- For Land Rover's first 4X4 simply called Land Rover, see Land Rover Series.
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Land Rover is a British all-terrain vehicle and Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV) manufacturer, based in Gaydon, England, UK. Originally the term Land Rover referred to one specific vehicle, a pioneering civilian all-terrain utility vehicle launched on April 30, 1948, at the Amsterdam Motor Show, but was later used as a brand for several distinct models, all four-wheel drive. Starting out as part of The Rover Car Company or Rover, Land Rovers were designed and manufactured as a range of four-wheel drive vehicles under a succession of owners, including British Leyland, British Aerospace and BMW. Today, the marque is part of the Tata Group (along with Jaguar) after a 7 year stint in the now defunct Premier Automotive Group, a division of the Ford Motor Company. Land Rover is one of the longest lived SUV brands (the only brand which is older is Jeep).
Manufacturing & Business
Land Rovers are manufactured primarily at the Solihull plant, near Birmingham, England. Production of the "Freelander" (2) was moved to the Jaguar car factory at Halewood near Liverpool, a former Ford car plant. Defender models are assembled under license in several locations worldwide, including Brazil and Turkey. The former BL/Rover Group technical centre at Gaydon in Warwickshire is home to the Land Rover corporate and R&D headquarters.
2008 Sale
On 11 June 2007, Ford announced that its plan to sell Land Rover, along with Jaguar. Ford retained the services of Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and HSBC to advise it on the details of the deal. The buyer, possibly to a private equity group, was initially expected to be announced by September 2007, but the sale was delayed and an announcement shall not be made until the end of 2007. A UK based private equity firm, Alchemy Partners, besides Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra (both from India) have expressed interest in purchasing Jaguar and Land Rover from the Ford Motor Company.[1][2]
Before the sale was announced, Anthony Bamford, chairman of British excavators manufacturer JCB had expressed interest in purchasing Jaguar Cars in August, the year previously;[3] only to back out later when told the sale would also involve Land Rover, which he did not intend to buy. [4] Tata Motors have received endorsements from the Transport And General Worker's Union (TGWU)-Amicus[5] combine and Ford as a preferred bidder.[6]
On March 25, 2008, a deal was made to sell Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata for $2 billion. [7]
History
The first Land Rover was designed in 1947 in the United Kingdom (on the island of Anglesey in Wales) by Maurice Wilks, the chief designer at the British car company Rover, as a farm vehicle that could be used for everything from ploughing fields to driving in town. It is said that he was inspired by an American World War II Jeep that he used one summer at his holiday home in Wales . The first Land Rover prototype 'centre steer' was built on a Jeep chassis. A distinctive feature has been their bodies, constructed of a lightweight rustproof proprietary alloy of aluminium and magnesium called Birmabright. This material was used owing to post war steel shortages and a plentiful supply of post-war aircraft aluminium. This metal's resistance to corrosion was one of the factors that allowed the vehicle to build up a reputation for longevity in the toughest conditions. The early choice of colour was dictated by military surplus supplies of aircraft cockpit paint, so early vehicles only came in a shade of light green; all models until recently feature sturdy box section ladder-frame chassis.
The early vehicles, such as the Series 1, were designed to be field-serviced; advertisements for Rovers have bragged about vehicles driven thousands of miles on banana oil. Now with more complex service requirements this is less of an option. The British Army maintains the use of the mechanically simple 2.5 litre 4 cylinder 300TDi engined versions rather than the electronically controlled 2.5 litre 5 cylinder TD5 to retain some servicing simplicity. This engine also continued in use in some export markets.
Land Rovers, particularly the commercial and military models, became ubiquitous throughout rural areas and in the developing World. The Land Rover featured in the South African movie The Gods Must Be Crazy illustrates the love-hate relationship many owners feel with the earlier Series 1, 2 and 3 vehicles.
Land Rovers have competed in the Paris Dakar Rally as well as being the vehicle used for the Camel Trophy as part of a sponsorship deal. The Land Rover Defender is also used by military forces throughout the world. In the UK armed forces, the very expensive Pinzgauer, now built in the UK, is increasingly common in roles previously the preserve of the Land Rover Defender such as ambulances, artillery tractor and weapons platform with 188 Pinzgauers in service and 15,000 Land Rovers.
