Hello all, this is my first post and I am excited to find others who love LandRovers as much as myself. I just purchase (for one heck of a deal I might add) a 97 Discovery with only 60K miles and in mint condition (well, the paint needs buffing). This is actually my second rover, I owned an early 60's series II (which was awesome but not a practial car for college so I didn't keep it long). Can someone please tell me, I heard something about Land Rover going out of business in England and I have not been able to find anything about this. I was simply curous as to what the deal was and if anyone new of any details or if this was simply a joke. Thanks for your help and I look forward to reading the many posts on your site.

 

MG Rover will be out of business in the very near future. It is a separate company. No worries!

 

If it makes you feel better,I don't think Land Rover will EVER go out of business. Even if it's new owner (Ford) decided to bail,there is more than enough worldwide interest in the Company that it would easily survive.Personally I think the company should have been purchased by a Big company like Rolls Royce or Loyds Of London(assuming they are still British holdings) just to ensure the future pedigree of the Land Rover name.Lord only knows what Ford has is store.

 

How about the Chinese Land Rover LOL...

http://www.cnn.com/2005/BUSINESS/04/...eut/index.html

[8D]

 

again! interesting artical, but do your research RATPACK.

 

how is ford not a big company? that is all you see down here. especially since there are 14 of them at my house. fords are everywhere. if anything, ford is way bigger than rolls royce or lloyds of london, you just don't see those as common as you do fords. ford is a very big company, they own ford, lincoln, mercury, mazda, land rover, jaguar, aston martin and volvo. who knows what their foreign market has to offer. i'm sure foreigners do, lol (play on words). i'm not saying that rolls royce's aren't nice. however, ford has taken what land rover, and jaguar and volvo has to offer and some of those features are now available on fords. i.e. IRS in explorers and expeditions. side curtain airbags in certain FoMoCo (ford motor company) feature now found in certain vehicles predecessor. another feature is if you look at a mazda tribute, Ford Escape, Mercury Mariner, and a Land Rover Freelander, and park them all next to each other, they are almost identical. hell, the jaguar x type and freelander are running on almost the same driveline, hmmm, i wonder where that came from?

moral: Ford is a big company

 

also, does rolls royce or lloyds of london offer a car that can do 0-60mph in 3.3 seconds for less than $150,000? i am only asking becuase i truly don't know

 

im sure Ford will keep Rovers true to their heritage. im also sure the whole reason they bought LR in the first place was to have an off-road player to compete with Daimler-Chrysler and GMs Jeep and Hummers.

Ford + DC + GM = The Big Three. its an American rivalry thing,

im only hoping that they'll release a Defennder (or something to that effect) in the states to compete with the Jeeps and lower end Hummers. *fingers crossed*

 

werd!!! i know ford has a concept for a bronco iii, but i don't know if they will make it or not. they need a new version of defender is true

 

Here is a link that talks about brining back the defender in 2007. 2007 Defender



It appears the rumors are true: The legendary Land Rover Defender will be re-introduced to the North American market in 2007 (as a 2008 model).

How different will it be? For starters, it will have the requisite air bags - a major cause for it being pulled back in 1997. It will have to be easier to assemble - the previous style was largely built by hand. And it will have a newer, more modern body design on a steel frame.

More good news: Short-wheelbase, long-wheelbase, and soft-top versions are in the works, although it is still unclear how many of these versions might be bound for North America.


Concept Drawing of the 2008 Defender LWB. Another 110 Wheelbase Like It's Predecessor?

The downside? No V-8's are projected. Gasoline engines will come from Ford: a direct-injection four with variable timing, a 3.0-liter Duratec V-6, and for the U.S. only, a 3.8-liter V-6. Peugeot will supply a 2.7-liter turbodiesel V-6 for Europe (though the in-the-know Rover enthusiast crowd here in the States has already started the grumbling about no TDi diesel - so perhaps their jawwing will not fall on deaf ears.

Land Rover's managing director, Matthew Taylor said, "The Defender is important. It is one of the few genuine auto icons. Our challenge now is to see how we can successfully take it forward and make it a 21st Century icon"


2008 Defenders - Short Wheelbase and Long Wheelbase Models

As far as being easier to assemble, Land Rover is moving to simplify it platforms from four to two. (60 percent of the new Discovery, for instance, is constructed by automation and it's rumored that Ford wants the same level of assembly automation in use for the new Defender.) As such, Automotive News reports that the next Defender will use Land Rover's new T5 platform architecture, the same body-on-chassis platform used for the new Discovery 3 / LR3 and upcoming Range Stormer or Range Rover Sport (the newest mini-Range Rover slated for upcoming release.)

Land Rover sells about 27,000 Defenders a year to the rest of the world. It's high time it set its sights on North America again, where the mighty Defender's legendary off-road prowess will be put to good use.