CarCast is twice weekly automotive podcast hosted by Matt “The Motorator” D’Andria, former NFL and WWE superstar, Bill Goldberg, and Vice President Editorial & Editor-in-Chief at Edmunds.com, Alistair Weaver. CarCast explores all aspects of the automotive space from the performance aftermarket to new car buying and the future of the automotive industry. The guys answer your questions, offer advice and feature guests from the automotive industry and celebrity car enthusiasts.
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Motoring Podcast에서 제공하는 콘텐츠입니다. 에피소드, 그래픽, 팟캐스트 설명을 포함한 모든 팟캐스트 콘텐츠는 Motoring Podcast 또는 해당 팟캐스트 플랫폼 파트너가 직접 업로드하고 제공합니다. 누군가가 귀하의 허락 없이 귀하의 저작물을 사용하고 있다고 생각되는 경우 여기에 설명된 절차를 따르실 수 있습니다 https://ko.player.fm/legal.
Motoring Podcast - News Show와 비슷한 콘텐츠
Let’s Drone Out is a light-hearted and chatty drone focused podcast. Recorded live and interactively every Thursday 8-9 pm UK time on YouTube, come join the interactive chat. Jack and his wife Tony, as well as the rest of the LDO crew are here to bring noobs and pros together. Tune in every Thursday at 8:00PM UK time for the latest on tech, events, news, interviews and a behind the scenes look into the hobby. LEGAL NOTICE: Any views expressed by any guests on this show are personal and may ...
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We promise we are not as Horrible as you think at video games, well maybe. Join us in a weekly show discussing video games, the culture around it and the latest topics going on in the industry. You’ll find insightful discussions , game reviews, and industry news that cater to all gaming enthusiasts. Join us as we dive deep into the world of gaming, sharing our thoughts and experiences. Give us a listen and share us with your friends. Your feedback is always welcome, and we appreciate your su ...
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Under The Hood® Show. Syndicated across America since 1990 Americas' Favorite Car Talk Show! This Live Radio Show is here to help you get free Auto Repair Advice helping you to save money on Auto Repairs. The hosts take your calls about any Automotive Questions and help guide you to a Repair Solution. If you need Car Repair Help to Make Your Own Do It Yourself Auto Repairs or just need a few Automotive Hints to help when you visit a shop, the guys will help you. The guys work in the Automoti ...
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Sneak Attack! is a homebrew actual play tabletop RPG podcast set in the world of Brannis, as well as the depths of outer space. While in season, new episodes release every Friday.
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A weekly podcast dedicated to improving your play at Magic: The Gathering with an emphasis on Limited play.
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Audio home of The Jimquisition, featuring its lovely little podcast, Podquisition - starring Jim Sterling, Laura Kate, and Conrad Zimmerman!
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The UK Column is an independent news organisation analysing the information war. Operating without financial backing or external investment, we remain free from advertisers, foundations, and political parties, relying solely on support from our audience through memberships and donations.
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Motoring Podcast - News Show
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Motoring Podcast에서 제공하는 콘텐츠입니다. 에피소드, 그래픽, 팟캐스트 설명을 포함한 모든 팟캐스트 콘텐츠는 Motoring Podcast 또는 해당 팟캐스트 플랫폼 파트너가 직접 업로드하고 제공합니다. 누군가가 귀하의 허락 없이 귀하의 저작물을 사용하고 있다고 생각되는 경우 여기에 설명된 절차를 따르실 수 있습니다 https://ko.player.fm/legal.
Motoring enthusiasts Alan and Andrew discuss their takes on the week's motoring news in this 45 to 60 minute audio podcast.
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Motoring Podcast에서 제공하는 콘텐츠입니다. 에피소드, 그래픽, 팟캐스트 설명을 포함한 모든 팟캐스트 콘텐츠는 Motoring Podcast 또는 해당 팟캐스트 플랫폼 파트너가 직접 업로드하고 제공합니다. 누군가가 귀하의 허락 없이 귀하의 저작물을 사용하고 있다고 생각되는 경우 여기에 설명된 절차를 따르실 수 있습니다 https://ko.player.fm/legal.
Motoring enthusiasts Alan and Andrew discuss their takes on the week's motoring news in this 45 to 60 minute audio podcast.
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FOLLOW UP: DAZZLING HEADLIGHT RESEARCH RESULTS The College of Optometrists, working with the RAC, has conducted research into if headlight dazzle is a problem. The results from the first research suggest there is, particularly for under 35s and those not in SUVs. If you wish to find out more, click this article link from the College here . FOLLOW UP: AUTOPIAN THINKS APPLE SHOULD BUY NISSAN Matt Hardigree makes the case, in The Autopian, as to why Apple should buy Nissan. He does however admit that he’s not using logic. Click this link to read more, if you so wish . RENAULT SHARES BATTERY SUPPRESSION SYSTEM WITH INDUSTRY Renault has developed a system to allow for EV and hybrid battery fires to be put out quicker than is currently possible. An access port has been added to the battery pack which will be opened by the pressure of a fire hose, enabling water to get directly into the battery cells and cover them with water. Renault has named this the Fireman Access system and is sharing it with the entire car industry. To read more on this excellent move by Renault, click this Autocar article here . BMW PAUSES INVESTMENT IN OXFORD EV PLANT BMW has paused the planned £600 million investment in the Mini Oxford plant that would enable EVs to be made there. They have cited “multiple uncertainties facing the automotive industry" and not taken up a £60 million grant from the UK Government, as a result. If you want to read more, click this BBC News article link here . BRAKE DUST PARTICULATE TOXICITY Research from the University of Southampton has suggested that brake dust particulates, when the brakes have copper as part of their construction, is more damaging than diesel vehicle emissions. Removing copper from the brakes drops this. Click this Top Gear article link to read more . FAKE SPEAKERS IN SOME CHINESE VOLVOS Customers in China have discovered that some of them have fake Bowers and Wilkins speakers fitted, as the displayed names are Bowers and VVilkins. Not only that but the drive selector is not as advertised by Volvo. This is embarrassing, to say the least. To find out more, click this Ars Technica article link here . TESLA AUTOPILOT RULED DEFECTIVE IN GERMANY A German court has agreed with a Tesla owner and ruled that the company’s Autopilot was defective, due to phantom braking issues. Either the owner is to be fully compensated or have their Model 3 replaced with a car that has non defective Autopilot. You can read further on this, by clicking the link here to a CarScoops article . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Kia EV4 Kia has revealed the Cupra Born, VW ID.3 rival the EV4. Coming in both hatchback and saloon shape but not fastback which is destined for other markets. Details on powertrain and battery options are yet to be revealed, but the expectation is 58kW or 81kW battery packs and front or four-wheel drive. Range should therefore be around the 350 miles maximum. The car will be launched later this year. Click this Autocar article link for more . Kia PV5 The first of Kia’s commercial vehicles has been revealed, the PV5. Details, as with the EV4, are yet to be revealed however it will initially come as a panel van, called the Cargo Van and passenger vehicle, named the Passenger Van. You can find out more by clicking this Professional Van article link here . Peugeot 504 Break Peugeot’s in-house design team have reimagined the classic 504 and produced there distinct versions. One being inspired by Pikes Peaks hillclimb. A second drift capable version. Finally, a homage to the French rap group 113 who drove one onto stage at the French music awards in 2000. To see more, click this Wallpaper article link here . Mazda 2 axed Mazda is cutting the ICE and mild hybrid versions of the 2 from its range in the UK. You can still buy a rebadged Toyota Yaris Hybrid, called the Mazda 2 Hybrid. Click this Autocar article to read more . LUNCHTIME WATCH: FROM CANADA TO ARGENTINA Follow a young couple as they modify a Toyota Chinook and drive from Canada to Argentina. We love an adventure and this video shows some of the experiences they shared in taking such a fabulous journey. Thanks in large part to a car. Click this YouTube link to watch . LIST OF THE WEEK: 25 OF RENAULT’S GREATEST PERFORMANCE HITS Autocar give us 25 options for your favourite fast Renault. Do you agree with the choices? What would you pick? Do let us know. Click here to see what you can select from . AND FINALLY: MOTORING ART - OLGUN KORDAL Classic & Sports Car interview Olgun Kordal about his work and use of vivid and bold coloured backgrounds in his images. There are a stunning set of pictures to view, which you can by clicking this link here .…
FOLLOW UP: COURTS REFUSE GOVERNMENT REQUEST The UK’s Supreme Court has blocked the Government’s attempt to reduce the compensation due to those sold finance for their car purchase. The fear was it would stop or reduce car loan availability. We now wait until April to find out the final ruling. Click this BBC News article to read more . ASTON MARTIN GIVEN DEADLINE TO BE FIXED Adrian Hallmark, the new CEO of Aston Martin, has outlined that the company must be “going in the right direction’, in terms of towards profitability in the next 12-18 months. Aston will not be following a volume model, but one where they maximise the profitability from each vehicle. If you wish to learn more, click this CarScoops link here . For the more bizarre ideas from Aston Martin, you can click this Top Gear article link to read further . NISSAN CANNOT GUARANTEE SUNDERLAND FUTURE As the fall out of the collapsed merger continues to rain down, one step Nissan is taking is to continue it’s global cost saving exercise. Unfortunately, that means the Sunderland facility is under threat as three international plants are earmarked for closure. This is a step up on November’s original announcement, where only job losses were thought to be enough. If you want to learn more, click this Autocar article link here . PORSCHE TO REDUCE WORKFORCE Another car company not immune from the issues of the industry, Porsche has announced that it will be reducing the workforce by around 1900 staff. The expectation is this will be achieved by natural retirement and turnover. Some reports suggest 1500 positions will also go for temporary staff. This is the latest in a number of announcements from Porsche that show just how badly hit they are. Click this electrive article link to learn more . NEW UK CAR PARK GUIDANCE ANNOUNCED On Monday 17 February new guidance came into affect, from the new organisation, the Private Parking Scrutiny and Advice Panel (PPSAP). They have brought in a rule that offers greater protection to those struggling to pay upon arrival at a car park, if they are privately run and use ANPR or CCTV to enforce and monitor parking. To read more on this, click here for an article link from Motoring Research . CONIGITAL GOES INTO LIQUIDATION Conigital, once heralded as beacon in the UK autonomous vehicle world has called in a liquidator as it voluntarily folds. This is after the company claimed to have raised £500 million from a private equity group. However, the UK Tech News outlet was suspicious of this and published an article back in June 2024 questioning the validity of this claim. Click this article link to read about that . Then, click here , to read about the latest situation. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Subaru Forester Subaru has released the details of the new Forester which is coming to the UK, from late Spring 2025. Revised looks, both inside and out, with power coming from a mild hybrid powertrain combined with their 2.0 litre boxer four petrol engine. Prices start at £38,995 for the entry level Limited model, rising, for the range-topping Touring version to£42,995. Click this link to read more from PistonHeads . Modena MA-01 A restomod that isn’t a butchers 911, well knock us down with a feather. Instead, Modena has decided to bring their interpretation of the Maserati Biturbo and Shamal. This is a very good thing. Okay then, so it is a touch pricey at around £500,000 but that does include the donor car! Click this Evo link here to see these lovely looking cars. Renault 5 GTL A classic Renault 5 GTL has been converted to electric power, giving a range of 50 miles, and updating of some aspects of the vehicle. There is a retro styled digital dash, which came from a company using ‘software code-free approach’ and no, we don’t know what that means either. Not that we care, in this case, as it looks very cool. Click this Top Gear article link to see more . LUNCHTIME READ: SKYLINE OR SIMILAR Antony Ingram went to Japan recently-ish and he chose to hire cars to help him get around. What a brilliant idea! He has written up his experience for Hagerty and click this link to read more . Fabulous. LIST OF THE WEEK: CARS THAT ENDED PRODUCTION IN 2024 As there has been too much nice stuff in the second half of the show, here is a list thanks to Evo, which has all the cars that went out of production in 2024. Do you agree with the choice of what will be missed the most? Click the link here to see what options there are . AND FINALLY: YOU WILL NEED YOUR BIG COAT Top Gear went to the wonderful F.A.T. Ice Race, at Zell am See and they took a lot of gorgeous photos. Click this link , which will bring a smile to your face, which is the whole point of the And Finally section.…
FOLLOW UP: NISSAN HONDA DEAL OVER ALREADY Before it even really got going, it appears Nissan are to walk away from the deal as Honda are accused of changing the agreement, with a proposal that made Nissan a subsidiary and not equal partner. When you look at the market evaluations of them, you can see why Honda may suggest they are the bigger company. Click this Autocar article link here to read more . FOLLOW UP: VAUXHALL LUTON TO SHUT BY JUNE 2025 Stellantis has confirmed that the Vauxhall Luton plant will close by June this year. The announcement of the closure came in November 2024, with this one now being the specific date. Ellesmere Port will continue to operate. For more on this story, click this Autocar article link here . JANUARY 2025 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES The Society of Motor Manufacturer and Traders has revealed the new car registration figures for January 2025. They are down over all, but BEVs are at 21% market share. Unfortunately, Private is still down with Fleet doing all the heavy lifting. Many “commentators” have tried to tie in Tesla’s drop to the CEO’s actions in the US, but this is not the case due to the length of time it takes to get a delivery from order, especially if specific options are wanted. Click this SMMT article link to read more on the state of the market . STELLANTIS RESHUFFLE CONTINUES Linda Jackson, the CEO of Peugeot, will retire as the reshuffling of Stellantis management continues, following the departure of the previous CEO. To read more, including other moves, click this Autocar article link here . MOT CHANGES WORRY INDUSTRY A new change expected to MOTs, where any recalls that have not been completed must be noted as either an advisory or fail, is worrying the industry. The fear is this could overwhelm workshops as there is an estimated 5 million vehicles on the road with recall work to be performed on. If you wish to find out more, click this AMOnline article link here . BID TO STOP GHOST MOTS The DVSA is taking the next step in using photographic evidence, in a bid to prevent ghost MOTs. These are where a workshop gives an MOT without even seeing the car. Following an initial trial they are now working on honing the process of confirming the car is in the garage and being inspected. Click this article link from the UK Government . ELECTRIC VAN MOT PROBLEM Fleet operators are asking for an approved deferral for electric van MOTs as they need to be handled at a commercial vehicle testing station due to their weight. As they fall into the heavy goods vehicle category, they must be tested at one year. However, the Association of Fleet Operators seems to think that the rules need not apply because they’re electric, as somehow physics doesn’t apply when its an EV. Click this Motoring Research article link for more . UK GOVERNMENT FINDS CARS SEND LOTS OF DATA According to reports in the media, the UK Government has warned some employees to be careful when inside their or Government issued cars as what is said could be sent to a foreign Government. Of particular concern are Chinese vehicles. They will be really shocked when they learn what all modern cars can do. To read more, click this electrive article link here . SNAKE PASS UNDER THREAT Derbyshire County Council has called on the Government for help in maintaining the Snake Pass. The threat is that they will not be able to afford to repair the route, which is seeing an increasing number of landslides and damage. You can find out more, by clicking this BBC News article link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Arctic Trucks’s Land Cruiser 250 Arctic Truck has sprinkled their magic on the new Land Cruiser. They have raised and widened the vehicle, added chunky tyres and a wide body kit. These will be available later in 2025. To see more, click this Hagerty article link here . Audi naming change. Again. Audi has, once again, changed how it will name its models. No longer will the the odd numbers for ICE and hybrid versions and the even numbers for EVs. This is as a result of “feedback” from customers and dealers. Click this Autocar article link here for more information . LUNCHTIME READ: SEATTLE TO SARATOGA SPRINGS For our recommendation this week we are going on a road trip across America. In some 2CVs. Yep. Really. Follow this amazing journey via this link to the article on Citroënvie . LIST OF THE WEEK: BELLISIMA! FIVE FABULOUS FIATS OF THE 1990S Hagerty supplies this week’s list to select from. It may be small but it is mighty, as someone once almost wrote. The best Fiat’s of the 1990s. Do you agree with the choice? What would you pick? Do let the chaps know. Click here to check out the options . AND FINALLY: FINES, THE FINAL FRONTIER A lady from Long Island, USA, used to have a license plate with the same alphanumeric ID as the Enterprise from Star Trek. That sounds quite cool, except people are buying novelty plates from online stores and fitting them. Even though she handed back the plates four years ago, she is getting fines and citations for driving offences. To find out more, click this Gizmodo article link here .…
FOLLOW UP: MERCEDES JOINS EU TARIFF LAWSUIT Before we had even managed to publish last week’s show, Mercedes-Benz had joined the lawsuit against the EU over Chinese made EV tariffs. Click this Bloomberg article link to learn more . US PAUSES TARIFFS ON CANADA, MEXICO AND CHINA GOODS The US has paused imposing 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, as well as a 10% tariff on Chinese made goods. Even though this has not gone through, the chaps explain the consequences should they come to pass, on the US car manufacturing industry, dealerships and buyers. To find out more, click this electrive article link here . UK GOV INVESTS IN CHARGING AND MINING The UK Government is investing £65 million in Connected Kerb, who provide on street parking charging solutions. On top of this, £28 million is being invested in Cornish Metals, who mine minerals for EV batteries, solar panels and more besides. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar article link here . JLR PROFITS DROP DUE TO CHANGE OF DOMINANT MARKET JLR’s most dominant market is now the US, instead of China. With a weak pound against the dollar, the two factors have reduced the year-on-year profit for the company. Another impact was warranty costs. However, they did take in a record revenue, along with an improved profit margin. Click this Autocar article link here for more . MOST RECALLED CARS OF 2024 Once again the annual list of shame comes out, where the car brands that were recalled the most in Europe has been published. To find out more, click this Autocar article link here . PROPOSED ASTON MARTIN MUSEUM CANCELLED A proposed Aston Martin museum, in Newport Pagnell, have been cancelled due to the costs of the project. The Aston Martin Heritage Trust could not find a commercial partner for the museum. If you want to learn more, click this BBC News article link here . HALF OF YOUNG PASSENGERS KILLED IN UK WORE NO SEATBELT The shocking statistics from the Department for Transport show that 43% of young people who are killed in vehicle incidents are not wearing a seatbelt. To read more about this horrifying data, click this ETSC article link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Fiat Grande Panda Fiat has revealed the full specs and prices for the Grande Panda. It will undercut the sister car from Citroën, the eC3, with a price of £20,975. The 44kWh battery has a maximum range of 199 miles and is able to charge at up to 100kW. There is also a petrol hybrid version. Fiat is making the Panda a model range all of its own, with a new model coming out in the next two years. Click this Autocar article link for more . BMW iX BMW has given the iX a facelift.Cost a mere £74,400 for the entry level, but if you want a maximum of 426 miles you need to pony up £92,200. There is a range of trims, battery packs and power outputs, all to suit the wealthy buyer who needs such a car. If you want to learn more, click this Autocar article link here . Flexis vans Flexis, the joint venture between Renault, Volvo Trucks and the French logistics company CMA CGM, has revealed their first three electric vans. We will have to wait a few years before they appear on our streets, as the end of the decade is the expected timeline. Click this Autocar article link to read more . Genesis ends ICE sales in UK Genesis has announced that it will not be selling pure internal combustion engined vehicles in the UK, for the foreseeable future. To find out more, click this Autocar article link here . Lexus removes LS from sale in UK Lexus is removing the LS saloon from its UK line up. Whilst homologation and legislation are being blamed the fact they have sold just 39 since the start of 2020 has probably made that an easy decision. If you want to read more, click this Autocar article link here . LUNCHTIME READ: HISTORY OF LANCASTER (FORTON) SERVICES This week we recommend reading about one of the most iconic service stations in the UK, Lancaster (Forton), positioned on the M6 between Preston and Lancaster. Click this link to a Motorway Services Online article here , to read more. LIST OF THE WEEK: TOP GEAR’S TOP 9 - CARS WITH DODGY WOOD TRIM Thanks to listener Dan Hall, that sent us this list, from Top Gear and their Top 9 cars with dodgy wood trim. Oh boy, are there some crackers too! Click this link to be amazed and horrified . AND FINALLY: A FILM THAT BROKE THE RULES Fifty years ago the original Gone in Sixty Seconds came out and it was unlike anything previously. This article from Hagerty tells the story of the film and the man who made it happen. Click this link to read more .…
FOLLOW UP: GOVERNMENT INTERVENES OVER FINANCE SCANDAL The Chancellor of the Exchequer has written to the Supreme Court to ask them to not penalise car dealers and finance companies too much, for breaking common law. To read more, click this AMOnline article link here . For more context on how we are at this point, click this link here, from The Conversation . FOLLOW UP: WESTERN AND CHINESE EV MAKERS TAKE EU TO COURT BMW and Tesla has joined with BYD, SAIC and Geely to challenge the tariffs imposed on EVs made in China that are brought to Europe. They are arguing that the rates imposed are unfair. If you wish to read further on this, click this AMOnline link here . FOLLOW UP: NHTSA BLUECRUISE INVESTIGATION SHOCKS The investigation into Ford’s hands-off eyes-on driving system, called BlueCruise, by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the US, has found that the system does not detect stationary vehicles when the car is going over 62mph. This has been implemented to try and prevent false positives being sensed and thus “phantom braking”. Click this Autoevolution article link for more . FOLLOW UP: GOVERNMENT BACKS GREATER MANCHESTER PLANS The UK Government has assessed and approved the proposed plans from Greater Manchester, to reduce the amount of nitrogen dioxide in the air. This will take place without the need to charge drivers for a Clean Air Zone, as so many other cities have chosen. If you would like to learn more, click this article link from BBC News, here . VW GROUP DITCHES AGENCY MODEL FOR EVS In the UK, the Volkswagen Group will end its use of the agency model, where they sell directly to customers, for their electric vehicles. They are the latest in a number of companies to make this move. Click this Auto Retail Agenda article to read more . SUBARU HACKED Ethical hackers found a vulnerability in Subaru’s StarLink connected service that allowed them to access incredible amounts of data and even control some functions of cars remotely. This has now been patched and we have only found out after the fix was deployed by Subaru. If you want to learn more, click this link to Sam Curry’s post detailing what he did and found. WAYMO HACKED Jane Manchun Wong, a security researcher, found a hidden element of the Waymo app that allowed her to change what the top dome, on the roof of their vehicles, displayed. Waymo have now closed this off to ‘normal users’. If you want to learn more, click this TechCrunch article link here . MANY THINGS HACKED Pwn2Own Automotive 2025 took place over three days last week and found 49 unknown vulnerabilities in software for head units and EV chargers, including Tesla’s own wall charger. On top of which, some known vulnerabilities were exploited again as companies has not fixed them since being alerted to them previously. To learn more, click this BleepingComputer article link here . JLR INVESTS IN BESPOKE OFFERINGS JLR is investing £65 million in Castle Bromwich and Nitra, Slovakia plants, to enable them to offer more bespoke paint options to customers. The company states more Range Rover owners are requesting more personalised options. Click this BBC News article link here , for more. JLR INVESTS IN RARE EARTH RECYCLING COMPANY Cyclic Materials, a Canadian company that plans to commercially recycle rare earth material from magnets in electric motors, wind turbines, MRI devices and electronic scrap, according to electrive.com. To read more, click this article link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Dacia Bigster Dacia has revealed their largest SUV, a chunky C-segment vehicle that undercuts the competition with the entire range being under £30,000. There are a couple of trim levels and several powertrain options. To read more, click this Motoring Research article link here . GWM Ora 03’s new entry level model GWM Ora has announced a new entry level model for the 03, with a price reduction of £7000, bringing it to £24,995. This will be called the Pure and comes with a range up to 194 miles and much of the kit the Pure+ (which is being retired) did. There will also be a range topping GT, which will be from £32,995 and have more aggressive styling and technology. Click this Autocar article to read more . LUNCHTIME READ: LET’S HOPE ELON MUSK DOESN’T TAKE EVS WITH HIM InsideEVs has a piece about the potential for the move to EVs, in the US, to be dealt a significant blow thanks to how the CEO of Tesla is behaving. In the United States the EV industry and adoption is hinged on Tesla, from the visible brand to charging infrastructure, without the company there will be, at best, a stalling and at worst a collapse. If you want to read more, click this article link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: SHOOT FROM THE HIP Hagerty is the provider of this week’s list, with it suggesting the 11 coolest shooting brakes, even though some are not technically shooting brakes but estates. Glossing over that, there are some fabulous options for you to pick from, click here to see what they are . AND FINALLY: GUILTY PLEASURE PetrolBlog has a series called Guilty Pleasures, where Major Gav shares a car that is a bit of a guilty pleasure. We have chosen to share the Suzuki X-90 as your starter into the series. Do check out the rest of the series on the website. Click here to read about this mad car .…
FOLLOW UP: BT ENDS EV CHARGER PILOT After converting just a single junction box to enable EV charging, BT has pulled the plug on their project. Originally touted as having a potential to convert up to 90,000 cabinets, the company is focusing on improving wifi provision for EV chargers. To learn more, click this Autocar article link here . FOLLOW UP: FTC SUES JOHN DEERE OVER REPAIR MONOPOLY In the US, the Federal Trade Commission along with Illinois and Minnesota, have taken John Deere to court over claims of a monopoly on repair to their equipment. The claims explain how due to only John Deere being able to fix farm machinery their is a loss of earnings as the farmers have to wait for a technician. This has potential knock on for the motoring industry. Click this 404 Media article link , to read more. EV POWERTRAIN FACTORY TO BE BUILT IN SUNDERLAND A company owned by Nissan, Jatco, will build a factory in Sunderland that will produce the car company’s next generation EV powertrains. The UK Government is investing £50 million in the project. If you want to read more, click this Autocar article here . STELLANTIS UK MANAGEMENT CHANGES Stellantis UK have made changes to their management team, again. This time Nicola Dobson will head up Peugeot. Giuseppe Cava will be the MD for Fiat, Fiat Professional and Abarth. Damien Dally will lead the Leapmotor brand. Nick Richards will be the director of pre-owned vehicles. Tom Ray is in charge of business-to-business for all brands. To learn more, click this AMOnline link here . FTC BANS GM FROM PASSING DRIVER DATA ON For the next five years, GM is banned from passing driver data onto consumer reporting agencies, in the United States. Additionally, they must make it clear what data they do collect and give people choice over if it is collected and used. Click this article from the Federal Trade Commission for more details. HINO SETTLES US EMISSION BATTLE In the United States, the Toyota subsidiary Hino, has settled with regulators an emission scandal involving their diesel engines. Fined $1.6 billion, plead guilty and banned from importing their engines to the country for five years. Amazing what happens to non-US companies, compared to their own. Click this BBC News article link for more . CANOO FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY The EV startup, Canoo, has filed for bankruptcy after it failed to find further funding. To find out more, click this TechCrunch article here . CHARGE CAR HAS BEEN BOUGHT The collapsed EV restomod company, Charge Car, has been bought and resurrected, by a consortium who plan to follow through on the program of building electric Mustangs. If you wish to read more, click this Autocar link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - KGM Actyon KGM has revealed details of their new SUV, the Actyon. Aimed at the likes of the Skoda Kodiaq and Honda CR-V, it will initially come with a 1.5 litre turbo petrol engine producing 161bhp. Prices are expected to start from £31,995. Click this Autocar article to learn more . Toyota Urban Cruiser The Urban Cruiser name returns, on a new electric SUV from Toyota. Due to arrive later this year, with a rumoured price over £30,000. This is very similar to the eVitara we covered recently. Click this Top Gear article link to read more . BYD Atto 2 BYD is launching the Atto 2 SUV in Europe. Sitting between the Dolphin and Atto 3, in their range. Rivals are expected to be the likes of the Vauxhall Frontera and Renault 4. Range, for the 45.1kWh battery, is expected to be around 194 miles. Prices are thought to be around the mid £20,000s, in line with the competition. Click this Autocar article to read more . DS plans DS has bold plans. No, you don’t seem to understand, we really do mean BOLD. Not content with not competing with Mercedes, BMW and Audi they now are aiming higher and looking to challenge the likes of Bentley. They seem to like the thinking from Jaguar and are following suit, although we have to wait for the rebrand and adverts. Click this Autocar article to read more . LUNCHTIME WATCH: WILL THE MINI JEEP MAKE IT TO AREA 51? EP.3 The third instalment of the insane journey by Ed March and a mini Jeep he has modified, to Area 51. Hope you like snow and tank tracks! Click this YouTube link to watch this brilliant video . LIST OF THE WEEK: HOW TO ESCAPE YOUR CAR IF THE ELECTRONIC DOOR HANDLE FAILS Consumer Reports has listed all the ways to get out of cars that have electronic door handles, if they fail. There is a lack of consistency in how brands enable you to use and override, let alone where it is located. Click this article link to read more on this dangerous and stupid door handle evolution. AND FINALLY: VISIT POTHOLE LAND The enterprising residents of a village near Wrexham have decided to try and cash in on the state of their roads by setting up a tourist attraction called Pothole Land. Once again, people using humour to point out the ridiculous state of the UK’s infrastructure. And no, AI won’t make a difference. Click this BBC News article to read more .…
DFT CLAIMS NO FINES FOR ZEV MANDATE IN 2024 The Department for Transport has stated it is confident no car maker will be hit with fines, for failing to meet the requirements of the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate of 2024, due to the many different ways a brand can be compliant. If you want to read more, click this AMOnline link here . JLR STATE GEAR SELECTOR SETUP STAYS FOLLOWING TRAGEDY A coroner has urged JLR to change their gear selector system by including an “intermediary step” to engage the drive as required. A tragic accident occurred when the driver of an electric Jaguar relied on feel to pick correctly but ultimately failed, which led to the death of a child. JLR, whilst expressing sympathy over the incident, stated they comply with all legal requirements. You can learn more, by clicking this BBC News link here . ROLLS ROYCE INVESTS £300M IN NEW PRODUCTION CAPACITY Rolls Royce will be upgrading their Goodwood production facility, with a £300 million investment, ahead of a second electric model reveal. More important, perhaps, than the second ev model, is that this will allow even more personalisation of cars being sold. To read more on this, click the link here to an Autocar article . TESLA BEATS FORD TO MOST RECALLED BRAND IN 2024 In the US, Tesla has taken the dubious crown of the brand with the most recalls, from Ford in 2024. The latest is 700,000 for tyre pressure sensors not working as hoped. That brings the total of 15 recalls. Click this San Antonio Express News article link for more . TESLA DRIVER ASSISTANCE COMPUTERS FAILING The computers controlling Tesla’s ‘Self Driving’ ADAS system are failing. This is causing serious issues, including disabling other aspects and technology in cars. Getting replacements is tricky and there is a long lead time due to how the company likes to do business. If you want to read more, click this Jalopnik article link here . WAYMO TAXI GOES IN CIRCLES TRAPPING OCCUPANT A Waymo in Arizona, trapped an occupant whilst circling the airport car park, which he could not stop or get help. The man nearly missed his flight as it took so long to rectify the situation. You can see more, by clicking this BBC News article link here . DRIVERLESS SCOTTISH BUS ROUTE SHUT DOWN The much heralded driverless bus project, set up with Stagecoach, called CAVForth, has shut down 18 months after beginning. The claim is a lack of passengers. To read about this, click this link to an article from The Scotsman . AFTER 23 YEARS A ROAD UPGRADE IS SET TO FINISH A project, started in 2002, to upgrade the A465 Heads of the Valleys is set to be finished. Seemingly an example of how not to do things, the team has finally overcome all the issues which will enable communities to be easily linked to the rest of the country and no longer ‘cut off’. Click this BBC News article to see the details of this enormous project, the mess and the hope for the future. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Mazda 6e Mazda will be bringing their electric saloon, which is known as the EZ-6 in China, to the UK under the 6 name. As we said when we covered EZ-6, it is a very good looking car and importantly it IS a car and not a SUV. 300-345 mile range, depending on spec, this is expected to be priced from just under £40,000 when it arrives in 2026. Click this Autocar article link for more . Afeela 1 The Sony Honda collaboration is due to produce a car, under the brand name Afeela. The Afeela 1 is another (nice to say that) electric saloon. You’d better really want one and have really deep pockets as prices will start at the merest sliver under $90,000. Question is, will anyone want a bland looking EV that offers nothing the market already gets and usually for a lot cheaper? You can see more by clicking this Top Gear article link here . Honda 0 Saloon and 0 SUV Also at CES, Honda revealed their Series 0 cars, the Saloon 0 and SUV 0. We’ve seen, for so many years now, an iteration of the Saloon 0 design, whilst the SUV seems to be influenced by Polestar’s 3. The chaps fail to be excited by either and perhaps are indicative of how far behind Japanese companies are. Even now. Click this Autocar article to read more . LUNCHTIME WATCH: EVO CAR OF THE YEAR 2024 That time of the year has come around again, the EVO Car of the Year video is now out. Watch as the team show off the contenders and pick their ultimate car of 2024. Click this YouTube link to watch the fabulous film . CONFIGURATOR OF THE WEEK: ROLLS ROYCE SPECTRE We return to fantasy shopping, with the Rolls Royce Spectre configurator. Click this link to have a go your self . To see Alan’s choices, click this link here . To see Andrew’s selections, click this link here . AND FINALLY: BODY KITS Liberty Walk, the company that likes to bolt on an arch extension, has revealed one kit that is not that, the Silhouette Works GT Lamborghini Miura. It looks good too. However, if you do miss the exposed rivets look, they also have a new MX-5 kit that will warm your cockles. Click this Hagerty link to read more .…
