RideLust

The Range Rover Evoque was designed to open doors for Jaguar Land Rover, and to attract new customers to the somewhat stodgy brand. For many American buyers, a Range Rover was nothing more than a way of telling the neighbors you made more money than them (and didn’t worry about details like depreciation or reliability). That may work in the suburbs, but it didn’t play well with young, urban hipsters, who Jaguar Land Rover desperately wants as customers. Read More…

The 2012 Range Rover Evoque. Image: Jaguar Land Rover

While still capable off-road to some degree, the Range Rover Evoque is primarily a “lifestyle vehicle,” targeted to urban hipsters who want to be seen driving the trendiest new vehicles. As such, more effort went into designing a cool-but-functional interior than picking the perfect engines, although the turbodiesel and turbocharged gas engines used in the Evoque will be perfectly suitable to most drivers. Read More…

Not long ago we brought you the story of the Chinese businessman that was so dissatisfied with the service he received from Lamborghini of China that he actually destroyed his own car on China’s National Consumer Day to prove a point. The pictures and video of his poor battered bull were heartbreaking, but as it turns out, the man got his point across in spades. Now it seems that because of this little stunt another dissatisfied customer, this time in a Range Rover, is also thinking outside the box while trying to make his point. Autoblog.com is reporting that a Shenyang, China resident is fed up with the fact that his $304,000 (not a misprint) SUV has broken down 6 times in the last year, and on the 7th time, it needed a new engine. As opposed to unleashing an angry mob on the mechanically stricken machine, the owner simply tied a few donkeys to it and had them tow it to the dealership to make a point. Apparently the dealer was not amused and refused to offer any type of compensation.

We’ve already told you all there is to know about the Range Rover Evoque (here and here), which won’t be on the streets for another ten months or so. That didn’t stop Range Rover from creating the above video, which appears to show a virtual Evoque being virtually driven through virtual streets, by ghosts. You do get a good sense of what the Evoque looks like on the road, and you also get a decent look at the Evoque’s well appointed interior and panoramic roof.

Read More…

The 2011 Range Rover Evoque may be the best looking SUV (or crossover, depending upon your perspective) in the history of mankind. Will you be able to ford jungle streams and climb straight up the side of a volcano in one, like you could in a Land Rover Defender or a classic Range Rover? No, probably not, unless the stream is only a few inches deep and the volcano has a gravel road to the caldera. That certainly won’t hurt Evoque sales, since the urban-hip SUV is aimed at a buyer more concerned with image than with capabilities.

Read More…

Back in the early 1980′s there was no such thing as an SUV. There were merely cars, station wagons and trucks that had four-wheel drive. Up here in the Northeast those who knew well enough to buy a four-wheel drive vehicle would simply laugh as the rest of us lay stuck on the side of the road. It actually wasn’t until the mid-1980′s with the release of the compact Jeep Grand Cherokee that consumers actually got bit by the 4×4 bug. Once bitten however people seldom went back to their old ways and more importantly their old two-wheeled drive vehicles. Below is a listing of some 4×4′s (I mean SUV’s) from the 1980′s that can be credited with starting the whole SUV movement that we have today. Even though these babies weren’t overly complex, they did have the ability to get us through the snow and to work on time and they did it without all the electronic gizmos that we have today.
Read More…

Another week, another series of “leaked” product introductions ahead of next week’s Paris Auto Show. This time it’s Range Rover, showing off the Evoque, which makes its official debut at the Paris event. Range Rover has ambitious plans for the Evoque, as the company hopes it will bring in an entirely new demographic of buyer. In keeping with current trends in both the E.U. and the U.S., Range Rover will seek to maximize interior content and luxury, while maintaining Range Rover’s legendary all weather capability. The Evoque is also smaller than existing Range Rover models, which the company hopes will broaden its appeal in urban environments.

Read More…

A white Maybach 57S with 'King of Ohio' plates - I wonder who that could be.

Lebron James has some tough choices ahead of him. The NBA free agent is the darling of the league, and finds himself in the enviable position of being able to play for any team that can afford him. The most current rumors have him headed to Miami, which is just about ground zero for obscenely rich car guys. Even James’ custom Maybach 57 will be just another car on the streets of South Beach. Of course he could fool us all and sign with New York, where even his F430 would blend in with the crowd.

Read More…

The LRX is dead, long live the LRX! Just don’t call it that; instead, it’s now called the Range Rover Evoque, and the picture you see was released today in advance of its official debut at the Paris Auto Show this October.

Land Rover isn’t telling us much about the baby of the family, but it’s expected to go on sale in Summer 2011, with some kind of powertrain at some kind of price point. I wish I could fill in the details, but you’ll have to check back for additional information,

Why Evoque? Inside Line quotes Land Rover’s managing director, Phil Popham as saying, “(the name) implies exclusivity and arouses emotions. Evoque is cosmopolitan and cross-continental, sophisticated and matches the car’s urban elegance”. Which explains why they didn’t go with my suggestion of “The Tata A Cup”

Photo: B. Cortis

Have you achieved nirvana this week? Probably not, and it’s only Tuesday. Since the rest of the week is going to be a grind, kick back and enjoy a few more automotive haikus. They won’t get you any closer to nirvana (or Friday, for that matter), but they may make you chuckle. Do you have a better offer for a Tuesday?

Lexus Cars

Sure, they are well built
But handle like river boats
Japanese Buick

Read More…