Category Archives: Land Rovers

What is the essence of a Jeep?

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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.

Historic Land Rover

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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.

The Dalai Lama’s Land Rover

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“This was His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama’s personal daily transportation for 10 years between 1966 and 1976 in Dharamsala, India. Although the Dalai Lama never personally drove the car, he did spend a lot of time in the passenger seat. By the time the Land Rover Series IIA was restored in 2006/2006 it had covered almost 70,000 miles. Many of these miles occurred in India, Nepal, and throughout the Himalayas where the vehicle’s low range 4×4 capabilities doubtless came in useful.”

“The Dalai Lama took delivery of his Land Rover fresh from the factory in 1966, as a Series IIA (also called the Land Rover Series 2A) it’s fitted with an inline-4, 2.25 litre petrol engine that was famous for its hardiness and reliability if properly maintained.” (Story)

The truck is due to come up for public sale for the first time in over 10 years with RM Sotheby’s on the 29th of August. The price estimate is between $100,000 and $150,000