FOLLOW UP: VW AND UNIONS AGREE ON CUTS As a result of the intense negotiations between Volkswagen and the unions, agreement has been reached on cuts that are hoped will create $4 billion in savings. Voluntary redundancies, selling one plant, reducing production lines and repurposing other plants are all measures being taken. Click this Autocar article link , to find out more. You can also click this link here to an AP article explaining other aspects of the steps being taken. FOLLOW UP: HONDA AND NISSAN OFFICIALLY CONFIRM MERGER We covered the rumours of this a few weeks ago, yet it has still caught many by surprise. Nissan and Honda has announced that they intend to merge in an attempt to fight for an increased market share. We cannot work out what the companies will gain from this as they seem to be effectively identical in terms of products and markets. To find out more, you can click this Autocar article link here . FOLLOW UP: UK GOV STARTS FRESH ZEV MANDATE CONSULTATION The new Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, has opened a fresh consultation with stakeholders regarding the zero emission vehicle mandate, as the reality of the economy and the market hit home. SMMT is pushing for financial help for private buyers and pushing the charging industry to do better. The charging industry is in a flap over the potential to slow down the move to EVs. To learn more, click this Autocar article link here . DECEMBER AND 2024 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES SMMT has released the data for December and the entire year, with regards to new car registrations. Surprising no one, or it really shouldn’t, BEVs had a bumper month as the fear of fines loomed over brands. Fleet buyers completely propped up the market in 2024. The question of the ZEV mandate and economy, going into 2025, will impact the market heavily. Click this SMMT article link to read more . WHISTLEBLOWER ACCUSES JLR AND TATA OF BLACKLISTING Hazar Denli, who was heading up the chassis design element of VinFast’s car for Tata Technologies, raised concerns over parts and quality internally but was ignored. Feeling he had no option he went public, was fired by Tata and subsequently found a new job, via an agency, with JLR. He is claiming that he was blacklisted and unfairly fired by JLR who were told to let him go. To read more, click this BBC News article link here . LOCAL AUTHORITIES GIVEN EXTRA POTHOLE REPAIR FUNDS The Government has added £500 million to the pothole repair fund and is pushing local councils to get on with sorting the roads. However, to receive the full funding they will need to demonstrate they are tackling the problem to a standard expected. If you would like to read more, click this BBC News article link here . VW CUSTOMER CAR DATA LEAK Volkswagen Group has now fixed a misconfigured cloud storage area that was open to everyone. 800,000 customer’s car’s data was accessible by anyone, including location history, battery charge level and car status, amongst others. Politicians, security service personnel and high profile owners are thought to be hit in Germany and elsewhere in the world. Trust is a fragile thing, which the car industry keeps destroying. Click this Carscoops article link for more . US DIGITAL LICENSE PLATES JAILBROKEN In a couple of states in the US, you can purchase or pay a hefty subscription for a digital license plate. Apparently this has many advantages over normal ones, but we can’t see any unless you can jailbreak them and put someone else’s details on it and have them pay your road tolls and more. Which is exactly what has happened. To learn more about this daft product, click here for a Wired article link . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Nio to launch in the UK in early 2025 Nio, the Chinese EV maker, will be launching early 2025 in the UK market, with the L60 SUV coupe. This is a direct competitor to the Tesla Model Y. Expected to be around £40,000 it will undercut the Model Y on price. In order to find out more, click here for the link to an Autocar article . GWM Ora to rebrand GWM Ora will now be known as GWM, in the UK, as it expands the brands it will be bringing to this market. Adding to the Ora 03 (formerly the Funky Cat) they will launch the Haval Jolion Pro Hybrid SUV in early 2025. Click this AMOnline article link for more . Nio bringing budget brand Firefly to Europe Nio will be bringing it’s budget brand, Firefly, to Europe in 2025 with their small EV hatchback. Visually it is astonishingly similar to the Honda-e. No news on whether it will be brought to the UK yet. To read more, click this Autocar article link here . Arnold Clark the exclusive Corvette dealer for Glasgow and the North of England Corvette are coming to the UK, with right hand drive versions of their latest sports cars. Arnold Clark is the dealer for their Glasgow and North of England sites. If you want to find out more, click this AMOnline article link here . LUNCHTIME READ: HOW AN ARMOURED CAMARO AND A SPECIAL FORCES OFFICER KEPT CIVILIANS ALIVE IN WAR-TORN BOSNIA This is the remarkable story of the special forces officer who modified a Camaro and went unarmed into conflict areas to bring humanitarian relief for civilians caught in the horrific civil war of Bosnia. To read about his heroism and more, click this Hagerty article link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: EVO CAR OF THE YEAR - EVERY WINNER We have managed to source a list for you to select from this week and it is a cracker. All of the winners of the EVO Car of the Year awards. There are some brands who feature more heavily than others, but click this link here to see if you agree with the choices made by the chaps. AND FINALLY: RICH NEW YORKERS LEARN ABOUT WALKING New York is the first city in the US to introduce congestion pricing, thus catching up to most of the rest of the world. However, the shock has reverberated around many who live and work there. They’ve been introduced to a new concept called “walking” as a way to avoid paying the charge. Click this Jalopnik article link to see one man’s reaction to this news.…
FOLLOW UP: ANOTHER ROUGH WEEK FOR VW Volkswagen are continuing to endure more challenges. Workers were on strike last week, with the threat of more in the new year as unions and management continue to talk but appear no closer to agreement. You can click this HTAutos article link to learn more . Meanwhile, VW’s CFO Arno Antilitz, stated that factories must get more efficient. Which is code for cut costs. Unless they haven’t bothered to optimise efficiency up to now. Click this MSM article link here , to read further. To round out the Volkswagen news, they are being sued in Brazil for treating farm workers, on a farm they owned, like slaves. This is a historical claim, which it is claimed took place between 1974 and 1986. If you want to find out more, click this MSM article link here . CRUISE AV PROJECT CANCELLED BY GM General Motors has announced that it is ceasing to fund Cruise and will fold elements of the company, including technology, into GM. The news has shocked some, including staff, but that is not surprising considering how poor reporting has been and how the industry has used PR and legal moves to obfuscate reality. You can read more on this, by clicking this link from TechCrunch here . Honda will be saving roughly $100 million per year, as they will no longer need to pay a licensing fee for the Origin vehicles that never made it to service. Click this Nikkei Asia article link here , for more. For some extra context, click these two links to John Berry posts on Bluesky. Link one can be found here . For the second, click here . CYVN HOLDINGS AGREES TO BUY MCLAREN AUTOMOTIVE The Abu Dhabi based investment group, CYVN Holdings, has agreed with Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat, to purchase McLaren Automotive. They already have invested in Gordon Murray Technologies, Forseven and NIO. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar link here . MUSK TRIES TO INFLUENCE UK GOVERNMENT POLICY The BBC has see attempts by Musk and Tesla to change the UK’s zero emission vehicle mandate by pushing for ICE drivers to be charged more, if they buy a petrol or diesel car. If you wish for your blood pressure to be raised, click this BBC News article link here . AMAZON AUTOS ROLLS OUT TO 48 CITIES IN THE US Amazon Autos is now rolling out to 48 cities, in the US, where you can use their platform to view, order, pay and arrange to collect your Hyundai. More locations are expected to added as time goes on. Key element to this, is knowing exactly what you’ll be paying without low moves by a dealer suddenly adding a cost, out of the blue. Click this Amazon article link to learn more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST This week we talked about how to add Apple Podcasts service, to your Android homescreen, following a revised article from James Cridland and Podnews. If you use Android or know someone who does and are struggling to find a likeable player you can try it. Click this link here to see more . NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Renault 5 Turbo 3E Renault has announced that they will be reviving another back catalogue car, just after telling us they would only be looking to the future with their vehicles. They will be bringing to production an electric 5 Turbo, with 500bhp and promises of breathtaking performance. Makes us wonder what the point of Alpine is. What was that? The price? Apparently in excess of £100,000. Click this Autocar article for more . Aston Martin Valhalla Aston Martin has confirmed the plug in hybrid, Valhalla, will be in production, finally, next year. With a starting price of only £850,000, this 1064bhp will take on the likes of the Ferrari SF90. There will be a maximum of 999 vehicle built and the company expects most of them to go through their personalisation program which will make the price jump significantly. Click this Autocar article to read more . Farizon Supervan Geely will be bringing a competitor to the EV van market, in the form of the Farizon SV (for Supervan). Price is expected to be less than that for the Ford E-Transit and Vivaro Electric. Range, from the largest battery that will initially be available, is a maximum of 225 miles. Click this Autocar link to learn more . Toyota Urban Cruiser Toyota are bringing back the Urban Cruiser name. This time it will adorn the Japanese car maker’s version of the Suzuki e-Vitara that was jointly developed by the two companies, although the project was led by Suzuki. For more information on the car, click this Autocar article link here . LUNCHTIME READ: THE BRIXMIS OPEL SENATOR WAS THE RIDE OF REAL SECRET AGENTS DURING THE COLD WAR During the Cold War, British agents would go and poke around areas of East Germany in modified Opel Senators. This Hagerty article tells you all about it, click here to read a fascinating story . CONFIGURATOR OF THE WEEK: BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GT MULLINER This week we have chosen to play with Bentley’s configurator and specifically the one for the Continental GT Mulliner. Unfortunately, we cannot establish just how eye-wateringly expensive our vehicles would be but we do have the links below to play along at home to, as well as check out Alan and Andrew’s choices. Click here to go to the blank configurator . For Alan’s choices, click this link here . For Andrew’s choices, click this link here . AND FINALLY: VW HONOURS DECADES OLD IMPORT PROGRAM Volkswagen US had a program where people could order a US spec car, have it delivered to Europe, drive it around and then have it shipped back to the United States for the owner. One such participant never made it home, until very nearly forty years later, where VW honoured their part of the deal even though it has been shut for decades. Click here to see more, from Volkswagen’s own press release . Well done all involved. AND FINALLY FINALLY: SUMMER IN THE TETONS YouTuber Jonny Roams, has a short two minute video that is a beautifully shot teaser to longer film, about his time in the Teton mountains over the summer in his overland 944. Have a couple of minutes of calm and peace, whilst thinking about the adventures you’ll have next year in your car. It is nearly time again. Click here to watch the video .…
FOLLOW UP: RECARO SAVED Some good news, for a change, as Ricaro, the seat manufacturer, being saved by an Italian parts maker called Proma Group. Unfortunately, many will lose their jobs as production will move to Italy. However, some technical and sales people will remain. You can learn more by clicking this Auotcar link here . FOLLOW UP: ARAMCO BUYS 10% STAKE IN HORSE Aramco has finally bought the 10% stake in Horse which Geely and Renault were hoping for, after signing a letter of intent earlier in the year. Click this Yahoo Finance link for more . FOLLOW UP: JUDGE BLOCKS MUSK PAY PACKAGE AGAIN The appeal by Musk, to be awarded a ridiculous $56 billion pay package, has failed. The judge cited that the many arguments Musk’s legal team used to change the ruling were full of flaws, anyone of which could have led to dismissing the appeal, let alone all of them together. Tesla will appeal. Again. To learn more, do click this link to a TechCrunch article here . NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR NOVEMBER 2024 The November new car registration figures were released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), and they’re not great. A 1.9% decline in registrations overall, but BEVs increased again, with over 14,000 extra registrations than for the same month in 2023, amounting to a 25.1% market share for the month. Petrol and diesel fell, as did PHEVs. What will be concerning is that Fleet numbers fell, on top of Private continuing to decline. The SMMT called on the Government to help the industry out as the levels of price cutting and incentives was not sustainable. To read the SMMT post and information, click this link here . AMOnline have an article discussing EV depreciation, which we have discussed many times on this show, that you can read by clicking this link here . For context on why registrations are not increasing at a rate many hoped and expected, click this link to a post about research into the financial well being of UK adults in 2023 . TESLA PAUSES CYBERTRUCK PRODUCTION Last week Tesla paused Cybertruck production, which is on top of reducing hours earlier in the year. They are, for now, back to normal. You can read more, by clicking this Yahoo Finance article link here . OX DELIVERS AFRICAN CONTRACT JOY OX Delivers, which is an electric truck mobility service company, has created a new franchise partner that signed a $163 million agreement to expand their services in Rwanda and some neighbouring countries. Customers can either contract an electric truck including the servicing costs or book space on one of the OX trucks to collect and deliver their products, increasing the reach for businesses. If you want to learn more, click this EV Powered link here . NEW RURAL WALES EV CAR CLUB LAUNCHED TrydaiNi, a community owned car club, has expanded operations to cover parts of mid Wales (apologies to all Welsh speakers for Andrew’s pronunciations). People can apply to join, once approved are able to book a car to use. We applaud this sort of initiative. We need more of this, as well as improved public transport services. Click this link here to learn more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Ford Puma Gen-E Ford have finally announced a car they should have, when they ended the Fiesta and Focus, an electric Puma. Starting price is just under £30,000 and the specs seem pretty good. If you want to find out more, click this Motoring Research article link here . Cupra Terramar Cupra are brining a new SUV to market, with a variety of powertrain train options, from internal combustion engine, to hybrid to plug in hybrid. Power output is also varied. Click this Motoring Research article link to find out more . Lamborghini Temerario Lamborghini has revealed the details of their V8 hybrid supercar, the Temerario. Heaps of power, hugely fast, very Lamborghini. You can read more, by clicking this Motoring Research article link here . LUNCHTIME READ: VIN DIESEL IS RIGHT The Autopian discusses the highbrow Fast and Furious movie series, agreeing with Vin Diesel’s assertion that when it was about car races and the likes it was much better. Alan puts forward his suggestion for the best of the series, whilst Andrew admits to not watching more than half an hour of the first one before never returning. And do check out the podcast Automovie, who the chaps refer to by clicking this link to their website here . CONFIGURATOR OF THE WEEK: PORSCHE E-MACAN Thanks to a suggestion from listener Jamie Stokes, when we asked what we could replace the List of the Week as it becomes increasingly more difficult to find ones good enough to include, we now have the Confirgurator of the Week . We bring you the Porsche e-Macan to start this off. Click here to go to the blank configurator . For Alan’s choices, click this link here . For Andrew’s choices, click this link here . AND FINALLY: PHOTOGRAPHER’S TOKYO CAR SPOTS The Tokyo based photographer, Alfie Goodrich, has captured random cars on his walks around the city and compiled some of them into a small gallery for us to enjoy. Click this link to his website to see more and then check out what other excellent work he does by mooching around the rest of the site.…
FOLLOW UP: PRICES FOR LONDON TUNNEL TOLLS REVEALED Transport for London (TfL) has announced the prices, including how there will be peak and non peak prices, for using the new Silvertown tunnel and the Blackwall tunnel. £4.00 for peak use of either, dropping to £1.50 in off-peak, which requires signing up to the auto-pay TfL system. if you wish to find out more, click this link here to an article from The Standard . CARLOS TAVARES RESIGNS WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT Carlos Tavares surprised all by resigning as CEO of Stellantis, with immediate effect over the weekend. Reports indicate there was a growing rift between the board, shareholders and the vision Tavares had, following the reduction in expected dividend. The company will appoint a successor in early 2025. Click this Autocar article to read more . STELLANTIS TO CLOSE LUTON VAN FACTORY Stellantis announced, that they would be closing the Luton van factory, whilst blaming the UK Government and the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, for this only weeks after saying they were not going to be hurt by the ZEV to investors. 1,100 people will be losing their jobs. We have a link to an Autocar article explaining the situation, click here to read that . For some context, including how the company has operated, click this post from Nick Gibbs . More context is provided by The Guardian, which you can read by clicking this link here . TRANSPORT SECRETARY RESIGNS The Transport Secretary, Louise Haig, has resigned over an incident with police in 2013. This has caused concern in the industry as she had just been talking to leaders about the ZEV mandate and possible changes to it. Click this Autocar article link here for more . UK GOVERNMENT TO REVISE ZEV MANDATE Following extensive lobbying by the car industry, the UK Government is looking at how it can revise the zero emission vehicle mandate, in the light of the current market reality. The language, from the Government, has switched to putting the blame on the previous incumbents, whilst hoping we all forget they pledged to ‘bring back the 2030 ban’ that was never a thing in the first place. If you want to read more, click this Autocar article link here . ASTON MARTIN ISSUES ANOTHER PROFITS WARNING For the second time in quick succession, Aston Martin has issued a warning on its profits. China and supply chain issues are being blamed. On top of which, the company is seeking to raise more money. To learn more, click this Autocar article link here . VW LEAVES CONTROVERSIAL CHINESE PLANT Volkswagen has confirmed it has sold it’s factory in Xijiang, which is an area linked to forced labour practices. VW, following several investigations, never found evidence of such in their plant. However, they have been lobbied for some time over this issue. You can read more, by clicking this Yahoo article link here . VOLKSWAGEN REVIEWS UK AGENCY SALES PLAN VW is undertaking a "review of its sales model", in the UK. They intend to complete this by March 2025. The German company are the latest to consider pausing their plans as the current market conditions remain tough. Click this AMOnline article link for more . SCOTLAND CONSIDERS REDUCING SOME RURAL SPEED LIMITS Transport Scotland is proposing a cut to certain road’s speed limits. However, it also recommends increasing the speed of HGVs. Deaths on Scottish roads fell last year, with speed being linked to roughly one in five road incidents. A reminder, that compliance is not the same as safety. Click this BBC News article link here , for more information. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Follow Up: DS 8 will be called No8 DS, even before fully revealing their new flagship model, that we discussed last week, has changed the name and confirmed a rethink of their interiors. Now the DS 8 is to be known as the No8. Click this Autocar article for more . Jaguar Type 00 Concept We finally get to look at a car, from Jaguar, but don’t get too excited as its only a concept. But at least there’s something to show for the years they’ve been working on this. How much will make the road cars? Maybe the overall shape and dimensions, but not much else in all likelihood. Some have pointed out the similarities to other concept cars, such as the recent Lancia Aurelia GT . You can read more, by clicking this Autocar article link here . Also, here is a link to a Top Gear video . Now we wait once more, this time for something real. Jaecoo 7 The latest Chinese brand to come to the UK is bringing, what is claimed to be a premium quality vehicle for around £30,000. They are aiming at a broad range of competitors, such as the Kia Sportage and Range Rover Evoque. It will come in petrol and petrol plug-in hybrid forms and a variety of off-road technology. Click this Autocar article to find out more, including the pronunciation guide. Toyota GR Supra Toyota is sending the GR Supra into retirement, with one last ultra rare track focused version. More power, more wings, more roll cage, just a lot more of more. Only 300 examples will be made. You can find out more, by clicking this Autocar link here . LUNCHTIME READ: FRENCH DESIGN DESERVES BETTER THAN THE CITROËN SM TRIBUTE Matteo Licata has written for Hagerty, a piece on the SM Tribute we were not very kind about, a few weeks ago. However, he brings a design perspective to his argument. To read this recommendation, click the link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 37 GLORIOUS PICTURES OF 37 GLORIOUS JAGUARS As Jaguar has done such a great job of being in the limelight over the last couple of weeks, Autocar has brought us a slideshow of some of their past glories. Click this link here to check out if you agree with Alan’s choice. AND FINALLY: HOT WHEELS LEGENDS TOUR 2024 OVERALL WINNER The overall Hot Wheels Legends Tour 2024 winner has been announced. Check out this link, from Design News , to see a video on the event and find out who and what won, overall.…
FOLLOW UP: £30B POTENTIAL FALLOUT FROM FINANCE RULING After the surprise Court of Appeal’s ruling, that not only must commission for brokers must be explicitly made clear, including the rate they receive, the potential fall out could be up to £30 billion. Even Martin Lewis, the consumer campaigner, has said the ruling appears to be going much further than expected. Click this AMOnline article link here , to read more. FOLLOW UP: INEOS TO RESTART PRODUCTION Following the collapse of their seat supplier, Ineos has been hit by a halt to production. They now say they will restart in January. This will be a relief as an expansion into China and Mexico was about to take place when they were hit by the issue. If you want to learn more, click here for a link to an Autocar article . JAGUAR REIMAGINING BEGINS Unless you lived under a rock, and had no contact with any person or the internet, then you will know that Jaguar produced their first glimpse at the reimagining of the brand. This has caused the internet to lose its mind, in various ways. Some through confusion, some because ‘change is bad’, some because their firmly held beliefs are being challenged, some because they just want to dunk on anything. We have compiled some links below that explain what Jaguar have done as well as more thoughtful pieces trying to explain aspects of the information. The Jaguar rebranding article from Autocar, click here . For CarDealer’s explanation of the launch event, click here . Creative Bloq discuss what the logos and visuals are meant to represent, click here to read that . Rory Sutherland has a discussion about the rebrand, from an advertising professional’s perspective, click this Spectator TV YouTube link . Mostly About Driving’s take on the more technical aspects of the branding can be read by clicking this link here . To read comments regarding the hateful reactions to the rebrand, click this link to a Driven article . Seemingly Jaguar have been caught off guard by the reaction, click this BBC News article link where they are asking for people to hold off and wait in judgement. FORD TO LAY OFF 4000 WORKERS IN EUROPE AND UK Ford has announced a restructuring of its European business, by making 4000 workers redundant, including 800 in the UK. We have mentioned how bad their figures have been for new car registrations, over the last few months. You can read more, by clicking this Autocar link here . NISSAN APPEALS TO THE UK GOV FOR HELP OVER ZEV MANDATE Nissan, who’s dire situation we discussed a couple of weeks ago, is asking for help from the UK Government, with the zero emission vehicle mandate. As their sales drop they are struggling to hit the targets laid out. If you want to learn more, click this article link from The Japan Times . LOTUS PULLS BACK FROM EV ONLY 2028 DATE Lotus will introduce hybrid powertrains to some of their cars, in an attempt to increase sales. This also means that the plan to be EV only by 2028 is being pushed back towards 2030. Click this Autocar article for more information . TESLA AND RIVIAN CONCLUDE TRADE SECRETS LEGAL FIGHT Tesla has announced that they have reached a ‘conditional’ agreement with Rivian with regards to claims that staff were poached and trade secrets were handed over. To read more about this story, click this TechCrunch link here . HONDA TRIALLING SOLID STATE BATTERY PRODUCTION LINE In another, what is hoped by Honda, step towards production ready solid state batteries for EVs they are creating a trial production line. This is to help them work through issues that they cannot see in the making of the batteries at scale. In the meantime, they are still working on making solid state batteries a viable ‘thing’ for electric vehicles. If you want to learn more, click this SAE International article link here . NORTHVOLT FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY Northvolts has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as the effects of BMW pulling their huge contract hit. The hope is that the restructuring of their debt will allow them to be a viable business moving forward. On top of this, the CEO Peter Carlsson, has resigned. Click this article link from The Guardian for more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Hyundai Ioniq 9 Hyundai has taken the wraps off their range topping EV, the Ioniq 9. Similar in dimensions to the sister brand Kia EV9, this is a big car. They have high aspirations for where they want it to sit in the market. Prices are expected to start in the low £60,000 but end up at a smidgen under £80,000 for the top of the model range. Click here to read about the details, from an Autocar article . DS 8 DS has shown us their new range topper, although it is heavily disguised in pictures. Apparently taking inspiration from the DS Tribute concept we were not fans of a few weeks ago. Technology wise, claims are of 466 miles range, thanks to help from active aerodynamics. There are also claims about drag coefficient numbers, which are like a red rag to bull with Alan. Click this Auotcar link here , to read more. Renault 5 Renault has finally revealed full specifications and prices, for the very cool looking Renault 5 EV. Starting at £22,995 it undercuts some rivals. Prices go up as you move through the range but also technology improves, such as range. You can learn more, by clicking this Autocar link here . LUNCHTIME READ: HOW THE BMW E36 3-SERIES CAME TO BE Hagerty has published a fascinating article explaining how the BMW E36 3-Series, which was filling some awfully popular shoes of the E30 version, happened. Hear from someone who was part of the team that brought the car to market. To read about this story, click here . LIST OF THE WEEK: LONGEST LASTING CARS TO REACH 250,000 MILES A US-based list, of vehicles that have made it over 250,000 miles and more. Do you agre with the choices made or would you pick something else? Let us know. Click here to check out the options, from iSeeCars . AND FINALLY: BEAR NECESSITIES OF INSURANCE An owner has tried to claim a bear got into their Rolls Royce and damaged the interior. The company was suspicious and investigated, including reviewing the supplied video evidence. Turns out, if you wear a bear suit and use garden tools to replicate an animal attack, this can be worked out. Click this link here to an article from The Autopian , to read more.…
UK GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATES NEW EMISSIONS CONCERN The Department for Transport (DfT) is investigating claims that 47 car models emissions are not the same as the official test figures, with the accusation that they are manipulating the emissions. The DfT is attempting to establish if a defeat device is being used. You can learn more, by clicking this FleetWorld article link here . RIVIAN AND VW SIGN PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT After announcing they would partner up, Rivian and Volkswagen have signed the partnership agreement. This will include extra investment from VW, taking the full price up to $5.8 billion. Click this EV Powered article link to read more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Caterham Seven CSR Twenty Caterham bring us the most “luxurious” and pricey Seven variant yet, with a price tag of a smidgen under £80,000. Celebrating 20 years of the CSR chasis, which allowed for those of us on the slightly larger side of things to be more comfortable, this bespoke model will come with features, fittings and materials not available elsewhere. Click this EVO article link to read more . Toyota Kayoibako Toyota showed off an electric van that truley is a multipurpose vehicle. They have imagined it as an urban centric vehicle providing transport for people, being a mobile retail area, a coffee shop and more. Not content with that, the outdoor activities market get a version too, which added chunky tyres and obligitory stuck on elements. Both look fab, we want both and we want them now. But they have been cleverly thought out too. You can see more, by clicking this Yanko Design article link here . Old Car Dead News: Jaguar F-Pace ends global sales in 2026 If you remember, Alan asked why the wording of the end of UK sales of the F-Pace was so specific. We now know that the rest of the globe will no longer be able to buy one from 2026. Click this Autocar article link here , which clears up the issue. LUNCHTIME READ: IT’S ALL A BIT MUCH Do you too feel that modern supercars are all a bit much? Let alone hypercars and even hyper hatches are becoming too extreme for UK roads. Well, you are not alone, check out this link from Mr Jalco’s Mostly About Driving to possibly find an answer to it all. LIST OF THE WEEK: TOP GEAR - TOP 9 VIRAL CAR ADVERTS We are increasingly struggling to find good List of the Week article to share with you. If you find one, please do send it our way and if its good enough we’ll put it on the show! Top Gear have nine adverts for you to check out, which are bound to bring back memories. Do you agree with Alan, on his choice and/or his comments about Andrew, and what about Andrew’s choice? Let us know. Click here to see what is on offer . AND FINALLY: THE JOY OF RATS A neuroscientist found that rats could drive. Not only that, it appears to be bringing them joy, which they even have begun to anticipate. This all has lots of implications for us humans. Click this link from The Conversation . Alan reminds everyone why the podcast is called what it is too. VW UK GET A NEW MD Volkswagen UK will have a new managing director, in Damien O’Sullivan, following the request by Alex Smith to leave the company. O’Sullivan moves from Audi Ireland. If you wish to learn more, click this article link from AMOnline . HYUNDAI GET A NEW GLOBAL CEO Hyundai announced that Jose Muñoz will be the new global CEO of the brand, as Jaehoon Chang is promoted to vice chair. Muñoz has been heading up Europe, the US, India, the Middle East and Africa. To read more, click this Autocar link here . XPENG TO LAUNCH IN THE UK Xpeng will be launching in the UK, by bringing their G6 electric SUV coupe early 2025. More models are due to follow. You can learn about their plans, by clicking this AM Online article link here . LEAPMOTORS OUTLINES UK PLANS Leapmotors are being brought to the UK, by Stellantis. They will be in 50 dealerships by the end of 2024. Offering their city EV, the T03 that frightens Alan, and an EV SUV, the C10. Expect prices to be very competitive. AM Online has more, which you can read by clicking this link here . SIXTH RECALL FOR THE CYBERTRUCK THIS YEAR Tesla has announced the sixth recall for the Cybertruck, this year. Which is an astonishing feat. This time, some vehicle’s drive inverter could manfunction meaning a loss of drive. Click this TechCrunch article link to read more . TESLA HAS WORST FATALITY RATE FOR OCCUPANTS A study in the United States has found that Tesla has the worst fatality rate for occupants of its cars, narrowly beating Kia and Buick. A Top 3 of shame there. To read about the research and results, click this Road&Track article link here .…
Andrew was invited, by Hyundai UK, to try out the new Santa Fe, their large hybrid SUV. What has changed? How have they executed those changes? Will it be successful? Listen to the Alan and Andrew discuss the first impressions of the car, following the amount of driving they crammed in. To find out more from Hyundai, about the Santa Fe, click this link to their website here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST…
OCTOBER 2024 NEW CAR REGISTRATIONS The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has revealed the new car registration figures, for October 2024. They are not good. For the month of October the market is 6% down on 2023. Even Fleet dropped, for the first time in a long while. One bright spark, no pun intended, is that EV registrations grew to 20.7% market share for the month. This is to be expected as the end of 2024 approaches and so do the fines for not hitting the mandated levels. Click this link to read more, from the SMMT’s own article . FOLLOW UP: FINANCE INDUSTRY THROWN INTO TURMOIL Following a court ruling regarding commission on finance agreements, the industry has been thrown into turmoil as there are questions on what they need to do in order to be compliant. Some companies have halted all offerings for car finance until the situation is clarified. You can find out more, by clicking this AMOnline article link here . MANY MANUFACTURERS REVEAL STRUGGLING RESULTS The number of brands that are reporting challenging results, after Q3, has grown. There is a real problem for the industry, globally, and it might not get better anytime soon. Expect a lot of management word salads, littered with the likes of “efficiencies” and “cost-cutting” etc. BMW’s woes thanks to the ongoing brake recall and huge profit drop, can be read about by clicking this Reuters article link here . To read about Audi’s problems, click this Autocar link . Audi plan to cut jobs to help save money, click this Reuters article link here , to find out what that means. Toyota are also hit by problems, with quality issues, safety recalls, plant stoppages and a Chinese market that is proving tough for all but the home grown brands. Click this Yahoo Finance article link to read more . Honda announced a surprise drop in profits, thanks in large part to the ongoing issues in the Chinese market as their economy struggles. Click here to read more from a Yahoo Finance article link . Nissan are not immune to the industry wide slump. They announced the cutting of around 9,000 jobs and dramatically that they are entering “emergency mode” as profits drop 304%. You can read more, from Autocar, by clicking this link here . JLR profits hall 10%, which is being blamed largely on the aluminium supplier issue discussed a few weeks ago, click this Liverpool Business News article link for more . Lotus are far from immune to the problems the industry are suffering from, as they announce they will be shedding around 200 jobs at their Hethel site, ahead of the Lotus Technologies (Chinese sister brand that brought out the Emeya and Eletra EVs) financial results announcement later in the month. If you wish to find out more, click this Autocar article link here . Rivian, the EV maker who recently signed a deal with VW Group, lost just over $39,000 per car sold in the last quarter. You can read more, by clicking this article link from The Autopian . For context and more information about what is going on, click this article link from The Autopian , which discusses Nissan, Audi and Stellantis, but from a mainly US perspective. HEADLIGHT GLARE BEING RESEARCHED Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) are beginning an investigation into the complaints over modern headlight glare. They will set up monitoring devices to establish if the anecdotal reports are valid and if so, what is causing the issue. If you wish to learn more, click this BBC News article link here . FISKER CLAIM NORTH KOREAN AGENT STOLE THEIR MONEY Fisker, who is being investigated by the SEC in the United States over their collapse into bankruptcy, has made the claim that they lost $6 million due to a hired remote member of staff, who turned out to be a North Korean agent that funnelled the money to the regime’s missile projects. They are not the only car maker to be targeted. Click this Torque News article link to learn more . Thank you, to Damien Scully for sending us this fascinating item! If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Suzuki eVitara Suzuki has revealed their first own developed EV, the eVitara. They have chosen to use a familiar name, which will come with two batteries. The larger giving an estimated 250 mile range. The vehicle is expected to sell from just under £35,000 in the UK. Click this Autocar article to read more . Bentley ‘Urban SUV’ Bentley announced that their first EV, which is due in 2026, that will be the world’s first “true luxury urban SUV”, whatever that is. With little other details the chaps are left to speculate about “urban SUV” and “true luxury”. They also stated that their EV only goal has been pushed back to 2035. If you want to hear more, click this Autocar article link here . Kia EV9 ADVNTR and PV5 WKNDR At the US customisers show, SEMA, Kia unveiled two rugged, go anyway variants on their EV car and van the EV9 and PV5. They have been suitable raised up, had chunky tyres added and a number of off-road adventure accessories fitted. They look great. But the PV5 is what caught the attention of the chaps the most. We are now hoping that the PV5 becomes a people carrier. Click this EV Powered link to read more . LUNCHTIME READ: SWORDS AND PLOUGHSHARES Friend of the show, Nir Kahn, tells us a bit about his history, his philosophy for future vehicles and what he is going to be working on next. Very much worth your time in reading this LinedIn piece from him, which can be accessed by clicking here . LIST OF THE WEEK: EPIC STARS OF THE SEMA SHOW 2024 We are increasingly struggling to find good List of the Week article to share with you. If you find one, please do send it our way and if its good enough we’ll put it on the show! Autocar have another slideshow for you to run through, this time with a selection of vehicles from SEMA. Do you agree with Alan and Andrew’s choices? Click this link to find out . AND FINALLY: TACO BELL COMING TO A MOTORWAY NEAR YOU Taco Bell is expanding their footprint in the UK by opening at five locations on the UK’s motorway network. Click this link to a Motorway Services article , listing each of the places you can get Mexican food from soon.…
Andrew was invited, by Volkswagen UK, to sample a selection of the revised Golf, as part of the 50th Anniversary of the model. We hear what VW has achieved in that time, Alan asks if he’s speaking to the real Andrew and the chaps ask how does one benchmark the benchmark? Listen to the Alan and Andrew discuss the first impressions of the cars, following his short time with each of the models. To find out more from Volkswagen, about the Golf hatch, click this link to their website here . For the estate, click this VW link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST…
