Also, the D7x should have been the name for the improved/advanced version of IBF. And the IBF, an LR' own patented tech which is currently sitting on their shelf collecting dust, should have been thee platform for the new Defender, with the proper marketing talking about its merits and advantages.
With it LR here had a clear opportunity to earn the credit and reputation for introducing the world to a third and brand new chassis/platform category/classification. The brand could have named it cleverly, something like LRF (Land Rover Frame) or LRC (Land Rover Chassis), etc. And that would have become the new industry standard for a world class modern 4x4 striving to be equally at home both on and off road.
Just like the TR, competitors would have then be forced to adopt this new class of chassis, and then you could have had the reviewers/pundits describing the platform of a new LC or Jeep' top tier modern 4x4 off roader, etc by mentioning that "its based on an LRF platform...." etc.
LRF (or another clever name) could have easily become the third type of platform classification in the existing list of platforms that currently include the two, the Body on frame and the Monocoque/Unibody.
Thats how you innovate and become the industry standard, and not by catering to fads and following the trends just to be able to sell like a cheap salesman.
If I were at the helm, I'd have advertised/marketed the hell out of TR and IBF cuz I would have known that my brand has introduced this tech to the world so lets keep owning it by letting the buyers/market know that no matter what mercedes, audi, or the Lexus/toyota does, it will never be the proprietary TR tech and that it will never supersede/surpass LR' TR.
And there would have been many ways to do that.
"Introducing the new LR4/Defender, with the world' most advanced TR4 technology and the world' most advanced and sophisticated, class creating chassis architecture, the LRF, offering uncompromising standards and levels of cabin safety, a unique driving experience, isolated cabin comfort, and peace of mind for your precious cargo."
"And no matter where the journey takes you, whats the weather like, and however long it takes to get there, with our TR4 and LRF technologies, you and your friends/family will arrive at the destination hoping for the journey to begin again."
Then you'd introduce/market the successive versions (TR2, 3, 4, etc), which I think they have just started doing as I saw one LR TV ad recently, mentioning the TR only after sixteen years of its introduction. A bit too late, LR, but its never too late
Get to know your own technologies first, LR brass.
Maybe the prod specialist who I had an hour+ long sit down discussion with inside the booth at the LA auto show a couple of years ago really took those notes that he was jotting down during the meeting to their beancounters. Told him that the acronym TR should have really become synonymous by now with the word "Safety" for the potential/existing customer, specially for your beloved soccer mom crowd, with the sales personnel at the dealerships properly trained about it and how to educate and convince the buyer.
Again, the key thing here is that as in charge of the ship, when you believe in your own product, actually are passionate about it and therefore have a clear and better understanding of how is it that what you have is far superior than the rest, then you actually put a serious effort in not only introducing it to the potential customer but also in educating them about it thru your ad campaigns.
You work with your commissioned ad agency by first telling them about what you got, so the clever minds at the ad agency can come up with ways to introduce/educate the market. But if the CEO themself does not have a clue with an IBF is, not the best ad agency on the planet could be of any good here. Thats what has been the case with LR3/4 ad campaigns.
Have you even seen the Apple videos whenever they introduce a new version of their iPhone or a new Mac Pro or laptop? You can just tell by watching their videos that passion about what they do thrives at that brand.
I'd have kept at least one product in the lineup free and far away both from the fads/trends and specially from my beancounters. Those products would have solely been for my engineers to have fun with, with their re-ignited innovative imaginations, and for my lead designers to introduce back the lost grace and class into this LR product.
As for the rest of the four or five products in the lineup, I'd have let my beancounters loose on them, that go ahead, have a field day with these and do whatever the hell you wanna do with these four products to make LR money. Add the 30 inch rims to these if you'd like, make the platform out of the tincans if you'd like to make em lighter for the happiness and well being of the review pundits, bring the belt line up to two inches of the roofline if you' like to make em look "fast" for your recently traditional $500k median target market. Go ahead, make these four CUVs look like a boat at the rear end if you'd like with their tapering at rear rooflines and bowing sides. As long as the end result is money coming in, go ahead mess around and experiment all you want to satisfy the hungry short lived trends, fads, and soccer moms' needs, however short lived they maybe.
Go ahead and design built-in obsolescence in the visual design itself and in the parts for that millionaire market of yours wanting to switch vehicles every two years and the dealerships' service depts, but do not enter the design and engineering departments when the sign is up that says:
"Innovation in progress. No beancounters allowed, please."
I'd not let these bean counters go near the engineering/design team when they would be working on that one brand' reputation related, LR3/4 type, true LR' James Bond DNA product. And this is where the real innovation would take birth, as it did with LR3. And the innovation born here would then trickle down to the rest of the lineup, either in its pure form or in the stripped down and diluted versions with the fancy names for business opportunities.
But again, you need someone in charge who actually understands what they have got at hand, have the slightest level of interest in their own product, and actually lives at least part of the lifestyle that they are trying to offer to you as a customer. Or else, you and I will keep seeing the convex style, shiny, glossy, glowy and glittery 22 inch rims with 1 inch of sidewalls and we will keep struggling and scrambling for aftermarket solutions in an effort to simply be able to take these LR products "Above & Beyond" as advertised, promised, and what we actually purchased them for.
