lithium1330 Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 interesting discussion why it happened. It's a rather contentious topic for LR fans, esp with all the rumors of the new "defender" coming... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraemeWare Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 interesting discussion why it happened. It's a rather contentious topic for LR fans, esp with all the rumors of the new "defender" coming... Didn't ECR build a BeachRunner 130 which had 10" longer front doors? I find the whole "oh, they have always had interchangeable doors" a poor argument for why the Defender couldn't have airbags fitted and was therefore discontinued. It certainly wasn't due to the airbag issue. There are a whole host of other crash testing and homologation issues, and probably more likely build cost issues. Regards, Graeme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHappel Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 Didn't ECR build a BeachRunner 130 which had 10" longer front doors? I find the whole "oh, they have always had interchangeable doors" a poor argument for why the Defender couldn't have airbags fitted and was therefore discontinued. It certainly wasn't due to the airbag issue. There are a whole host of other crash testing and homologation issues, and probably more likely build cost issues. Regards, GraemeYes, clearly there are a whole host of reasons why it went away. Fuel economy, crash standards, and ergonomics among them to be sure. No doubt in most measurable ways the replacement will be 'better'. But it will also be far more complicated, expensive, and likely less practical. The beauty of a Defender or Series truck lies not in comfort or economy or such, but in simplicity and robustness. These are qualities that are increasingly hard to find in a modern vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lithium1330 Posted January 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 If LR really wanted to evolve the Defender to one with longer cab space (bulkhead to b-pillar) so to accommodate more space between driver & airbags, they could. It's an engineering problem that has been solved by just about every automotive company. What was not mentioned in the video is that re-tooling assembly would be very costly for a low volume, low margin defender product. And that LR, unlike MB and their even lower volume G-wagon, wasn't selling enough other products to float the Defender. Ultimately, I think the accountants at JLR are likely the real reason Defenders went away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoDavis Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 And yet for all the low margin vehicle talk out there, JLR still sells the evoque and other high volume ones like hot cakes. No excuse, especially when MB still makes a G (albeit the new one is different now). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRover Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 The beauty of a Defender or Series truck lies not in comfort or economy or such, but in simplicity and robustness. I believe Mr. DeMuro has touched on this once or twice: 6:37. Defender comfort vs. Range Rover comfort Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lithium1330 Posted January 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 If we look at markets of biggest growth potentials (China, India, South America and certain sub-Saharan countries), women account for the bigger spending demographics. And in many instances,brand-recognition and comfort slot solidly ahead of any off-road-ability features. It’s unfortunate, but certainly appreciate need for self preservation. Regarding g-wagon, they don’t sell a lot of those, but MB charges by factors of 2x over a defender. So, MB may not sell many, but maybe the 130k msrp covers their build cost? 10days to build a g-wagon is not exactly cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lithium1330 Posted January 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 Coincidentally, this popped up on IG....TL;DR: JLR plans to re-release Defenders to tune of $150k GBP in 2018. (Not USD). 5.0V8 limited paint options, including matte finish. Attached for article from Land Rover Monthly IG. And at $150k, this would basically make these defenders JLR’s halo cars. And we know every self-respecting auto marque need a halo car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lithium1330 Posted January 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 and here is the vid... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHappel Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 #$&%-it, this just shows how Land Rover has lost it's way! How does this in any way improve the vehicle? Sure big power is fun and even somewhat useful on pavement or maybe in sand or mud bogging, but it totally goes against the intent of a Defender. They're just doing this as a cash grab. They have the engine on the shelf and it's already met the required emissions testing so why not stick it in everything and charge a ridiculous price? A far more useful and true to it's nature limited edition would be improved suspension, lockers, a winch, bumpers, and armor. More power sure, but you don't need 400+ hp in a Defender 90 - it's almost useless in that vehicle. If I already have everything else I'm not going to turn away more power, but there's soooo much more you could do at a lower price that would be more useful and valuable to a Defender. But hey, we've got a high hp motor in the parts bin and HP is sexy, so why not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHappel Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 BTW, if my 25-year-old self could hear me saying 'you don't need more power', he would just stare blankly and ask 'who is this person?' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robg Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 For every V8SE sold Jon Ward at Icon4x4 gets four pounds, six schillings and tuppence for giving JLR the idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teds Posted January 25, 2018 Report Share Posted January 25, 2018 An LS conversion will get you more HP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erinw.rrc Posted February 20, 2018 Report Share Posted February 20, 2018 I believe Mr. DeMuro has touched on this once or twice: 6:37. Defender comfort vs. Range Rover comfort I love this guy! And this video is priceless.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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