FOLLOW UP: EU CHINA TARIFFS UPDATE On the 31 October, the EU tariffs for China made EVs went live. Click this electrive article link here to read more . This has caused SAIC to take the European Commission to court over the amount it has been charged. You can read more via this electrive article link here . China, it is claimed, has instructed home grown EV makers to not build plants in the EU to get around the extra charges. Once again, electrive have an article link here for you . Additionally, they now want to know the lifecycle of rare earth minerals in Western supply chains. Check out this link to a China Digital Times link here . FOLLOW UP: FINANCE INDUSTRY THROWN INTO TURMOIL Following a court ruling regarding commission on finance agreements, the industry has been thrown into turmoil as there are questions on what they need to do in order to be compliant. Some companies have halted all offerings for car finance until the situation is clarified. You can find out more, by clicking this AMOnline article link here . FOLLOW UP: AUDI TO CLOSE BRUSSELS PLANT IN 2025 As listeners will be aware, Audi plans to close their Belgium plant in early 2025. However, they have been unable to find a suitable buyer to take on the property and run it. To learn more about this, click the electrive article link here . LABOUR’S FIRST UK BUDGET Labour has revealed their first budget, since being voted into power. Fuel duty and the extra relief, is staying in place. However, there are big changes for VED rates, Benefit in Kind (BiK) thresholds, classification for double cab pickups and more. Click this AMOnline article link here to read more . For more on fuel duty and first year VED rates, click this Autocar article link here . To read about the BiK changes, click here for an Autocar article . If you wish to learn more about the changes to taxation for double-cab pickups, click this link from Professional Pickup . VW GROUP PROFITS DOWN €3billion Volkswagen Group profits plunge €3 billion in the latest financial report. The VW brand itself is causing heavy drag thanks to an operating margin of just 2%. The information comes out at a key time when the company is negotiating the future with the unions. Click this Autocar article to read about the financial situation . For more context, we give you this article link from InsideEVs that you can click here . However, they are underplaying why Germany doesn’t want tariffs on Chinese made EVs. STELLANTIS SALES DROP IN EUROPE AND THE US Stellantis have reported on their sales figures for Europe and the United States. The numbers are not good. There is a drop for both markets, although the company is trying to gloss over this publicly. Click this AMOnline article link to read more . For context of the struggles the group has in the US, click this link from The Autopian . MARIA GRAZIA DAVINO TO LEAD BYD EUROPEAN EXPANSION As Alan correctly predicted, we quickly found out where Maria Grazia Davino has moved to after her sudden departure from heading up Stellantis’s efforts in the UK. She will lead the expansion in Europe that BYD is planning. You can read more, by clicking this AMOnline link here . ITALY IS DUE TO CUT SUPPORT FOR AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY The Italian Government has outlined plans to remove €4.6 billion in aid to the automotive industry, as it allocates it to other matters. Stellantis, who have been busy fighting with the Government, will be a big loser if this is the case. Click this Reuters article link to read more . MCLAREN OWNER POTENTIALLY SELLING The owner of McLaren Group, Mumtalakat the Bahrain sovereign wealth fund, is “exploring” the possibility of selling off the company as it has reached a non binding agreement with CYVN Holdings who have invested in Gordon Murray Technologies, Foreseven and Nio. You can find out more, by clicking this Autocar article link here . ROYAL MAIL FINALLY AGREES ON WHICH EV VANS TO BUY Royal Mail has announced, finally, which electric Peugeot vans it will purchase. They will be taking 1,100 e-Partners and 1000 e-Experts. To read more, click this link to an electrive article, here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Hyundai Initium Hyundai has show us their latest vision for a hydrogen powered SUV, most likely a strong indication of what the new Nexo will look like. And that is, a bit Ioniq 5 and a bit Pontiac Aztek. To see for yourself, c lick this Autocar link here . Ian Callum Jaguar C-X75 Ian Callum has added technology and style to create another road legal Jaguar C-X75, this time in a gorgeous sage green colour. Apparently there has been some debate on whether it is a good looking supercar or boring. Judge for yourself. Click this Autocar link for more . Old Car Dead News: Jaguar F-Pace pulled from sale in the UK Jaguar will now not sell any new cars in the UK until 2026. This will, according to the brand’s MD, give them time to “reset”. We worry they will be irrelevant by the time the come back. Click this Autocar article link to read more . LUNCHTIME READ: COMPLEX AUDIOBOOKS ARE MORE DANGEROUS FOR DRIVERS A study has concluded that complex audiobooks cause too much distraction for drivers, as they exert a lot of mental effort to take in and understand what is being said. However, there is a balance, as too little stimulation causes drivers to mentally switch off. Click here to read more, from The Autopian , and access the direct link to the study. LIST OF THE WEEK: THE BEST SELLING AMERICAN CARS OF ALL TIME We are increasingly struggling to find good List of the Week article to share with you. If you find one, please do send it our way and if its good enough we’ll put it on the show! Check out what Autocar have listed as the best selling US cars of all time. Do you agree with the choices the chaps made? Don’t forget to tell us. Click this link to see more . AND FINALLY: GR YARIS SAND SCORCHER INSPIRED LIVERY Collecting Cars, the auction site, has teamed up with Tamiya to create a Sand Scorcher livery which you can buy the RC car with. But not only that, they have wrapped a real GR Yaris in the same livery. Click this Hagerty article link here to read more .…
Andrew was invited, by Kia UK, to try out the refreshed Picanto and new Sorento. Book ending the ICE and hybrid model range, the city car Picanto and large SUV Sorento show how the company caters to many different needs. Listen to the Alan and Andrew discuss the first impressions of the cars, following his short time with each of the models. To find out more from Kia on the Picanto, click this link to their website here . If you want to discover more about the Sorento, click this link to the Kia website here .…
FOLLOW UP: VW CONSIDERS RADICAL COST SAVING PLANS Information has come out as to the extent that Volkswagen Group are considering how to save the $4 billion they state they need to. This includes closing up to three German plants, reducing wages, reducing bonuses and more. Unions have reacted angrily whilst VW has not commented on the claims. To find out more, click this Reuters link here . FOLLOW UP: JLR STILL HAVING REPAIR ISSUES A year ago the CEO of JLR, Adrian Mardell, apologised for how long it was taking to repair their customer’s vehicles. This situation is still not resolved. Problems with their supply chain, which not all are their fault, as well as the supply hub they switched to has meant that around 10,000 customer cars are off the road. Click this Autocar article to read more . RADFORD MOTORS FILES FOR CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY The car company co-founded by Jenson Button, Ant Antsted and Dan Bednarski, to build a low volume supercar based on a modern interpretation of the Lotus Type 62, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US. This is a debt restructuring move and does not mean the company is folding. There are also two court cases being brought against Ansted and Bednarski over financial matters related to the company. In order to find out more, click this Road & Track article link here . CHINA DEPORTS VW EXEC OVER DRUG ALLEGATIONS China has deported a senior Volkswagen executive, Jochen Sengphiehl, over claims he failed a recreational drug test. He was held by authorities for 10 days before the action was taken. Many questions come from this, is it real or China flexing? You can read more, by clicking this Reuters article link here . RIVIAN AND BOSCH TAKE EACH OTHER TO COURT Bosch has sued Rivian for breach of contract, which caused Rivian to counter sue. Rivian cancelled their contract for electric drivetrains from the supplier as they will use their own in-house developed ones. Bosch are, understandably, unhappy at the loss of business, whilst Rivian state that this issue is why they did not deliver as many cars as expected previously. Click this electrive link to find out more . NEW PHEV BATTERY GIVES CLAIMED 249 MILE RANGE CATL has released information on a plug-in hybrid battery, that gives a claimed electric only range of 249 miles. This has the chaps confused. Why is it PHEV only? Sounds almost too good to be true, but is it? What are Alan and Andrew missing? You can read more on this, by clicking this Autocar article link here . STELLANTIS TO ROAD TEST SOLID STATE BATTERIES IN 2026 Stellantis are the latest company to announce when they will be road testing their solid state batteries. Using a fleet of Dodge Charger Daytonas, for some reason, they will be trying them out on the roads in 2026. To read more on this, including the list of others who have claimed they will have solid state batteries in cars, click this Autocar article link here . HYUNDAI AND TOYOTA MOTORSPORT FESTIVAL Hyundai and Toyota have teamed up to hold their own motorsport festival in South Korea. What a brilliant idea! Click this Motoring Research article link to find out more . This week we are asking, if you can, please go support Alex Robbins, a friend of the show, who is raising money for Mission Motorsport. You will have heard us talk about this wonderful charity before and Alex is being insane enough to walk from their HQ to Anglesey Circuit in time for the annual Race of Remembrance. Only about 250 miles! CLICK THIS LINK HERE TO GO TO THE JUST GIVING PAGE . NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Scout Traveller and Terra Scout, the US brand owned by VW, has revealed their two initial models. This has caused excitement in their home country, whilst less so outside, which is reflected in Alan and Andrew’s takes. You can read more, by clicking this DigitalTrends article link here . InsideEVs also has an in depth article on the vehicles, which you can read by clicking here . To run through the sales plans, click this article link from The Autopian here . Morgan Plus Six Morgan has revealed their run out version of the Plus Six, as production comes to an end. Only 30 examples of the car, which starts at £96, 995, will be sold. Click this EVO article to learn more . LUNCHTIME watch: EPISODE 39 OF PROJECT BINKY Bad Obsession Motorsport have released a new episode of Project Binky, the heavily modified Mini. In this one we get to see Nick and Rich transform themselves into electrical engineers. Click this YouTube link to watch another fabulous episode from the lunatics. LIST OF THE WEEK: THE BEST CARS FROM DEAD CAR COMPANIES Autocar have compiled another slideshow, this time about the best cars from dead car companies. There are some to be expected but also some excellent other options too. Do you agree with the picks the chaps made? Do tell us what you would want from all on offer. Click this link to see more . AND FINALLY: CARS AND TRUCKS AND THINGS THAT GO HITS 50 Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Richard Scarry book, Cars and Trucks and Things That Go, a new edition has been published. You can click this link to Kottke to read more and access the huge Yale Review which is almost a Lunchtime Read on its own.…
1 Special Edition - Porsche: Mid or Rear Engined? Alan Visits Atlanta 1:00:35
1:00:35 나중에 재생 나중에 재생 리스트 좋아요 좋아요1:00:35
나중에 재생 나중에 재생 리스트 좋아요 좋아요In this episode, Alan talks about taking a short break from his holiday/vacation, driving around the southeast of the USA to visit Porsche North America in Atlanta, Georgia, touring the impressive facility, and driving a 911 GTS and a Boxster GTS back-to-back on track.
FOLLOW UP: TESLA STILL HIT BY SWEDISH STRIKES In Sweden, the strikes by various workers from a variety of industries that serve parts of Tesla’s business has expanded to include the union Vision. Those that work on the Tesla Supercharger network will no longer service, repair or run maintenance on the charging stations. To learn more, click this Automotive News Europe article link here . STELLANTIS TO SHAKE UP UK BUSINESS Carlos Tavares, the CEO of Stellantis and wielder of the big hammer affectionately named “cuts”, has said there will be an announcement in the next few weeks for the “correction” they will be making to the UK business. In recent months the company has threatened the UK Government, as seems to be their Plan A in all countries, with closing production plants. The main bugbear is the ZEV mandate and, in the company’s eyes, a lack of financial support from the Government. Click this Autocar article to read more . STELLANTIS UK GET A NEW MD AFTER SURPRISE EXIT Mario Gazia Davino has made the shock move of leaving the company with immediate effect. Peugeot UK’s new director has been promoted to run the UK operation for Stellantis, and also Peugeot until a successor can be found. There is a lot of upheaval and changes of personnel within the company, both in the UK and Europe, in recent times. If you wish to read more on this, click here for an article from Auto Retail Network . VW FINANCE HIT WITH FINE BY UK REGULATOR Volkswagen Financial Service, one of the largest car finance operators in the UK, has been fined for failing to fairly treat customers in financial distress. The time period in question is January 2017 and July 2023 and covers around 110,000 customers. On top of the £5.4 million fine, the company has agreed to pay compensation in the order of £21.5 million to customers who suffered harm. In order to find out more, click this AMOnline article link here . JLR APPOINTS NEW SALES DIRECTOR JLR has appointed Angela Shepherd, as the group’s new sales director to help it transition to the luxury market. JLR are trying to move to a hybrid dealer and agency model. Click this AMOnline article link to learn more . VOLVO SHAKE UP MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE In an attempt to create a company that is “designed to increase simplicity, speed and collaboration and reduce complexity by flattening our structure”. The most senior person to be impacted by this is the Chief Commercial Officer and deputy to the CEO, Björn Annwal. To read more on this matter, click here for an electrive article link . MASERATI UK APPOINTS NEW BOSS Peter Charters has left Maserati with immediate effect and has been replaced by Mariangela Del Vecchio. She will also be looking after Scandinavian operations. You can read more, by clicking this AMOnline article link here . MORGAN CEO STEPS DOWN Morgan Motor Company’s CEO, Massimo Fumarola, is to leave the company and be replaced by the chief technical officer, Matthew Hole. Click this Autocar article link to learn more . TELSA driver assistance system INVESTIGATEd. AGAIN The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation in to the driver assistance system from Tesla, Full Self Driving Beta. There are concerns that it is unable to detect objects in some weather conditions, such as bright sunshine or fog. Click this BBC News article link here , for more. This week we are asking, if you can, please go support Alex Robbins, a friend of the show, who is raising money for Mission Motorsport. You will have heard us talk about this wonderful charity before and Alex is being insane enough to walk from their HQ to Anglesey Circuit in time for the annual Race of Remembrance. Only about 250 miles! CLICK THIS LINK HERE TO GO TO THE JUST GIVING PAGE . NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Paris Motor Show We round up the Paris Motor Show, with Andrew being a bit ‘meh’, overall and Alan feeling a bit more positive about what was shown to us. Click this Autocar link to read more . LUNCHTIME watch: WAS TESLA’S “WE ROBOT” PRESENTATION JUST HOT AIR? Matteo Licata, writing for Hagerty, dissects the Tesla “We Robot” event. He’s much more polite that the chaps are, as we all not so much saw behind the curtain but question if there was a curtain at all to peak behind. Click this link to read that article . To watch the latest Looking Out: The Podcast episode, click this YouTube link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: GREATEST SUPERCARS NEVER MADE Autocar being us another slideshow, this time covering cars we all wanted but never made it to production for one reason or another. Do you agree with Alan’s choice? Don’t forget to tell him what you would have from the many options. Click here to see what is on offer . AND FINALLY: WHEN FORZA ADDS YOUR CAR TO THE GAME The Drive brings us an article on what happens and what it feels like when the Xbox racing game, Forza Motorsport decide to add your car to the game. Click this link here to read about that .…
FOLLOW UP: EU vs Chinese EVs The European Commission has approved tariffs on Chinese EVs. There are a number of stories behind this: European Commission Approves Tariffs On Chinese EVS - Autocar EU Rejects Chna’s Proposal for €30,000 minimum price - electrive.com Why EU rejected China's compromise on EV tariffs - Automotive News Europe JLR encourages further talks in plea to avoid EU-China tariff war - Autocar EU-China EV dispute: Beijing retaliates with levy on French brandy - Automotive News Europe FOLLOW UP: DIESELGATE - Winterkorn’s Trial Moved AGain The trial for ex. Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn, has been delayed due to his current ill health. A new timeline is being planned and will be announced in due course. Click this Automotive News Europe article for more . FOLLOW UP: FIAT 500E PRODUCTION PAUSED FOR LONGER Fiat has announced that the current pause in production of the 500e will continue for longer, which the company claims is down to the low demand for EVs. Or is it the reduced demand for the 500e? To read more on this, click here for an Autocar article . SEPTEMBER NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES SMMT has released the new car registration figures for September. The overall figures are still down significantly on the Before Times, pre-Covid. There has been a lot of things said and written about these which require more than surface level analysis that has occurred. EV numbers were once again good. But the SMMT is leaning heavily into calling for Government assistance for Private consumers. Which rather counters all the claims that cost is not a driving factor in the growth of EVs not being as fast and large as many expected and hoped. If you wish to learn more, click this SMMT link here . You can also see more on the industry’s calls for help, click this link from The Guardian . SEVERAL COMPANIES ISSUE PROFIT WARNINGS In the past few weeks several car brands have issued warnings on their expected profits. Mercedes, Stellantis, Aston Martin, BMW and Volkswagen for a second time. More can be found on all of that by clicking this Reuters article link here . CARLOS TAVARES TO STEP DOWN IN 2026 Carlos Tavares, the CEO of Stellantis with a penchant for cutting costs, is set to step down from the company in 2026. The job of finding a successor has begun. Also, it was announced that all brand futures would be considered and confirmed on two to three years, which leaves it a job for the new boss. The rest of the management structure is also going to be ‘shaken up’. For further reading, click this Autocar article link here . STELLANTIS GET SPANISH MONEY FOR BATTERY FACTORY The Spanish Government has given Stellantis and CATL a grant to build their battery factory in the country. Stellantis has yet to decide if they will build their next EV in Spain, but this may help. Click this Automotive News Europe article link here . NORTHVOLT SUBSIDIARY PLACED IN RECEIVERSHIP Northvolt, the Swedish car battery maker, has put the subsidiary Ett Expansion AB into receivership following the cancellation of the expansion project they were controlling. To read more, click this Automotive News Europe article link here . BREMBO BUYS SUSPENSION SPECIALIST Brembo, the brake maker, has agreed to buy Ohlins Racing for $405 million. This does seem like a sensible amalgamation as the parts are close to each other on the car. Click this Reuters article link to read more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Kia electric Pride Kia has revealed a retro mod or adaptation of a 1996 Pride being fitted with an EV drivetrain. What a fun thing to have done! Click this Autocar article link for more . Vauxhall’s electric Astra and Corsa get price cuts Vauxhall has announced that they are cutting the price of electric Corsa and Astra models. In the announcement, the perception of the brand and the costs of their EV was discussed (again popping the nonsense about how price isn’t a stumbling block for EV adoption). Click this Autocar link to see what the reductions are . Caterham Project V to use Yamaha powertrain Caterham has announced that they have partnered up with Yamaha to produce the electric powertrain for the Project V due out in the “coming years’. You can read more by clicking this Autocar article link here . LUNCHTIME watch: rustival 2 report Thanks to Ian, at HubNut, we are recommending his report on the second Rustival event where all cars are welcome. Continuing the vibe of everyone just enjoying cars and not being snobs we are treated to over an hour of this wonderful event. There are others on YouTube who have covered this, which you should go seek out, after clicking and watching this link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: GREATEST SUPERCARS NEVER MADE Autocar being us another slideshow, this time covering cars we all wanted but never made it to production for one reason or another. Do you agree with Alan’s choice? Don’t forget to tell him what you would have from the many options. Click here to see what is on offer . AND FINALLY: WHEN FORZA ADDS YOUR CAR TO THE GAME The Drive brings us an article on what happens and what it feels like when the Xbox racing game, Forza Motorsport decide to add your car to the game. Click this link here to read about that .…
FOLLOW UP: GHOSN ORDERED TO RETURN YATCH Carlos Ghosn has lost his appeal over the ruling that he must return his luxury yacht and repay approximately $32 million, to Nissan. This could prove tricky as he is in Lebanon and due to geopolitical issues, it may be tricky to send someone to go pick it up. To learn more, click this article link from The Autopian . JLR INVESTS £500M IN HALEWOOD PLANT In order to build hybrid vehicles and prepare for their electric future, JLR are updating the Halewood plant to the tune of £500 million. They will also be able to build combustion engined vehicles at the same facility. Click this article link to The Guardian . NISSAN BUYS MORE SHARES BACK FROM RENAULT Nissan is buying another 5% of shares back from Renault as the Rebel Alliance continues to dissolve. Estimated to be worth around $551 million which will help Renault’s finances. If you wish to learn more, click this article link from Automotive News Europe . UK GOVERNMENT HAS NO PLANS FOR PAY-PER-MILE CHARGE YET In a surprise move, the UK Government has confirmed that it will not be announcing a pay-per-mile charging scheme, which many expected as a replacement for fuel duty and VED. That is not to say it isn’t going to happen at some stage. Click here to read more from Top Gear . KIA DEALER PORTAL VULNERABILITY FOUND Security researchers found a flaw in the Kia dealer portal which allowed them to take remote control of vehicles, find their location, examine details of customers and more using only the license plate information. This was reported to Kia who have fixed the issue and confirm no one maliciously accessed their systems via this method. To read more on this, click here for the Bleeping Computer article . LUXURY VEHICLES STILL GETTING TO RUSSIA Sky News has followed up an earlier investigation and found that luxury vehicles, including those from British manufacturers, are finding their way to Russian customers via other countries. We are not sure what the car brands can do to prevent this, as it is not from them directly. If you want to see what is going on, click this link here to read more . POLESTAR ANNOUNCE INFOSYS AS SOFTWARE PARTNER Polestar is going to partner up with Infosys, the Indian IT giant, for their infotainment, driver assistance and connected services software. We REALLY hope Polestar has the people to check and tripple check the software that is produced. We are not confident this will be a good move. You can read more by clicking this article link from The Register . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Leapmotor T03 Leapmotor, the joint venture between Stellantis and Leapmotor International, will start selling their T03 in Europe soon. An electric city car, with a combined WLTP range up to 165 miles but costing around £16,000, will be an attractive proposition to a select number of buyers. To learn more about the car, click this Autocar link here . Kia OTA update for the EV9 Kia has announced that there will be an over-the-air (OTA) update for the EV9, which will allow the driver to switch off the notification of the speed limit warning system, via a steering wheel button press. Click this Twitter link to read more . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: BRUNO SACCO PASSES AWAY Over the weekend, the motoring world received the sad news that legendary Mercedes-Benz designer Bruno Sacco had passed away. What a legacy, designing the cars that were peak Merc. Click this Top Gear article link to read about him and his work . LUNCHTIME READ: EXPERIMENTAL CREATIVITY Hagerty brings us the story behind the Californian design studio for Nissan. Click this link here , for a mammoth read and fascinating retelling of what happened and why. LIST OF THE WEEK: THE 39 BEST CAR MOVIES EVER MADE For once, it is a movie buff who created this list, therefore it is about good movies with cars, and not as we might all have done listed good movies only about cars. Do you agree with the choices made? What is your number one from the list? Do let us know. Click here to check out your options . AND FINALLY: IT IS CHILD’S PLAY FOR ONE COMPANY Autocar chat to the head of design at Hot Wheels to find out what it takes to make toy cars that grab the attention and imagination. You can read about it by clicking this link here .…
Alan is on his own this week, and there's no Follow-Up. This week, though, the European motor industry warns that it will miss CO2 targets because of falling EV sales, the US proposes to ban Chinese and Russian connected car tech, and MAN and E.ON club together to open their first joint-venture truck charging site, while Shell does something similar in the UK. Gordon Murray Group won £ 11 million in UK government funding for developing a new lightweight platform, and Porsche patented a 6-stroke engine cycle. New New Car News includes the Lotus Theory 1 concept, the Renault Estafette concept, and the Ineos Grenadier, where seats are a concept. Points of Interest includes with a Lunchtime Read by Nir Kahn, and a list of 20 very angry cars. The And Finally this week is the latest from c90adventures on YouTube.…
FOLLOW UP: BWM DOWNGRADES OUTLOOK On the back of the news that the BMW brake recall has expanded, which we covered last week, BMW has announced that they have cut their projected outlook for 2024 due to the costs incurred by the issue of the Continental supplied part. On top of that, reports are now surfacing that they were first informed of the issue in June 2022. To read more, click this link to an AMOnline story . TOYOTA SOLID STATE BATTERY PLANS APPROVED Toyota has announced that it will begin production of solid state batteries in 2026, with mass production to begin in 2030. Have they actually cracked? If you wish to read more, click this InsideEVs article link here . MERCEDES AND SUPPLIER DEVELOPING SOLID STATE BATTERY Mercedes-Benz and Factorial have announced plans that they are developing a solid state battery, but with no confirmation on a date when these might come to market or be fitted to cars. Click here to read more, via a Reuters article link. MG TO SELL SOLID STATE BATTERY CAR IN 2025 Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), the company that owns MG amongst other brands, has announced that it will reveal their solid state battery in the second quarter of 2025. They then expect to start selling cars fitted with them by the end of the same year. To learn more, click this Autocar article link here . TOYOTA REDUCES EV TARGETS Toyota is the latest car maker to lower their production targets for electric cars. They are moving from 1.5 million to 1 million EVs produced, in 2026. Whilst that looks dramatic, it is not as dramatic as the jump from now. If you want to read more, click this electrive article link here . VOLVO SUBSCRIPTION BUSINESS TO END Volvo has announced that it will be shutting down their car subscription offering. The system covered all costs except insurance and fuel. Whilst this has not worked for Volvo, or not well enough, others in the industry still think it is a viable business model and something consumers want. To find out more, click this AMOnline article link here . FORD PATENTS COME TO LIGHT Ford has submitted patents that are invasive of personal space and information to just a bit silly. We have to remember that patents often don’t make it to market and we can hope some of those unearthed don’t. One is to use in-cabin microphones to monitor conversations, combined with predicting the trip intention and historical data to “serve” you adverts, both visually and through the speakers. Yep, we’re more than appalled at that, just like you. Click this link from The Record , to read more on this. The other one that raised an eyebrow, is for ‘Smart Vehicle Holograms’ that will, apparently, do a whole host of things from project security guards and dogs patrolling around a car, to showing a restaurant menu and assisting with valet parking. You can learn more and also question the sanity of some Ford employees, by clicking this Top Gear article link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Audi Q5 Audi have shown off the latest Q5, an ICE SUV fitted with a mild hybrid powertrain to help. There’s a myriad of engine options from the base model up to the range topping SQ5. THe interior and exterior are being refreshed to match the rest of the model range. Improvements to handling and power output can be expected. UK specs and prices are yet to be announced. Click this EVO article link to read more . DS SM Tribute DS has reimagined the legendary Citroën SM with the SM Tribute concept. Oh boy. What a mess. Things are not helped that they have it photographed next to the original. Inside is the usual concept look of floating, semi transparent materials, rectangular steering wheels and digital displays. You can read more, by clicking this Autocar article link here . Ariel Nomad 2 EV Ariel has shown off a near production ready version of the electric Nomad. Astonishingly light, for an EV at only 896kg, the car is expected to be on sale from 2026. No confirmation of what the range will be, but considering the technical specifications and the nature of the vehicle, do not expect continent devouring milage. To learn more, click here for an Autocar article . Fiat 500e production paused Fiat has announced that it has paused the production of the 500e, due to a slowing down in demand. They expect this to only last one month and Stellantis say they are not alone in being affected. The car is constrained with a limited range, that is beaten by cars of a similar price and even cheaper. Click this Autocar article link for more . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: CHANGES IN THE BMW GROUP Alpina are getting a new head of design, the ex-Polestar designer, Maximilian Missoni. Does this mean Alpina will have their own cars? We wait with bated breath! Click this Autocar link to read more . Meanwhile, BMW’s design boss moves to Rolls Royce. Domagoj Dukec is taking over from Anders Warming as he moves to a new group role. To find out all the changes in the design teams, click this Autocar link here . LUNCHTIME READ AND WATCH: RADWOOD UK 2024 RADWood Uk 2024 took place recently and whilst we could not get there, we are bringing you some of the coverage. Hagerty provide the reading element, which you can check out by clicking this link here . Meanwhile, Furious Driving YouTube channel supplies the watching part, as he has a lovely video out showing some of the cars at the show. Click here to watch that . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ITALIAN CARS A short list to select from that has been the case lately, as Goodwood Road & Racing suggest ten options. Do you agree with Alan and his choice? Do let us know after you click this link to review what you could pick from . We promise Alan is not getting paid to promote this video from HubNut he just really, really likes it. But as he’s mentioned it AGAIN, here is the link you can click to go see what has made him gush so much about Ian’s work. AND FINALLY: WHAT IS AN EXTINCTION LEVEL CAMPER? Learn what an extinction level camper is and how wonderfully designed and thought out the one The Autopian took into the woods to give the bears a great big surprise - should be noted no bears were actually surprised or harmed in the writing of the fabulous article. Click here to read more .…
FOLLOW UP: WINTERKORN DIESELGATE TRIAL BEGINS Former Volkswagen CEO, Martin Winterkorn, is in court, charged with fraud, market manipulation and perjury all connected with the dieselgate scandal. Winterkorn denies all charges. To learn more, click this BBC News article link here . AUGUST 2024 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has released the August 2024 new car registration figures. They are the first month in two years to not grow year on year. BEVs took a market share of nearly 23% in August, but the year to date is still only at 17.2%. Diesel, petrol and PHEV were down, but HEV rose. Private flatlined, but Business and Fleet registrations were down. Calls were renewed for charging VAT equalisation and incentives from the Government for consumer purchases. Click this link to read more , from the SMMT article. Click this link here to read what Robert Forrester, CEO of Vertu Motors, was quoted as saying with regards to the ZEV mandate and state of the market. VW CONSIDERING PLANT CLOSURES TO CUT COSTS Volkswagen have started to think the unthinkable and are considering closing some of their German factories. The German company needs to save billions and this is one of the possible actions being weighed up. Also being looked at is shelving a planned compact electric SUV model. If you wish to read more, click this Autocar article link here . VOLVO LATEST TO MODIFY MODEL PLANS Volvo is the latest manufacturer to announce a modification to their future model plans, thanks to current global market conditions and slower than expected roll out of chargin infrastructure. To find out what they are aiming for, click this AMOnline article link here . POLESTAR ENDS AGENCY MODEL Polestar has ended the agency retail model and now allows dealerships to act in a more traditional manner. One of the changes will be the ability to target potential customers and sell to them, rather than the previous “no pressure experience”. To learn more, click this AMOnline article link here . BMW BRAKE RECALL ISSUE PERSISTS AND EXPANDS BMW began a recall due to issues with the Integrated Braking System. This has now been expanded to include the Mini and Rolls Royce brands. On top of that, they are struggling to cope with the scale of the issue due to the numbers involved. Parts are hard to come by and taking far longer than hoped. If you wish to read more, click this Car Dealer article link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST As discussed in the show, there is a new way to play podcasts on non-Apple devices as they have brought the Podcast app to web browsers. Click this Podnews link to find out how to install and use it on your device. Thank you to James Cridland, the editor at Podnews, for making it easy to help more people listen to podcasts (and hopefully ours) with that guide. NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Volvo XC90 Volvo has revealed the refreshed range topping XC90 model, as it adjusts future model and powertrain plans.There will be a mix of hybrid powertrains, including a plug-in. They have also taken steps to upgrade the comfort, materials used and the infotainment screen. Click this Autocar article link to read more . Aston Martin Vanquish Aston Martin has shown off the new Vanquish. Fitted with a twin-turbo V12 824bhp engine, this is their most powerful ICE only vehicle. Prices start from £300,000. If you want to see more, click this Autocar link here . Renault 17 concept Renault are continuing their series where they work with a designer to reimagine a car from their history. This time the 17 coupe gets the treatment and very nice treatment it is. Especially if one likes brown. To read more about this, click here for the link to an Autocar article . Prodrive Evolv Prodrive and design agency Astheimer, have collaborated to create an electric last-mile delivery vehicle, called the Evolv. With a price of £25,000, a range up to 100 miles and a carrying capacity of 300kgs, this could be one option for companies who drop off in urban areas. Click this Autocar article link here to read more . LUNCHTIME READ: MOVING PICTURES Driven to Write, once again, brings our recommendation for your pleasure, this week. A combination of reminding about and celebrating the pursuit of quality automotive content. Also there is a wonderful video on the Porsche 928 that is well worth your viewing time. As Andrew and Alan say, if you like anyone’s content tell them, like or favourite it, share it and if you can support it financially. Or we will be all swept away in the flood of drivel. Click here to read the Lunchtime Read . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE GREATEST SMALL CARS EVER MADE Autocar once again bring us another excellent list to pick from, although there is some stretching of the definitions of “greatest” and “small”. However, do you agree with Andrew and Alan’s choices? Don’t forget to let them know. To check out the options, click this link here . AND FINALLY: PEKING TO PARIS RALLY WIN FOR VINTAGE BENTLEY A 1928 Bentley 4 1/2 Le Mans has won the Peking to Paris Rally. What a wonderful thing to have been a part of. Click this Octane link here to read more about the amazing feat and look at some glorious pictures of some of the cars that took part.…
