[Adam in NYC USA]

Mental what-if:

If you were buying a Land Rover yet to be , what features would you want in it?

For example, since I am in North America, I would prefer one built with off-the-counter parts (Ford in this case) that were available everywhere.

I would prefer one where you choose the powerplant (V6, V8 , V10 Petro or Diesel or Hybrid. Hybrid would be using gas LP or diesel and using two electric motors for both axles into the driveshafts.

I find it funny that the incremental improvements on the knock-offs are little things not big things. On the Xterra, they put steps into the end-caps,for example.

As for the Jeep Hemi, I has only one question , Why?

Yes, I am that Green. Or rather, I am fond of my Green dollars , my Green plants, and my Green tush.

Okay, let the fish fly. Hit me.

Adam in NYC grin:drive:

 

[Disco]

I can't imagine anything beyond a D1 discovery, but then I'm biased.

 

[Hailsharky]

Id want a 300 hp gas V8 that got 20 mpg.

It would have frame welded steel bumper front and back with built in warn winches.

Id have a factory 2" lift. Telflon rims, and 275 BFG AT's liek I have now.

BTW, it would be a Discovery with the same suspension the 99 1/2 - 2004 have.
And it would look like a Series II, not like a LR3.

It would have a factory turbo charger, not super charger since a turbo charger made my old saab 940 run so swiftly, I can't imagine why they wouldnt have one for a standard V8 by now.

The Disco would be 2 feet longer so the rear end would give more doggy room and so my rear passenger doors didnt give people charlie horses when they climbed out.

Factory exaust ala flowmaster stage 2

Self inflating tires.

built in jacks that had extensions that could be attached in the even that I had a flat on some ridiculous terrain.

It would be Alveston with a satin black shaker hood.

Air conditioned seats as well as heated seats.
an adjustable steering wheel.
Longer seats so the under parts of my knees had more comfort.

More cup holders that were made to hold big gulps without leaning.

reclining rear seats. that would be stow an go just like on the Chrysler Caravans.

optional train horn for dick heads driving slow in the fast lane.

Dash board cushioning so my dash wouldnt rattle over rutted trails.

More room in the front seats so I could relax better on long drives.

Larger inventory of parts available at regular part stores. No more of this have to order from the dealership or European places crap anymore.

Ill add more later im sure.

Another option, I loved the option my 90 Bronco had lf being able to tak eoff the rear cap. That was a killer option. It would be weet to be able to take of teh rear cab of the Disco series II for summer fun. :beer:

 

[appstatedisco]

good list there, but i dont know if you'd want a turbo off-road, if you did it would have to kick in at about idle or something, you dont want to be on a trail, try to creep out of a ditch and hit the turbo and lose traction. I wouldn't mind, however, a turbodiesel like in the dodges, 5.9 cummins w/ 610 lbs-ft of torque. As well as front/rear lockers from the factory(of course that could be engaged and disengaged from the cabin), stronger driveshafts and axles, i'd definatly love to see those teflons w/ some bfg a/t's on there, maybe 31's with a 2" suspention lift, i wouldn't want the air suspension on it, just a good quality factory lift. factory skid plates and underbody armor(most toyota 4x4's come with decent skid plates and underbody protection stock). I'd like to see the option for factory installed rubber floors with a nice set of mats over theme, along with plugs so you can drain it if you wash it out. Some nice air conditioned/heated seats(maybe waterproof so you can wash them off easily). dual sunroofs, and option for an snorkel from the factory(not standard mind you). extended breathers, new gear ratio's to compensate for the tire size also with overdrive(with that much torque from a diesel, you have room to use a granny gear in the ratio line up), optional factory heavy duty front/rear and side bumpers with or without 8500lb winches, optional additional lighting all the way around, maybe even an optional softtop model to add to the lineup(4 doors and a bikini top on the rear cargo area, extended/beefed up jacks, optional dual batteries, heavy duty brakes(after my experience down to charleston lol), hmmm what else...? lol

oh ya, readily available parts and service, i'm sure ford can borrow drivetrain parts and whatnot from its truck and SUV supply as well as some of the optional interior upgrades and what not.

 

[appstatedisco]

oh ya, this would be on a disco I platform. wouldn' be a bad idea to keep the what was truly land over alive, an entire brand name dedicated to off-roaders with the market niche that the hummer has in off-road elegance(atleast as alot of people see it.) With the h3 just arriving, this concept wouldn't be half bad to give hummer a run for its money and take a peice of the market with keeping loyal roverists.

 

[appstatedisco]

another idea would be to wait 3 years, phase out the LR3, start from scratch at redesigning the discovery and get back to it roots, redesign the LR3 and throw in with range rover, add a Super-Off Road edition to the new discovery line-up(with the specs from my post earlier), bring the defender back(in low numbers), and then push out a huge marketing campaign for it. especially with the new turbodiesels getting better gas milage in an era of fuel suckers. any thoughts?

 

[Quicksilva]

Easy..

LR3 solid axles with air lockers and a Tuned 4 cylinder powerstroke TDI...
less electrics and gadgets...

M,

 

[NorCalDisco2]

Silly boys... why dream, when you can have the RRS today?!?!?

 

[RickyRover]

A Range Rover Sport??? Uh, no offense but I'll pass. It's built on top of a LR3 platform and its spare isnt a full sized spare, and inside isnt as great as most think, not much visibility (can't see much when goin' off-roadin'). Not to mention a 20,000-25,000 dollar mark-up (in Northern CA, in So-CAL I heard it was 30,000). So in the end you'll be paying around 90,000 plus tax and liscensing. I should know I have to drive them all the time at work.

