RIP Defender

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-35436741

Today is the day that production of the true icon that is the Defender finally ceases. I never did get around to driving one, but hopefully I might do on my LR experience day. I have fond memories of playing in the old LWB that my uncle once drive to Lake Turkana (Lake Rudolph as it was back then) as a kid.

I'd like to propose a couple of moments of quiet reflection on the passing of an old friend.

Rust In Peace.

(29-01-2016 09:55am)Pete Wrote:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-35436741

Today is the day that production of the true icon that is the Defender finally ceases. I never did get around to driving one, but hopefully I might do on my LR experience day. I have fond memories of playing in the old LWB that my uncle once drive to Lake Turkana (Lake Rudolph as it was back then) as a kid.

I'd like to propose a couple of moments of quiet reflection on the passing of an old friend.

Rust In Peace.

I learned to drive in one in West Africa. There is no finer way to carry a 45 gallon barrel of fuel into the bush. Glad I don't have to double de clutch anymore!

I was interested to read on the BBC News app that 70% of all "Land Rovers" ie Series and Defenders, are still in use , that may of course mean that they haven't yet been scrapped and are sitting quietly in the corner of a field gently rotting away! I was please a couple of years ago to be advised to increase the insured value of my then 16 year old Defender as they were slowly appreciating in value, this year it's agreed value has been increased to what I paid for it in 2001 as good ones are now appreciating more quickly than was thought! It will still be a money soak though, but it gives a huge amount of pleasure and is a serious "fun" vehicle to drive offroad as it is so good at doing what it was designed to do. Owning an older "Land Rover" is guaranteed to be a drain on your bank account but it does it in a way that also gives you a great deal of fun. A colleague of mine recently bought a 90 SW for his wife who had been wanting one for years, he couldn't understand her desire to won one, but recently took the plunge an bought her one. His last message was that he now understood why owners love them, even though for a taller person they are uncomfortable to drive, he loves it and uses it more than their family car and wishes he had bought one years ago! I cannot se any replacement model being anywhere near as much fun and even though they were expensive for what they were (and mostly hand built) what comes next will be guaranteed to be hugely expensive to buy and service and that will put people off enjoying their capabilities. Alos my 1996 90 has been the car I have owned longest and it has been by far the most reliable car I have owned. Since 2001 it has never broken down and nothing important has fallen off or failed on it's own unless I have "helped" it. It has been abused but come through shining even though some of the damage I have done to it could have been terminal! I once drove 100 miles in it after a serious offroading session not realising that I had left the oil content of the transfer box behind on a hillside after grounding it heavily................ I wondered why the gearshift wasn't its usual slick self and it seemed to be loosing power. That was it's polite way of telling me it was very sick and the gearbox was seizing up, but we got to the specialist who services and fettles it for me without need for a flatbed or tow wagon! It did need a whole new transfer box though as the internals of the old one had melted........... don't try that with your Evoque. Tough? They are almost indestructable.

"They are almost indestructable". That's true Tim................Perhaps that's because they were built in Solihull, and not Halewood

Andy, Solihull has had its times of producing poorly built/ finished cars too. Up to the start of Evoque production the quality and finish of Freelander2 was reckoned to be far and away better than anything Solihull produced but I think success of Evoque meant management tried to push way too many cars down the production line far too quickly and look what they ended up with............. Evoques and Discovery Sports that are badly built and poorly finished.

You nailed it Tim. They're building them too quickly. I removed the spare wheel to check Jack/Brace were there. I found some build debris in the well along with some plastic fixing stems. A Google later, discovered the stems are for fixing interior 'C' pillar cover's. Yep, one fixed solid, the other loose. Operative either couldn't be bothered, or more likely under pressure. It's just not good enough mate, and from what I'm experiencing, I can't see it changing any time soon.

Just booked my complimentary LR experience with the Defender, converted up to the full day to get the most out of it.