Thread: 2016 'Defender'

Originally Posted by cuppabillytea

....... By the way, a robot only does what a human has shown it. There is no reason why a robot can't do rivets and flat panels just as well as a hand.

Absolutely correct. But given the intention to sell a lot more than they have of the Defender, and that they are taking a lot longer to go from concept to production, it will make a lot of sense to use pressed, curved panels that are cheaper to produce (as long as the quantity is large enough), stronger, lighter, and quieter than flat panels. And while robots can rivet, it is a lot quicker and cheaper to spot weld or seam weld, which the robots can also do.

While some assemblies may be bolted together, don't expect the modularity of the Defender, at least to the same extent.

John

My neighbor was given a choice of a human or robot surgeon for her recent heart operation. She chose the robot. The operation was not a success, but apparently the robot was not to blame.
Which is scarier - being operated on by a robot which might have a software malfunction or a human who might have had a bottle of red the night before?

The current Defenders manufacturing process is finished,no one use's it because it's labour intensive,the new one will be made just like every other modern built vehicle which means Land Rover can sell it cheaper than the current one or the same price with extra gear fitted standard.None of you need worry about the Defender,you can buy all the parts you need to restore a series 1 so I don't think any of us need worry about our Tdi's,Ts5's TDCi's for those who don't wish to update because the new one is ''Defenderish'' enough.Me,my TDCi will go to make way for a Discovery Sport and the Tdi might become a project to keep me busy when I'm not travelling the interior in my Defender replacement. Pat

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

I like my rivets. They're really useful when you want to add or replace something.

Love my rivets too...it's no accident that around 75% of all Series/Defender Landy's are still on the road. Can't say the same for all other non-aluminium non-riveted brands/vehicles. ...sadly it's very unlikely we'll see a real rivet on the mythical new 20XX replacement. And PLEASE NO faux rivets!!! Shudder at the thought!

Originally Posted by cuppabillytea

The talk on this thread speaks volumes more than the sum of it's words. I hope they are listening at Land Rover. I'm with MrLandy on the sounds and vibes thing. By the way, a robot only does what a human has shown it. There is no reason why a robot can't do rivets and flat panels just as well as a hand.

Agreed Billy, the diversity of thinking is fantastic. We almost need an in depth philosophy offshoot! I doubt they're listening at LR but who knows.

One thing we do know for sure is that the last handmade Defender is absolutely nigh. One obvious question on the back of your very interesting thinking around the idea of 'hand made by robots' is: if the particular character we are discussing can't be replicated, is it still a Defender? (There was discussion earlier about this) 'Defender Series 5' was suggested.

But it's precisely the character that puts the permasmile on our faces! Without that it's not a Defender to me!

I'm with Pat on this: my TDI will always be there as the recovery vehicle 😊

And this from Aprils LR Owner International,along comes the news that LR are "investigating the possibility of maintaining production of the current model at an overseas production facility".

This will enable the vehicle to still be sold in countries not constrained by EU regulations and red tape.

One would have thought, LR,if they were intending to do this,would have started on it ages ago.Or maybe they have but the word has not got out.

Yes but it won't help us in Oz, we'll be euro emission compliant no doubt. Its not really a solution either.

Originally Posted by scarry

And this from Aprils LR Owner International,along comes the news that LR are "investigating the possibility of maintaining production of the current model at an overseas production facility".

This will enable the vehicle to still be sold in countries not constrained by EU regulations and red tape.

One would have thought, LR,if they were intending to do this,would have started on it ages ago.Or maybe they have but the word has not got out.

They would have started ages ago,people have the wrong idea about manufacturing,it doesn't happen overnight,it would supprise people just how much of a head start it takes for a vehicle,even just a face lift for one in current production to go from concept to the dealer for court,the range of colours for example takes two years from idea to supply,thats just for paint,Land Rover would have been working on the D3 design in 2000 even though the D2 was released barely 12 months before. Pat