End of the world

[R_Lefebvre]

Anybody else read the little blurb from Atlantic British that Land Rover is looking at building the next Defender on the LR3 platform for 2013? They suggest that they must broaden the appeal of the Defender to increase sales to be able to amortize the development costs of the new model.

If they do that, even I will admit they have lost the plot.

They said something about the current platform not being able to meet some new standards for 2013. Anybody know what that is about specifically? Crash?

 

[Antichrist]

Which is the end of the world?
"Land Rover is looking at building the next Defender on the LR3 platform for 2013"
or
"even I will admit they have lost the plot."
Sorry, I couldn't resist. LOL

If you want to know the truth, I fully expected them to do it before long, so it's really no surprise.

But I don't know how they expect it to "broaden the market" when it will kill the market for farmers, contruction companies, utility companies and, no doubt, the military.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

That's the way I see it. The Discovery was supposed to be a family friendly "soft-roader". The Defender is a work truck. The LR3 platform is not going to work out for farmers, and by trying to broaden the market appeal, it'll really only cannibalize sales from the D3.

If this is the only way, they really should just let the model die honorable. Any money spent on a project like this will just be wasted.

I'll try to see if there's any truth to this, but it's a little early yet for my ex-colleagues to be involved in this program.

 

[greenmeanie]

If you follow the military procurement press you'll note that Land Rover is realy getting out of the military market. They are still there at the moment and of course they support the MOD with the Wolf but they are not making the big sales they used to. The idea of riding around in a light utility 4x4 is dying in favour of the big mine proofed armoured pigs the the RG's, the Cayman, Bison and all the others. Several years ago LR marketing admitted that they were concentrating on the RR as the bread and butter platform in place of the Defender.

I pretty much expect the next Defender to be a nostalgia styling exercise much in the same vane as the current Toyota FJ. Capable enough for its intended market but really lacking that utility that made the original so good.

 

[muskyman]

gone

 

[sinuhexavier]

I've said it before and I'll say it again...

1999 was the last year...

 

[greenmeanie]

Just to emphasise the MRAP mentality at this time Gates has just announced that he intends to can the Marine AAAV/EPV amphibious assault tractor and the FCS family of vehicles. Publicly he is citing the lack of a V-shaped hull plate in the MRAP fashion. Realistically it will really be down to funding.

 

[Mercedesrover]

I've said it before and I'll say it again...

1969 was the last year...

Fixed it for ya!

 

[nickt]

The LR3 platform is not going to work out for farmers

You're right, though back in the yUK, I have farmer friends who use Discovery 3s. And just the regular version, not the Commercial. I think they are probably the exception to the rule though, those crappy Nissan and Mazda pickups seem to be the British farmers truck of choice nowadays.

The Defender is an anachronism. I don't know what they'll do with it, but with modern safety and emissions standards dictating the specifications of a vehicle the days of a simple hand-built vehicle are over. A new Defender - look at the current model available outside the US - is already a complex beastie. I'd still like on though!

Maybe Tata will continue to build a simple, cheap truck for the home market? Good luck getting it into the US though, if only we had Single Vehicle Approval scheme like the UK.

 

[Oilburner]

I am hoping that with the current owners we might just see production of the current Defender continue on in India for largely unregulated markets.

 

[viatierra]

I've said it before and I'll say it again...

1999 was the last year...

I'm not a crafty as some, so it ended for me in 1997.

 

[viatierra]

... uh, just figured it out: D1 1999

Defender was already dead to us airbag/impact weenies, but 1999 is an arguable end of Land Rover. Later products have merit, but they are certainly not the same.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I am hoping that with the current owners we might just see production of the current Defender continue on in India for largely unregulated markets.

I doubt that very much. The costs involved with moving all the tooling over there, it just doesn't make sense compared to putting one of the existing Tata platforms into the same niche.

... uh, just figured it out: D1 1999

Oh geez, here we go again. Can we keep this on topic of the new Defender please?

 

[kellymoe]

I've said it before and I'll say it again...

1999 was the last year...

More like 1996 or whatever year they went to the Disco II. Thats just my opinion based on the fact that they made the DII wider and longer to make it more comfy. Whatever, I'll never buy another Rover again unless it's a Series IIa.

 

[michaels]

More like 1996 or whatever year they went to the Disco II. Thats just my opinion based on the fact that they made the DII wider and longer to make it more comfy. Whatever, I'll never buy another Rover again unless it's a Series IIa.

99 was the first year for the DII and last for the DI...