Land Rover Portland Will Compete in Land Rover TReK '00 Final
14 November 2000
Land Rover Portland Will Compete in Land Rover TReK '00 Final
Oregon-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. 14 Portland, Ore.-based
retailer Land Rover Portland has won the last 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
Portland team won its place in the November 16 TReK '00 Final by acquiring the
most total points in Territorial Trial #6's competitions. The Trial #6 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
Dan Muggli, Centre Manager of Land Rover Portland. "To advance to the Final
is a wonderful achievement. We're very proud of our team." Land Rover
Portland's TReK team is comprised of staffers Pedro Patlan, Rob Cosner and
Gregg Lawrence.
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 Land Rover Portland team -- 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 Portland'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. The TReK Trials started early for the competitors -- 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 competed 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 also
competed in a regatta event that included 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 wins. The TReK Final will be
even more intense than the Territorial Trials.
The grand finale of each TReK Trial, and the Final, is the timed off-road
driving obstacle course. Each team drives 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
Patlan, Cosner and Lawrence bring back to their Land Rover retail facilities.
Land Rover Portland is one of 125 Land Rover retail outlets currently 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.