Long live the Landover Defender

[gr1nch]

Land Rover Defender's spirit lives on as billionaire pours cash into new off-roader

Fascinated how this will turn out. A genuinely new, thoroughbred 4x4 inspired by the Defender. Elon Musk reaches for the moon, this UK billionaire has a more earthy aim. And made in Britain!

Can he pull it off!?

 

[markjay]

A proper off-roader, that meets modern emissions and safety standards, reasonably priced and yet tougher than a box of nails.... hmm a tall order, but why not?

 

[KillerHERTZ]

A proper off-roader, that meets modern emissions and safety standards, reasonably priced and yet tougher than a box of nails.... hmm a tall order, but why not?

Like a G Wagen.

 

[markjay]

Like a G Wagen.

I suppose 'reasonably priced' is a matter of opinion.....

 

[grober]

The common factor which kept/keeps these vehicles profitable are large military contracts for cooking or specialist versions [ lightweight/heavy duty] This gives a production base on which the luxury end vehicles can exist altho it might be argued that if they are priced high enough they might justify their bespoke nature by themselves . For years I'm guessing land rover survived on contracts from the military but when these dried up------??? In the global market they are up against the insurgents universal "vehicle of choice " the Toyota Hilux pickup.
So however attractive the idea seems initially on paper I'm not sure if it makes economic sense??

 

[Doodle]

yet tougher than a box of nails

Given the frequency with which my green-oval owning friends and acquaintances have to apply spanners to theirs, I'm not sure I'd ever level that description at a Defender.

 

[moonloops]

So he's got two years to design build and sell before they launch the next defender in 2019 - best of luck there old chap

 

[grober]

Maybe the appeal of these vehicles is not so much their reliability but the fact they are hand assembled? Because they are put together by people rather than machines it makes them easier to repair when they go wrong. A possible lack of complex electronics may be another factor? Maybe what people are crying out for is a simple well built easy to repair back to basics car with nary a Canbus in sight?

 

[rifiki]

I have spent many years in the middle east and Africa, Land Rover lost the plot years ago.
They are most uncomfortable 4x4 I have driven and after some 40 years with same body still could get them water or dust proof.

 

[Doodle]

Unfortunately the Defender had CANBUS from 2007 onwards, when they started fitting Transit engines.

 

[grober]

Unfortunately the Defender had CANBUS from 2007 onwards, when they started fitting Transit engines.

He might do well to look at the LADA NIVA?
Lada: Much laughed at car set to become surprise hit after Land Rover Defender demise | UK | News | Express.co.uk

 

[grober]

Unfortunately the Defender had CANBUS from 2007 onwards, when they started fitting Transit engines.

He might do well to look at the LADA NIVA?
Lada: Much laughed at car set to become surprise hit after Land Rover Defender demise | UK | News | Express.co.uk

JALOPNIK'S TAKE--

What It's Like To Drive The Greatest Soviet Car Of All Time

 

[dirth]

I would have thought that investing on Bowler type product would have been the wiser move, off-road and also available in hairdresser form.....I bought a One Ton( note the spelling) New, for towing came 9.00 Tyres, had to use it 90 miles there and 90 miles back and couldn't walk for 3 days
To be fair it did pull 4 tonne( doubt if that was entirely legal)


"A Land Rover the only vehicle that a Hasp & Staple is a fashion statement"

Notice the Niva, had one of them at the same time,couldn't get it stuck

 

[Yugguy]

Maybe the appeal of these vehicles is not so much their reliability but the fact they are hand assembled? Because they are put together by people rather than machines it makes them easier to repair when they go wrong. A possible lack of complex electronics may be another factor? Maybe what people are crying out for is a simple well built easy to repair back to basics car with nary a Canbus in sight?

Yep - and there's no reason now that they couldn't be both technologically simple AND nice to drive.

 

[Darrell]

Maybe the appeal of these vehicles is not so much their reliability but the fact they are hand assembled? Because they are put together by people rather than machines it makes them easier to repair when they go wrong. A possible lack of complex electronics may be another factor? Maybe what people are crying out for is a simple well built easy to repair back to basics car with nary a Canbus in sight?

Personally I have never understood the appeal of anything being hand built on a car.

Give me a precision built piece of kit rather than some fat old northerner with a Monday morning hangover building it any day.

 

[BTB 500]

Given the frequency with which my green-oval owning friends and acquaintances have to apply spanners to theirs, I'm not sure I'd ever level that description at a Defender.

Friends of mine bought one of the final edition Defenders and they were stranded on holiday a couple of months later (IIRC the steering/ignition lock failed).

 

[camerafodder]

Personally I have never understood the appeal of anything being hand built on a car.

Give me a precision built piece of kit rather than some fat old northerner with a Monday morning hangover building it any day.

Imagine how bad it would have been if built by poncy Southerners after a bad meal at the sushi restaurant followed by dropping a spanner on their oatmeal safety sandals.

 

[Darrell]

Imagine how bad it would have been if built by poncy Southerners after a bad meal at the sushi restaurant followed by dropping a spanner on their oatmeal safety sandals.

Just spat out my Sangria laughing at that!

 

[markjay]

Imagine how bad it would have been if built by poncy Southerners after a bad meal at the sushi restaurant followed by dropping a spanner on their oatmeal safety sandals.

We are not all hipsters, you know?

 

[grober]

Its more to do with design philosophy. Hand built vehicles are inherently easier to repair because of how they are built. The way they are fastened together is more amenable to taking them appart. Its not deliberate its inherent in the process. Robotised assembly is more efficient, precise , reliable and probably yields a superior product - till it comes to the time to repair it. The downside of this efficiency of assembly is designers seem to have lost sight of the fact that sometimes these miracles of precision have to be taken appart when they go wrong. This has becomes so difficult that in some cases it renders the vehicle beyond economic repair. Cars are now so efficiently packaged that in many cases there is simply no room to work on the mechanical parts without removing half the ancilliaries first to simply gain access. Apart from the extra time involved this means involving parts, filters. electrical connections, coolant pipes mountings etc etc that are perfectly functional thus increasing the chances of incorrect re-assembly many times over. This simply bad design philosophy ignoring the inevitable at the expense of the customer.