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o ~ o n s o the rig& q f h ,C o ~ o n s o the leff ofthem.Cannons in from o them d-Ieyd and hvndcred.

Thc scene this t i m is setn c W n the middle of thc last centurv nor

L.nd Rw er over hac becaw of upcomingch.ngcs in fcdenl regulations. TheDe-fenderwillarriveinearly fallandbesroundfor d y he '93 model year, but it will pavethe way foraha models.

The Discovery, the newest member ofBritain's 4x4 c h , s almost s u n to follow

a uure dcrivhvCS of the t0pof-h-Lice, luxtuiouslytrimmed Range Rover.

But fw he tried-aadaue Land Rovermust p nnr mns into the b r r r h . ThcD e f a u k r l l O w s t b r o a d c a t h e b u c ~ .

What threatens its suca as is not shcll and

shot bu the fact tbat high-QUar law-vol-~ v e h i e k s ~ n a h o t d t i c s i n t h eUnited Slates in this mm value-ions,~ e g o - d r i v u , d s d c . - n l c l a c k o f ~of IIE GMC Syclooc and Lonrs Elm offerample evidenoc on th.1 point.

Were it facing m I y tough enain therem l d be no doubt about the Defender'schances for success. It benefits fm all the-1's her itage and tradition and today'stcclmolosy. It is rugged, nimble and cap-Me of climbing slopes and fading waleasthat most dr iv m would fearto tackle.

WefdthepmfofthismthegmmdDof EYma Caslk in early June. k f dshire and indeed mosl of England war ex-pcrimeing such adry spring that the nativeswemswingto(al l rofdrou@.Hoareva,m m y o f t h e M O O a c m o f i h c ~ a l ed w i t h w o o d s s o d t a c e d m d ~that they may srmntely be dcswibcd ash n p ~ e one ni n forrsts.

M i l e of tracks and trails cross the c m t sand valleys th.1 run mmu@ the popcny.Ooc look at the landrsp and it's clear whyLand Rover docs much of its developmentlCItWviag bae.

Thc airl on the trails incrcsscd in diffi-culty somewhat as the drought broke duringour drive. What had been hickln cmsingthemck8accPnesueamasasteadydrir-rk fell. Low spas shallow poodr.

on the Crimun Peninsula.It is the volatile U.S. ruu, nurttl of the

1990s wbae sudden death can lie in waitm u n d the comer. (The corps^ of Dai-htw. Pcugcot and s t e r l i g smwn r r og Fthe I.ldsape attgc to that.)

And what is charging on to the scenefmmBri t l i a i swctheLigh tBr igdebuabiml-edition Land Rover. It is M oldUUIE, but a ncw name as well. Thc faLsad Rover ;lppard in 1948. Mvativcewar, sold bae h g h 974. What is oewisthatthemeisnowbeingappliedtothe~ . a s m U a s t o y c c a n o t b c r v e r s i o l lo r t k r a i g i l l a l ~ k .

Effective Aug. I. Range Rover of NORhAmuica, h e r u o f o ~mporter sokly of theestarned Range Rover, beeunc Lmd R o wof Nath America. Thc switch was lnde tor r a d e o n t h e c l 0 u t i h c L a n d R o v e r ~ h . pbuilt up over the last 45 years and to denotea broadening of the company's productrange. Thc point being tbat the companyneeds to establish itself in the U.S. marketas someth'ig morr than just the purveyor ofa luxury 4x4 wagon for the honeyset.

Another wav that Land Rover of NORh

Imaica will fapinlize on its heritage is by

scnding rnoss the o c u n 500 copies of the.

lstesl version of its originalproduct, which uis being called the Defender 110.This is the ~ c l c orwt on o( mh S l m d b t a ~ h R D C C o f ~ g t h e ~ n A m . t ( o p ) ~ ~ l l W 8 r * Q *gmmd

mudto mud.lberr were somc hills on which the five

Defendas in our caravan f.hercd. But tbatw u i d u e t o m o v e r t y ~ ~ o n

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th e pry( of drivers unfamiliar a roof-mountedluggagerackwith such rugged off.rosding. (capable of carrying 22 0Coached by our British hosts. pounds) and a ladder thatwe eonqu~red he slopeswce runs up the back of the De-a more confident tack was fender to provide access totaken and nwre lhronle used that rack. More reinforce-to makG th e grade. ments are found inside in the

