The Underpowered Hour

Steve Beres and Liza Beres cover news while Ike Goss and Jenna Fribley are away interviewing Tread Lightly. They discuss Land Rover’s Sedona Edition red Defender 90 and the practicality challenges of owning a 90 with a kid and dog, plus updates on the Defender Rally team competing in Argentina’s FIA-certified Desafío Ruta 40 where all three Defenders finished and Sarah Price races as part of an all-women’s team. They also highlight new Mini GT Camel Trophy Land Rover miniatures, including a Sikorsky helicopter display and a Tierra del Fuego 110 with a raft accessory. In the featured interview, Jenna speaks with Tread Lightly executive director James Boyd about the nonprofit’s origins, the TREAD principles, education and trail-maintenance work to prevent closures, funding via grants, membership and partnerships, and the new “Protect What Moves You” campaign and BRP-supported training incentives.

00:00 Show Intro and Hosts
01:19 8 Track Banter
02:25 Sedona Defender 90 News
03:29 Why a 90 Is Tough
05:21 Defender Rally in Argentina
08:46 Mini GT Camel Trophy Models
12:02 Tread Lightly Interview Setup
14:53 Meet James Boyd
16:16 TREAD Principles Explained
16:46 What Tread Lightly Does
18:21 Trail Closures and Pressures
20:07 Funding Model Pressures
21:13 Scaling Beyond Grants
22:30 Protect What Moves You
24:05 Role Among Trail Groups
26:13 Brands and User Behavior
29:14 Marketing vs TREAD Values
32:25 Stewardship Can Be Fun
34:49 Become a Project Lead
36:11 Shooting Sites and Cleanup
38:23 How to Get Involved
39:46 Closing Thanks and Wrap
40:34 Host Banter Outro

Steve Beres and Ike Goss open the Underpowered Hour with Land Rover news, including a UK pastor caught using a cellphone while driving who avoids disqualification by arguing his congregation would suffer without him, and JLR’s CEO signaling renewed investment in the struggling Discovery—alongside discussion of Discovery’s dog-focused “Pet Pack” accessories. They’re then joined by Rebelle Rally team sponsors Aaron and Jasper of ModPro AI, who share their automotive backgrounds and the origin of their app after spending heavily to modestly increase power on a Subaru WRX. They explain ModPro AI’s enthusiast community, digital garage, social features, and AI advisor that aggregates data and provides recommendations with a confidence meter, plus upcoming agentic AI improvements and plans for business profiles and groups. The guests recount touring Jay Leno’s collection, seeing a Pantera, and witnessing delivery of a Leopard tank.

Steve Beres and Ike Goss kick off the Underpowered Hour by reacting to a Range Rover SV Ultra (and “Ultra Mega”) promo highlighting a 21-speaker electrostatic sound system, haptic “sensory floor,” and wellness modes that spark jokes about cost, recalls, and a 4D in-car experience. They then discuss conflicting Jaguar Land Rover financial headlines, including profits reportedly down 99% due to warranty costs tied to a 170,000-vehicle recall, cyber attacks, Middle East war impacts, and tariffs, though the loss “beat expectations.” Next, they cover the UK Ministry of Defense seeking a classic Defender replacement, with potential bids from Land Rover, the Ineos Grenadier, and other manufacturers, plus rumors of a smaller Ineos EV partnership tied to Chery and the name “Fusilier.” Ike recaps attending Oregon’s Rover Rendezvous in a 1957 Series I 107 station wagon, including minor repairs and a failed voltage regulator, and they close with upcoming guests and Steve’s excitement about a Dutch Bros opening in Valencia.

00:00 Show Intro and Hosts
01:20 SV Ultra Mega Tease
02:59 Electrostatic Audio Demo
05:22 Wellness Modes Mockups
07:50 4D Haptics and Price Jokes
09:12 JLR Profits and Recalls
11:04 MOD Defender Replacement Race
13:28 Military Needs vs New Defender
14:32 Who Will Build It
15:07 Tiny Grenadier Rumors
16:18 Chery Partnership Speculation
17:08 Fusilier Name Reveal
18:12 Tranquility Mode Banter
18:47 Oregon Rover Rendezvous
19:55 107 Wagon Road Trip Fixes
20:59 Event Trucks and Activities
21:53 Anarch 80th Planning
22:47 JB Weld Head Gasket Saga
24:14 Bad Repairs Philosophy
25:29 Next Week and Dutch Bros
27:03 Signing Off