RAC RECOMMENDS DITCHING FUEL DUTY CUT The RAC, who have long been highlighting how fuel retailers are not passing on the fuel duty cut to consumers, have recommended to the Government that they remove this in the upcoming Budget. Their argument is that drivers are not seeing the benefit and companies are only lining their pockets. To read more on this, click the link here to a BBC News article . HACKNEY PROPOSAL FOR MOTORCYCLE PARKING CHALLENGED A legal challenge has been filled against Hackney Council after their proposal to impose a parking fee at the same rate as a car, for residents. The council expects the move to reduce motorcycle commuting by 70%, in the face of evidence that it is better to shift from a car to a motorcycle. To help this challenge succeed a crowdfunding campaign is in operation. Click this link to a Motorcycle Action Group page for more . HYUNDAI UPDATES MODEL PLANS Hyundai is the latest company to announce a revision to their model and powertrain plans, in the face of market conditions. They will expand their hybrid offerings, including adding a range-extender. These moves, it hopes, will counter the fears that markets have about making the switch to fully electric vehicles. If you want to read more, click this AMOnline article link here . LOTUS SLASHES SALES FORECAST Lotus, blaming tariffs on Chinese built EVs, has slashed its sales forecast from 55,000 vehicles to just 12,000. With next year being down from 76,000 to 30,000. In the first half of 2024 Lotus sold 4873 cars globally. Whilst this is a record, it is no where near where it needed to be if 55,000 were to be sold. Click this Autocar article link here, to read more . NEW CEO FOR POLESTAR Thomas Ingenlath has resigned as CEO of Polestar, he will be replaced by ex-Opel-Vauxhall boss Michael Lohscheller. Lohscheller, recently, was the CEO of Vinfast and president of Nikola Motors. You can read more about this, by clicking this Autocar article link here . HMRC CUTS EV MILEAGE RATES HMRC has announced that they are cutting the Advisory Fuel Rates (AFRs) for EVs, reducing it to 7ppm, from 8ppm. There are, as a result, calls to change how this is done because it does not actually cover the costs of business users, especially if they do not have a home charger. Click this FleetNews article link for more . LEX AUTOLEASE PROFITS PLUNGE £400M Lex Autolease, the business leasing company, has announced a drop in pre-tax profits of £400 million, in the face of increased revenues. A large portion of this is attributed to the fall in EV residuals at rates far more than anticipated. As we have said on the show, there are consequences which will impact both new and second hand markets. Click this AMOnline article link to read more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST As discussed in the show, there is a new way to play podcasts on non-Apple devices as they have brought the Podcast app to web browsers. Click this Podnews link to find out how to install and use it on your device. Thank you to James Cridland, the editor at Podnews, for making it easy to help more people listen to podcasts (and hopefully ours) with that guide. NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Citroën C5 Aircross Citroën are rationalising their model range, as a result the saloon C5 X will be removed from sale and the new C5 Aircross will be the range topper. Based on the Stellantis Medium Platform it will come with a variety of powertrain options, from full EV to hybrid. To read more on this, including Alan’s favourite quote, click this Autocar article link here . Hyundai N Vision 74 Hyundai announced there will be a limited production run of the N Vision 74 hydrogen coupe inspired by the Giorgetto Giugiaro Pony Coupe concept first shown in 1974. As ever, the only issue will be finding a fuelling station, if any come to the UK. For more on this story, click the link here to a Top Gear article . Kingsley Defender Kingsley, renowned for the tasteful and superb restomods based on Series 1 Range Rovers has now taken on the original Defender. The D90 and D110 can be wonderfully updated with all manner of finishes, thanks to a starting price of £168,000. Click this Motoring Research article link to read more and find the Kingsley configurator link. Hyundai online car hub on Amazon UK Hyundai are bringing their Amazon car hub to the UK. This will allow prospective buyers the opportunity to learn more about the cars, specify their preferred model and options and book a test drive. They will need to visit a dealership to finalise any purchase though. If you want to read more about that, click this Motoring Research article link here . POINTS OF INTEREST: ALAN DROVE A CAR In a change to our normal running order, we bring you a little adventure that Jim from AlsoDriven took Alan on, as they drove around Boston and Manhattan in a Smart Crossblade. If you wish to know what that was all about, click this YouTube link to see more . AND FINALLY: JEN ORPIN’S ART Classic & Sports Car brings us the art of Jen Orpin, a Manchester based painter who’s paintings are of roads and bridges and the likes. All of them are wonderful. Do click this link to see more , as well as links to her Etsy store and site.…
WARNING ISSUED FOR UK NEW CAR MARKET Cox Automotive, the automotive consultancy that helps those selling cars, has warned that the last quarter of 2024 will be very difficult for brands and dealers in the UK. They have gone so far as to liken the struggles they foresee as similar to those faced in the economic turmoil of the 2008 financial crash. To read more and get a better understanding of what is facing OEMs, click this Autocar article link here . CATERHAM SEPARATES EV BUSINESS Caterham has created a separate business that is focused on the EV side of things. Named Caterham Evo, it has been funded by investors as profits from the main business are not enough for the development. For more on this, click here to read the Autocar article . FORD REVISING EV PLANS Ford has announced it is canning a planned three-row large electric SUV, which will now be a hybrid, will pursue a mid-sized pick-up (that’s mid sized for the US, so think Ranger) and will refuse to launch an EV unless it can be profitable in the first 12 months, according to InsideEVs. This will add costs and delay product launches. Click here to read more . COUNCILS TO DECIDE ON SPEED LIMITS AND LTNS Louise Haigh, the new Transport Secretary, has stated that councils will decide if roads should be 20mph and if areas should be covered by Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTNs) schemes. However, she did say that the implementation or not, needs to involve the local communities. If you want to read more on this, click this Autocar article link here . TOYOTA US DATA STOLEN Toyota US has had data stolen and leaked. This data included customer, staff, financial, contracts and credentials. There is speculation that the information has come from a back up server as one date found, on the files, was December 2022. To find out more, click this Bleeping Computer link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST As discussed in the show, there is a new way to play podcasts on non-Apple devices as they have brought the Podcast app to web browsers. Click this Podnews link to find out how to install and use it on your device. Thank you to James Cridland, the editor at Podnews, for making it easy to help more people listen to podcasts (and hopefully ours) with that guide. NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Mazda EZ-6 Mazda unveiled the EZ-6 at a Chinese motor show, originally for that market, but is now coming to Europe with a chance it will be brought to the UK too. The design is the antidote to all the swooshes, slashes and dents that seem to be so very en vogue. Click this Autocar article link to read more . Dongfeng Nammi Box This car could come to Europe and is one of those that Dongfeng wish to build at the plant they say they’re going to open in Italy. B segment hatch, which takes visual cues from many others in the sector as well as the ‘no button’ interior typical of the Chinese market. Costing £19, 615 in China that price will be more due to tariffs. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar article link here . OLD CAR DEAD NEWS Fiat 500 and Abarth 595 After 17 years (yes, that long) Fiat call time on the 500 and Abarth 595, in the UK. Click this Autocar link to read more on this decision. Fiat Panda Fiat are not done culling their lineup, the Panda will also be removed from sale in the UK despite the CEO saying there will be a ramping up of production due to local Italian increase in sales. You can read more, by clicking this Autocar link here . Genesis G70 and GV80 Genesis are ceasing sales, in the UK, of the 3-series rival G70 and X5 competitor GV80. Both have not sold many recently and as the company moves to an electrified future the decision was probably easy to make. To find out more about this, click here for an Autocar article . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: PHILIP RÖMERS TO HEAD POLESTAR DESIGN Philip Römers will take over the role as head of Polestar design after Maximilian Missoni leaves the company. Römers is credited with the seventh generation Golf, the outgoing Audi A6 and the Audi e-tron. Click this link here to read more, from Autocar . LUNCHTIME READ: 20,000 MILES SOUTH Hagerty brings us the story of Helen and Frank Schreider who took an amphibious Jeep across the world on numerous amazing adventures. This is exactly the sort of tale we always want to share with you, in this spot, as it is not just about the vehicle but what people dreamt up to do with it. To read more and see other links to check out, click here . LIST OF THE WEEK: THESE ARE THE BEST CITIES FOR CAR CULTURE Whilst this is a US centric list, we do recommend checking it out and seeing if you agree with Andrew’s choice. Click here to see what options Japolnik provided . Don’t forget, if you see a good possible suggestion for this segment, do send it to the show to check out! AND FINALLY: DESKTOP WIND TUNNEL A kickstarter campaign was launched to help bring to reality a desktop wind tunnel, in three sizes, which you can use to see the properties of various sized model and toy vehicles. These aren’t just functional either, they have been designed to look good too. Click this Hagerty link here , to see more.…
London ULEZ Scrappage Scheme to End Next Month The London Scrappage Scheme will close next month for residents of all the London Boroughs covered by the ULEZ, but certain groups still have until 2027. You can read more in this story from Autocar . GM Lays off 1,000 Software Engineers Just when all other car manufacturers are trying to focus on getting software correct, GM lays off 1,000 across the US. There’s an overview story from The Autopian here and one from CNBC here . UK Motorists Warned of Quishing Risk Bad actors are placing QR codes pretending to lead to the relevant payment sites in car parks and on EV charging stations across the UK. Keep an eye out for labels over correct QR codes or, even better, use the appropriate app or type in the URL where physical payment isn’t possible. There’s more detail in this Guardian story. Leasing Model At Risk of Breakdown Leasing companies across Europe claim they’re considering pulling out of the market due to the unpredictability of used EV values as new vehicle prices rise. 60% of new vehicles across the continent have a lease component to their purchase, so are the lease companies getting their sums wrong, or is it something deeper? This Reuters story has more information . Boston to use AI to calculate Traffic Light Timings Boston is working with Google to optimise traffic light timings in the centre of the city. Thankfully the outcomes are being sanity checked by a human before implementation. This Boston25 News story tells us more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Vauxhall Grandland It still has a silly name, but the new Vauxhall Grandland comes in both hybrid and EV versions. You can read more in this Autocar article . Lamborgini Temerario Lamborgini has shown its Huaracan successor at Monterey Car Week. It’s a PHEV andfaster, more powerful and heavier than its successor, but every bit as interesting. Just don’t get too distracted by the press photos. There’s much more in this Evo story . BMW M5 Touring BMW has unveiled its M5 Touring. It’s a hybrid, has 717bhp and 1,630 litres of seats-down boot space. It will set you back from £112,000. You can find out more in this Autocar article . LUNCHTIME READ: The Vermont Hills Were Alive Hagerty tells us of the Vermont motoring menace that was Maria Von Trapp in her Mercedes. It’s a lovely story telling of the real Von Trapp family, their move from Austria to the US and how they came to settle in rural Vermont. Alan also gives beer and food reviews, but you can find the article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: The Most Controversial Cars made By Mercedes-Benz Alan tells of his admiration for the gawky R-Class, but which would you choose from this Autocar list ? AND FINALLY: How to Use New York Traffic Cameras as a Photo Booth New York has hundreds of traffic cameras, and they all have apblic feed. A new website for mobile users lets you you turn them into a fun way to photograph you and your friends. There’s more about why this was done, and the appropriate links to try it yourself, in this Jalopnik article .…
FOLLOW UP: CHINA SAYS EU TARIFFS ON EVS BREAK WTO RULES China has said the tariffs imposed by the EU on Chinese made electric cars break the World Trade Organisation’s rules. On top of which the claim is the findings from the initial report and ruling are factually incorrect too. There is no confirmation that they have lodged legal proceedings with the WTO yet, but they state they reserve the right to do so. Click this Reuters article link to read more . JLR INCREASES SPENDING DUE TO EV TRANSITION ISSUES JLR has stated that it is increasing its five year investment plan spending by another £3 billion, as the transition to an EV market is not happening as quickly as many would like. They feel they are having to develop ICE and hybrid platforms alongside the electric only, as a result. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar article link here . On top of that news, Jaguar announced it will reveal its EV concept in December with no cars being delivered before 2026. To read more on that, click this Autocar link here . LAMBORGHINI POSTS BEST HALF-YEAR RESULTS Lamborghini delivered 5558 vehicles, resulting in a 14.1% increase in profits of £387 million. This is helped by an increase of 28.2% of car prices. At this current rate they will deliver more cars than they did in their record breaking year, 2023. You can read more about this, by clicking here for an Autocar link . VW TO CONCENTRATE ON COST CUTTING Volkswagen Group has announced that it will be pushing their cost cutting program in the second half of the year as it looks to increase margins. CARIAD is one focus, according to CEO Blume. Constraining production would also be further enacted. Click this Reuters article link to read more . PROPOSED EU BATTERY REGULATION CHANGES CAUSE ANGER The German car industry is up in arms about proposed changes to the EV battery regulations, for 2027. The idea is to grade a battery on a country’s energy production mix, which will impact Germany that are more carbon intensive after shutting all their nuclear plants. France, is in favour of the rule change, unsurprisingly when one looks at their energy production mix. To find out more, click this electrive article link here . CHINESE EV MAKER HIPHI FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY To manage to go bankrupt, as a Chinese EV maker with plans to export across the globe, considering the amount of assistance the Government will give its home grown companies, takes quite the effort, but HiPhi have managed it. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar article link here . FORD WORKERS TO GO ON STRIKE OVER CHANGES TO PAY The Unite union is claiming that Ford want to change the pay conditions of some workers to be only performance related. On top of that they state that a reduction in sickness payment is being proposed. 1200 workers plus 100 managerial staff are due to take industrial action as a result. Click this Autocar article link to learn more . ANDROID AUTOMOTIVE INFOTAINMENT CAN BE EASILY HACKED During DefCon, the annual cyber security researchers conference in Las Vegas, one speaker explained how easy it was to hack the infotainment system of cars utilising the Android Automotive OS. As we have said on the show many times, consumer technology has no place in a safety critical system. If you wish to learn more, click this link from Cybernews . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - VW Golf R Audi has unveiled the A6 fastback and estate. As the numbering is even this is an EV. With a range of up to 466 miles, it beats rival cars from BMW and Mercedes. The Avant is the best looking version, but that cuts the maximum potential range by 19 miles. Expected to cost similar to rivals, it should start around the £68,000. To read more, click this Autocar article link here . Ineos Arcane Works Ineos has realised there isn’t the market they anticipated in the ‘hose down the interior’ niche and have announced a personalisation division, called Arcane Works. They will tweak aspects of their cars to their customer’s hearts content, which the company hopes will bring in more profits. You can read more, by clicking this Autocar article link to learn more . Fiat adds integrated charger cable Fiat is adding a fitted 7kW capable charging cable to the Grande Panda. They believe this will help owners and also avoid the faff of using slower chargers where you need to bring your own cable. Click this Autocar link to read more . Peugeot 508 axed Peugeot is removing the 508 from sale in the UK, at the end of the year. Blame is being put on the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate as well as poor sales. This is a shame as the 508 is one of the few good looking saloons and estates on offer to buyers. If you want to read more about this, click the Autocar link here . Maserati Quattroporte and Levante removed from sale Maserati are culling their delicious sounding V8 which also means the Quattroporte and Levante will cease to be in the model line up. They will be going with their V6 and electrified products now. Should you wish to read more, click this link here thanks to Autocar . LUNCHTIME READ: THIS TOYOTA MEGA CRUISER IS YOUR TICKET TO MIDDLE EARTH Hagerty explains what the Toyota Mega Cruiser is and has an example specifically discussed in this linked article, click here to read more . To be clear, to all who play the Alan Drinking Game, this is not part of the rules as he was forced to talk about it, although we could make a strong case for his comment about the engine meaning all good will was used up, you decide. LIST OF THE WEEK: THE WEIRD & WONDERFUL DELIGHTS OF THE ISLE OF MAN MOTOR MUSEUM Autocar have a cracking slideshow for us all to run through, showing us some of the special cars the Isle of Man Motor Museum has in it’s collection. Do you agree with the choices made? What would you select? Do let us know after checking this link to see your options. AND FINALLY: HIDDEN DESTINATIONS FOR HOLIDAY FUN Jeep and Ordnance Survey have teamed up to give us all 100 hidden destinations that are at the end of a good driving route for those wanting some family holiday fun. Click this Motoring Research article link for more .…
FOLLOW UP: MORE CERTIFICATION WOES FOR TOYOTA Following on-site inspections, by Japan’s transport ministry, more certification violations have been found. A further seven models have been found to have been incorrectly certified, including the RAV4 model, resulting in a call for “drastic reforms” from the government. To learn more, click this link to a Reuters article . JULY 2024 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) released the new car registration figures for July 2024. Overall the figures are up 2.4%, year on year. EVs are up 18.8% for the month but still only a 16.8% market share, year to date. Hybrids and Plug-In Hybrids are also up, with petrol down slightly and diesel a lot. Private registrations are down significantly again, with Fleet being 60% of the market. SMMT call, again, on the Government to do more to incentivise consumers and do more for the infrastructure. Click here to read more, from SMMT . AUDI UK GETS NEW MANAGING DIRECTOR Andrew Doyle is leaving Audi UK to become CEO of Peter Warren Automotive, an Australian dealer group. He will be replaced by José Miguel Aparicio who is moving from Audi Spain, taking up the role on 1 October 2024. If you want to learn more, click this AMOnline article link here . UK PUBLIC CHARGING POINTS INCREASE TO 64,632 DEVICES The UK, as of 1 July 2024, has 64,632 public charging devices available for use. This is an increase of 47% on July 2023 numbers. However, the location of these chargers is uneven across the country. London has the best coverage, with Birmingham second, then it is very patchy across the rest of the country with the north of England particularly poorly served. Click this Autocar article for more . BARCELONA HARNESSING METRO TRAIN ENERGY FOR EVS In Barcelona, the first charging station that uses regenerated braking energy from metro trains, has opened. Complimenting this are solar panels placed on metro buildings. We like this very clever idea and are now wondering where else energy can be captured from! To read more, click this electrive article link here . FIRST UK EV LORRY CHARGING HUB BEING BUILT IN IMMINGHAM Immingham port is the location for the UK’s first HGV EV charging hub, which is due to open in November 2024. This is also the location for a lot of off shore energy being brought into the country, therefore will make it easier to connect the chargers to a source. If you want to learn more, click this Current News article link here . STONEHENGE TUNNEL CANCELLED The proposed tunnel under Stonehenge has been cancelled, along with the Arundel bypass, whilst other road and transport plans are under review, as the new UK Government tries to manage their finances. We will have to wait until 30 October, to find out the full extent of cuts. You can read further on this, by clicking an Autocar link here . RECARO AUTOMOTIVE FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY Recaro Automotive, the makers of car seats, has filed for voluntary redundancy after a customer pulled a major contract. There is no confirmation as to which company that was, but they do work with VW, BMW and Ford, amongst others. Click this Autocar article link to learn more. Also, for further context, click this article link from The Drive . TESLA RECALLS 1.85M CARS DUE TO BONNET PROBLEM Tesla is recalling 1.85 million cars due to a risk of the bonnet opening unexpectedly. The problem is being put down to a part fitted to 2021-24 Model 3, S and X models, plus 2020-24 Model Y cars. Click this Reuters article to read more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Audi A6 Audi has unveiled the A6 fastback and estate. As the numbering is even this is an EV. With a range of up to 466 miles, it beats rival cars from BMW and Mercedes. The Avant is the best looking version, but that cuts the maximum potential range by 19 miles. Expected to cost similar to rivals, it should start around the £68,000. To read more, click this Autocar article link here . Ineos Arcane Works Ineos has realised there isn’t the market they anticipated in the ‘hose down the interior’ niche and have announced a personalisation division, called Arcane Works. They will tweak aspects of their cars to their customer’s hearts content, which the company hopes will bring in more profits. You can read more, by clicking this Autocar article link to learn more . LUNCHTIME READ: BLINDED BY THE LIGHT Bear with us, on this recommendation, as a lengthy article about louvres doesn’t sound promising but we assure you it is a cracking read. Included in the Driven to Write piece are some fabulous photographs too. Click here to learn more than you thought you needed to know on the subject. LIST OF THE WEEK: BIG SELLING CARS VANISHING FROM OUR ROADS Autocar, once again, provide a slideshow for us to recommend to you, this time about popular cars from the 1980s and 90s which are disappearing. As ever, do let the chaps know if you agree with their choices and if not, what you would pick instead. Click this link here to see the options. AND FINALLY: CYBERTRUCK TROLLED IN FORTNITE To get a glimpse into just how badly received the Cybertruck is by non-car people, look at the reaction in Fortnite to the car being included as a collaboration and foisted on players. If a Cybertruck is found in the battle royale style game, players put aside killing each other, band together until the player with the vehicle is eliminated. Even members of the development team and game owners have expressed their dislike for this collaboration. Click this IGN article link to read more .…
NEW ICE ONLY CAR SALE BAN TO BE 2030 IN UK The Department for Transport has stated that they will ‘provide clarity’ by announcing that new internal combustion petrol and diesel only cars will be banned from sale in 2030. Further details will be issued in ‘due course’. Questions are being raised over vans, which are not mentioned. To read more, click this FleetNews article link here . STELLANTIS PROFITS HALVED Stellantis revealed their first half financial results and they were bruising. A reduction in sales and that they are going through a big model refresh, across their brands, contributed to this. CEO Carlos Tavares has announced he would be reviewing all brands and threatened to close down those that are not profitable. He also stated that the UK’s zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate was damaging the company and unfair it did not take into account that they built such vehicles in the country. Click here to read about the profit issues via this Autocar link . To read more about the UK and how that has proved tricky for the company, click this AMOnline article link . If you wish to consider which brand or brands may go, click this Autopian link as they run through those under the Stellantis group. FORD POSTS SMALLER THAN EXPECT PROFITS Ford also announced their financial results for the last quarter, which did not meet the expectation of many. They put the less than hoped for numbers down to the huge expense of repairing vehicles under warranty. On top of that the Ford model e division, for electric vehicles, operating loss was another $1.1 billion. Click this Reuters article for more information on this. Click this Jalopnik article to read more about the warranty costs for Ford. SOME WELSH ROADS WILL REVERT TO 30MPH The Welsh Government has announced that it has put aside £5 million for some roads to be returned to a 30mph limit where councils think the new law was inappropriately applied. This is following “feedback”. If you wish to read more on this, click the Wales Online article link here . NEW SPANISH CAMERA CATCHES SPEEDERS A new camera system, to be rolled out across Spain, detects if a vehicle bakes heavily before a speed camera and accelerate quickly after. Any vehicles spotted doing so can result in a €600 fine and 6 pints being added to the driver’s license. The cameras will be fitted anything up to one kilometre either side of the traditional speed camera. To read about this, click the article link here from The Mayor . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Kia EV3 Pricing and specifications for the EV3 have now been released by Kia UK. Starting at £32,995 which will have a maximum range of 267 miles, at Air trim level. Prices top out at £43,895 for the GT-Line S (fitted with a heat pump) but that gives you a max range of 322 miles. But for the most range you will want the Air with the 81.4kWh battery pack, resulting in a claim of 347 miles, costing £35,995. The order books open on Thursday 1 August. Click this Autocar article link for more . Cupra Formentor and Leon Cupra has updated the Forementor and Leon, bringing the interiors up to date with VW Group stablemates. Additionally there are new plug-in hybrid powertrains, revised chassis and external designs to incorporate the ‘shark-nose’ fronts. The Leon starts at £31,090, with the Forementor starting price being ££33,450. However, if you would prefer the First Edition versions be prepared to pay £45,850 for the Leon and £51,790 for the Forementor. For more information, click this EVO link here . Mitsubishi to join the Honda-Nissan alliance Mitsubishi is set to join the Honda-Nissan EV alliance. The expectation is for them to license the new software platform created and possibly fill in model gaps of the other two. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar article link here . LUNCHTIME READ AND WATCH: THE FESTIVAL OF THE UNEXCEPTIONAL Whilst trying to avoid all the arguing and moaning, regarding Hagerty’s Festival of the Unexceptional, we want to enjoy what happened on the day, the cars that were there and the people who’ve shared their experiences with all of us. Firstly, we link to Hagerty’s own post about the Concours de l’Ordinaire and wider event, with an original 1982 Toyota Hilux taking the overall prize, click here to read all about that . There are a huge number of excellent videos on YouTube, about this year’s event, which we have no hope of suggesting to you. But, to wet your appetite, we have three links for you to try before you go searching for other creators offerings. And do go searching for them. Support all who make stuff for our entertainment and enjoyment. Steph from I Drive a Classic - click here . Furious Driving - click here . Jon Coupland Cars - click here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 13 BRITISH CARS FLOORED BY FLAWS As we are looking back in time, during Points of Interest , we have a selection of cars, thanks to Autocar, that were hampered by very real flaws. There is, you’ll be pleased to hear, no Allegro in sight - we do have a rule about that sort of thing. Click here and see if you agree with Dan’s choice. Don’t forget to let us know your selection. Oh, and for anyone interested in racing online with others, on Forza Motorsport, click this link here to DARL’s (Distinctly Average Racing League) Discord channel . AND FINALLY: IMBERBUS TIME APPROACHING On Saturday 17 August the annual ImberBus will run, taking a double decker bus through a closed off military firing range on Salisbury Plain. Running every 15 minutes the buses will cover the route with the ticket fee going to charity. Certainly one for the bus and burnt out wreck aficionados. Click this link from Ian Visits to read more . To read up about Imber, here is the link to the Wikipedia article . DANIEL PUDDICOMBE CONTACT DETAILS To contact him via Twitter - click this link To contact him via LinkedIn - click this link…
NEW CTO FOR RENAULT GROUP Philippe Krief will become the chief technical officer for the Renault Group on 1 September 2024, taking over the role from Gilles Le Borgne. Krief will continue his role at Alpine. To learn more, click this YahooFinance link here . NEW EU TYRE RULES COME INTO FORCE New rules for tyres, from the EU, mean that they will need to have the same wet braking standards new as when they have 1.6mm tread left. This will increase safety and also it is hoped will mean drivers do not swap to newer tyres before they need to. The idea might mean that production CO2 emissions will be cut by up to 35 million tons. There is no confirmation the rules will be adopted in the UK. Click this EVO article link to read more . LIDL TO ENABLE EV CHARGING PAYMENTS VIA LOYALTY APP Lidl is the first UK supermarket to allow for EV charging payments to be made via their loyalty app. They have approximately 370 charging points across the country. If you want to learn more, click this link from EV Powered . ARRIVAL BUYS 51 VOLVO ELECTRIC BUSES FOR LONDON Servicing just two routes Arrival will add 51 new electric Volvo double decker buses for Transport for London. To be fitted with the biggest battery capacity these will help improve air quality along the routes. You can read more by clicking this electrive article link here . TVR FACTORY NO SHOW TO COST WELSH TAXPAYERS MILLIONS Due to TVR Automotive not using a site earmarked for their factory, in South Wales, the Government of the principality could be out of pocket to the tune of nearly five million pounds. TVR are now looking to located somewhere in Hampshire. Click this AMOnline article link to read about this story . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Audi A5 Audi have revealed their new replacement for the A4 saloon and Avants. Now named the A5, due to a change in their policy, this will be longer and wider than the previous model. Additionally the interior is heavily revamped with liberal use of screens. Powertrains will be petrol, diesel, mild hybrid and a PHEV. A S5 is also coming. Click this EVO link to read more . Renault Traffic E-Tech Renault has revealed details of their mid sized van, the Traffic, in EV guise. A maximum range of 186 miles, with an ability to fully charge in about an hour on a 50kW DC charger. The vehicle can carry a maximum of 1222kgs. Prices star at £34,500 plus VAT. You can read more by clicking this EV Powered link here . VW postponed ID.Golf launch Only a week or so after the announcement of the new platform (SSP) and the ID.Golf, Volkswagen have had to confirm that the car will now be delayed until 2029. Software is believed to be one major issue and it is unclear if the partnership with Rivian muddies the development waters even more. If you wish to read more, click this electrive article link here . Ford’s EV only European plans ‘to ambitious’ Ford have stated that their push to be all-electric, in Europe, by 2030 was too ambitious. They cite customer’s behaviour are an indication that the market is not ready for such a rapid shift. Other OEMs have also expressed concerns over timetables previously announced. Click this Autocar link to read more . LUNCHTIME READ: THE BATTLE FOR CONTROL OF THE DASHBOARD We recommend this slightly older article, from Car & Driver, that goes into the background of who is trying to get their technology and software in infotainments and binnacles. Whilst there are some updates needed to the story, if does an excellent job of outlining the issues and players involved. To read, click this link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: CRAZIEST CONCEPT CARS EVER MADE Autocar bring us another slideshow, where we have 55 options for a concept car that grabs your attention more than the others. Let the chaps know your choice and if you agree with Andrew’s. Click here to see the options . AND FINALLY: SNAPSHOTS IN TIME The Guardian brings us snippets from the new book A Time a Place , which shows us the European Car of the Year from each of the last 60 years combined with a building of the same age. A fabulous project that shows a wonderful level of creativity. Click here to read more .…
UK CAR FACTORIES HALVE CARBON EMISSIONS The UK car manufacturing industry has managed to cut carbon emissions by half in the past 25 years. On top of which, water use has dropped significantly. This comes from the SMMT’s 25th annual Sustainability Report. If you wish to learn more, click this AMOnline link here . JLR SALES INCREASE JLR, in the last quarter, saw their sales to dealers (wholesale) rise for the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. The reason being given is the new body shop opening at Solihull. The Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Defender made up 68% of wholesale numbers. Foreign markets such as China and particularly the US also grew. Click this Autocar article link to read more . They also announced that the Jaguar lineup will be cut down to just one model, due to lack of profitability. Only the F-Pace will be sold by the Jaguar brand until they announce their new models, aimed at the luxury market. If you wish to learn more, click this AMOnline article link here . RENAULT OFFERS EV CONVERSION TO MASTER OWNERS Owners of Master III vans are being offered a conversion to EV, by Renault in France. At a cost of €26,900 + tax the vehicles will have a maximum range of 124 miles. This is significant saving on a new electric van, but with a limited range. To read more about this, click here to go to an electrive article . AUDI MAY CLOSE BRUSSELS PLANT Due to a lack of sales, of the Q8 e-tron, the future of the VW Group plant in Brussels is under consideration, with the ultimate move being to close it and stop selling the model. Whilst Volkswagen Group has just announced it is investing heavily in Rivian, it has financial issue to sort as they and shareholders lower their earning expectation. Click this Reuters article link here to read more . US STUDY QUESTIONS SAFETY CLAIMS OF ADAS A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute (IIHS), in the United States, has questioned how effective some of the advanced driver assistance systems actually are and if they do mitigate road incident rates. This covers technology which claims to be partial automation, not crash avoidance such as automatic emergency braking. Their conclusion is that partial automation adds nothing when it comes to additional safety. You can ream more, by clicking this link from IIHS here . To read the TechRadar piece associated to this, click here . NEW CAR THEFT ATTACKS HIT HYUNDAI AND OTHERS With the use of an emulator, thieves can trick a car into thinking the key is near enough to allow access and starting of the car. This has hit the Hyundai Group with several models from their range being targeted. The device is made to look like a Nintendo Game Boy and can cost between €16,000 - €30,000. Vehicles that are claimed to be susceptible, apart from the Hyundai Group, include Mitsubishi, Renault, Mercedes and Nissan. To read more, click this article link from InsideEVs . For more context click this link to a post from Dr Ken German on LinkedIn . BLACKWALL AND SILVERTOWN TUNNELS TO GET TOLLS Transport for London has announced that they will be imposing tolls on both the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels in 2025. The claim is the prices, which change for peak and non-peak, will reduce congestion. If you wish to find out more, click this link from The Guardian here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Ford Capri To much wailing and gnashing of internet teeth, Ford unveiled the new Capri. Based on the VW MEB platform, they have created a SUV coupe version of the Explorer. Maximum range comes at either 390 or 370 miles, depending on spec. Likewise, 0-62mph time is 6.4 or 5.3 seconds. Prices are expected to start from £47,000. To read more, click this Autocar article link here . Due to the reaction Keith WR Jones has written this thread on Twitter, that is worth read. Click here . Graham King also wrote a thread on Twitter that is also worth a read. Click here . MG HS PHEV The HS is the biggest car MG offer and has now been refreshed. Powertrains include petrol and plug-in hybrid. The PHEV coming with a maximum EV range of 75 miles. Prices range from £24,995 to £31,495. The vehicle is longer, with a lower roof and larger boot. Click this Autocar link to read more . Evoluto 355 A UK startup, called Evoluto Automobili, has created a restomod Ferrari 355. They have brought in Ian Callum to help sharpen the looks and the V8 has been reworked to be more reliable. The car is also lighter, stronger and stiffer thanks to the use of carbon fibre and manufacturing techniques. Prices and specifications are yet to be fully revealed. Click this Autocar article to read more . Lexus reduces EV and hybrid prices Lexus is cutting the price of some of its range by as much as £7,100. The UX 300e now starts from £40,795. Prices are also cut on RZ 450e, hybrid NX 450h+ and RX 450h+ models. Only the LBX remains the same. To read more, click this Autocar article link here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: IAN CAMERON On Monday the motoring world was shocked at the news of the death of Ian Cameron, at his home in Germany after he was attacked by an intruder. He was Rolls Royce’s design chief, who created the Phantom in 2003. He retired in 2014. He has led a fascinating and illustrious career, which you can learn more about by clicking this Autocar link here . Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time. LUNCHTIME READ: CONCEPT CARS MON AMOUR! SIMPLEXITY IN MOTION We turn to Driven to Write and Patrick le Quément, former SVP of design at Renault, to tell the story of the Ellypse, a 2002 concept car. This is a fascinating peak into the design philosophy behind the car, as well as how these things come to be at a car company. To read this and enjoy all the photos, click this link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: TOP 10 PROTOTYPES AT THE LE MANS MUSEUM Top Gear have created a list of what they think are the best prototype racing cars at the Le Mans museum. Do you agree with the choice made? Click this link to check out what is on offer. AND FINALLY: FOTU SCHEDULE REVEALED Festival of the Unexceptional has released the timetable for the day. Taking place on 27 July 2024, the gates open at 07:30 and the event closes at 19:00. In between, there is a LOT going on. To find out what is happening, click this link to a Hagerty article here .…
