Completely agree, Lane.

Land Rovers have been known as only status symbols for weak willed ninnies and wanna be's for many years.

I really hope the Tata ownership changes things for the better for Land Rover and Jag. Keep the styling design in the UK or, perhaps, Italy but get the electrical, running gear and design for things that actually have to "work" OUT of the UK or retrain the staff! Of course if LR is going anti-hunting and Tata allows it, screw 'em.

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:

quote:

Originally posted by A.Dahlgren:
I do love mine both off road and to work And I would love to see a US pickup after a couple of years of serious off road driving.

I have had sl´s, ml´s, GLs, Audis, BMW etc but the Defender is a keeper! Is it a car for everyone?nope!

You are nuts! My Dad lives in some of the roughest country on the planet ranching in Texas. Dodge, Fords, and Chevy's have been getting it done all my life. Not only does the truck go...but it often pulls a trailer towing a horse or cattle through those places.

LOL the dodge pick up I had for sometime started to loose parts after the main road...Ahh well all cars that are "abused" will break down at one point or another..

I will take this baby with me to Africa from Sweden and its only a handful of cars I would do that with.

But even a volvo can do it

quote:

Originally posted by mt Al:
Land Rovers have been known as only status symbols

I would not call it a status symbol because they are about half the price you buy a dodge ram for in this part of the world. I would compare it with owning a Harley Davidson MC or is that a status symbol in US also ? Here its more a cult

LEDVM,
You probably remember the Dodge Power Wagon
and how it was the go-to 4wd truck back when the Texas oil fields were first being developed. Their high ground clearance and size made them the ideal oil field pickup in rough country.
They were still a common sight where I grew up in Borger near the Canadian river breaks.

quote:

Originally posted by A.Dahlgren:

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:

quote:

Originally posted by A.Dahlgren:
I do love mine both off road and to work And I would love to see a US pickup after a couple of years of serious off road driving.

I have had sl´s, ml´s, GLs, Audis, BMW etc but the Defender is a keeper! Is it a car for everyone?nope!

You are nuts! My Dad lives in some of the roughest country on the planet ranching in Texas. Dodge, Fords, and Chevy's have been getting it done all my life. Not only does the truck go...but it often pulls a trailer towing a horse or cattle through those places.

LOL the dodge pick up I had for sometime started to loose parts after the main road...Ahh well all cars that are "abused" will break down at one point or another..

I will take this baby with me to Africa from Sweden and its only a handful of cars I would do that with.

Proper car! Its amazing that They use the same parts in the new defenders as in the old series 3 from the seventies. I had a -74 model 88 inch with some 13 model bolt-on parts. Land Rovers makes you smile while driving for sure.!

quote:

Originally posted by Odin:

quote:

Originally posted by A.Dahlgren:

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:

quote:

Originally posted by A.Dahlgren:
I do love mine both off road and to work And I would love to see a US pickup after a couple of years of serious off road driving.

I have had sl´s, ml´s, GLs, Audis, BMW etc but the Defender is a keeper! Is it a car for everyone?nope!

You are nuts! My Dad lives in some of the roughest country on the planet ranching in Texas. Dodge, Fords, and Chevy's have been getting it done all my life. Not only does the truck go...but it often pulls a trailer towing a horse or cattle through those places.

LOL the dodge pick up I had for sometime started to loose parts after the main road...Ahh well all cars that are "abused" will break down at one point or another..

I will take this baby with me to Africa from Sweden and its only a handful of cars I would do that with.

Proper car! Its amazing that They use the same parts in the new defenders as in the old series 3 from the seventies. I had a -74 model 88 inch with some 13 model bolt-on parts. Land Rovers makes you smile while driving for sure.!

Thumbs down for sponsorship choice. BTW They sponsored Holt's the gun auctioneers for two years.

I had a Freelander 2 from 2007 to 2013. Best vehicle I ever had (including BMWs). After 107,000 trouble free miles I changed it for a 2013 model.

