Archive for October, 2007

Land Rover turns to Mobile Advertising for the LR3

Friday, October 26th, 2007

For the purpose of strengthening consumer awareness for the Land Rover LR3, Land Rover has partnered with Nokia Ad Business for a customized mobile advertising campaign.

The interactive mobile experience integrates a mobile website where consumers are given the opportunity to learn more and view more the LR3 specifications, from the standard Land Rover Engine Parts to the more specified Land Rover Tail Lights. Visitors of the site are also given free reign to download three captivating videos of the Land Rover LR3 in action, in which case recent updates have revealed that such videos are now enjoying approximately 70 percent conversion rate. Moreover, this mobile program also offers consumers a more accessible method of reaching certified Land Rover representative. Indeed, by simple entering the consumer’s zip code, the program would automatically find the three nearest Land Rover dealerships that the consumer can consult.

Finbar McFall, Land Rover North American Vice President for Marketing, is quite confident with this new awareness campaign: “We are excited to be reaching our audience on a medium as engaging as mobile. With the help of Nokia Ad Business, we are able to not only give consumers information about the award-winning LR3 on the most personal device, but also drive dealership visits and sales with a dealer locator.”

Mike Baker, Nokia Ad Business Head and Vice President, stresses on how this form of mobile campaign could aid the car brand: “Land Rover is one of the early-adopting brands capitalizing on the power of mobile to cut through the barrage of advertisements consumers encounter daily to reach their desired audience on their most personal device.”

Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, Nokia CEO and President, has this to comment during the company’s investor discussion last week: “The mobility industry is converging and our vision is to make it easy for people to unlock the full potential of the Internet.”

To start viewing the Land Rover LR3 mobile site, consumers are advised to enter this URL into their respective mobile browser:(http://landrover.enpocket.com/lr3)

Below are brief profiles of Land Rover’s new partners for this mobile campaign, as provided in the press release statement:

About Nokia
Nokia is the world leader in mobility, driving the transformation and growth of the converging Internet and communications industries. Nokia makes a wide range of mobile devices and provides people with experiences in music, navigation, video, television, imaging, games and business mobility through these devices. Nokia also provides equipment, solutions and services for communications networks.

About Nokia Ad Business
Nokia Ad Business combines the recently acquired Enpocket, the global leader in mobile advertising, together with Nokia Ad Service and Nokia Advertising Connector, to build the world’s largest open marketplace for mobile advertising. Nokia Ad Business offers advertisers unrivalled reach to global audiences through advertising on premium advertising network and provides brands with end-to-end, turnkey solutions that make marketing to the personal device simple and effective. With an award-winning platform and worldwide partner network of mobile operators and publishers, Nokia Ad Business delivers high return-on-investment (ROI) mobile advertising experiences.

Land Rover Donates Defender 90 for Animal Protection

Thursday, October 25th, 2007

Logo of HAPPA

Hillendale Land Rover in Lancashire has graciously donated a Land Rover Defender 90 to the Horse and Pony Protection Agency, or HAPPA as it is more generally known.

Such a contribution is for the purpose of assisting the charitable organization in more easily responding to emergency calls and rescue operations for injured animals. Reportedly, HAPPA receives an approximate of 20 calls for assistance every week, and so, this Land Rover is sure to aid the team to attend to these requests more speedily and effectively.

Relatively, the Defender, with its superior Land Rover Engine Parts and other equally performing Land Rover Defender Parts, is the perfect vehicle for HAPPA’s off road and rural inspections. It is definitely built for rough and challenging conditions, especially at this time that the coming months are already ushering in the winter season.

As a sidenote, as HAPPA is actually nearing its platinum anniversary this year, this Defender 90 can also be doubly seen as an appreciation gift for the organization that has upheld 70 years of equine welfare.

The Land Rover Defender 90

Lee Collins, Hillendale Land Rover Manager Director, is quite pleased with all the possible contributions that the company’s Defender can offer the organization: “We are delighted to be able to give this Land Rover Defender to HAPPA to help them continue to provide their invaluable service. They needed a robust, high quality vehicle to assist them in getting to incidents across the country. The Defender is widely known to be extremely reliable and makes for easier off road driving which is a must for the staff at HAPPA as they do have to cover some challenging areas. I am sure our vehicle will help the team to save many animals over the coming years.”

Ken Cranage, HAPPA Chairman, has this to say:”As an organisation we have to attend several calls a day in rural locations all across the country. So we are delighted to have received this new vehicle and we certainly couldn’t have picked a vehicle better fit for its purpose. The Defender is ideal for towing horseboxes, attending to animals in rural areas and to use off-road which is often necessary for this job. This donation means we will be relieved of the cost of the vehicle and that extra money can now be spent directly on equine welfare. We are very thankful to Hillendale and we are pleased to be able to work with another local company with similar values to our own.”