Since the 1970s, in most remote areas of Africa, South America, Asia and in the Australian Outback the Toyota Land Cruiser has overtaken the Land Rover as the utility 4x4 of choice, probably because of the better parts network offered by Japanese competitors. In Australia at least, pricing is actually comparable or in favour of the Land Rover. Another reason seems to be the 'leadfoot' factor - the workhorse Toyota models tend to have larger engines than the comparable Land Rover models.
In Britain, the Land Rover fell from favour with the farming community with the arrival of less expensive Japanese alternatives, with Daihatsu Fourtracks and Isuzu Troopers becoming a common sight on farms around the country, until rust eventually ended their working lives. However, with subtle improvements to the Defender in the early 1990s, and with the introduction of better, more reliable engines in the form of the TDi (especially the 300TDi) and the new five-cylinder TD5, most farms once again have a Land Rover Defender in their yard.
The Range Rover has helped to define the Land Rover brand as much as the traditional Series and later Defender vehicles. Its upmarket image is peerless in the SUV market and led to a proliferation of products with the introduction of the Discovery/LR3, Freelander and Range Rover Sport.
By the late 1990's Land Rover were concerned that the brand was fragmented in the eyes of customers who saw a collection of products, which had little relation to each other. In order to exert more leverage from marketing-spend, a re-think led to a departure from the traditional 'mud and guts' advertising to more aspirational and luxury orientated marketing to better reflect the true customer-base.
This product strategy has kept Land Rover in business. In 2005 it was the most profitable part of Ford's Premier Automotive Group (PAG) brand portfolio. This is in sharp contrast with Jaguar, another PAG brand, which has failed to innovate and appeal to new customers. Land Rovers profits should contiue to rise with the indroducton of the new Freelander at the end of 2006 and the new Defender in the summer of 2007.
Company Timeline
- 1948: Land Rover is designed by the Wilks Brothers and is manufactured by the Rover Car Company
- 1958: Series II launched
- 1961: Series IIA began production
- 1967: Rover becomes part of Leyland Motors Ltd, later British Leyland (BL) as Rover Triumph.
- 1970: Introduction of the Range Rover
- 1971: Series III launched.
- 1975: BL collapses and is nationalised, publication of the Ryder Report recommends that Land Rover be split from Rover and be treated as a separate company within BL and becomes part of the new commercial vehicle division called the Land Rover Leyland Group
- 1976: One millionth Land Rover leaves the production line.
- 1980: Rover car production ends at Solihull with the transfer of SD1 production to Cowley, Oxford; Solihull is now exclusively for Land Rover manufacture. 5-door Range Rover introduced.
- 1983: Land Rover 90 (Ninety)/110 (One-Ten)/127 (Land Rover Defender) introduced.
- 1986: BL plc becomes Rover Group plc; Project Llama started.
- 1988: Rover Group is privatised and becomes part of British Aerospace, and is now known simply as Rover.
- 1987: Range Rover is introduced to the U.S market
- 1989: Introduction of the Discovery ("Disco I" to enthusiasts)
- 1994: Rover Group is taken over by BMW. Introduction of second-generation Range Rover. (The original Range Rover was continued under the name 'Range Rover Classic' until 1995)
- 1997: Land Rover introduces the Special Edition Discovery XD with AA Yellow paint, subdued wheels, SD type roof racks, and a few other off-road upgrades directly from the factory. Produced only for the North American market, the Special Vehicles Division of Land Rover created only 250 of these bright yellow SUV's.
- 1998: Introduction of the Freelander
- 1999: Introduction of the second generation of Discovery (Disco II)
- 2000: BMW breaks up the Rover Group and sells Land Rover to Ford for £1.8 billion [8]
- 2002: Introduction of third-generation Range Rover
- 2005: Land Rover 'founder' Rover, collapses under the ownership of MG Rover Group.
