I am an SUV lover...but particularly the Range Rover (I'd even settle for the Range Rover Sport). Anyone else love this car as much as I do? Or feel this way about another SUV? There are so many people who are anti-SUVs I would love to meet some enthusiasts (so I don't feel so alone - hehe)

I know a guy who thinks that the very ground Land Rovers sit upon is sacred. He's on something like his ninth - which should be a clue about something, since he's only in his early fifties, and I'm older'n him and still on my second Toyota pickup.

Though they clearly have a high romance quotient because of all those appearances in "Road..." movies and Bogart flicks, the Land Rover brand is not as highly regarded among auto enthusiasts as it was a generation ago. In this country, they're often regarded as a symbol of "TMMTLS" - too much money, too little sense. They're derided as boxy and asymmetric for their very tall cabs, and though of as "bus-like" in their handling. The past thirty years or so have also suggested that the brand suffers from relatively low build quality and has persistent reliability problems. Case in point - note that most of the vehicles you see being driven by Somalian warlords and relief organizations are Toyotas or Nissans these days. Offroad enthusiasts are far more likely to go with Jeeps (go figure - the whole reliability thing again) and those who buy an SUV for on-road driving are more likely to drive a more reliable and less expensive domestic such as the Ford Expedition or the Chevy Tahoe or an import like a Toyota Highlander.

With Rover's recent acquisition by Ford (from BMW) perhaps there is some good news on the horizon for fans of the brand. After all, no one other than diehard Chevy fans has ever denied that Ford knows how to build trucks (the Ranger excluded, IMO). I would not, however, hold my breath while waiting.

Just my 24.73 Somali Shillings (interbank exchange rate of 4/27/07).

-30-

rex