Steve Beres hosts The Underpowered Hour with Ike Goss, joined by Linus Tremaine and Jenna Fribley (with Liza Beres present), covering news and an event recap. They discuss Warn’s updated 8274 winch now rated to 10,000 lbs, joking about special editions and waterproof claims, and mention a restored 1967 Fiat Ferves Ranger listed for $48,000. The main story is Pangolin 4x4’s nine-day drive to the Mendo Recce gathering at Salmon Creek Ranch in Bodega Bay, including visits with Land Rover enthusiasts Terry Ann Wakeman and Tom Charters. At the event, their Series 1 “Cow” loses power and is found to have a head gasket blown between cylinders three and four; with help from friends, they attempt a field repair using fine copper wire and JB Weld, successfully get it running, and immediately test it on the trails while reacting to viral comments on Jenna’s video and hoping to get MacGyver’s Richard Dean Anderson to see it.

00:00 Show intro and crew
01:29 Warn  8274 gets beefier
04:30 Waterproofing and service debate
06:10 Fiat Ferves Ranger listing
08:21 Heading to Mendo Recce
09:18 Visiting Terry Ann Wakeman
13:03 Tom Charters stop and Highway 1
17:52 Arriving at Salmon Creek Ranch
19:43 Trail prep and tire chains
21:26 80-inch loses power
24:12 Field diagnosis head gasket
26:14 Camp Breakdown Drama
26:41 Diagnosing Blown Gasket
28:47 Copper Wire Bodge Plan
31:45 JB Weld Overnight Cure
33:43 Morning Start And Misfire
36:48 Trail Test And Recovery
38:48 Jeremy Stories And Turkey
40:07 Viral Reel And Merch Ideas
43:54 Mean Comments Readback
48:12 MacGyver Reaction Quest
50:26 Wrap Up And Next Time

Steve Beres hosts The Underpowered Hour with Ike Goss, joined by Linus Tremaine and Jenna Fribley (with Liza Beres present), covering news and an event recap. They discuss Warn’s updated 8274 winch now rated to 10,000 lbs, joking about special editions and waterproof claims, and mention a restored 1967 Fiat Ferves Ranger listed for $48,000. The main story is Pangolin 4x4’s nine-day drive to the Mendo Recce gathering at Salmon Creek Ranch in Bodega Bay, including visits with Land Rover enthusiasts Terry Ann Wakeman and Tom Charters. At the event, their Series 1 “Cow” loses power and is found to have a head gasket blown between cylinders three and four; with help from friends, they attempt a field repair using fine copper wire and JB Weld, successfully get it running, and immediately test it on the trails while reacting to viral comments on Jenna’s video and hoping to get MacGyver’s Richard Dean Anderson to see it.

00:00 Show intro and crew
01:29 Warn  8274 gets beefier
04:30 Waterproofing and service debate
06:10 Fiat Ferves Ranger listing
08:21 Heading to Mendo Recce
09:18 Visiting Terry Ann Wakeman
13:03 Tom Charters stop and Highway 1
17:52 Arriving at Salmon Creek Ranch
19:43 Trail prep and tire chains
21:26 80-inch loses power
24:12 Field diagnosis head gasket
26:14 Camp Breakdown Drama
26:41 Diagnosing Blown Gasket
28:47 Copper Wire Bodge Plan
31:45 JB Weld Overnight Cure
33:43 Morning Start And Misfire
36:48 Trail Test And Recovery
38:48 Jeremy Stories And Turkey
40:07 Viral Reel And Merch Ideas
43:54 Mean Comments Readback
48:12 MacGyver Reaction Quest
50:26 Wrap Up And Next Time

Steve Beres and Ike Goss welcome listeners to The Underpowered Hour, share two major Jaguar Land Rover safety recalls (a widespread DC-to-DC converter issue that can cut drivetrain power and affect brakes/lights, and a 2026 Defender fuel-tank defect that could leak or cause fire), then interview Defender Trophy trials finalist Nathaniel Biggs alongside Jenna Fribley about the North American Defender Trophy event near Stave Lake, British Columbia. Nathan describes team-based challenges including knot-tying and tripod skills, a high-lift jack winch task, interviews, a ropes course, a large-group “pencil” coordination game, compass navigation to collect codes, a run carrying a rotopax, night driving, and a group recovery using people power. Day two included vehicle-focused tasks like a wood-pyramid pull, a low bridge build, an off-road course with hole-punch targets, a mudflats trials-style navigation drive, and a tire-retrieval/change challenge. They discuss unclear scoring, strong camaraderie, and Nathan advancing to a New York stage announcement for who goes to Africa, before closing with Destination Defender info and teasing “Headgasket Gate.”