FOLLOW UP: CHINESE BUILT EV TARIFFS COME INTO EFFECT The interim tariffs, from the EU on Chinese built EVs, has come into effect. Some of these have been tweaked, with Geely’s penalty dropping a fraction. The EU also published a document to explain who was hit by what and why. To find out more, click this Reuters link here . SAIC have asked for a special hearing with the EU as it states some of its evidence has been ignored. SAIC are the hardest hit of all companies, with a 37.6% additional cost added to all their vehicles. To read more, click this Reuters article link here . China has imposed stricter control on some rare earth material, which might impact those importing from China. Click this electrive article link here , to read further on this. There are signs that the tariffs are having one intended consequence, with Smart considering building a production plant in Europe. You can read more, by clicking this Autocar article link here . BYD are ahead of all others though, as they announce an agreement to open a factory in Turkey, a deal worth $1 billion. Click this BBC News article link to read more . EUROPEAN GSR2 COME INTO FORCE The European General Safety Rules 2 (GSR2) have come into force now, with systems such as intelligent speed limiters being fitted to all cars in the EU, including Northern Ireland. This will mean that UK cars will also have them fitted but they are not legally required. If you wish to read more, click this EVO article link here . JUNE 2024 NEW CAR REGISTRATIONS June saw another month of flatline registrations, with a 1.1% increase on 2023. However, BEVs did take a market share of 19% for June, raising it to 17.9% for the year to date. However, Private registrations are dropping, worryingly so, yet again as the market share decreases 15.3% for the month, with it now down 12% for the year to date. A reminder, salary sacrifice is not a private registration, no matter how hard you really wish it was. Click this link from the SMMT to read more . To read the article from Matt Prior explaining who will end up paying for the mandate policy, click this Autocar link here . Autocar also have an Editor’s letter for the new UK Government, with recommendations on how they can help the car industry. Click this link to read that . EVS TO PAY LONDON CONGESTION CHARGE IN 2025 Since 2020 Transport for London (TfL) have confirmed that EVs will pay the congestion charge from the end of 2025. Apparently, many have discovered this widely known news and are shocked. If you wish to learn more, click this EV Powered article link here . GM FINED IN US FOR FAILING EMISSION TESTS Between 2012 and 2018 some GM models produces around 10% more emissions than were declared. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in the US, has fined the car maker $146 million as a result. GM still state they have done nothing wrong. To read about this story, click this Jalopnik link here . CHARGE CARS GOES INTO RECEIVERSHIP The Arrival spinoff, which was to use their batteries and technology in restomoded EV Mustangs, has gone into receivership with all employees being made redundant. There are claims the company had models built and were due to deliver to customers. If you wish to read more on this story, click this Autocar article link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Honda Prelude Honda are bringing the Prelude back to the UK, this time with a hybrid powertrain. Honda acknowledge that there are a lot of SUVs out there but they also like sporty cars. This will be a two door coupe based heavily on the Civic platform. To read more about this good news, click the Autocar link here . Defender Octa The Defender brand has decided their model needs an injection of ridiculous power. 626bhp, 4.4 litre V8 derived from BMW, will be inserted into 110 sized cars with only 1070 being built. The claim is it will be as good on the road as it is off the road. Interesting, as it is a large SUV that comes with off-road heritage. In order to find out more, click this Autocar link here . Nybolt EV Nybolt now have made their concept a working prototype to demonstrate their battery technology, which is quite astonishing. Designed by Julian Thompson, there is a clear likeness to the Mk 1 Elise, with similar front end and shape. The technology developed by Nybolt will allow the 35kW battery pack to be charged from 10-80% in 4 minutes 37sec if plugged into a 350kW charger. Also, it will have a maximum range up to 155 miles, according to WLTP. To read more on this very interesting development, click this EVO link here . New U license for Australia Australia is to introduce a new driving license, named the U-class license, that is for those who wish to drive vehicles with a gross mass up to 4.5 tonnes and a power-to-weight ratio of 370bhp per tonne or more. This does not include buses and motorcycles. Essentially it is a counter to all of the ridiculously powerful EVs and hypercars that technically anyone could buy and drive on the public roads. To pass you must take an online course, which we are not sure does enough but it is a step and may also either be adopted by other countries but also cause a pause for thought by the OEMs. Click this Driving Masters article link here , to read more. LUNCHTIME READ: HOW BAD ARE MODERN CAR INTERFACES? EVO enlist the help of a commercial pilot to try and navigate a modern car’s interface and give feedback. It is quite enlightening and hopefully manufacturers and legislators start to pay attention to all this, as it is a topic this show often speaks about. To read, click this link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: SLEEPERS Autocar have another slideshow that we are sharing with you, this time cars that are genuinely rapid but did not need to shout about it, sleepers. Do you agree with the choice made? What would you pick? Click here to check out the options . AND FINALLY: HOW DO YOU SAY TAXI WITH A G Genesis are taking over the Ring Taxi duties, from BMW as they no longer have their cars hurtling around the track making passengers terrified or sick. The Genesis Track Taxi programme is open for business. They will be using the G70 3.3T car to enable mere mortals to experience the Nordschleife with an expert driver. To find out more, click this Motoring Research article link here . Here is the link to Daniel Achterhuis visiting the Nurburgring video, click here.…
FOLLOW UP: ARAMCO FINALLY AGREE TO HORSE STAKE The joint-venture between Geely and Renault, for engine technology, called Horse, has finally managed to get Aramco on board as the third partner. They are expected to take a 10% share in the company. To read more, click this link to a Reuters article here . VW THROWS $1B LIFELINE TO RIVIAN Volkswagen and Rivian announced a partnership, with VW investing $1 billion initially into the US EV start up. The German company has stated it wants access to the battery technology and full software stack Rivian has developed. A further $4 billion could come from Volkswagen if certain criteria are met. This helps Rivian survive a little longer, but raises big questions about CARIAD. Click this Tech Crunch article link for more . Click this Christiaan Hetzner Twitter thread for more about CARIAD and why the deal brings it’s existence into question. If you would like to read more about Rivian’s ambitions, click this autoevolution article link here . STELLANTIS THREATEN TO CLOSE UK MANUFACTURING Stellantis’s UK managing director has stated that they will make a decision in “less than a year”. They want help from the UK Government, including incentives for private buyers to encourage more EVs to be bought. On top of that, more is demanded for businesses to encourage them to buy more EV vans. To read more, click this article link from The Guardian . RENAULT UK GET A NEW MD Renault UK has announced that Guillame Sicard will take up a new post in Renault France, with Adam Wood becoming the managing director on 1 October 2024, as well as the country manager for Renault Group. Click this AMOnline article link to read more . PEUGEOT UK GET A NEW BOSS As Adam Wood has resigned from his position as managing director of Peugeot UK and moved to Renault UK, Eurig Druce who was vice president of Stellantis Sales. To read more, click this AMOnline article link here . NEW CAR PARK INDUSTRY CODE OF PRACTICE The car parking industry, in an attempt to avoid direct intervention by the UK Government, has announced a number of new standards they will work to from the autumn. However, the whole industry does not need to be compliant until December 2026. Motoring groups have stated how little this does to change the situation. You can read more by clicking this BBC News article link here . SUGGESTION ON DEALING WITH CAR WEIGHT INCREASE A group of academics have highlighted the problems of vehicles, particularly SUVs, becoming heavier. They have also proposed how this can be turned around. Click this link to read what the issues are and their suggestions on remedying it. In a stroke of astonishing coincidence, Autocar has produced an article showing how much weight cars have put on recently, click here to read more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Hyundai Inster Hyundai are bringing a city car sized EV to the UK. With a maximum range of 211 miles, this will seat four and cost from £22,000. This is good news that we get more options in the sub £30k EV market! Cute looking with design touches of other models, including the Kona and Ioniq 5, this is based on a South Korean car. Click this link to an Autocar article to read more . Bentley Continental GT Speed Now we can all see what the car will look like that is to house the new V8 plug-in hybrid powertrain we have previously discussed. And what we see is good. The Speed will cost from £236,600 in the UK. To read more about the car and all the new features, click this Motoring Research article link here . BMW M5 BMW have unveiled the new M5, which comes with a hybrid powertrain, enabling 50 miles on electric power alone. However, this does come with the penalty of extra weight, which in turn means the car is slower but we doubt one would notice on the roads. Priced from £111,405, it will come with a 4.4 litre V8 that has a plug in hybrid system allowing for 42 miles of electric only driving. If you wish to learn more, click this article link from EVO . Volkswagen Golf R The new Golf R has been revealed. With the next Golf being an EV, this will be the last ICE version. Tweaks have been made to the interior, in line with the rest of the range, making it more user friendly. Work has also gone on the dynamics of the car. You can find out from by clicking this EVO article link here . Suzuki removing four models from sale As the UK Government’s ZEV mandate bites, Suzuki has been forced to remove from sale, the Swift Sport, Ignis, Swace and Jimny van. They will bring out their first pure EV, named the eVX, in 2025. Much discussion could be had abut Governments forcing markets, as an earlier item with Stellantis is linked. Click this AMOnline article to read more . Volvo EX30 Volvo has refunded some owners of the EX30 after they had reached the end of their patience with the bug ridden software which has affected the car since before launch. To find out how badly this has gone for Volvo, click this Autocar link here . LUNCHTIME WATCH: THE RISE OF HIGH TECH FARMING We are recommending a video that goes through the history of John Deere and how it has moved from a plough manufacturer to a high tech company. It is an interesting history lesson and cautionary tale for consumers, especially as car companies are trying to do the same thing. Click here for the YouTube link to the Wendover Productions video . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE BEST SELLING CARS OF 2023 IN THE WORLD Autocar once again are the source for an excellent list, that allows no room for subjectiveness. This time, its the best sellers in the world. Most will be expected but it is always interesting seeing what other markets get and buy. To check out the list, click this link here . AND FINALLY: WHICH CAR HAS THE MOST CUPHOLDERS The Autopian get down and nerdy about cup and beverage holders when trying to establish which car has the most. Reminds us of the quote that US cars are mobile cupholders. To read this wonderful article, click this link here .…
FOLLOW UP: EU AND CHINA AGREE TO TALK The EU and China have agreed, following a call over the weekend, to start a consultation into the issues around Chinese made battery electric vehicles. China wants the tariffs halted during this time but the EU has rejected this. Click here, to read more from Politico . DR FINED FOR CLAIMING CARS ARE MADE IN ITALY Stellantis is not the only company getting into trouble, whether real or manufactured, over if their cars are made in Italy or not. DR Automobiles is to be fined €6 million, following an EU anti-trust probe, finding the cars are originally made in China but finished off in Italy. DR will be appealing the decision. To read more, click this Autocar article here . BMW CANCELS NORTHVOLT BATTERY CONTRACT BMW announced that it is cancelling a $2 billion battery cell contract with Swedish firm Northvolt, as it could not meet the timescales agreed in 2020. In the statement they went on to say they’d both agreed to focus on the next-generation battery cell work. If you wish to learn more, click this Reuters article link here . GOVERNMENT CONSIDERING ADDING ADAS CHECKS TO MOT The UK Government is beginning to investigate if driver assistance technology (ADAS) should be added to MOT checks. Also, if it should, then how to test them. This is complicated topic as some aspects are to be mandated as fitted where previously they have not been. The Government has admitted it is difficult to know how many cars are fitted with exactly what, partly thanks to the different names each OEM gives the technology. Click this AMOnline article link to learn more . WRIGHTBUS TO MAKE DIESEL BUSES EVS Wrightbus has unveiled a new service, called NewPower, where it converts diesel buses into electric ones. The price starts at £200,000, which is a lot less than a new electric bus. You can find out more, by clicking this electrive article link here . NEW CATERHAM FACTORY INCREASES CAPABILITIES Caterham has opened its new factory, which gives it 50% more capacity. The CEO, Bob Laishley, says this means they will not need to turn customers away. A new maximum of 750 cars can b built annually, thanks to an increase in build stations. To read more, click this Autocar article here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Volvo V60 and V90 Volvo is reintroducing the V60 and V90 estates to the UK new car market, following an increase in demand. The V60 will come with hybrid and PHEV options, whilst the V90 will only be a PHEV. Prices are yet to be announced. This time, we had all better go out and buy them or they will go away again. Click this Autocar article to read more . BMW X3 The fourth generation X3 has been revealed. It is wider and longer, with a new interior and the current design language for the exterior. Powertrains will be diesel, petrol and PHEV. Prices start at £46,800 and top out at £64,990. If you wish to read more, click this Autocar article link here . Bugatti Tourbillon 20 years after they gave us the Veyron, Bugatti reveal the Tourbillon a £3.2 million, 276mph hyper-car. The engine is a V16, which will rev up to 9000rpm. The car is more aerodynamic than previous models, with an eye on cooling the engine and acting as aero at all speeds. Only 250 cars will be built. You can find out more, by clicking this link to an Autocar article here . Genesis GV60 Magma Genesis has confirmed that the hot GV60, called the Magma, will be coming to the UK with a price tag expected to be in the region of £100,000. The car shares the same platform as the Hyundai Ioniq 5N. Click this Autocar article link here, to learn more . JLR brings back the Freelander name Furthering their close ties, JLR and Chery have announced that the Freelander name will be brought back. This will be an electrified only brand, built and sold in China initially. Plans do include exporting world wide at a later date. If you want to find out more, click this Autocar article link here . LUNCHTIME READ: RISE AND FALL OF TURIN’S DESIGN FIRMS Matteo Licata brings us yet another history lesson about the Italian automotive industry, this time with a focus on the design companies of Turin. Click this Hagerty link to read the wonderful, if depressing, explanation of how those famous design studios ended up where they are now. LIST OF THE WEEK: THE 60 MOST BEAUTIFUL CARS EVER MADE Autocar bring us a slideshow of what they call the most beautiful cars ever made, which is stretching it somewhat with quite a few of those featured. Regardless of that, do you agree with Alan and Andrew’s choices? Let us know what you would pick. Click here to see the options . AND FINALLY: PETROLBLOG ELECTION MANIFESTO Gavin Big-Surname has launched the Petrolblog Manifesto that are sensible policies for a happier Britain, as Prince George said in the historical documentary Blackadder. We struggle to argue with anyone of the promises made. Click here to read them yourself . As an extra bonus, there is a new video from Petrolblog to check out too, click this YouTube link here .…
FOLLOW UP: SURPRISE EU TARIFF RATES The EU has announced the rates for interim tariffs on Chinese made cars coming to the continent. These are surprisingly high, in some cases. The differences per brand is due to the level of cooperation they provided the investigators and what state aid they receive. To read more, click this Politco article link here . To read another interesting article from Politico, explaining how the EU’s moves are very similar to those China made decades ago, click this link here . FOLLOW UP: WAYMO UPDATES SOFTWARE Waymo has updated the software for its autonomous cars, with the hope that it now can spot and avoid obstacles such as telegraph poles. We wait, with bated breath, as to what the next “edge case” might be. If you wish to read more, click this link from The Register . FOLLOW UP: JLR INVESTING £1M TO COUNTER CAR THEFTS JLR is allocating £1 million to help counter car thefts in the UK. Some of the money will be used to provide the police with more assistance, the rest will be to pay for a new policing unit, who will gather intelligence on car crime. You can find out more, by clicking this link here to an AMOnline article . FOLLOW UP: FISKER APPLIES FOR BANKRUPTCY Succumbing to the inevitable, Fisker has announced it has applied for bankruptcy protection, in the US. As our Lunchtime Read last week outlined, the company has been hit by mismanagement from the outset which became increasingly worse as they approached making an actual car. Click here to read more, from Autocar . MI5 NEEDS CAR TECHNICIANS FOR ITS FLEET MI5 has a job opportunity for a ‘vehicle technician’, where the successful applicant will be expected to perform routine servicing through to rebuilding transmissions. If you wish to learn more, click this Garage Wire article link here . DUNDEE INSTALLS FIRST RETRACTABLE EV CHARGERS UEone is operating 18 7kW on-street chargers across the city of Dundee. These chargers, when not in use, sink so that their top is flush with the ground, until activated. The idea is that it frees up the pavement, for users, when not being used. To read more, click this article link from EV Powered . SURREY COUNCIL INSTALL SOLAR POWERED EV CHARGING STATION Surrey Council have installed a pre-fabricated solar powered EV charging station, that will be able to charge up to 12 EVs at seven, 11 or 22kW simultaneously. Similar set ups have been installed at Silverstone and Raigmore Hospital in Inverness. If you wish to read more, click this Current News article link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Fiat Grande Panda Fiat has revealed the Grande Panda, which is larger than the current model. Sharing the same platform, technology and many of the body panels of the Citroën C3, this chunky small SUV will come in EV, hybrid and ICE configurations. Click this Autocar link here , to find out more. Smart #5 Sized very similarly to the Peugeot 5008, this five seat SUV will have a range topping 637bhp, enabling the large vehicle to get from 0-62mph in less than three seconds, it is expected. We fail to see why anyone would need to do so, but there you go. Originally pencilled in to come to the UK at £35,000, we will have to wait and see if that remains the same after the EU moves on tariffs. Click this Autocar article link to read more . Alpine A290 Pitched as the gateway car to the brand, Alpine have taken the covers off the A290, a reengineered Renault 5. It is wider, lighter and wears more aggressive bodywork than the car it is based on. The warm hatch is to start at around £36,000. For those wanting to learn more, click this Autocar link here . JLR to partner with Chery on platforms A month after denying that they will be using Chery platforms on their new models, JLR confirm that they, in fact, will be doing so. The Chinese company will supply one modular platform for ICE and hybrid vehicles and another for EVs. Click this electrive article link to read more . Volvo recalls the EX30 over software glitch Volvo is recalling the EX30 due to a software glitch that puts the central control screen into test mode. This is particularly troublesome for owners as operating the cars is very dependent on this interface. Volvo are contacting owners and state this can be fixed with an over-the-air update. If you wish to learn more, please click this EV Powered article link here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: CHAN PARK HEADS UP SKODA INTERIORS Chan Park will replace Peter Olah as the head of interiors at Skoda. He moves from Nio to this post, having also previously worked for the likes of Pininfarina and Audi. Olah will lead Skoda’s On Design Identity strategy. If you want to read more, click this Autocar article link here . LUNCHTIME READ: LACK OF REAL ENTHUSIASTS IS HURTING THE CAR INDUSTRY The Autopian bing us a conversation with Bob Lutz at the Classic Car Club Manhattan, where he runs through his career and gives his opinions on the current state of the industry. Illuminating stuff from a man who is a titan of the car world. Click this link here to read and watch more . LIST OF THE WEEK: 22 CARS THAT ARE 25 IN 2024 Classic & Sports Car brings us a selection of cars from 25 years ago to run through. Do you agree with the chap’s choices? Let us know what you would have from the options provided. Click here to see what you can choose from . AND FINALLY: TOUR CITROËN CONSERVATOIRE BEFORE IS CLOSES Ian Seabrook eventually makes it to and from Paris, as he had to visit the Citroën Conservatoire before it is shut by Stellantis. Click here to watch the Top 10 video first . Once you’ve done that, click here to watch the 29 minute walk around . After you have watched these and enjoyed them, share them far and wide. Don’t forget to support independent content creators who bring us all wonderful writing, videos, audio and more. They need us and we need them.…
FOLLOW UP: JLR SPEEDS UP SECURITY UPDATE FOR OLDER CARS JLR is speeding up the software updates to older models of the Range Rover, Defender, Discovery and Jaguar brands. These are cars built after 2018. Owners of such cars are urged to get in touch with JLR so their vehicles can be updated. You can learn more by clicking this AMOnline article link here . NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES MAY 2024 The UK’s new car registrations rose just 1.7% year on year. That was thanks to another very strong showing from Fleet. Private declined, whilst Business rose 290 registrations. BEVs also increased, now up to 16.1% market share in 2024. The Ford Puma maintains its position as the most registered car in 2024. Click here to read more on this, from SMMT . SAFETY TEST SCANDAL HITS JAPANESE CAR MAKERS Toyota, Honda, Mazda and Yamaha Motor have all been implicated in a new scandal, this time covering safety testing accreditation. They have been found to have submitted incorrect or manipulated data. Some shipments have been ordered to be paused. On site inspections have occurred at Toyota, Honda and Mazda. Click this Reuters article link to learn about the story. For more on the extra raids, click this link from The Japan Times . FORD EUROPE BOSS RETURNS TO VW GROUP Martin Sander, who was general manager for passenger cars at Ford Europe, has left the company and will join the board of the Volkswagen brand for sales, marketing and after-sales. He was only in position for two years at the American company. If you wish to learn more, click this electrive article link here . 20MPH LIMIT IN WALES CUTS INSURANCE CLAIMS One insurer, esure, is stating that the drop to a 20mph limit in built-up areas of Wales has caused a 20% reduction in vehicle damage claims. You can read more on this by clicking this link to an article from The Guardian . INSURANCE COSTS CAUSE YOUNG DRIVERS TO GO WITHOUT A study by IAM RoadSmart has found the number of uninsured young drivers has rocketed in the last few years, mostly blamed on the huge increase in insurance costs. There are calls for Government intervention to reduce the costs. To see some of the eye-watering premiums, click this Autocar article link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - BMW 1-series BMW has revealed the new 1-series and a new model naming guidelines. Gone is the use of ‘i’ for petrol models, as ‘i’ refers to BMW’s electric models. There will also be a new top of the range M135, that’s got less power, is slower but apparently much better dynamically. If you wish to learn more, click this EVO article link here . The Joy of Specs explains all about BMW’s badge naming history and why the ‘i’ is going on some models, click this link to read more . Cadillac Optiq Cadillac is coming back to the UK, starting with their mid-sized SUV the Optiq. Aimed at the Audi Q4 e-tron and BMW iX3. The company claims it has a sporty nature and is targeting younger buyers. No details when it comes to price yet. Click this link from EV Powered to read more. Mercedes PureSpeed At the Monaco Grand Prix, Mercedes revealed the concept called PureSpeed. This is a stripped out AMG SL roadster that has been changed in looks. No windscreen, a F1-inspired ‘Halo’ device and the first of the bespoke ‘Mythos’ range from the company. You can read and see more by clicking this link to a Motoring Research article link here . LUNCHTIME READ: FISKER’S COLLAPSE As Fisker, the EV maker, continues on its death spiral, TechCrunch spoke to people about how it has got to this point. The story is astonishing. Click this link to read how not to do it . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE CAR DESIGNS OF CHRIS BANGLE Run through the ‘highlights’ of Chris Bangle’s career and see which one you like the most. Do you agree with Alan’s choice? Do let the chaps know. Click this Autocar slideshow link to see more . AND FINALLY: C90 ADVENTURES RETURNS WITH MORE MADNESS Ed March returns with another adventure in his toy motorised jeep. This time he makes modifications and plans something a bit more, well, adventurous. Click this YouTube link to go watch the first video of his latest hijinks.…
FOLLOW UP: FCA PERMITS GAP INSURANCE AGAIN The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has given permission for companies to sell GAP insurance once again, following steps to make it fairer to customers. Those selling the insurance will need to demonstrate they are following the new rules and then they will be allowed to resume their offering. If you wish to learn more, click this AMOnline article link here . FOLLOW UP: SPOTIFY OFFERS REFUNDS ON CAT THING After hearing our damning criticism of their actions over the Car Thing, Spotify have offered refunds to owners of the gadget. No, actually, that isn’t what happened. As they face a lawsuit from owners they have heard the general outcry and are trying to repair some of the reputational damage. Click this TechCrunch article for more information . FOLLOW UP: RENAULT-GEELY HORSE FINDS A HOME IN LONDON The joint-venture between Renault and Geely, for working on ICE and hybrid powertrains, has opened their HQ in London. The plan is for them to supply their own companies, as well as others, with the developed technology. You can read more, by clicking this Reuters article link here . BENTLEY ANNOUNCE NEW CEO Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser will be Bentley’s new Chairman and CEO, following the departure of Adrian Hallmark who is moving to Aston Martin. Walliser has been a key part of Porsche’s development of road cars, their racing ambitions and special projects such as the 918 Spyder. He will start his position on 1 July 2024. If you wish to read more, click this EVO article link here . HMRC ADVISORY FUEL RATES CUTS EV RATE HMRC has released the new advisory fuel rates, giving ICE a rise but cutting EVs. Even before the cut, the reality of how drivers will be out of pocket if they drive an EV has been repeatedly stated, especially if the driver does not have a home charger. To find out more, click this Business Motoring article link here . GREAT WALL TO SHUT EUROPEAN HQ Great Wall, the owners of the Ora EV brand, are closing their headquarters in Munich and will be making 100 employees redundant. This also is a signal that their plans for expansion are on hold. The company claims it will continue to serve markets it has already entered, but now from China. Click this electrive article link to read more . GENEVA MOTOR SHOW ENDS FOR NOW Geneva motor show organisers have confirmed that the show will not return anytime soon. Citing car company’s lack of interest and outside influences. Seemingly they have forgotten price gouging hotels and outrageous fees to display. But this will be a loss for the public, despite what motoring journalists and PRs might be cheering. To read more on this, click the Autocar article link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Citroën e-C3 Citroën has released details on the new C3, including the electric version. The EV will be initially offered with a maximum 199 mile range, at £21,990. A smaller battery will be offered in due course with less range and thus a cheaper car. With all of the information now available, this car is a compelling proposition, addressing many issues we have highlighted on this show. Click this Autocar article link for more . Porsche 911 The new Porsche 911 has been revealed, including the GTS, which will get a hybridised flat-six engine delivering more power but costing a good deal more. Talking of costs, colour tax is very much a real and expensive thing with the new 911. To learn more about the 911 and GTS, click this EVO article link here . To read about the colour tax, click this Jalopnik link here . BMW 3 Series BMW have refreshed the 3 Series, both inside and apparently outside. Of note is that the M3 will only be available with X-Drive. Additionally, BMW have removed the option of a diesel engine, but have an improved PHEV offering. To learn more about 3 Series, including the new paint options, click this Motoring Research article link here . For details on the M3, click this EVO link here . Jeep Wagoneer Jeep are going to be bringing the electric Wagoneer to the UK, arriving early in 2025. Seemingly aimed at the Model Y, due to a lack of other competition, it is $70,000 in the US with a 300 mile range and 592bhp. Click this Autocar article link to find out more . LUNCHTIME READ: CONCEPT CARS MON AMOUR! VELSATIS Thank you to Driven to Write, for this week’s recommendation, explaining the development of the VelSatis concept car, including a host of incredibly 90s French car PR photos. The quarry one is a particular delight of the genre. Click here to read more , including the design team and extra information about the project. LIST OF THE WEEK: BIY - 10 GREAT CLASSIC KIT CARS Andrew takes a trip down memory lane as Alan picks his choice of the kit car he’d like to have from the options available. Do you agree with him? Don’t forget to tell the chaps what you would have. Click here to read what Hagerty has selected . AND FINALLY: HOT WHEELS LEGENDS UK TOUR 2024 The Hot Wheels Legends UK Tour is about to get into full swing again. If you have an exciting and interesting car that you think would be a perfect fit as a model car, do click this link to the official site to find out more . We cannot wait to see what cars make it to the final!…
FOLLOW UP: NHTSA INVESTIGATES MORE WAYMO INCIDENTS The National Highways and Transport Safety Administration (NHTSA) are investigating further incidents involving Waymo vehicles. The nine extra are focused on stationary or semi-stationary items such as gates, chains and utility poles. If you wish to learn more, click on this TechCrunch link here . FOLLOW UP: CAR THING TO BE BRICKED BY SPOTIFY After the huge fuss made on its launch, by Spotify, the Car Thing will be bricked by the company as it moves on from it. This was a device you bought and had to subscribe to Spotify Premium, fitted to your car interior, to allow you to play some tunes and if you could see it enable Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. In 2022 they confirmed they were stopping production, just a couple of months after it going on general sale. Click this Ars Technica article link here, to read more . UK APPROVES NEW SELF-DRIVING LEGISLATION The UK Government has gained the royal signature for the Automated Vehicles (AV) Act. This brings into law, for the first time, that car makers will be held responsible for their vehicles if it is being used in autonomous mode and not the driver. You can learn more on this, by clicking this AMOnline link here . BMW, MINI, VW AND JLR FITTED PARTS BANNED IN USA A US congressional investigation has discovered that BMW, Mini, Volkswagen Group and JLR sourced parts from Chinese suppliers that contravened the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, even after they were made aware. VW replaced the parts on the US dockside, before they were allowed to be handed to customers and dealers. To read more, click this article link to The Guardian . JLR TO ASSEMBLE CARS IN INDIA In order to help with the increasing demand for their vehicles in Asia, JLR will be assembling Range Rovers and Range Rover Sports at the Tata Pune plant. Other models have been handled in this way since 2011. Click this article link from Autocar for more . ITALY IMPOUNDS FIAT TOPOLINOS Fiat Topolinos, their version of the Citroën Ami, have been impounded in Italy after they were found to have the Italian flag on their wings and it was seen as suggesting that the car was made in Italy, rather than Morocco where it is actually made. Click this Top Gear link to read more on this silliness . BYD ELECTRIC BUSES EXPECTED TO REPLACE LONDON DIESELS BYD unveiled their BD11 double-decker, which it is expected will be seen on the streets of London soon. They will come with a usable battery capacity of 457kWh and a range of up to 400 miles. This is much more than the expected daily mileage of buses. If you want to read more, click this Autocar link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Kia EV3 Kia unveiled their latest electric car, the EV3. Styled similarly to the EV9, this car is a little shorter but wider than that the Niro. The aim is for the price to come in just under £30,000 and have maximum ranges of 255 to 373 miles depending on powertrain configuration. Click this Autocar article link for more information . BMW Concept Skytop BMW showed off the Concept Skytop, a two seater luxury grand tourer. Based on an 8 Series, this homage is purely for the Concorso d'Eleganza at Lake Como as have many recent concepts from BMW. To see more, click this Top Gear article link here . To see what Alan was discussing, click this BMW Blog article link here . Lamborghini engine replacement Lamborghini is replacing its V10 with a V8 hybrid engine, which we presume is the same base as the one Bentley will be using. Expected to produce 789bhp and 538lb of the torques it will be no slouch after the Italian engineers breathe their magic on it and that’s before the hybrid power is added. To read more, click this Autocar article link here . JLR to use new battery software JLR has partnered up with Fortescue to take advantage of their clever battery monitoring software that will hopefully help improve battery life, accuracy of range and efficiency. If you wish to learn more about this, click the link here to an Autocar article . LUNCHTIME READ: 46 CAR COMPANY NAMES AND THEIR ORIGINS Hagerty have updated an article about where the names for 46 car companies came from. This is not the typical article as it is very well researched and written. Click here to read and enjoy . LIST OF THE WEEK: MOST VALUABLE CARS SOLD AT AUCTION Autocar provide our recommended list, this week. Have fun wading through the many, many Ferrari options, as well as several other brands. Do you agree with the choices made? Let us know! Click here to check out what has been sold and for how much . AND FINALLY: FORD’S CLASSIC CAR COLLECTION Tom Ford, for Top Gear, spends time with the classic Ford collection and the man who looks after all the vehicles. Click this link to see more and find the video link for you to enjoy .…
