North American Market Archives - Page 6 of 6 - OVALNEWS.com - Always fanatical; Occasionally interesting Land Rover & Range Rover News

First Range Rover Evoque Print Ad, or at least the first one I’ve seen in the U.S.… #rangerover

I just have to add in one of my rants here – what’s the deal with the branding? It seems they’ve been on a mission to separate Land Rover & Range Rover. In print, signage & web presence, we usually see these logos side by side; and their own official media site, actually separates the content by brand.

As seen in the latest 2011 Range Rover advertisements which while still using the landroverusa.com web address, have no Land Rover badge or mention.

It just seems they want to get the two brands so far apart but then this Evoque ad comes out and confuses us more. Was it just an oversight? And if they are going to separate the brands, they better start talking to the car magazines which still reference the Evoque as the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, which has always been a Range Rover issue…

Thank you.

Michael2011-09-25T13:23:14-04:00September 26, 2011|

Pricing & Fuel Economy for the U.S. Range Rover Evoque 28MPG/$44K #rangerover

PRICING & FUEL ECONOMY ANNOUNCED FOR THE ALL-NEW 2012 RANGE ROVER EVOQUE

With an impressive 28 highway MPG**, the Range Rover Evoque is the brand’s most fuel efficient model to date and will arrive in showrooms in Fall 2011 for $43,995*.

MAHWAH, N.J., JUNE 30, 2011- Land Rover revealed today that the

all-new 2012 Range Rover Evoque will have a starting price of $43,995* for the five-door, and $44,995* for the coupe. Both prices include Destination and Delivery.

As the lightest and most fuel efficient Range Rover ever, the

Range Rover Evoque sends a powerful message that the company is serious about sustainability and is determined to deliver vehicles that are both relevant and highly desirable. The Range Rover Evoque addresses the growing consumer need for more environmentally friendly vehicles.

The Range Rover Evoque achieves 28 MPG** EPA highway and 19 MPG** EPA city. This excellent fuel economy is the result of new efficiency technologies, lightweight materials, and environmentally conscious design.

Weight saving was a primary objective in the development of the

Range Rover Evoque, and engineers have applied a range of advanced lightweight materials to make this the lightest Range Rover model ever, with the five-door starting at just 3,680lbs (1,680 kg)***. Weight-saving technologies can be found throughout the bodyshell and chassis of the Range Rover Evoque, including a steel body structure with over 18%*** Boron/high strength steels in key load-bearing areas. Additional features include polymer and composite front fenders and tailgate, an aluminum hood, roof panels, front lower control arms and front/rear suspension knuckles, and a magnesium cross car beam.

As part of the comprehensive effort to minimize the car’s ecological impact, the Range Rover Evoque focuses on the use of more sustainable materials. Each vehicle uses approximately 35lbs (16kg)*** of recycled plastic material. Parts with recycled content include: headliner, center console, wheel arch liners, air cleaner, cooling fan and shroud, air ducting, side under trays, parcel shelf, engine cover and subwoofer box.

In addition, the metal interior trim on the center console and dashboard is produced from recycled aluminum. The trim fabric used on the headlining and pillars is produced from recycled polyester.

This vehicle will be sold in 160 countries worldwide with North American deliveries beginning in Fall 2011.

Michael2011-06-30T22:25:00-04:00June 30, 2011|

So is it Range Rover or The Range Rover? #rangerover

Doing a comparison the other day I noticed a small difference in the Land Rover US vs. UK website, I blew up these pics – can you see it?

In the UK, The Range Rover gets the name it deserves, here’s another couple of shots, just to show consistency:

So who is actually thinking about this at Land Rover U.S. – why the difference? Do they think it discriminates against the other “Range Rover” type models?

Michael2011-02-28T09:44:00-05:00February 28, 2011|

Now this is what Autobiography means… #rangerover

As a real customization option for the Range Rover, the Autobiography program has been something they’ve had in the UK for many years, going back at least a generation.

If you don’t already know, here’s the description of the UK Autobiography program:

An Autobiography is one of those rare opportunities in life to say precisely what you want to say. With Range Rover Autobiography, you have the freedom to express you own distinct taste through wide choices of optional colors and materials creating a vehicle that is an individual as its owner. The Autobiography program is available when you specify The Range Rover Supercharged, the naturally aspirated V8, or diesel as your vehicle order and can be tailored to your individual specification. Take as many liberties as you like. Paintwork, seats, rugs, leathers, wood finishes, facia, steering wheel or perhaps an embroidered headrest. With Autobiography, there are no rules

So all this means is you really get to go crazy with customizing and tailor a Range Rover to your own unique ideas. None of this is cheap and as far as I’ve been able to find there’s no real public price list for the UK program. In the UK, it doesn’t take a completely custom design to get that Autobiography badge, key chain & sill plates – you just need to get an Autobiography paint finish, interior color change, wood package or bespoke commission.