- 2005: Introduction of the third-generation Discovery/LR3
- 2005: Introduction of Range Rover Sport
- 2005: Adoption of the Jaguar AJ-V8 engine to replace the BMW M62 V8 in the Range Rover
- 2006: Announcement of a new 2.4 litre diesel engine, 6 speed gearbox, dash and forward facing rear seats for Defender. Introduction of second generation of Freelander (Freelander 2). Ford acquires the Rover trademark from BMW, who previously licensed its use to MG Rover Group.
- 2007: May 8 - 4,000,000th Land Rover rolls off the production line, a Discovery 3 (LR3), donated to The Born Free Foundation.
- 2007: June 12 Announcement from the Ford Motor Company that it plans to sell Land Rover and also Jaguar Cars. This effectively dissolves the Premier Automotive Group (PAG) which previously included Aston Martin, until it was sold into private ownership by Ford in March 2007; at this time Ford has made no announcement regarding Volvo Cars.
- 2007: August India's Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra as well as financial sponsors Cerberus Capital Management, TPG Capital and Apollo Management expressed their interest in purchasing Jaguar Cars and Land Rover from the Ford Motor Company.[9][10]
Models
- Series I, II and III - the original off-roader
- Defender - Updated Series line, with a move from extreme utilitarianism.
- Freelander/LR2 - compact crossover 4x4, the second generation of which is known as the LR2 in North America.
- Discovery/LR3 - mid-size off-roader
- Range Rover - full-size luxury off-roader
- Range Rover Classic - the original Range Rover, produced from 1970 to 1996
- Range Rover Sport - mid-size luxury crossover 4x4
There have also been models developed for the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD)
- 101 Forward Control - also known as the "Land Rover One Tonne"
- 1/2 ton Lightweight - airportable military short wheelbase from the Series 2a
- Land Rover Wolf - an uprated Military Defender
- SNATCH landrover - Land Rover with composite armoured body in UK Armed Forces Service
- 109 Series IIa and III ambulance (body by Marshalls of Cambridge)
- Range Rover 6x4 Fire Appliance (conversion by Carmichael and Sons of Worcester) for RAF airfield use
- 130 Defender ambulance
- 'Llama' prototypes for 101 replacement.
At the 2004 North American International Auto Show, Land Rover introduced its first concept, the Range Stormer (Gritzinger, 2004).
The armoured police vehicle, the Shorland, was not a Land Rover produced model but was built from Land Rover parts by Shorts of Belfast. These were used by the Royal Ulster Constabulary and Ulster Defence Regiment until the 1970s, when a more conventional armoured Land Rover Tangi was built.
Concept Models
- Land Rover Land e
- Land Rover Range Stormer
- Land Rover LRX
- Land Rover DC100
- Land Rover DC100 Sport
Military use
Since the very beginning all Series and Defender models have been used in a military capacity, in fact they are the back bone of the British Armed Forces. Often this has entailed just slightly modifying civilian models (primarily adding military "blackout" lights), but some dedicated military models have also been developed such as the Forward Control and the Lightweight. The Discovery has also been used in small numbers, mostly as liaison vehicles. Two models that have been designed for military use from the ground up are the 101 Forward Control from the early 1970s and the Lightweight or Airportable from the late 1960s. The latter was intended to be transported by helicopter. The famous Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Service (United Kingdom) teams were early users in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and their convoys of landrovers and larger military trucks are a sight often seen in the mountain areas of the United Kingdom. Originally RAFMRS Land Rovers had blue bodies and bright yellow tops, to be better seen from above. In 1981, the colour scheme was changed to green with yellow stripes. More recently, vehicles have been painted white, and are issued with fittings similar to civilian UK Mountain Rescue teams. The teams have recently been threatened with replacement of their beloved Land Rovers by Toyota 4 x 4 SUV-style vehicles.
Military modifications include heavy duty suspension, uprated brakes, 24 Volt electrics, convoy lights, electronic suppression of the ignition system, blackout curtains and mounts for special equipment and small arms.Although they also lack the 'creature comforts' that would be associated with a civilian vehicle, such as sound deadening, carpets, air con, and other 'comfort' additions.
Military uses include light utility vehicle, communications platform, weapon platform for recoilless rifles, TOWs or machine guns, ambulances and workshops.
