ALRC Notice Board

The ALRC 2009 National Rally will be held at Manby Motorplex near Louth, Lincolnshire over the Spring Bank Holiday 21st - 26th May. The event will be organised by the ALRC Council with many ALRC member clubs offering to run specific events and assisting with the Camping and site services.

This is seen as an effective alternative to one member club hosting and running the whole event and will perhaps encourage smaller clubs to co-operate in future years to co-host and run a National Rally.

We have just one event looking for a club to volunteer to run - one of the most important too, The Children's Bike Trial. This event is crucial to encourage our younger members in the ways of off-roading and contributes to a great family atmosphere during the event.
Is YOUR Club able to volunteer to run the Children's Bike Trial?

Get your booking in now and avoid the disappointment of many in 2008 where event places were booked very quickly.

It is with great sadness that we have to report the untimely and sudden death of Melvyn Rose.

Melvyn was born in February 1940, he grew up in Wiltshire in the Chippenham area having two sisters.

He started work at Westinghouse Brake and Signal Company in Chippenham where was a foundry pattern maker. In 1965 he married Ceri and they had two children Nicolas and David and three grandchildren.

His involvement in Land Rovers started in the 1970's when he joined the South West Rover Owners Club which later split in 1982 to become the Somerset & Wiltshire Rover Owners Club and the Cornwall & Devon Rover Owners Club.

Melvyn soon became involved with the scrutineering side of things becoming Chief Scrutineer, a task he performed diligently right up to the day before his untimely death. Melvyn became known on the National scene and attended Off Road and Scrutineering meetings along with EGM's and AGM's for many years, reporting back to his home club at their meetings. Such was his dedication, he was often asked to assist at other Clubs when they hosted National Rallies, a task he performed without a second thought. Melvyn's social life, it's fair to say, revolved around his home club and the members within the club.

Following the funeral of our dear friend Melvyn, Ceri and the family together with the members of SWLRC would like to extend a huge "thank you" to all who turned out for the service and the wake afterwards.

Not only did Melvyn's own club turn out in large numbers but surrounding clubs were well represented, having travelled great distances to be present - Thank You, we know Melvyn would have appreciated the efforts made.

The service was refreshingly simple yet so poignant no one present could not have felt moved by it - a fitting farewell to a dedicated fellow enthusiast.

Gentlemen / Women - I regret to advise that one of the early founding members of the original Peak and Dukeries Landrover Club, Richard Howard, was tragically killed last Tuesday in a farm based accident when he was accidentally crushed by a tractor whilst working alone.

It is the wish of his family to notify as many of his many past Landrover Club friends as possible since they feel this was one of Richard's greatest past passions.

It has been suggested by Ian Jeffrey that the Club Membership may well still contain some of those original early members - hence my own note to you.

As a past secretary of the Club I have been asked to make a short presentation after the funeral to commemorate Richard's love of trialling and reflect on his brilliance in a simple 1948 Series 1 - albeit with no doubt the slight change to the Rover 60 engine. At the time he was certainly always within the Top 10 trial drivers in the UK - and won a serious amount of silverware.

The Family wishes to extend an invitation to any member to attend the funeral and afterwards the wake at 1100, 19 Nov 07 at St Oswald Church, East Stoke, nr Newark, Nottinghamshire and share in this particular aspect of a rich life prematurely ended at the age of 69.

With the help of other past veteran members I am circulating a letter directly but as so usual in such circumstancestime is very short so any direct contact would be most welcome if you think you know relevant past members.

Any motor accident can be a distressing time, but how would you feel if it was caused deliberately to fraudulently obtain compensation? A recent case handled by NFU Mutual highlights a scam where fraudsters target lone female drivers.

A collision occurred, between a Toyota Carina driven by the Third Party (TP) and a Peugeot 106 driven by an NFU Mutual policyholder, at a roundabout off the M62 motorway in West Yorkshire.

The accident occurred when, according to the policyholder, the Toyota applied its brakes whilst entering the roundabout for no good reason, causing the policyholder to collide with the rear of the Toyota. The behaviour of the TP and his passenger was odd, suggesting he had sustained an injury. The driver expressed surprise when he observed the policyholder’s daughter in the rear seat of the Peugeot. His first words after the incident were, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you had a child in the car”.

The TP had their details pre-written out, and the recovery driver who collected the policyholder after the incident commented that he had recovered another lady’s car the day before from the same scene (also a victim of the scam).