In the U.S., we’ve had special editions through the years that get certain Autobiography options with no real customization – the 2008 Westminster being one of them, along with the various anniversary editions. It’s on these special editions we’ve been seeing more of the exterior trim painted body color, something they offer in the UK, but not here. They usually get that two toned leather interior too, and they use one of the special wood trim options.

Starting in 2009, Autobiography became available in the US, really more of an option package. For 2011, it’s a $21,485 package that you can only add to the Range Rover Supercharged. It adds every option to the Supercharged model, gives you a full leather interior with more color choices(including the two tone options, but nothing like the UK), upgraded rear seats, special wheels and a few more items. You can go with one of the special paint choices which cost between $9,500 & $14,500. And you have three special wood trim choices, which go for $2,300. There are packages for the Sport now too, but I’m talking about Range Rovers here.

So we are getting closer to the actual Autobiography program here in the US but still nothing like the levels of customization they offer in the UK. In the pictures below, you can see pictures from the 2005 UK Autobiography guide, a hard cover book that really shows you what’s possible.

My main question is, why can’t we get this here? Are we too large of a market? Would it be too overwhelming for the Land Rover Special Vehicles people? Or do we just not care about customizing like this in the US and the marketing people have decided it’s not worth it? And how much extra work goes into a US Autobiography vs. a UK model? Does the US model get any special finishing by the Autobiography division?

I’m not looking for any of these crazy color combos, but it would be nice to have more options.

It is a great time for US Range Rover buyers, there are more options & features then ever before; hopefully it will open the door for a real Autobiography program here.

Michael2010-11-04T07:43:00-04:00November 4, 2010|

Range Rover Evoque – Full Media Kit – North American Version & “Perforrmance” Rant

And here’s the North American version, slight differences when compared to the UK, but the misspelling of “perforrmance” is unique to us, you’ll see it highlighted below. Funny thing about the misspell, no one appears to have caught it. All the various sites posted copies of the Land Rover NA supplied text that contained the error. If you actually do a Google search for “Evoque perforrmance” and force it to use the misspell in the results, you can see everyone just posted what they got. Which is fine, I just find it funny that Land Rover still hasn’t turned on spell check, especially for the document that describes their “groundbreaking all-new Range Rover Evoque “

Update: I contacted them in October and told them about the error, they’ve since fixed it, but they never thank me for finding all their mistakes. And my standard disclaimer with this type of rant, I’m sure I’ve misspelled words on this site and made glaring mistakes but I’m not a multi-billion, multi-national company, I just have Microsoft Word.

EMBARGO: 00:01 (GMT) on 22 September 2010

THE ALL-NEW RANGE ROVER EVOQUE

THE SMALLEST, LIGHTEST, MOST FUEL EFFICIENT RANGE ROVER EVER PRODUCED

· Luxurious coupe design with a compact and more efficient footprint than other Range Rover models

· Targeting a new group of customers for the Range Rover brand

· Bold exterior is an evolution of Range Rover design language

· Strong, clean interior architecture with a contemporary and sporting feel

· Premium cabin with the high quality materials expected from a Range Rover.

· Available with full sized glass panoramic roof flooding the interior with natural light

· Use of efficient powertrain and advanced lightweight materials

· Smaller – at a 171 inches (434cm) it is 17 inches (432mm) shorter and 7 inches (178mm) lower than Range Rover Sport models

· Permanent all-wheel drive combined with turbocharged four-cylinder engine and an updated six-speed auto transmission deliver excellent perforrmance and fuel economy

· All-new 240 bhp 2.0-litre Si4 turbocharged engine combining six-cylinder refinement and performance with four-cylinder fuel economy

· All-new chassis specification delivers dynamic and agile handling across varied terrain, with optional Adaptive Dynamics featuring MagneRide™

· All-weather, all-surface capability with Land Rover Terrain Response®

· An extensive suite of Range Rover technologies including Bluetooth® audio streaming and optional Surround camera system

· To be sold in 160 countries worldwide, with deliveries from Fall 2011

(more…)

Michael2010-10-30T14:19:56-04:00September 22, 2010|