2003 Land Rover Discovery Se Sport Utility 4-door 4.6l on 2040-cars

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Jaguar Land Rover moves closer to building Slovakia plant

Jaguar Land Rover has announced its intention to build a new assembly plant in Slovakia. Though it has yet to make the final decision, the British automaker has signed a Letter of Intent with the Slovakian government. Its next step is to launch a feasibility study before committing. If the company does go ahead with plans, it wouldn't be the first automaker – or even the first European luxury automaker for that matter – to start producing in Slovakia. Nor would it be the first Jaguar Land Rover plant outside the UK, either. The Volkswagen Group, PSA Peugeot Citroen, and Kia all manufacture in the Central European country. VW's Bratislava plant in particular handles production of the Touareg, Audi Q7, and Porsche Cayenne. In the past few years, JLR has expanded its production capacity to new locations outside of the UK. It has a new factory in China, one under construction in Brazil, and has been manufacturing in India – home country of its parent company Tata – since 2011. It recently announced a manufacturing contract with Magna Steyr in Austria, and is investing in its facilities back home as well. Though yet to be finalized, the prospect of manufacturing in Slovakia has proven more favorable to JLR than other locations in Europe or in the United States or Mexico – all possibilities that the company says it looked into. It has yet to reveal just what it would produce there, saying only that "the plant would manufacture a range of aluminium Jaguar Land Rover vehicles," that the plant would be earmarked to come online in 2018 and eventually ramp up production to 300,000 vehicles. The prevailing wisdom would seem to indicate, however, that the site is being considered for the next-generation Land Rover Defender. Related Video: JAGUAR LAND ROVER UNVEILS NEXT STAGE OF GLOBAL EXPANSION PLANS - Letter of Intent signed for potential new plant in the Slovak Republic - Indicates the next stage of the Company's expansion plans to support a competitive global business in the future - Jaguar Land Rover's global expansion underpins long-term investment in new vehicles and technologies in the UK Coventry, UK – Jaguar Land Rover has signed a Letter of Intent with the Government of the Slovak Republic for the potential development of a new manufacturing plant in the city of Nitra in western Slovakia. With its established premium automotive industry, Slovakia is an attractive possible development opportunity.

Weekly Recap: Ford GT inspires guitar, foosball table, sailboat

Ford design vice president Moray Callum had just wrapped up a briefing on the interior of the Ford GT last month, but something seemed out of place. He grinned and pointed behind him, "You might be wondering why I have a boat behind me," he said mischievously. It was there because Ford set its designers on a mission to stretch and showcase their talents: design non-automotive objects inspired by the interior of the GT supercar. Callum received quite a response, too. His team produced a guitar, a foosball table (yeah bro!), a racing sailboat, a Wi-Fi speaker and some furniture. As the veteran design chief explained, "It's a really great exercise both to highlight our designers' talents, but also to really see how our design philosophy can work and how you can use it and get a common response back from a worldwide design team." Guitar View 25 Photos The objects have been on display this week at the Salone del Mobile furniture and fashion design fair in Milan, Italy, where Ford has had a presence for three years. There's also a light exhibition that apparently was inspired by the GT, as well. While this might seem a little far-fetched for the automaker, Ford said exhibitions like the Salone del Mobile give its designers another way to be creative and ultimately produce striking interior style. Ford wants this to be a differentiator, as research shows consumers are placing emphasis on the layout and features inside when they're making a decision about buying a new car. It's a little light hearted – but it's also potentially big business. Other News & Notes Cadillac CT6 platform could be used for Buick General Motors product chief Mark Reuss said the Cadillac CT6 platform could be used for a large Buick, though "not yet," Automotive News reported. The underpinnings can accommodate rear-wheel or all-wheel drive and would give Buick the large flagship it lacks. The report jibes with comments Reuss made at a roundtable with Autoblog and other reporters at the New York Auto Show. When asked if Buick had space for a large car on the CT6 chassis, he replied, "Yeah, I think it does. Yeah, I think we do." Buick has revamped its lineup in recent years with attractive crossovers and small and midsize sedans, but hasn't added the proverbial flagship that's yearned for by enthusiasts. Buick surprised industry observers with the stylish Avenir concept at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year that raised the possibility of a halo sedan.

Jaguar to offer high-performance SVR models like Land Rover?

At the Goodwood Festival of Speed this past weekend, Land Rover previewed its upcoming performance version of the Range Rover Sport. Only instead of wearing the R-S badge that adorns the most hardcore of Jaguar models, the performance SUV from JLR's Special Operations unit introduced the letters SVR. And now, it seems that badge is here to stay.
Following the Range Rover Sport SVR, a new report from Motor Authority now says that Jaguar Land Rover will use those letters to distinguish the top-of-the-line performance models from both marques moving forward. As such, we might expect SVR models of the upcoming Jaguar XE compact sedan and Land Rover Discovery Sport, as well as potential new performance models based on the new F-Type and next-generation XF.
If accurate, the move would seem to separate Jaguar in particular from the R-S badge that has adorned performance models like the XFR-S and XKR-S. Both Audi and Porsche use the letters RS to distinguish its most hardcore models as well (e.g. Audi RS7 Sportback and Porsche 911 GT3 RS). Whether the similarity was a factor in shifting to the SVR moniker, we don't know, but either way, we welcome the arrival of a new generation of Jaguar and Land Rover performance models - especially if they pack the 575-horsepower version of the company's ubiquitous 5.0-liter supercharged V8. Not incidentally, that delicious powerplant gained a couple of new engine bays to call home at Goodwood as well - it's not just found in the forthcoming Range Rover Sport SVR, it's found a home in the F-Type Project 7, too.