The Icon Lanndrover Defender, Might just have the last Laugh!!

Submitted: Monday, Oct 04, 2010 at 21:58

ThreadID: 81721 Views:4888 Replies:4 FollowUps:9

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Axle

As time goes on its no doubt that the present shape deefer is going to disappear. As a owner of a 130 Tray back for the last nine years, i have been bagged out to the max by mates!!, Had a few sly comments on this forum
( All in Jest), about all the horrible things that Defenders do..LOL, But Eh!,as time has gone on and the japs have gone to war with them selves, producing model after model, and having stuffed up in quiet a few Key mechanical areas, They have actually put themselves in a area that landrover experienced years ago..LOL. ...The price of a well maintained Deefer is on the upward march as people reliize that they are a true hose out 4wd that arn't that expensive to repair in this day and age. So to all that that despise them..lol.. They will be like the VW Beetle!!, and Haunt you for years to come!.....LOL.

Cheers Axle

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Reply By: Member - warren h (SA) - Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 00:35

Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 00:35

Hi axle,

I think your right, but lets not forget they have produced some great vehicles, 40 60 80 and to a lesser extent100 series and what you are talking about is indicative of the way the world is going generally but I would also say in the big scheme of things I really dont think it matters much, but as we all love to love our particular brand of monster, what ever makes you happy is okay, whoops I have also forgotten the great vehicles Nissan, Mercedes, and dare I say Hyundai have produced.

I have owned a lot of motor vehicles over the years and always justified my purchase of them, but as I said earlier if your happy with what you have got, great and its good to hear from someone who knows what he wants......LoL

AnswerID: 432143

Reply By: Member Brian (Gold Coast) - Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 09:18

Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 09:18

Axle,
You're on the money I reckon!
If they keep the Defender as simple as possible, they stand to reap quite a few sales I reckon, as the others go for the identified more "softer" market!

I hope they stay "true"... I might have to buy one one day!!

Cheers

Brian

AnswerID: 432150

Follow Up By: whisky_mac - Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 10:15

Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 10:15

Axle, are they going the way of all the others. I was told at a camp yesterday that the Landrover Freelander was going to be owned by Tarta.

The way the British are going, once they ruled India now India owns that most iconic british 4WD, the Landrover.

Jim

FollowupID: 702967

Follow Up By: Road Warrior - Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 11:44

Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 11:44

Yes Jaguar Landrover which was owned by Ford was sold in 2008 to the Indian mega corp Tata for the princely sum of 1.7 billion pounds

The cars will still be made in blighty though.

FollowupID: 702970

Follow Up By: timglobal - Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 17:40

Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 17:40

And India and China very soon...

FollowupID: 702989

Follow Up By: Member - Mfewster(SA) - Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 18:05

Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 18:05

If TATA improve the Landy as much as they have improved the Jag, it might be a very interesting . Today's Jags are very nice vehicles indeed.

FollowupID: 702991

Follow Up By: timglobal - Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 18:32

Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 18:32

The bugger with the Defender is that it's still very much "hand made" which whilst conjuring up images of craftsmen doing their thing, in reality means a labour-intensive and so less consistent.

This is more a function of the accuracy of robots, though Brummies are very, very lazy (!)

Net result is that Freelanders and up get very good build these days, too. The flip-side as outlined elsewhere is that you can't unbolt it all to bodge / fix / patch / gaffer-tape any problem with them in the field.

Also note that Range Rover is now a separate brand, a bit like Lexus is to Toyota.

On a final note, I'm lucky enough to have driven much of the Jaguar Land Rover range and I can't express how stupidly good the new XF diesel is (and the XJ for that matter) - I mean jaw-droppingly, head-scratchingly, tell people on a 4WD forum good!

The latest range of Discos & Range Rovers are good, too...

FollowupID: 702993

Follow Up By: mikehzz - Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 22:32

Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 22:32

My Freelander 2 diesel is absolutely excellent. Mike

FollowupID: 703014

Follow Up By: Member - Mfewster(SA) - Wednesday, Oct 06, 2010 at 08:34

Wednesday, Oct 06, 2010 at 08:34

I'm all in favour of simplicity in 4wd and think cars in general should have much longer model runs to reduce prices and running costs (far more compatible spares around).

FollowupID: 703039

Reply By: The Landy - Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 11:15

Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 11:15

Axle

Very much in agreement on your point...... 'The Landy' (1995 TDi) got the big once over 4 years ago and I'm sure it will still be going strong 10/15 years from now.

But as this thread progresses I expect to see more Flak than they did on D-Day over Europe.....baton down the hatches!

Cheers, The Landy

AnswerID: 432152

Reply By: wendys - Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 13:19

Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 13:19

Axle,
agree! It is actually very reassuring to have a vehicle out in the bush that does not rely on complex electronics and computer chips. Our 96 110 wagon will hopefully also be going strong, for lots more years. The Truck is getting on for 300,000km and we are going through the process of "renewal" of some of its parts, to try to ensure that is so.

AnswerID: 432154