Land Rover has overhauled almost its entire line with the 2010 updates to the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and LR4 (Discovery), but the one vehicle that hardly gets touched is the one that started it all. The car now know as the Defender may be set to get its largest makeover in its over sixty-year history.
Land Rover is set to reveal a new Defender for 2013. This can be extremely tricky because the reason Britain’s Jeep remained largely untouched since its birth is because of its loyal following. Customers like its basic utilitarian structure, which has made it a European workhorse. What will not help the new Defender’s acceptance with the loyalists is that it will likely be based on the Discovery in order to reduce costs. This will include trading in the coil spring suspension for an independent setup that may include air bags for adjusting ride height.
Land Rover currently sells about 25,000 Defenders per year. It’s now hoping that the updated and modernized vehicle will push sales to 40,000. No word yet on if this means a return of the Defender to the U.S. Land Rover had to stop selling the Discovery here in 1997 because of safety regulations, but a modern car may finally account for current rules.
Small SUVs play an interesting role. They must be able to hold at least five people, fit in tight parking spaces, carry a Home Depot haul, and sometimes even go off-road. Yes, most people usually forget about that last one when buying an urban SUV.
So we decided that we would reintroduce the idea of an SUV made for the off-road with our 2009 Mitsubishi Outlander SE AWD tester. We made sure it was a 4x4 so we could follow the road less traveled… at least that’s what we planned. While the Outlander was in our fleet, we went looking for the hills and the mud, but that just usually made us late for soccer practice. So we were a little disappointed that our SUV fell into the usual suburban trap, but we still made it out alive…
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Ford Motor Company has just released a micro site dedicated to their wild F-150. The SVT Raptor that was unveiled at SEMA is a wide bodied concept based on the F-150. Normally trucks aren’t our thing on TopSpeed, but this one did take on the Baja 1000, so it’s cool with us.
Plenty more pics, info and the site link after the jump
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The diesel engine’s frugal nature and the fuel’s lower price (in some markets) make it popular choice in Europe. With the rest of the world pinching our pennies, we’re going to start seeing a lot more diesel engines in the U.S.
Unfortunately for the companies bringing these new diesel cars, it may take a little education to get the U.S. to understand the new definition of a diesel engine. Gone are the days of black smoke and high-polluting; in its place is the best fuel economy going. Also gone is the loud rumbling engine; leaving almost no noise in its place. What remains from the old diesel image is the toughness. Diesel engines have fewer moving parts, operate at lower RPMs, and are historically the most reliable kind of engine out there.
One of the great places to have these torque-happy engines are trucks and SUVs. That’s why we’re taking a look at a Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 4x4 with a 3.0-liter diesel engine.
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Land Rover sells cars more on its image that ability. These SUVs are great off-roaders, but rarely do you catch their owners forging a stream or survey open land. Instead, owners demand luxury and handsome looks.
Land Rover first tried to give the U.S. a small SUV by adapting the Europe-only Freelander for North America. By the time the car first appeared here in 2002 it was already six years old and showing its age. Sales were slow, and Land Rover learned ts lesson.
Starting in 2007, Land Rover had a new Freelander they renamed LR2 for North America. This had much better materials, more features, and looked a lot more like the up-market Range Rover.
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Trucks are fun. Although we’re usually car people, the “in your face” and “get out of my way” attitude that is attached to piloting a tall truck that’s over two and a half tons is sometimes irresistible.
Our Tundra 4x4 Crewmax SR5 represents a final leap for Toyota. When Toyota first entered the large truck market with the T100 in 1992, they though people didn’t need the full size of a full-sized truck. Unfortunately the North American public disagreed. Toyota built the same tough-as-nails trucks as it always did, but people were weary because in the truck game, bigger is better. Now the second generation Tundra rectifies all problems. Introduced in 2007, the Tundra is as big (and sometimes bigger) than the competition, without trading in the Toyota reputation.
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From the ’Better Late Than Never’ file, Hummer unveiled today a version of the H2 that runs on E85 ethanol fuel. The car brand known for being a fuel hog is getting greener. The H2 can actually run solely on E85 ethanol, gasoline or any combination of the two fuels. Other GM flex-fuel vehicles currently on the road are only able to run up to 85 percent ethanol (E85).
The latest developments that have enabled the H2 to run on E85 ethanol are being carried on to other vehicles in the Hummer line. The H3 will become E85 capable later in 2009. A four-cylinder turbo diesel engine is also being developed for the H3.
Press release after the jump.
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The 2008 Jeep Wrangler 4X4 Rubicon is a 2-door, 4-passenger sport-utility vehicle. Although the Wrangler is in its third generation, this is part of a much larger evolution that dates back over sixty years to the first civilian Jeeps built after World War II. The Rubicon version was first introduced in 2003 in conjunction with promotion for the movie “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life.” In 2007, Jeep debuted the latest Wrangler. This version is incorporates a slightly larger redesigned body, and introduced a four-door Unlimited model to join the traditional two-door. The Rubicon is the most rugged of the four available trims, and with the starting price around $28,000, it is also the most expensive.
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Even if Hummer’s sales were down 60% this June, GM launched a new special edition for the European market. Maybe the last one before the faith of Hummer will be decided.
The HUMMER H3 Sensation offers all the features that are standard for the H3 3.7 automatic, on which the model is based. These features include a Hydra-Matic automatic transmission, cruise control, full underbody protection, fog lamps, a swing gate-mounted full-size spare wheel and StabiliTrak Stability Enhancement System.
Special characteristics for the H3 Sensation are a particularly distinguishing black or white paint, a unique body-coloured grille, a power sliding glass sunroof, black tubular side steps, black roof crossbars, an in-dash 6-CD changer and a Monsoon 7-speaker sound system. And the best news: all these options come at no extra cost! This means a saving for customers of approximately 4,000 Euros.
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The Tony Hawk Foundation is auctioning a one-of-a-kind 2007 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited, customized by Tony Hawk and DUB. The Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 4x4 has been tricked-out with 24" TIS 09 wheels, Toyo off-road tires, a custom 9" body lift, skateboard racks, and Birdhouse skateboards. Inside you’ll find 7" monitors in the headrests, embroidered Tony Hawk logo on the seats, an Alpine DVD Headunit System, a Custom Fiberglass Subwoofer Box, plus many more unique details.
In addition to the Jeep, the winning bidder will also receive the new T-Mobile Sidekick LX Tony Hawk Edition (designed by Tony), plus 4 VIP Tickets to Tony Hawk’s Boom Boom HuckJam tour and an opportunity to meet Tony before the show. The winning bidder will also be featured with the Tony Hawk DUB Edition Jeep in an upcoming issue of DUB magazine.
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