2020 Defender

kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
It's a contender, however I'm leaving in a week for a trip to Botswana. I've been before, but it's been a while. Watching the sun set on the baobabs from my rented 76-series Cruiser, poling tranquilly through the waters of the Okavango, and drinking Windhoek while watching big game congregate along the Chobe River might be more relaxing than anything I did in Kenya. I'm ready for it.

So, you're that asshole for whom the "departures" magazine American Express sends me is meant. 🤣

When I'm done healing up again, I want to hang out with you, instead. I'm done being sent places to do stuff. I want to choose where I go, and explore all the mysteries I had to pass up over the years. No more fighting, running, delivering, prospecting, negotiating... Just a fun vacation looking for weird shit in even weirder places.

I got so into trying to find those big snakes in the Tsavo area, but only had a day and a night to do it, in the end. Damn I was close to figuring it out, or at least thinking that I had; but the next day I got the message to head out. That shit happened constantly. I'm a geek, and I want to do geek stuff, but I never get to do it...

Cheers,

Kennith
 

kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
I read something about this a year or so ago. Suppose to compete with the Jimney. Surely it would be sold in the states.


Jeep making a smaller Wrangler is like Bose making wireless earbuds...

That's right where they belong, and they ought to smash it out of the park if they give it more than five minutes of thought.

I read the "E" word in there, but Jeep does need another icon. Nobody said the same people have to worship it.

The company may as well be called "Wrangler and the Jeeps", at this point. They're still riding high, but not for much longer if they don't get something else in there. I don't think the new model should be a Wrangler unless they have a very bold plan in mind. They need to bolster the rest of the brand a bit.

Cheers,

Kennith
 

kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina

Bam. I'm not sure how flimsy that would be on the original Defender, but that's FAR superior in utility.

You also get a free awning out of it. Barn doors might be a touch more practical in the middle of nowhere, given the less than stellar reliably of those gas struts, but at least he can get his stuff in and out in a convenient manner; and ten points for dual latches.

I think the Trooper solution would have been great on the Defender. That tiny ass door was stupid as hell in everyday use.

Cheers,

Kennith
 

JackW

Well-known member
Mar 17, 2005
675
69
Looks pretty cool but the rear hatch on my Discovery 5 is one of my main gripes with that vehicle - I've bonked my head a few times on it.
The other is the stupid rotary knob for gear selection - its too easy to think it in Park - when its not!
 

kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
If people are using the vehicle as their voice communications hub, there are nations in which this will be greatly appreciated. By that I mean, if you can connect your phone to a network through the car itself.

Similarly, if the vehicle has some ready utility for such communication, such as required or optional (but useful) updates such as Navigation; offering dual SIMs will be a big hit in some places.

China would love that, as an example.

Cheers,

Kennith
 

ERover82

Well-known member
Nov 26, 2011
3,899
450
Darien Gap
If people are using the vehicle as their voice communications hub, there are nations in which this will be greatly appreciated. By that I mean, if you can connect your phone to a network through the car itself.

Similarly, if the vehicle has some ready utility for such communication, such as required or optional (but useful) updates such as Navigation; offering dual SIMs will be a big hit in some places.

China would love that, as an example.

Cheers,

Kennith

Communications hub? Like using a Wilson amplifier?

Why China? Everyone will appreciate not being interrupted for updates.
 

kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
Communications hub? Like using a Wilson amplifier?

Why China? Everyone will appreciate not being interrupted for updates.

I mean if they use the vehicle itself as an intermediary for mobile communications; an example would be connecting one's phone to the vehicle, in which the sim card is placed, or connecting a laptop. Similarly, if updates are required or encouraged over the air, having two sim cards available is a great advantage.

In China, you roll dual sim or you endure a ridiculous amount of inconvenience. The same goes for a few other nations with high populations and less than fully developed infrastructure. China is all over the map, in that regard.

If you're meant to use that vehicle as a transceiver in some way, or if it uses that connection for a desirable feature, two sims is a big deal over there.

Cheers,

Kennith
 

DiscoHasBeen

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2016
1,171
262
Indy
I mean if they use the vehicle itself as an intermediary for mobile communications; an example would be connecting one's phone to the vehicle, in which the sim card is placed, or connecting a laptop. Similarly, if updates are required or encouraged over the air, having two sim cards available is a great advantage.

In China, you roll dual sim or you endure a ridiculous amount of inconvenience. The same goes for a few other nations with high populations and less than fully developed infrastructure. China is all over the map, in that regard.

If you're meant to use that vehicle as a transceiver in some way, or if it uses that connection for a desirable feature, two sims is a big deal over there.

Cheers,

Kennith

I guess I was looking at it from a very american point of view. It seems to me there are ways of getting around two sims, especially with 5G coming. And if your talking about an offroad/overlander (being in the middle of nowhere) vehicle is cell even the way to go.

All that said, you're an offroad name brand steeped in tradition promoting your most capable offroader and your touting two sim cards.....
 
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kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
I guess I was looking at it from a very american point of view. It seems to me there are ways of getting around two sims, especially with 5G coming. And if your talking about an offroad/overlander (being in the middle of nowhere) vehicle is cell even the way to go.

All that said, you're an offroad name brand steeped in tradition promoting your most capable offroader and your touting two sim cards.....

It's a foolish feature for marketing to let out of the specific regions that will appreciate it; that much is certain.

Honestly, the problems I mentioned don't make a lick of sense from a productivity perspective. It impedes development; but maybe that's by design.

Imagine if you were running Verizon, and when you went to the grocery store, you had to use Sprint; but just when you think you've won, you drive back home and only T-Mobile works. You're swapping the cards often enough in some places to wear out the contacts in the device before the battery stops holding a charge.

So, manufacturers got wise, and started fitting more than one. :ROFLMAO:

India is another place that can have this issue, and there are certainly many similarities in their stages of technological and regulatory development.

Now, whether or not those slots provide functionality to alleviate any of the issues I've mentioned is another matter entirely. If not...

Yeah, it's a stupid thing to put in a car. I can understand that Cybertruck needing frequent updates, but a Defender shouldn't. Even if it does address the problems I've mentioned; marketing should have done a better job keeping that feature advertised where it's useful.

Some features shouldn't be advertised in certain regions. Now, if I can put media on those things and just stick them in the dash... Well, that's another story entirely. I like my optical media, but I'll put a long list on a card if given an opportunity; just to leave in the dash. My Jaguar has a receiver with an SD card slot, which is great for when I forget the tunes.

Cheers,

Kennith