One famous adaptation of Land Rovers to military purposes is the "Pink Panther" models. Approximately 100 Series IIAs were adapted to reconnaissance use by the British special operations forces the SAS. For desert use they were often painted pink, hence the name. The vehicles were fitted with among other gear a sun compass, machine guns, larger fuel tanks and smoke dischargers. Similar adaptations were later made to Series IIIs and 90/110/Defenders. [11]
The 75th Ranger Regiment of the United States Army also adapted twelve versions of the Land Rover that were officially designated the RSOV (Ranger Special Operations Vehicle.)
Series and Defenders have also been uparmoured. The most widespread of these is the Shorts Shorland, built by Shorts Brothers of Belfast. The first of these were delivered in 1965 to the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force. They were originally 109" models with an armoured body and a turret from the Ferret armoured car. In 1990 there had been more than 1,000 produced. [12] In the 1970s a more conventional armoured Land Rover was built for the Royal Ulster Constabulary in Wales called the Hotspur. The Land Rover Tangi was built by the Royal Ulster Constabulary's own vehicle engineering team during the 1990s. The British Army has used various armoured Land Rovers, first in Northern Ireland but also in more recent campaigns. They first added protective panels to Series General Service vehicles (the Vehicle Protection Kit (VPK)). Later they procured the Glover Webb APV and finally the Courtaulds (later NP Aerospace) Composite Armoured Vehicle, commonly known as Snatch. These were originally based on heavy duty V8 110 chassis but some have recently been re-mounted on new chassis from Otokar of Turkey and fitted with diesel engines and air-conditioning for Iraq. Although these now have more in common with the 'Wolf' (Defender XD) Land Rovers that many mistakenly confuse them with, the Snatch and the Wolf are different vehicles.
The most radical conversion of a Land Rover for military purposes was the Centaur Halftrack. It was based on a Series III with a V8 engine and a shortened belt drive from the Alvis Scorpion light tank. A small number was manufactured, and they were used by Ghana, among others.
The Land Rover is used by military forces throughout the world. However, it is increasingly being supplemented, and even replaced, by larger vehicles. For instance the Pinzgauer, now built in the UK, is increasingly common in roles previously the preserve of the Land Rover Defender, such as ambulances, artillery tractors and weapons platforms. This is mainly due to the demands of modern warfare- combat vehicles today are generally required to carry much more equipment in the form of weaponry, communications equipment and armour. A 'soft' light 4x4 like the traditional Land Rover simply doesn't have the load capacity or strength of a larger medium-duty vehicle like the Pinzgauer. Even the current generation of Land Rover used by the British Army, the Wolf, have upgraded and strengthened chassis and suspension compared to civilian-spec vehicles.
Abilities
The use of Land Rovers by the British and Commonwealth military, as well as on long term civilian projects and expeditions, is mainly due to the superior off-road performance of the marque. For example, the short wheelbase version of the Land Rover Defender is capable of tackling a gradient of 45 degrees, an approach angle of up to 50 degrees, a departure angle of 53 degrees and a ramp break-over of up to 155 degrees - greatly superior not just to urban 4x4s but to military vehicles such as the HMMWV and Pinzgauer High Mobility All-Terrain Vehicle. A distinctive feature of all Land Rover products has been their exceptional axle articulation (the degree to which the wheels have vertical travel, with high amounts allowing them to maintain contact (and traction) with the ground over uneven surfaces), which is currently 7 inches (178mm) at the front axle and 8.25 inches (210mm) at the rear on basic Defender models.
Right from the start in 1948, PTOs (Power take-offs) were integral to the Land Rover concept, enabling farm machinery and many other items to be run with the vehicle stationary. Maurice Wilks was very clear about this, and his original instruction was "...to have power take-offs everywhere!" The 1949 report by the British National Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Scottish Machinery Testing Station described it thus:
"The power take-off is driven through a Hardy-Spicer propeller shaft from the main gearbox output and two interchangeable pinions giving two ratios. The PTO gearbox casing is bolted to the rear chassis cross-member and an 8 in x 8 in belt pulley driven from the PTO shaft through two bevel gears can be bolted to the PTO gearbox casing."