Land Rover Expresses Interest on new Navigation Software

Wednesday, October 24th, 2007

Logo of the Columbus Geographic Systems

Land Rover has expressed its interest in buying the new Ranger navigation software from Columbus Geographic Systems Ltd., a rising company in the field of navigation applications and geographic information systems (GIS). These navigation systems, in turn, are meant to serve as enhancements for the company’s global network of Experience Centers.

For those unfamiliar with such concepts, the Land Rover Experience Centers are special hubs built to offer the ultimate off-road experience for its consumers. These centers provide a variety of thrilling programs that include remote navigation, expedition driving, and off-road technology. Indeed, driving enthusiasts get to learn more about the different Land Rover Parts and Land Rover Accessories that make up the Land Rover vehicle.

As for the actual navigation software, this Columbus-designed technology is ensured to provide superior Global Positioning System or GPS mapping for the off-road environment. To date, the Ranger product is designed to work on a number of devices, namely Personal Navigation Devices (PND) and the Car PC.

Tsvika Freidman, Columbus CEO, is very pleased to have caught the automaker’s attention: “Range Rover represents an important, high-profile opportunity for us. We are aggressively targeting the market for vehicle navigation systems. This market is still under penetrated, with less than one-in-ten cars in North America having some kind of navigation system. Our goal is to establish Ranger as the principle off-road navigation tool for drivers around the world. We look forward to updating our shareholders on our discussions with this important client.”

For more details and information regarding both the Land Rover Experience and Columbus Geographic Systems, kindly visit the following sites:

http://www.landroverexperience.com/experien/en/Experience/Home, http://www.columbusgis.com/.

Meanwhile, below is a brief profile of Columbus, as given in their release statement:

About Columbus. Columbus Geographic Systems (GIS) Ltd. is a rising player in the field of geographic information systems (GIS) and navigation applications. The company brings advanced software capabilities to a wide range of users and devices, previously only accessible to trained professionals on dedicated devices. Its main products include: 1.) Highly-effective off-road, outdoor GPS navigation tools, working on a full range of devices including Car PC, PDA, and Personal Navigation Devices (PND), with options for 3D imaging; 2.) Innovative, affordable GIS tools easily used in a range of applications, including businesses, agriculture, surveys, and government agencies; 3.) Aerial GIS applications for military and civilian aircraft operating in complex or threatening environments.

Land Rover’s Action Stunts in the 2007 MPH Show

Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007

The 2007 MPH Show

For the 2007 MPH Live Motoring Show, Land Rover has readily prepared presentations of new stunts and action sequences for the audience. Hosted by Top Gear’s Richard Hammond, James May, and Jeremy Clarkson, this year’s MPH Show has the running caption of ‘car heaven’.

With such a heaven, the Land Rover team has entered a great lineup that includes the Land Rover Discovery TDV6 HSE, Freelander 2 HST, and Range Rover Sport HST. What’s more, Land Rover will be offering visitors the opportunity to experience a ride on the ‘Terrapod’, which is an indoor off-road course that sets the Land Rover vehicles to their extreme levels and capabilities. For such an activity, visitors would be sure to appreciate the superior makeup of Land Rover Parts, as well as the more distinct value of each model, such as the Land Rover Discovery Parts, Freelander features, and Range Rover attributes.

This MPH show would take place at Earls Court, London on November 1-4, as well as at NEC, Birmingham on November 8-11.

Tickets are now on sale. For more details and information, visit www.mphshow.co.uk

Land Rover Enters the LR3 for Technological Competition

Saturday, October 20th, 2007

The Land Rover LR3 – MIT version

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Urban Challenge, the annual competition that comprises of high-technology vehicles attempting to surpass and outshine one another, will be held on the 3rd of November. The Land Rover brand, for its part, is partnering with the scientific geniuses of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in providing an enhanced version of the Land Rover LR3.

Indeed, the LR3, with its superior Land Rover Parts, has been transformed to an even more superior version of itself, what with the modified and incorporated attributes of being able to “drive itself and perform simple tasks such as avoiding obstacles and merging into moving traffic.”

Aside from its high performing Land Rover Engine Parts, the LR3 has been duly equipped by the MIT group with a series of Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) range finders and vision sensors, which are devices responsible for the machine’s instinct of not running into things. Furthermore, the vehicle also makes use of an inertial navigation system (INS), as well as a global positioning system.

In a statement last Monday, Land Rover discloses the following: “With this combination of technology, the vehicle can locate itself within half of a meter anywhere in the world, giving it the ability to stay on the road at all times. By grouping these technologies, the LR3 can navigate itself while avoiding anything that might get in its way.”

