Four-page letter to Land Rover’s UK headquarters, typed on a Mac from Pomona College P.O. Box, 1989.
I own a 1970 Land Rover IIa, which I bought two months ago. It was barely running, in poor overall condition, and not registered. In the last two months I have registered the car, rebuilt the transmission, rebuilt the cylinder head, and generally cleaned the car up. I intend to restore it to mint condition, if possible.
I am impressed with the construction of the vehicle — compared to the 1976 Jeep CJ I used to own, the Land Rover is sturdier and easier to work on.
I also wanted to discuss your marketing efforts in the United States. A bit about my experience with four-wheel drive vehicles: I owned a 1976 Jeep CJ-5, and renovated it from the ground up. I also grew up with off-road vehicles; my father has owned a 1979 Chevy Luv, a 1984 Jeep Cherokee, an International Harvester Scout II, and a Toyota Land Cruiser. From my experience, I would still choose a Land Rover over any of the above.
A number of design notes: DON’T put automatic locking hubs in the Land Rover. Automatic hubs are not to be trusted. I was driving my father’s Jeep Cherokee on the beach in Mexico, and the automatic hubs unlocked without warning — yet the indicator light on the instrument panel showed that they were locked. Luckily, I had my Jeep CJ to pull the car up just before the tide washed it away.
You should offer a Land Rover 90 and a Range Rover equipped like the ones used in the Camel Trophy, for sale in the States. Equipment should include racks, paint, tires, gas tanks — the vehicle should look like the ones used in the rally.
And speaking of the Camel Trophy, I had a few notes. You should advertise it widely in the U.S. PUBLICIZE! The Camel Trophy, as I’m sure you realize, is a phenomenal marketing opportunity. I also wanted to know how I could get information about participating.
(I hope that you don’t mind that this letter is long and disorganized. I have lots of varied ideas.)
Land Rover Ltd replied from Solihull six weeks later. They thanked me for the feedback, noted the LR90 had no plans for US import due to emissions and safety regulations, and enclosed a Camel Trophy brochure. On the back of their letter I jotted phone numbers: Mike Newton, Amy, Jaime, Ken. The reverse side of a Royal Warrant letterhead — not the worst notepad I’ve ever used.