Defender went in for its MoT today to the local LR Centre (I, know, I know). Anyway they gave me a 2000 mile old 03 Fr**lander, first time I'd ever driven one. What an awful thing. Dismal instruments, poor radio, interior like an 80s Montego, to add insulst to injury its brake lights were stuck on. Glad to get shot of it and pick up the rattly old bus, which passed its MoT and was probably more street-legal than the other thing. Yuck.
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Great to hear the Rover flag still flying high.
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Except that would be a Ford now though, wouldn't it...
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Even with Monty switch gear, dash etc?? Could be - if so, i'll gladly stand corrected.
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ee, by gum.
I thought we might get expletives from Pugugly.
That would be a first, I think. Wonder what the ** means.
Anyway, I agree with this. I once fancied a Discovery, until I drove one. Felt like a Suzuki Sand Bike from the seventies, riding along the beach. You couldn't relax as it needed constant input.
The Conran interior was hip in the 80's or whenever it came out. It still looks the same now, but not at all hip. Even my flares are now back in fashion but time the Disco and Freelander were properly Ford-ised.
Neither fish nor fowl yet, but it took 10 years to sort Jaguar and they did take lots of marques on together.
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I think you'll find the president of the Freelander fan club in here somewhere, hiding behind the moderator's desk perhaps.
H.
-----------------------------
Stranger in a strange land
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How many threads have we got on here which feature the words 'Freelander' and 'quality'? Scors, I imagine.
And in Solihull they still wonder why production is being shifted up to Halewood...
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Quite right, I live in the solihull area and the local paper is full of praise for the poor put upon workers having the freelander moved to Liverpool (the home of flexible working practices!) saying that they were around long before the freelander and they'll be around long after, give them chance to focus on building the defender and range rovers it said! what are these people on, they couldn't even agree to stop smoking on the production line and not use pens in pockets (damage to paint)with Ford management. Patches of design flair and innovation will not keep them in business for much longer if quality doesn't improve, talk about resting on laurels from c.1973 and c.1940 odd!
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A lot of the criticism should be directed at the designers, not the production operatives.
If you think smoking on the production line is bad, you should visit BMW - they have beer vending machines on the shop floor!!
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I agree that it's not the shop floor its the design team / accountants that control the build/quality - look at the train maker just down the road from Land Rover - "they flat pack" trains from Europe then build them here - and STILL get it wrong!!!!
I could go on...... unskilled labour, no apprentiship's, poor quality contract staff etc. etc.
K2
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Spot on, old oiler.
I cannot get a bus or train to work in a morning.
UK companies are ruled by accountants German companies by engineers.
Look at a Siemens train now, over here.
They really are very nice.
TMP Hunslet (Leeds, England) would agree with you. Oh no, they won't. Their factory is now Merlin Gerin, an electrical place.
They have gone.
Tell me about Alsthom. Took our technology. Closed us. Superb French engineering.
It is, you know. Superb engineering. Not really French though.
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funny you should talk about Siemans, that where we are getting our next lot from!!.
Work out the box, low maintainance costs etc.
Re Alstom Preston, designed traction motor - where the design Authority - now have to go cap in hand to France - please sir can you approve this change.!!!
Sorry what car were we talking about !!!!!!!!!!!
K2
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I must admit to taking a fair amount of responsibility for the communication of what I perceive to be the value and quality of these things.
It could be summed up as;
\"where they fit into this world and why not\"
Awful things - awful off-road and awful on the freeway, even when they do work properly, which isn\'t often, and even when you manage to complete the journey with the same amount of bits attached to the car and functioning which you began with.
And as for the yellow button.............
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I may have inadvertantly deleted some valid stuff while I had the *waffle* scissors in my hands. Sorry folks.
8< 8< 8<
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You did indeed! So I've had a word with the lads on the shopfloor, and it's one out all out...
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