Auto & Car Blog

Filed under: Government/Legal, Jaguar, Land Rover

Whenever there’s auto industry-related lobbying going on in Washington D.C., the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers is there. Consisting of eleven automakers representing 77 percent of all vehicle sales in the United States, the Auto Alliance has a “role in shaping meaningful public policy on the federal, state and even global levels,” according to President and CEO Dave McCurdy. The newest member of the Alliance is Jaguar Land Rover, representing the two brands that were recently sold by Ford Motor Company to Tata Motors.

With the addition of the Indian-owned, British-based automaker, the membership now consists of BMW Group, Chrysler, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi Motors, Porsche, Toyota and Volkswagen.

[Source: Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers]

Continue reading Jaguar Land Rover joins Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers

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Filed under: Diesel, Land Rover, Paris Motor Show

Land Rover vehicles are not renowned for their fuel efficiency, at least not in a good way. Now that the English SUV builder is owned by India’s Tata it has to make do without input from Ford and will have to meet future CO₂ emissions limits without averaging with its former parent. As a step in that direction, Land Rover unveiled a new variant of the Freelander 2 (LR2 here in the states) at the Paris Motor Show. The TD4_e version adds a new “Intelligent Start/Stop” system along with an upshift light in the instrument cluster. When the TD4_e replaces the current TD4 next year, it will also get lower rolling resistance tires.

Because of the high compression ratios of diesel engines, they tend to shudder a bit when shutoff abruptly. Land Rover has incorporated some control changes that ramp down the fuel feed and engine speed before shutting off completely allowing for smoother operation. The engine is shutoff when the vehicle stops, the transmission is in neutral and the clutch pedal released. As soon as the driver presses the clutch pedal, the engine restarts. The bottom line is an eight percent improvement in fuel efficiency from 31.4 mpg to 34.6 mpg (U.S.). Since no Land Rovers are available with diesel engines in North America, we probably won’t see the TD4_e anytime soon.

[Source: Land Rover]

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Filed under: Jaguar, Land Rover, Tata

Fans of our monthly By the Numbers posts may have noticed the conspicuous absence of sales data for both Jaguar and Land Rover over the past few months. The reason we haven’t included their sales figures is because we haven’t been able to find them since Ford handed over ownership of the two British brands to Tata. The automaker from India says that it will no longer report U.S. sales data for its two newest assets because of what it calls a strategy that “stresses quality over quantity.” A spokeswoman for Jaguar tells Ward’s Auto that the brands were forced to report their numbers when owned by Ford and now, since they’re privately owned by Tata, they don’t have to. She also notes that the sales figures could create a “distorted and potentially harmful commentary.” Yeah, we suppose that happens when you sell a fraction of what your competition does. Still, Jaguar is missing out on an opportunity to revel in the relative success of its new XF, which we know has bumped up the brand’s pitiful sales performance in the U.S. Regardless, By the Numbers will no longer include spots for Jaguar and Land Rover unless someone wants to go out and count their sales by hand. Thanks for the tip, Joaquin!

[Source: Ward’s Auto]

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Filed under: BMW, Land Rover, On Two Wheels, Green Daily, UK

The Grill of a Land Rover… a British cyclists worst nightmare?

Who are the worst drivers on the road? Hmm, we can think of a few… like women who apply mascara while driving, teens sending texts while driving, and, of course, those who have had a few too many drinks. But, what about labeling drivers by the type or brand of cars that they drive? That is exactly what has taken place in Britain, as cyclists who share the roads with the cagers have taken a vote to determine the worst of the worst. The winner, uh, we mean losers? Range Rover drivers. While we don’t see all that many on our roadways in the United States, the original British ‘utes must really be clogging the streets in the U.K., riding right on the back tires of the pedalers. Also coming up on the short list of bad drivers are drivers of white vans (color matters?), followed by smug BMW drivers and elderly drivers who move too slowly, even for cyclists apparently. Comments?

[Source: What Car?]

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Filed under: SUVs, Land Rover

Land Rover will offer only 300 copies of its Discovery 3 Pursuit package in the UK at £30,000 (about $58,500). You can have one in any color you want as long as it’s Java Black with a matching ebony leather interior.

The seven-seater 4×4 has 19″ wheels, chrome accents all around, and is powered by LR’s 190hp TDV6. An automatic transmission adds £1,000 to the price.

It’s a beautiful combination of beauty and brawn for a pretty penny.

Read the full press release after the jump.

Continue reading Land Rover offers the Disco Pursuit

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

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