rest of the site. It finally looks like part of the family. Enjoy!
Hopefully the potential dispersal of the Ford Premier Group won’t affect this wonderful Jaguar/Land Rover collaboration that is being rumored. By borrowing aluminum (aluminium?) expertise from Jaguar, future Land Rovers could be as much as 1,000 pounds lighter than current models. Utilizing Jaguar’s rivet-bonded aluminum monocoque body design, Land Rover could continue to build large luxury SUVs that are lighter and return even better fuel economy.
