In the year 1989, Ford obtained Jaguar for $2.5 billion. When year 2000 arrived, Ford then purchased Land Rover for $2.75 billion. This year will see some changes as Tata Motors Ltd. takes over both Jaguar and Land Rover. Tata Ltd. is part of the Tata Group, one of India’s oldest and largest business companies. Tata Group is made up of 98 companies, operates in six continents and has seven business sectors under their wing. Tata Motors was one of the three bidders left until Ford announced that they wanted Tata Motors to handle their British units.

During the SEC filing last Wednesday, Ford had made a comment regarding the sale: “Any transaction that we enter into would be expected to close during the second quarter of 2008.” What Ford plans to do is to sell all of their stakes in the brands. Land Rover, together with Jaguar, is now seen as interference to the strategy of Alan Mulally, Chief Executive. His strategy is to focus on Ford’s core brand.

Roger Maddison, a national officer for the British Union Unite, had said, “Nobody foresees any major problems now; everything is pretty much done.” By March 5 this year, Tata and Ford could already be signing a memorandum of understanding. With this deal, both companies will become industrial partners for a couple more years. After all, it would take some time before Tata would be able to find a supplier who would provide them with what they need when it comes to the manufacturing of the vehicles. Specifically, those supplies are the engines and other key auto parts for the car brands.

source: The Wall Street Journal

“Nevada Passage” is a reality television show series. The T.V. show features a number of teams in pairs who compete with each other in different activities. Such activities are bicycle races, kayaking, jet skiing, rock climbing, and other various outdoor activities. It all started three years ago in Reno, Nevada. The tourism commission of Nevada was responsible for creating the show “Nevada Passage.” This year it gets bigger: The television reality series show is about to go international. Along with this big step, they have partnered with a well-known automobile maker, Land Rover.

“Nevada Passage” will be featuring Sport Utility Vehicles from Land Rover. The series will kick off in May his year, serving as one of the qualifying events all over the world for the 2008-2009 Land Rover G4 Challenge. There will be 18 said qualifying events and will be featuring a couple of activities. These activities will include off-road races, navigation challenges, trail running, mountain biking, and kayaking.

The tourism officials conceptualized the “Nevada Passage” show in order to promote Nevada as more than the place for casinos. The officials want the people to know that their place offer more than that to their visitors. Previous “Nevada Passage” competitions took place in Sierra Nevada (backcountry skiing), Sand Mountain Recreation Area near Fallon (sand-boarding), the Truckee River in downtown Reno (kayaking) and the Red Rock Canyon near Las Vegas (rock climbing).

The exact location of the event, which will last for five days, is kept secret. The tourism officials together with Land Rover made it necessary to keep the location a secret to be able to avoid competitors from getting ahead of the others.

source: Canadian Press

From March 6 to 16, Land Rover’s LRX concept cross-coupe and Defender SVX special edition will be unveiled to the public at the 2008 Geneva Auto Show. The launch of the Defender SVX special edition marks the company’s 60th anniversary. It will be available in South Africa some time during May and June this year. There will be two types of SVX special edition: ones with soft top and others the station wagon. The exterior of the vehicle is bound to catch attention, what with its silver finishes, “diamond turned” alloy wheels with five spokes, and the custom badges. The interior is just as promising. It has Recaro sports seats, alloy gear knobs and iPod cradle, just to name a few. Phil Popham, the Managing Director of Land Rover, said, “The Defender SVX looks very different to a spartan 1948 Land Rover, but it’s still an essentially practical vehicle that will enable you to go almost anywhere.”

