The Underpowered Hour

Steve Beres and Ike Goss open with news from the UK about a military Defender towing a trailer that swerves to avoid a car on the motorway, flips multiple times, scatters gear across the road, and injures two soldiers. They then check in live from the SCAR event in Texas with Tom Pickford and the Pollyanna crew, who completed a 2,850-mile trip across the southern United States with their main issue being a snapped fan belt at the Louisiana border; they discuss public reactions, route highlights including Mobile, New Orleans, Cajun country, and Galveston, and the Barbara Toy tribute run and its impact. The episode closes with a Bring a Trailer feature on a refurbished 1994 Defender 90 300Tdi loaded with accessories, heavy rope, and diamond plate, bidding around $12,000.

Steve hosts without Ike  at first and checks in with Tom Pickford, Greg Fitzgerald, Bill Cooper, and Laura Stacey as they drive Pollyanna—Barbara Toy’s famed Series I Land Rover—across the southern U.S. toward the Texas Rover Club’s SCAR event honoring Toy. They discuss how the trip came together after Jaguar Land Rover brought Pollyanna to Pebble Beach, the convoy support vehicles, early mechanical quirks from year-old fuel, recreating Toy’s Jacksonville Beach moment with the mayor, and efforts to preserve and expand Toy’s legacy through barbara-toy.com, surviving letters, and the book The Free Lives of Barbara Toy, plus challenges republishing her out-of-print books (only In Search of Sheba is currently reprinted). Back in studio, Steve and Ike note Tim Slessor’s death, a Tom Holland Series Land Rover ad, and a Liam Neeson horror-comedy featuring Land Rovers.

00:00 Ike Is Out Today
00:39 Hotel Internet Fixes
01:32 Naming The Expedition
02:19 Meet The Pollyanna Crew
03:59 Why Recreate The Journey
06:52 Picking Up Pollyanna
07:24 JFK Versus Newark
08:49 On The Road Glitches
12:10 Laura Joins The Ride
14:45 Club Shirts And Walmart
15:56 Bill And The Support Cars
17:40 Writing And Publishing Plans
19:22 Saving Barbara Toy History
22:51 Recreating Jacksonville Beach
23:38 Family Ties And Legacy
25:16 Rescuing Barbara’s Archive
26:08 Letters Become a Book
26:39 Hunting Global Ephemera
27:41 Reprinting the Travelogues
29:27 Pollyanna and Lost Vehicles
31:32 Why the Books Are Rare
33:18 Secondhand Shop Strategies
34:24 Farewell and Modern Contrast
36:38 Land Rover News Roundup
38:02 Tom Holland Series Ad
39:36 Tattoo Banter Detour
40:42 Pollyanna Trip Check-In
44:16 Liam Neeson Zombie Film
46:35 Wrap Up and Next Check-In

Steve Beres and Ike Goss discuss the newly revealed Freelander, debating whether the images show a real production vehicle or a concept pushed out after a crash-test leak, and they comment on its bold styling, screen-heavy interior, and unusual seating and door design. They cover Land Rover news including Tiger Woods rolling a Range Rover in an alleged DUI incident, a viral Sudbury car-park video featuring a machete-wielding motorbike theft and a Defender intervening, and a reported 61% jump in JLR sales alongside jokes about Jerry McGovern’s departure. Ike shares Pangolin4x4 shop updates on a repeatedly botched transmission rebuild and the importance of correct tolerances, plus progress on two Michigan Land Rovers bought sight unseen. They also preview Tom Pickford and Bill Cooper driving the famous Pollyanna to the SCARR rally and mention Steve’s new diode laser tool for marking parts.

