Has the true Land Rover died with the new Defender. Both the new Discovery and Defender have more Range Rover DNA than what t makes a Land Rover a Land Rover. We’re left with the existing old Defenders and Discovery 1-4. It’ll take a long time but with no new ‘true Land Rovers’ being manufactured they will eventually cease to exist.
 
Has the true Land Rover died with the new Defender. Both the new Discovery and Defender have more Range Rover DNA than what t makes a Land Rover a Land Rover. We’re left with the existing old Defenders and Discovery 1-4. It’ll take a long time but with no new ‘true Land Rovers’ being manufactured they will eventually cease to exist.
The rot began when the Evoque trundled off the crayon drawing board. When you start making vehicles gender neutral to extent it's a glorified tarts boudoir then you failed. Defender died when the last one rolled off a few years back. Trying to remake a new version for the corporate set to compete with G wagon is a road to failure. It's not a Defender rename it. Now the buzz for EV is the same make a heavy vehicle heavier and look like a Tonka toy. To whom is the market farmers military utilities Trans lobby😟
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Defender died when the last one rolled off a few years back
The defender was basically ignored since the 90s, aside from engine swaps mostly driven by Euro specs I imagine. Land Rover had no intention of sticking with the workhorse image, else they would have made a D1 pickup which through brand loyalty alone could have stopped the army of japanese pickups
 
The defender was basically ignored since the 90s, aside from engine swaps mostly driven by Euro specs I imagine. Land Rover had no intention of sticking with the workhorse image, else they would have made a D1 pickup which through brand loyalty alone could have stopped the army of japanese pickups
Quite agree with you there. Don't know why, but the discovery would have been ideal as utility wagon.
 
A lot of people think it was the end after series IIIs :D
It was, when you can't repair it with only a set of spanners, a welding kit and a big lump hammer in the boonies then it isn't really a proper utility vehicle.
However this applies to everything else on the market and there is a dearth of these sort of vehicles nowadays, the market is probably still there but tiny for these sort of vehicles.
 
The defender was basically ignored since the 90s, aside from engine swaps mostly driven by Euro specs I imagine. Land Rover had no intention of sticking with the workhorse image, else they would have made a D1 pickup which through brand loyalty alone could have stopped the army of japanese pickups
It wasn't the utility aspect that forced LR's hand to move away from the Defender. It was the fact that its original crash worthiness compliance expired, and it was basically impossible to make that old design pass newer, much more stringent impact requirements.
LR also needed to sell lots of vehicles at higher prices to the wealthy executives, rather than to farmers who kept them going for generations.
It's sad but true, that LR wouldn't be around today, they hadn't moved find new wealthy customers, which is basically what they've done with all the modern vehicles they make.
For a company to survive in a changing world, they need to adapt, not be stuck in the past. ;)
 
It wasn't the utility aspect that forced LR's hand to move away from the Defender. It was the fact that its original crash worthiness compliance expired, and it was basically impossible to make that old design pass newer, much more stringent impact requirements.
LR also needed to sell lots of vehicles at higher prices to the wealthy executives, rather than to farmers who kept them going for generations.
It's sad but true, that LR wouldn't be around today, they hadn't moved find new wealthy customers, which is basically what they've done with all the modern vehicles they make.
For a company to survive in a changing world, they need to adapt, not be stuck in the past. ;)
I agree with you. It was cheap for them to keep producing the defender. Not sure I agree they wouldnt be around if they had gone the pickup route. The hilux already had a reputation as unbreakable and reliable when the D1 came out. In an alternate reality Top Gear would have been dropping discos into the sea and off cranes
 
I'm not saying they shouldnt have done luxury too, I love a RR as much as anyone
 
Times have changed. No one wants to buy a brand new biscuit tin on wheels.
 
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To be fair the issue most have is the electronics, to be honest there really isn't anything on a LR that can't be fixed regardless of the year/model as has been proven on this forum multiple times ;)

Some still think the 30yr old P38 is overly complex, mostly those that are perplexed by anything above the complexity of a knife & fork :vb-eyebrows:

Old LR's with no leg arm or head room with tiny wheezy engines and no suspension is a time gone, and good..

I like old LR's but the idea of daily driving an old Series or Defender is just nightmare fuel. ;)
 

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