A thought: The current (10-15 years?) Defender craze is off putting in a way the Grand Wagonneer craze is less so. As both markets transgressed from pillars of generational/family preservation to high end, off the shelf toy production, it is the Defender that has more often found its way into the hands of the “merely rich.” The Grand Wagoneer still says “perfect for hauling everything to open the house”; the Defender says “sure, she’s their age, but the kids will learn to love their new mom.”
No thanks to Grand Waggoner. Bought one on 1984, made by Chryslers. 360 V 8 was unreliable. Eighteen gallon fuel tank. 10 mpg. Would pass everything but a gas pump. Never used xfer case, but it failed. Had extended warranty. If it was a horse, I would have shot it. Sold it. Riceburner Toyota Land Cruiser trumps all. Drove their diesel version , 5 speed manual in the oilfields of North Africa...never saw a Land Rover. My current stable is 2013 Land Cruiser & 1992 Volvo Wagon. Yes, I am a shade tree mechanic from 1949 Chevy's to current inventory.
There was a time when Land-Rovers were off-road (and back roa d) utility vehicles, same as Jeep Universals. Utterly reliable, simple, go anywhere (but slow), easy to start (they came with a crank), cold in the winter and noisy at speed (above 40 mph). That was something like 55 years ago, although not really before SUVs. There were Jeep Wagoneers, and uh, that was about it, unless you count the Travelall and the Chevy Suburban, but they were plain compared with later versions. But the vehicle that was the real competition for the Land-Rover was the Toyota Land Cruiser. It had a six-cylinder engine! And more importantly, it had a better dealer network. But it also evolved into a luxury vehicle like everything else.
My husband is a car nut, is on his third Tesla and leases them all, anyway…years back he finally leased a SAAB, knowing it was an odd thing and hard to get your money out of in the end. At the end of the four year lease when he turned it in and got a BMW, he was given only one fourth of the value of it as trade value! He said, “I knew it’d be bad but all my life I’d dreamed of one and now at least I have it out of my system.” He called it his one and done car.
Ohh how this makes me miss my Saab! I had the older 900 in high school , as my parents were insistent that my first car be the road legal version of a tank and my navy blue ‘88 900 fit the bill. It was solidly built, but mechanically unpredictable and spent a lot of its time at our local foreign car specialist garage. When I went to college and ended up with used Grand Waggoner, my dad took the Saab and used it another 7 yrs as his daily train station commuting car.
What about the Wagoneer? Much more photogenic...
ReplyDeleteA thought: The current (10-15 years?) Defender craze is off putting in a way the Grand Wagonneer craze is less so. As both markets transgressed from pillars of generational/family preservation to high end, off the shelf toy production, it is the Defender that has more often found its way into the hands of the “merely rich.” The Grand Wagoneer still says “perfect for hauling everything to open the house”; the Defender says “sure, she’s their age, but the kids will learn to love their new mom.”
ReplyDeletePerfection! I must confess my wife and I have both the rover, and a wagoneer, and have loved them both for years! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI’m much more interested in the SAAB. For 20 years my wife and I were devoted SAAB owners, then GM bought the company and ran it into the ground.
ReplyDeleteHow was the LR 110 in the Saudi oil fields? Have you compared the LR to the Toyota Landcruiser?
ReplyDeleteI bet service there is $$$$. Give me a car that I can service myself any day.
ReplyDeleteNo thanks to Grand Waggoner. Bought one on 1984, made by Chryslers.
ReplyDelete360 V 8 was unreliable. Eighteen gallon fuel tank. 10 mpg. Would pass everything but a gas pump. Never used xfer case, but it failed. Had extended warranty. If it was a horse, I would have shot it. Sold it. Riceburner Toyota Land Cruiser trumps all. Drove their diesel version , 5 speed manual in the oilfields of North Africa...never saw a Land Rover.
My current stable is 2013 Land Cruiser & 1992 Volvo Wagon. Yes, I am a shade tree mechanic from 1949 Chevy's to current inventory.
There was a time when Land-Rovers were off-road (and back roa d) utility vehicles, same as Jeep Universals. Utterly reliable, simple, go anywhere (but slow), easy to start (they came with a crank), cold in the winter and noisy at speed (above 40 mph). That was something like 55 years ago, although not really before SUVs. There were Jeep Wagoneers, and uh, that was about it, unless you count the Travelall and the Chevy Suburban, but they were plain compared with later versions. But the vehicle that was the real competition for the Land-Rover was the Toyota Land Cruiser. It had a six-cylinder engine! And more importantly, it had a better dealer network. But it also evolved into a luxury vehicle like everything else.
DeleteMy husband is a car nut, is on his third Tesla and leases them all, anyway…years back he finally leased a SAAB, knowing it was an odd thing and hard to get your money out of in the end. At the end of the four year lease when he turned it in and got a BMW, he was given only one fourth of the value of it as trade value! He said, “I knew it’d be bad but all my life I’d dreamed of one and now at least I have it out of my system.” He called it his one and done car.
ReplyDeleteOhh how this makes me miss my Saab! I had the older 900 in high school , as my parents were insistent that my first car be the road legal version of a tank and my navy blue ‘88 900 fit the bill. It was solidly built, but mechanically unpredictable and spent a lot of its time at our local foreign car specialist garage. When I went to college and ended up with used Grand Waggoner, my dad took the Saab and used it another 7 yrs as his daily train station commuting car.
ReplyDelete