| Author |
Message |
    
Andy Nichols
| | Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 04:58 pm: | 
|
Project L317, the new Defender is on hold, according to 'Car' magazine, the top British automobile 'rag'.
They report that Ford was to create a 'lifestyle - oriented' Wrangler rival. But the (good old) British Armed forces (the largest customer)preferred the existing vehicle!! I for one am very happy - Just improve it guys, don't d*ck around with it. Make it safe, a bit bigger, but don't mess with a good thing! |
Kai Dussling (Kai)
| | Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 05:15 pm: |
|
Seems to be if the project is on hold; the longer we'll have to wait for it?
KD |
Mel A. (Krawlrovr)
| | Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 05:52 pm: |
|
I'd like to see 3 diff locks, under carriage protection, hydroformed frame, 4.1:1 low range, 33 inch tires, more supportive seats, a bigger engine, optional TDI, Xenon lights, LED tail lights, all for under $25000. It sure is nice to think about. |
Willie Joubert (Willie)
| | Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 06:47 pm: |
|
Saw some artist impressions last month in Europe in a related magazine. Look very much like a Project SVX but with Focus/H2 styling mixed in, fenders got sharper edges than the SVX.
Looks real expensive....only for 2005. |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 07:33 pm: |
|
I'm less interested what the outside looks like than I am about what's on the inside. There are already TONS of mall cruisers. |
M. K. Watson (Lrover94)
| | Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 09:41 pm: |
|
i am sorry to say as in anything that ford or gm or any of the US car makers come up with ends in disaster. what once was the BEST 4X4 will soon be like the new hummer. the writing is on the wall. as one american i take no pride in US auto makers visions of what people really want.
mike w |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 10:32 pm: |
|
I'm with you on that Mike but I keep looking to the DB7 and cars like it and hold out for some hope. The PAG has not been too shabby other than a couple piss poor looking Jags 10 years after Ford took ownership. |
M. K. Watson (Lrover94)
| | Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 10:40 pm: |
|
they will water it down like a cheap bartenders whiskey and in the end it may say Land Rover but the spirit, nay the vary soul will be gone. but then again i have been wrong before.
mike w |
Greg Davis
| | Posted on Friday, July 12, 2002 - 11:08 am: |
|
Mike W., I think the real problem with the US manufacturers is that they are listening to the buyers too much. Think of the survey cards returned;
"The Discovery is nice, but it doesn't handle like my Camery did, and there's no where for my Big Gulp. Plus it's too heavy and gets bad mileage"
This translates into ind. susp, frilly interiors, and unibody construction to the manufacturer. They're listening to what the average Joe asks for. Problem is, we're not average Joes. We want functional vehicles that perform where probably only 1% of the population takes their vehicles.
I hate to see all the "watered down" vehicles too. But business is business, and they want to sell more cars.
We're in the minority so unfortunately we will have fewer and fewer choices of vehicles that suit our tastes. |
Andy Nichols
| | Posted on Friday, July 12, 2002 - 12:06 pm: |
|
Yup!
I just took a bunch of Land Rover 'virgins' out at a dealer day and you should have seen their faces when we showed them what the vehicles could do! So what was their motivation for buying a Land Rover? The name, perception of being able to 'go anywhere' (even tho' they have no clue how to get there). It sickens me that most folks who buy a LR could care less about the things we find exciting. But since PAG is doing a reasonable job, and they (Ford) have re-focused on what they should be doing, since Nasser has gone, maybe there is hope. If not, Hummer here I come (not)! |
M. K. Watson (Lrover94)
| | Posted on Friday, July 12, 2002 - 01:20 pm: |
|
well i guess if there was a reason to buy a series, FORD just gave us a big one...uh oh i see a sudden increase in the price of that SIII i been drooling over!
mike w |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Friday, July 12, 2002 - 01:36 pm: |
|
Andy, I think you have the right idea. Even though we may not be able to show enough people to make much of a difference I think it's important to educate people on what their vehicles can and can't do. I recently went out on a trail ride with some people from work. I was to go with one other vehicle a Jeep XJ. As word got out a X-Terra and a Liberty came along for the ride too (don't laugh). On the trail I kept from bashing any vehicle and just showed them things to look out for and what to do on obstacles. They were amazed that I had no problems with areas where they would get cross axled and lost traction. I explained that the longer travel and ETC helped. I even went as far as turning off the ETC (via CDL) and did the same part of the trail with no problems that they had to work to get over. We talked about what makes a vehicle good at given obstacles and they all came out with a much better understanding of what they were driving and what kind of vehicle they wanted next. They now had a little more information to make a decision on trail worthy vehicle.
For what it's worth, the Liberty actually did okay. I think a lot had to do with the driver as he listened very closely on how to attack obstacles and learned from the guy in front of him. But I was mildly impressed. Not that I would buy one. I think the TJ is a much better deal for a Jeep. |
|
Closed: New threads not accepted on this page