Used-car celebration: An expedition sendoff at Land Rover HQ

In all my years of traveling, I have never before been treated to a sendoff that involves a press conference and a cheering crowd. Never before have I worn a crisp khaki uniform and been introduced as a “world-famous travel writer”. Never before has my bon voyage involved an a capella rendition of “God Bless America”.

Never, that is, until our recent expedition sendoff party at Land Rover headquarters in Irvine, California.

And let me tell you: It all made me very, very nervous – and not just because it put me in the spotlight. Rather, I was nervous because I wasn’t too comfortable “celebrating” an expedition that has only just begun. I was nervous because – at the heart of it – those of us in the expedition team are not professional adventurers, but normal joes, as yet untested in the ways of a major vehicle expedition. I was also a bit jittery with concerns about how our vehicles will perform over the long haul.

At this point I should probably come completely clean about Land Rover’s involvement in Drive Around the World. After all, major automotive companies don’t just hand out a convoy of Discovery-model Land Rovers for the heck it. Rather, Land Rover has given us six vehicles (four for the expedition, two for school visits and auto shows) to prove to the world that “certified pre-owned” Land Rovers have what it takes to drive around the world.

If you’re good at deciphering industry jargon, you’ll have already realized that our expedition will be driving used cars around the world. In fact, just over a year ago, our expedition Land Rovers were being used as Enterprise rental cars. Nevertheless – despite their workaday history – Land Rover believes these vehicles (which have passed a 140-point inspection and are typically re-sold with a 12-month/12,000-mile warranty) have what it takes to cover 50,000 kilometers in 32 countries over a nine-month period. As the press release says: “A nine month long expedition is testament to the capability and functional use of a Land Rover, and by providing a certified pre-owned vehicle to the expedition we are demonstrating our faith in our vehicles to withstand the rigors of such an epic journey.”

Since Drive Around the World is an independent expedition – and since I am an independent travel writer – I have the freedom to say whatever I want about Land Rovers. If I feel like it, I can walk up to the president of Land Rover and tell him that his CPO vehicles drive a lot like his momma’s pickle wagon. (Or whatever.)

The thing is, I don’t think Land Rovers are pickle wagons. I think they’re great vehicles, and I love driving them. I just think that throwing a big party before we’ve accomplished our expedition goals is like throwing a graduation party the day you enroll in college. After all, there is still much to be proven in the far-flung corners of the earth – mainly in regards to fuel consumption: how we will find unleaded fuel in out-of-the-way places; how logistical planning (and our limited budget) will be affected by our 12-miles-a-gallon fuel efficiency; how we will ensure that dirty Third World fuel won’t irrevocably bung up our computer-monitored First World tuning. Moreover, we will be responsible for most of our own vehicle maintenance, since a good deal of the mechanics along our route deal with automotive technology that is at least thirty years behind ours.

Despite these concerns, however, our Land Rover sendoff went down in fine style. We started with a press conference in Rover’s Star Trek-style conference room, and showed off an action-packed DVD of our off-road training session at Hollister Hills. The expedition team was introduced to the press, and then (after the previously mentioned rendition of “God Bless America”) introduced to a crowd of Land Rover employees. Speeches were given, the Rover employees cheered (though I suspect they were just happy to have an hour off from work), and – for the first time in my life – I took part in driving a vehicle through a promotional banner.

Admittedly, it was all great fun, but it reminded me of what cultural critic Daniel J. Boorstin has called a “pseudo event”: a lot of hype to sell an idea that – for now, at least – is as thin as air.

I certainly hope to deliver on Land Rover’s optimism, but there’s lots of work to be done (and, hopefully, fun to be had) in the meantime.

Help support our cause: Drive Around the World aims to raise money for Parkinson’s Disease research by taking four certified pre-owned Land Rover Discoverys around the globe following lines of longitude. Readers are encouraged to pledge small amounts of money per expedition-mile via a pledge form that can be found on our Parkinson’s page by clicking here. Everyone making a pledge of $10 or more to raise money for the Parkinson’s Institute will be put in a raffle to win an expedition-style Land Rover.