What makes a Land Rover Expedition?

[Michael Slade]

We might like to think we are special and different because of what we drive but no one else really cares.

No one cares? Dang.

 

[Tanto]

I think they all rock. Well, maybe not the Freelander...

Humm...same thing Jeep owners say about the Compass.

 

[MuddyMudskipper]

Humm...same thing Jeep owners say about the Compass.

They like the Liberty?

 

[Yorker]

No one cares? Dang.

:jump: Nope they just laugh at us trying to argue how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. :xxrotflma

 

[Tanto]

They like the Liberty?

The whole IFS has got everyone upset. Now the only thing with live axles are the Wranglers. The WJ is becoming much more sought after because of this.

However, the IFS vehicles are starting to gain some reputation. I think if you installed cross linked air shocks up front you could get the same effect as a live axle. Kinda how the new Rovers are set up, I saw a Yota guy do this with his late model 4 Runner. He has an in-cab separation valve to return the shock to independent operation when not on the trail.

 

[Alaska Mike]

Are we? Or are we simply exposing the American owner's need to feel unique and attempting to express it through the choice of vehicle?

Very possibly. Or perhaps their need to "belong".

It really isn't that unique an experience, other vehicles have crappy axles, leak oil and have travelled the world time and time again. There is a dichotomy amongst US LR owners- there are those who are into it for the image they think it portrays to others, and there are those who enjoy the vehicle for the simplicity and capability it gives them. Sure there are those who are into it for a blend of the two too.

I don't think even the most rabid fan of modern Land Rovers would describe them as simple. Land Rover has never been much more simple or capable than their contemporaries, and in some cases they've been less so. A remarkable brand mechanically? Not particularly, except that they carried old technology longer than most until they decided to try to lead the industry.

Perhaps I have a unique situation but at least 1/2 of the LR enthusiasts I know are Europeans living here- and their approach and attitude to LR's is often a stark contrast to your average American enthusiast's. They are much more pragmatic and don't buy into this the way many here do. To them it is a vehicle- they don't love LRs any less than we do but their attitude about them is somehow different. They don't put LR up on an alter and ascribe to it some sort of mythical supremacy. I actually had one of them tell me that in his opinion "US LR people are exactly like Jeep enthusiasts are in Europe..."

Could be. I know exactly zero European Rover owners, but the characterization could be dead-on.

 

[Alaska Mike]

We might like to think we are special and different because of what we drive but no one else really cares.

No one cares? Dang.

No one cares? Dang.

I care, man. I care.

A kitted-out Land Rover (expedition-style) will usually get more attention than a built Jeep (or other common brand) in the US. Maybe it's the novelty. Something you don't see every day. I've seen it plenty of times.

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10/08/08
That's pretty much the meat of the thread. Hope you enjoyed it.