Land Rover Defender on surnud?

[landy]

Land Rover Defender, RIP
End of the line for a lovable boneshaker
Nov 20th 2014 | From The World In 2015 print edition
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One lady owner

Conceived on a beach in Wales in 1947, born in the West Midlands of England the following year, adopted later by Germans (BMW) and then Indians (Tata), the Land Rover Defender will die a much-mourned death in December 2015. Other Land Rovers—Discoveries and Range Rovers—will go on, but in the eyes of aficionados they are effete upstarts. And although a new Defender is promised, the diehards are sceptical. They never cared for the name, bestowed only in 1991, and consider their car to be the one true Land Rover. They fear it will die after less than three score years and ten.

Only production will end, not the vehicles themselves, and, far from disintegrating, most can be expected to live on for years. True, some are already losing detachable parts to thieves who foresee a dearth of spares, but the boast is made that most of the 2m or more Defenders ever made are still going. Their simple design, sturdy chassis and aluminium body make for longevity.
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Land Rover

The Land Rover was the idea of Maurice Wilks, the chief engineer of Rover after the war, who used an American Jeep on his farm in Anglesey and saw the need for a similar vehicle for other British farmers. His creation—noisy, draughty, underpowered, unresponsive and uncomfortable—went on to establish itself as a cherished and peculiarly British product. Unusually for a car, it has even found a place in the canon of English children’s literature (“Landy” and “Fender”), never mind Tomb Raider and James Bond films.

In appearance it has changed little over the years, though it developed a slight bulge below the waistline in early middle age and was then elongated and adapted for countless different purposes. Some of its faults have been put right. Bigger engines, better transmissions, wind-up windows and other upgrades were introduced over the years, usually belatedly and in response to Japanese competition. But part of the Land Rover’s charm has always been its stubborn defiance of user-friendliness and customer comfort. It appeals to the sort of doughty people who revel in dust and cold, fugged-up windows, the jarring pain of every bump, and the need for the dexterity of a cardsharp combined with the strength of a poker-bender to engage the low ratio of the four-wheel-drive system.

That system, however, has been the other crucial part of the Land Rover’s success. It may be rubbish on the road, but off it has had few rivals. When confronted with a desert, a jungle or a perpendicular ascent, it just grinds on. And if it breaks down, its design is so basic that the fault isn’t usually too difficult to fix. The one obstacle that has proved insurmountable is modern legislation. Airbags, low emissions, all seats facing forward and pedestrians’ rights do not fit easily into the Land Rover ethos. They are blamed for delivering the coup de grâce.

John Grimond: contributing editor, The Economist

From The World In 2015 print edition

Allikas:
http://www.economist.com/news/21631809- ... efenderrip

[landy]

http://www.landrover.com/above-and-beyo ... index.html

[landy]

ÜkS ajajärk ajaloos on nüüd igaveseks otsa saanud. Uusi Defenderid enam tellida ei saa. Kes hiljaks jäi, see ilma jäi.
http://www.lro.com/news/land-rover/1506 ... -or-never/

[landy]

Land Rover Defender production set to run on into 2016



Land Rover Defender production set to run on into 2016

05:00, 15 July 2015
By Enda Mullen

In January Land Rover announced a year of celebration to mark the final year of Defender production at its Solihull plant

Production of Land Rover’s legendary Defender is set to continue beyond the December 2015 cut-off originally planned by the Midland car-maker due to increased demand for the long-serving 4x4 vehicle.

In January Land Rover announced a year of celebration to mark the final year of Defender production at its Solihull plant but high demand during the model’s final year has now seen production extended into 2016.

Land Rover has remained tight-lipped on when Defender production will draw to a close, other than to say it has not yet announced a precise date, but a Land Rover insider revealed it will be at least until February 2016, with the possibility it could be longer than that.

“It is going to be extended until at least the end of February,” said the Land Rover employee who works at the Lode Lane factory.

“We have had a glut of orders and are going on until then.

“Although I’ve been told that February is the definite cut-off date someone else has said it could possibly go on until April.”

The worker added that although there was increased demand the car-maker had not added an additional Defender shift.

While other areas of the Solihull factory have 24-hour manufacturing to cope with demand for Land Rover and now Jaguar vehicles built there, Defender production is still carried out by around 450 workers on a single day shift.

“The shift is still running normally and as always it is only days as well,” they said

In March the Post revealed Defender production was being ramped up by almost 50 per cent to cope with increased demand during the model’s farewell year.

Ordinarily, each shift might produce 84 Defenders but output had been increased to 125 to cope with a spike in demand as people avail of the last chance to own the latest version of the vehicle which first set the Land Rover ball rolling.

Last year 17,781 Defenders were produced at the car-maker’s Solihull plant but that figure is likely to be dwarfed by this year’s output.

Time has been called on the Defender due to tough European Union emissions regulations and in addition the car’s ‘old-fashioned’ design means it cannot conform to increasingly rigorous modern safety standards.

Land Rover has indicated it could still produce the vehicle elsewhere in the world for markets where the rules are less stringent but it will no longer be built at the firm’s home in Lode Lane.

In January the firm said it was investigating the possibility of maintaining production at an overseas production facility, after UK manufacturing draws to a close.

The current Defender is a direct descendent of the original Land Rover, which was launched in 1948 at the Amsterdam Motor Show. More than two million Land Rovers and Defenders have been sold since and there are currently 308 model derivatives.

Later named the Series I – when its replacement the Series II was brought out in the late 50s – it was dreamed up by the Rover Company as part of a drive to get British car manufacturing moving again in the wake of the Second World War.

It was the brainchild of Maurice Wilks, Rover’s chief engineer, who famously sketched his original design in the sand on an Anglesey beach for his brother Spencer, who was managing director of the Rover Company.

The idea was based on the US Army’s Willys Jeep, a multi-purpose vehicle used by the Allies during the war.

Over the years the Defender and its predecessors have had many famous fans.

They include the Queen, Winston Churchill, Argentinean president Juan Peron, the Shah of Persia, Marilyn Monroe and Steve McQueen.

Land Rover launched three special edition Defender models in January to mark the vehicle’s final year.

The Heritage, Adventure and Autobiography Editions are all powered by Land Rover’s 2.2-litre diesel engine.

The Autobiography Edition promises more performance, luxury and comfort, thanks to an extensive equipment list and a power upgrade.

The Heritage Edition is inspired by early Land Rover models and has distinctive Grasmere Green paintwork and a contrasting white roof. It features a heritage grille and HUE 166 graphics, recalling the registration plate of the first ever pre-production Land Rover nicknamed ‘Huey’.

The Adventure Edition is aimed at Land Rover customers who embrace the Defender’s ‘go anywhere’ attitude. It comes with additional underbody protection and special Goodyear MT/R tyres to boost all-terrain capability.

Prices range from Ŗ27,800 to Ŗ61,845.

Land Rover has yet to unveil a replacement for the Defender though the firm has confirmed it is working on one.

Allikas;:
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[landy]

Kurb tagasivaade:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/photo-ess ... der-photos

http://www.theguardian.com/business/201 ... r-defender

http://www.driving.co.uk/news/the-final ... -defender/