New Wrangler will be out in the fall.
"New Oldsmobiles are in early this year."
-Elwood
iceracer wrote: New Wrangler will be out in the fall.
I don't think the Wrangler and the Defender are competitors in the marketplace. In the US, maaaaybe if you limit your definitions to include "they go offroad". In the rest of the world, the Defender is a work truck.
Deviating even more, I am super excited to see the new Bronco and Ranger models. We've been working with a number of suppliers tooling up machines to make driveline components, and from what I see they look pretty stout yet "weight efficient".
"emotional connection to the original" ..... So basically (at least for the US market) it'll be a luxo'd-up SUV akin to the Benz GL - something with actual off-road chops, but so much luxo-stuff in it that people who actually drive off-road probably can't afford it. But it'll kind of look like the original Defender (in the way an FJ Cruiser has nods to the FJ40)....
Somehow I doubt we'll see a stripped-down "you can repair it on the trail" kind of vehicle from LR here in the US. Maybe that version will be out there in emerging markets, or India, or whatever..... And though I'm not much of a Jeep fan, I do give Jeep credit for still putting out Jeeps that are pretty basic and affordable just like Jeeps were decades ago.
Also, i'm a cynic by nature.
it's going to be interesting. From everything I have read, the only reason the Defender got discontinued in the first place was that it could not be made "safe" by current euro standards. Gods only know what they will do to make something that looks similar, but is considered safe
Man the remains of the Defender barely started to cool before they revived it. Pretty much figured that was going to be the case but still.
LR can't be without a Defender. Of course they've been working on a replacement for a while. It's not like they chose to stop producing it, turns out the bones of a vehicle laid out in the late 40's have a lifespan!
I bet the tooling just got so far out of tolerance they couldn't produce from them anymore and couldn't justify spending the money on new ones.
They were quite up front about the fact that it couldn't meet modern regulations. The LR community knew the end of the line was coming for quite a while.
In reply to Keith Tanner: Considering that the original LR was copied from the original Jeep, there sort of is a kinship.
Kinship back in 1948, sure. But they've gone different directions. The Jeep quickly turned into a recreational vehicle, the Rover was a tool. The Rover also kept on as a military vehicle. This is easy to miss if you only see how they're used in the US.
Keith Tanner wrote: Kinship back in 1948, sure. But they've gone different directions. The Jeep quickly turned into a recreational vehicle, the Rover was a tool. The Rover also kept on as a military vehicle. This is easy to miss if you only see how they're used in the US.
How funny. Most people who drive Land Rovers are tools! 
Thank you, thank you. I be here all week.
yawn
CJ's were tools for awhile with all sorts of equipment available, that died out and people decided to have fun with them. Now they have different equipment. In the US trucks do all the work.
Let's agree. Two different worlds.
Yup.
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