Ah, those lazy hazy crazy days of summer, when millions of Americans enjoy vacation while the Sightings editor labors over bags of mail. The large number of Sightings indicates the impact of this small but significant manufacturer of motor cars. The very presence of Land Rovers makes the most mundane product, movie or television program seem extraordinary.

This issue Sightings has engaged the assistance of an international staff. Unlike Presidents Bush and Putin, who seem not to be able to get along right now, I received spectacular assistance from three Russians friends working here in Maine this summer: Natalia Morozova and Sergey Kholopov, both from Magnitogorsk and Ekaterina Lesnik, from Vladivostok The very best of the Sightings earn a coveted Rovers North coffee mug. To assure fairness we use the following rules. It never hurts for novice and expert Sighters to review them:.

Rule # 1 – All Sightings receive recognition and our appreciation, but not necessarily a mug. We reward only those Sightings that capture the unique qualities of Land Rovers and their owners, and display them in a distinctive way.

Rule #2 – If your Sighting does not really surprise you, it won’t surprise us, either, and you won’t get a mug. We’re delighted, but not surprised, that Land Rovers appear in British television programmes, British publications, films with British themes, and shows about African safaris. You shouldn’t be surprised, either, and should consider looking for other ways to get a coffee mug.

Rule #3 – At an ever-changing date before publication we close off the Sightings. If we’ve mentioned the Sighting in an earlier issue, we won’t mention it again. If you’re new to the family of Land Rover enthusiasts, you may not have seen your Sighting in an earlier issue.

Rule #4 – We’re not outfitting your kitchen. If you qualify, please remember – one mug per Sighting per issue.

Rule #5- Sightings that are Land Rover references in books go to our Literary Land Rover editor for mention, but only when space permits.

Rule #6 – Psst… if we can’t read you name and address because of atrocious penmanship, we can’t recognize your Sighting nor send you a mug. Psst…E-mail submissions – remember we can’t send a mug by e-mail. Send us your real name and shipping address, too.

Rule #7 – Grudgingly, very grudgingly, the Editor admits he might make an error. Let me know if you think you’ve been jobbed, but all decisions of the Editor are final. Land Rovers appear everywhere from cyberspace to print. Heather Wise, Bucyrus, KS, found a t-shirt design called “Rhinos Hunt in Packs,” which sure looks like it includes a Defender to her. Tad Hykema [no address] notes that an Andy Capp cartoon featured Land Rovers in one strip.

Nels Anderson, Framingham, MA, was featured in an article in PC Pilot. For the photo shoot, he made it a point to include his coffee mug. Four Wheeler magazine of June 2007 ran a feature on the Cape Cod National Seashore Park with lots of photos of “vintage trucks,” including the Series II-A 88” and 109” military of Jon and Laurie Detwiler, Norwell, MA. Their Rovers “hauled three kids and fishing gear seven miles down Nauset Beach to their personal paradise. We thought that they were lost and somehow motored across the Atlantic from England.” It was great to see classic Land Rovers recognized in an American four wheel drive magazine. Jon also spotted a Series III Military Lightweight in the St. Croix Fishing Rod catalogue. David Dallas, Cincinnati, OH, sent in a Sighting from his local Time Warner homepage for General Auto Insurance. It features a topless Series Land Rover, “which you can recognize from the rear body capping.” David Kessler, Worthington, OH, found a Discovery used in a Penn and Teller video about Revolutionary War reenactments.

Insurance can seem like a dull business unless you include a talking duck or a Land Rover. When Farmers Insurance put a Defender Station Wagon in its television ad campaign, Sighters around the country paid attention: Matt Welton, Muir, MI, Brian Ross, Cold Spring, KY, Sam Porter, Westminster, MD, Kris Pacinelli, Paola, KS, D. Aaron Conway, St. Louis Park, MN, Karen Padgett, Lafayette, GA, William Ellis, Tallahassee, FL, Adrian Borunda, San Antonio, TX, Ben Sands, Bandera, TX, Scott Maurer, Florence, OR and Kim Nichols, Kennesaw, GA. Paul Dandini, and Len Cater, see Rule # 6. We’d love to send you mugs! Martin Tulip, Snoqualmie, WA, also spotted a II-A in an American Family Insurance television ad.

Snapple Red Tea must feel that Land Rovers improve the flavor. Robert Williams, Iowa City, IA should have been working on his graduate school thesis when he found the ad for Snapple on a WeatherUnderground web site. Dan Corinda [no address] found it on the Snapple web site. Adrian Borunda, San Antonio, TX, Ben Sands, Bandera, TX, Kim Nichols, Kennesaw, GA, Fred Behrens, Powhatan, VA, Brian Ross, Cold Spring, KY, Scott Corey, Tallahassee, FL, Greg Fitzgerald, Warren, NJ, Ronnie Massey, Franklin, NC, Nick Pistolakis, Point Pleasant, NJ, and Sherry Block, Hadlyme, CT. Jacob Wilbert and Pam Nelson, please see Rule #6. Television commercials, particularly the dodgy ones, rely on Land Rovers to perk up sales. Uncertain that their sunglasses would excite viewers, Foster Grant placed their model in a white Defender 90. As Sherry Block, Hadlyme, CT, wrote, “of course they were saying that Foster Grants were cool but who noticed them? I noticed them because I LOVE my white D-90!” Stephen Johnson, Johns Island, SC, Kim Nichols, Kennesaw, GA, Adrian Borunda, San Antonio, TX, Ben Sands, Bandera, TX, and Greg Hollingsworth, Colchester, CT, also saw the ad. Tanqueray Gin is a personal favorite and they have a niche brand called Rangpur. What better way to elicit the vision of the olde Empire than the inclusion of a 109”? Richard Everitt, Jackson, MS and Ryan Smyth, Montclair, NJ spotted the ad, which can also be viewed at www.globeprobe.com. Andrew Gold [no address] saw the Taco Bell ad mentioned in earlier issues; Kim Nichols, Kennesaw, GA, watched an ad for Emerson also featured in the past.

