LAND ROVER

The Jeep and its variations were a part of the American scene from the mid-1940s. It retained its identity as a utility vehicle for the consumer market and in 1974 the Cherokee appeared as the first of the sports utility vehicles (SUVs). Another utility vehicle that reached international status was the British Land Rover. The original Land Rover was a basic vehicle with no thought to physical comforts. In 1970, Rover combined the utility of the Land Rover in rough terrain with the comfort and luxury of its sedans. The result was the Range Rover, which was produced until 1995. 

CARBON INFRA-RED EMITTERS PROVIDE CURE FOR LAND ROVER ANTI-CHIP PROTECTION... 

The poHceman didn t tiy to hide his displeasure. We went outside, squinting m the sudden brightness. The house was the end one of a row of small stone cottages. Our cars were parked mthe lane. I took the imp out ofny Land Rover and opened it on the bonnet. The sun glanced off the battered metal, making it hot to the touch. 

I could see by his fece that I wasn t going to have ary choice. I told them to folbw me and set oflC The inside ofthe old Land Rover smelled of hot plastic. I wound both windows down as fer as they woidd go. The steering wheel burned ity hands as I gripped it. When I saw how white ity knuckles were, I made nyself relax. 

He waited until I was in the Land Rover before he made his caE As I drove away he was still on the radb. The younger police officer was staririg at his feet, the bottle of water dangling from his hand. 

I was hallway back to the Land Rover when I stopped. There was something bothering me, but untB I turned around ag3in I didn t know what it was. It stiB took me a few moments before I reafizied. It was the window boxes. The plants in them were brown and dead. 

The heat seemed sudden to have intensified. My legs automatical took me back to the Land Rover. I resisted the inge to get in and drive away. Instead, putting it between me and the house, I continued with ny call As I waited for the police to answer I stared at the for green smudge ofthe woods Id just come fiom... 

I was back at the Land Rover llen phone rang This time it was Mackenzb. 

He stepped m a snare. We were going up to the suigeiy but we saw your Land Rover outside. ... 

It was Ben Sunglasses on, he had a brawr arm propped on the open windowsill of his new black Land Rover. It was dusty, but still made mbe bok like an antique. Sorry. I was mibs away. ... 

We went back to the Land Rover in silence. It wasn t until we were back on the road to the villagp that I felt able to speak agpin. 

I was already hurrying from the room Scott was boking at me uncertain, as if he was starting to regret what he d said. AH at once I was desperate to get away, half erqrectirig Brenner to suddenly materialize and try and stop me. I threw ny first-aid kit into the Land Rover and qubkfy switched on the ignition, aware of Mrs Brenner staring at me from the doorway as I bunped down the track. 

I didn t carry insulin in n medbal kit, but we kept a sipp in the fitidge back at the surgety. I ran back to the car and drove to Bank House, having the Land Rover engine running as I dashed inside. Evening clinic had finished, but Janbe was still there. She boked up m surprise as I burst im... 

I needed to contact Mackenzie, but the track beckoned me. This was private land, several miles liom where either of the bodies had been found. It woukJrit have been searched. And there had to be a reason for a car to be there. I hesitated, tom between two impossible choices. Then I rammed the Land Rover into drive and set oflF up the track... 

He wrenched me free, cracking rr head a inst the edge of the door. The inpact jarred me, and then I was being laid out on the hard metal floor in the back of the Land Rover. 

He reached behind me into the Land Rover s shadowy irterbr. When he straightened he was holding a length ofrubber hosepipe. 

The was cut olfas Henry slarnned the Land Rover s back door. I heard trim bck it, then he was moving around outside the car. I tried to sit ip but dizziness swept over mea ia Iputrry hand out to steady rryself and touched something rough and solid. A blanket I saw there was something underneath it and with a cold shock I realized what... 

The Laib Rover rolled forward smooth. I was still wedged between the seats, and throng the windscreen I saw Henry hear its approach He boked back, his mouth opening in surprise. Even as the car thered speed on the slope there seemed anple time for trim to get out of its way. But perhaps he d already used ip all his reserves, or his wasted le simp couldn t respond qirickly enough For a moment our eyes met, and then the Land Rover struck him... 

It was onh at the inquest that I found out something that made me question how committed he had real been. When the police examined the Land Rover, one end of the rubber pipe was still jutting throu the window. But instead ofbeing connected to the exhaust, the other was sinph trailing on the floor. 

Another utility vehicle that reached international status was the British-designed Land Rover. Maurice Wilks was the chief designer at Rover at the end of World War II. He was using an ex-army Jeep on his estate and would need a replacement when the car wore out. He had several Jeeps taken apart at the Rover factory and then built a four-wheel-drive vehicle for the British market. Since there still were restrictions on steel, except for the export market, the body of the Land Rover was made of aluminium alloy. The prototype was built on a Jeep chassis in 1947 and the final model appeared in 1948. It was a success with British farmers and gradually moved into the general consumer market. 

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