Thread: Pussies, pansies and ye of little faith or courage...

Tata have bought Land Rover and the world is ending. The doomsayers lead us into the dark side for surely Land Rover will now be an instrument of religion, an instrument to promote Hinduism.

Hysteria. The doomsayers call, I shall not buy another Land Rover for it is sold every few years. Heaven above, Land Rover is sold again, bless me Lord, I cannot buy parts because of this.

The Unfaithful flaunt photos of a Disco a-la-Tata.

We feed off our fears and feast on the legend of Land Rover. We cannibalise the very spirit of Land Rover which is within all of us.

Land Rover.

Land Rover is a legend. Legends do not die.

The legend began in the 1860s. Starley was the bloke. He manufactured sewing machines. Fifteen or so years later the name Rover was coined -bicycles were manufactured. In the year 1904 the first Rover car was built.

Rover survived the Depression but suffered badly.

World War 2 saw Rover produce aircraft and tanks. Solihull prepared to produce motor vehicles after the war.

Amsterdam 1948 - the first Land Rover was introduced to the world.

Few realise in 1956 the Clean Air Act was introduced in Britain to combat worsening pollution.

By 1958 the Series II was introduced. In the meantime England had tested it's first Hydrogen Bomb.

Did you realise the Motorway System in England opened with the M6 Preston Bypass in 1958. The Land Rover was prospering.

The year of 1967 saw the merger of Rover and Leyland Harold Wilson was Prime Minister. The death penalty had been abolished. The Concorde was to become a reality in 1969. The Land Rover witnessed and endured through these times.

The Range Rover founded all critics and become the rage in 1970. Heath saw a change of government.

This was followed quickly by the release of the Series III in 1971. Sadly, the first British soldier of the re-newed Irish Troubles was killed in 1971. Land Rover's were there on active duty.

England changed to a decimalised currency.

The one millionth Land Rover was produced in 1976. It was also the year Britian had to borrow from the International Monetary Fund.

And Britain had joined the ECC in 1973.

Land Rover endured the strikes of 1978/79 which crippled the country. This was the year of the Stage 1 V8.

The Humber Bridge was the longest single span bridge in the world in the year of 1981. Little did we know that one year later Britain would be fighting a titantic battle in the Falklands. Land Rovers were on the battle-front .... again.

At home, Land Rovers fought in the Brixton riots of 1981

Trouble loomed. The high unemployment and troubles of that era festered to cause the the National Industries privatisation of companies such as Rolls Royce, British Steel, British Airway for example.

During this period Land Rover launched the 90" and 110" vehicles. A new Land Rover child is born. The doomsayers said this is not Land Rover. Remember?

Further trouble. British Aerospace, recently privatised, made a takeover of Land Rover.

A change of ownership - was this the end of Land Rover.

Remember?

The year of 1990 saw the investion of www. and ...........yes ........the Discovery.

More importantly, the icon of Defender was founded.

A year later, the Defender saw action in Desert Storm.

Defenders were also travelling the Channel Tunnel which opened in 1992.

Tragedy loomed. In the year 1994 British Aerospace sold the Rover group to BMW.

Surely, this was the end of Land Rover as we knew it. The Germans would move production to Third World Countries and the Range Rover would become a BMW SUV.

Remember?

The brand was raped and pillaged. Land Rover endured. Land Rover survived.

This year saw the introduction of the P38 Range Rover but the Classic was not to cease production until 1996.

Tony Blair was Prime Minister.

The country was ravished by Foot&Mouth in 2001. Land Rover was on site.

The battle-ground once again called for a marque of endurance and durability. Desert Storm saw the Defender take the stance of Attacker.

Land Rover recognised the changing world in 1997 and made an il-fated attempt into the world of SUV - the Freelander. Perhaps driven by the cannibalistic attitude of BMW.

A year later, the Tempest aka Discovery Series II was launched.

BMW's stewardship of Land Rover was drawing to a close. Negotiations which BMW challenged for ownership of the Range Rover brand closed with Ford retaining all rights to the Land Rover name and heritage.

Within four years the revised Range Rover and Series III Discovery were launched.

In that time Land Rovers were once again revelling in the task of warfare and peace-keeping. Afghanistan and Irag.

Australia saw Ford reduce fifty years of Land Rover heritage to a mere token of a commercial presence in the capital cities of Australia.

But the marque, the name, the legend of Land Rover endures.

We question the future. I, we, fear for the future of The Legend. We should not though.

Legends do not die.

The passion, the soul, the love, has been our enemy, for we have kept our old Land Rovers alive rather than buy the latest and greatest. We maintain, we weep, we pay, we endure, we curse but above all we see ourselves in our Land Rovers.

Owners of the Land Rover name have come and gone. Yet none estimated the passion of the owners, will they ever.

Will Land Rover survive. Yes.

Will Pedro The Swift turn his back on the throaty growl of the V8. Can Olmate lose the mystic look when he reflects on his Series. Will Hiline not look when a diesel gives the blast of a chip up-grade. Tombraider working on a Jap fourbie... I think not. Blknight changing the bearings on a Diahatsu - Mohammed will eat pork. Shorty 943 drooling over a Suzuki?

Tata cannot buy the soul of Land Rover. Tata cannot buy you nor me.

Tata can bastardise the future.

Be warned though, never, never, can Tata take the history of Land Rover. The legend of Land Rover.

That belongs to you and I.

Bl##dy good effort there mate, could'nt have put it better myself.
David