My 1997 LWB Defender 300TDI is basic but brilliant as a shooting vehicle - and you can change the whole exhaust system for £90!

I asked the mechanics to quote for stripping and painting the bumpers and bull bar - they said new bumpers come in at £25 - cheaper to put new on than paint the old ones.

And they never die, just keep getting fixed and keep on going. The old ones anyway.

I am presently in Hawaii & they seem to be an upscale yuppie suv here.
They do look cool, but I'll take a Toyota Sequoia anyday.

Shakari,
Thanks for the Dodge movie. There was a lot of gear noise, but they made it.

The English never seemed to be good at motor vehicles ,should have stuck to building classic double rifles etc, my father had a jeep after the war they used on the family farm ,then had a series 1, he used on his own farm, my mother said it was good, but i doubt she would think so if she rode in one again ,then he had a brand new series 2 pickup which he said was a good thing, then traded it in on a New series 2A pickup [ute we call them]which had the 6cyl shit F head engine which burnt valves, was slow ,and ate axles a POS ,i had one of my own ,broke both the back and front axles and had to walk home in the dark and slept under the damn thing when it rained .Had Dodge power wagons much better vehicle, antiquated but a real 4x4 ! not like the present IFS shit, like the Toyota Hilux ,which you spend all your time and money fixing this shit rubbish .The Australian Government are selling all their 110 Army Landrovers off here which is the only Landrover i think i would own, would not be game to buy a brand new one .The Army have replaced the Landrovers with the New Mercedes with a solid front axle haveing the sense to dump the IFS shit from the G wagon .Apart from that the old Mercedes 404 Unimog will kill any of these new Gay 4x4s and you can still get parts for them,and land rover hasnt got a hope of doing what one of these can do

quote:

Originally posted by Anjin:

quote:

Originally posted by Nakihunter:
Landrover & Jaguar are now owned by Tata (since 2008).

Tata have a solid reputation of making things work.

The market response to Jaguars seem to be quite positive now - a major improvement compared to the days under Ford.

Tata's own ute / pickup truck is gaining market share even in the Australian outback.

That may be true, but as far as I know, the bulk of them are still produced in England == which speaks for itself as to vehicle quality.

I did note in the news that a new Land Rover plant is being opened in Brazil. We'll see if that makes a difference, though I believe that the target market is Argentina.

Toyota licensed a plant or the manufacturing in Brazil for vehicles under the Baiderante (sp?) and produce FJ models to this day, if I'm not mistaken. I believe they use Mercedes diesels. I'll say Brazilian manufactured items have served me well based upon the two Taurus pistols I've owned. However, the DOT and EPA make things difficult to import a vehicle under 25 years old.

There is no consumer grade out the box 4x4 out there that can hold up to the 4x4 capabilities of the current Land Rovers. Period !

I have been driving Land Rovers for over 40 years ! right from those side axle breaking early models,surplus military vehicles coverted to game vehicles, the first Leyland built 2 door Range Rover with it's fucked up Lucas electric system, then the first Discovery which blew it's v8 enjin at 60,000 km and a mother of a fight with LR South Africa to get to admit the blown motor was their problem, then on to the era when BMW owned them and we could get them with BMW motors. A Diesel 130 crew cab !


I had in this time in tandem a host of Toyota Hi luxes, and finally a Land Cruiser.

The limited production Mitsubishi Dakar race edition sold to legalize it as a production vehicle for the race. My father had one of those and though nimble on sand as a sandmaster and quick as hell it was the only contender that came close , in in true off road conditions like sand the LR is king !

I have driven literally circles around My own Land Cruiser Pick up in sand and my current LR3 will out climb, out drive out dig any current American 4X4.

My Ford F350 Diesel's 4x4 system is a joke ! It's ok on the straight but suffers serious axle wind up and the 4x4 system is years behind the LR3.

