2016 'Defender'

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Originally Posted by Disco Muppet

Carpet is fine... [...]

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No it's not. The kind of mud that sticks to everything, three paces and you add 300mm to your height, kind of mud. Water-logged carpet stinking in humid steamy Equatorial rainforest after 4 days ...

I like my rubber mats and moreso - the no nonsense, no FOOTWELLS. Just a hose out flat floor (or park it in a river 600-700mm deep and open the doors for current to flow through)

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Originally Posted by Disco Muppet

Of course, I accept that I'm a plastic fantastic blinged up weekend warrior for cleaning my car as part of its up keep, as opposed to those true blue bearded Africa exploring adventure types who Rove without fear of ever touching a cleaning product......:angel:

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Apart from above mentioned ablutions mine gets a wash when sent in for a service (if I forget to tell them NOT to), and after the drive out of the jungle it gets an underbody hosing to liberate several dozen kilograms of caked mud from under chassis (not really a "wash") before the few to several hours highway run home.

(I don't have a beard and MUST bathe personally every day - if I want my wife's hugs)

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Originally Posted by tact

(I don't have a beard and MUST bathe personally every day - if I want my wife's hugs)

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Is that all you have to do for a hug?..........Might try that. :whistling:

This thread is becoming very circular, so returning to an earlier post, where does Jlr see their Defender market primarily.
Is it the bearded overlander,
The Chelsea hipster
Or
The military, Govt, NGO, Mining, Utility sector.
If the latter we will see something very different to the Disco and RR themes.

Now can we all be patient for 2 years.
Hope they come out with a single cab 130, grey nomad time.:p

For reference, I was talking about the cars not the drivers, but whatever floats your boat :p

Sent from my HTC One using AULRO mobile app

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Originally Posted by AndyG

This thread is becoming very circular, so returning to an earlier post, where does Jlr see their Defender market primarily.
Is it the bearded overlander,
The Chelsea hipster
Or
The military, Govt, NGO, Mining, Utility sector.
If the latter we will see something very different to the Disco and RR themes.

Now can we all be patient for 2 years.
Hope they come out with a single cab 130, grey nomad time.:p

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Well put AndyG, category three is obviously where they should be pitching it, but I think it's unlikely. Chelsea Hipster is my bet, like all other new Land Rover products.

It's pretty clear that Toyota are focussed on the right sectors with their redesign of the 70 series. New model 2017 aiming for 5 star ANCAP rating. They have stated very clearly the intended direction the 70 series will be headed, “These updates will support continued strong buyer demand for an unapologetically rugged vehicle that is renowned for its heavy-duty capabilities,” Cramb said.

“We have worked closely with employers in mining, agriculture, construction, communications support and recreation to develop these improvements."

This is the kind of straight-up news we need to hear from Land Rover about Defender.

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Originally Posted by MrLandy

Well put AndyG, category three is obviously where they should be pitching it, but I think it's unlikely. Chelsea Hipster is my bet, like all other new Land Rover products.

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To be fair, the current car has become a pretty popular Chelsea Tractor. Companies like Twisted and Urban Truck have never had more business :cool:

I suspect Land Rover will start drip feeding information on the new Defender mid next year after production at Solihull stops. I doubt they'll adopt the same commercial focus as Toyota, but who knows.

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Originally Posted by AndyG

This thread is becoming very circular, so returning to an earlier post, where does Jlr see their Defender market primarily.
Is it the bearded overlander,
The Chelsea hipster
Or
The military, Govt, NGO, Mining, Utility sector.
If the latter we will see something very different to the Disco and RR themes.

Now can we all be patient for 2 years.
Hope they come out with a single cab 130, grey nomad time.:p

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Middle class, who want something different yet carries heritage.

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Originally Posted by AndyG

This thread is becoming very circular,

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More like a Vortex.

A vortex indeed CBT. ...all I'm trying to do is break some alternate thinking out of the JLR luxury vortex, to suggest that a new Defender design need not be about mass market presumptions, or the JLR formula, which sees every single vehicle it makes now clearly aimed at the luxury disurbanite.

To reconsider the origins of the 90/110/130 designs' success which was always about pragmatic functional capable durable simplicity, rather than merely the trendy 'look' of pragmatic functional capable durable simplicity.

...Will they pare it back to its essence with the new 'Defender'? including all that the digital age and monocoque construction offers. I hope so!

It's an interesting discussion we're all having here.

It is an interesting discussion MrLandy and you do well in promoting it. I just wish that there was a way to convince you that it would be absolutely pointless for JLR to Produce a new Defender which takes the form you fear it will, when they have that section of the market cornered.
They have no option but to make the absolute best, most versatile All Terrain vehicle possible, or forget the Land Rover Mark and revert to the Rover Mark.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'm confident that they can and that they will.
Cheers, Billy.