The Tongariro national Park will now receive support from Land Rover.

Every new Land Rover that is sold will help protect a hectare of the Tongariro National Park through the “Project Tangariro.” This park is the only dual World Heritage site of New Zealand.

The Tongariro Natural History Society (TNHS) will get a financial contribution of the estimated cost for protecting a hectare of the Tongariro National Park from Motorcorp Distributors Ltd. This company is the importer of Land Rover in New Zealand. They will be contributing financially everytome a new Land Rover is sold through an authorized Land Rover center.

The TNHS is a non-profit organisation, established in 1984 to support conservation initiatives within the Tongariro National Park.

Purchasers of new Land Rovers will also be given the opportunity to contribute additional funds to the park.

The TNHS works in partnership with the Department of Conservation on community focused projects to further preserve Tongariro National Park, New Zealand’s oldest national park.

The TNHS carries out planting, restoration, protection and education projects within the park and the Land Rover financial contributions will assist in this work.

The park of more than 80,000 hectares located in the heart of the North Island of New Zealand is based around Mt Ruapehu, Mt Ngauruhoe and Mt Tongariro which were first gifted to the country by local Maori in 1887.

An all-new Land Rover Freelander 2 TD4 HSE has been presented to TNHS in Tongariro National Park during the Department of Conservations ‘Conservation Week’ as part of the support package.

‘Another World. Just down the road’ Conservation Week celebrations this year are focusing on outdoor recreation and the range of things New Zealanders can do to get out and enjoy their beautiful country.

Globally, Land Rover is committed to addressing the challenges of sustainable development. Through ‘Project Tongariro’, Land Rover aims to minimise its environmental footprint in New Zealand and make a positive contribution.

Wallis Dumper, Managing Director for Land Rover in New Zealand said, “Kiwis are well aware of Land Rovers ‘Go Beyond’ capabilities and as a New Zealand owned company we have been striving to support the worldwide Land Rover initiatives that see things like the Dagenham Diesel Centre in England being wind turbine powered. We also want Land Rover owners in New Zealand to support New Zealand’s own back yard and what better way than to support our own dual World Heritage Site!”

Land Rover has a long relationship with Tongariro having supplied vehicles from 1963 to enable the Rangers to access parts of the park in arduous 4WD conditions.

Land Rover has been producing 4WD vehicles since 1948 and is synonymous with motoring in extreme conditions. The vehicles are used world wide for exploration, by aid agencies in the third world and for search and rescue operations because of their go anywhere ability. Two thirds of all Land Rovers ever produced are still in use today, thanks to their rugged construction.

Source: Land Rover Press Release

The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency has announced that there are 36 teams that have been chosen as finalists in a competition for robotic vehicles. Included in the 36 teams is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which will b using a Land Rover LR3 for their robotic vehicle.

The selected teams will have their vehicles conduct simulated military supply missions at a former Air Force base in California but should still be obeying road and traffic regulations in California.

MIT team leader John Leonard, a mechanical and ocean engineering professor said in a statement, “Our team is delighted to move forward to the next stage of the competition.”

The semi-finals of the said competition will be held on October 26-27 and the finals will be on the 3^rd of November.

The price for the top three finishers that complete the course within the six-hour time limit would bring home $2 million, $1 million, and $500,000. The agency ha already held two previous competitions but it would be their first time to hold it in an urban environment.

Tony Tether, Director of DARPA said, “The vehicles must perform as well as someone with a California driver’s license.”

Range Rover is Land Rover’s flagship brand for their sports utility vehicles. Though there are a lot of other sports utility vehicle brands in the automotive industry, Range Rover has managed to stay as one of the top brands. They were able to keep their place as they continue to make changes and upgrades to its Land Rover Range Rover parts. Just last year, they upgraded its engine to 305-hp 4.4-liter V8 and the supercharged 400-hp 4.2-liter. This 2007, the automaker decided to change a bit on the model’s interior and traction system.