 

[NorCalDisco2]

$20K markup? lol, nope, sticker price here. The truck is kick ass!

 

[Adam in NYC USA]

Thanks for so far everyone and read this........

Let's keep the ideas coming in. The idea of the thread is that what is it you want in a platform that doe snot exist.(revised)

The Sport is for the German and bling bling crowd, depicted in that Pepsi ad with P. Diddy who goes to an "event" riding in a Pepsi delivery truck and then he starts a fad/trend/whatever.

I say in the present context , Summer 2005 (for the archives), there are several models coming out , none that truly address the Land Rover crowd.

Cheap to moderate off-roading, a truck that will play and work equally well, and can not only survive but thrive in the ongoing international SUV (ugh) market.

Lets keep this going and I will make a pledge.

All the good ideas I will ship to Land Rover , provided YOU give your permission to republish.

How's that sound?

Feed the fever, now, boys and girls.

Adam in NYC

 

[ish]

For my RR, I want a V10 MAN German Turbo-Diesel w/400hp, 20 mpg.
Increased height adjustability on the air suspension. +4"
and every I mean EVERY LR must have WeatherBand button on the radio. I had it on my 5 series BMW and I really miss it.
PS. The Sport is a beautiful design, just a little tight for my needs.

 

[garland823]

a current defender with srs. or a disco 2 with a center diff lock in the cab and a stick.

 

[roverX]

OK, I am about to drop it old school on ya fellas...I would want an inline straight 6 in a lighter D1. Why a straight 6 you ask?? B/C it is the best damn engine ever built. Tough as nails, runs smooth, you won't break any axles offroad. If you don't like that idea, you can kiss my white arse. LOL!

Why as lighter D1 platform? B/C, like DISCO, I am old school :buttrock: . No reason to go past that. If you know how to drive it and with a good spotter, you can do anything in a stock D1 with good gripping tires. A lighter frame like the Series vehicles would allow for a smaller power plant to be more effective. Personally, I really don't see the reason - other than soccer moms - why they strayed from the Series line.

Although...it would be nice to have LDT shocks and springs to keep the tires on the ground... I guess your dream Rover depends on what your idea of usage is for the dream vehicle.

 

[appstatedisco]

exactly, hence brauden(sp?) the product line and put a greater image seperation between land rover and range rover. ship the LR3 to the range rover name(ofcourse the body will need to be revamped to bring it under the RR name, but keep the same idea.), and put a disco I-like body style/chassis(with hardcore offroad capabilities options from the factory) and a d-110 into the mainstream market in the US, and i guarantee product sales would boom for both RR and LR. ask them to do alittle market research into this, they might be $tunned.

- AppStateDisco


p.s. you have my permission to use my suggestions/comment. glad to help buddy, just let me know if you do. [email protected]

 

[RickyRover]

hey norcal which part of northern california are ya in , cuz the 20,000 mark up is for all bay area land rover dealerships, cuz everyday at work in redwood city people are just gushing over the sports.

as far as an imaginary truck goes, i'm thinkin a NAS 110 with the 2.8 hse turbo diesel (like what they got at ecr rovers) with a slightly larger turbo and intercooler and an 44 gallon expedition fuel tank, a arb bumper, front and rear maxi drive lockers (no need for a air pump) as well as front and rear winches, cb, snorkel, 315/70r 16 tires on some 2 3/4 off-set steel wheels, heavier duty axels, heavier duty drive line, line the interior and under carriage as well as galvanized chasis but that too would be lined as well, some auxillary lights. I'm also thinkin a shotgun rack, i guess a garmin gps navigation system but cant go wrong with a good 'ol map. oh and get a full length roof rack that mounts to the safari cage, something like the full length rack like on the pictured 109 but mounted to the safarai cage of the NAS Defender 110

 

[macdon2000]

127 conversion

It would have to be a 127/130 with a fifth wheel coupling for a 28 foot swan neck hitch trailer for work. A 300tdi powerplant (it has never let me down) with slightly up rated power, k&n air filter, silicone hoses, snorkel, larger intercooler and kenlowe fans. Massive BFG mud terrains with a roof tent and all acessories. Winch front and back with extra lighting on a pod on the bonnet. I'd also get a lpg conversion to save a few pounds as when I build this beast it's going to cost serious £££££$$$$$$$£££££££.

P.S I'd have a 1 tonne crane on the trailer for unloading
(I have a nursery selling massive palms, olives etc. and do all the delivering with my lr)

 

[RickyRover]

having one of these would be cool, a 130 double cab

 

[Hailsharky]

DUDE!!, that 130 double cab just tripped my light fantastic!.

That is perfect.

How much would something just like that cost in the States?

 

[Adam in NYC USA]

There is an old saying...

DUDE!!, that 130 double cab just tripped my light fantastic!.

That is perfect.

How much would something just like that cost in the States?

There is an old saying:

"If you have to ask, it costs too much."

I keep seeing prices up in the 30k to 40k dollar range.

Adam in NYC

Sidebar: Keep the posts up. I think I may have buy additional printer paper for all this. LOL. Keep it up.

Maybe we can get concenus (sic) on two models for LR to pore over: One concept and another as a low-end replacement /2nd vehicle for the rest of us.

Should be interesting.

Adam