In other Land Rover related news, JLR has announced production cuts at certain Jaguar and Land Rover factories, due to reduced sales stemming from a number of uncertainties in the UK auto market. At Jaguar's Castle Bromwich plant in Birmingham, they produced no cars for a month surrounding the Christmas holidays, and another two weeks of shutdowns are planned as well.

Meanwhile, Land Rover has scaled back production at its Halewood plant in Merseyside for similar reasons. In particular, the dip in the market has been attributed to Brexit uncertainty and concerns about the future viability of diesel vehicles. New emissions restrictions and smog zones in congested downtown areas have made diesel-powered vehicles much less desirable for many UK consumers.

Throughout its history, Land Rover has, at times, built vehicles in overseas markets where it was deemed advantageous to do so for one reason or another. Past schemes have existed in Australia, South Africa, Spain, Morocco, Iran, and Belgium, and likely others. Currently, they operate vehicle and engine manufacturing plants in China, Brazil, and India, for exclusive sale in those markets. They have other plans to open plants in foreign countries such as Ireland, Austria, and Slovakia, but those vehicles wouldn't be limited to those countries.

Now, according to reports, the bosses at Land Rover parent company, Jaguar Land Rover, are eyeballing their next overseas destination: North Carolina. Yes, folks, you heard that correctly. North Carolina. According to UK consul-general, Jeremy Pilmore-Bedford, Land Rover is again looking to open a North American facility.

Ever since the invention of the Land Rover, people have been trying to put different engines into them, seeking to "improve" upon what the factory engineers deemed sufficient. That tradition continues to this day. Old Series Land Rovers are a doddle to work on, and the rudimentary construction lends itself well to accommodate the ministrations of those backyard engineers who seek to make the Land Rover fast enough to keep up with modern traffic. Though the vehicles are simple enough, the engine bay is small and the gearboxes and axles aren't strong enough for much more powerful engines. So the choices are kind of limited.

Atlantic British is pleased to announce a new distribution agreement along with a new live website - ClearviewMirrorsUSA.com! The new business division and eCommerce site offers premium replacement towing mirrors from Australian towing mirror specialists, Clearview Accessories, in North America for the first time!

Aside from the very limited edition 70th anniversary Defender that was just announced, Land Rover has also revealed, first in LRO magazine, and now in a full press release, that they will restore one of the most historically important and valuable early Land Rovers in existence. In 2016, a Land Rover enthusiast not far outside of Land Rover's home base of Solihull, UK, discovered an old 80-inch Series One Land Rover languishing in a field. It turned out to be one of the three original pre-production Land Rovers that were part of Land Rover's initial debut to the world at the Amsterdam Motor Show on April 30, 1948.

I know we beat this old horse to death here, but this time it's real. This week, Land Rover finally revealed what the 2018 Defender will look like. We have all the specs and we've seen the pictures. And the consensus seems to be that it looks exactly like, well, the old Defender. Because, well, it is an old Defender. Yeah. So...JLR Classic must have gotten tired of waiting around to see if Mssrs. Speth and McGovern would indeed get their act together and release a new Defender in time for the 70th anniversary of the marque in 2018. So they made their own. It doesn't have a squished roof in the back and it is NOT a hybrid. In fact, it looks to tick a lot of boxes that the original Defender just never did. Well, sort of. At least we think so.

"What is this 'shipfitters' disease?" you may be asking yourself. If you are, you probably have never owned and worked on an old Land Rover. I looked online for a definition, and this is what I found, from John Osterhout, posted on Bill Caloccia’s LRO mailing list back in 1997:

“Well, it's a nice day to work outside, and that cleat is loose, so I'll just tighten the screws. Oops, one is stripped, so, to do it right, I'll remove the cleat and see what the problem is. Oh, dear, dryrot!! Well, it's only in this one plank, and I can easily replace it. Gee, all the screws are loose, better replace the whole frame while I'm at it...