Gotta agree with ALF that the Landies are about the best when it comes to really tough mud or sand plugging and (IMO) the best of the best were the Defenders and the worst of them were the Discos...... but there are several other vehicles that come close to the best of the Landies and (IMO) about the best of those were the UMM vehicles that were made here in Portugal.

Unfortunately, the Portuguese as wonderful as they usually are, couldn't sell a 15 minute liaison in a house of ill repute and that put them out of business.

Let's also remember the degree of effectiveness of any 4x4 is very dependent on the ability of the person driving it.

quote:

Originally posted by crshelton:
LEDVM,
You probably remember the Dodge Power Wagon
and how it was the go-to 4wd truck back when the Texas oil fields were first being developed. Their high ground clearance and size made them the ideal oil field pickup in rough country.
They were still a common sight where I grew up in Borger near the Canadian river breaks.

I had a 56 Dodge Power Wagon I picked up for $200 in Tuscon in 1969. It had that amazing PTO winch and a flathead six. I fixed it up (it had a cracked exhaust manifold, bought a set of tires, painted it Rustoleum yellow with a brush (it had no rust, but there was bare metal in lots of places) and drove it across the U.S. more than a few times.

What a vehicle!

quote:

Originally posted by A.Dahlgren:

quote:

Originally posted by mt Al:
Land Rovers have been known as only status symbols

I would not call it a status symbol because they are about half the price you buy a dodge ram for in this part of the world. I would compare it with owning a Harley Davidson MC or is that a status symbol in US also ? Here its more a cult

Amazing they're half the price of a US pickup! Yes, Harley's are definitely some sort of a status symbol in the US also and some would call it a cult as well. I can see the fun of taking one down a highway, getting the wind in your hair but I don't get the "i wear black leather so I'm tough" part. Most Harley riders are good people, though, fun to be around.

I love my 1959 Series II Land Rover. It has an overdrive & will actually go 65-70 mph.

I inherited my older brothers 1973 Toyota FJ40 Landcruiser when I got into

high school & it lasted through college, a great rig as well.

PH told my that Landrover engineers started with a oil leak and build a vehicle around it.....

I believe Land Rover is now producing and selling color coded engine oil for all their vehicles.

You let them know the color of your driveway paving bricks and they send you the oil that matches that color.

This eliminates black oil stains.

Too true

quote:

Originally posted by Pieter Kriel:
I believe Land Rover is now producing and selling color coded engine oil for all their vehicles.

You let them know the color of your driveway paving bricks and they send you the oil that matches that color.

This eliminates black oil stains.

Steady on Pieter we can be a wee bit sensitive over here.jc



[URL= ]Pajero.[/URL]

A classic Jungleboy!

Alternatively, you could always get a proper 4x4 that comes with power, ability AND comfort.



The disadvantages are heavy fuel consumption and as with LRs, oil leaks.

For all the haters out there Fully loaded for fly camp one buff minus skin and 7 people And Lived to tell the tail



Would want to be caught in this with a 1 HZ


This is how a landy does it



Masailand - Black cotton soil almost all the way from that hill in the background.. Come come cruiser come along now...

I might get stuck in my LC, but thats something I can get out of. I can make a plan. But when the tiny engine or tiny gearbox explodes then there is no plan. The likelihood of that is much smaller on my LC!

Poacher458
HAHAHAHA, Why all the aggression?? 2008 and still going strong The latter pics of a '94.
I'm not saying its the best all rounder but it can do the job if maintained! Oh, and ownership is more like marriage. LOL
Once get one you can't sell it!
Good for a Saturday morning stir up!

WoWo,

Guess there was no more room for the head (trophy)

Would that be a "picked up" tusk with the end taped ?

Fujo,

Ancient ninja, a Selous special and super janja (educated) to boot! Fujo, for some nostalgia this was on the way to the Lukuliro

Wow, I swore never again, but you almost have me converted

Asante sana bwana

I'd rather spend time in the off season or in camp making sure she's super well maintained than waste out while hunting.. digging/jacking/digging/pushing and grunting

I think it was bwanamitch who said the ultimate would the capability of a landy and the reliability/lower maintenance of a cruiser!
Have a good weekend people!