The Land Rover LRX, on the other hand, is a three-door vehicle which is compact and lighter in weight. According to Phil Popham, “The LRX concept delivers the powerful message that we are as serious about sustainability as we are confident about the continuing relevance and desirability of our vehicles… LRX is in every respect a Land Rover, but it’s a very different Land Rover.” It is made to impress but does not compromise Land Rover’s awareness of the environment. This model addresses environmental issues with its capability of 120g/km Carbon Dioxide emissions. “LRX has unmistakable Land Rover design and the breadth of capability that you’d expect from our vehicles. But it carries those essentials into a segment where the brand has never been before, and with a proposed level of efficiency that would make it one of the cleanest vehicles in its class. It is Land Rover’s way of affirming the brand’s responsible approach to future product development.”

source: motoring.co.za

Land Rover has risen 18 percent in global sales. One of its possible contributing factors is the manufacturing and marketing of new models. Land Rover has seen increase in profitability due to the various new models it had brought to the public for the past five years. The sales in global markets such as Russia and China had also contributed to it profitability. For the past year of 2007, Land Rover had sold 226,395 units of vehicles.

If the Land Rover had enjoyed a rise in sales, then Ford Motor Co.’s Jaguar had experienced the exact opposite. There was a reported 19 percent decrease in sales all over the world. This particular result yielded the end of production of the Jaguar S-Type models. The Jaguar was able to sell 60,485 units the past year.

source: The Detroit News

Land Rover has done a great job and performed well at the recently concluded  Malaysian Rain Forest Challenge 2007. Because of that, Land Rover’s sole agents in Sri Lanka, Frontier Automotive, celebrated the victory of the British off-road vehicle manufacturer because Sri Lankan Team No. 101 “Team Frontier Automotive - Land Rover” Indika Sanjaya and Navin Marapana ended up as 1st Runner-ups in the Diesel Category. The Malaysian Rain Forest Challenge 2007 is actually considered the toughest and most internationally represented 4×4 event in the world.

The Sri Lankan team had been sponsored by a number of organizations in which Frontier Automotive was the main sponsor. Other sponsors include the Sports Ministry of Sri Lanka and Gamini Lokuge Minister of Sports and Public Recreation, Thilanga Sumathipala - Chairman BPO Services Pvt Ltd and Cashian Herath.

Land Rover has garnered a lot of winnings during this celebrated 4×4 event as Land Rover vehicles got the first, second, third, and fifth spots.

Sheran Fernando, CEO of Frontier Automotive, said, “Land Rover’s dominance on the results board was significant and in fact Land Rover won the team Prize for the event and took first place in the category for Novices as well.”

The Sri Lankan Team of Frontier Automotive and Land Rover which is composed of Indika Sanjaya and Navin Marapana won 1^st Runner-Up award in the Diesel Category in the said toughest 4×4 event in the world.

Fernando said of the duo, “The duo improved on their previous performance to emerge runners-up only 23 points behind the winners Team Demark in a hotly competed tenth anniversary edition of this challenging international competition which had to go into evacuation mode titled the Monsoon War Zone - The Great Escape.”

Fernando added, “Having been edged out in a prematurely ended competition; will they go back to claim their first palace in 2008 is a question only time will tell, however we at Frontier Automotive will be behind them all the way.”

Despite issues concerning the selling of Land Rover, the luxury unit of Land Rover “is strongly in profit at the moment.” This is according to Land Rover’s Managing Director, Phil Popham. He said, “We haven’t found the ceiling yet in some of (the emerging) markets.” However, he said that he sees “positive signs for this year.”

2007 had actually been a good year for the automaker as its global sales increased by up to 18 percent totaling to 226,395 vehicles sold. This increase in sale was because of Land Rover’s strong sales in Russia which went up to 96 percent and in China, sales sky-rocketed to 143 percent.

Another great thing that happened to the luxury sports utility vehicle manufacturer last year was that it was able to sell around 30,000 vehicles. This is something to be proud of as these much vehicles were sold in markets that Land Rover had no presence in half a decade before.

Because of the lot of great things that happened in 2007, Popham said that the British automaker is thinking of expanding its dealership networks. Aside from that, it is also planning to improve infrastructure like warehousing and to add more of their people in emerging markets as well. And because its sales performed high in Russia, Land Rover is expecting Russia along with the United Kingdom to be its leading markets.