FOLLOW UP: EU TO IMPOSE TARIFFS EU politicians have indicated that they will impose tariffs between 25-30% on Chinese EVs imported to the European Union. This comes after the US raised their tariff level to 105% for Chinese EVs. The move has been expected but the amount was not known. This has brought out divisions within the EU as France and Germany have very different home industries. If you wish to learn more, click this electrive article link here . FOLLOW UP: CRUISE AGREE PAYOUT TO PEDESTRIAN VICTIM Cruise, the self-driving development company, has agreed to pay the victim of the road incident that involved her being dragged and severely injured by the car, between $8 and $12 million as compensation. Exact details have not been confirmed. Click this Market Watch article link for more . FOLLOW UP: TESLA BEING SUED OVER SELF-DRIVING CLAIMS A US judge has stated that the class-action against Tesla, with regards to pursuing over negligence and fraud based claims. The original claim is, apparently, due to the 2016 video which the actions states falsely advertised what Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) can do. To learn more about this matter, click here for the link to the Jalopnik article . DEATH BY DANGEROUS CYCLING TO BECOME LAW The UK Government has announced that “causing death or serious injury by dangerous or careless cycling is set to become an offence”, as reported by the BBC News site. This change in the law will also come with a potential punishment of up to 14 years in prison. Click this link to read more . FTC WARNS CAR MAKERS OVER DATA COLLECTION In the US the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has warned car manufacturers on their practices over collecting data on their vehicles and occupants. They explain how serious they are by citing several recent cases where they have fined companies for “the illegal collection, use, and disclosure of their personal data." Good. To read more, click this announcement link from the FTC . MINI CEO STEPS DOWN Stefanie Wurst, the CEO of Mini, is stepping down and will be replaced by Stefan Richmann, head of BMW Group corporate strategy, on 1 August 2024. There have been no reasons given for this change. Click this Autocar article link for more . NHTSA INVESTIGATES WAYMO Once more in the US, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) is finally investigating Waymo about its vehicles not obeying traffic laws. The countless videos on social media showing examples of this, must have made them wake up. Waymo have tried to suggest the incidents are statistically insignificant. Zoox is also under investigation. Cruise has announced it will resume testing in Arizona with a safety driver in attendance. To read about Waymo, click this article link from The Register. For further context, click this link to a piece from Appercetive by Sam , which gives some insider information on how badly these vehicles and systems are actually doing. However, we would stress that we do not agree with the author’s take on how AVs will be ‘a thing’ as he does. More context, is an article from The Verge. Do read this as this highlights several important issues the industry has tried to gloss over or hope would go away or that no one would notice, but the public has and it has recorded it. Click here to read more . And final link to extra context is a research paper into those who believe that autonomous vehicles should and will be on our roads. Now we have a new term, ‘Pod Man’. Click here for the link to the paper on Taylor & Francis Online . RENAULT ABANDONS AV CARS FOR BUSES Renault has announced it is not pursuing autonomous cars, for the time being, but instead will develop autonomous buses. We are not sure how they have come to the conclusion that it will be different considering they need to work in the same domains. Whilst raising your eyebrow, click this link to read more from Autocar . EU BRINGS IN STRICTER CO2 RULES FOR LORRIES The European Council has agreed to stricter CO2 rules for lorries, following consensus by EU countries recently. All city buses must be emission free from 2035 and nearly all new lorries will need to be by 2040. If you wish to learn more, click this link to the electrive article here . TEVVA APPLIES FOR ADMINISTRATORS Tevva Motors is a UK-based electric lorry company. They have a 7.5t model which Royal Mail and Travis Perkins have expressed interest in buying. Tevva failed to merge six months ago, with a Canadian company, and have called in administrators to give them protection whilst they seek more investment. Click this electrive link for more . KONECT COULD HERALD MORE EV CHARGERS AT FORECOURTS Konect, from Gilbarco Veeder-Root, is a turn-key EV charging solution aimed at fuel forecourts. They will handle all of the payments, maintenance and customer service for the charge points, whilst the site focuses on selling sandwiches and more, which is where the profit lies for them already. If you wish to learn more, click this article link from Forecourt Trader . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio Quadrifoglio Super Sport Alfa Romeo is building 450 Super Sport versions of the Giulia and Stelvio Quadrifoglio. These will all black versions, with areas either darkened or actually black to give it a unique look. Prices are £82,815 for the Giulia and £91,835 for the Stelvio. Click this EVO article link for more . Seat Leon The car company, who we thought up until recently was being quietly shuttered by the VW Group is now back and needs to update their models. Here the Leon is getting a spruce up. New power trains, including a PHEV, as well as tech being thrown at the interior to bring it up to date. You can learn more, by clicking this Autocar link here . Morgan Midsummer Morgan and Pininfarina have collaborated to bring us a roadster called the Midsummer. This made the internet go weak at the knees when revealed. What a gorgeous car. Only 50 models will be made and they’re already sold. Unfortunately, not to us. To gaze on longingly, click this Autocar article link here . Stellantis to launch Leapmotor vehicles in Europe Leapmotor, a Chinese EV maker that Stellantis recently invested heavily in, will bring a 165 mile supermini, a mid-sized SUV and a new vehicle out each year up to 2028.The supermini will be available from September in Europe and the UK. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar article link here . Eight year warranties from Peugeot Peugeot are extending their Allure Care warranty scheme to all their EVs and with that bring an eight year/100,000 mile guarantee. Remember that all EV batteries are legally obliged to have an eight year warranty in the UK already, but Peugeot are now covering the rest of the car - although check the small print! Click this electrive article link for more . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: T. JON MAYER JOINS BENTLEY T. Jon Mayer is leaving Volvo, where he was the head of exterior design, to become the head of design operations at Bentley. He will be joining his former colleague, Robin Page who is the Design Director at the Crewe based company. You can learn more, by clicking this Car Design News article link here . LUNCHTIME READ: TRIBUTE TO LA FERTÉ-VIDAME Drew Smith and Joe Simpson shared a piece, via their Looking Out newsletter, about the Stellantis design studio, La Ferté-Vidame, which the company has put up for sale. You can read about the history of the site and what has occurred as well as some of the other assets that the car group has decided to ditch. To read this, click this link to the LINGES/Auto article here . To see more from Looking Out as well as how to sign up for their excellent newsletter, click this link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: RETRO RIDES AT GOODWOOD Autocar attended the Retro Rides event at Goodwood, a couple of weeks ago, and bring us a selection of cars from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s to tickle our collective fancies. Do you agree with Alan’s choice? What would you like to take home? Do let us know. To check out the options, click this link here . AND FINALLY: DIPLOMATIC CONGESTION CHARGE BILL Transport for London (TfL) and the UK Government consider London’s congestion charge a service. Diplomats from across the globe consider it a tax. Those that do think it is a tax refuse to pay. The amounts owed, since 2003, are becoming really rather large. Click this link to open a PDF to see why TfL are taking many to the International Court of Justice and how much who owes!…
FOLLOW UP: CAZOO TO ENTER ADMINISTRATION The online car retailer has taken the step to announce that it will appoint administrators for its subsidiaries to help protect them from creditor’s debt enforcement. Cazoo also stated, to investors, unless it found urgent investment it would fold. You can read more, by clicking this AMOnline article link here . FOLLOW UP: TESLA AUTOPILOT UPDATE INVESTIGATED The National Highways Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has written to Tesla seeking answers as to why their cars still keep crashing after the update to their driver monitoring system. Tesla has until 1 July 2024 to respond or face potential fines up to $135 million. If you wish to learn more about that, click this article link from The Register . That is not all the news for Tesla though, US prosecutors are investigating the company over potential securities and wire fraud, over the capabilities of its driver assistance technology. This is purely an investigation and does not show any guilt, to be clear. On top of which, any prosecution would have to show a company deliberately inflating the capabilities rather than being optimistic about the future and failing to achieve that. Click this Reuters article for more . FOLLOW UP: JLR OFFERS CONTRIBUTION FOR OWN INSURANCE As part of the continuing battle to counter the issue of high costs of or even refusal for insurance coverage JLR has now added a £150 per month contribution, if they take out their bespoke version. This will last for three years. To learn more about this story, click this AMOnline article link here . FOLLOW UP: DAIHATSU RESTARTS PRODUCTION Daihatsu has finally restarted production in all four of its Japanese plants, following the safety test fraud scandal. Changes have been made to production, development the numbers of safety testing staff. If you want to learn more, click this article link from The Japan Times . APRIL 2024 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES New car registration figures for April 2024 has shown a 1% year on year. Fleet is doing all the lifting as Private registrations drop 17.7% year on year. BEV is up again, but only 15.7%, as petrol declines slightly and diesel drops further. Plug-in hybrid and hybrid share increases. SMMT are calling, once again, for help from the Government in a variety of ways that would encourage private buyers to purchase an electric car. Click here to read more, from the SMMT article. Manufacturers are becoming increasingly vocal on the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate and how unworkable it is currently. With some suggesting they will pull out of the market, throttle combustion engine sales and more. Fleet customers are also being threatened, told they must purchase a certain percentage of EV in their order. To read more on this, click here for an article from The Guardian . If you wish to learn more about fleet issues, click this Fleet News article . JLR PROFITS THE BEST SINCE 2015 JLR generated a revenue of £29 billion in 2023. Which has helped them reduce their debt from £3 billion to £700 million. There is still a backlog on their order books, but they are increasing production rates. If you wish to read more, click this Autocar article link . INSURANCE COSTS QUERIED BY CUSTOMERS The Guardian has an article about the cost insurance companies are charged when a vehicle is in an accident. This echoes Andrew’s experience when his car was hit and the insurers decided to charge £13,000 to hire a SUV for four weeks. Hopefully soon, a regulator will step in and start investigating if the rocketing insurance costs are justifiable or not. Click this link to read more . GOVERNMENT CONSULTATION FOR CLASSIC CARS The UK Government has launched an consultation into modernising the DVLA treatment of classic cars, their modifications and more. The rules have not been updated since the 1980s and technology has changed a lot. We’ve seen some EV conversions be rejected because of how much it modified the car, is that right? Well, we all have a chance to make our voices heard. Click here to read more on this from Top Gear . Click here to access the consultation directly . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Mandatory speed limiters for UK cars From 7 July 2024 cars sold in the UK must come with a number of “safety” features that the EU General Safety Regulations 2 demand. One of which is a speed limiter. The claims are it uses GPS and/or sign recognition systems to understand what speed the car can legally do. Long time listeners will have heard both the chaps discuss how bad these are at doing that. Click this link to an EVO article to learn more . Bentley replaces W12 engine Bentley is replacing the W12 engine with a V8 plug-in hybrid, offering up to 740bhp and a 50 mile electric only capability, when fully charged. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar article link . JLR replaces engines JLR is undertaking a mid life refresh of the Defender, including trim and engines. The engines are changing to come in line with Euro 6e requirements, which means other models in their range will be altered likewise. To read more, click this Autocar article link here . Hyundai considering subscription for options Hyundai is openly talking about adding subscriptions to its offerings. Becoming aware that exponential growth of cars is not sustainable, they are looking at other ways to generate income. They are not alone, as we have covered on this show. However, they also talk about adding stuff to older cars, without any detail as to what or how. Click this Autocar link to read more . VW to ditch GTX badge Volkswagen are going to introduce GTI and R badged versions of their electric vehicles, meaning that the GTX badge will be retired. If you wish to read more about this, click the link here to an Autocar story . LUNCHTIME READ: FERRARI’S THROWBACK 12CILINDRI Last week the chaps were rather underwhelmed by the Ferrari 12Cilindri. However, for Hagerty, friend of the show Matteo Licata has written about how good it is and how impressive the design is. As we like to share opinions, even ones that don’t agree with us, we are sharing this article with you. Click here to read a more positive take . LIST OF THE WEEK: STAT CARS OF TOP GEAR’S TUNNEL RUN Top Gear decided to thrash a number of really loud cars in the Catesby Tunnel to see which was the most impressive, in terms of noise. First we have a link to the idea and cars behind the mad plan, which you can read by clicking here . Then to see the TopGear Top Trumps for each, click this link . Do you agree with the selection? Let us know. AND FINALLY: THE FIRST RENAULT SAFRANE The Joy of Specs sight tells us where the Renault Safrane first came from. Wonderful bit of history, from Keith WR Jones, which you can read by clicking this link here .…
FOLLOW UP: EU WARNS OVER LACK OF COOPERATION WITH PROBE The EU has accused BYD, Geely and SAIC of not providing enough detail for their investigation. Due to this, apparent, lack of cooperation the tariffs that will be imposed are going to be higher than they might have been. The timing of this is important as the Chinese President is visiting Europe imminently. Click this article link from Politico for more . FOLLOW UP: MORE TESLA CUTS Tesla is reported to be cancelling the ‘ground-breaking’ “gigacasting” plans, which were to start with an underbody made in a single metal sheet. There were many in the industry who were questioning if this could be made possible and if there were consequences to doing so, outside of manufacturing. The news is on the back of a tumultuous time for the company following the announcement of cuts to the workforce. If you wish to read more, click this link to an InsideEVs article . FOLLOW UP: FIRST BY CABINET CONVERTED TO EV CHARGER East Lothian is the location for the first BT cabinet to be converted to enable EV charging. The pilot will allow local residents to use it for free until the end of May. You can learn more by clicking this EV Powered article link here . AUTOCAR GREAT WOMEN AWARDS 2024 WINNERS Autocar have held the celebratory event for their Great Women Awards 2024, with Lisa Brankin, the Chair and managing director, Ford of Britain and Ireland winning the overall accolade. Congratulations to all those nominated and who won their categories. You can read through the article telling all about the event by clicking this link here . FRENCH CAR INDUSTRY GIVEN NEW TARGET BY GOVERNMENT The French car industry has reached an agreement with their Government to increase EV sales fourfold by 2027. They have also been instructed to produce two million electric and hybrid vehicles annually, by the end of the decade. If you wish to read more, click this link from Reuters . PARTS BEING STOLEN FROM VEHICLES Volkswagen owners are the latest to be hit by selective thefts of car parts, rather than the entire car, as technology, the cost of living crisis and safety regulations all drive up costs. In this instance, the radar sensors which are incorporated into the front grille badge, have been taken. This is an ongoing issue and has hit many car companies. Click this article from The Guardian , to read more. ELECTRIC CAR MISINFORMATION CONSEQUENCES An electric car owner, who was visiting the Liverpool hospital Alder Hey, was asked to park in one of the outside spaces as the multi-storey car park was having improvements made to the sprinkler system and during that time EVs were not allowed to use that specific area. This is all fine, but the reasoning was due to EVs ‘spontaneously combusting’ which is untrue but a consequence of all the misinformation posted by the media and individuals. All those who talk about cars need to do better, need to combat untruthful info, no matter who from. You can read more, by clicking this BBC News article here . GOOGLE MAPS ADDING EV CHARGING INFORMATION Google Maps are going to add electric vehicle charging information in a new update. This will include data such as the availability, type of charger and allow for filtering of searches. This is a welcome addition but adds competition to the likes of ZapMap and A Better Route Planner. If you wish to find out more, click this EV Powered article link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Renault Symbioz Renault has found a gap in their offerings and has promptly shoved a car into that niche. Missing was a Qashqai-sized model, bigger than the Captur but smaller than the Austral. Begs the question as to what is the point the Scenic, though. Relatively lightweight the claims on efficiency are high, as well as this being a practical and competitively priced vehicle that will do a job for families. Click this Autocar article link for more . Ferrari 12Cilindri The replacement to the 812 Superfast has been unveiled. Appearances are that of what AI might produce if the prompt “what would a Daytona look like today” was used. Lots of power, performance and a hefty price tag. As Alan reminds us all, wait till we see proper photos or one for ourselves before slamming the looks. If you wish to read more on this, click here for an EVO article . TWR Supercat Talking of cars that might have come from an AI prompt, the TWR Supercat has been shown. A wide-bodied XJS restomod, costing £225,000 and limited to a run of just 88 examples. This car too created quite a stir on social media, with most of it being negative. Judge for yourself, by clicking this EVO article link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: HAGERTY’S RADWOOD INDEX Hagerty has created an index of value for 50 of the most iconic Radwood era cars. There are a lot of amazing choices to pick from, which you can check out here at this link . Let us know if you agreed with the options picked and what you would have. * Yes, we realise we are not in the normal order and no, we have no idea how it happened LUNCHTIME READ: IN MINIATURE - THE 4X4 MODELS OF ROBERT GUNN Robert Gunn creates amazing model vehicles at 1:10 scale, by custom building everything by hand using materials he find and buys. They are truly glorious creations that you need to see and read about. Click this Hagerty link to be as stunned as we were . AND FINALLY: THE NEW WOLRD OF VOLVO OPENS The new World of Volvo has opened in Gothenburg, Sweden. But this is no ordinary building with some cars and lorries in it. There will be the historical examples for all to view, with an ever evolving display of current and future technologies and advancements by Volvo and Volvo Group. Additionally this is a space for events, meetings and much more. If you wish to read more, c lick this Hagerty article link here .…
FOLLOW UP: CONTINENTAL FINED $107M FOR DIESELGATE Continental, the automotive parts supplier, has been fined €100 million for its part in the dieselgate scandal. The fine was such due to the full cooperation of the company and changes they have subsequently made to their compliance structures. There are six weeks for Continental to pay the fine. Click this Reuters article for more information . STELLANTIS LASHES OUT AT EV MANDATES Carlos Tavares criticises the current UK EV mandates as “terrible”. He has met with the Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, to discuss the situation and suggest alterations that will make it more workable for the industry. We are finding out that you cannot just manufacture demand, when reviewing the monthly SMMT registration figures. You can read more, via a Peter Campbell thread here . For another article, click here to view an Autocar article . LOTUS CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER IS LEAVING Mike Johnson, who is the chief commercial officer of Lotus and the public facing executive for the brand, will be leaving the company after only 18 months in role. He is said to be staying in automotive, but we will have to wait to find out where and when. If you wish to read more on this, click the Autocar article link here . RANSWOMWARE ATTACK IMPACTS STREET LIGHTS A ransomware attack on Leicester City Council has led street lights to “misbehave”. This should cause great concern as more and more systems are linked and accessible remotely. Hopefully, more important and safety critical systems are being looked at across the country so there is not a serious impact from such incidents. Click this BitDefender story link here , to read more. MERCEDES EACTROS 600 CHARGES AT 1MW Mercedes-Benz are preparing for the Megawatt Charging System (MCS), that is due to be finalised in 2025, and have successfully charged an eActros 600 prototype at 1MW for the first time. Not details were given on how long the vehicle charged or even how long at 1MW. You can read more, by clicking this electrive article link here . SAMSUNG TEASES FASTER CHARGING LONG LIFE BATTERY At the 37th Electric Vehicle Symposium & Exposition, in Seoul, Samsung revealed that they will start production of a new electric vehicle batteries that will charge to 80% in nine minutes and some will last 20 years. The plan is for production to start in 2026, but it being fitted to cars in 2029. That’s all a little way off, hopefully this isn’t like solid state batteries and just far enough ahead for us to forget the last date that was declared. Click this article link from The Register for more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Vauxhall Grandland Vauxhall have redesigned their range topping SUV, the Grandland, making it bigger thanks to the STLA Medium platform. There will be a mild hybrid, a PHEV and full EV versions. The maximum potential range will be 435 miles, for the top EV spec. If you wish to learn more including estimates for prices, click this Autocar link here . Mercedes-Benz G-Class electric Mercedes have created an electric version of the long running G-Class model. Visually it is almost identical to the recent refresh, but has been apparently redesigned to increase aero efficiency. There are four electric motors, one for each wheel, to enable it to have excellent off road ability too. Maximum estimate of range is 292 miles. No confirmation of pricing has been revealed. Click this Autocar link to learn more . Lamborghini Urus SE Lamborghini have electrified the Urus, with the SE being a PHEV. That equates to 800hp and a maximum estimated electric only range of 37 miles. The looks have been tweaked to increase aero efficiency. Prices have been guessed to be above £209,000. You can read more, by clicking this Motoring Research article link, here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: KABAN JOINS SAIC Jozef Kaban has been revealed as the vice president of design for SAIC, the Chinese car company that owns MG. He was last at VW until the shake up of the design team early last year. If you want to find out more, click this link to a Car Design News article . LUNCHTIME READ: ESTATE CAR EUPHEMISMS Keith WR Jones has a new site, The Joy of Specs, on which he has written about estate cars and how they have been named over the years. Click this link to enjoy this week’s recommendation . LIST OF THE WEEK: FORGOTTEN CARS OF THE 1980S The options to pick from this week are US cars that have been forgotten. This includes models we will know but were renamed for that market. Do you agree with Alan’s choice? Let us know and if not what you would pick instead. Click this Autocar link to check out the options . AND FINALLY: ITS GRIPPED ITS SORTED LET’S OFFROAD In honour of Alan finishing his Land Cruiser RC, we are rounding out the show with a compilation of the best radio controlled rock crawlers. Click this YouTube link to enjoy the video .…
FOLLOW UP: WALES TO CHANGE SOME ROADS BACK TO 30MPH Ken Skates, the Welsh Government Transport Secretary, has announced that some of the road limits recently changed from 30mph to 20mph, will now revert back to the original limit. This is an acknowledgement that the implementation of the reduced road speeds has not been as carefully executed as should have occured. If you wish to learn more about this story, click this BBC News article link here . UK GOVERNMENT RULES OUT GRANTS FOR EVS The UK Government has reiterated that it will not be providing incentives for private buyers seeking an EV. This follows calls from the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee’s Electric Vehicles report, which recommended several actions. Click this Autocar article link, to read more . BIT OF A WEEK FOR TESLA Tesla have decided to step up to the plate of not having the best week imaginable. Firstly, they announced the sacking of over 10% of the global workforce, as one step to deal with their declining sales. You can learn more about that, by clicking this Reuters article link here . Secondly, the company has quickly recalled all Cybertrucks following the news that the accelerator pedal cover can become loose and potentially cause the pedal to be jammed down. We applaud Tesla for quickly reacting to this news, though. To read more, click this article link from The Verge . Finally, the company announced a new raft of price cuts to it’s models. Reminding all fleet operators why they will not be buying Teslas in the future, where dependency on value is a must. Click this article link from The Guardian for more . JLR 2023 SALES UP Now that JLR can get its hands on parts, once again, it has increased its sales in 2023 by 22%. Much of that was from the Defender, Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. However, there is also good news for Jaguar as its sales are up too. If you wish to find out more, click this Autocar article link here . JLR UNVEILS ENERGY STORAGE SOLUTION JLR, in partnership with Alley Energy, has revealed their portable Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) which incorporates used PHEV batteries from Range Rovers and Range Rover Sports. Click this press release from JLR to learn more , including how they propose to use it. VW WORKERS IN US VOTE TO UNIONISE For the first time, the US car workers union, UAW, has been voted for by workers in Tennessee at a Volkswagen plant. The south of America has attracted manufacturing plants due to previous anti union sentiments, but this seems to be changing. You can find out more, by clicking this article link from The Autopian . VW IN COURT OVER ID NAME A former supplier to Volkswagen, Identytec, has given up trying to reach an agreement on VW’s use of the name ‘ID’ and is taking the car company to court. Identytec were using the trademarked name for years before Volkswagen moved to trademark it for their cars. Click this article link from electrive to read more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Citroën C3 Aircross Citroën has revealed their new C3 Aircross SUV that will come in electric and hybrid variants. Using the design language first shown to us via the Oli concept. This utilises the ‘smart car’ Stellantis platform, as well as sharing various body panels with other brands across the group. Click this Top Gear article link to read more . Vauxhall Frontera Talking of sharing panels, the Frontera is back for Vauxhall. This time using the ‘smart car’ platform and some panels that the C3 Aircross also uses. As with the C3, it will come as electric and hybrid.Expect to see it everywhere a Vauxhall dealership is based, soon. You can read more by clicking this link to an Autocar article, here . Mazda CX-80 Mazda reveal their new range topping, 7-seat SUV, the CX-80. With an excellent towing capacity it will compete with the Volvo XC-90 and Kia Sorento. As a consequence there will be a diesel engine option. If this appeals and you wish to learn more, click here for an article from Autocar . LEVC L380 The makers of the London Cab reveal their first ‘car’ for the UK market, a luxury MPV labelled the L380. There will be various seating configurations and it will be a electric powered vehicle. Another entry to the luxury MPV market. Click this article link to learn more , from AMOnline. Audi S3 Audi say they have freshened up the new S3, but that is really hard to tell from the pictures. More power, more tech, the interior has been revamped (yes, we can spot that in the pictures). You can read more by clicking this link to an EVO article . Dacia to offer 7-year warranties Dacia has announced that it is now offering 7 year warranties on their cars, including used ones, as long as they meet the criteria. This is a good thing and we hope more manufacturers start increasing their warranty time and mileage limits. If you wish to find out more, click this link to an Autocar article . LUNCHTIME READ: WHAT CAR DESIGNERS DROVE TO IMPRESS The Autopian has this week’s recommendation. Find out what designers brought to a car meet to impress each other. Click here to read the piece . LIST OF THE WEEK: STYLISH COUPES OF THE RADWOOD ERA Thank you, to Antony Ingram and Hagerty, for providing a worthy list after we have struggled in recent weeks. Now is your chance to pick the coupe of choice from the 90s and there are some excellent options. Don’t forget to let the chaps know what you’d go for, after you click this link to see for yourself . AND FINALLY: EXPLOSIVE SLS DOORS IN ACTION Ever wondered how you would get out of an overturned SLS? Wonder no more, here is a video demonstrating how Mercedes thought about that issue and their solution. Click this link to watch the YouTube video .…
FOLLOW UP: BYD HELPED BY CHINESE GOVERNMENT A report is claiming that BYD has received $3.7 billion, in funding from the Chinese Government, to help it to reach its dominating position. This is all part of the EU’s investigation into whether companies from the country have an unfair advantage thanks to state aid. Click this Yahoo Finance article link for more information . FOLLOW UP: BRITISHVOLT SITE TO BE SOLD BY COUNCIL The site of the ill-fated Britishvolt battery factory is to be sold by the local council, to a company that wishes to create a data centre, after the new ‘owners’ Recharge Industries, have still failed to pay the monies owning. If you wish to learn more, click this BBC News article link here . WLTP DOES NOT REFLECT REAL WORLD USE REPORT FINDS Two reports from the European Court of Auditors have shown that the testing regime, WLTP, results, do not come close to real-world usage on the public roads. Other conclusions have also been inferred by the investigation, however we would urge caution as not enough detail has been provided in how the data was calculated and if that was correct or even valid. But, there are now calls for the system to change, once again, at a time when the car industry is under enormous pressure from multiple vectors. You can read more, by clicking this Autocar article link here . 2023 LOSSES FOR LOTUS Lotus announced losses for 2023, of £594 million. Whilst this does sound a lot and quite scary, we must all remember the transformation that is undergoing the company right now. They are fundamentally changing how they do things and the cars they produce in an incredibly short period of time. For more detail, click this Autocar article link here . BIT OF A WEEK FOR STELLANTIS Stellantis, and in particular their CEO Carlos Taveres, had quite the last seven or so days. First off there was the public spat about the Italian Government trying to cosy up to foreign car companies, to encourage more manufacturing jobs in the country, which Taveres warned over such moves. You can read more, by clicking this link to a Reuters article . That’s not all though, Taveres then had to fend off questions over which brand or brands the Stellantis Group were going to ditch. He refuted these claims as “fake news”. Click this Autocar article link for more . You’ll have to wait till New New Car News for the third piece of Stellantis news. VW INVESTING MORE IN CHINA Volkswagen has announced that it will be investing $2.7 billion in a Chinese manufacturing site. This is quite odd, as only recently the “roof is on fire” speech from their CEO and huge cost-cutting efforts across the group. On top of which, there is ever increasing growth over concerns about workers rights and the likes at current and partner production facilities within China. If you want to read more, click this Reuters article link here . STRICTER CO2 RULES FOR EU LORRIES AND BUSES The EU has agreed to implement stricter rules on CO2 emissions, for lorries and buses. There are some exemptions. Click this electrive article link for more . FUNDING FOR ELECTRIFYING LONDON BUSES A part public and private financing scheme has created a fund of £100 million, to help electrify the buses of London. This includes the infrastructure and buses themselves. To find out more, click this Engineering and Technology Magazine link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Alfa Romeo Milano, erm, Junior, yes Junior The third headache of the week for Stellantis was the row about the name for the new Alfa Romeo SUV. Launched under the name of Milano, an Italian member of parliament falsely claimed it couldn’t be named such as it wasn’t built there. Alfa confirmed they didn’t want a fight and have changed it to Junior. This is another platform share within Stellantis, to keep costs down. Click this Autocar article link to find out the details . Kia Sorento Kia have updated their large SUV, the Sorento. A favourite of the towing fraternity, it will come with powertrains to ensure they are kept happy. You can read more, by clicking this Autocar article link here . Morgan Plus Four Morgan have updated the Plus Four and minimised the design following the changes required in 2020 when they utilised a new platform. Click this link to an Autocar article , to find out what has changed and how good it looks in green! Rimac to supply batteries to BMW Rimac will supply the next generation of cars, from BMW, with their latest battery technology, that takes advantage of round cells. If you wish to find out more, click this Autocar article link here . Lexus goes electrified only The ICE only LC and RC F are being removed from sale, by Lexus. As we mourn the loss we encourage you to click this Autocar link here to find out more . LUNCHTIME READ: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ROADSIDE DINER BBC News has an article about the timeline of Little Chef, a once stalwart of UK roads helping to refresh and refill hungry travellers, that disappeared some years ago. To read more about this icon of the road, click the link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 24 AMAZING MOMENTS FROM GOODWOOD MEMBERS’ MEETING We are giving you two videos to check out and select you favourite clip from the 2024 Goodwood Members’ Meeting. First up, click this link here for the 13 Wildest Moments . For the 11 best moments of Sunday, click this link here . AND FINALLY: PRIUS PHEV RACING SERIES In South Korea a new racing series is about to begin, this one being a one-make series for the new Toyota Prius PHEV. You can learn more by clicking this link to an article from The Autopian, here .…
FOLLOW UP: RENAULT AND VOLVO GROUP PRESENT EV VAN JV Flexis is the name of the joint-venture between Renault, the Volvo Group and transportation company CMA CGM, that will develop EV vans aimed at urban and last mile deliveries. This will fill the gap in both Renault and Volvo’s offerings to the commercial vehicle industry. For more information, click this Autocar link here . TOYOTA UPDATES ON CAR THEFTS Toyota GB has issues a statement regarding thefts of certain models and a fix that will be fitted by dealerships to affected vehicles. To read more on that, click this link here . Friends of the show Ken Tindell and Ian Tabor found the vulnerability over a year ago. Ken has written a post on LinkedIn that we recommend you read. Particularly the last sentence, which we echo and hope the car industry improves communication with security researchers. Click here to read that piece . MARCH 2024 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has issued the registration figures for March 2024. They are up on 2023 but still significantly down on 2019. Fleet is propping up what growth there is as Private is down again. On top of that, the BEV registrations grew in number but market share dropped causing SMMT to call, once again, on Government assistance for Private buyers. Click here to read the information from SMMT . Also, the chaps want to thank the SMMT for changing the top ten model chart title to Best Models from Best Sellers, which they always grumbled about. INVESTIGATION INTO HEADLIGHT BRIGHTNESS The RAC has been calling on the Government to do something about the number of complaints regarding dazzling headlights. The response, following a petition to Parliament, is that the Government will seek to investigate the issue and then be in a better position to propose a reaction if it is required. You can read more about this, by clicking this Autocar article link here . AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE SOFTWARE IS HARD Developers in Australia has admitted defeat in trying to create software that would help vehicles avoid kangaroos. They state that the animals are too irrational to be able to do the job. If you wish to read more, click this Ars Technica article link here . Meanwhile, Bentley, sounding like they are actually trying to be safety first, announce they will not be pursuing Level 3 automation. They will, instead, release a Level 2 ++ system. The chaps get quite cross about this. Click here to read the Carscoops article . Andrew commented on this issue on LinkedIn, you can read that by clicking this link here . TIME RUNNING OUT ON EV CHARGER GRANTS An excellent article from EV Powered by Matt Allen breaks down all of the available grants for those looking to add EV chargers to their house, street, business or school. Included are links to the various Government pages to find out more and apply. Has to be noted that the funding ends in April 2025 so we need to move quickly to take advantage. Click this link to read more . RIMAC ENERGY ARE CREATING MORE JOBS IN UK Rimac Energy, who are part of the Rimac Technology group, have expanded their UK operations and will be adding 70 more jobs to their Oxfordshire site. They focus on static batteries that provide energy storage. This is a great way to reduce the pull on the grid and reduce the pressure on the entire system. If you wish to read more, click this link to an EV Powered article . OSPREY CHARGING HITS NEW RECORD The EV charging company Osprey Charging has announced they have installed their 1000th rapid charger. This is great news and hopefully the speed at which they have been working continues. Click this EV Powered article link here , to read more. ARONLINE FINDS NEW HOME AROnline, the home of information on the British motor industry including historical, has found a new home with the Great British Car Journey museum. They will be handling the backend and administration side of things, allowing founder and editor Keith Adams, to focus on the content. To ream more on this story, click this link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Renault Captur Renault have revamped the Captur, giving it the new corporate face as well as tweak the rear. The company claims this will be more driver focused and nicer to drive. There will be a mix of hybrid and petrol powertrains. Prices start at £22,000 for the ICE version and £29,000 for the hybrid variant. Click this Autocar link to read more . Vauxhall Mokka Electric Griffin Vauxhall have removed £7,000 of cost to the entry price of the Mokka range with the special edition Griffin. However, like with the Corsa, they have not skimped on the specifications. Only the battery appears to be a bit compromised, with an estimated range of 205 miles. If you wish to learn more, click this Top Gear link here . Last Smart Four-Two Made The last Smart Fourtwo has come off the production line at the Hambach factory, with Geely taking over all Smart vehicle builds. The company is looking for a partner to help develop the next generation platform for the Fourtwo. To learn more about this, click the link here to an electrive article . What Tesla needed to do if it really wanted to make the Model 2 Chris Miller, on Twitter, has a thread outlining the challenges for Tesla with the plans for the Model 2 and why they ended up coming to naught. Fascinating read, do click here to run through it yourself. LUNCHTIME READ: MOTORING ART - ERICH STRENGER Erich Strenger produced some truly fascinating posters for Porsche motorsport events between the 50s and 80s, which you can see and read about by clicking this link here thanks to Classic & Sports Car. LIST OF THE WEEK: THE BEST AND WORST ECLIPSES The chaps really struggled to find a List of the Week for the show and the best they could do was something related to the solar eclipse, the best and worst Mitsubishi Eclipses. Click here to run through the options that Jalopnik provide . If you spot any good lists, do send them Alan and Andrew’s way! AND FINALLY: THE MUPPETS MOST WANTED Yes the tiny car in Muppets Most Wanted actually worked. The Autopian explains its history, how they squeezed two adults and a huge bird puppet in it and more. Click here to see the insanity and silliness for yourself .…