00:00 Show Intro and Hosts
01:20 Freelander Reveal Buzz
01:52 Concept or Production
02:38 Wild Interior Tech
06:27 Design Stripe Debate
09:02 Can You Buy It
09:44 Tiger Woods Rollover
12:06 Defender Vigilante Video
15:33 JLR Sales Spike Talk
16:46 Pangolin Shop Updates
17:40 Gearbox Rebuild Autopsy
18:27 Bushing Failure Explained
19:29 Why Tolerances Matter
21:35 Customer Fallout and Fix
22:41 Dialed In Land Rovers
24:28 Michigan Barn Finds Update
28:16 Pollyanna Road Trip
30:08 New Diode Laser Tool
33:12 Wrap Up and Next Week

Steve Beres and Ike Goss cover a bleak week of Land Rover news, including JLR temporarily halting production at the Solihull plant for two weeks due to a supplier dispute affecting Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. They discuss leaked crash-test photos of the new Freelander (developed with Chery), noting its larger SUV proportions, bold Freelander branding, and a stripped, modern JLR-like interior, along with reports of a $58,000 entry price and plans for the UK rather than the US. They revisit the confusing status of design chief Gerry McGovern, with new reports saying he will step down at the end of March. The hosts also note the British Army retiring its iconic Land Rover fleet with replacement expected by 2030, speculate about surplus sales, debut a “Would You Rather” segment, and mention a new Anaconda film opening with a classic Defender scene.

00:00 Show Intro and Hosts
01:31 JLR Halts Solihull Production
02:37 Freelander Crash Leak
04:32 Freelander Design Breakdown
08:17 Pricing and Market Plans
09:19 Jerry McGovern Exit Saga
12:10 British Army Retires Land Rovers
15:17 Defender Import Dreams
15:44 Would You Rather Begins
16:55 Heater Core Nightmare
18:32 Creepy Seat vs Enya Loop
21:59 Viewer Submissions Call
22:24 Defender Spotting in Anaconda
25:13 Project Hail Mary Rovers
25:40 Where Is Jerry McGovern
26:25 See You Next Week

https://classiclandrover.com/2026/03/20/british-army-to-retire-iconic-land-rover-fleet/

https://www.autonews.com/jaguar-land-rover/ane-jaguar-design-boss-mcgovern-starts-consultancy-0320/

https://www.autoblog.com/news/new-land-rover-freelander-leaked-after-crash-test

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3931xz101do

Steve Beres and Ike Goss discuss JLR’s new international Defender Awards and how they differ from the existing Defender Service Awards, including the judging-panel process and some winners. They review spy-photo news suggesting the Range Rover Velar is becoming a more wagon-like, road-focused vehicle, and debate why the newer Range Rover logo appears inconsistently on vehicles and the website. They cover controversy around a Chinese company’s Range Rover-like vehicle and ad copy. Steve then interviews Joe Hesselman of Lost Cause Ranch about his new car-wash-based shop with three-phase power and expanded CNC capabilities, plus his Land Rover projects including a six-wheel Discovery 2 and a Discovery 4 chopped into a tray-back “El Camino”-style pickup with custom aluminum flatbed and toolboxes. The episode ends with a brief film recommendation, "Sorcerer" (1978).

00:00 Show Intro and Hosts
01:20 Defender Awards Explained
03:53 Winners and Weird Highlights
04:57 Velar Update Wagon Talk
06:40 Range Rover Logo Mystery
08:27 China Copycat Ad Drama
11:02 Defender Lookalike SUVs
17:51 Interview Joe Lost Cause
19:15 New Ranch CNC Upgrades
24:35 Fleet Updates and 6x6 Disco
27:43 Chopping a Discovery Tease
28:13 El Camino Dreaming
29:38 Why Cut the LR4
30:37 Sourcing the Rear Cap
31:31 Slicing It in Half
33:53 Designing the Flatbed
36:28 All Aluminum Fabrication
39:58 Underbed Box Mastery
42:09 CNC Press Brake Talk
45:57 Future Ranch Projects
49:54 Utes and Car Culture
52:08 Sorcerer Movie Pick
54:23 Wrap and Next Week