Jaguar and Land Rover Form Partnership with Young President’s Organization

Thursday, October 18th, 2007

Alliance: Jaguar, Land Rover, and YPO

Land Rover and Jaguar of the North American Division are proud to announce that it has formed a new and fruitful partnership with Young Presidents’ Organization, the renowned world’s biggest network of global business leaders. The said alliance is quite mutual and beneficial for all three camps as YPO members are granted exclusive access to the two automaker’s premier opportunities, events, and benefits, while Land Rover and Jaguar are given the opportunity to intensify their business opportunities and awareness among the YPO’s more than 15,000 influential members.

Tim Watson, Jaguar and Land Rover North American Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs, is quite confident that with the superiority of Jaguar and Land Rover Parts, these two units would not fail YPO: “We are delighted to have created this alliance with YPO. The excellent reputation and extensive business leader membership of YPO is a natural fit for Jaguar and Land Rover. We are looking forward to working very closely with YPO and their other alliance partners over the coming months.”

“This is very much a long-term relationship and we plan to develop it in all areas through our dealers at local levels and national events that we stage for the two brands in the U.S. We are looking forward to working with YPO on major initiatives as well as additional ‘members-only’ benefits. We plan to roll out the program initially in the U.S. during the first year of this alliance with the intention of involving Jaguar and Land Rover globally with YPO from the fall of 2008.”

Buddy Teaster, YPO International Chief Network Officer, is as delighted with Watson relative to the three brand’s solid agreement: “YPO International partners with the best-of-the-best premier, global brands – making the Jaguar and Land Rover brands a perfect fit with our membership. Through this alliance, YPO members will be invited to attend events that will help integrate Jaguar and Land Rover with our organization. Also, a significantly high number of our members already drive Jaguars and Land Rovers and the new alliance will create even more loyalty for these two brands.”

Fore more information on the YPO’s union with Jaguar and Land Rover, please visit the site: www.jaguarlandroverypo.com. Below is a brief excerpt of the press release from Ford Motor Company, the two automakers’ existing mother brand, tackling the company profiles of the three concerned firms.

About Jaguar North America
From its beginning as a manufacturer of motorcycle sidecars in 1922, Jaguar Cars has grown to become one of the world’s premier manufacturers of luxury sedans and sports cars and with that, one of the most recognized commercial brands. The company’s vision is simple: To produce beautiful fast cars that are desired the world over. The company operates two manufacturing plants in the United Kingdom and is fully engaged in environmental programs, community work and brand awareness exercises such as motor sport.

About Land Rover North America
Land Rover North America is part of Ford Motor Company’s Premier Automotive Group with headquarters in Irvine, California. Land Rover established operations in the U.S. in 1986, and now imports and distributes Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, LR3 and LR2 vehicles manufactured by Land Rover in Solihull and Halewood, England. Land Rover’s worldwide operations are wholly owned by Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan.

About Young Presidents’ Organization
Young Presidents’ Organization, founded in 1950, is the world’s largest network of global business leaders, connecting more than 20,000 members in 300 local chapters in 100 nations. All members of this worldwide, not-for-profit, executive education organization are 55 years old or younger. YPO’s mission of “Better Leaders Through Education and Idea Exchange” is carried out through educational programming with alliances including world-class institutions and resources, as well as confidential idea exchange between its members. YPO members and their families also experience global connectivity to each other through Business, Personal and Social Enterprise Networks.

The Land Rover’s Desert Storm Challenge

Wednesday, October 17th, 2007

The Land Rover in action

This year’s Desert Storm Challenge involves a five-day endurance test all over the sandy territory of the Moroccan Desert, with over 25 Land Rover drivers from all over the world pitting against each other. For this challenge, participants are tested on their abilities to fully maximize the uses of various Land Rover Parts for their benefits, as well as boast their off-road driving skills and navigational capabilities.

Two of the participants are representatives of Market Rasen Land Rover dealership, namely Director Ben Duckworth and Senior Sales Executive Howard Belt. The two teammates, together under the sponsorships of Texaco and the Bank of Scotland, will be battling the desert elements together with their trusted Land Rover Discovery V8 4.4 HSE. When interviewed, Duckworth and Belt are said to be preparing to be self-sufficient for this journey in the desert and along High Atlas Mountains, citing scenarios and arrangements such as sleeping in tents and taking dried food for the trip.

“Neither of us has done an awful lot of sand driving,” disclosed Ben. “One of the biggest challenges will be driving in an area that is so remote and also the endurance over the five days in such heat.”

The two, along with the rest of the participants, have hit the sandy roads from Rif mountains yesterday and is set to finish close to the Algerian border at Erg Chebbi Dunes on Sunday.

