Despite the trend for 4×4 vehicles to move more towards city-based and more economical cars, Land Rover have stated that they have no intention of compromising the 4×4 performance of their cars in line with more recent moves for vehicles to become more eco-friendly. Instead, Land Rover is working hard to integrate environmentally-friendly technology with their vehicles, without removing any of the 4×4 performance customers come to expect.

Brand manager Andy Goy comments, “Our customers value authenticity. It’s like a diver’s watch; not many people will dive to a couple of hundred metres under the surface, but they like to know the watch can do it.”

While he recognises that most owner will take one off-roading course and then use their rover for towing trailers and driving around town, he sees the market as based around people that want quality and robust vehicles.

This article was taken from the official Landrover site news section.

A team of three Cambridge graduates has today received a Land Rover Defender 110 and a cheque for £10,000, at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) in London, to embark on an expedition of approximately 32,000km, through 31 countries, to raise awareness of the potential impacts of climate change along the Atlantic coastline.

‘Atlantic Rising’, winners of the 2009 ‘Go Beyond’ Bursary, which was awarded by the RGS-IBG and Land Rover earlier this year, will navigate land around the Atlantic Ocean by attempting to follow the 1m contour line which scientists forecast could become the new coastline in 100 years.

Tim Bromfield, Lynn Morris, and Will Lorimer, will follow the 1m contour line around the Atlantic as closely as possible, visiting schools and creating an educational network with up to 10,000 students along the route. They will report from some of the remotest coastal regions of the Atlantic Ocean and establish a sea-level change education project that can be used in 1,200 schools throughout the world via the Rafi.ki online schools network.

Tim Bromfield from Atlantic Rising said, “Education is the most powerful weapon we have to combat climate change. By encouraging students around the Atlantic to work together, we want to highlight our shared responsibility in dealing with this critical issue. By encouraging international friendships, we hope to make people care enough to act.”

Dr Rita Gardner, Director of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), said, “This project, made possible through our partnership with Land Rover, focuses on one of the most challenging issues we face – the potential impacts of climate change in coastal regions. As recipients of the Bursary, Atlantic Rising have been granted the opportunity to ‘go beyond’ their normal limits and boundaries and at the same time support one of the Society’s objectives which is to promote the wider understanding and enjoyment of geography.”

This is the second ‘Go Beyond’ Bursary run by RGS-IBG on behalf of Land Rover, whose partnership with the Society has existed for more than 20 years.

Land Rover holds sustainability at the core of its business activity, including sponsoring conservation partners such as RGS-IBG. Together with sister company, Jaguar, Land Rover is investing £800m in sustainable technology which includes the development of hybrid technology and the use of lightweight material. As part of Land Rover’s commitment to sustainability, the manufacturing and mileage of the 110 Defender vehicle are being carbon offset through ClimateCare who run Land Rover’s CO2 Offset Programme in the UK , France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Austria and other international markets.

To keep up to date with the Atlantic Rising team please visit their website http://atlanticrising.wordpress.com. For more information about the Go Beyond bursary please log on to www.rgs.org and for more details concerning Land Rover’s sustainability programme please visit www.landrover.com/ourplanet.

You can view the original news article here.

With their new start/stop technology, Range Rover is hoping to win over the 4×4 market in these days of increased environmental awareness and financial economy. To combat the fuel-consumption of the vehicles, their new technology aims to conserve fuel when the vehicle stops at lights by automatically shutting off the engine when the vehicle is put into neutral. When the clutch is pressed again the engine starts and you can resume your journey.

Additional technology ensures this doesn’t interfere with driving, by disabling the feature if the battery is low, if there is a big demand on climate control or if the special ‘terrain response mode’ is activated. It also disabled the feature if the temperature is above or below certain levels.

This new start/stop technology delivers a decrease in CO2 emissions of 8%, and improved fuel consumption. Simple, yet highly effective. Vehicles such as the new model Freelander have a host of other eco-friendly features that are sure to raise the bar for other 4×4 manufacturers.