Are Range Rover's still produced, weren't they part of Rover?

Question

I'm assuming that Range Rover was sold to another company, but why and when? Are Range Rover's American now?

What about Land Rovers?

Answer 1

The Range Rover is still being built by Land Rover, at Solihull on the edge of Birmingham.

Land Rover is owned by Ford (an American company) but still builds its vehicles mostly in the UK (there is some assembly in developing markets of kits, mostly of Defender, provided by the Solihull plant, which has been going on since the 50s).

The Solihull plant builds the Defender (the classic Land Rover), the Discover, the Range Rover and the Range Rover Sport. The new Freelander is build in Halewood, near Liverpool, in a plant shared with Jaguar (also owned by Ford).

Land Rover was part of the Rover Group, until BMW sold the Group in 2000. BMW split up the Rover Group:
The MG brand and the rights to the Rover cars were sold for £10 to the Phoenix corporation, who renamed the company MG Rover. BMW retained ownership of the Rover brand, but licenced its use to MG Rover.
The Mini brand, the new Mini product, the Cowley factory and the Swindon stamping facilities were retained by BMW.
The Land Rover brand and products, the Solihull plant and the Gaydon development facility were sold to Ford for £1.8billion.

The licence granted by BMW to MG Rover for the use of the Rover brand prevented its use on 4-wheel-drive vehicles so as to avoid confusion with Land Rover, and gave Ford first refusal to buy the brand should BMW ever put the brand up for sale. A few months ago Shanghai Automotive Industries Corp. (SAIC) approached BMW wishing to by the Rover brand for its new model based on the Rover 75. Ford exercised its right to buy the brand rather than let another company use it (due to its connection with Land Rover), so Ford now owns, but has no intention to ever use, the Rover brand. SAIC's new car is now called the Roewe 750.

Answer 2

Range rover and Land rover are still produced and belong the Ford

Answer 3

Originally part of what was British Layland which was privatised in the Mid 80's then sold off to Ford in the early 90's just before Rover was sold to BMW.

Answer 4

By 1984 the image of Range Rover had changed considerably. The vehicle had become the established limousine of Royalty and the vast US market beckoned. The model had already come a long way since the original design brief of a farmer’s utility vehicle with a little more comfort than the leaf sprung alternatives of the day. Trim levels improved considerably and leather seats meant that the furthest many vehicles went off-road was putting two wheels up on the pavement. I remember the vehicle being referred to as the ‘Chelsea Tractor’ and being popular with the ‘Sloane Rangers’ of the time. Am I showing my age?

But true style never goes out of fashion and it is now possible to own a top of the range Vogue SE for less than £6000. For the money, you still get a luxury vehicle complete with air conditioning and that commanding driving position. The driver and front seat passenger get adjustable electric seats with very natty controls but, although the back is fine for two, it is not so comfortable for three over a long distance.

Powered by the Rover V8, 3.5 carb, 3.5 Efi; and later the 3.9 Efi, performance of the Range Rover Classic is very good for such a heavy vehicle. An incredibly smooth vehicle to drive, it is a vehicle that’s all too easy to fall in love with. The downside is fuel consumption, typically 22mpg at best for the Efi and down to 12mph for the carb, hence the modest prices seen today for the model. But the Rover V8 is a reliable engine and, with regular service and maintenance, a very long life can be expected. Independent Land Rover specialists, such as Mansfield Motors, can offer a 6000 mile service for around £100.

LPG looks like it could be the saving grace for many vehicles, the disadvantage is the large tank in the back, but performance is not really affected. The VM, and latterly the Tdi, were the only factory diesels. The VM never had a good reputation so the Tdi is the one to go for. There was quite an industry offering diesel conversions at one time, Turbo 4x4 of Reading or Buryas Bridge of Cornwall, are names to look out for, signifying reputable conversions.

Typically, all model years suffer from the same problems, which should be checked before buying. Remove the carpet and tread plate to examine the sills, floor and footwells. These areas will readily rot, and although replacement panels are available, this will be a costly and time consuming job if you have to pay someone to do it for you. Check the rear wheel arches from the inside for corrosion as the rear seat belts anchor to them. As with any Land Rover, check the chassis, especially the rear cross member. Body panels are aluminium except the heavy bonnet and tailgate. This is particularly prone. Both are replaceable and an aluminium upper tailgate is available, but will not be as robust.

Just because body panels are aluminium this does not make them immune from corrosion. The front wings are vulnerable where the steel bolts and washers fix them at the top. The inner wing is a complex piece in steel and will rust away. Stone chips to the bottom of the doors will remove the paint and invite corrosion.

The large glass area gives excellent visibility and a more spacious feel than a Discovery, although they are very similar in many ways. In the earlier models the vast transmission tunnel makes the passenger seem a very long way away but later models have neat consoles and arm rests to fill the gap. Cruise control and ABS make for a very comfortable and safe long distance highway tourer.

Off-road, an automatic with traction control, is an extremely capable vehicle and will allow you to go virtually anywhere, even on standard tyres. You will only be limited if you want to save the panels; a Range Rover never looks good with dents whereas dents always add character to a Land Rover. The disadvantage is the long rear over hang and you will probably have to remove the front valance before things get too serious.

Amazingly, the two door was still produced up until the end, mainly for the French market, but the last flagship model produced was the LSE. With a stretched chassis, to give more leg room for back seat passengers, the vehicle had air suspension all round and effectively had the same chassis as New Range Rover. I remember delivering a new, and particularly gorgeous example, with a friend of mine who worked for a Land Rover dealership in Boston, USA. I don’t know if the customer thought that it was all part of the service to have his brand new Range Rover delivered by an Englishman..

Answer 5

Range rovers are made by a companey called Land rover i belive they are nothing to do with rover