2009 Mitsubishi Outlander

2009 Mitsubishi Outlander

The Mitsubishi Outlander crossover has a clamshell tailgate similar to the Land Rover Range Rover Sport’s, but at a third the starting price. Sliding second-row seats let you trade rear-passenger leg room for more cargo area, while an impressive Rockford-Fosgate sound system lets you broadcast the pre-game show for all to hear.

latimes

2009 Land Rover Range Rover Sport

#2 — 2009 Land Rover Range Rover Sport

When accompanied by a tailgate menu of lobster, filet and champagne, the Range Rover Sport is a polite way of bragging to other tailgaters that you’ll be spending the game in the luxury suites (or on the field, perhaps).

latimes

Top 10 Cars for Tailgate Parties

Top 10 cars for tailgate parties
If the imminent change of season is making you itch for a football game and tailgating party, the folks at Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com have picked 10 rides that best accommodate a great time. Their reasoning? “While any vehicle with enough room for chairs, tables and coolers will do in a pinch, today’s top tailgating rides go a step further with a variety of party-enhancing extras.”

#1 — 2010 GMC Acadia

#2 — 2009 Land Rover Range Rover Sport

# 3 — 2009 Mitsubishi Outlander

#4 — 2010 Kia Soul

#5 — 2009 Honda Ridgeline

#6 — 2009 Dodge Caravan

#7 — 2009 GMC Yukon Denali

#8 — 2009 Dodge Caliber

#9 — 2009 Honda Element

#10 — 2010 Ford F-150

latimes

July Sales: Cash for Clunkers Spurs FoMoCo; Toyota Regains Second-Place

DETROIT – Ford Motor Company is ebullient about its first year-over-year sales increase since November 2007. Total Ford-Lincoln-Mercury sales, including fleet, rose 2 percent in July 2009 compared with July 2008, and of that, retail sales rose 9 percent. Still, it’s too early to party. The Great Recession isn’t over yet.”Right now, the legs under the economy are not strong enough to sustain a 14-16 million sales rate as we saw at the end of July,” says Ford analyst George Pipas. “A sales increase in July is not the end of the journey.”Aside from the minor increase compared with a very weak July ’08, when gasoline averaged $4.11 per gallon, Ford proved through individual model sales that the Cash for Clunkers program helped move fuel-efficient metal. Probably not coincidentally, the low-priced cars and trucks that consumers who until now were driving clunkers could afford to buy moved the most. Ford Focus sales surpassed Fusion sales, although both models were up compared with last year. Even though a four-cylinder Fusion is within a couple mpg city/highway, the smaller, cheaper Focus easily outsold the Fusion, 21,830 (up 43.6 percent) to 17,610 (up 66 percent).The redesigned-for-2009 Focus became Ford’s darling when gas topped $4 per gallon. Earlier this year, the facelifted 2010 Fusion was Ford’s savior in some of the slowest sales months in decades. Advertising dollars targeting new models helps.If Cash for Clunkers money drew a lot of prospective buyers to Ford lots in the last week, I’ve got to bet that some of those consumers trading in ’90s Explorers chose, say an $18,000-list Focus over a $23,000-list Fusion because it better met their budgets. Many of those clunkers undoubtedly were third or even fourth cars, driven by the high schoolers in the family. Estimates of how much oil the program saves may be a bit of a stretch.No matter. The program is a success for bringing consumers back into the market — either those who have been holding off or those who figured credit had dried up so much, it wasn’t worth it to walk into a showroom. General Motors estimates July sales for all makers totaled an annual rate that would equal about 11.3-million vehicles, marking the first month in 2009 above the 10-million level.And GM has just announced a lease program with U.S. Bank for Chevrolets, Buicks, GMCs and Cadillacs (its core four in North America) for New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Michigan and Ohio through August 31. U.S. Bank leases for the new Cadillac SRX are available nationwide.Meanwhile, Chrysler says that The Wall Street Journal got it wrong Monday morning. Chrysler will continue to offer matching incentives of up to $4500 on certain models whether you bring in a clunker or not. Obviously, if your local dealer is out of, say, 2009 PT Cruisers, you’re not going to get $4500 off a 2010 model. And so, to the numbers:GM: 189,443, off 19.4 percent.Inventory of about 466,000 is the lowest on record, says sales veep Mark LaNeve.With inventories dropping for all automakers, the deals aren’t likely to get any more desperate.Chevy division sales were relatively strong, at 124,948, still down 9.3 percent.Equinox was a rare gainer, up 77.8 percent