Land Rover Monthly July 2020

IT has been another interesting month of ‘what can I do to my Land Rover today’? Oil change. Tick. Clean the engine bay. Tick. Get it ready for the summer camping trips. Tick. Clean camping gear. Tick. Order new wheels. Tick. Oh, and a set of front mud flaps. Tick. Seriously, when is someone going to invent mud flaps that don’t tear? Post pictures and videos of doing all of this on social media. Tick. Oversee another issue of Land Rover Monthly. Tick. All just another day in the life of a Land Rover magazine editor, I guess. All small fry when one considers what is going on around us. We have seen many incredible acts of kindness since this pandemic literally stopped us in our tracks. However, some have…

JAGUAR Land Rover UK is expanding its online and remote retail capabilities to offer customers more flexibility in a bid to kick-start the dormant market during the coronavirus lockdown. After a year-long digital car-buying trial, with just five per cent of customers, it is now being made available to all prospective buyers. With traditional showroom sales out of the question, it is a route that many car makers are having to take and could accelerate a huge change in the way all cars are bought and sold in future. Data gleaned from the initial trial period revealed that 3.3 million people took part in the online sales journey and the very first vehicle ordered was a £119,000 Range Rover. Interestingly a higher proportion of buyers were female, compared with traditional…

WARNERS Group Publications – the publisher of this very fine magazine in case you didn’t know (as well as other leading outdoor leisure titles) – has launched a new online store that houses all of these publications, as well as the other niche titles in its portfolio. Buy.warnersgroup.co.uk provides a wealth of information on each magazine and its contents so that you can easily discover the magazines that are most suited to your interests, and they’re placed in categories making it simple to navigate. There are also live web links that take you through to the magazine’s individual websites, where you can get more information. Additionally, there are quick web links for you to get the best deals on subscriptions to both the print and digital offers and a free…

NICHOLAS Wilks, son of Rover’s Managing Director Spencer Wilks, who died in April, was part of the family whose legacy of innovation and willingness to go Above and Beyond, continues to guide the brand. Nick worked for the Rover Company early in his career, and much later in life became involved with the company again as JLR reconnected with the history and heritage of Land Rover. Nick was a regular participant at JLR media events such as the 65th anniversary press drive at Packington Park and the 70th anniversary World Land Rover Day event at Solihull and Ryton in 2018. Nick was also one of the small groups of people that helped assemble the 2,000,000th Defender in 2015. LRM sends its sincere condolences to the Wilks family at this sad…

SADLY, due to COVID-19, the Billing Off Road Show 2020 will not be going ahead this year. With the safety of visitors paramount to the organisers it would be irresponsible to hold the show this summer and therefore the new dates to put in your diary are now June 26-27, 2021. All online bookings will be automatically transferred to 2021. However, if you would prefer to be refunded, email info@thebillingoffroadexperience.co.uk with your order number, name and address and you will be refunded, minus the nominal transaction fee. Please be patient as refunds may take a couple of weeks. Traders and clubs will be contacted individually. There is some good news – you may not have to wait a year for your fix – with the Billing Off Road Show team…

WEST Midlands 4x4 Response, a voluntary organisation that was initially set up to ensure critical medical staff get to their place of work in adverse weather conditions, has somewhat diversified over the past six months or so. Although their original remit is still in place, the group has been asked to help communities in a number of other ways, from assisting the army and emergency services with road closures, welfare checks and supplying logistics during the Whaley Bridge incident, to being called in by the police to help during flooding caused by Storm Ciara and Dennis (working with search and rescue to move evacuees to safety). More recently they have been providing essential logistic support for West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS), by affording 12 volunteers seven days a week to…