Land Rover is inviting applications from UK drivers to take part in the third G4 Challenge. Only strong athletes with high stamina levels and good team spirit need apply.

“We are looking for some strong competitors to fly the flag for the UK in this awesome adventure challenge,” says UK Managing Director John Edwards. “If you are adventurous, enjoy travelling, driving and adventure sports, the Challenge will provide you with the experience of a lifetime – taking you to some of the most remote places on earth, where you will participate in wild adventures over terrain that will test both body and mind and push Land Rover vehicles to the max.”

“You have to be ready to give 100%,” adds Brian Reynolds, the UK representative in the 2006 Challenge. “Nothing else even comes close to the richness of experience and the awesome sporting challenges that you will face. I am positive the new format to this year’s event will make it even more exciting.”

That format involves a three-week trek through Asia in 2009. Two drivers (the most successful male and female applicants) will make up the UK team, which will compete against other teams from 17 countries including China, Russia and the US. For the first time, the Challenge will raise money – estimated at over £1 million – for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and the winners will be given a Land Rover vehicle to present to their country’s Red Cross or Red Crescent.

This article was taken from: Car Keys

From Snowy Roads To Sand Dunes, The Freelander Will Impress You With Its Performance, Writes Bill Caven

LAST week’s blizzards may have made for very tricky driving conditions, but one group of motorists would have rather perversely welcomed the snow.

Yes, at last the serious off-road brigade had the opportunity to reap the benefits of their investment.

While the country effectively slid to a grinding halt in places, the 4×4 mob were out and about, happily going about their business.

There are those who hate the sight of so-called Chelsea Tractors, but sales of SUVs continue to grow as more and more families recognise the safety benefits they bring.

And last week these big brutes got a rare chance to prove their real strength.

When you are faced with snow-covered roads, four-wheel drive provides incredible grip, which gives your confidence a massive boost.

It has to be said, though, that there are serious 4x4s and then there are soft-roaders that would struggle to mount a pavement.

The latest-generation Land Rover Freelander unquestionably falls into the first category.

Not only can it tackle snowy roads, but it can also cope with the complete opposite: sand dunes. I got to experience this during the car’s press launch in Morocco, when part of the route involved taking it down to the seaside.

Land Rover bosses have every confidence in the capabilities of their baby – and not without reason.

It can boldly go where many others can only dream about and achieves it with style and panache at the same time.

The Freelander has the ability to ascend and descend some of the toughest terrains imaginable. It has the sure-footedness of a jungle cat and can claw its way up most climbs without even pausing for breath.

Simply point and steer as the Land Rover proceeds to conquer anything put in its way.

The chassis and off-road system is sturdy, ensuring that nothing is impossible.

Refined, comfortable and built to last, it is the leader of the pack by some margin.

It has picked up more awards across the globe than any other vehicle in its class.

Available in petrol or diesel guise, increasing numbers of buyers are rather wisely opting for the oil burner.

Don’t think for one minute that they have to put up with a clattering old smelly engine under the bonnet.

The 2.2-litre TD4 is an absolute delight as it delivers 158bhp and offers plenty of low-end torque and power.

Unlike some rivals, it is not a gas guzzler and will clock up more than 37 miles to the gallon.

The most improved aspect of the latest model is the interior, which looks really classy with its chunky controls and Range Rover-style dashboard lay-out.

There is plenty of space throughout the cabin, although some taller folk might find the rear legroom a bit of a squeeze.

Factfile: Model: Land Rover Freelander 2.2 TD4 Engine: 2.2-litre turbo diesel Power: 158bhp 0-60mph: 10.9 seconds Fuel economy: 37.7mpg combined Warranty: Three years/unlimited miles Price: £20,960 to £30,960 On sale: Now

This article was taken from: Daily Record

Land Rover vehicles are built to go off road, and the company now uses a variety of real-time location systems (RTLS) to keep production and delivery on track. Land Rover and 18 of its suppliers are conducting an RTLS pilot to track parts shipments to its manufacturing plant in Solihull, UK, where a separate RTLS system is used to track finished vehicles before they are shipped to dealers.

Land Rover has tracked more than 150,000 finished vehicles at its 308-acre Solihull facility with RTLS in the last year. The automaker has installed 180 RTLS readers and sensors from WhereNet at the ends of assembly lines, at outdoor storage areas, and at other key points. More than 4,000 tags are in use, and the location of each is updated every four minutes.