to 10,834. About 60 percent were ’10 models, and most of those were four-bangers.Buick Enclave remains strong, selling 3,797, off 2.5 percent.Cadillac, at 6,171, off 52.6 percent, was the biggest loser of the core four.Saab was off 71.7 percent to 574 and Hummer was off 57.4 percent to 799.Impala was up 9.6 percent to 14,649 but Malibu was off 7.8 percent to 15,339.Modern wagon wars continues: Toyota sold 9,407 Highlanders, (+39.1 percent), Chevy sold 6,690 Traverses, Honda sold 6,430 Pilots (-15.3 percent), Dodge sold 4,165 Journeys (+21 percent) and Ford sold 3,631 Flexes (+64.7 percent).The new Camaro continues to be in short supply. Chevy sold 7,113, vs. 6,686 Ford Mustangs (-37.6 percent) and 886 Dodge Challengers (-69 percent).GM will build some 2010 G6s for fleet customers, LaNeve said, making it the last Pontiac.The New GM of Chevy, Buick, GMC and Cadillac, sold 160,078 vehicles, a couple thousand more than Ford/Lincoln/Mercury but short of Toyota.Toyota-Scion-Lexus: 174,872, off 11.4 percent.Toyota division accounted for 156,355 (including Scions), off 10.8 percent, making Toyota the U.S.’ best-selling brand.Lexus fell 16.5 percent to 18,517.Prius jumped 29.7 percent to 19,173. Camry sales fell 19.4 percent to a still-strong 33,974.RAV4 may have benefited from the clunkers credit, up 32.5 percent to 15,912.Midsize pickups also are doing well. Tacoma was up 7.6 percent to 12,552.Monthly Scion numbers: 6,754, vs. 11,906 in July ’08.Ford-Lincoln-Mercury: 158,838, up 2 percent.Focus was Ford’s best-selling car, up 43.6 percent to 21,830.Fusion was up 66 percent to 17,610.F-150 remains Ford’s best-selling vehicle, off 19 percent to 36,327.Escape was up 94.2 percent to 20,241.Ranger was up 64.5 percent to 7,695. Looks like another Cash for Clunkers winner.Taurus was off 57.1 percent to 1,760 as Ford ramped down the old model.Mercury Milan was up 59.8 percent to 2,934 while Mariner was up 70.5 percent to 3,682 as the Lincoln side of the showroom suffered a 24.3 percent drop.Inventory of 295,000 vehicles, averaging less than a 50-day supply, is 41 percent thinner than at the end of July ’08.Honda-Acura: 114,690, off 17.3 percent.That’s 106,028 Hondas, off 15.8 percent, and 8,662 Acuras, off 32.5 percent.Civic was up 3.1 percent to 30,037.Accord was off 28.1 percent to 29,774.Fit was off 27.6 percent to 8,876 but CR-V was up 9.9 percent to 19,151.Acura RDX was off 62.5 percent to 519 and TSX was off 35.8 percent to 2,232.Chrysler LLC: 88,900, off 9 percent.Winners were small models, helped by heavy incentives. Chrysler PT Cruiser was up 24 percent to 4,092 sold.Jeep Patriot was up 134 percent to 8,084 and Compass was up 95 percent.Jeep Wrangler, which posted increases for the first five months of the year, was down for the second month in a row, off 25 percent to 4,540.Dodge Caliber was up 63 percent to 7,814.Avenger was up 30 percent to 5,616.Sebring was off 27 percent to 2,781. Chrysler has sold 13,466 for the entire year so far, well below Ford Fusion’s monthly sales.Chrysler Town & Country fell 15 percent to 6,837. Dodge Caravan was up 15 percent to 8,405, however.Ram was off 17 percent to 17,723.Nissan-Infiniti: 71,847, off 24.6 percent.Nissan division was off 24.8 percent to 64,751.Infiniti was off 23.3 percent to 7,096.Nissan Versa was off just 2 percent to 8,530, though Sentra fell 13.5 percent to 9,496.Rogue sales were up 3.8 percent to 6,770.Z was up 11.9 percent to 890. Inexplicably, Infiniti QX56 was up 0.4 percent to 553.Nissan GT-R was off by 19 units to 128.OTHERS …Hyundai says 22 percent of its trade-ins were “clunkers.” Sales rose 12 percent, to 45,553. Accent, Sonata, Elantra and Genesis all posted gains and Santa Fe was down very slightly.Kia sold 29,345 units, up 1,324 units from last July. Subaru was up an impressive 34 percent, to 21,839. Mazda sold 19,032, off 15.1 percent.BMW Group, including Mini, was off 26.7 percent, to 21,253. BMW brand sold 16,381, off 31.5 percent. Mini was off 3.8 percent, to 4,872. Only all-ne
w models gained sales last month; BMW Z4 (up 33.8-percent) and 7 Series (up 14.5 percent), and Mini Cooper convertible (up 45.1 percent).Cash for Clunkers helped Volkswagen, which was up 0.7 percent, to 20,590 while Audi says it outperformed the premium segment, dropping just 5.8 percent, to 6,407. The clunkers program does not help with new cars north of $45,000.Mercedes-Benz USA, sold 17,646, including 16,228 Mercedes (off 21.7 percent) and 1,418 smarts, off 44.6 percent.Jaguar Land Rover fell 25 percent, to 2,607. Jaguar was down 45 percent, to 785 cars and Land Rover was down 11 percent, to 1,822.
Source : blogs.motortrend.com/6564996/car-news/july-sales-cash-for-clunkers-spurs-fomoco-toyota-regains-second-place/index.html

Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, Land Rover and Suzuki will skip 2009 Detroit

Posted on 11.15.2008 05:57
by
Simona AlinaFiled under:
| 2009 | Detroit Auto ShowIt seems the slowdown in cars sales is also hurting the car shows. Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, Land Rover and Suzuki announced they will not make it to the Detroit Auto Show in January. Ferrari decided it will have pretty much shown all it needs to after the LA Show, where it will premier the namesake 193-mph California. Rolls-Royce, Land Rover and Suzuki have similar excuses. "We are cutting back," said Paul Ferraiolo, president of Rolls-Royce North America, which puts a $407,000 price tag on (…)
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Flying Car to take London-Timbuktu trek

Posted on 11.12.2008 15:40
by
Erin BrooksFiled under:
| prototype | funnyThere must be something in the water in England. Earlier this year we reported on a Welshman who took his Land Rover from England to America. Now we have a Brit who will be taking his flying dune buggy from England to the Sahara Desert. Gilo Cardozo is a paramotor manufacturer whose Wiltshire-based company Parajet built the paramotor that the adventurer Bear Grylls used to fly near Everest last year. Normally paramotors work by a person using a parachute while having a giant fan strapped to (…)Permalink | Comments

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Land Rover Models

The Land Rover Freelander/LR2

The 1997 Defender 90 Station Wagon

Land Rover Series IIB Forward Control

Land Rover 109

Series I, II and III – the original 4X4
Defender – Updated Series line, with a move from extreme utilitarianism.
Freelander 2 – compact crossover 4×4, the second generation of which is known as the LR2 in North America.
Discovery 3 – full-size 4X4
Range Rover – full-size luxury 4X4
Range Rover Classic – the original Range Rover, produced from 1970 to 1996
Range Rover Sport – full-size luxury 4×4

There have also been models developed for the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD)

101 Forward Control – also known as the “Land Rover One Tonne”
1/2 ton Lightweight – airportable military short wheelbase from the Series 2a
Land Rover Wolf – an uprated Military Defender
SNATCH Land Rover – Land Rover with composite armoured body in UK Armed Forces Service
109 Series IIa and III ambulance (body by Marshalls of Cambridge)
Range Rover ‘6×6’ Fire Appliance (conversion by Carmichael and Sons of Worcester) for RAF airfield use
130 Defender ambulance
‘Llama’ prototypes for 101 replacement.

Current models

2008 UK Land Rover Model Line-up

Model
Type
Price Range

Land Rover Defender
4X4
?22,480 – ?28,495

Land Rover Freelander
4×4 SUV(Sport Utility Vehicle)
?25,935 – ?33,990

Land Rover Discovery
4×4
?28,915 – ?48,720

Range Rover Sport
4X4
?35,665 – ?63,225

Range Rover
4×4
?58,695 – ?84,900

2008 US Land Rover Model Line-up

Model
Type
Price Range

Land Rover LR2
4×4
$31,000- $36,000

Land Rover LR3
4×4
$50,000 – $58,000

Range Rover Sport
4×4
$60,500 – $79,200

Range Rover
4×4
$81,850 – $125,000

At the 2004 North American International Auto Show, Land Rover introduced its first concept, the Range Stormer (Gritzinger, 2004). A “green” concept known as Land e was also recently shown.

