Re: Landrover Freelander vs Ford Escape
I have to disagree on that one. The Freelander has been in Europe for about 6 years; it came out of the gate an unknown and became the #1 SUV in a matter of 2 years. It was only introduced as 1 model to the USA last year.

It helps that the Freelander in the USA and the Freelander in Europe are two different beasts. Sure, there's a basic frame and sheet metal under there, but that's about it. In Europe, it's almost all Turbo Diesel Manual tranny; I haven't seen one yet that's anything else. (I haven't been to a dealer.) There are several body styles (minor changes for looks that actually lead to several different "personalty" looks for the vehicle) and of course the interchangeable hard/soft top.

The dealer I saw in the USA had the Freelander in low power/efficiency gasoline engine, auto trans, hard top, one package/personality "style" only (and it was the "plain" looking one). What was really cool in Europe, is really dull and overpriced in America.

The Escape has only been out a couple years; it's younger than the freelander. It also doesn't look too much like it--the escape looks more along the Rodeo look, although with a flatter back end.

I'm curious where you got that info about them being the same--do they share the same engine/trans/frame/suspension and just have different sheet metal on top?