Thank you, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, for having some passion and acting on it. Instead of using your resources to simply make yourself more money, you have created a real-life physical thing. Instead of simply investing your billions to make yourself richer you've made a machine that has unique functional value, and will soon be accessible the world over.
You could have done something financially safe, but instead you did something risky but real. Something that only a limited number of people will appreciate. Only a small minority on this earth share your passion for vehicle-based adventure. Knowing this you still chose to dive deep into a niche market that you love, and I bet you knew that the odds of recovering the investment were not good.
In the end you might just beat those odds because you stayed true to your vision. You stayed the course in spite of some inherently poor economics. Importantly, you did not compromise the core mission by trying to make this car all things to all people. You did not dilute your creation by expanding the appeal to the masses, and gaining the economies of scale from higher production volume. From day one there was a strong chance you'd never make back the investment and I think you probably weren't too worried about that. You created something that you wanted to create. In spite of near constant criticism from the world, you pushed forward and you made it. Now it exists and it is just what you said it would be.
And along the way you've kept the product in the center. You avoided the Elon Musk "my ego is part of the brand" BS that seems so popular now among your peers. You've kept the product performance and the product design at the center of every message.
I say ignore the complainers sitting at their laptops telling you that the Grenadier missed the mark, that it's more expensive than it "should be". They are ignorant of the overwhelming logistical complexities, the supply-chain nightmares during a pandemic, and the staggering automation investments your project faced. They will bitch about the price tag without considering quality materials, the laws of physics, the high unit costs due to relatively low production volumes, or the various regional regulations all working against a common design. All the reasons why JLR didn't have the balls to build this vehicle when they did the math on it; you looked at the same numbers and you built it anyway.
You have made something that will last. It will outlast you and me both. It's the only car on the market I can imagine buying and keeping for the rest of my life. It will be the last solely internal combustion powered vehicle I will probably ever buy. When I park it next to my 1965 Land Rover it is going to look amazing.
I'm thankful to benefit from your vision and clarity of purpose. It's an example of the power of focused leadership. There is no other way this would have come to pass. A corporate board would have killed it early on as a poor investment. A focus group would have asked for more seats and easier access. Design-by-committee would have watered it down into another Toyota Highlander. But you did not allow that to happen.
Last week I learned that my car has arrived here in the US. I've waited almost two years, and believe it or not I enjoyed the anticipation.
I haven't seen it yet but I will retrieve it tomorrow morning, and it will be a glorious day spent with a good friend on a few hundred mile road trip. Part of the route home will be national forest trails that will get it a bit muddy and might even require 4WD. That thought makes me thankful to be alive. With eyes wide open I am sharing in the uncertainty of a completely new vehicle design brought into the world. I'm choosing to join you in the risk of your creation, Sir Jim, in a tiny way.
The fact is I haven't ever seen a single Grenadier in the flesh. It will have its quirks, maybe even some annoying flaws, and I will enjoy the experience of getting to be one of the first owners to come to terms with them. I will gladly share a bit of inconvenience, a bit of frustration, maybe even some disappointment, to be a part of something genuinely new in the world. Not many people take that chance.
Most people would never choose that compromise. As a design engineer I live every day in the complex world of product development. I understand that every decision is a compromise. You have designed this car to be exactly what you wanted, knowing that most people will fall well outside of your target demographic. It will not sell to the risk averse but it will be something amazing for a select few. I'm just thankful that I get to be one of them.
It is the most expensive car I've ever bought by a factor of two. It's a tremendous luxury to buy something like this and take it off the road and use it for its intended purpose. But I plan to drive this vehicle until I die. It will only truly feel like mine when it is covered in dust and dirt and wears the scratches of a hundred adventures. That process begins tomorrow and I could not be more excited.
So thank you, Sir Jim.
You could have done something financially safe, but instead you did something risky but real. Something that only a limited number of people will appreciate. Only a small minority on this earth share your passion for vehicle-based adventure. Knowing this you still chose to dive deep into a niche market that you love, and I bet you knew that the odds of recovering the investment were not good.
In the end you might just beat those odds because you stayed true to your vision. You stayed the course in spite of some inherently poor economics. Importantly, you did not compromise the core mission by trying to make this car all things to all people. You did not dilute your creation by expanding the appeal to the masses, and gaining the economies of scale from higher production volume. From day one there was a strong chance you'd never make back the investment and I think you probably weren't too worried about that. You created something that you wanted to create. In spite of near constant criticism from the world, you pushed forward and you made it. Now it exists and it is just what you said it would be.
And along the way you've kept the product in the center. You avoided the Elon Musk "my ego is part of the brand" BS that seems so popular now among your peers. You've kept the product performance and the product design at the center of every message.
I say ignore the complainers sitting at their laptops telling you that the Grenadier missed the mark, that it's more expensive than it "should be". They are ignorant of the overwhelming logistical complexities, the supply-chain nightmares during a pandemic, and the staggering automation investments your project faced. They will bitch about the price tag without considering quality materials, the laws of physics, the high unit costs due to relatively low production volumes, or the various regional regulations all working against a common design. All the reasons why JLR didn't have the balls to build this vehicle when they did the math on it; you looked at the same numbers and you built it anyway.
You have made something that will last. It will outlast you and me both. It's the only car on the market I can imagine buying and keeping for the rest of my life. It will be the last solely internal combustion powered vehicle I will probably ever buy. When I park it next to my 1965 Land Rover it is going to look amazing.
I'm thankful to benefit from your vision and clarity of purpose. It's an example of the power of focused leadership. There is no other way this would have come to pass. A corporate board would have killed it early on as a poor investment. A focus group would have asked for more seats and easier access. Design-by-committee would have watered it down into another Toyota Highlander. But you did not allow that to happen.
Last week I learned that my car has arrived here in the US. I've waited almost two years, and believe it or not I enjoyed the anticipation.
I haven't seen it yet but I will retrieve it tomorrow morning, and it will be a glorious day spent with a good friend on a few hundred mile road trip. Part of the route home will be national forest trails that will get it a bit muddy and might even require 4WD. That thought makes me thankful to be alive. With eyes wide open I am sharing in the uncertainty of a completely new vehicle design brought into the world. I'm choosing to join you in the risk of your creation, Sir Jim, in a tiny way.
The fact is I haven't ever seen a single Grenadier in the flesh. It will have its quirks, maybe even some annoying flaws, and I will enjoy the experience of getting to be one of the first owners to come to terms with them. I will gladly share a bit of inconvenience, a bit of frustration, maybe even some disappointment, to be a part of something genuinely new in the world. Not many people take that chance.
Most people would never choose that compromise. As a design engineer I live every day in the complex world of product development. I understand that every decision is a compromise. You have designed this car to be exactly what you wanted, knowing that most people will fall well outside of your target demographic. It will not sell to the risk averse but it will be something amazing for a select few. I'm just thankful that I get to be one of them.
It is the most expensive car I've ever bought by a factor of two. It's a tremendous luxury to buy something like this and take it off the road and use it for its intended purpose. But I plan to drive this vehicle until I die. It will only truly feel like mine when it is covered in dust and dirt and wears the scratches of a hundred adventures. That process begins tomorrow and I could not be more excited.
So thank you, Sir Jim.