FOLLOW UP: LUCID RAISES $1B FROM SAUDI ARABIA THe luxury EV maker, Lucid, has received a further $1 billion in investment, from the Saudi Arabian sovereign fund, Public Investment Fund. They also increased the number of vehicles they expect to produce in 2024 compared to 2023, still only 9,000 cars though. If you wish to learn more, click this link to a Reuters article . FOLLOW UP: CANOO BUYS UP ARRIVAL EQUIPMENT The bones of Arrival are being picked over as the administration team try to recoup as much money as possible by selling the assets off. Canoo has swooped in and bought a lot of equipment at bargain prices. Click this electrive article link to read more . JLR NAME THREE BRAND DIRECTORS JLR has named three new directors to head up the brands in the UK. Alan Nicholson takes the helm of Range Rover. Leonie Raistrick will be in charge of Defender and Discovery. Whilst Santino Pietrosanti will be brand director of Jaguar. Don’t forget to click this link, from AMOnline , to see even the directors are having to follow the dress code. FCA QUESTIONS INSURANCE WRITE-OFF VALUATIONS The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has expressed its concern that insurers are not correctly valuing vehicles that have been written off or stolen. Taking from customers both top and bottom, nice. They has stated they will take steps and do have powers to do so if the industry doesn’t sort itself out. Click this AMOnline article link to read more . For the article explaining the issue with Gap Insurance, click this AMOnline link here . CAMPAIGN TO REGULATE THE CAR RETAIL INDUSTRY Due to a “volume” of complaints, mainly around second hand car dealers and repair operations, the calls on the Government to regulate the car retail industry are getting louder. Recommendation includes a certification process, with minimum industry standards met. To read more, click this AMOnline article link here . RESEARCH INTO BARRIERS TO EV TAKE UP Research, on behalf of Transport for the North, has been published with a list of factors that are putting people off making the switch to electric vehicles. This is not a hit piece or anti-EV, but a list of real concerns from real people. A very interesting read. If you wish to learn more, click this TransportXtra article link here . CONSULTATION OVER HYDROGEN FARM AND PLANT MACHINERY The Department for Transport has opened a consultation on permitting hydrogen farm and plant machinery on the roads. To learn more, including the link to the consultation, click this Fleet News article link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Ford Explorer Following an aborted launch, last year, Ford are now putting the electric SUV called Explorer on sale. Compliant batteries are now fitted. This is a handsome vehicle with impressive theoretical specifications and pricing. Click this Autocar article link here for more . Toyota GR Yaris A refreshed GR Yaris is about to be offered to the lucky few-ish. Thanks to inflation the price has jumped quite a bit, with tweaks to the engine, suspension and handling. Biggest shock is the dash with is visually challenging, but Toyota is claiming its now better and driver focused. To read more, click this Autocar link here . Mercedes-Benz G-Class The G-Class keep on being updated! This time Mercedes fit touchscreens and a hybrid powertrain. On top of that is a new camera which will allow for a ‘transparent bonnet’ view. You can find out more details and specifications by clicking this Autocar link here . Genesis Neolun concept Apparently previewing the look of the range topping EV, Genesis revealed the Neolun concept. Based on the same platform as the EV9, this is a large SUV which has a fabulous interior and technology fitted. Click this Autocar article link to read more . Genesis Magma performance brand Not content with luxury, Genesis will now also do performance. Welcome to the Magma brand. They will launch a GV60 Magma edition, but others were also revealed. Click this electrive article link here , for more. Nissan revised business plan Nissan has announced a revised business plan, called the Arc. They will be refreshing a bunch of existing models and bringing some new ones to market. They also discuss aspects of the business they should have, frankly, been doing long before now. The chaps are less than impressed. If you want to learn more, click this Autocar article link here . Ford agency model u-turn Ford has announced that it will not be moving to the agency retail model in Europe, as planned, thanks to market conditions changing. Clearly don’t want the financial risk of holding all the stock themselves. You can read more on this story by clicking this Autocar article link here . Lamborghini’s new logo Lamborghini is the latest company to reveal a new, flat, logo. This will more easily enable them to light it up from behind and retain detail. Click this Autocar link to chuckle at some of the corporate speak on what the changes mean. LUNCHTIME READ: ASTON MARTIN TOUCH-SCREEN INDUCED ANGER METRIC Designers at Aston Martin have created a metric to log how annoyed they are, or not, at using controls inside the car and especially around touchscreens. You can read this article by clicking the link here from The Drive . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE GREATEST CARS BY PININFARINA There are 37 slides to try and select just one of Pininfarina’s cars as your favourite. An incredibly difficult task. Do let the chaps know if you agree with them and what you picked. Click here to see the options from Autocar . AND FINALLY: IN PRAISE OF PUSHBUTTONS Drew Smith, from the Looking Out podcast, has written about how the impending changes to physical controls, if a 5-star EuroNCAP rating is wanted, is a actually an opportunity. Will the car industry grasp it? Click this Car Design News article link to read about how physical interaction changes our feelings for a ‘thing’.…
FOLLOW UP: RENAULT VOLVO JV FOR EV VANS IS ON Last week we discussed the Reuters article that stated Renault and Volvo will announce that their joint venture for electric vans will shut in early April. This turns out not to be the case. Thanks to Renault sources we can confirm the JV is still very much on. Click this article link from AMOnline to read more . FOLLOW UP: FISKER TALKS WITH NISSAN BREAK DOWN The electric car company Fisker, has had their shares suspended following a huge drop in price after news that talks with Nissan had ended. The terms for the extra funding from an existing investor were dependent also on these talks continuing. The expectation is for the company to announce bankruptcy very soon. You can read more by clicking this article link from TechCrunch . FOLLOW UP: ASTON MARTIN NAME BENTLEY BOSS AS NEW CEO Aston Martin name their next CEO, the boss of Bentley Adrian Hallmark. He has left the Crewe manufacturer with immediate effect and will start at Aston by the 1 October 2024. This will allow Amedeo Felisa to finally enjoy the retirement he was in before Stroll dragged him back into the automotive world. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar article link here . FOLLOW UP: MCLAREN OWNED BY BAHRAIN STATE FUND The Bahrain sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat has converted shares from one form into ordinary shares thus taking the total shares in McLaren to 100%. This will make it easier for them to find a buyer, float the company on the stock market or create partnerships. For more to this story, click this Autocar link here . FOLLOW UP: INVESTIGATION INTO CAR FINANCE EXPEDITED The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that the investigation into car financing practices between 2007 and 2021 will be expedited. However, this is dependent on the companies involved providing the information. The FCA hopes to state the next stages of this by September 2024. If you would like to read more, click this Motor Finance Online article link here . To check out the MoneySavingExpert help guide to see if you are eligible to claim, click this link here . FOLLOW UP: LUTON AIRPORT CAR PARK FIRE DUE TO DIESEL VEHICLE A joint report from Bedfordshire Fire and Police services has been released, with the fact that the fire was due to a faulty diesel vehicle and had nothing to do with any electric, hybrid or plug-in hybrid vehicle. Click this BBC News article link to read more . LUNAZ GROUP CEASES ALL OPERATIONS Lunaz Group, which under two different companies, retrofits classic cars and commercial vehicles, with electric powertrains, has called in the receivers as it “restructures”. All staff have been let go with immediate effect. You can read more by clicking this electrive article link here . POTHOLE FUND IS NOT RING-FENCED The Government’s latest pot hole fund was not ring-fenced, unlike the previous one, therefore councils across England have been using that money for other services that they feel are more of a priority. To find out more, click this Autocar article via the link here . HOME EV CHARGE GRANT EXPANDED IN SCOPE The Government has announced that the home charging EV grant will be expanded to include residents without off street parking or even an EV, but there is no extra money. Click this Autocar link here to read further on this story. ADAS SAFETY IMPACT CALCULATED FAR LOWER THAN PROMISED The VVT university in Finland has calculated the positive effect in reducing collisions and injuries of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) in Europe by 2030. The EU’s aim is for a 50% reduction however the figures, which used the market penetration of the systems being fitted, combined with incident figures where the various systems might be deployed, show at best a 5.4% reduction with AEB. This does not take into account the technology actually working as hoped either. Click this Nordic Road and Transport Research article link here . EU TO PERMIT HANDS-OFF EYES-ON DRIVER ASSISTANCE Behind closed doors and exemption was granted for Ford’s BlueCruise and BMW’s driver assistance technology that allows hands-off eyes-on operation. We take the time to remind all why this is a dreadful idea. You can read more by clicking this European Transport Safety Council article link here . RESEARCHERS SPOOF CURRENT AND NEXT GEN LIDAR To round out all the good news for driver assistance and autonomous vehicles, we end the first part discussing how current and next gen LIDAR, the radar systems used currently with ADAS and autonomous vehicles being tested, can be spoofed and fooled. Wonderful. Click this article link from UC Irvine for more information . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Peugeot e-5008 Peugeot has revealed their next generation seven seater SUV, the e-5008, in electric only form, along with a mild hybrid and following a plug-in hybrid version. Compromises have been made to accompany the powertrains, with luggage space reducing. However, it is still quite close in dimensions, to the current version. Prices for the EV are expected to start at just under £50,000, which will make it the cheapest seven seater on the market. Click this Autocar article for more . Callum eVita Callum Design and Motability have worked together to produce an EV designed specifically for wheelchair users. Do click this link, from Autocar , to check out more details, as the thought which has gone into this is excellent. As you wold expect. Seat back from the dead After a stonking 2023, Seat has revived faith in the brand, from within the VW Group, meaning it will be given money to help it develop new models moving forward. Yep, we’re just as confused as you are. Who knows, maybe by next week this will all change? Click this Autocar article link to find out what the current plans are. Bentley delays moving to EVs Bentley are going to delay their first EV model until 2026, as it focuses on hybrids in the short term. We all need to remember that their market is not necessarily one that is rushing to electric only. On top of which, they are waiting on the Audi developed platform that has suffered from delays. To read more, click this Autocar link . LUNCHTIME READ: MITSUBISHI FUSO CONCEPTS WERE FANTASTIC, FUTURISTIC AND FORGOTTEN HAULERS Mitsubishi Fuso, in the 1980s, created some wonderful concept lorries with a host of clever design nuggets that are evident in today’s heavy goods vehicles. Click this Hagerty article link here to learn more . LIST OF THE WEEK: 10 WEIRDEST HOMOLOGATION SPECIALS EVER The list of cars we have to pick from is wonderful, but so to are the stories behind them. Come for the pictures, stay for the words! Do not forget to tell the chaps if you agree with their choices or what you would have instead. Click this CarThrottle link here . AND FINALLY: WHAT DOES A RENAULT SAFRANE SOUND LIKE PetrolBlog has a video, letting us sample some of the voice notifications from the Renault Safrane, which are wonderful. Click this link to their article to find out more .…
FOLLOW UP: RENAULT AND VOLVO TO SHUT EV VAN PROJECT Renault and Volvo will announce that their joint venture for electric vans will shut in early April. There is no detail on why this is. Click here for more information, via the Reuters article link . UK GOVERNMENT PREPARES TRADE SANCTIONS ON CHINESE EVS At a SMMT conference, the Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, said that the UK Government could impose sanctions to prevent the market being unfairly in favour of subsidised Chinese electric vehicles. If you wish to learn more, click this AMOnline article link here . HONDA AND NISSAN SIGN MOU FOR EV DEVELOPMENT Nissan and Honda have signed a memorandum of understanding, to investigate working together to speed up the development and production of competitive electric vehicles. They acknowledge that they are behind others, especially newer brands that have come to the market, purely focused on EVs. There are no details on what this partnership will entail. You can learn more by clicking this Reuters link here . EU TO ALLOW 60 TONNE LORRIES ON THE ROADS The EU, has voted to allow ‘mega-trucks’, which are a lorry and trailer combination of just over 25m long and a weight up to 60 tonnes, on the roads of the continent. On top of this, the European Commission wants all countries to ensure it is legal for 17 year olds to be able to drive a lorry. Click this European Transport Safety Council article to read more on these insane ideas. POSSIBLE WIRELESS EV CHARGING BREAKTHROUGH Researchers in the US have built a wireless charging system that is 96% efficient and eight to ten times more power dense than existing wireless chargers. The charger had a five inch gap to the vehicle. This is still early days but could mean we are a step closer to the roll out of wireless charging for all. If you wish to learn more, click this InsideEVs article link here . JAGUAR CUTS OFF ACCESS TO SOME SMART CHARGING Jaguar has informed owners of the I-Pace that some chargers will no longer have access to smart charging, thus the charging times cannot be controlled. This does not effect all home chargers though. JLR stated that this was due to security and privacy issues. Click this Autocar article link here to learn more . FISKER AT RISK Fisker, the US based EV maker, announced that it is in financial trouble, serious enough to make it public that it may have to go into receivership. The company had previously stated it was in trouble, but this announcement still came as a shock to many. If you wish to learn more, click this electrive article link here . Late yesterday, news came out that the company has paused production, for six weeks, as it gains $150 million extra investment from an exisiting investor. However, there talks are, apparently, underway with a major car company about a bailout, still rumoured to be Nissan. Click this Autocar article for more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Skoda Epiq Skoda revealed images of their sub £25,000 small electric SUV, the Epig. Marketed as an urban SUV, it is to share the ID.2 platform. Boot space is a respectable 490 litres, considering the overall size. Range is expected to be a maximum of about an impressive 249 miles, with charging time, via an optimal 125kW charger, for the 10-80% charged as low as 20 minutes - conditions allowing. You can learn more, via this Autocar article link here . Porsche Taycan Turbo GT Porsche, in a flex to other EV brands with ideas to speed and sportiness, have opened the order books for the Taycan Turbo GT. Starting at £186,300 you could opt for the no cost option of the Weissach Package, which removes stuff from your car to make it a bit quicker. WLTP range for the GT is a maximum of 345 miles, so this is not just all about the speed. If you wish to read more, click this article link from Motoring Research . Maserati Grecale Folgore Maserati reveal their competitor to the Porsche Macan EV and Audi Q6 E-tron. Prices start at £109,905, with a maximum range of 311 miles, charging from 20-80% in a bit less than thirty minutes. This is the first of six new EVs to come from the brand by the end of 2025. Click here to read more, via an Autocar article link . UK Car of the Year Winner - Kia EV9 The Kia EV9 was the overall winner of the UK Car of the Year 2024 competition. 30 independent judges’s votes were tallied with the large Korean SUV coming out on top, ahead of the Hyundai IONIQ 6 in second and the Volvo EX30 in third. You can read more from the official UK Car of the Year article, linked here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: MARCELLO GANDINI HAS PASSED AWAY One of the most prolific and influential car designers of all time, Marcello Gandini, has passed away at the age of 85. He has been responsible for some of the most famous cars and concepts that the car industry has produced. Click here to read the wonderful tribute from Car Design News . Click here to view his Wikipedia page , including a list of the cars he has been involved in. Click this link to read a great piece from Michael Banovsky , about the Volvo Tundra. LUNCHTIME READ: US REPORT ON AMBER TURN SIGNALS In the United States cars do not have to be fitted with amber indicators, at the rear of cars, even in the face of many studies proving their safety improvements over red. The Autopian has read through the first report into who is using red and amber on their cars, in America. Click here to read more and see which European OEMs do not, bizarrely, fit amber. LIST OF THE WEEK: MARCELLO GANDINI’S BEST DESIGNS Autocar give us 51 slides, showcasing the work of Gandini. Do you agree with Alan and Andrew’s choices or what would you go for? Don’t forget to tell us. Click this link here to check out all the amazing cars. AND FINALLY: HUBNUT’S RUSTIVAL 2024 VIDEO The superbly attended Rustival 2024 car gathering took place recently. Formed by a group of YouTubers who pulled resources and efforts to make it happen, including HubNut. Click here to watch the lovely video and get a feel for what it was like. We will be trying our hardest to attend the next one.…
FOLLOW UP: EU CONSIDERING RETROACTIVE TARIFFS ON CHINESE EVS The investigation, by the European Union, into if China subsidises the homegrown EV makers has, within an interim report, stated there is enough evidence to show there is unfair assistance. On top of this, imports have increased 14% since the investigation began. The fear is, if the rate of increase continues it will cause harm to the European market before the official conclusions come to light. If you wish to learn more, click this link to a Reuters article here . FOLLOW UP: VOLTA TRUCKS PRODUCTION TO BEGIN Following the purchase of the bankrupt company, by Luxor Capital, news is released that they will restart production, in Austria, from May. The aim is for 500 vehicles to be made in 2024 and 2,000 in 2025. There are still questions about the batteries for the trucks after the previous supplier went into receivership and was bought by Volvo. Click here to read more, from electrive . CHANCELLOR ACCUSED OF IGNORING THE CAR INDUSTRY A large portion of the car industry convinced itself that the Government would offer any additional assistance to encourage the uptake of EVs, especially by private buyers. However, in last week’s budget announcement there was no additional help forthcoming. This caused an angry reaction, with many accusing the Government of ignoring the industry. For more on this story, including the background to it all, click this EVPowered article link . EU DEMANDS BUTTONS RETURN TO CAR INTERIORS The EU, via soon to be announced new EuroNCAP criteria, has stated that car interiors must have physical controls for certain functions of the car. There is also a drive to reduce the number of screens within cars. If you would like to read further on this story, click the link here to The Verge article . FUEL PRICES ROCKET UPWARDS Now we talk about the rise in fuel prices, which was by the highest for two years, off the back of Red Sea disruption and retailers looking to maximise their profits. Click this Autocar article to read more . NISSAN ACCUSED OF UNDERPAYING SUPPLIERS IN JAPAN The Japanese Fair Trade Commission has accused Nissan of underpaying their suppliers for two years, but warn it could be much longer. The amount is in the region of $20 million and if true, is a clear abuse of power. For more on this matter, click this Nikkei Asia article link here . 57 NEW ELECTRIC BUSES FOR LEEDS First Bus has added 57 new electric busses to its fleet serving Leeds. Supplied by Wrightbus, who are providing a mix of double and single decker vehicles. Click this electrive article link to read more . CAZOO PIVOTS TO ONLINE ADVERTISING Cazoo is to sell off all its stock and no longer sell cars directly but become an online competitor to the likes of Autotrader. They will also appoint their third new CEO in five years. The last restructuring took place in December when they managed to reduce their debt to £200 million. More can be found out about this latest news, by clicking this AMOnline article link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Lotus Emeya Lotus has now announced the pricing and specs of their EV GT, the Emeya. Starting at £94,950 for the standard version, rising to £129,950 for the top of the range R model. Utilising an 102kWh battery, which will allow if environmental conditions play ball a 10-80% charge of 18 minutes. Range will be up to 379 miles, unless you pick the R where it will be 301 due to increased performance. For more details, including quite silly 0-62mph times, click this EV Powered article link . Jaguar C-X75 made road legal Callum Design has taken the concept C-X75, which Jaguar showed off and appeared in the Bond movie Spectre, and made it road legal. A fair amount of engineering has gone into enabling the single car to pass the Individual Vehicle Approval and become legal to drive on the road. Click here to learn more, from an EVO article , including where it will be shown off to the public. Jaguar ends non SUV production The Jaguar Castle Bromwich plant will cease to produce any vehicles that are not SUVs from June 2024. The site will then be converted to enable the production of body panels for new models, yet to be confirmed. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar article link here . Tata confirms battery factory location, but there’s a catch Tata has officially announced the Bridgewater site to be the location of their battery factory, after Government financial assistance ensured the Indian company chose the UK. This was not much of a secret. You can read more on this by clicking this Autocar link here . What has been kept quiet, until now, is that Somerset Council will have to take a loan out to pay for the infrastructure and training skills for this industrial project. Interesting move, considering how many services they (and other councils across the country) are having to cut as funding levels are targeted. Click this BBC News article for more . LUNCHTIME READ: NEED FOR SWEDE Top Gear have let Tom Ford out of the office again, therefore we get another slice of fascinating car culture, this time from Japan and Sweden. Enjoy as he discusses how old Volvos are finding an audience in the country and why. Click this link here to read and watch more. LIST OF THE WEEK: SOME OF THE GREATEST 16-CYLINDER CARS EVER MADE Once more, we point you to Top Gear, this time for a list of fabulous 16-cylinder cars in which to pick your favourite one. Don’t forget to tell the chaps if you agree with their choices. Click here to check out the options . AND FINALLY: LEARN HOW TO MAINTAIN YOUR CAR Ralph Hosier is interviewed by Magneto Magazine and he gets to tell us about how he has training courses from beginner level to more advanced that would be perfect for anyone wishing to learn a skill or even just maintain their own car. Click this link to read more .…
FOLLOW UP: AGENCY MODEL CLARIFICATION Thank you to all who responded to Andrew’s request for more information on how the agency model works for car retails. We can now confirm, the query about who carries the financial liability, does in fact lie with the manufacturers now. To see who is moving to this model, click this link to an Auto Retail Network article . FEBRUARY 2024 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES SMMT has released the new car registration figures for February 2024 and they are the best in 20 years! Which caused us to raise an eyebrow or two. Battery electric cars are up, slightly, but still a long way off the 22% required by the Government mandate. Diesel is down slightly, with plug in hybrids also up a touch, but petrol is up again. Fleet is doing all the lifting and this is worrying the industry who renews their calls for help to incentivise the Private side of things. To read more, click this link to the SMMT article and details . POLESTAR SECURES NEW FUNDING Polestar are plugging the gap left by Volvo stepping back from funding the EV company, thanks to a loan worth £750 million. According to the company, this will allow them to sell 155,000 vehicles and become cash flow even in 2025. If you wish to read more on this story, click this Autocar link here . US INVESTIGATING CHINESE EV DATA COLLECTION The US Government announced that it will be investigating Chinese electric vehicles to ascertain how much, what type of and where they send data. However, as there are so few actual brands allowed into the US this does feel part of the ongoing protectionism being demonstrated in North America. You can find out about this by clicking the link here to an electrive article . FISKER FINANCES UNSUSTAINABLE BUT NISSAN MAY HELP Fisker announced how they were not confident they could last to the end of 2024, but a couple of days later it was revealed that they are in talks with Nissan over possible investment. This would give the Japanese company access to an electric pick up platform, which they do not have currently. Click this Reuters article for the original story. For details on the possible Nissan rescue, click this link to an Autocar article . THE POSSIBLE APPLE CAR PROJECT IS APPARENTLY SHUT DOWN Reports were all over the internet stating that the secret Apple car project, allegedly called Titan, had been cancelled. But as the company has neither confirmed nor denied this, it is hard to tell if it was real or whether they were looking at specific technologies. For more speculation and the liberal use of the “iCar” click this link to an article from The Register . ASTON MARTIN CLOSES LAGONDA Aston Martin confirmed that the Lagonda sub brand is officially no more. This surprised us, as we thought it had been killed off a couple of years ago. To learn more and look at what could have been, click this Autocar link here . NISSAN CLOSING NISSANCONNECT EV APP Nissan have given owners of Leaf and e-NV200 vehicles a month’s notice that the app they have been using is to be shut down. The reason given is because 2G is being switched off in the UK. However, this is not planned for another 6-9 years time. We are all for being prepared but this does seem a little overkill. If you want to find out more, click this BBC News article link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Renault 5 E-Tech Renault revealed the production ready version of the 5, which will be all electric and is inspired heavily by the original design. The exterior and interior designs are both lovely and will hopefully encourage both old and young to be interested in this car. For more on this, click the link here to a CAR article . MG 3 Hybrid MG also revealed a new model at Geneva, the replacement for the 3 which they haven’t sold in the UK for a few years now. It is a B-segment hatch with a hybrid powertrain, that the company claims will make it the most powerful in the segment. Click this CAR article link for more . Dacia Sandrider Dacia has revealed their Rally Raid vehicle, which will take on the Dakar next year. As aggressive and nuts looking as you would expect, it is wonderful. Thought has really gone into the layout and choice of materials and technology being deployed. You can see more, by clicking this Autocar article link here . Vauxhall Corsa Yes Vauxhall will be selling the Corsa Yes model a smidgen under the price of the cheapest MG4, making it the cheapest EV car until the Dacia Spring gets here. Looking at the specs we don’t know how they’ve chopped £5000 off the list price or even what makes the top of the range worth a fraction under £40,000. This should sell like hot cakes, click this Autocar link to read more . Old Car Dead News - Nissan Leaf pulled from production Nissan is stopping the production of the Leaf as it gears the Sunderland plant up for new models. The car was getting long in the tooth, technology wise, and with the recent changes to GSR2 it wasn’t viable to maintain production of the car. You can read more, by clicking this link here . European Car of the Year - Renault Scenic Renault has won the European Car of the Year with it’s Scenic. Alan was quite dismissive of the competition, which failed to excite him almost completely. Click this to a CAR article for more . UK Car of the Year Category Winners The UK Car of the Year Category Winners have been announced, with seven cars going through to be judged for the ultimate winner, which is yet to be announced. Andrew is one of the judges whose expertise and opinion was tapped to vote on the options. Click this link to see which cars won which categories . LUNCHTIME READ: WE PUT A LAMBORGHINI IN A WIND TUNNEL To find out how much has changed, when it comes to aerodynamics and cars, Road & Track put a Lamborghini Miura in a wind tunnel. Click this link here to read the fascinating detail on what has changed . LIST OF THE WEEK: CAR NAMES YOU COULDN’T USE TODAY The Autopian has produced a list of car names, where some are a bit weird and others are just not suitable to be used in today’s society. Click this link to read more and see if you agree with Alan’s choice . AND FINALLY: THE RALLY STAGE YOU CAN DRIVE ON Auto Shenanigans visits Somerset to talk about the rally stage you can drive on, plus find the steepest A-road in the UK. We do love his videos and the detail he manages to cram into these short videos. Click here to watch this one .…
FOLLOW UP: VOLVO TO SELL SHARES IN POLESTAR We begin to get the answer of what difference Volvo cutting funding will mean to their Polestar relationship, as they look to offload a large portion of the shares they hold. The plan is to drop from 48% of shares down to 18%. For more information, click this electrive article link here . STELLANTIS TO CONVERT LUTON PLANT FOR EV VANS Stellantis has confirmed that they will convert the Luton plant to enable it to build the Group’s electric vans. ICE versions will continue to be built along side the EVs, which will be produced from early 2025. If you would like to read more, click this Autocar link here . STELLANTIS UK MAKE MANY MANAGEMENT CHANGES Stellantis UK managing director, Maria Grazia Davino, has moved quickly to make changes within the organisation and tying up with the larger group. This is all part of the efforts to improve relations with their dealer network and improve the outlook for the many brands. More details can be read by clicking this AMOnline link here . ASA STATES “ZERO EMISSION DRIVING” ISN’T MISLEADING The automated system the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) picked up a Ford advert for the soon to be released Explorer, which stated “zero emission driving” and pulled it for review. Following an investigation the ASA decided that it was okay to state this. As we are pedants on this show, we are looking forward to the agency learning about tyre emissions. If you wish to see the latest insanity from this organisation, click the link here to a FleetNews article . COMPANY GUILTY OF NOT ENSURING ILLEGAL CAR WOULDN’T BE DRIVEN ON THE PUBLIC ROAD Onyx Performance, has been convicted of not ensuring that a car they modified, with a ‘pop bang’ map, new exhaust and removal of a catalytic convertor, was not to be driven on the public roads. This is the second company, in a few months to have been brought to court for the same issue. You can learn more, by clicking this AMOnline article link here . UK FUEL PRICES INCREASE QUICKLY ON RED SEA DISRUPTION Surprising no one, is the news that the retail fuel prices increased astonishingly quickly off the back of the news of trouble in the Red Sea, even before the affects were really being felt. Whilst the wholesale price increased, the retailers have not passed on the buffer the Government has allowed them. Click this Autocar story link , for more on this. BBC REPORT INTO ETHNICITY INFLUENCING CAR INSURANCE The BBC has reported, following their investigation, that there is evidence that car industry rates are affected by location and the percentage of ethnic minorities the location has. The industry strongly deny this claim. We are not saying this does not happen, but we do urge for more and open investigations into this claim. As we cannot see all the data reported on we cannot see if some other conclusion could also be found. If you wish to read more, click this BBC article link here . For more information on the book Andrew recommended, click this link here . YORKSHIRE NATIONAL PARKS INSTALL EV CHARGERS WITH BMW In partnership with BMW, Yorkshire National Parks have installed 18 EV chargers across the county. This is great news for more remote areas of northern Britain, which have been poorly served to date. To read up on this, click here for the EVPowered article link . UK GOVERNMENT CONTINUES TAXI PLUG-IN GRANT The UK Government is continuing the taxi plug-in grant until April 2025, although it is cutting the pay out to £6000 per vehicle. This is good news, targeting urban areas and helping to clean up the air for residents. For more on this, click here for the electrive article link . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Dacia Spring Dacia revealed, what will be the cheapest EV car, for the UK market, the Spring. This B-segment SUV/jacked up hatchback will come with approximately 110-120 real-world mile range and only be able to charge via slower chargers. However, with an expected price point of around £17,000, these may well be trade offs plenty will accept. Click here to read more , from the Autocar article link. VW ID.7 Tourer Volkswagen has revealed their very practical ID.7 Tourer, bringing us another EV estate option. With an impressive boot space, both with the seats up and down, combined with a good range this will be an attractive option for many. For more information, click this link to a Motoring Research article . Cupra Born VZ Cupra is bringing out a hot Born version, the VZ. This will have upgraded battery tech, improved handling and driving dynamics. Do click the link to read one of our favourite lines in a car review for some time. You can read more by clicking this link to the EVPowered article here . INEOS Fusilier INEOS has revealed their third vehicle, the Fusilier, a EV or range extender EV depending on specification chosen. Details are a little scant, but it is smaller and lower than the Grenadier. Do click this Top Gear link for more , plus ideas they supply for future model names, which made us smile. Old Car Dead News - Hyundai i30N and i20N removed from sale Two of our favourite cars to have driven are being removed from sale by Hyundai. The i30N and i20N sales numbers dropped, in combination with legislation, have made the decision for the Korean company. The electric range will carry the N torch moving forward. Click this EVO article link for more information . LUNCHTIME READ: PORSCHE 911 BACKDATES ARE BAD AND NEED TO BE STOPPED Whilst many might think this is an article directly from Alan’s own keyboard, and the name of the author even has Bradley in it, we bring you a Jalopnik opinion piece on why the Porsche restomod scene needs to stop butchering its past cars to make very expensive homages to the past. Click this link to read more . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF THE ROTARY ENGINE Once again, we might well think Alan has created this article and slide show too! Think of this as a part List of the Week and part Lunchtime Read . Click this Autocar link to get a history lesson and see if you agree with Alan and Andrew’s choices. AND FINALLY: SPEND TIME IN THE ALFA ROMEO SECRET VAULT Another, effectively, Lunchtime Read and Watch as we share an article which explores the Alfa Romeo secret vault and includes a 48 minute video that is well worth watching. For more, click this Jalopnik article link .…
