Thread: 2007 Land Rover Defender Revealed! - Photos and Pics.

[QUOTE=JDNSW]

Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

I'm not quite as big, but still not small. But to improve the space in a vehicle does not mean you have to make it bigger - I am struck every time I go from my County into the 2a how much roomier the 2a is, largely due to the smaller transmission tunnel and thinner doors. And the big slow revving engines of a generation ago produced a power weight ratio that would be simply unacceptable today, together with fuel consumption that would also be unacceptable. And the major reason for the economics of American rather European cars for mail contracts was that they were designed for the sort of conditions they experienced - which the European cars were not. The engine was only a small part of this. I am afraid that we will not see big, slow revving engines again, but there is no inherent reason why modern light weight engines cannot be both reliable and fixable, even if not big or slow revving, or even simple (for example, there is NO reason why a test book cannot be incorporated in every vehicle together with a display that tells you exactly what is wrong).
As to what will happen if the ownership changes - as you say - nobody knows, but it is a reasonable guess that any new engines will not be specifically designed for Landrovers, and that their design will be dictated by the same factors that influence the current engines - emissions rules, EU requirements for an ECU, fuel economy requirements, competition with other engines for size, weight, vibration, noise, driveability and manufacturing cost. But a return to the style of engine of a generation ago is not going to happen.
John

You can't make doors thinner because they are filled up with selling tools, such as electric locking & electric windows. You can't skinny up the trans. tunnel as the drivetrain needs to be big & strong to take the load. So the package has to be made bigger. I would like to see the traditional LR station wagon rear door made full width ( or almost) so you can get things like sheets of plywood in. The standard sheet of plywood was once the design criterion for station wagons in the U.S. A full-width tailgates option would be nice for carrying long stuff with the lower tailgate down, a la Holden/Falcon/Valiant station wagons. Folding side steps should be standard at least on the front doors. Not long ago I had a giggle watching a petite woman getting into her hoisted up and sand tyred 4WD. It really was an effort for her, sticking a foot up onto the elevated sill, grasping the steering wheel and seat squab, and hauling herself up. Modern cars have been filled up with what GM used to call "comfort & convenience options" & we in the trade called "selling tools" only these un-necessary items are now standard equipment lifting the price and the weight. I, for one, don't need electric windows, electric locking, electric mirrors, heated seats with electric positioning, carpets, cruise control, on-board talking computers. Nice to have, but I can live without radio/CD/DVD players, air conditioning, electric road maps. I do like demisters and heated mirrors. My wife never uses the heater in car, and I mean NEVER, she simply does not like what she feels is "stuffiness". I rarely use the heater, usually to warm up the interior and clear the windscreen on an early am start in winter. I like external metal sunvisors, weather shields, hard wearing washable cloth (not velour) seat facings (absolutely necessary in our climate), decent sized mud flaps, round headlights, replaceable lenses in tail, side, and indicator lights as opposed to complete & grossly overpriced assemblies, light bulbs should be able to be changed without removing the lamp assembly, or removing umpteen screws and trim pieces to access the bulb holder. To change the RH low beam bulb in my Falcon ute requires taking out the battery, which also is necessary to use the headlight adjuster. You then put jumper leads from the battery on the ground to the battery leads to turn on the headlights for adjustment. Listening to the customers followed up by intelligent design is the way to go. The Japs were once good at this but have dropped back to the field with success. The bloody paternalistic poms never listened to anyone and blithely went on making what they always did or could.

Funny that JCB dont want LR - their new Boss is Ex LR Boss!!!

LRH