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Like The R50 Mini - New Defender Is Dividing Opinions.....


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#1 mab01uk

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Posted 13 September 2019 - 05:35 PM

AROnline Opinion : Why Land Rover has done the right thing
"The Land Rover Defender is a national institution, known and loved by many, many people in the UK, the Commonwealth, Europe and (less so) North America. It’s as recognisable as a Mini or a Volkswagen Beetle, and its influence on car culture far exceeds the number of examples sold. In short, we all love the Defender, and we’ve been waiting for a very long time for the new one to arrive and carry on the classic’s good work. And I don’t envy the task Land Rover has had in doing this. Rather like Rover had been grappling with the matter of replacing the Mini several times since the early 1970s before getting really serious in the 1990s, JLR had been agonising over this one for years.
But now it’s here, and it’s all feeling rather familiar. I don’t mean the styling – yes, that’s not exactly earth-shattering and pretty much what we expected – but the reaction it’s received. The Internet has been alight with criticism and praise for the new car, with many current (classic) Defender owners bemoaning the new car as being too urbane to be a true Defender…
The reason it’s so familiar is that the reaction to the R50 MINI when it was shown in 2000 evoked the same responses. Many traditional Mini owners hated it for being too big, too modern and too far removed from the Issigonis original. ‘Issigonis must be spinning in his grave,’ was the oft-repeated mantra of 2000/2001. I bet if I look hard enough, I’ll be able to find, ‘The Wilks brothers must be spinning in their graves,’ on one of the forums or social media threads."
The Full Article:-
https://www.aronline...fender-opinion/

 



#2 unburntfuelinthemorning

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Posted 13 September 2019 - 06:16 PM

Another Tonka toy.



#3 mab01uk

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Posted 15 September 2019 - 02:20 PM

AROnline Opinion : Defender, an ex-insider’s view:-
https://www.aronline...-insiders-view/



#4 HUBBA.HUBBA

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Posted 15 September 2019 - 05:53 PM

Built in the wrong country.

#5 xrocketengineer

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Posted 18 September 2019 - 04:25 PM

Should it be called the "Offender" instead? Over on this side of the pond, Jeeps have gotten so big and expensive that they seem to be out of the scope of the original buyers, farmers and sportsmen. So, one alternative that is becoming popular is the Mahindra Roxor. However, it is not road legal, it has to be trailer-ed to the location for its use. But it is like the original Jeep, simple and rugged. Fiat-Chrysler took Mahindra to court but I don't know what were the results of that. Maybe there should be a Defender off road only version equivalent.
https://www.caranddr...oxor-4x4-drive/

Edited by xrocketengineer, 18 September 2019 - 06:06 PM.


#6 mab01uk

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Posted 19 September 2019 - 11:36 AM

Bridgend site to produce Land Rover-inspired Ineos 4x4:-

"It is not known how much public funding Ineos will receive, but it is planning to invest £600m in the new car, inspired by the original Land Rover Defender which went out of production in 2016."

https://www.bbc.co.u...-wales-49733291


Edited by mab01uk, 19 September 2019 - 11:37 AM.


#7 HUBBA.HUBBA

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Posted 19 September 2019 - 02:22 PM

Bridgend site to produce Land Rover-inspired Ineos 4x4:-

"It is not known how much public funding Ineos will receive, but it is planning to invest £600m in the new car, inspired by the original Land Rover Defender which went out of production in 2016."

https://www.bbc.co.u...-wales-49733291

I'd like to see what it looks like. Pity it'll have a beemer engine



#8 sc-em

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Posted 19 September 2019 - 08:54 PM

All I can say is having spent the last few weeks welding and MOT readying my Landy 90, I wouldn't part with it for anything. Rustic and agricultural though it. I think I am lucky to have my 87 Landy 90 and my Mini ready for a rebuild. Icons of the British motoring industry. The new one will no doubt be eminently competent, but time will tell whether or not it attains the mantle of the original Defender and it's series predecessors.






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