India has also become an important auto market for Land Rover as Popham said the automaker sees its growing potential. Thus, it is looking in Indian market for additional growth. Popham said, “India is a market we are considering.”

Ford is currently in the process of selling Land Rover and Jaguar and Tata Motors Ltd seems to be the likely candidate as buyer. And because of the impending sale, Popham said he isn’t expecting any changes. He said, “Our assumption is business as usual. The management board of Land Rover has met with all our bidders.”

Land Rover is really committed into providing solutions to the environmental concerns that vehicles unintentionally provides the environment with. To prove its commitment, it has set up and recently launched its Our Planet communications campaign which would set out the progress Land Rover has made with regard to improving its environmental performance. It also shows its commitment to keep that momentum with technical innovation and the world’s largest carbon dioxide emission offset program. This campaign will point out the global conservation and humanitarian projects that Land Rover is working on.

As Land Rover has just recently celebrated its 60^th anniversary, its Our Planet campaign is also its way of celebrating along with the SVX Defender and the LRX Concept vehicle. The LRX concept vehicle will be making its debut during the North American International Auto Show happening in Detroit this weekend. It’s been made with lightweight materials and a hybrid technology so it is able to produce CO2 emissions that are only under 120g/km.

With the LRX concept vehicle, one can easily deduce that Land Rover takes its environmental responsibility seriously. Land Rover already started producing vehicles that have reduced emissions. And together with the automaker Jaguar, Land Rover is spending around £700m to improve technology that aims to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions.

However, this technology is just one part of Land Rover’s plan to reduce emissions and the impact vehicles bring to the environment and for the conservation of the wildlife and habitats as well. Another thing that Land Rover is doing to reduce emissions is its carbon dioxide offsetting program which is the biggest CO2 offset program in the world.

Land Rover has also partnered with a lot of conservation and exploration bodies such as the Royal Geographical Society, Biosphere Expeditions, Born Free Foundation, EarthWatch, and the China Exploration and Research Society.

The campaign of Land Rover is Land Rover’s way of demonstrating its commitment to reduce the environmental impact of vehicles and create an improved living condition for the people and the wildlife.

Biosphere Expedition will once again be supported by the known 4×4 vehicle manufacturer, Land Rover. The automaker has decided to support by providing them with its award-winning LR3 vehicles to be used for the expedition’s ongoing Arabian leopard research project in Oman.

This organization is a non-profit association which offer hands-on wildlife conservation expeditions to those want and are interested. With the expeditions they make, they are able to gather people from various walks of life and these people help support the different expeditions they have in different parts of the globe.

The Arabian Leopard research project has actually begun in January 2006 and its goal is to know more about the already-endangered Arabian leopard and check if they are still present in the Musandam area. Their expedition bore fruit as they were able to find out and report that there are indeed a few surviving Arabian leopards in that area. The news of their successful expedition reached the Oman government and so the government asked the Biosphere expedition to look into  Dhofar. The government believes that about a sizeable population of Arabian leopards exist there and so they’ve asked the help of the Biosphere Expedition to make further study and provide a conservation action to protect these already endangered species. The expedition started on the 13^th of January and this will last for a month.

The founder and Managing Director of Biosphere Expedition, Dr. Matthias Hammer, said about the expedition, ““Following our findings from the last expedition, we are excited to return to the region and continue our survey in a different area of Oman. We hope our expedition is as successful and we are able to help the Arabian leopard survive in the Sultanate of Oman.”

He said about Land Rover’s support, “Land Rover is one of our organization’s global sponsors, so we are thankful to have LR3 vehicles made available to us so we can take the expedition team to some of the most remote and harshest terrains in the Dhofar area. The partnership with Land Rover helps us reduce our running and expedition costs so that we can divert our funds into the projects and people, and take our conservation expedition to some inaccessible places.”