“Since we typically ‘build and hold’ such vehicles as part of our quality assurance processes, tracking them down must happen quickly and efficiently. The automated WhereNet system regularly updates the exact whereabouts of every vehicle on site; and through association of the WhereTag with the vehicle identification number, we have all of the data in a single system to let us optimize work in process,” Land Rover’s Dave O’Reilly said in WhereNet’s announcement.

Land Rover credits the system for reducing labor, raising manufacturing productivity, and improving a variety of processes. The company reported receiving full return-on-investment in nine months, but did not provide details about system costs or labor and cost saving data. WhereNet RTLS systems of this type typically cost $400,000 to $1 million to install, according to a company spokesperson. A nine-month ROI based on that cost range equates to saving approximately between $44,000 and $111,000 per month.

Land Rover is also seeking to improve its inbound logistics with a new RTLS system. It is conducting a pilot with 18 suppliers to track specialized parts shipping containers from suppliers to the Solihull factory, and back. The pilot, which uses RTLS equipment from Savi Technology, began last summer and is scheduled to run through the end of March, when results and continued use will be assessed, Kempton Cannons, Savi’s UK director of business development, told RFID Update.

The pilot was funded with a $1.2 million Premiere Automotive Research and Development (PARD) grant from the UK government, administered through the University of Warwick, according to the announcement by Savi.

“This application is a bit of a crossover,” said Cannons. “It is an asset management application that crosses over into the supply chain. Automotive is a great area for RFID because many environments are closed loop with just the supplier and the manufacturer.”

Many parts and components are delivered to the Solihull facility in item-specific specialized containers called stillages. The containers are reusable and expensive, and must be managed to ensure suppliers have enough on hand to meet parts delivery commitments. In the pilot, RTLS tags were placed on about 6,000 stillages, and readers were installed at supplier shipping docks and at various receiving and transfer points at Land Rover’s facility. Land Rover and its suppliers can use a web-based interface to get real-time information on the stillage locations and inventory levels.

“What we’ve learned is that everyone begins with an asset management view of how to manage stillages, but it becomes a supply chain view,” Cannons said. “Now people have a single view of what they have on stock, what is in transit, and where things are at the production facility. Suppliers are starting to use the data to see how many stillages they need. They have been very pleased with what they’ve learned.”

This article was taken from: Rfid Update

The rusty Chevrolet pickup shuddered to a halt and its young owner almost fell out of its cab trying to get a closer look. As a breed, native New Yorkers eclipse even Parisians in their ability to exude indifference, but while it’s a carefully cultivated French affectation, here in the Big Apple you know they really don’t care.

Except for today. In 20 years of testing some fairly outlandish cars, I’ve never known one have such an effect on the public as this Land Rover had on the population of Manhattan island. It is said that you know you have arrived when you get stuck in your own traffic jam – well, on the day I became the first person not directly involved with its creation to drive the LRX, it caused hold-ups all the way from downtown to Hell’s Kitchen, past Harlem to the Bronx. Whenever I stopped, pedestrians gathered in little clumps. And after I had answered the inevitable questions about what it was and why it was special, I’d get asked the same thing: “When can I get one?”

It’s a good question, and if you ask Land Rover, the official answer will be entirely noncommittal: we’re dipping our toes into the water to see if there’s a business case, and lots of other wise-sounding, well-practised phrases. In fact what you’re looking at is, after the 1948 original and the 1970 Range Rover, the most important Land Rover in the company’s 60-year history, and Land Rover’s claims to be undecided whether to make it are about as credible as Clarkson announcing that he’s voting for the Greens.

The truth is, as Land Rover well knows, that it can’t afford not to make this car. In one stroke, the LRX will redefine a company known for making a breed of vehicle that legislative and social pressure may soon ostracise, if not outlaw. Land Rover has recognised that, however grim the future of transport when the price of oil becomes permanently parked above $100 a barrel, people will still want to feel good about their wheels. They’ll still want to show their new car to their friends and watch the neighbours’ curtains twitch the first time they bring it home. And, however worthy all the egg-shaped eco-blobs I fear will be foisted on the market, none will have that effect. The LRX, in contrast, is by far the best-looking car of any make to squeeze into the SUV category. It will use less than half the fuel and produce less than half the CO2 of any Range Rover or Discovery. Admittedly, not all of what you see will make it into production. This, after all, is a show car designed to catch people’s attention. Its design did not need to be delayed by tedious legislative and budgetary problems. Then again, Gerry McGovern, Land Rover’s design chief, told me the LRX I drove was no flight of fantasy and there was nothing on it that could not be put into production.

