Newest Land Rover Hits Las Vegas Strip At the 2001 NADA Convention
31 January 2001
Newest Land Rover Hits Las Vegas Strip At the 2001 NADA Convention
Thousands Will Catch a Glimpse of the Roving Land Rovers
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 31 While much of the activity during the
National Automobile Dealers Association annual meeting will take place indoors
at the hotels and convention center, Land Rover says the real excitement will
be out on the street. Throughout the NADA Convention, which will be held
Feb. 3 - 6, thousands of conference goers and Las Vegas visitors will have the
opportunity to spot for the first time the newest Land Rover destined for the
North American market.
Two V6-powered Freelanders-one Oslo Blue, the other Blenheim Silver-will
be out on the streets of Las Vegas day and night driven by product specialists
who are ready to answer questions and provide promotional material to one and
all. Freelander is already the best-selling SUV in Europe. The small,
premium SUV will be available in North America beginning in the fourth quarter
of 2001. The price of the four-door SUV aimed at enthusiasts will start well
below $30,000.
"There's real excitement building behind this new Land Rover," said Howard
Mosher, president and CEO of Land Rover North America, Inc. "At NADA-in Las
Vegas-we wanted to get vehicles out on the street, put this excitement to work
out in public and give folks a look at the new, small Land Rover."
The North American-bound Freelander will help Land Rover develop a new
niche within the hotly contested and rapidly expanding small sport-utility
segment. Targeted at driving enthusiasts, Freelander will spearhead
significant growth in North America for the venerable British sport-utility
maker, which expects to nearly double its US sales during calendar year 2002.
Freelander is the first all-new Land Rover for North America since 1994 and
will join the already successful Range Rover and Discovery Series II models,
expanding the British automaker's North American line of vehicles to three.
Freelander is the first Land Rover in history to combine unibody
construction with a fully independent suspension. In North America, it will
feature a strong, four-cam, 24-valve V6 engine, permanent all-wheel drive and
a five-speed automatic transmission with Steptronic shifting. Standard
equipment will include a center viscous coupling unit (VCU) similar to the one
used in Range Rover; four-wheel Electronic Traction Control (4ETC); Land
Rover's patented Hill Descent Control (HDC); and an all-terrain Anti-lock
Braking System (ABS). No other vehicle in the segment offers this level of
innovation.
Freelander enjoyed its U.S. auto show debut on Jan. 9, 2001, at the North
American International Auto Show. In Europe, it is already acknowledged as
possessing the widest range of capability on- and off-road in its market
segment. Compared with the Freelander that was launched in Europe in late
1997, the 2001 model is 70 percent new. The changes include an entirely new
powertrain, extensive chassis improvements and substantially higher equipment
levels across the range.
Freelander will be sold at Land Rover retail outlets throughout North
America. Currently, Land Rover counts 145 retail outlets in North America, 87
of which are critically acclaimed Land Rover Centres. This number will grow
by 20 percent in the next 18 months. Land Rover Centres, stand-alone Land
Rover retail outlets, continue to score near the top of the industry in terms
of sales satisfaction thanks in part to the extensive and wide-ranging
training programs developed for retailers by Land Rover University. The
Centre concept was launched by Land Rover North America in 1994 and has now
become a model for Land Rover retailing around the world.