off road

Land Rover Experience Driving School Montebello is open for serious driving business

Land Rover Experience Driving School Montebello is open for serious driving business

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Land Rover Canada press release

MONTEBELLO, QC, May 20 /CNW/ – Land Rover, the world’s four-wheel-drive authority, re-opens after a winter hibernation, its driving school, located in Montebello, Quebec at Fairmont Le Château Montebello.

Land Rover is more than a manufacturer of the most capable luxury vehicles in the world. The legendary Land Rover brand is a lightning rod for off-road enthusiasm, a purveyor of adventure travel and the source of an exciting lifestyle that reaches customers via a variety of unique and interesting avenues, such as Land Rover Experience Driving Schools.

Along with Montebello Canada, three other Land Rover driving schools operate in North America: Equinox Resort in Manchester Village, Vermont, Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, and the Quail Lodge Resort and Golf Club in Carmel Valley, California. The schools are North America’s only manufacturer supported off-road driving academies. The “Land Rover Experience Driving School” at Fairmont Le Château Montebello, was established in partnership with the luxury resort, and offers owners and prospective owners the chance to drive each of Land Rover’s products on every kind of off-road terrain in its sister property, Fairmont Kenauk.

Fairmont Kenauk is a unique part of Canada’s woodlands perched on the southern edge of the Canadian Shield, and offers exciting challenges with obstacles and trails for all levels of off-road driving ability. The variety of natural terrain provides trails with spectacular views and challenging rocky climbs, a place to discover Land Rover’s capabilities. The many obstacles include side angles over thirty degrees, a rocky stair climb, a sand pit with a permanent wet zone, as well as a “V” gully conducive to demonstrating articulating suspension.

Guided by professional instructors, individual or group courses range from a one-hour session to half-day and full-day programs. While introductory courses familiarize participants with off-road basics, the adventures cover all the necessary skills to drive an off-road vehicle, such as observation, planning, maneuvering and tackling every obstacle under the sun. A number of national corporations have chosen our Land Rover driving school as a day for unique, fun and out-of-the-ordinary management and employee teambuilding.

Land Rover Experience Driving Schools emphasize the environmentally friendly tenets of Tread Lightly!, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to safe, environmentally responsible use of off-road vehicles. Land Rover works closely with local authorities, government agencies and environmental groups, to ensure any impact on the local environment, geography, flora and fauna is kept to a minimum. As a founding member of the Tread Lightly! Program, Land Rover encourages the safe and responsible use of four-wheel-drive vehicles – on public and private land. Land Rover continues to help ensure the preservation of our off-road environment for today’s users and future generations as well. For more information, please visit www.treadlightly.org

“The Land Rover Experience will not only offer customers the opportunity to learn how to get the most out of their Land Rover and inspire even more confidence in it,” said Gary Moyer, president, Jaguar Land Rover Canada. “But it will also give them the opportunity to experience one of the world’s most beautiful hotel locations.”

Participants can complete their Land Rover Experience with a stay at Fairmont Le Château Montebello, the world’s largest log hotel and the centerpiece of a majestic 17th-century seigniory midway between Ottawa and Montreal. The legendary red cedar castle sits in the heart of the Laurentian countryside, evoking a unique rustic charm at every turn. The resort has played host to everyone from heads of state and Hollywood stars to less famous visitors simply looking for a quiet getaway with a spectacular view. Visit www.chateaumontebello.com for more information.

Information about the Land Rover Experience Driving School is available at www.landrover.ca. Also, for more information on Land Rover and for video footage of the driving school, please visit www.interactivelandrover.com.

Since 1948 Land Rover has been manufacturing authentic 4x4s that represent true ‘breadth of capability’ across the model range. Defender, LR2 (Freelander 2), LR4 (Discovery 4), Range Rover Sport and Range Rover each define the world’s 4×4 sectors, with 78% of this model range exported to over 140 countries. Land Rover employs 8,500 people and supports a further 40,000 jobs supported in the supply chain.