PTOs remained regular options on Series I, II and III Land Rovers up to the demise of the Series Land Rover in 1985. It is still possible to order an agricultural PTO on a Defender as a special order.
One of the other capabilities of the utility Land Rover (the Series/Defender models is that they are available in a huge variety of body styles, ranging from a simple canvas-topped pick-up truck to a 12-seat fully trimmed Station Wagon. Both Land Rover and out-of-house contractors have offered a huge range of conversions and adaptations to the basic vehicle, such as fire engines, excavators, 'cherry picker' hydraulic platforms, ambulances, snowploughs, and 6-wheel drive versions, as well as one-off special builds including amphibious Land Rovers and vehicles fitted with tracks instead of wheels.
Land Rover Experience
Land Rover Experience is the company's busy driver training wing. Established in 1998, Land Rover Experience consists of a network of centres throughout the world, setup to help customers get the most out of their vehicle's on and off-road capability. The flagship centre is based in Eastnor, Herefordshire in the UK, which has long been used as an engineering test and development facility. Courses offered include off-road driving, winching, and trailer handling, along with a variety of corporate and individual 'Adventure Days'. Land Rover Experience
Safety
Road accident statistics on a model-by-model basis from the UK Department of Transport show that the Land Rover Defender and Land Rover Discovery are the safest cars on British roads (measured in terms of chance of death in two car injury accidents) - between three times safer than the safest Volvo models, twice as safe (half the death-rate per two vehicles injury accident) compared with the Jeep Cherokee and Toyota Land Cruiser and only matched by the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Jaguar XJ.
Quality
Concerns and Improvements
Recently, however, Land Rover has markedly improved its quality and reliability.
However in the past it has shown reliability and build quality problems, and this is reflected in its showing in various industry and consumer quality and dependability related surveys, as detailed below:
- Land Rover marque ranked last on the US J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Survey for 2005 (published 8 July 2005) (Kia second last). This is the fourth year that it has been in the last or second to last place in the survey. This study was based on responses from more than 55,000 US based original owners of 2000 model year cars and light trucks at three years of ownership. [2] In 2004, it narrowly dethroned Kia, as the least reliable nameplate, but swapped places in 2005. (Kia last, Land Rover 2nd last).
- Tied for last (with Hummer and Porsche) in the 2006 Consumer Reports (US) car reliability survey. It was only one of 6 makes that did not have a model whose reliability was "Good" or above (joined by Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Jaguar); its highest-rating car was the LR3, which got a rating of "Poor". In addition, 56 percent of people who owned a 2003 Range Rover reported problems, as did 61 percent of 2002 Freelander owners--both the highest among all cars for that model year.
- Ranked second-to-last in the 2007 Consumer Reports (US) car reliability survey. (Mercedes-Benz took the bottom place.) In the same survey, the LR3/Discovery with a V8 engine was ranked the second least reliable SUV in the midsized category. (The 2006 model year M-class of Mercedes-Benz took the last place in that category.)
- It also was ranked as one of the 3 least reliable over the last 10 years in 2007.[13]
- Land Rover Discovery 6th-from-the-bottom of 100 models for reliability in an Auto Express 2002 survey in the UK.
- Joint 16th-from-the-bottom in 144 car 2002 J.D. Power's What Car? (UK) magazine customer satisfaction survey.
- Land Rover had joint highest average cost in warranty claims for cars up to 10 years old in 2002 UK Warranty Direct index – (based on full-maintenance leasing claims).
- Land Rover Discovery was joint second-to-last in 2002 Which? (UK) magazine reliability survey of cars up to 2 years old – however, only 35 Land Rovers were in the sample.
- Land Rover was 3rd least-reliable of 31 makes of car in 2002 Which? (UK) magazine reliability survey of 2000-2002 model-year cars.
- Least-reliable of 32 makes built 1997-1999. Spate of engine power, gearbox and exploding clutch problems (which Land Rover reportedly has refused to repair under warranty).
- 89% of Land Rovers were reported breakdown-free in 2003 Which? (UK) magazine's J.D. Power survey.