Catalogues have long sought any excuse to put a Land Rover in the picture. We’ve noted the presence of Land Rovers in Willis and Geiger catalogues before; Jay Gerish, Fairfield, NJ, found a Series III in a 1997 issue. Bernard McMahon, Washington, DC, found a Defender 110 on safari in the J.L. Powell Clothing catalogue. Sahalie, a clothing and leisure equipment company mentioned in our last issue, features a Series II-A 88” SW, so notes Kevin Kotula, Del Rio, TX.

Self-professed “Rover nerd” Garrick Cook, Fort Wayne, IN, spotted the rear tire carrier of a Discovery Series II for a moment in Spiderman 3. Watching a Fox News story on spring snows in South Africa, Fred Behrens, Pohatan, VA, saw a Rover “merrily plowing through the snow.” When Outside Magazine needed a drawing to represent the concept of “road trip,” they chose a Defender 110, according to Douglas Dietsche, McKinney, TX and Brandon Halstead, Alexandria, VA. When Gourmet Magazine needed a swank backdrop of an article, it chose to include a current Range Rover, notes Bill Webb, Monon, IN. Men’s Journal ran a feature story on Africa’s Cape Verde islands and, of course, included a Series III 109”, notes Joseph Weijerstrass, Bloomfield, CT.

QST is the magazine of the ham radio fraternity. Douglas Dietsche, McKinney, TX, noted that when Yaesu radios need to advertise “the hottest field gear anywhere,” they used a Camel colored Defender 110 for the background shot. Nels Anderson, Framingham, MA, saw the same ad. When the Cincinnati Zoo ran a fund raiser for their Zoofari 2007 Arctic Expedition, the prize was a Range Rover, reports Brian Ross, Cold Spring, KY.

The British firm Dunhill uses a Defender in a safari setting to promote its new Pursuit cologne, reports Larry Simpson, Belle Plaine, KS. Bill Kendall, Centreville, VA watched an ABC News broadcast with Charles Gibson. In a plug for their “Green Living” series, they chose to include a Series III as an example of that lifestyle. Matt Chelf, Wooster, OH, spotted a Range Rover Classic LWB in an episode of Lost, which we’ve featured in an earlier issue. Matthew Tornetta [no address] spotted the same Rover in the same episode. Heather Wise, Bucyrus, KS, spotted host Michael Chiarello in his green Defender 90 on his “Easy Entertaining.” Adding a D 90 to the recipe certainly makes me more interested in the food! Kim Nichols, Kennesaw, GA, watched a CNN International report with two Discoverys on dirt roads in Tibet. Dick Newton, Charlestown, RI, spotted Land Rovers in commercials during Grey’s Anatomy, but he’s uncertain of the ads themselves.

As per Rule #7, the Editor occasionally blows a call. Frank Coats, Yuba City, CA, wrote to inform me of my flawed judgment in ruling “The Queen” ineligible for a mug. Indeed, Her Highness does ride about in Land Rovers, and that is no surprise. However, in the movie, her character drives her Defender into a stream, stops halfway, inspects the front end, and announces to the staff that she has broken a front propshaft. In real life, the Queen does drive her own Defender 110 and, according to Mr. Coats, “is familiar with the maintenance of four-wheel drive vehicles. For providing this additional information, we are awarding Mr. Coats [owner of “an almost roadworthy Series II 88” and a far from roadworthy Series I 86”] a mug.

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Sightings Winners:

Nels Anderson: Framingham, MA
Brandon Halstead: Alexandria, VA
Douglas Dietsche: McKinney, TX
Jon Detwiler: Norwell, MA
Francis Coats: Yuba city, CA
Jacob Wilbert:
Pam Nelson:
Nick Pistolakis: Point Pleasant, NJ
Ronnie Massey, MD: Franklin, NC
Greg Fitzgerald: Warren, NJ
Brian Ross: Cold Spring, KY
Scott Corey: Tallahassee, FL
Robert Williams: Iowa City, IA
Fred Behrens: Powhatan VA
Adrian Borunda: San Antonio, TX
Ben Sands: Bandera, TX
Richard Everitt: Jackson, MS
Ryan Smyth: Montclair, NJ
Greg Hollingsworth: Colchester, CT
Sherry Block: Hadlyme CT
Kim Nichols: Kennesaw, GA
Stephen Johnson: Johns Island, SC
Martin Tulip: Snoqualmie, WA
William Ellis: Tallahassee, FL
Karen Padgett: Lafayette, GA
D. Aaron Conway: St. Louis Park, MN
Kris Pacinelli Paola, KS
Sam Porter: Westminster, MD
Brian Ross: Cold Spring, KY
Matt Welton: Miur, MI
David Kessler: Worthington, OH
David Dallas: Cincinnati, OH

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