Category Archives: Land Rovers
What is the essence of a Jeep?
Perhaps the better question is, do vehicles have an essence.
“the intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, especially something abstract, that determines its character.”
I put this question to a handful of people I know who might have given some thought to such a question.
I’ve been watching lots of videos about the history of the Jeep as well restoration projects. Seems there’s as much mystique and passion surrounding the Jeep as Land Rover.
The historical videos started with the initial development during WWII; then the transition to Jeeps made for the agricultural market; and on to the more mainstream civilian models.
The Jeeps I see on the road (and there seems to be a LOT) bear little resemblance to those early Jeeps. Looks like the name and the grill (maybe) is all that’s left. Which got me wondering… when did these models cease to be a “true Jeep?” If Mitsubishi purchased the brand and putting the Jeep name on one of their models, nobody would consider it a Jeep.
We saw this mindset at work with the Land Rover “Santana.” The forums were full of guys who insisted that is not a “real” Land Rover. I suspect no two Jeep owners could agree on this question. And I don’t particularly care, except from a philosophical standpoint.
If I get any takers on this question, I’ll share them in comments below.
Rover hardtop back on for winter
Helpful Neighbor and World’s Smartest Guy helped me get the hardtop back on the Rover this morning. Took about two hours with the new storage rack. (Image above animated GIF)
NYC Land Rover
Spotted on 71st Street in Manhattan, where –I’m told– physicians can park anywhere. This is a thing of beauty. I would love to know the story that goes with it.
BBC’s Top Gear Lost Segment – Greatest Car Vote
“The greatest car vote segment was cut out of all re-airings and streaming versions of BBC’s Top Gear. It was aired only once in 2003, and most of the recordings of it were lost.” Segment 5: Land Rover (5:45)
Historic Land Rover
From Land Rover aficionado John Middleton:
My daughter and I had the rare opportunity to view and ride in the Oxford 1955 Series One that was used in the Oxford and Cambridge Far Eastern Expedition from London to Singapore. It was found on the Island of St Helena by a man from Yorkshire and rebuilt. I drove from Singapore to London in 2019 and is currently finishing up a tour of the US we drove to Memphis, TN to see it. Tim Slessor wrote a book about the expedition called First Overland and there’s a movie of expedition on YouTube.
Land Rover Lockdown Diary
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Changing a tyre
Only Land Rover folk make hour-long videos on how to change a tyre. And only Land Rover folks watch them.
Land Rovers in the wild
Mr. Wolf spotted these beauties on recent trip to Baja California.
Land Rover for hauling your motorcycles
This long-wheelbase 1966 Land Rover Series II-A was restored to accommodate motorcycle transport. It has a Land Rover 2.25-liter gas engine and a Series III four-speed manual. The original truck, a fire engine that had been out of commission for decades, received a meticulous, 1,000-hour, ground-up reconstruction.