Beginning with the Discovery Series III (LR3 in the US) model, one of the replacement power plants for the new model was the 4.4L V8 engine developed by Jaguar and a 4.0L V6 developed by Ford (Jaguar was also part of the Ford Group).
Some of the service problems in US specification Land Rover Defender and Discovery models are related to the Rover V8 petrol engine, as Land Rover increased the displacement and otherwise modernized the engine, which was originally designed in the late 1950s by General Motors for Buick. The same engine has powered a variety of other British cars, including the Rover 3500 and Triumph TR8.
Most European, South African and Australian specification Defenders and Discovery models are now equipped with the TD5 diesel engine and reliability has still proven a problem as detailed in the surveys above. Part of the problem is also caused by the manufacturing methods used. The Defender is still largely hand-built, with aluminium body panels mounted on a steel chassis. This makes it very hard for the vehicle to have the same rigidity and inter-panel sealing as is found on modern vehicle. The 1980s saw numerous cut-backs to the utility Land Rover line (at that time, the Ninety/One Ten range), which included the replacement of the galvanised metal body cappings (as used since 1948) with simple painted items. This led to rapid corrosion of these parts. Similar economy measures were put in place. Recently increased investment under Ford has seen the return of the galvanised cappings, and design changes to reduce corrosion (such as the introduction of a one-piece rear door on Station Wagon and Hard Top models, which previously had doors made from panels over a steel frame).
Land Rover still makes heavy use of the British Leyland "parts bin" on its older models (the Defender and Freelander in particular), and this as well as its parts-sharing scheme is often cited as the cause of many malfunctions. It now appears that Ford is attempting to address the Land Rover quality issues. It was reported in the Birmingham Post on 27 May 2004 that Ford's senior management have given the Land Rover plant 8 weeks to come up with a "road map" to address the quality issues at Land Rover and bring its competitiveness up to global standards in 5 years. Ford has threatened Solihull with closure unless significant improvements are realised, and with no replacement for the Jaguar X-Type on the cards, it seems likely that there will be sufficient extra capacity at Halewood in the coming years to accommodate the entire Land Rover range.
Despite the recent drops in quality, it is rumoured that 75% of all Land Rovers produced since 1955 are still on the road. This figure may be misleading, due to the wider range of vehicles and much higher production of recent years. The simplicity of build and cross compatibility of parts with many earlier models, together with the enthusiasm of many owners, has ensured many vehicles have stayed on the road. The longevity of individual vehicles may also tend to hide any improvements in production quality as assembly faults, once fixed, may stay fixed, and so may only matter to the first buyer. Enthusiasts of the marque and commercial users often point out that the mechanical components of the vehicles are very tough and reliable- it is the 'non-essential' areas such as interior fit/finish, weather sealing and ancillary electrics that fail. Another point often made is that other manufacturers not only produce models with assembly faults which are recalled, but do not tend to remain as reliable as Land Rover products in the long run. It is also true that a much larger proportion of early Land Rover Discovery, the first vehicle to be produced in very high numbers, remain in everyday use than can be said of rival manufacturers. All Land Rovers are crash tested.
In popular culture and public media
Land Rovers, particularly the commercial and military models, became ubiquitous throughout rural areas and in the developing World. "The Antichrist," the Land Rover featured in the South African film The Gods Must Be Crazy, illustrates the love-hate relationship many owners feel with the earlier Series 1, 2 and 3 vehicles. The 1960s TV series Daktari featured a Land Rover which was the subject of Corgi models that still frequent eBay listings. Many other films feature prominent roles for Land Rovers, including Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Ace Ventura, Hotel Rwanda and the Bond film The Living Daylights. Mission: Impossible III features a Land Rover Discovery 3 (LR3). One of the not-so-subtle drug lords in the British crime movie Layer Cake is noted for driving a yellow Range Rover. An anachronism occurs in Ice-Cold in Alex, which features a Land Rover though the film is set during World War II. Fox's television show The O.C. featured an affluent family driving a Range Rover. The 2006 film The Queen depicts Queen Elizabeth II manoeuvring a forest green Land Rover through the Scottish countryside and when the vehicle breaks down crossing a river the scene is used as a vehicle to demonstrate the Queen's practical ability "I was a mechanic during the war". A Land Rover is amongst the vehicles used in the film The Italian Job in which it drives through winding backstreets and courtyards of Turin. It's interesting to note that it is the most modern looking vehicle in the film due to its unchanging looks. The Land Rover brand is mentioned on an almost daily basis in the UK on BBC Radio 2 in the on air banter between morning travel reporter Lynn Bowles and co-hosts Sarah Kennedy, Terry Wogan and Ken Bruce. Lynn learnt to drive in a Land Rover and is fast becoming a mascot for the marque after competing in the 2004 run of the Macmillan 4x4 UK Challenge[14] and co-presenting the Heritage Motor Centre [15] Land Rover show every year since 2005.
