Land Rover Greenville Will Compete in Land Rover Trek '00 Final
13 November 2000
Land Rover Greenville Will Compete in Land Rover Trek '00 Final
S.C.-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. 13 Greenville, S.C.-
based retailer Land Rover Greenville has won the fifth 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 Greenville team won its place in the November 16 TReK '00 Final by
acquiring the most total points in Territorial Trial #5's competitions. The
Trial #5 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
Roger Miller, General Manager of Land Rover Greenville. "To advance to the
Final is a wonderful achievement. We're very proud of our team." Land Rover
Greenville's TReK team is comprised of staffers Tim Sculley, Bill Silva and
Ross Shelnutt.
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 Land Rover TReK '00, a stream of 48 three-person teams-each like
the team from Land Rover Greenville-from the U.S., Canada and Australia have
traveled 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 Greenville's team, will return to The Greenbrier for the
November 16 TReK Final.
The TReK Trials and Final are daylong competitions consisting of eight
unique skills events. For the competitors, the TReK Trials start early -- at
5:00 a.m. -- with a written quiz that challenges their 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 a service drive, an off-road driving rally, an
autocross; an orienteering exercise; a trials course; and, finally, an off-
road obstacle course-that put their teamwork to the test. The teams will also
compete in a regatta event that includes a mountain bike race, a foot race
and-in a first for TReK-a specially designed kayak race. 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 the 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
Sculley, Silva and Shelnutt bring back to their Land Rover retail facilities.
Land Rover Greenville 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 Tinmouth, 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.