The Range Rover’s cabin for the 2008 model year has now been upgraded with a new instrument panel, air conditioning unit, new trim, new airbags, storage compartments and switchgear. The front seats have now been outfitted with new head restraints that are designed to reduce whiplash. They’ve also incorporated in-seat air-cooling system. This is optional on the HSE but a standard on the Supercharged models.

The Terrain Response system of the Land Rover and the electronic rear differential have been made standard equipment to supplement the center e-diff. But still, the latter feature is only made standard on the Supercharged models. Another great feature is the new electronic parking brake that would automatically disengage when the car is started.

Land Rover has provided the perfect their customers who take their driving seriously with something that could satisfy their thirst for the ultimate driving experience, and it’s in the form of their all-wheel sports utility vehicle, the 2007 Range Rover Sport. This SUV is specifically-engineered to suit the expectations of those who take driving seriously. This is a combination of Land Rover North America’s shortest wheelbase, strong V8 power, and a low, wide stance produces excellent agility and tenacious road holding. It also comes in available with the Dynamic Response, which is the latest generation of Land Rover active suspension, which makes it the perfect road partner for those who love the fast and long-distance touring.

This Dynamic Response suspension system combines with the Brembo front brakes to be able to deliver sharp steering response, flat cornering, and tight body control. This suspension system is optional on the naturally aspirated HSE and is a standard part system on the Supercharged model. It also has Land Rover’s exclusive terrain response system which guarantees that the Range Rover Sport has a competitive edge in off-road capability.

It is able to shout its sporty nature when it’s added with a choice of two advanced V8 engines — Supercharged and naturally aspirated — an electronically controlled six-speed automatic transmission, permanently engaged four-wheel drive, four-corner independent air suspension, and a whole lot of their premium cabin features.

Its powertrain is just as impressive as all the exclusively-Land Rover-made features and systems. The Supercharged and naturally aspirated V8s have some things in common like they share the same aluminum block-and-head four-valve combustion chambers, and the chain-driven double overhead camshafts.

The 4.4-liter naturally aspirated V8 has electronically-controlled continuously variable intake and exhaust timing and electronic throttle actuation. Its maximum power output could reach up to 300 bhp at 5,500rpm with 315 pound-feet of torque at 4,000rpm.

The 4.2-liter Supercharged and intercooled V8 uses thicker-walled cylinder liners for extra block rigidity, requiring a slightly smaller bore dimension. Twin-air coolant heat exchangers chill the pressurized intake charge on the way to the cylinders. This could even deliver much higher power output – 390 bhp at 5,750rpm and 410 pound-feet of torque at 3,500 rpm.

Land Rover has not been so fast on catching up in contributing to the world’s ecological plans but they are surely making up for their lost time. They may not have added Land Rover parts that have the ultimate function of safeguarding the environment from unburned fuel, and their Land Rover Range Rover parts may not initially contain a catalytic converter but it doesn’t mean that they are not thinking of doing anything about that.

It could be remembered that in September of 2006, Land Rover launched a scheme that would let new car buyers have an option to have their CO2 emissions offset for the first 45,000 miles through a one-off green tax of between £85 and £165. This cash will then be put into worldwide ecological schemes such as renewable fuels and wind farms.

Land Rover is extending their carbon offsetting scheme, giving their customers a chance to mark “guilt reduction” box on the list of their options for their sports utility vehicles.

But those who advocate for these ecological schemes demanded that Land Rover extend its offset scheme and so this has now been applied to other older cars, to those driving cars that have a recorded mileage of over 45,000 miles. The money raised is spent by specialist CO2 offset provider Climate Care on green energy plans all over the world.

Phil Popham, the boss of Land Rover said, “Land Rover takes its responsibility to the environment seriously and demand for a voluntary offset scheme shows us owners share our commitment.” He added that their customers will now have a chance to make a difference in their community, and be of help to the environment and wildlife.

This automaker is already exerting all efforts to improve their green ratings as the debate regarding CO2 emissions is focusing more on the most polluting vehicles. It now offsets the CO2 emissions generated by production at its two UK manufacturing plants. They are also working on a Hybrid technology as of now to catch up with Japanese automakers and have their share of Hybrid vehicles.

