A clean, well-lighted car

All you Hemingway wannabes out there no longer have to freeze in the winter in your old drafty Defender. New, improved versions, resembling Papa's old British jeep, are finally on the way.

Soft-top 90s version of the Defender

(Credit: Land Rover)

Rumors of a Land Rover Defender returning to the North American market are true. The car will be back in 2007 as a 2008 model. Soft-top, long-wheelbase and short-wheelbase versions are also "in the works," according to Atlantic British, which would probably know as the leading U.S. supplier of after-market parts for Land Rovers in the United States.

Land Rover wants to recreate the car as a "21st century icon," according to a company executive quoted by Atlantic British--with a few minor improvements of course.

The modifications for the 2008 Land Rover Defender will include the addition of the appropriate air bags, one of the reasons the Defender left the U.S. in the first place.