I used to run my 1995 manual 2.5td Jeep Cherokee Sport on straight sunflower oil.

Hmmm. I had one of these Citroen’s in 2.0Hdi guise.

4th gear: Isn’t this what sort of happened with the British motor industry? Essentially the government started to merge brands when they were failing, essentially shove them all into British Leyland hoping BL was too big to fail and would carry it all, cue lots of inter company resentment, arguments, hatred and then…

Diesel is mildly more expensive per litre in the UK than petrol. Currently prices are about £1.06 for petrol and £1.1o for diesel.

Whilst I am not saying they aren’t luxury cars, but in Europe, the base models and even mid-range are attainable by a lot of people.

I love that your attitude is that if you don’t buy a car above the $20k mark you are a ‘poor’.

You have to look at the market they are being sold to.

I agree, however, what seems to sell big in the US doesn’t really translate well around the world.

The difference being the Defender is a global vehicle. I’m presuming this is just another US (few other additional markets) focused vehicle..?

Crikey, Tom was clear right at the beginning. There’s always one. 

Surely the justification is that it is out of the way and looks better.

Absolutely agree. 

Old MGB engines. Lovely and rorty. 

Unless you’re in Europe/rest of world (?) where it can tow up to 7,700lbs with a puny 2.0l TDI. 

Having owned 2 normal Defenders and also driving them in the military...I can safely say they are fun and novel.

The Jimny is much more expensive though.

Again, to be fair, this is why there aren’t many US vehicles elsewhere. They are too specific for the US and don’t really hold up in many other places outside of the ‘Americas’. But it seems to work for the big 3 so why change I guess. 

Well, yes, but you would think that while it is nice to see a one size fits all, there isn’t.

The UK doesn’t really have parking meters like the US. You pay in a bay, then there’s maybe 1 or 2 machines which issue a ticket that you then place on the dashboard or stick to the window.

It’s not in Chicago. It’s in the very mild UK. Where severe weather is basically non-existent.