A while back we reported that Land Rover was eliminating up to 250 jobs at its legendary Solihull plant in England as it decreased Freelander production by as many as 10,000 units. This, despite the fact that the Freelander is the best-selling 4x4 in all of Europe. Upon closer inspection, however, we learned that the then BMW-owned plant had overproduced engines for the vehicle, and had to hit the brakes on production to catch up.

The 2006 G4 Challenge was launched on April 23 and the race is on!

They call it the ultimate global adventure - a test of strategy, stamina, 4x4 driving and multi-sport skills that will span Southeast Asia and South America.

Now that American gas prices have caught up with the rest of the world's, the boys in Solihull have greenlighted a new diesel V8, beginning production in March 2006.

O.K., we were WRONG!

When Land Rover introduced the Discovery replacement in New York earlier this year, we were less than enthusiastic (see our previous story). The LR3 (or Discovery 3 as it will be known outside the North America) didn’t catch our eye nor our imagination as the original Discovery did when it was introduced in 1989.

Like the old saying goes: "We've got good news, and we've got bad news". The good news is that Discovery is dead, the bad news is that Discovery is dead!

At an upscale art gallery in the Chelsea district of Manhattan, Land Rover unveiled the LR3 (or Discovery 3 as it will be known outside North America) the much awaited Discovery replacement. Land Rover is keeping the details and specifications of this all new model secret until later this summer. But here is what Land Rover is saying officially, and what we've been told "off the record".

The next generation Land Rover Discovery is officially on its way for the 2005 model year release in Fall 2004. Call it the Discovery III - or the LR3 (as it will be called in North America where alpha-numeric vehicle names are all the rage) - either way, “an absolute priority was to ensure that nobody could mistake this vehicle for anything else…” said Geoff Upex, Land Rover’s director of design. “It had to look thoroughly modern, bold and distinctive” he said, but very definitely a Land Rover.

January 4. Cobo Hall, the Motor City. The arena lights are dimmed and high power spotlights illuminate the center stage. Fog fills the arena. From the far right, a pair of headlamps cut a swath through the haze. Ceiling mounted spotlights dance across the arena floor, now and then illuminating the moving headlamps affording us tantalizing glimpses of the vehicle prowling the stage. As the music rises to a crescendo, sixty five hundred journalists from around the world hold their collective breaths, as Range Stormer climbs to the limelight of center stage. It is unmistakably a Range Rover, but it's not like any Range Rover we’ve ever seen. After the briefest of hesitations (the Detroit Auto Show is after all a SHOW), the vehicle's doors begin to pivot upward in an elegant curve. The Range Stormer features gull wing doors! As Mathew Taylor, Land Rover's Managing Director, steps out of the "Stormer" the hall erupts in cheers. Taylor walks a short distance and as the stage's turntable begins to spin the 'Stormer, he just points at the car and smiles.

Here's one for the women: It seems Land Rover is introducing a Women's panel at the product development stage to make sure that women's wants and needs are accommodated and integrated into future Land Rover vehicles. (Is this what happened over at VW, resulting in the little vase thingy on the dash?)

Everyone knows the Range Rover is the ultimate luxury SUV that's dually suited for advanced off-roading, but when it comes to on-road performance…well, it has certainly improved the past few years, but its 282 HP shrinks in the wake of the 340 put out by the Porsche Cayenne S (worse – the Porsche’s Turbo makes a cool 450!)

So, what's Land Rover's answer? The Range Stormer concept vehicle (also known as the Range Rover Sport – final production name still TBD), a vehicle that looks more like it came from James Bond’s Q-branch than from the drawing boards of Solihull. This is a Land Rover that screams!

When we received our invitation to attend the 5th TReK competition last month, we hesitantly said yes. Hesitantly, not because we don’t like TReK, on the contrary, we love TReK, but because we feared that it would have been influenced by the G4 Challenge and the Land Rover’s relegated to moving the competitors around.

We needn’t have worried, TReK ’03 remained true to its roots and to Land Rover’s own heritage.

There is much more that's new on the new Range Rover than the addition of those gills behind the front wheel arch. Its third re-design in its 31-year history includes a unibody structure instead of the traditional body-on-frame...independent front and rear suspensions instead of the old solid axles...and BMW engines in favor of the old engines from GM.

Two names stand out in the in the Land Rover lexicon capturing the brands heritage: Camel Trophy and Eastnor Castle. Many of us fell in love with Land Rovers after watching them battle the worst possible conditions in Madagascar, Brazil, Australia, Borneo, Siberia, Africa and South America. Camel Trophy will remain forever a part of Land Rover’s history, unfortunately it is history.

But long before there was Camel Trophy there was Eastnor Castle. In those fabled woods, shrouded in secrecy, all modern Land Rovers have been tested and proven. And not only vehicles have been put to the test at Eastnor Castle, but generations of expedition, military, rescue and relief drivers. While the closest we’ll ever get to a Camel Trophy is our living room’s TV, we can all experience first hand the hills, mud, and deep water that have challenged Land Rover engineers and off road drivers for decades.

It could make 0-60mph about two seconds faster, stop about seven feet shorter and do the quarter mile in under 16 seconds...and it could be coming to a select few Rover dealers in the near future.

Can you imagine my surprise when I picked up the phone to check for messages, this voice says he is from Land Rover and he wants to know if I’m available to go to Las Vegas for the Canadian selection event. Available, ya, like there is a question. Instructions say to call or e-mail with an indication of my choice I do both. Problem here is I’m home alone, no one to tell and I’m just a bit excited, the cat has left the room, too much jumping about I guess.