studmuffin Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 LRO mag has quoted Gerry McGovern in Delhi as saying " The current Defender has never sold on its design and has changed little over the years. We are working on something more desirable to look at - traditionalists may not like it but they`ll have to live with it. The important thing is to get the proportions right, give it a distinctive silhouette and wider appeal. A Defender doesn't have to look overtly functional. We are taking a more sophisticated approach". He just doesn't get it does he? Landys always sold on their basic design functionality. Even in the late 40`s they were hardly cutting edge in the looks department. We all know that LR need to sell numbers and are obviously loath to surrender the Defender customer goodwill but I think the little fella is between a rock and a hard place. IMHO I think that he is more a car stylist than a true designer, which is akin to a make up artist compared to a sculptor. So far its been great for LR ringing the changes between RR Sports, Freebies, Discos and Ewoks, but I think worldwide opinion will continue to be against a new Defender without the icon of function over form. Apparantly its due in 2019. Barry P.S. What happened to the job title Chief Design Engineer?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid_From_Hell Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Could he also sort out the snotty dealers and reliabilty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 LRO mag has quoted Gerry McGovern in Delhi as saying " The current Defender has never sold on its design and has changed little over the years. We are working on something more desirable to look at - traditionalists may not like it but they`ll have to live with it. The important thing is to get the proportions right, give it a distinctive silhouette and wider appeal. A Defender doesn't have to look overtly functional. We are taking a more sophisticated approach". He just doesn't get it does he? Landys always sold on their basic design functionality. Even in the late 40`s they were hardly cutting edge in the looks department. We all know that LR need to sell numbers and are obviously loath to surrender the Defender customer goodwill but I think the little fella is between a rock and a hard place. IMHO I think that he is more a car stylist than a true designer, which is akin to a make up artist compared to a sculptor. So far its been great for LR ringing the changes between RR Sports, Freebies, Discos and Ewoks, but I think worldwide opinion will continue to be against a new Defender without the icon of function over form. Apparantly its due in 2019. Barry P.S. What happened to the job title Chief Design Engineer?? Agreed: Function over form - Defender Form over function - Evoque Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat_pending Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Without the Defender Land Rover are just another producer of bland boxes on wheels. Ask yourself why people buy the current overpriced offerings that consistantly suffer apalling unreliability, IMO, it's the implied image created by the Defender. When that's gone people will start to see the pile of shirt they've bought for what it is. That's progress I suppose. I'd just add, would you let a man that looked like this tell you about style or design? (yes it is an old photo, but...the hair WTF) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbs Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 He's a very arrogant person( I do feel very very strongly about the man but could be in a lot of trouble on here for publicly repeating what I have in my head ), to say "they'll have to live with it" Is like saying this remould tyre is ok but not as good a quality as the mainstream tyres-but it'll do, What utter tosh!!, It's people like him making decisions on the next generation of defenders that'll be the end of the utility side of Land Rover as we know it, The current defender is and has been in It's current guise well equipped (Up to a point-barring the modifications that people like us do) to do the job of a lot of utility companies and charities and militaries around the world, Yes o.k. It maybe behind the times as regards to a few things but I can really see it's going to be someone like Gerry McGovern trying to re-invent the wheel Leave the damn thing alone and be done with it! John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Looks like the original interview is here : http://www.expressandstar.com/drivetime/2014/02/07/land-rover-defender-set-for-a-brand-new-look/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 We (forum members) do not buy enough new Land Rover products to be listened to or even thought of. We flatter ourselves to think that they read the forums and take notice of what we have to say but they really don't give a single flying ****. End of. Look after what you have now because soon there will be no more. Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C18RCH Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 I disagree with most of that statement but particularly this: "The current Defender has never sold on its design". I know lots of people with brand new defenders because they think they look cool and that never leave the tarmac. A defender has character. It's like nothing else on the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb78 Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 We (forum members) do not buy enough new Land Rover products to be listened to or even thought of. We flatter ourselves to think that they read the forums and take notice of what we have to say but they really don't give a single flying ****. End of. Look after what you have now because soon there will be no more. Mo My thoughts too Mo. LR aren't interested in what we think. I'm not in a position to buy a new LR anyway and i like my barge too much to change it, so whatever they create doesn't really bother me. What i do wish is that they will let the 90/110/Defender name die rather than tarnish it with some plastic blingy incarnation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dantastic Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 After having read that interview I would not be so quick to condemn him or the new defender. What he is saying is perfectly true, trying to argue the point is just futile, the current Defender needs major major work. They are taking their time on this one and I recon they will produce 100% pure marmite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happyoldgit Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 The current Defender in it's current Puma form is a bit of an anachronism still suffering from variable 1970's British Leyland build quality simply due to the way it is put together, it is outdated and not up to modern standards in so many areas not least collision and roll-over protection. There has undoubtedly been a trend to make it appeal to trendy lifestyle types and you don't have to go far online to witness this and some of the aftermarket interior and exterior 'upgrade' companies that cater for some individuals desire to turn a utility vehicle into something akin to a footballers wives fashion statement. As to the Defender replacement, it's difficult or nigh on impossible to condemn something before we know what it is actually going to be let alone produced and subject to real world use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 After having read that interview I would not be so quick to condemn him or the new defender. What he is saying is perfectly true, trying to argue the point is just futile, the current Defender The EU and its regulations needs major major work. They are taking their time on this one and I recon they will produce 100% pure marmite. what aint broke, dont need fixin! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynic-al Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 All of a sudden having Victoria Beckham designing Land Rovers seems quite appealing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C18RCH Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 After having read that interview I would not be so quick to condemn him or the new defender. What he is saying is perfectly true, trying to argue the point is just futile, the current Defender The EU and its regulations needs major major work. They are taking their time on this one and I recon they will produce 100% pure marmite. what aint broke, dont need fixin Where's that like button when you want it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanuki Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 The current Puma-Defender is indeed an anachronism - LR have done just enough to keep it compliant with some of the various national regulations (but not others - hence no Defender sales in the USA) and improved the quality just enough to control warranty-work/rejection-of-vehicles by purchasers/leasers - but I admit the time has come for a change. I bought my current TD5 Defender new in 2001. It was a compromise - I'd much rather have been able to spec a TDV6 or modern petrol-V8 with a 21st-century electronically-controllable autobox - but that wasn't an option. Though I'd have liked air-conditioning I also occasionally carry front-seat passengers and they kinda like having somewhere to put their legs. I'd have liked an extra 10dB of sound-deadening and windows/doors that don't rattle like a couple of skeletons fornicating in a dustbin. Decent headlights would have been nice to get from-the-factory too. My next LR purchase is most likely to be a D4 Commercial - unless they really hurry up with a Defender-replacement that has its roots very much planted in the 21st Century. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Idris Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 As I see it, the defender has lost the plot. You can still buy an 80" two seater truck, that's road and offroad capable, but now it's called a Kawasaki Mule. It suggests the original Jeep concept was spot on Then some stuff 'happened' and it got fat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 highly reccomend the D3 and 4 as the "defender replacement" farm vehicle. our D4 has been absolutely spot on, so much so that now the lease is coming to an end, were having the same again, but in red this time. the only downside to it being not quite so maintainable, and you have to worry about it a bit more than you would a defender. still no scratches and dents and it has prooved its heratige in the mud too! and to me looks far more like its predecessors than the abomiantion we all have come to know and love as the DC100 which although standing for "Defender Concept" isnt going to be the defender, unless theyre lying to us... having used the D4 in what was always the "defenders role" i am not against the use of new fangled technology, i just, like most of you guys and many many more think that LR have lost the plot, the origional design criteria are now so so different, that even if they do call it the Defender, it just wont be and as we all know and have said so many times, is actually quite sad. one of the very few/only remaining british icons still in production actually in britian today. sorry, Rant over, i got a bit carried away then all i wanted to say really was, how the Discovery in my eyes is a more suitable replacement than what their new criteria for the replacement is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 P.S. i can only imagine that given some budget the design engineers could have kept the defender up to date, monocoque shell on a ladder frame, not like they havent achieved that before, not a hard shape to keep, modern technology, some (okay maybe fairly major) front end design updates but while keeping that sillouhette as much as possible and materials could IMO make the iconic body shape or at least something near to and not so offensive to the origional design constraints drivetrain? all developed under the current models, it doesent have to be beam axles, it doesent have to have travel now because of the modern driving aids, emmissions?? well put it this way, if someone in a back yard or a minor workshop could fit a TDV6 into that engine bay, why cant LR? think of how many more purchases around the world a correctly updated but STILL ICONIC defender could make, for sure if they have one our next lease would be it! and i know many many more who would want that modern power, reliability, safety and quality with the all important classic look. would most definately open up the market into the US again. sorry, this time rant is really over :S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanuki Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 highly reccomend the D3 and 4 as the "defender replacement" farm vehicle. our D4 has been absolutely spot on, so much so that now the lease is coming to an end, were having the same again, but in red this time. I'm wondering if - for the "world market" - there could be a role for a de-contented D4 Commercial? Rubber mats not carpets; vinyl seats not leather; no radio/satnav. A proper solid bulkhead between the loadspace and the drivers-compartment [to stop the goats/chickens/logs in the back leaking forwards when you brake hard]. Keep the aircon, the traction-control, the air-suspension, the intelligent autobox and offer it with emissions-compliant 250-300+ BHP petrol/diesel engines according to local taste and taxation. Perhaps even consider offering a truck-cab version - it could be a worthy contender to compete with the Toyota ~Tacticals~ in various low level civil-wars. "Machine-gun mount" as a factory-fit option? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 the main issue is cost but then again the defender cant be far behind the base model D4 (spec for spec) these days. and i fully agree with the TC thing, i could pretty much guarantee someone somewhere (most likely down under) has created a D3/4 flatbed UTE and i bet it looks great as well as being super useful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat_pending Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 We (forum members) do not buy enough new Land Rover products to be listened to or even thought of. We flatter ourselves to think that they read the forums and take notice of what we have to say but they really don't give a single flying ****. End of. Look after what you have now because soon there will be no more. Mo This. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill van snorkle Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 No Mr design director/chief creative director ! No one in the market for a functional, reliable working type 4wd utility vehicle "has to live with it" you arrogant Berk! Not while your competition continue to offer vehicles that tick all the above boxes they don't ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbs Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 No Mr design director/chief creative director ! No one in the market for a functional, reliable working type 4wd utility vehicle "has to live with it" you arrogant Berk! Not while your competition continue to offer vehicles that tick all the above boxes they don't ! Like Button Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSD Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 From SniffPetrol "However, Land Rover Design Director & Head Of All Design Ever, Geraldine McGovern, was unrepentant. ‘Premiumness, emotionalosity, erm… all-terrainasiousness,’ he said. ‘I invented car design,’ he added." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studmuffin Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 I knew it might spark a bit of response but --- inspired :hysterical: :hysterical: :hysterical: :hysterical:Thank you so much Barry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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