Th e Defenderis equipped form of a rolloverbar behindto laclde impressive impdi- the frontbuckets.ments. Lad Rover of Nonh ss There are seats for sevenAmaica claims this fourdim E I C .. 1 more occupants in a tk - s e a t4x4 can handlea 45-degraeslope, a rather formidablede-gnc of difliculty, and wadeUuwgh as much as 20 inchesof watcr. Its an& of appoachis given as 50 d e w nd itsangle of departure as26.Ground c learance i s8 .5inches beneath the diffem-tials ad a full fwd undcrtheaxle tubes. GenwMts suspen-

sion vsvel allows itto walkover sizableobstacles.This is the stuff of off-

mading. Serious o f f - d i n g .If you think this means theDefender is ill at ease on the

bench behindthe buckets andfw r jump seats in th e cugoarea. Most sportlutilit ieswould have trouble pmvidingroom for nine psengers. letalone moving them about.With a gmss vehicle weightntinc of 6504mu& th e De-fen& should is veno mubie.

That rating, by the way.also helps the Defender avoidfalling prey to the federalluxury tax. The IRS exemptsit because it's classifiedas amultipurpose passenger vehi-cle with a GVWR above6000 munds. So if vou add

highway, you ' re wrong . TIN 1lWa W la . b u d in deiivery charges (5675)Doubtless those who do opt b W R-r: and the only option availablefor this $39.900 sportlutility 1nt.rlork D.lmcMa from the factory (an8WO-vehicle will be able to afford -' howWW,tmndUh pound capacity Warn winchsomething more suited to to Vn four m r ump

, ot k.vlw at S1.W) a fully equippedfreeway duty. But if they~~otlctfw wfi g. Defender totlls 543,475 be-must or if they choose they expond la 10 help fore s w e and local taxes.

would fmd linle to complain wmbollpr lh a Liarcl That puts i l smack up

about if they were to spend m l l h n y k against the m ore luxuriousan hour or three cruising Range Rover. But "Rangeeross-country in the De- Rovers aren't going to hefender. Thwgh the front and $40.500 forever." accordingrear ax les a re l ive , co i l to a spokesman, indicatingsprings al each comer and a something more is afoot inBoge Hydromat self-activa- Range Rover land-and theing load leveller positioned Land Rover range-for thebetween therear axle and th e 1993 model year. Beyondbody serve to handlestreets that, the two vehicles areand highways with nearlythe iumed at different parts of the'same aplomb as they do ruts high-dollar sportlutility seg-and nrks. ment . The Range Rover

As is the Range Rover, the caters to the horsey suburbanDefender is a full-time fwr-

Iet while the Defender l I0 is

! wheel-drive vehicle.It also betler suited to the Keds ofshare s the Range Rov er's ranchers, farmers. hunters3.9-liler 180-hpV8. When and haulers.the powertrains differ is in If Land Rover of Nonhthe transmission used. While America is right, there areits slabkmate is fined with 1 500 of them willing to buyan automatic, the Defender : Defender. And if thel I0 com es only with a five- npany is wmng...speed manual. Well, it has essentially for-

Straight-line performance is not a De- range. Of course that's for on-mad towing.ever to sell the 500 vehicles. No mom willfende r strong point. But given a curb weightOff-mad the limit is2200 pounds for both come to the United Slates. thanks to tougherof 4840 pwnds il shouldn't be expated to high and low range. safety standards for multipurpose vehiclesbe. Where the Defender shows its muscle is And the Defender 110 lwks the part of alhat kick in come 1994.in the towing department.Lad Rover of big and burly go-anywhen vehiek. All500 By then there should be a U .S . version ofNorth America says it can tow a 5000- will come with whatLand Rover calls a the more modem Discovery, which thoughpound trailer with brakes when the two- safari cage, a grid of metal tubing lhatpo - 110-based, will appeal to younger buyenspeed Vansfcr case isin high range. and a tects the vehicle's aluminum flanks fromlooking to step into the Land RovedRange7700-pound trailer with brakes when in low damage by the brush. The tubing also formsRover lifestyle.

I8 AUTOWEEK AUGUST 3. 1992