Land Rover History

Land Rover Series I

Land Rover Series IIa Series 88

The first Land Rover was designed in 1948 in the United Kingdom (on the island of Anglesey in Wales) by Maurice Wilks, chief designer at the British car company Rover on his farm in Newborough, Anglesey. It is said that he was inspired by an American World War II Jeep that he used one summer at his holiday home in Wales. The first Land Rover prototype ‘centre steer’ was built on a Jeep chassis. A distinctive feature is their bodies, constructed of a lightweight rustproof proprietary alloy of aluminium and magnesium called Birmabright. This material was used owing to post war steel shortages and a plentiful supply of post-war aircraft aluminium. This metal’s resistance to corrosion was one of the factors that allowed the vehicle to build up a reputation for longevity in the toughest conditions. It is reckoned that 75% of all those ever built are still in use. In fact, Land Rover drivers sometimes refer to other makes of 4×4 as “disposables”. The early choice of colour was dictated by military surplus supplies of aircraft cockpit paint, so early vehicles only came in various shades of light green; all models until recently feature sturdy box section ladder-frame chassis.

The early vehicles, such as the Series I, were field-tested at Long Bennington and designed to be field-serviced; advertisements for Rovers cite vehicles driven thousands of miles on banana oil. Now with more complex service requirements this is less of an option. The British Army maintains the use of the mechanically simple 2.5 litre 4 cylinder 300TDi engined versions rather than the electronically controlled 2.5 litre 5 cylinder TD5 to retain some servicing simplicity. This engine also continued in use in some export markets using units built at a Ford plant in Brazil, where Land Rovers were built under license and the engine was also used in Ford pick-up trucks built locally. Production of the TDi engine ended here in 2006, meaning that Land Rover no longer offers it as an option. International Motors of Brazil offer an engine called the 2.8 TGV Power Torque, which is essentially a 2.8-litre version of the 300TDi, with a corresponding increase in power and torque. All power is combined with an All-Terrain Traction Control which gives active terrain response; Ferrari uses a similar system in race traction.

Since its purchase by Ford, Land Rover has been closely associated with Jaguar. In many countries they share a common sales and distribution network (including shared dealerships), and some models now share components and production facilities.

Land Rover

Land Rover is an all-terrain vehicle and Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV) manufacturer, based in Solihull, England, now operated as part of the Jaguar Land Rover business owned by Tata Motors.

Originally the term Land Rover referred to one specific vehicle (see Land Rover Series), a pioneering civilian all-terrain utility vehicle launched on April 30, 1948, at the Amsterdam Motor Show, but was later used as a brand for several distinct models, all capable of four-wheel drive.

Starting out as a model in the Rover Company’s product range, the Land Rover brand developed, first as a marque, then as a separate company, developing a range of four-wheel drive capable vehicles under a succession of owners, including British Leyland, British Aerospace and BMW. In 2000, the company was sold by BMW to the Ford Motor Company, becoming part of their Premier Automotive Group. In June 2008 Ford sold its Jaguar Land Rover operations to Tata Motors.

Land Rover is one of the longest lived Four-wheel drive (4WD) brands, coming in close second to Jeep.

Type
Subsidiary

Founded
1948 as a marque of the Rover Company.
1978 Land Rover Limited company established.

Founder
Rover Company

Headquarters
Gaydon, England, UK

Key people
Ratan Tata, Chairman
David Smith, CEO
Phil Popham, Managing Director

Industry
Automotive

Products
Automobiles

Employees
13,000

Parent
Tata Motors

Website
landrover.com

Jeep

Jeep is an automobile marque (and registered trademark) of Chrysler. It is the oldest off-road vehicle (also sport utility vehicle – SUV) brand, with Land Rover coming in a close second. The original vehicle which first appeared as the prototype Bantam BRC became the primary light 4 wheel drive car of the US Army and allies during the World War II and postwar period. Many vehicles serving similar military and civilian roles have since been created by many nations.

Type
Subsidiary of Chrysler (since 1987)

Founded
1941

Headquarters
Toledo, Ohio, United States

Industry
Automobile

Products
Sport Utility vehicles

Parent
Chrysler LLC

Website
jeep.com