When a new paint colour called 'Stornoway Grey', a replacement of Bonatti Grey, was introduced to Land Rover vehicles, Western Isles councillor Angus Nicolson demanded the name to be changed to Silvery Stornoway because he claimed the colour will damage the town's image among tourists and leave people with the impression that Stornoway was drab and dull. Land Rover representative responded that the use of Stornoway Grey will help keep it on the map, as grey is an extremely popular colour for the vehicle.[16]
Land Rovers have competed in the Paris Dakar Rally and won the Macmillan 4x4 UK Challenge almost every year, as well as having been the vehicle used for the Camel Trophy as part of a sponsorship deal. Now, Land Rover has its own G4 challenge.
Land Rover Clubs
The Land Rover brand has been elevated to a cult status amongst enthusiasts. Nowhere is this more evident than the Land Rover club environment.
Hundreds of clubs have formed throughout the UK and internationally. Land Rover clubs break down into a number of groups of varying interests.
Single Marque Clubs - As the title suggests these clubs bring together owners of a specific model or series of vehicle such as the Series One Club, or the Discovery Owners Club. Clubs based around ownership of earlier series vehicles tend to attract the purists amongst Land Rover owners whose interests often relate to restoration of their vehicles to their original condition.
Special Vehicle Clubs - At various times Land Rover have produced vehicles for specific events or on a specific theme, most notable are the Camel Trophy and G4 Challenge vehicles which have been sold on to the general public, and a range of Defenders that were loosely based on the custom vehicles produced for the Tomb Raider motion picture. Regional Clubs - These break down into two groups, competitive and non-competitive clubs.
Non-competitive clubs activities generally relate to social events, off road driving or Green Laning on un-surfaced public highways or 'pay and play' days at off road centres.
Competitive clubs are a phenomenon almost exclusively found within the UK, who as well as the non-competitive activities detailed above run competitive events such as Tyro, Road Taxed Vehicle (RTV) and Cross Country Vehicle (CCV) trials, winch and recovery challenges or speed events such as Competitive Safari's. All UK competitive events are run within the framework of rules created by the Motor Sports Association (MSA) with further vehicle specific rules applied by the host club or association.
A number of clubs are affiliated to the Association of Land Rover Clubs (ALRC) formerly known as the Association of Rover Clubs (ARC) the association applies its own vehicle regulations to all of its member clubs who have the opportunity to compete together at regional events and an annual national event with vehicles approved to the same standard.
Club Licensing - In 2005 under Ford ownership the Land Rover company became more interested in the club environment. An internal club was formed, The Land Rover Club a club exclusive to employees of the Ford Premier Automotive Group. Also, an agreement was generated to allow other clubs to use the Land Rover green oval logo under licence. In 2006 the Beds, Herts and Cambs club were the pilot licensees for the new agreement, who now benefit from a reciprocal arrangement where their own logo is trade marked and owned by Land Rover and they can refer to themselves as a 'Land Rover Approved Club'.
