QOTD: Is the 'Road Rover' a Terrible Idea?
Maybe one day we’ll all look back and wonder how we could have been so wrong. “Of course,” we’ll say over drinks at the back of the pub, “it was all so simple. People wanted cars. Land Rover cars. And we were too stuck in our ways to see it.”
“Crossovers were king back then. Buyers couldn’t get enough of ’em,” we’ll recall, growing agitated over our past myopia. “Harley-Davidson could have put a pup tent on the back of a Tri Glide and sold 50,000 a year. Foolishly, we didn’t notice the simmering desire for a car — a regular car, dammit! — from an automaker that sold SUVs and nothing but since 1948.”
As Rod Serling used to say, this isn’t a future that will be, but one that might be. Yesterday we brought you a report detailing Land Rover’s plans to reveal a high-end luxury car, not an SUV, in 2019, all part of a plan to capitalize on decades of accumulated brand cachet and plunge into a wholly untapped segment. Road Rover is the vehicle’s rumored name, Autocar claims.
Suppose they’re right?
Debuting a traditional passenger car just as the world seems ready to ditch any and all vehicles with a trunk runs counter to sensible product planning. Grabbing a slice of the next big thing — that’s the kind of play that can pay big dividends. Lamborghini was a little early with its 1980s LM002, but it’s playing catch-up now.
Jaguar, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Porsche, Maserati, Ferrari — all of the world’s top luxury brands have an SUV (or two) already in showrooms, or at least nearing production. To go after the declining share of luxury car sales seems like folly, yet Land Rover is clearly eager to expand its presence and its lineup. But a Mercedes S-Class fighter? Even an all-wheel-drive estate car carrying the green oval seems like a radical departure.
There’s plenty of skepticism over the Road Rover idea. Land Rover hasn’t officially confirmed the report, nor denied it. One Automotive News journalist expects any such car to appear with a Range Rover badge, never mind this Road Rover business. (Certainly, the name doesn’t smoothly roll off the tongue.)
Supposing the report is true, is Land Rover’s plan a smart one, or something destined to water down the brand? Is a Land Rover car something buyers truly want to take home? Sound off in the comments.
[Image: ©2017 Murilee Martin/The Truth About Cars]
More by Steph Willems
Comments
Join the conversation
This is a great idea for JLR. Take an XJ bolt on a crossover body shell and Velar interior then sell said car for lots of money whilst cutting costs on the XJ and delivering economies of scale. Land Rover are not trying to build another runaway hit, but a profitable car that benefits the wider group. They should call it a Rover after all a Land Rover is a Rover really. The 75 was a great car ruined by retro looks.
@87 morgan. I'll have to respectfully disagree. Price points don't dictate competitive segments at the upper end of the market like they do at the low end of the market. Lotus 400 for example is a good price match for a Corvette, but competes for buyers with exotics. The brand image of something such as Land Rover is not at all in line with the brand image of Jaguar. Is a road rover going to be a sports car? hell no. it will be a luxury barge. No one who cares about driving performance will buy a Road Rover. It'll be more in line with Bentley and RR, not in price points, but in vehicle type. It'll probably more directly compete with Mercedes. Jaguar on the other hand goes for the sport luxury market very clearly. Driving dynamics and performance are on the forefront of their market offerings. That works out well for the two of them in my opinion. Lets look at the opposite example- the F-Pace. I don't think that stole much if any business from Land Rover- instead it was targeted at products such as the Cayenne. Yes its an SUV, but its a different type of buyer.