Land Rover Discovery 3 is Britain’s Most Practical 4×4

Tuesday, October 16th, 2007

On the Road with the Land Rover Discovery

The Land Rover Discovery 3 has been established as ‘Britain’s Most Practical 4×4’ by Planet 4×4 Magazine.

The Discovery 3 was given the highest remarkable grade of 93 points out of the perfect score of 100. Second-placer was the Mercedes GL-Class, while the Audi Q7 tended to the third spot. Other runner-ups for the award included the Nissan Pathfinder and the Lexus RX.

The criteria for this five-and-seven seater vehicle award involved tests and analyses on the automobile’s overall versatility and performance, account interior space, and featured gadgets. As it went, because of the superior Land Rover Parts, all Magazine testers were said to have scored the Land Rover as first on their lists.

The Land Rover Discovery Parts – Seating Format

John Edwards, Land Rover Managing Director for U.K. Operations, is very pleased with the award: “This is a great achievement for the Discovery, which has proved time and time again it is three cars in one. It has now won nearly 100 awards since launch in 2004, making it one of the most decorated SUVs ever.”

Alan Kidd, Planet 4×4 Editor, readily gives an explanation as to how the Discovery emerged as top winner: “This is probably the most intense scrutiny a group of 4×4s has ever been put under. Our testers crawled all over each of the 38 vehicles, examining every last detail of what makes a car easy to live with.”

“This is also quite possibly the least sexy group test any magazine has ever undertaken. But it´s also one of the most relevant to what buyers want their vehicles for. Practicality matters in this market - arguably more than anything else.

The Land Rover Discovery Parts

“There are some incredibly clever packaging solutions out there - but nothing to beat the Land Rover Discovery Parts. From its handy double glove box to its brilliant seat-folding system, it sets the standard for load carrying and does a proper job of taking seven fully-grown adults. It’s a perfectly executed example of how a vehicle’s interior should be, and richly deserves the title of Britain’s Most Practical 4×4.”

The Discovery 3 GS is currently priced at £29,815.

The Land Rover Show goes back on air next year

Friday, October 12th, 2007

To the delight of Land Rover owners and enthusiasts, the television show Land Rover Owner (LRO) Show will go back on air next year Peterborough’s England Showground, thanks to the partnership of Live Promotions and Land Rover International Magazine.

After a year of hiatus, LRO’s fanatics are on the edge of their seats once again in anticipation for the return of the show on their television screens slated on September 20 to 21. Without a doubt, viewers, whether in homes or in location, are going to enjoy the pure thrill and action that will be brought about by the Land Rover vehicles. Equipped with the top-caliber Land Rover Parts, these medium-built automobiles are going to showcase what they are really made of and what they are capable of — on and off road. Backing up these mean yet sophisticated luxury sport utility vehicles are precision-engineered Land Rover Engine Parts, among others.

“We are delighted to be back with our own show again and at one of the country’s best venues,” John Pearson, who is the editor-in-chief of the Land Rover International Magazine, stated in the magazine’s official site. “The East of England Showground is the perfect venue. It’s accessible from most parts of the country, it has a superb structure of tarmac roads, and is well drained so no worries, even if it were to rain.”

Interested participants and viewers can visit the show’s official site www.lroshow.com for further details and inquiries.

Rybrook acquires Conwy Land Rover dealerships

Thursday, October 11th, 2007

Amidst the ongoing bid for the luxury brands of the Ford Group, the private company Rybrook Holdings already bought the the Land Rover and Jaguar dealerships based in Conwy, North Wales yesterday.

This move is one of the best decisions made by the private company Rybrook Holdings. After buying the luxury automobile brands of the Ford Group, Rybrook  now has a bigger market as this acquisition marks its presence in this part of London. Moreover, the established names of these automobile brands make it easier for Rybrook to steer Land Rover and Jaguar to greatness.

“Despite the uncertainty surrounding the ownership of Jaguar and Land Rover, both are strong British marques which only serve to complement and enhance the Rybrook portfolio,” said Henry Whale, who is Rybrook Holding’s managing director.

Unlike Land Rover’s sister company Jaguar, the SUV brand is going to keep its plain name while Jaguar is now christened as Rybrook Jaguar. In spite of changes in ownerships of Conwy-based Land Rover and Jaguar, employees including manager Phil Jones, who has  oversee for more than a decade,  are absorbed by Rybrook Holdings and will continue to work for the two marques.

Among the brands, Land Rover is a top pick across the globe. Last month, the vehicles,  garnered a 34 percent increase in sales. This notable increase is because of the lauded medium-built automobiles’ high-end Land Rover Parts as well as the Land Rover Engine Parts.