We would, therefore, remind all drivers to take careful note of the circumstances surrounding any accident in which they are involved. Insurance companies, recommend you carry a disposable camera to capture the scene and record any damage caused. Also make a note if:

Please contact NFU Mutual, if you would like more information or a quote for car insurance. For details of your local agent, call 0800 975 0600* or visit www.nfumutual.co.uk

Road Tax Exemption

Most Classic vehicles are used for fair-weather low-mileage "fun and rally" purposes rather than everyday transport.

Originally the Road Tax exemption was supposed to be after the vehicle was 25 years old,

This idea was quietly scrapped about 10 years ago.

Please click link to 10 Downing Street website:

Solihull, West Midlands, 12 February 2007 – Customer demand for the Defender, today, saw a substantially revised new model for 2007 roll off the production line at Solihull. Land Rover employees were present to celebrate this important milestone which marks the continued success of the iconic model which began life in 1948. The new model goes on sale this spring and will feature significant upgrades to enhance the ownership experience and meet forthcoming legislation.

The extension to the long life of Defender, which has been in production in various models since 1948, will preserve more than 750 jobs at the Solihull factory where it is produced alongside the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Discovery 3.

Annual production of Defender has remained consistent at around 25,000 units in recent years, with much of the demand coming from large contract orders. For example, the Italian energy distribution company, Ente Nazionale Elettricita, recently placed an order for over 900 Defenders. Since its emergence, nearly 60 years ago, the original Land Rover has carved a heroic path through some of the world's remotest regions and it's estimated that around two thirds of all Land Rovers are still in use.

"Defender remains a significant contributor to the business as well as an enduring symbol of Land Rover's 4x4 heritage," said Phil Popham, Land Rover's Managing Director. "Its simple concept hasn't changed fundamentally over the years, but it remains as relevant as ever.

Defender continues to play a vital role for emergency services, aid workers and farmers around the world. As we grow Land Rover we're not forgetting our core values and our traditional customers."

With a rugged ladder-frame box-section chassis and aluminium bodywork, the Defender is incredibly tough. Its practical advantages include its unmatched combination of off-road supremacy, carrying capacity and towing capability.

The Defender name was introduced in 1990 but the model is a direct descendant of the original Land Rover introduced in 1948. Production of Defender and its predecessors has passed 1.8 million.

Commenting on the introduction of the model updated for 2007, Paul Cope, Manufacturing Director at Solihull said; "The introduction of Defender 07 Model Year is recognition that consumer demand remains very strong for this iconic model. The 07 Model Year with its new design enhancements, will ensure that Defender remains a key contributor to the success of the Solihull manufacturing site. Our manufacturing team is absolutely dedicated to increasing customer satisfaction by making the 07 Model Year Defender, the best Defender yet." Get more information on the Land Rover range.

Gaydon, Warwickshire, 9 February 2007 – In response to high customer demand, Land Rover has announced that it is to launch a commercial derivative of the award-winning Discovery 3, which will go on sale on the 19 March 2007.

Since launch in 2004, the Discovery 3 has demonstrated a class-leading breadth of capability and accrued awards from all over the world. Now, it has been engineered with approval from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to gain N1 Light Commercial 4x4 Vehicle status. Business users will therefore be able to take advantage of the Benefit in Kind tax and full VAT reclaim associated with Light Commercial Vehicles.

There will be two derivatives available: the Discovery 3 Commercial and the Discovery 3 XS Commercial. Standard features include 2130 litres of loadspace with a full length phenolic floor, privacy glass, two-piece bulkhead, four corner air suspension and Terrain Response™.

"Since launch, our dealers have received a number of requests from customers for a commercial derivative, many of whom bought standard models and then converted them independently for their own commercial use", stated John Edwards, Land Rover UK managing director.

"The launch of the Discovery 3 Commercial means that for the first time, customers are now able to purchase a Land Rover approved Discovery 3 commercial vehicle, which benefits from the superior levels of ride, handling, comfort and equipment offered by the standard Discovery 3. We believe the Discovery Commercial will further re-define the 4x4 commercial segment."

All Land Rover vehicles include a CO2 offset for the first 45,000 miles within the on-the-road price. Administered by Climate Care, an independent CO2 offset provider, the programme ensures that the average amount of CO2 produced by a Land Rover is offset by investments in a mixed portfolio of projects, including renewable energy, technology change and energy efficiency initiatives.

To book a test drive of the new Discovery 3 Commercial or for more information regarding the Land Rover range, please visit your local Land Rover dealership or via the Land Rover web site.