Most people buy a car as a way to get from point A to point B, but that's not the case with Land Rover owners. Connoisseurs of this unique automobile make the purchase to get from place to place, but through every kind of terrain along the way.
The Chicago Land Rover Club, which includes members from Chicago to Milwaukee and everywhere in between, brings owners together who aren't afraid to get mud on their trucks or explore places that other vehicles are unable to go. This July, they took their SUVs to Wisconsin's Nicolet National Forest.
The club traveled to the forest's pipeline area, a place where trails shoot off in all directions along the route of an underground natural gas pipeline. All of the land is public, and all of the trails are designated for use by off-highway vehicles.
Ron LeFevre is the club vice president and is in charge of off-road events and club outings. The club holds meetings once a month and off-road events regularly.
Ron says he bought his Land Rover Discovery because nothing else was quite right. "(My wife and I) were looking for an SUV that could carry six or more people and would be easy to get around town in," says LeFevre. "There were only a few that fit these requirements, and in the end, the Land Rover's legendary off-road performance was what sold us."
While there are many people who buy Land Rovers simply because they are big and able to cart their children all over suburbia, others purchase them based on heritage and off-road marksmanship.
John Edelmann is one such example. Edelmann, who lives in northern Illinois, attended the outing to experience Nicolet's rugged and rocky trails. He has owned his Defender 90 (90 stands for the length in inches between the front and back wheels) for about 18 months and someday hopes to tackle the wild terrain of Moab, Utah, the capitol of American off-roading.
Edelmann says he joined the club to share time with others who own similar cars and to share the experience of owning a highly capable, world-renowned truck. "Aside from seeing the Series truck on African safari, it had the respect, heritage and understanding that made me appreciate the passion, aura and mystique of the brand," he says.
Brian Kluge lives in Mequon and is a member of the Chicago Land Rover Club. There isn't enough interest and demand in Wisconsin to create a formal club yet, so he, like other local Land Rover owners, joined the Chicago club in 1998.
"I liked to tag along (with the Chicago club) and learn the tips and tricks of this vehicle from seasoned owners," says Kluge.
The trip to the Nicolet Forest included a caravan of Land Rovers venturing through the varied topography while trying to disturb as little of the land around them as possible.
"True off-road enthusiasts are not people in 400 horsepower Monster Trucks with tires that scar the earth like steam shovels," says Kluge. "They are people that respect the environment and use their vehicles as a compliment to their hiking boots, mountain bikes and kayaks to enjoy the great outdoors."
Kluge says he was afflicted with the "Land Rover virus" when he was young. "The Land Rover lust really hit me when I was doing the 'poor college student backpacking through Europe' thing ... I'd see Land Rovers in Europe that either had mud all over them and were beat to hell or that were absolutely pristine parked outside some of the finest restaurants. The vehicles have a dual life, and I like that," says Kluge.
So which is better -- the American Jeep or the British Land Rover? If you ask owners, the answers will be as varied as the terrain their trucks can handle. "The one thing that I think separates Land Rover from all the American SUVs is that the Land Rover community is truly global and the vehicle has a global following," says Kluge, who has spoken to other Land Rover owners as far away as Denmark and New Zealand.
{INSERT_RELATED}If you plan on buying a Land Rover, prepare to get your hands dirty. Says Kluge, "There's really an intangible quality to these vehicles, and I highly recommend that people not buy one if they are looking for a low-cost, trouble-free vehicle. These vehicles have a good deal of quirks but for those of us that are masochistic, there's no better vehicle around."
