Land Rover Misses Olympic-size Opportunity with 2013 Range Rover

One week ago, during closing ceremonies for the 2012 summer Olympics in London, English cars past and present shared the spotlight with performers, including several heavy-hitting singers who rode around inside Olympic Stadium in a gaggle Rolls-Royce Phantom Series II Drophead Coupes. According to Nielsen, the 2012 summer games were the most watched television event in history, and 26.9 million people are estimated to have watched the closing ceremonies. We’re pretty sure most of them had no idea what those Rollers were, sparking conversation about what Jessie J and Taio Cruz were cruising around in, mikes in hand.

Forty-eight hours later, Land Rover introduced the completely redesigned 2013 Range Rover, designed and engineered in the United Kingdom and built just up the M40 from London at the company’s new Solihull aluminum production facility.

Now, I’m not a marketing or a public relations genius, but doesn’t it seem like Land Rover missed a perfect opportunity to put the all-new 2013 Range Rover in front of millions of people, and to generate a ton of buzz about its flagship SUV on media outlets and in social circles that are normally totally unconcerned about cars?

2013 Land Rover Range Rover

The most watched television event in history took place within a couple of hours from the new Range Rover’s factory, and within a couple of days of the official announcement, yet Land Rover couldn’t figure out how to get George Michael to sing “Freedom 90” while standing up through the panoramic glass sunroof of the redesigned icon? They wouldn’t have needed to say anything. All they needed to do was roll that new 2013 Range Rover around the stadium under the lights and in front of cameras, and then tuck it away. People would have gone nuts.

Instead, Land Rover waited a couple of days to release a handful of photos and details about the new 2013 Range Rover, ahead of the official introduction next month at the Paris Motor Show. I believe at least a few spouses of decision makers at Land Rover are thinking they must have been “Kissing a Fool” all these years.

As I write this post, the festivities around the Concours d’Elegance at Pebble Beach are in full swing. On Peter Hay Hill, Land Rover is offering test drives of its product lineup to the wealthy attendees of the esteemed events surrounding this world-famous gathering of classic car geeks. Is the 2013 Range Rover there, even solely as a display, to whet the appetites of the very people most likely to scribble a check for one the moment they arrive in showrooms this December?

The answer is no.

SPEEDY DADDY SAYS…

2013 Land Rover Range Rover

The 2013 Land Rover Range Rover is not a Speedy Daddy kind of vehicle, because it costs too much money. We focus on models with a base price of less than $60,000. Still, we’re compelled to comment on Land Rover’s approach with the initial reveal of the luxury SUV, a simple press release issued between the Olympics and Pebble Beach. Redesigned for the first time since the 2003 model year, this iconic flagship of a globally revered brand deserved far more pomp and circumstance.

– Christian Wardlaw