Thursday, August 7, 2008

Range Rover, Errand-Runner

There are errands that call for the house assistant to run in the Prius and then there are errands we simply prefer to do ourselves. So for weekday gossip lunches and shopping for the perfect fall footwear at Christian Louboutin, your Pap’s adventures in car-stalking has come upon the perennially desirable Range Rover – the preferred errand-runner for a few Hollywood gurls.

Celebrity Range Rover Roll Call: Ms. Cox, Ms. Berry, Ms. Heigl, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Aniston, Ms. Walsh, Ms. Kardashian, Ms. Hilton…all here!
So what’s the appeal of this lumbering gas guzzler? It’s a nice looking vehicle for what it is, and in L.A., looking good is half the battle isn’t it? Then there’s the utility factor…it does hold a full day of shoe-shopping for the ladies. And for your Pap, it would be a great vehicle to take out to Los Olivos to check on the vineyards and for shuttling cases of reserve wine back to the Hills of Hollywood.

In its own way, the Range Rover exudes sex appeal and tank-like intimidation. Inside, utility mixes favorably with British coachwork – there’s the requisite wood and aromatic leather, along with tactile buttons and utilitarian switches. Think of it as a luxurious industrial-style loft with exposed bolts and ductwork. Thankfully, the Range Rover does have awesome off-road capabilities so it’s not all look. The Range Rover is both gentleman and rogue, and mostly hated by environmentalists. But in L.A., environmental consciousness is outnumbered by “need” for such a vehicle. And are we really driving the Range Rover that much?…Fans, you should not have this if it’s your only vehicle. To do it right, it should be your third.

Although not your Pap’s first, second or third choice for a vehicle, the staying power of the Range Rover is certainly something to marvel, having reinvented itself a few years back by adding a second, more affordable, slightly smaller and sportier-looking spin-off called the Range Rover Sport. There’s now two Range Rover models – staring at $60k for the Range Rover Sport and $80k for the Range Rover.

As a default errand-vehicle of the rich and a coveted object of the L.A. masses, the big little Range Rover has bulldozed it’s way into gated circular drives of Beverly Park mansions and tiny apartment carports alike. Is that a good thing? What do the Fans think?

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