Land Rover Buckhead to Compete in Land Rover TReK '00 Final
9 November 2000
Land Rover Buckhead to Compete in Land Rover TReK '00 Final
Atlanta, Ga.-Based Land Rover Retailer Will Compete in Final Round Of
Four-Wheel-Drive Manufacturer's Off-Road Driving Competition
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va., Nov. 9 Atlanta, Ga.-based
Land Rover Buckhead has won the fourth of Land Rover TReK '00's six
Territorial Trial events. Land Rover TReK '00 is an annual off-road driving
competition currently taking place on the grounds of The Greenbrier, a world-
class vacation resort located in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. The Land Rover
Buckhead team won its place in the November 16 TReK '00 Final by acquiring the
most total points in Territorial Trial #4's competitions. The Trial #4 events
included running; biking; four-wheel-drive product knowledge; and off-road
driving. The team emerged from their grueling, 12-hour Territorial Trial even
more enthusiastic about Land Rover than ever before.
"Our team was thrilled just to be a part of Land Rover TReK '00," remarked
Ron Marsh, Centre Manager of Land Rover Buckhead. "To advance to the Final is
a wonderful achievement. We're very proud of our team." Land Rover
Buckhead's TReK team is comprised of staffers Dale Hampton, Tim Rockett and
Mike Smith. A team from Land Rover Buckhead won the 1997 Land Rover TReK
event held in Manchester Village, Vt.
Land Rover TReK was created by Land Rover University -- the service
training and development arm of Land Rover North America, Inc. -- to build
product knowledge and brand enthusiasm among the sales and service personnel
of Land Rover's nationwide network of retail outlets. The Greenbrier is home
to one of only two permanent Land Rover driving schools in North America.
During the rest of Land Rover TReK '00, a stream of 48 three-person teams
-- each like the team from Land Rover Buckhead -- from across the U.S. and
Canada will travel to West Virginia to camp and then compete in one of TReK's
six rigorous Territorial Trials. The winning team from each Territorial
Trial, including Land Rover Buckhead's team, will return to The Greenbrier for
the November 16 TReK Final.
The TReK Trials and final are daylong competitions consisting of nine
unique skills events. For the competitors, the TReK Trials start early -- at
5:00 a.m. -- with a written quiz that challenges retailers' knowledge of Land
Rover history; Land Rover vehicles; four-wheel drive systems; and even
competitive products. Following the quiz, the teams compete head-to-head in
seven intense competitions -- including an off-road driving rally, an
autocross and an orienteering exercise -- that put their teamwork to the test.
The teams will also compete in a mountain bike race, a foot race and -- in a
first for TReK -- a specially designed river race conducted using inflatable
kayaks. The team that acquires the most total points in each event will win.
The TReK Final will be even more intense than the Territorial Trials.
The grand finale of each TReK Trial is a timed off-road driving obstacle
course. Each team will drive a specially outfitted 2000 model year Land Rover
Discovery Series II manufactured in England by Land Rover Special Vehicles.
In the obstacle course, team members are required to carefully maneuver their
Discovery Series IIs through an obstacle filled path; physically move any
obstacles that cannot be driven over (or around); stop and swap drivers along
the way; and, at all times, adhere to proper and safe driving techniques. In
this competition, it is skill -- not speed -- that can help to ensure victory.
The staff of each competing Land Rover retailer knows that TReK's real
payoff is reserved for Land Rover customers. Customers benefit from the know-
how and enthusiasm the highly skilled, TReK-veteran retail staffers such as
Hampton, Rockett and Smith bring back to their Land Rover retail facilities.
Land Rover Buckhead is one of 125 Land Rover retail outlets doing business in
the U.S. Eighty-two of these are critically acclaimed Land Rover Centres.
Due in large part to Land Rover University's benchmark training programs and
team-building events like TReK, Land Rover retailers continue to score near
the top of the industry in critical retailer-focused customer satisfaction
studies. Land Rover retailers also benefit from very low employee turnover
rates.
The 48 teams chosen for Land Rover TReK '00 were culled from Land Rover's
network of North American retailers. To qualify for TReK, each participating
retailer must have scored a 90 or better in Land Rover North America Inc.'s
most recent internal Customer Satisfaction Index research, among other
requirements. Entry was offered to the qualified Land Rover retailers on a
first-come, first-served basis.
The first Land Rover TReK event was held in Social Circle, Ga., not far
from Atlanta, in 1996. Subsequent TReK events have been held in Manchester
Village, Vt. and Bodega Bay, Calif.
The Greenbrier, home to Land Rover TReK '00, is a world-class, 6,500-acre
resort located in West Virginia's Allegheny Mountains, approximately 260 miles
southwest of Washington, D.C. The Land Rover Driving School at The Greenbrier
was established in 1999.
Land Rover North America, Inc., established in 1986, imports and
distributes Range Rover and Discovery Series II vehicles manufactured for sale
in the United States by Land Rover Group Limited in Solihull, England. Land
Rover's worldwide operations are wholly owned by Ford Motor Company, Dearborn,
Michigan.