Expect its basic architecture to be retained, including the striking confluence of its falling roof and rising hip lines. The production car may have five doors instead of the three on this prototype, but that’s about it. The only substantial changes are likely be found inside. Here the tan leather and metal cabin will probably be toned down, though if its space efficiency is to be retained, its ultra-slim seats will need to stay.

Another feature I hope Land Rover doesn’t ditch is the iPhone that’s integrated into the LRX’s control systems. It acts as a key as well as allowing you to play and display music and video and make calls, and sums up how much thought and care has gone into making this prototype a next-generation car.

The real beauty of the LRX lies deeper than its styling and gadgets, though. The two largest car markets are engaged in a VHS/Betamax-style battle to determine what fuel will dominate in the short and medium term until someone works out how to produce a truly clean power source for a price the market will stand. On one side of the Atlantic the Europeans have thrown their weight behind diesel; on the other the Americans – to whom diesel is what you put in products designed by Peterbilt – are foursquare behind the petrol-electric hybrid.

Land Rover’s solution is as simple as it is elegant and combines the best elements of both schools: the LRX will use a 2 litre diesel-electric hybrid motor that will emit 120g/km of CO2 – better than most family cars on the road.

Better still, the hybrid drive is not simply there to reduce emissions and fuel consumption; it will also improve the LRX’s off-road ability by supplying carefully controlled squirts of power to the rear wheels as required to keep it moving through the mud to aid its standard, mechanical four-wheel-drive system.

Driving it is a blast. Much to the chagrin of the attendant PR staff, who didn’t want money matters discussed in public, McGovern had told me it cost £1m to build, and it was that cheap only because they were able to use a Freelander as a donor chassis. It occurred to me while I was driving it that there was no spare to take over if I made a mistake. And in New York, where the traffic drives at you as a matter of course, that was a tad unnerving. There was no rear-view mirror, and the ones on the outside were near enough useless for the task of threading through heavy city traffic. The only people more scared than me were the Land Rover staff, who looked on with all the care and concern of doting parents watching an only child.

The tyres were hand-cut and hand-painted and not designed for road use, and under the bonnet lay an engine of indeterminate configuration and origin. Indeed its chaperones would not even lift the clamshell bonnet to show it to me but did admit it was “cobbled together from bits of scrap we found out the back”.

Such is the way with almost every functioning concept I’ve driven. But inside I still felt like a king, albeit a mildly petrified one. And for all its avant-garde appearance, it remains unmistakeably a Land Rover. Outside it has presence that belies its diminutive proportions while inside it has kept Land Rover’s distinctive commanding driving position. I drove it only slowly and like all concepts it creaked, rattled, bumped and ground itself from place to place. Read nothing into this: all its technological trickery is under development for a later date. For now, all it contains is the bare minimum to make it move.

Throughout my day in the LRX I couldn’t help thinking of all those great concept cars we’ve seen that lost their magic when they were translated into production models. The LRX is only Land Rover’s second concept. I reminded myself that its first, the fabulous 2004 Range Stormer, resulted in the visually decidedly less than fabulous Range Rover Sport.

Let us not get too far ahead of ourselves: McGovern says he will fight to protect his design from any attempts to dilute or diminish it on the way to production, but the final result will not be seen for a couple of years. In the meantime I can say only this: the LRX has the potential not just to transform the future of Land Rover but also to inform an entire generation of car design. It really is that good. How much of that potential will be realised is something the industry and car-buying world will be watching with interest.

Vital statistics (predicted for production model)

Model Land Rover LRX

Engine 2000cc, four cylinders / electric

Power 150bhp

Torque Figure unavailable

Transmission Six-speed manual

Fuel 50mpg

CO2 120g/km

Acceleration 0-62mph: 9sec

Top speed 125mph

Road tax band B (£35 a year)

Price From £30,000

On sale Expected 2010

Verdict The future of private transport

This article was taken from: Times Online