2008 LR2 SE

Luxury sports utility vehicle Land Rover has always been thought of by many as priced way beyond their budget. The price range of their LR3s are $40,000-$50,000, Range Rover Sport is over $50,000-$70,000, and the Range Rover Sport is over $70,000-$90,000.

But hope is still in the air as Land Rover has just introduced the all-new 2008 model LR2 SE with a price range that begins at a relatively affordable price of $34,700. It doesn’t have all the extra features and goodies that the other models have but it is not really stripped off other Land Rover accessories.

They even had it tested and it more than upheld the reputation of the Land Rover has as a producer of luxurious sports utility vehicles that are capable of trudging through rocks, ford streams, off road routes, and pavements as well.

This new compact, five-passenger LR2 model will be replacing the Freelander in the line-up of the British-based SUV manufacturer under the ownership of Ford Motor Co. This is the best choice for those wanting to experience the performance branded by Land Rover but at the same time not wanting to take out too much cash from savings.

What’s good about it is that it handles like a passenger car because of its design which is under the Ford car platform. The LR2’s body rides smoothly both on straight rows and mountain twisters and its strength is much more evident on off-road trails.

Another plus point is that passengers could comfortably relax inside while it passes through off-road courses.

It was also great in off-pavements as it showed stability and was sure-footed. The engineers behind the LR2 did great as its four-wheel traction control, continuously varying front/rear torque split system and the Terrain Response system allow the driver to choose settings for grass, gravel, mud, ruts, snow, and other off-road conditions. It could also tread through stream almost 20 inches deep but still not experiencing any problems.

The exterior is also as good as its engine performance as it has the traditional Land Rover styling cues. It sports a 3.2-liter in-line 6-rated at 230 horsepower and its acceleration speed from 0-60mph takes about 8.5 seconds.

The standard features and other Land Rover parts are still present like the nine-speaker Alpine sound system, a six-disc CD changer, steering wheel-mounted controls, push-button engine start, leather-wrapped steering wheels, trip computer, power sunroof and a second fixed-position sunroof, and quality Land Rover exhaust for emission control.

Its safety package includes air bags all-around, rear park distance monitor, front/rear fog lamps, and rain-sensing windshield wipers.

Auto Express New Car Honors 2007 has recently awarded Land Rover with two prestigious honors of the Best 4×4 Recreational and Best 4×4 Off Roader, beating its tough competition.

Land Rover Freelander 2 was the model which received this award as it was able to defeat its Honda CR-V and Hyundai Santa Fe competitor in one of the most hot competition, the Best 4×4 Recreational. The Discovery 3 was also able to beat its competition in the form of the Mercedes M-class and BMW X5, thus winning the title Best 4×4 Off Roader.

LAND ROVER FREELANDER 2

LAND ROVER DISCOVERY 3

Ollie Marriage, the editor of Auto Express road test said, “The off-road king is back. The Freelander 2 has returned to the top of its class with a neatly designed and beautifully executed second-generation car.”

Land Rover was extremely happy to have received this award with the automaker’s Managing Director Phil Popham saying, “We are absolutely delighted to win these awards from Auto Express for both the Freelander 2 and the Discovery 3, in a year where we will have a third successive sales record.”

He added, “Achieving the Best 4×4 Off Roader award for the Discovery 3 - a car that continues to be an outstanding success, consistently beating new entrants from other manufacturers - is a testament to its class-leading diesel engine, its versatility and its all-round package.”

This is already on sale at UK and it carries a price tag of £20,935 in Land Rover dealerships throughout UK and this includes the contribution to offset carbon dioxide emissions. Since it went on sale in UK, it was already able to generate sales of over 8,000 units.

On the other hand, the Discovery 3 was able to sell 34,000 units in UK since its introduction in 2004 and it still continues to garner great compliments around the world and also nearly 100 international awards today, especially with the Land Rover Discovery parts that are incorporated in it.

This would be of no wonder as the Land Rover parts have always been known to produce quality performance, making this SUV one of the hottest grabs in any season.