This is how it all starts.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that's the case JLR design boss Gerry McGovern ought to be blushing over the heaped on praise implied by the latest Chinese Land Rover rip off to hit the market. Chinese carmaker Zotye is the latest imitator to take up that dubious mantle.

Ford entered into a joint venture with the Chinese company to build cheap electric vehicles in the country. It looks like the first product of that unholy matrimony will be the Zotye T800. Judging from the photos and patent drawings we've seen, the vehicle is a dead ringer for the latest model Range Rover Sport. Like the ridiculously-named "Land Wind X7" Evoque clone that came out a few years ago, the T800 is nearly identical in almost every respect, with the exception of some trim detail and interior features.

The iconic Series Land Rover and its younger Defender offspring are known for their nearly un-matched off-road ability, ease of service, and most of all, their propensity to leak constantly, unaffected by the careful efforts of their hapless owners.

It is only appropriate then that news out of Solihull regarding the new Defender comes to us in the same way - trickling out so slowly that it goes unnoticed. Then one day, suddenly there is a puddle on the ground of sufficient size to be worth doing something about.

Which brings us to today's blog. I think the last time we left off on the topic, we knew the Defender would not retain any retro-looking style based on the old models, that it would have an electric option, and be out in 2019.

The UK automotive blogs were all abuzz last week with images of a number of different Land Rover prototypes out on test, wrapped in the usual dazzle camouflage. The Land Rover product line is expanding so fast and models getting updated so frequently that even as a blog writer tasked with reporting on this very sort of news, the spy shot stories have started to get boring. So much so that I nearly missed this one.

This week I'd like to tell you all about an exciting new product. Earlier this year, Atlantic British introduced a new, affordable diagnostic tool that provides light years in improvement over many of the compact consumer-level devices previously available. The iLAND diagnostic app puts many functions literally in the palm of your hand (though not while driving please) by allowing you to access your vehicle's on-board diagnostic codes and readouts via your iOS or Android Bluetooth enabled mobile device.

Sometimes I love him, other times, not so much. While I may not agree with all of his aesthetics, I have to admit that Land Rover design boss Gerry McGovern has, at the very least, introduced some compelling designs and has helped, along with other JLR top brass, to steer Land Rover perhaps its greatest level of success and growth, potentially in the history of the company. That said, would they be so successful now if they weren't backed up by 60 years as the reigning king of the 4x4 dirt pile? Perhaps not, and I think he recognizes that. For all that he has done until now, I know I'm not the only one out there who would agree that he's managed to keep the spirit of Land Rover alive even if the finished vehicle has a different look from its predecessors.

Range Rover design chief Gerry McGovern presents SVO Discovery SVX to select dealers and customers the week of the LA Auto Show.

Everybody knows dogs love Land Rovers. I don't know what it is, but something about jumping up into the back of a Rover must fulfill some canine instinct. Is it just Rovers? Or perhaps other 4x4's as well? My friend had a Chesapeake Bay retriever that loved riding in the back of his Series III 88" so much, she would poop every time after the first few miles. After the inevitable cleanup, she would just lay down in the back and go right to sleep.

One often heard argument around the campfire at certain club "events" is that EV's aren't as efficient as "they" would have us believe. Because, well, "think about it" - the environmental carnage that occurs as the result of manufacturing and then later disposing of all those batteries is surely either equal to, or worse than, the bigfoot-sized carbon footprint of a V8 Range Rover.

Legendary explorer and Land Rover brand ambassador, Kingsley Holgate, has just returned from his latest expedition up the East coast of Africa. The Extreme East Expedition, using new Land Rover Discoveries, as well as the Holgate Foundation's own stalwart Defender 130, took the team from Kosi Lake, located at the easternmost point of South Africa, to Ras Xaafuun in Somalia, the most easterly point of the entire African continent. In reaching Ras Xaafuun, the expedition drove the entire East coast of Africa, including a secretive and dangerous run through war-torn Somalia.