Rockdoc,

I promise you like I said earlier I hate wasting time getting stuck!!! I remember my dad and his generation thought is was tough to get through stuff without engaging four wheel drive! We did get stuck when it could have been avoided! This was also partly due to be lazy and having to get out the cruiser to lock the front wheel hubs.
In 1998 (el nino), when I was doing my apprenticeship with Danny McCallum, it took us 21 days to 27km with a convoy taking in all the equipment to build camps, in South Western Tanzania! 3 DAF trucks, one big trailer, 6 cruiser pickups and a massive tractor! The first three days were cool for a youngster Camel Adventure and all that but the rest was hell! A day and a half to dislodge a DAF 7 ton truck it goes down the road less than a km and gets bogged down to the axels again!!1 In the end we had to unload and ferry kit with the cruisers.

Danny cancelled the July safaris as it was impossible to get around and grass was 8-12 feet tall!
The first hunt was with big group in August out of the Ilunja Camp, four hunting cars. PH Gerard Miller hunted in his landy fitted with big tyres (900x16 "Nato Tread") and torque sensing lockers. Well long and short he got stuck 3 times in 21 days while land cruisers were getting stuck 3-4 hours on average per day!!! The clients in the other cars were getting really upset and asking why they weren't all in Landys, as most of the day they were working on getting the vehicles out instead of hunting! I was in Piti camp, more to the North, were Robin Hurt Safaris had a big safari in, also with a big group. Also having the same trouble... I was getting the news from my buddy Mike Fell who was hunting with Gerard. I later also hunted with Gerard and experienced a landy first hand.

That year , specially those first few months, taught me many valuable lessons! Among the most memorable were:

1)I had enough of getting stuck, for a lifetime!!!
2)A very healthy respect for the capabilities of a Defender pickup and that one day I'd hunt with one!!

The day I drove in to my moms house to show my brand new "cruiser" she nearly fainted at the sight my landy! First the blood drained from her face, she paled and I thought she was going to collapse however mom recovered quickly and let me have it!!! HAHAHAHA, she eventually settled down. Staunch Toyota/cruiser family!

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
Alternatively, you could always get a proper 4x4 that comes with power, ability AND comfort.



The disadvantages are heavy fuel consumption and as with LRs, oil leaks.

The advantage is they do not fund anti-hunting activists.

Lhook7
Absolutely beautiful wagon!! Pity they don't make them like this anymore! Very clean however not many scratches thou! Just kidding! Restoring a JF47 at the moment with GMC 6.2ltr v8 diesel in it) My own powerwagon!

THIS might make a few mouths water........... and perhaps a few wallets groan!

I've owned the red Wagoneer/Cherokee/Laredo for about 10 or 12 years and SWMBO threw a blue fit when I told her I was bringing it with as part of our household goods when we emigrated from South Africa and retired to Portugal.

The car has been all over a fair bit of Southern Africa with me over the years, has never even come close to getting stuck anywhere and the only breakdown was a single broken bolt on the alternator and I was able to change that in about 5 minutes.

Gotta say, I'm a big Jeep fan.

Steve,
Great story and well done for sticking with your Jeep!
Who is SWMBO? I'm sure the readers would like to hear

She Who Must Be Obeyed aka my better half Susan.

quote:

Originally posted by Wowo:
Poacher458
HAHAHAHA, Why all the aggression?? 2008 and still going strong The latter pics of a '94.
I'm not saying its the best all rounder but it can do the job if maintained! Oh, and ownership is more like marriage. LOL
Once get one you can't sell it!
Good for a Saturday morning stir up!

Wowo no aggretion intended!
When I was an appy one of the phs had a landy. And the shit I got told to fix on that thing was unreal. I hardly got any hunting time because of that heap of alu. But now that ph has turned to Toyota once he had to start fixing it himself. The ph is know as fairgame
But these sort of things have a bit of religion involved so....