What's with JLR?/Defender rant

[NASdiesel]

I don't think it's fair to compare market strategies between LR and MB/Toyota.

LR needs to survive. Putting all their eggs in one basket, into a market niche that has some heavyweights competing against them, would be a mistake. If Toyota wants the "serious offroad" truck market, they're simply going to out-spend LR and get it.

Can we be honest with ourselves about that?

Tend to disagree with this on two fronts. One is that LR rolled out the evoque, Velar, etc, very quickly from concept to production.

Two, can anyone can explain to me who the target markets are for each of the models in the RR line-up? They all overlap, all blend together in function and feature. I tend to agree that not having something that differentiates the brand/marque, it is completely watering it down. Enthusiast or not.

 

[cperez]

Two, can anyone can explain to me who the target markets are for each of the models in the RR line-up? They all overlap, all blend together in function and feature. I tend to agree that not having something that differentiates the brand/marque, it is completely watering it down. Enthusiast or not.

I do agree that the market positioning of the various lines (not just RR) seems to be all over the place, even down to the way the front ends are badged differently. I realize that there's a simple matrix behind all of that, but as you inferred, it's all about perception. The buzzword at LR is this goal of "conquest sales" and I have heard it from multiple sales people and in press coverage. If they are achieving this goal in spite of their baffling RR lineup, then hats off to them.

 

[ZC06LR3]

I tried to daily a '78 FJ40 for a while. It was cool, but I couldn't do it if my commute was longer than a few miles. It's amazing how quickly the cool, rudimentary stuff you like at first turns into a drag, and you're showing up somewhere in a suit smelling like gas.

Yes! I had a 77 CJ7 that I rescued from a farm field that I drove and resto/modded from 2002- 2008 as my daily. I loved it some days, hated it other days. Bought a 4-door wrangler because I thought that would be the best of both - it fell apart and I landed in an LR3.

Still miss that full open air feel, but man I like not getting the kidney punch, having heat and tunes, cargo space...

 

[dwizum]

Tend to disagree with this on two fronts. One is that LR rolled out the evoque, Velar, etc, very quickly from concept to production.

Two, can anyone can explain to me who the target markets are for each of the models in the RR line-up? They all overlap, all blend together in function and feature. I tend to agree that not having something that differentiates the brand/marque, it is completely watering it down. Enthusiast or not.

I don't think we are disagreeing. I wasn't trying to speak to development timeliness so at least I'm not sure what you meant with your first point.

With respect to the second. I think you are describing the end result of what I talked about. The product line isn't differentiated on function at all. It's differentiated on prestige and price.

They are absolutely focused on conquest. That's where market share comes from, and it basically means they aren't really concerned about keeping faithful customers happy. They are producing vehicles in response to the market, not as part of a cohesive brand centric strategy.

 

[cperez]

They are absolutely focused on conquest. That's where market share comes from, and it basically means they aren't really concerned about keeping faithful customers happy. They are producing vehicles in response to the market, not as part of a cohesive brand centric strategy.

Anyone follow WSJ car critic Dan Neil? Today he covered the new Jaguar E-Pace. His closing comments seem to sum up a lot of the discussion we've been having here about JLR's direction:

"The signal difference between F-Pace and E-Pace? I wag my finger and say, authenticity. The F-Pace was nearly a clean-sheet design, wrought in lightweight costly aluminum, consistent with Jag’s technical legacy. As the brand’s first step into the unknown, the designers lavished love and looks on it. They made the crossover formula work for the brand.

The E-Pace shows another side of the burgeoning JLR empire: ruthless, expedient, shamelessly pursuing global volume, baldly grubbing for profits.

Sir William wouldn’t recognize the place."

 

[jwest]

I used to sit near Dan in a Raleigh NC coffee shop named Cup-A-Joe before we both became famous

 

[cperez]

I used to sit near Dan in a Raleigh NC coffee shop named Cup-A-Joe before we both became famous

Very cool, @jwest. Dan's got this ability to uncork the perfect descriptive phrases in his reviews. He has a seemingly endless supply of them. One of my favorites was the time he was describing the Mazda 3's "imbecilic grille [that] makes it look like a hillbilly on nitrous oxide.” Or this: "With its multiple eyes and supernumerary nostrils, the Aztek looks deformed and scary, something that dogs bark at and cathedrals employ to ring bells."

****, I love that guy.