See Also
LAND ROVER | ||
Tata Motors | Jaguar | Land Rover | Hispano Carrocera SA | Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle | Daewoo Bus Current Models: Discovery · Range Rover · Range Rover Sport · Defender · Range Rover Velar · Range Rover Evoque · Discovery Sport Historic Models: Series I, II, and III · 109 Series IIa and III · Range Rover Classic · LR2/Freelander 2 Concept Cars: Land e · Range Stormer · LRX Concept · Llama One-Offs: Military Vehicles: 1/2 ton Lightweight · 101 Forward Control · Wolf · SNATCH Land Rover · Include notable internal links here | ||
Maurice Wilks and Spencer Wilks | Corporate website | A brand of the Tata Group |
References
- ↑ Forbes India's Tata confirms interest in Land Rover, Jaguar
- ↑ CNN India's Tata eyeing Jaguar and Land Rover
- ↑ JCB's Sir Anthony Bamford eyes Jaguar - 24/08/2006 - Contract Journal
- ↑ JCB will not buy Jaguar - 16/10/2006 - Contract Journal
- ↑ "Tata set to clinch Jaguar-Land Rover deal: Report". Press Trust of India. 2007-12-20. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Tata_set_to_clinch_Jaguar-Land_Rover_deal_Report/articleshow/2637533.cms. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
- ↑ "Ford set to pick Jaguar frontrunner in days: source". Reuters. 2007-12-17. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/17/AR2007121700620.html. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
- ↑ MSNBC:Ford sells Jaguar/Land Rover to India's Tata. Accessed 2008-3-25.
- ↑ BBC NEWS | Business | BMW, Ford seal Land Rover deal
- ↑ India's Tata confirms interest in Land Rover, Jaguar - Forbes.com
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Bob Morrison: Land Rovers in military service, Brooklands Books 1993, ISBN 1-85520-205-0
- ↑ Shorland.info
- ↑ "Most & least reliable brands - 950,000 readers tell which products really last", Consumer Reports, May 2007, p. 12
- ↑ Lynn Bowles - Mac4x4 - Land Rover Enthusiast Article
- ↑ Heritage Land Rover Weekend
- ↑ Brit town protests "Stornoway Grey" Land Rovers
External links
- Land Rover Official website
- Land Rover UK Official website
- Land Rover Extreme website
- Land Rover VIN decoder
- Land Rover VIN Lookup
- The Land Rover FAQ
- Land Rover News - Land Rover news all in one place
- LR4x4.com - The Independent Land Rover Forum
- Land Rover Repair Forums (LRRForums)
- Svensk Land Rover klubben - Swedish Land Rover Club
- Land Rovers on cardomain.com
- Land Rover USA Dealerships and Models
- Land Rovers Only website - Largest LR owners website
- Discoweb - Land Rover Discovery web site
- Land Rover Defender in Action
- Muddy Oval - enthusiast website
- Camel Trophy Owners Club
- Range Rover Hire
- The Keynsham Camels - Ex-Camel Trophy vehicles enthusiast site
- Land Rover Addict Forums
- Land Rover Owners Club of Victoria - Oldest and largest Club in Australia
- Land Rover Lifestyle - U.S. based enthusiast magazine
- ORRP 'Off-Roaders' Rant Page' - Land Rover enthusiast forum
- Camel Trophy forum
- Land-Rover Off-Roader - Small Scale Land Rover Site
- LandyOnline - Land Rover News in Africa
- Jeep, Land Rover & Range Rover news blog - Blog for Jeep, Land Rover and Range Rover enthusiasts
- www.d-90.com The D90 Source - Website dedicated to the Land Rover Defenders, message boards, tech info, How-tos and more
- Anglorecambios Especialistas - Land Rover Specialists Website
- RoverGuide - Land Rover News Blog
- Land Rover Owners International Magazine
- UK Land Rover Owners club and forum
- BREAKING: Ford sells Jaguar / Land Rover for $2 billion to Tata Motors
- The Land Rover Chronicles.com - Land Rover News Blog
- Jaguar Land Rover joins Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
- Jaguar/Land Rover asking UK gov't for money
- Report: Jaguar-Land Rover in secret aid talks with UK Government
- Land Rover Geeks - Land Rover enthusiast site
- Report: Spen King, father of the Range Rover, dead at age 85
- All Latest Updates on Land Rover Cars
- Land Rover on Facebook
- http://www.landrover-me.com/