With the 2008 Summer Olympics coming up soon, Land Rover is working to draw some attention to the British Equestrian scene. Who woulda thought….Brits, Royals, horses and Land Rovers. But wait, this isn’t just any royal, this is Zara Phillips, Grand Daughter of Queen Elizabeth. And what a lovely lass she is indeed.
The Royal Family isn’t exactly known for their comedic appearances, so watching this soccer hooligan make his moves on the stunning Miss Phillips is a hoot.
Ford has released details of the impending sale of their premium British brands to Indian automaker Tata. The short story is a closing date by the end of next quarter and a paltry $2.3 Billion US.
The long story of course is still in the crystal ball stage. There is little question that this sale will have a dramatic effect on the Indian car market. How much effect will it have on the North American market remains to be seen, but Tata will now have an established dealer network on our shores. Could we see a new economy brand on this continent over the coming years? Only time will tell.
Regular readers know that I rarely comment on the business side of the auto industry. It’s just not my thing. Over the past few weeks though, the Carnival of Wheels has received an increasing number of submissions from Indian bloggers since the Tata company announced their $2,500 Nano.
Who would have thought that the manufacturer of throw away cars would also take on two of the worlds’ top luxury brands? That’s right, Tata Motors is about to buy Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford, lock stock & barrel.
The auto media, both new and traditional, have been full of news & speculation about Tata in the past months. With the impending purchase of two significant brands, how long will it be before we see Indian cars on our continent?
The first web leaked photo of Land Rover’s long-awaited “Landie”, which will make its debut at the Detroit Motor Show next month, has appeared on the internet.
As an aside, with all the spy shots and photo leaking making their way on the web, TV and magazines, one wonders if it is not the manufacturers themselves who are the “leakees.” Continue reading →
Few auto manufacturers have the experience with hard core off roading that Land Rover does. From safari to desert racing, Land Rover vehicles have seen it all. Along the way, LR staffers have been preparing drivers for the the challenges that lay ahead of them. Who better then to lay out the off road test course at the IMPA test days than Land Rover? After setting up the course, the LR contracted crew took us journos through a quick individual tour of the course. Once you had received a little white sticker on your pass that indicated you had a clue about off road driving, you were let loose on the trails. Continue reading →
While looking for Transsyberia Rally content, I just came across this unbelievable footage of a Defender 90 making it’s way through some super deep water. Absolutely insane!
In North America we see the US Army splattered across NASCAR and NHRA venues, one conventional race cars. That’s pretty cool, but it’s just sponsorship. The folks Down Under do things a bit differently. The 6 wheeled, $350,000 Land Rover was built by the Aussie military to entice recruits. Those rear tires are being reduced to rubber dust by a 700 hp 7.0 liter Chevy.
Henry Ford once said: Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black.
Now, the British arm of the company he founded is offering a limited edition Land Rover Discovery 3. Available in any colour you want, just so long as it’s Java black. Decked out with 19 inch wheels, body coloured mouldings and a healthy dose of chrome and leather, this is one Disco that would look out of place off road.
That said, seven passenger seating, diesel power and dripping with cool, Land Rover really needs to build another 500 of these and ship them across the pond!
Years ago, a friend and I spent an entire afternoon in The Garage of his Muskoka cottage. We were like little kids, sitting in the cab of his dad’s ‘59 Land Rover pick up truck. Fueled by Cohibas and a soon empty pail of Famous Grouse, we pretended to be on safari. In reality, the cool old truck hadn’t turned a wheel in 2 decades. Now it’s been over 3.
The new 2007 Defender has definately been designed with that spirit in mind. The only real exterior difference is the addition of the muscular hood bulge, that fits over a new 2.4 liter diesel that puts out 120 hp and 265 ft-lbs of rock crawling grunt. That grunt is improved by the use of a new 6 speed gear box, with a lower first gear and a taller 6th. Talk about the best of both worlds, off road capability with improved fuel mileage.
The interior has been upgraded with interior bits scooped from the LR3 parts bin, better sound and 3rd row seats in the long wheel base version.
Back in April, Land Rover announced a partnership with Wimbledon Champ Maria Sharapova. Yesterday, in a private reception at Babylon at the Kensington roof Gardens, Land Rover released the new LR2, displayed by Sharapova.
