Posted on 01/29/2016 3:18:25 AM PST by Berlin_Freeper
Almost 70 years after the first model appeared in the aftermath of the second world war, the last Land Rover Defender will roll off the production line in the West Midlands on Friday.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
Yes her coat is dirty from play. Was cleaned last night.
To be replaced by the Caliphate model, no doubt.
Very sad.
There is a guy with a restored one around my area somewhere, it is sharp.
I'm sure that will be like the modern VW "beetle"--an ugly monstrosity that bears little to no resemblance to the original.
I remember seeing a lot of those little utilitarian Land Rovers on the road when I lived in southern Spain. They usually had a "90" (or "80", "70", or "60") sticker on the back, indicating their top speed (in km/h). We passed them a lot.
There is a 90 or a 110. It’s a reference to the length. The 90 is the two door and 110 the four.
I have a diesel 90 I leave at my parents house in Israel.
I thought the Chinese were going to eventually take the model and manufacture it? The big issue I thought was the eight-cylinder model and no willingness to flip to a 4-cylinder model.
I think that is something else. There was a law in Spain that vehicles that could not reach the speed limit had to have a sticker warning other drivers of that fact.
Drivers of those vehicles would often stick their hand out the window and wave it around to indicate when it was safe to pass them. It was kind of funny, since the Spanish hand signals were not the same as those we were taught in school, and it was not always clear what they were trying to communicate.
All things must end at some time.
Just a Jeep before them, Land Rover will now just be another overpriced Yuppiemobile. Both dipped their toes in that pool many years ago. Jeep made the complete jump several years ago. Now it is Land Rover’s time.
I too mourn the passing of an era.
The one pictured with the cheetah in the article is very similar to the one that approached us in Ethiopia’s Eritrean desert in 1968. Two Americans were in it and claimed to be map makers. I didn’t believe it then, and do not today. Most probably special ops of some sort.
Sad to see them go. It would be like losing the Jeep.
I had a Series III 88 back in the early ‘70s. Loved it - took it all over Maine and NH. I added a winch which proved invaluable.
All I know is I just traded in my Range Rover Evoque. Had it two years. It was junk !
The mechanic actually told me that it was “normal” for all new cars to have the engine light on. (It would never go off !)
The price will be prohibitive for most.
I believe these were originally produced for small farmers who needed a utility vehicle. The aluminium body and diesel engine ensured they lasted a long time. The interior was spartan to say the least. You're right it's successor will no longer be a genuine work vehicle just another toy.
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