Current Defender to be in production till 2017!!

Tigger said:

The FL2 is the most reliable thing they build, so you're on to a loser there

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Tazz070299 said:

Putting aside the Gaylander jibes, don't Freelander owners realise that a lot of the current sales are on the back of the reputation gained by previous, more mature Land Rover vehicles.

If you doubt that, ask yourself one question. Would the Freelander have been sold in the same numbers if it had a Vauxhall badge on the front?

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Tigger said:

I'm happy to put the Gaylander jibes aside for a minute because it's an interesting question you ask.

The Land Rover name is very valuable and has survived periods of huge underinvestment and neglect at the hands of BL and Austin Rover (how they ever achieved moments of genius like the RRC and Disco, under such conditions, I shall never know!) and, to be brutally honest, a poor reputation for reliability. So yes, you're right, you could stick the name on pretty much anything and you'd sell quite a few on the strength of its name alone.

However, what does Land Rover do when it's surrendered much of it's traditional utility market around the world to the Japanese? It can't survive on dwindling Defender sales, but it can with "Premium" (God, I hate that word!) 4x4 sales. I'm guessing that when you say "more mature" you're not going to have a problem with Discos and Range Rovers?

Taking that as read, it's the Freelander you've got a problem with. I can't comment on the FL1, but I can on the FL2:

Until the advent of the Evoque, it was the best selling car they built and really helps to support the company's survival; without it Halewood would have closed for sure. You may feel that it sells (sells out?) on name alone but it's the only car in its class with proper off road capability and it's bloomin' practical to boot. Selling against the likes of BMW X3's, Honda CRV's, Audi Q something-or-others and all the rest of that cack, it doesn't do Land Rover's reputation any harm at all! Without it, Land Rover could surrender this huge growth market to the Japanese and German manufacturers as well, before it had even built a single car

If you want Land Rover to become an ever smaller and more vulnerable niche manufacturer, with cripplingly high corporate average CO2 output figures (and the fines potential that that involves), then ignoring this market would be a good place to start.

Oh yes, what if it had had a Vauxhall badge on it? It's unlikely it would ever have been as capable off road as it is. In fact, if it had been a Vauxhall, it would have only ever been a Vauxhall badged version of whatever GM could pick up for a song in Asia! Nasty...

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