Thread: All discussions relating to the Defenders end of production

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

I saw this on an English website, but it can't be right with that rear cross member and chassis.
Someone on that site claimed to have seen the new Defender and said it was nothing like the picture.
More photoshop speculation?

That is to the Defender, what the Iron Pig FJ55 was to the FJ cruiser.

It's a sign of the times that despite there being six 4WD/SUV categories! in this years Drive car of the year, there is not one working 4WD vehicle, let alone category.

...And not one Land Rover! Presumably no new models in 2016? Hmm...what a farce. I wonder which category new Defender would have been in if it had been released in 2016 as originally touted...Best Faux SUV?

Anyway, the demise of Defender in this context makes total sense. It's just that the 'context' we are all being shoehorned into is so narrow for such a wide brown land. Obviously none of us ever really leave the city. And if we do it's in a less than 3 year old all road crossover vehicle with complimentary roadside assist.

Aspirational urbanity, an adventurous and diverse nation does not make. Stay in the city and fantasise about going to the desert. Polish the faux chrome roll bar. Bring on the virtual reality Land Rover game...at least there might be a Romance of the Camel Trophy adventure. Pimp my virtual 90.

...and the winner of the official 4WD category.....Ford Everest Trend
...Everest? Trend? Says it all.

" ...Everest? Trend? Says it all. "
Oh, so true....

Also, please don't tell my nearly 20yo D1 it can't leave the city. It's last trip was through 3 states and didn't miss a beat in the 11,500km it covered in all sorts of terrain. With 90% of it's mileage as country and offroad driving, it would probably have a giant sulk!

Check out the MC versus MA rating of Everest... Very limited tyre size choice there. Cheers

Originally Posted by MrLandy

It's a sign of the times that despite there being six 4WD/SUV categories! in this years Drive car of the year, there is not one working 4WD vehicle, let alone category.

...And not one Land Rover! Presumably no new models in 2016? Hmm...what a farce. I wonder which category new Defender would have been in if it had been released in 2016 as originally touted...Best Faux SUV?

Anyway, the demise of Defender in this context makes total sense. It's just that the 'context' we are all being shoehorned into is so narrow for such a wide brown land. Obviously none of us ever really leave the city. And if we do it's in a less than 3 year old all road crossover vehicle with complimentary roadside assist.

Aspirational urbanity, an adventurous and diverse nation does not make. Stay in the city and fantasise about going to the desert. Polish the faux chrome roll bar. Bring on the virtual reality Land Rover game...at least there might be a Romance of the Camel Trophy adventure. Pimp my virtual 90.

...and the winner of the official 4WD category.....Ford Everest Trend
...Everest? Trend? Says it all.

Well, now that you are "back", I note that you are still maintaining your place as No1 "Mr. Negative", with respect to ANYTHING with respect to the "New" Defender,...despite the fact that you, nor anybody else, knows anything.I can't remember anything positive from you.
The fact is, you, nor me, nor anyone else can to be totally negative about anything, because the simple fact is, neither you, nor I, nor anyone else, has anything to be totally negative about,..... because we know, absolutely,...NOTHING.
Of course I know nothing either, however, EVERY vehicle released by JLR of recent date, has been an outstanding success, in its "category.". Consequently, whilst I know nothing, I will be happy to rely on the brilliant designers at JLR who will know absolutely what Defender will need to be, to be a similar success in its category,.....and it may not be similar to what we know & like about Defender,.....at 15000 sales p.a. worlwide,...it wouldn't want to be.
All IMHO of course!! Regards, Pickles

Originally Posted by Pickles2

Well, now that you are "back", I note that you are still maintaining your place as No1 "Mr. Negative", with respect to ANYTHING with respect to the "New" Defender,...despite the fact that you, nor anybody else, knows anything.I can't remember anything positive from you.
The fact is, you, nor me, nor anyone else can to be totally negative about anything, because the simple fact is, neither you, nor I, nor anyone else, has anything to be totally negative about,..... because we know, absolutely,...NOTHING.
Of course I know nothing either, however, EVERY vehicle released by JLR of recent date, has been an outstanding success, in its "category.". Consequently, whilst I know nothing, I will be happy to rely on the brilliant designers at JLR who will know absolutely what Defender will need to be, to be a similar success in its category,.....and it may not be similar to what we know & like about Defender,.....at 15000 sales p.a. worlwide,...it wouldn't want to be.
All IMHO of course!! Regards, Pickles

Well someone needs to counteract Mr Blindly positive! 😜 based on nothing...except for a widely criticised prototype nostalgia defender. ...So actually we have more to go on that's negative than positive re new Defender.

If you're right and it's all about being market driven, I stand by my pessimism and I look forward to it winning Drive generic car of the year in 2018.
...how's that for taking the bait in return? 😊👍

IMHO mass appeal and high sales does not necessarily equate to quality or greatness. Quite the opposite in fact. A significant characteristic of Defender has always been that it doesn't appeal to the masses.

Everyone is blind, but until we know more it's more fun to be positive than negative.

Realistically, JLR aren't stupid, they're in a great place financially, and they're taking their time with the new one (IMO to get it right).
That is all irrelevant though, because like it or not it's going to be a different car because you can't make money anymore off a car like the old defender.

Originally Posted by Plutei

Everyone is blind, but until we know more it's more fun to be positive than negative.

Realistically, JLR aren't stupid, they're in a great place financially, and they're taking their time with the new one (IMO to get it right).
That is all irrelevant though, because like it or not it's going to be a different car because you can't make money anymore off a car like the old defender.

Why is making money always the primary motivation? Surely there's more to life, culture, Land Rover, than that? ...to me, if the focus is on mainstream money making, it is more negative than anything else. To me a positive attitude towards new Defender is something out of the box that challenges presumptions, takes a risk and is all about character over profitability. Now that would be iconic. Creating great design is not about making money. It's about challenging the norm. ...nothing negative about that.