Land Rover takes its responsibility to the environment seriously. Emissions have been cut with all new models and, together with Jaguar, it is investing (pnds stlg)800m on technology specifically aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Also, since September 2006, carbon dioxide generated by Land Rover manufacturing activities and UK customer vehicle use has been balanced through an industry leading offset program run by Climate Care.

2010 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon: Double duty family fun

2010 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon: Double duty family fun

Gary Grant ⋅ New car reviews ⋅ , , , , , , , ⋅ No comments

The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon is so true to its roots, that I have to spend time in one every chance I get. We all have those things in life that we love so much that we just can’t get enough of, despite their failings. In some consumer’s eyes, a vehicle like the Rubicon has lots of flaws. We’ll just let those folks continue to drive their beige hybrid while we get on with enjoying life.

If I said I loved everything about the WU, I would be telling a minor untruth. The reality is that the fuel economy is a bit rough with gas prices being what they are these days. That said, we acheived 14.8 l/100km in our week with the Rubi and that included an afternoon in low range. Not too bad, all things considered.

The only other thing I had issues with is that it is the only manual transmission vehicle that I have stalled almost every time I’ve driven one. This time, I figured out why. The Rubicon has a feature called Hill Start Assist, which applies the brakes when the truck is stopped on a hill and the clutch is released. This is to prevent one from rolling backwards on a hill. A neat feature, but in this case a bit too aggressive. I tend to use very little throttle when I leave a stop, which might explain the super long life I typically get from a clutch. That light touch however is not enough to trigger the HSA to release the brakes. As a result, the engine stalls. This time, the best one was when I stalled it in front of our daughter’s high school. Real smooth Dad. Fortunately, this feature can be disabled.

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Beyond that, I unapologetically love everything about the Jeep-est of the Jeeps. This is only my second video review and my editing skills still need more than a little polishing, so be gentle! Also, our first time with a new wireless microphone. It seems it was a bit more windy than I thought.

Land Rover features new Range Rover Sport Autobiography Limited Edition at Calgary Auto Show

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As a company with a long history of building off road vehicles, Land Rover takes off road capability very seriously even in their most upscale vehicles. When one looks at a Range Rover Sport though, one might be tempted to think they’ve lost the plot somewhat. One would be very, very wrong. I have driven a Supercharged Sport model off road and the truck’s capabilities are simply mind altering, even when shod with all season sport tires. The technology is so well developed that this big high performance family hauler climbs like a billy goat and crawls over rocks with ease. Simply incredible.

The Supercharged version of the RRS boasts a whopping 510 horsepower from its 5.0l V8, meaning that it is a pretty serious on road machine too. With a beginning price point of almost 90 grand, it is also a rather exclusive machine. In other words, it isn’t all that likely that anyone else at the kids’ hockey practice is going to roll up in one of these. For some folks though, just being exclusive isn’t enough.

For those buyers, Land Rover has created the Autobiography Limited Edition.

The Range Rover Sport Autobiography takes the already stunning RRS and adds a whole new level of opulence inside and out. Two tone leather, in three colour combinations to choose from comes with a special insignia embossed into the headrests. That logo is repeated in the wood door trim and on the tailgate. The kids are treated to a full entertainment system. Outside, colour matches lower body cladding and titanium trim built on the base Sport exterior while special 10 spoke, 20″ alloy wheels complete the look. Front and rear lamps have been changed to LED units that are sure to keep things bright.

The Sport aspect of this truck applies to more than just visual appeal though, as it is intended to excite the driver. Most of the changes here are technology based such as adaptive cruise control and seemingly magical suspension that reads road and driver inputs 500 times per second and adjusts itself to suit the driver’s style. With all that horsepower, the RRS reaches 100 kmh from a stop in just 6.1 seconds which is faster than many sports cars which is pretty impressive for a vehicle this big. Reining in all of that go can be tough for a heavy vehicle so Land Rover has also beefed up the brakes.

One thing is for certain: with this jewel in your driveway, you aren’t going to see another one in the neighborhood!

Land Rover press release with specs and pricing after the break.
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