LR 3 in action

[clayatem]

I saw Alan Dobbs take Mimi's(Gulf Coast Rovers) new LR3 on some 3 trails in Gilmir Tx.
This thing walked up and down the trails like it was nothing to it.
I steel think it is ugly,but it can go off road.

 

[clayatem]

Here some more pic.

 

[Alan]

Hey how come it says "Discovery 3" on the back of it? I thought they were called LR3's in NA?

 

[AndyThoma]

Great pictures, so it didn't burst into flames offroad? no flying debris from the cv's?

Glad to see some real offroad shots of the lr3. But it still looks like a honda element from the rear.

 

[Landrovernick]

Hey Alen are you being serious when asking why it says Disco 3 and not LR3 or are you being sarcastic?

 

[Leslie]

Clay,

What did Bill have to say about it as it passed by?


-L

 

[mpodgorski]

Good observation Alan

All Lr3s are badged Lr3 in rear under the tag. This one says Discovery 3.
Probably got the decals and stuck them on.

M

 

[Alan]

Landrovernick,

No I'm being serious. In North America this vehicle was supposed to be tagged as "LR3". Everywhere else in the world was Discovery 3 so just wondering if this truck was a special import model for demo purposes or the owner decided to put "Discovery 3" on his tailgate instead.

 

[Landrovernick]

Hey thats okay I just didnt want to act like a know-it-all Ha Ha Ha. The reasoning behind calling the "Disco 3" the LR3 in the U.S. is that there is not the brand association with the name discovery. In the U.K. if you said the word discovery in context of automobiles most people would think of Land Rover. However the marketing guru's here in the states say that most people perception of Land Rover is one of substandard quality and therefore to continue with a moniker that creates that feeling would not be in the best interest of Land Rover. Hence the LR3 badge. It is however the same exact vehicle called Discovery everywhere else in the world.

 

[Bruno]

Hey thats okay I just didnt want to act like a know-it-all Ha Ha Ha. The reasoning behind calling the "Disco 3" the LR3 in the U.S. is that there is not the brand association with the name discovery. In the U.K. if you said the word discovery in context of automobiles most people would think of Land Rover. However the marketing guru's here in the states say that most people perception of Land Rover is one of substandard quality and therefore to continue with a moniker that creates that feeling would not be in the best interest of Land Rover. Hence the LR3 badge. It is however the same exact vehicle called Discovery everywhere else in the world.

He was wondering why a North American (NAS) spec truck was badged "Discovery 3", ck out the rear pict of the truck it reads "Discovery 3" and not "LR3".

Either it is a non-NAS press test fleet truck (although I'd expect it to have an 'M' plate), or someone got a hold of the badge from another market and put it on.

Damn... someone beat me to it!

Bruno.

 

[syoung]

I'd do the same thing if I had an LR3/Disco. The lettering from an 04 matches...

I guess L.R. figured if they named it something stupid like all the Japanese or German letter/number blah blah names, people might mistake them for something reliable? Yeah, they're probably right, the average mall cruiser Joe Consumer is a dumbass.

Call it a Discovery and be proud. I think their focus group was on crack. People in the USA that I talk to think of the Discovery as a high end "awesome" vehicle. Most assume they cost more than they do too.

 

[peter]

yeah i agree, people think my disco cost 50k. the sad thing now is if you want to buy a rover it will cost you 50k, unless you want a freelander.

 

[syoung]

Geez- people even still assume the Freelander is 40-50K...

I was sitting in my FL waiting for someone at a store and some guy asked me why I would wheel a $50K truck and scratch it up.
When someone from work was scoping my 04 Disco- I mentioned that I got it for $27K, they asked me if it was a salvage title or something. People still assume LR's are big $$.

 

[Alan]

Thanks for the reply Landrovernick. I appreciate the effort but yea, Bruno figured out what I meant.

You know I still don't see any LR3's on the road here where I live and it's almost March yet the dealer tells me they're "selling very well". I agree with syoung, if it's a Discovery 3 everywhere else in the world, call it that. Seems kinda silly to do a name change just for NA.

Surprizingly I have never had anyone come up and ask me about poor reliability and such about my Disco. In fact, most folks I run into think these things are super tough and reliable but expensive.

 

[AndyThoma]

Considering how radically the change was from the d2 to the lr3, I agree with the name change. Although I understand it was a marketing reasoning behind the name swap, think about the cost increase and all the gizmo's the lr3 has. The disco was suppose to be a everyday defender able truck with some of the amenities of the range rover. The renaming helps the dumb us market understand the truck is upscale, hence the increase in luxury and price.

I see in LR's line up the cost break down of the rr3 to rrsport to lr3, but then the gap between the lr3 and freelander, where's that truck? Wonder if they plan on filling it?

I think in the next year after we pay off my wifes audi, I might have to pick up one of those 50k freelanders as a daily driver and retire my disco as a dd. I also wonder how a used lr3 will hold its value?

 

[MarkP]

Ford released the February sales figures and Discovery/LR3 sales are up 22% CYTD while Freelander is down 66% CYTD. I would think you should be able to get a good discount on Freelanders.

As for LR3's I suspect the initial sales bump is almost past and we will begin to see more realistic sales numbers. Here in Colorado where there are lots of Discovery's and a fair amount of Freelanders on the road I have seen one, maybe two, LR3's on the road. Both were the same color green so maybe only one. For snow country / 4wd country that is surprising. Maybe that will change with time.

 

[AndyThoma]

Maybe I can get a freelander for 40k now

I've seen a boat load of lr3's here in SLC driving around. Quite a few rr3's too.

 

[Kai]

With regard to the lettering:

He took off the "LR3" and installed "Discovery 3".

FWIW, he is a Defender owner and a very capable driver.

http://www.d-90.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1045

 

[clayatem]

Hey how come it says "Discovery 3" on the back of it? I thought they were called LR3's in NA?

That was the 1st thing they change.

As for land rover they are trying to change the
name back to Land Rover.
Parts books and houses title manufactor as Range Rover
not Land Rover.

That's why, When you say Land Rover you get Oh that Toyota SUV.

PS. Saw the the Range Rover Sprot this last weekend playing in
the mud at are dealer event. I tryed to get it on the trail but he back out.
It was a prototype and we had some nice thorn bushes that we where sliding in to with are mod. rigs(trail was to muddy for stoke and newbies).I'll try to track down the the pic that some of HLRC members toke of it.

 

[Frank84]

I saw a range rover sport too - on the road though. I work across from LRNA headquarters so I see tons of LR3's as well - still not a fan of the rear of the car.