4×4 Australia Magazine has honored a Land Rover model – the Range Rover Sport TDV8 – with the prestigious 4WD of the Year Award for 2008. The Range Rover Sport TDV8 model actually isn’t the only Land Rover model to receive recognition as three other models of the automaker took the top 4 positions.

This actually the third time out of four years of Land Rover to win the prestigious 4WD of the Year award. This just proves that Land Rover is definitely the world’s leading manufacturer of four-wheel drive vehicles.

It was during the Today Show that Dean Mellor, the editor of 4×4 Australia Magazine, announced the award for Range Rover Sport. He also praised the model for its capability and technology saying, “It’s the whole package this vehicle, it’s absolutely amazing both on road and off road. “The technology is this vehicle is like nothing else…it drives like a car on the road but it’s still very economical.”

Surprisingly, the Land Rover Defender also made it to the top 4 as it finished a close second. This model is actually a specialized four-wheel drive so its recognition came as a surprise. The other Land Rover model which won an award is the Range Rover Vogue TDV8. This model landed the top 4^th spot, completing the top 4 positions dominated by the renowned 4WD automaker.

“Not only are we delighted to win this prestigious award, but to finish first, second and fourth is a true testament to Land Rover’s committed to building the best 4WDs in world. For 60 years now Land Rover has set the benchmark for all other manufacturers to follow, “ said Jon Harris, the Marketing and Public Affairs Manager for Land Rover Australia.

He added, “2007 really has been a busy and exciting year for the Land Rover brand, with record sales globally. The Range Rover Sport, and in particular the new TDV8 diesel engine, has been a major part of this remarkable success.”

The Range Rover Sport was introduced only three years ago, in 2005, and since then, it brought nothing but success and praises for the automaker behind its incredible road performance. In fact, in 2007, it was the highest selling Land Rover model in the world, thus, beating the Discovery 3, also one fo the most awarded 4WD of Land Rover.

Its secret? It merges invigorating dynamic ability with excellent comfort and refinement. This combination makes the Range Rover Sport cover long journeys quickly and provide comfortable journey for the passengers. It also is able to provide great handling and thrilling performance. No doubt it has been warmly welcomed and well-treated with great sales.

Off-road vehicle maker Land Rover promises to provide great overall vehicle performance on rough terrains and so designs its vehicles for off-road applications. Its Freelander 2 model is one of its models it is proud to offer off-road enthusiasts. But what’s surprising about this Land Rover off-roader is that it’s not just great on off0road terrains, it performs well on on-road surfaces as well. Sure, it does appear to have rugged features but it also has smooth curves that make it adaptive to both on-road and off-road surfaces.

Those who had it test-driven on on-road surfaces were amazed as the Land Rover Freelander 2 proved to be more satisfying to drive than the typical sports utility vehicle. Its height doesn’t appear to be an obstruction against smooth driving as it doesn’t roll and if anything, it even bends surefootedy. And because the Freelander 2 has large areas of glass, drivers can enjoy the fantastic views outside. The Freelander 2 also has agility which will make drivers want to step on the gas a little for more speed. But thanks to the model’s firm suspension system, passengers don’t have to worry about a bumpy ride, even on rough terrains.

Once inside, one will get the feeling that it’s not made and designed entirely for the use of those who love the off-road experience. Its interior is luxuriously roomy and well-equipped, something one wouldn’t expect of an off-roader to be.

Price, of course, for the Freelander 2 differs according to the engine installed under its bonnet. The 2.2 TD4 S Freelander 2 costs about £20,960, and the 3.2-liter i6 HSE costs about £34,095. There’s also the 2.2-liter diesel engine option which is mated to a six-speed manual transmission, although its price has not been disclosed. This engine produces 158bhp and 295lb-ft of torque, covers 37.7 miles per gallon, and reaches 0-62 miles per hour in 11.7 seconds. But if the engine installed is the 3.2-liter petrol, one can enjoy 230bhp. Also, this engine is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission which has a ‘CommandShift’ which allows the driver to do manual sequential gearchanges when necessary.