FOLLOW UP: CRUISE APPOINTS FIRST EVER SAFETY OFFICER In a move that should have more people stunned, Cruise has announced their first every safety officer. Steve Kenner has worked at a number of places in the autonomous vehicle industry. Louise Zhang, who is a VP of safety and systems will remain in her role. Astonishingly. If you wish to learn more, click this TechCrunch link here . FOLLOW UP: FRENCH SUBSIDY FOR LOW INCOME HOMES HALTED The recently launched subsidy to help low income families into EV has already been halted, due to an overwhelming demand, according to French Government officials. They will be relaunching it in 2025. To read further, click this link to The Guardian article . GOVERNMENT U-TURN ON TAX OF DOUBLE-CABS In a crazy few days, the UK Government went from declaring that double-cab pickup’s tax category was going to change to that of a car, but still be classed as a light commercial vehicle (LCV) from 1 July 2024, to u-turning and saying no they wouldn’t. This came around due to a court case where it was ruled that they have a dual purpose of carrying people and cargo, therefore cannot be classed as “primarily” transporting cargo. The reaction from the public was loud and angry. The blanket move, with what appeared to be very little thought on the use of these vehicles and who these changes would hit, was decried not just by management consultants, architects and dentists who would have to change their vehicle as the tax loophole closed, but by those who genuinely need a multipurpose vehicle. To see what the original issue was all about, click this link to a Professional Pickup article link here . If you wish to read about the u-turn and what that means, click this link here to a Broker News article . AUDI, PORSCHE AND BENTLEYS STUCK AT US PORTS Thanks to Audi, Porsche and Bentley utilising components that are on the banned list, for the United States, their cars are sitting dockside waiting for replacement parts. The parts in question are claimed to have been sourced from companies operating in areas where forced labour is the norm, the Xinjiang province. VW Group claims it had no knowledge as it was part of a larger part and only found out due to information received. Click this Yahoo News article link if you wish to learn more. BMW LEAVES ONLINE STORAGE SET TO PUBLIC A Microsoft Azure storage ‘bucket’ run by BMW was mistakenly left with access set to public, rather than private. This meant that anyone could have accessed the huge amount of code, credentials, data and information held. This is very similar to what happened with Mercedes a couple of weeks ago. There is no knowledge if this data was accessed by unauthorised persons. BMW stress that there was no customer data held or at risk. If you with to learn more, click this TechCrunch article link here . JLR SLOWS EV PUSH Following an impressive increase in PHEV sales, JLR has announced that they are slowing their development of EV only models. Some have pointed out that you will get an increase if you only, really, offer PHEVs. To learn more, click this Autocar article link here . FIRST SUBCOOLED LIQUID HYDROGEN STATION OPENED IN GERMANY Germany is the location for the first fuelling station for subcooled liquid hydrogen (sLH2). This cuts costs for stations in terms of both the infrastructure and running costs. On top of that it allows for faster refuelling, offers more range and is superior energy efficiency. For more on this story, click this link to the Green Car Congress article . NEW ZERO EMISSION HGV REGISTRATIONS TRIPLE IN 2023 Zero emission HGVs registered over three times more in 2023 than in 2022, but the numbers are still very low. Especially if compared to cars or even vans. You can read more about this, by clicking this SMMT article link here . FREE TOOL FROM MARTIN LEWIS FOR CAR FINANCE REFUNDS The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is investigating refused applications for refunds on car finance which allowed brokers to change the rates of interest for a better commission. Martin Lewis, the Money Saving Expert, has compiled a tool to allow you to lodge your complaint if you feel you were affected by this between 2007 and 2021. To learn more about the story, click this Parkers article link here . To go to the tool, click this link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Nissan Juke Nissan claim their customers are so happy with the looks of the Juke that they have only refreshed the technology and interior of the car, five years after going on sale. Gone is the CVT and it is replaced with an automatic gearbox option. Inside the controls and layout have become more driver focused and we encourage you to click the link as there is some wonderful quotes regarding the design. Prices are expected to increase very slightly. To learn more about one of the most popular new cars in the UK, click this Autocar link here . Aston Martin Vantage Aston Martin has revealed the new coupe version Vantage, with the convertible following on. Looking very much like an Aston, although the front grille is becoming more of a statement piece and harder to like. However, the shoulder and rear at lovely. Inside it looks a fabulous place to sit. The V8 is continuing the association with AMG, although this one will chuck out more power than the previous V12. Click this Autocar link here , to read more. Lancia Ypsilon After a number of teases and an unintentional river trip of one prototype, the Lancia Ypsilon has been revealed. And it looks the nicest of the shared Stellantis B Segment small hatches. This will be an all electric model, but aimed at a higher price point. There are a lot of neat touches to the design both inside and out. You can learn more by clicking this Autocar link here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: MASSIMO FRASCELLA TO HEAD UP AUDI DESIGN Following his sudden departure from JLR, Massimo Franscella has been announced as the new Head of Design at Audi. Marc Lichte, the current design boss, will be “transitioning to a new role within the group” according to the Automotive Design Planet article linked here . LUNCHTIME WATCH: EVO CAR OF THE YEAR 2023 EVO have, once again, produced a fabulous film for their Car of the Year segment. Brilliantly shot, as ever, we get to ride along with a host of fabulous cars and hear what everyone thinks. Hopefully, this continues, now they are under new ownership. Click here to watch the YouTube film . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE BEST MODERN AUDIS EVER MADE To help remind Massimo Franscella of how clean Audi design used to be, we are recommending the list of the best modern cars from the brand, via an Autocar slideshow. Don’t forget to tell us if you agree with Alan’s choice. Click here to see what options you have . AND FINALLY: GOOD ADVICE AND ALMOST AN ORDER FROM PETROLBLOG Major Gav has an excellent piece about going for a drive, just for the hell of it. Too easy to remain wrapped up in ourselves and rushing from one task to the next, but this post on PetrolBlog, linked here , is a great reminder. Don’t forget to tell him that you have followed the advice!…
FOLLOW UP: ARRIVAL GOES INTO ADMINISTRATION The inevitable has happened at Arrival and the company has brought in receivers to try and sell on the company assets. Last year they announced they were focusing only on their large van, but this has not been produced. Claims of macroeconomic conditions have been laughed at, following the revelations of management and how the business was run. If you wish to learn more, click this article here, from The Guardian . ASA BANS ADS OVER ZERO EMISSION AND ULEZ CLAIMS The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has rapped BMW, MG and Transport for London (TfL) over advertising claims. BMW have been censured due to claiming its electric vehicles are zero emission, which the ASA said they were not due to electricity production and manufacturing not being such. MG were censured over including their hybrid models in an advert for zero emission vehicles. TfL fell foul over claims made about misleading adverts regarding the ULEZ and modelled data rather than actual data. To learn more about the manufacturer’s issues, click this AMOnline article . For the detail of the TfL ruling, click this BBC News article link . ASTON MARTIN IS SEARCHING FOR NEXT CEO Aston Martin has begun the process of finding a replacement for Amedeo Felisa, the current CEO. Felisa is coming up to his 78th birthday, and has helped shaped the future of the company since taking over from Tobias Moers in 2022. If you would like to learn more, click this Autocar article link, here . HYUNDAI EUROPE HIT BY RANSOMWARE ATTACK Hyundai Europe has admitted they have suffered a cyberattack. Through investigations by BleepingComputer, it is believed to be a ransomware attack and the up to 3TB of data has been accessed or taken. According to the outlet, this covers many different departments and companies in the group. Whilst Hyundai has not confirmed what type of attack, it is believed to be a ransomware one. Click this link to learn more, from a BleepingComputer article . ROLLS ROYCE SPECTRE RECALLED IN THE US A faulty ground connection cable has caused Spectres in the US to be recalled. There is a potential for an injury risk to technicians working on the car and in extreme cases for a “thermal event” or fire as we generally know it. Affected cars were built between October and December 2023. You can learn more, by clicking this article link from The Register . EUROPE’S MOST RECALLED CAR BRANDS IN 2023 Autocar has listed the car brands that had the most recalls in 2023, for Europe. It must be remembered, the potential for recalls increases the more niches you wish to cover, not that its an excuse. Click here to run through an extra List of the Week . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Porsche Taycan Porsche have unveiled their new Taycan, electric saloon and sort of estate. They have made it quicker, lighter, more efficient and able to go further. Inside the tech has been improved too. On top of all this, they have impressively, managed to make the charging times (if environmental conditions allow) between 20-80% quicker too. For more details, click this Autocar article link here . Ford Puma Ford has updated the Puma. There is a change to the powertrain, with the only option being the 1.0 petrol engine mated to a hybrid system. Even the ST has this, also, only with an automatic gearbox. Inside the tech has been upgraded, bringing it in line with the newer elements of Ford’s range. New touch screen, no physical buttons and the Syn4 infotainment system. We also question how reliable some of the new driver assistance technology will be. Do click this Autocar link to learn more . BMW 5-Series Touring PHEV and EV The 5-Series will only come as a petrol PHEV or electric version, in the UK. Gone also, is the rear window access hatch as a redesign in the name of aerodynamics has made retaining it too tricky to engineer. You can find out more by clicking this link to an Autocar article . Audi RS6 Avant GT Inspired by the Audi 90 Quattro IMSA GTO, they have brought the RS6 Avant GT. Suitably decorated, including the white wheels, with a quicker 0-62mph time and a higher top speed. This exclusive car will only have 60 examples allocated to the UK. Price is a bit spicy, as you would expect too. Click this CAR article link to read more . Abarth 600e The Abarth 600e has been revealed. The hot version of the new 600e, all electric SUV from the 500 brand. Whilst clearly recognisable as a sister car to the 500 it is much better resolved than previous attempts to expand the brand range. Do click this Autocar article link , for the daft photoshopped image and more details on Fait’s future direction. Silence SO4 The Spanish micromobility company, Silence, is brining their two-seater quadrocycle to the UK. Seen as a competator to the Citroën Ami it is more expensive, but has a higher top speed and longer range, thus making it more usable in the UK. Another feature is the ability to remove the battery and charge it in your house from a 240v outlet. If you wish to find out more, click this Autocar link here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: T. JON MAYER LEAVES VOLVO A surprise announcement that T. Jon Mayer is leaving Volvo, was released last week. We have no details on where he is going or why he left. Click this Auto&Design link to find out nothing extra except what he has been up to. LUNCHTIME READ: WILL VI CANVAS TOP AND WILL PRODUCTS Michael Banovsky’s latest newsletter iteration has brought us a fantastic piece on the WiLL Vi Canvas Top and what else the company got involved in. We love reading about such things connected with the car industry. Click this link to read more and then go sign up to his newsletter so you don’t miss any further nuggets. LIST OF THE WEEK: TOP 9 WEIRDEST CARS AT RETROMOBILE 2024 The French classic car show always turns up some fantastic and unusual cars, this year is no exception. Goodwood Road&Racing list their Top 9 weird cars, for you to see. Do you agree with Alan’s choice? Let us know after you click this link to see what your options are . AND FINALLY: THE WORST SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS THAT COULD BE DREAMT UP Jason Torchinsky, on The Autopian, has created a list of the worst subscription ideas he could come up with, for our cars. Hopefully the car brands don’t see this and think “that’s neat, let’s do it”. If you’d like to see our dystopian future, click this article link here .…
FOLLOW UP: PARIS VOTES TO CHARGE EXTRA FOR HEAVY CARS Just under six percent of eligible Parisians voted on charging extra for non resident parking permitted heavier vehicles, with 54.6% voting for this. Therefore, internal combustion engined cars (ICE) weighing over 1.6 tonnes and electric vehicles weighing over 2 tonnes, will be charged extra. Click here to read a misleadingly headlined article from The Guardian that is an example of some of the pathetic reporting on this matter. FOLLOW UP: LITHIA TAKEOVER PENDRAGON Lithia, the US based firm, has finally taken over the motor retail group, Pendragon. This makes Lithia the second biggest retailer in the UK, ahead of Arnold Clark but behind Sytner. You can read more by clicking this AMOnline article link here . JANUARY 2024 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES SMMT has released the January 2024 new car registration figures. They are up on 2023, but still down on the Before Times. Fleet is doing a lot of the heavy lifting, with Private down once again. Worryingly, in the first month of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, the battery electric vehicle (BEV) share is only 14.7%, well below the 22% required from each manufacturer. Click here to read an interesting article from Tristan Young in Broker News , which hints that the figures could have been even worse. For the SMMT article and detail, click this link here . RENAULT CANCELS IPO FOR EV DIVISION AMPERE Renault has confirmed that they will not separate their electric vehicle division, Ampere, and list it on the stock exchange. The reasoning is that the market is “sluggish”, which has also been compounded with a slow down in EV uptake across Europe at the end of the year. The company is adamant that they are cash rich and their ambitions are not dependent on an IPO. If you wish to learn more, click this article link from Reuters here . VW PAUSES IPO OF BATTERY DIVISION Volkswagen has paused proceeding with listing their battery division, PowerCo, with the EV market slowing in Europe. On top of that, they have not yet decided where their fourth battery factory will be located in Europe. Click this electrive article link to read more on the IPO situation. For the battery factory story, click this InsideEVs article link here . For the Autocar article on the subject of the stock market and EV companies, click this link here . VOLVO TO STOP FUNDING POLESTAR Amongst the detail of Volvo’s 2023 financial results, they announced that they will be ceasing to continue to fund Polestar and be focusing solely on their own projects. This could lead to Volvo selling their shares or Geely just buying more. They will continue to partner up over R&D, manufacturing and commercial elements. For a fuller explanation of what is going on, click this Autocar article link here . SMART UK APPOINT NEW CEO Congratulations to Jason Allbutt, who has been appointed as the new CEO of smart UK. He takes over from David Browne, who oversaw the relaunch of smart in the UK. If you wish to learn more, click this link to an AMOnline article link here . TYRE PRICE FIXING CLAIMS INVESTIGATED BY THE EU The European Commission has visited several manufacturers in several countries whilst investigating the question of possible cartel activity by the tyre industry. Questions have been raised about collusion on price fixing, enough to warrant the investigation. You can learn more by clicking this article link here to AMOnline . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Ford Mustang The new Ford Mustang is coming to the UK and will be the cheapest V8 we can buy new, but it still starts at £55, 685. There will be no alternative engine choice, so go V8 or go elsewhere. There is also a new screen and tech, for the interior, including the ability to have digitised versions of classic Mustang dials - why does no one else do that? For more information, click this Autocar link here . BMW 4-Series BMW is updating the 4-Series range, including the M4. All get the tricksie CSL rear lights and after that apart from bringing the interior up to the current spec, its really hard to spot the differences between the existing and new. If you wish to learn more, click this EVO article link here and this CAR article link for details about the M4 . BMW Z4 In another game of spot the difference, BMW announce the new Z4. Except, this time it can be specified with a manual gearbox, which allows you to add a special colour. To find out more, click this CAR article link here . Audi Q7 You can now ‘personalise’ the front end, well, the daylight running lights (DRLs) by setting them to one of four designs. That really is all very nearly that has changed. Do click the CAR article link to find out more . Volvo EX30 deliveries delayed Some Volvo EX30 customers are having to wait a touch longer for their car to be delivered after Volvo noticed an issue with the software and is having to update all of them. Alas (or good), there is no over the air option therefore this takes a little longer to execute. More information can be found by clicking this InsideEVs link here . LUNCHTIME READ: MEET THE MG B-EAST We finally get round to bringing you an excellent article about the UK winner of the Hot Wheels Legends 2023 Tour. Click the link for the writing and stay to gawp at the pictures and detail of this mad car, thanks to Hagerty. LIST OF THE WEEK: BEST FIRST CARS FOR ENTHUSIASTS Know someone who’s just passed their test? Are they a bit of a car person? Well, we bring you a list with options (even though there really is one option to pick!). Click this Autocar link to see what is being suggested. AND FINALLY: HONDA’S LOGO HISTORY Hagerty, thanks to Antony Ingram, brings you the history and evolution over the years of the Honda logo. Fascinating stuff. Click this link to find out more .…
FOLLOW UP: CRUISE’S ACCIDENT FAILURES ARE WORSE THAN GUESSED The ‘independent’ review by a legal firm employed by both GM and Cruise has produced their first report into the incident where a pedestrian who was knocked into the path of a driverless taxi was hit and dragged by the car. They try to claim that no one really meant to deceive the regulators and it was the internet that prevented them from showing the full video. They admitted that no one then attempted to explain verbally or via email. You can learn more from this Jalopnik article link here . You can find more context and details in a Twitter thread from John Berry, linked here . And here is another thread from John, click here . For an even more damning review of the report, click here to read what Bryant Walker Smith has to say . FOLLOW UP: MOT CHANGES ARE SHELVED Thankfully, common sense has prevailed and the UK Government are not going to change MOTs to occur every two years. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar article link here . FOLLOW UP: DAIHATSU RECALLING OVER 320,00 CARS The news gets worse for Daihatsu as it confirms it will be recalling over 320,000 cars due to door defects, following the revelations about the safety testing scandal. Three of the four Japanese factories will also remain shuttered, with a possibility one may restart soon. To read more on this story, click here for The Japan Times article link . TOYOTA HALTS SHIPMENTS OF SOME VEHICLES Toyota has announced that it is halting the shipment of some vehicles due to irregularities in certification of some diesel engines. The engines go into approximately 36,000 vehicles worldwide, per month. There has yet to be a confirmation of the full extent of this issue. Click this Reuters article to learn more . EU FINDS MOST CARS EMIT SAME CARBON LEVELS AS 12 YEARS AGO An investigation into the EU’s progress regarding the reduction of CO2 has found that levels emitted by cars has not changed in 12 years. A combination of larger, heavier cars and an apparent significant difference between lab tested and real world emissions have all been blamed. What is missing is the significant drop in diesel vehicles, replaced by petrol and hybrids, which produce more CO2 than a diesel, whilst producing less NOx. You can read more, by clicking this link to an Euractiv article . BMW UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR EMISSIONS MANIPULATION In Germany, the federal transport authority, the KBA, are investigating BMW X3 2.0 diesel built between 2010 and 2014, due to suspicions over software manipulation of emissions. The claim is that emissions were controlled when under test conditions. More can be found on this story, by clicking this link to a Drive article . MERCEDES GITHUB REPOSITORY FOUND OPEN Security researchers found they could gain unrestricted access to Mercedes-Benz’s GitHub repository. GitHub is a project management service for coders. An employee’s authentication code was found on the internet, enabling a way into their Enterprise Server on the service. There was a lot of very important and vital information that could be accessed. There is no confirmation if others accessed the data during the time it was effectively open to all. Click this article link to read more from TechCrunch . ‘FILL THAT HOLE’ SITE HELPS POTHOLE REPORTING Cycling UK has launched the latest version of the service Fill That Hole, which allows for a quick way to report potholes on the UK roads. Now the reports go directly to the relevant highways authority, as some local councils were no longer accepting road defect reports, if they’ll accept them. If you wish to know more, click here to read the TransportXtra story . To use the free service, click this link here to Fill That Hole . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Volkswagen Golf The facelifted Golf, the 8.5, has been revealed by VW. The main changes are to the interior and tech, with the infotainment screen now having a couple of buttons and those being backlit. This is very much a merest hints of evolution, with improvements to the areas they received “feedback” on. To find out more, including the raft of powertrain options, click this CAR link here . Porsche Electric Macan Porsche has revealed the next generation of the Macan, which will be EV only. Boasting two specs, ludicrous amounts of power and a claimed range of up to 381 miles, this should please current and prospective owners, so long as they can afford the price. You can learn more by clicking this Autocar link here . Volkswagen Passat The latest Passat, which comes as an estate, has been revealed along with details. A suitably large loading space, with the revised VW cockpit, as with the Golf discussed earlier. Again, you can find out more about the car by clicking this CAR article link here . Kalmar Automotive RS-6 If you have a Porsche 996 and want to stand out from the crowd, Kalmer can help you by Dakar-ing it. Actually, the cost isn’t outrageous, for such a thing and it is nicely done. At least we could get excited about one car this week! To check out more on this, click this Top Gear link here . LUNCHTIME READ: MARIO REVELLI - THE MOST PROLIFIC CAR DESIGNER YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF Matteo Licata brings us another fascinating and expertly researched article for us to recommend to you. This time, helping us learn about a designer we probably haven’t heard of, although he worked on so many cars. Click this Hagerty link to read more . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE BEST CARS OF THE 90S - PART 2 Autocar have a slide show of the second part of their Best Cars from the 90s. There are a whopping 42 slides to check out, which has allowed the chaps to pick two cars each this, in a move of total extravagance. Do you agree with what they picked, don’t forget to let us know! Click here to check out what is on offer . AND FINALLY: US GOVERNMENT STOPS ‘HUMOROUS’ HIGHWAY SIGNS The Federal Highways Administration has announced a ban on ‘humorous’ digital highway signs, as they have jumped the shark and instead of getting a safety message across in a quick yet memorable manner, they often have become clunky and confusing. Click this link to the New York Post for more information .…
FOLLOW UP: VW AND GERMAN GOV LOSE ENGINE FIX FIGHT A German environmental group has won its court case against the Volkswagen Group and the German Government for allowing the use of thermal windows in engine emissions, for the last eight years. Whilst the regulator allowed it the court ruled they should not have. You can learn more by clicking this electrive article link here . FOLLOW UP: CMA WINS APPEAL AGAINST BMW AND VW The Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) has won its appeal relating to forcing BMW and the Volkswagen Group hand over information to enable their investigation into possible anti-competative practices for recycling vehicles. The argument from BMW and VW is that they are based outside of the UK therefore the CMA has no authority. The Court of Appeal ruled they do. For more on this story, click this Reuters article link here . FOLLOW UP: FEEDBACK ON THE CHAT GPT EXPLAINER Thank you to everyone who got in touch, following the release of last week’s show and the separate video which explained Chat GPT, AI and why it is a bad idea in cars. We are glad it has helped so many of you. If you haven’t seen it yet, click this link to our YouTube video here . BRITAIN STICKS TO MONOCHROME NEW CARS IN 2023 Topping the chart, once again, we find that grey is the most popular colour for new car registrations. The top three are rounded out with black and white - yawn. Do click this link to SMMT’s article on this, as there is one chart that lists the Top 10 colours and how many have been registered in that colour, it is eye opening. EU INVESTIGATORS TO VISIT CHINESE CAR COMPANIES As part of the EU’s investigation into whether China unfairly helps their own manufacturing base, with electric vehicles, they will be visiting several firms at locations in the country to check if information supplied matches. They will not be checking on European set ups. Click this link, from electrive , to read more on this development. EVS IN THE EU WILL NEED A BATTERY PASSPORT FROM 2027 A system has been developed that aims to track everything about a vehicle battery, from minerals in the ground to what was last done to it in the car. This comes into force in February 2027. Depending on which group is looking to access the data, different levels of information will be available. You can learn more by clicking this Autocar link here . SUBARU UK GETS A NEW MD Congratulations to Lorraine Bishton on her appointment as the new managing director at Subaru UK. She has previously worked at Ford, JLR and lately at McLaren Special Operations. If you wish to learn more, click this AMOnline link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Ford Kuga Ford have given the latest generation Kuga a refresh. Tweaks to the exterior looks but most changes are inside where improvements have been made to the technology on offer. On top of which the oily bits have been enhanced, and it has one of the best towing ratings in class. The car will also be slightly cheaper than the current model. Click this Autocar link to find out much more . Hyundai Bayon One of the rarer cars in the Hyundai range, the small SUV Bayon has been refreshed. The exterior has been sharpened up and now includes the full width LED to the front end. Inside the interior is now on a par with the rest of the range. If you want to read more on this car, click here and read the article from Autocar . VW Tiguan The Tiguan outsells the Golf, therefore this is a very important car for the brand. Once again, the exterior has been evolved but inside is where most changes are obvious. Now in line with the Passat and other new vehicles in the range, there is the revised infotainment screen, that has some buttons positioned at the bottom for quick access. There is a myriad of options for powertrains and trim levels. Click this CAR article link, to read more . Subaru Crosstrek Subaru is replacing the XV with the hugely popular, in the US, Crosstrek. Alan cannot move for tripping over them in the state he currently resides. There are improvements to the driver assistance system, more refinement and body control. You can learn more by clicking this link to an Autocar article here . KGM Torres KGM, formerly known as Ssangyong, has revealed their mid sized SUV which will go on sale in the UK imminently, the Torres. Initially in petrol form and front wheel drive, it will quickly be followed by a 4x4 version and then an electric powertrain. If this is of interest to you, click this Autocar link to find out more . Mazda Spirit Racing sub brand Mazda, at the Tokyo Auto Salon, revealed a performance sub brand called Spirit Racing. Two race inspired cars where shown to the crowds, a Mazda 3 and MX-5. Styling enhancements include a paint colour, stripes, red strip to the front splitters and a more aggressive stance. There is no confirmation Mazda are going to make these or any other cars with the sub brand but we can all hope. Click this Top Gear link to read more . Stellantis STLA EV platforms Stellantis has revealed their new electric vehicle platforms, called STLA. This will come in four varieties, the Small, Medium, Large and Frame. To learn what these equate to as well as the impressive sounding potential capabilities, click this CAR article link here . LUNCHTIME READ: CES SHOWED VW, BMW AND MERCEDES ARE ASKING THE WRONG QUESTIONS CONCERNING USER EXPERIENCE For the second week on the trot, I am recommending the work of Drew Smith. This time it is his review of automakers offerings at CES, the annual tech fantasy show, sorry, tech show. This year the offerings were quite bleak, misguided with the occasional brighter spot. Click this link to read his thoughts on Car Design News . LIST OF THE WEEK: GREATEST MACHINES WITH 100HP OR LESS This week’s fun list does not stick strictly to cars, but all cool vehicles with 100hp or less. Do you agree with Andrew’s choice, even if it was a tad dramatic or are you going to pick one of the more frivolous options? Do let the chaps know. Click here to run through the Autocar article . AND FINALLY: THIRD TIME’S A CHARM FOR AUDI On the third attempt and with the help of Carlos Sainz Snr, Audi win the Dakar race with their electrified RS Q e-Tron. Click this Top Gear link to read more about the remarkable feat for both Audi and Sainz.…
FOLLOW UP: CAR MAKERS LOBBIED AGAINST INCENTIVES FOR SMALL EVS In the consultation over the introduction of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which came into force on 1 January 2024, documents have revealed that some manufacturers fought against rules that encouraged more efficient, smaller and lighter vehicles. Not a great look for the car industry. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar link here . FOLLOW UP: WALES 20MPH REVIEW TO BE LED BY ORIGINAL ADVISOR In what feels like an entry into Private Eye's Rotten Boroughs segment, the Welsh Government has announced the consultant who helped introduce the new 20mph urban speed limit will lead the review of said implementation. They justified this by stating that "he is well-placed to assess whether clarifications in the policy are needed to encourage greater consistency.". To read more, click this link from the BBC News . RED SEA SHIPPING ISSUES HITTING CAR MAKERS Tesla and Volvo are pausing car production due to delays in parts after shipping has been disrupted in the Red Sea. Either the ships run the gauntlet of attack or go via the Cape of Good Hope. This is an added pressure to the already difficult shipping environment as there is a lack of container ships available which has pushed costs higher. You can learn more by clicking this link to an article from MarineLink . BMW TO SWITCH MUNICH FACTORY TO EV PRODUCTION IN 2027 BMW will be producing electric only cars, at their Munich factory, from the end of 2027. They will build the Neue Klasse saloon from 2026, whilst phasing out the combustion engine vehicles. To read more on this, click the Petrolheads article link here . STUDY CLAIMS LONDON IS THE SLOWEST CITY TO DRIVE IN A TomTom study claims that London is the slowest city, in the world, to drive in, with Dublin, Toronto, Milan and Lima making up the top five. Transport for London has argued that the study is misleading and that it is nothing to do with a 20mph speed limit. They also go on to claim the methodology is flawed, by only using a very small selection of roads and ones in the city centre too. You can read more, by clicking this BBC News article link here . CRITIC OF VINFAST DETAINED VinFast, the Vietnamese EV maker who's first car has been panned for a raft of issues, has pressured local law enforcement, allegedly, to detain a critic who posted on social media the issues with the cars. Vietnamese law apparently forbids harming the interest of others, according to this article, linked here from The Drive . SAINSBURY'S LAUNCHES OWN EV CHARGING BRAND Sainsbury's has become the first UK supermarket brand to launch its own EV charging network. Called Smart Charge, the company intends to fit 750 rapid chargers in over 100 stores by the end of 2024. Click this link to read more from Autocar . FRANCE UNVEILS AFFORDABLE EV SCHEME Low-income customers in France are able to take advantage of a scheme that enables EV adoption for those poorest off. The Government has a 'social leasing' initiative, which means a Citroën e-C3 can be had for as little as €54 per month, without a deposit and paid over three years. You can learn more about this excellent sounding idea, by clicking this Car Scoops article link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Toyota GR Yaris After being on the market for four years, the GR Yaris gets a refresh. There are slight tweaks to the external design, mainly the rear lights but the dashboard sees a big change as switches and screens point slightly towards the driver. There is much talk about how much stiffer construction has been made. No news on price, but it is expected to be a touch more than the current £29,995. Click here to read more, via Car Throttle . If you wish to see Matt Prior tell you more, click this Autocar video link . Honda 0 Series saloon Honda revealed their 0 Series saloon at CES 2024. This appears to be almost identical to the concept they revealed at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2003. But this summed up the general vibe from automotive CES, desperation and misses. If you wish to learn more about this concept click here for the Autocar link . Yangwang U9 saloon Yangwang, the luxury arm of the BYD group, has revealed their third vehicle, the U9 saloon. Boasting over 1000bhp, this car is aimed squarely at the BMW i5 and Mercedes-Benz EQE. Likely to cost over £100,000 in China, there is no news on it coming to the UK. Click this Autocar link to read more . Kia ‘Platform Beyond Vehicle’ vans and more Once again, at CES, Kia revealed their vision for a full ecosystem which incorporates a variety of light commercial vehicles, bespoke palletisation of goods, robotics, utilisation of AI and smart city technologies. If you wish to get a glimpse at Kia’s version of the future, click this CAR link here . Volkswagen to add ChatGPT to their operating system VW announced at, you guessed it, CES, that they will be adding ChatGPT to their operating system to help improve the interactions between occupants and the car. Guess the chap’s reaction to this. If you wish to see what it looks like when a company panics, click this link to read more from The Verge . Why ChatGPT is a bad idea in cars To read more on the links between the ‘leaders’ pushing these systems and eugenics, click the following links; A LinkedIn post summarising and linking to a talk from Timnit Gebru . Timnit Gebru Mastodon thread with an example of this thinking . For a quick snapshot of some of the legal issues hitting LLMs, click the following link; A timeline of the legal cases against companies deploying AI such as OpenAI, Microsoft, DeviantArt and more . The environmental impact has not really been mentioned much, but the links below explain some of the issues; The direct impact on Iowa . More information on the environmental impact . Behind the curtains, there is a lot of human work going on to make “AI” look like it is all computers, many of these people are being exploited; An explanation as to what humans are doing that companies are trying to hide . The results from inputs have been well documented as being anything from poor to dangerous, below are a couple of links explaining this; The New Zealand store that ‘created’ a cook book with poisonous ingredients . LLMs false race-based medical information . Mercedes to add more screens, remove buttons and add ChatGPT to more cars Mercedes are another German car company seemingly panicking and deciding throwing more tech at the inside of their cars is the way forward. They revealed full width screens, which begs the question, at what point are these labelled a distraction. Not content with that, they have decided to add ChatGPT to more cars, following the testing with some US customers. See above for why that is a bad idea. To read more on what they are proposing, click this Autocar article link here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: MASSIMO FRASCELLA LEAVES JLR There was shock news from JLR as Design Director, Massimo Frascella suddenly announced he was leaving the company. There is no indication where he is moving to. Click this Car Design News article here . LUNCHTIME READ: THE CYBERTRUCK ENCAPSULATES A DYSTOPIAN FUTURE WHERE THE US IS SLIDING INTO LAWLESSNESS This week we bring you a critique of the Cybertruck design and what it says about society. Written by James McLachlan, editor of Car Design News, he makes a strong case for how the ethos behind such a vehicle should worry us all. Click here to read more from Dezeen . Related and an extra bonus, we link to LookingOut’s last video where they too discuss the Cybertruck and touch on similar themes. Click here for the YouTube link . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE 60 MOST BEAUTIFUL CARS EVER MADE Autocar bring us all many options for the most beautiful cars ever made. Some of them even are beautiful too! Click here to run through the slideshow and let us know if you agree with Andrew and Alan. AND FINALLY: PETROLBLOG IS BACK We are celebrating the news that PetrolBlog is back. Both the website and YouTube channel have new content. Always brilliant to see when MajorGav manages to produce stuff for his own site. Click here to watch the latest video , then check out what else is there and on the website. Glad you’re back Gav!…
FOLLOW UP: RIFTER NOT BERLINGO, BAD ANDREW During the Year of unintended consequences - 19 December 2023 episode , Andrew stated that Alex Grant has an e-Berlingo, which is incorrect. Alex has the more stylish e-Rifter, which shares a lot of the platform but is not the same. Apologies Alex, Andrew has been suitably chastised for his error. FOLLOW UP: WELSH 20MPH LIMIT TO NOW BE ENFORCED The Welsh Government has stated that the newly introduced default 20mph speed limit, for built up areas, will be enforced from this month onwards. Depressingly, the article we link to, on the BBC News site which you can read by clicking here , has several quotes making it explicit that in Wales at least, compliance equals safety. Speed cameras will be installed in areas where it is deemed that too many are breaking the limit, rather than where there are accident blackspot as has been the norm. DECEMBER AND FULL YEAR NEW CAR REGISTRATIONS Once again we note so many have trouble with the difference between new car registrations and sales. They are not the same. The good news is that registrations rose 17.9% on 2022, but still it is way down on the Before Times, approximately 17.5% down. We always need to put these figures into context. A lot of positive fuss was made about the volume of battery electric cars (BEV) which is impressively up, but the percentage of those registered is down for both December and 2023. Some of this may be due to holding back vehicles with 2024 and the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate about to land. More of a concern will be Private registrations that fell 14% for December and 0.1% for the year. Fleet is doing all the heavy lifting now. However, the inevitable calls for incentives and/or subsidies for private buyers has started. Click this link to the SMMT article for more information . SUPERMARKETS STILL RIPPING US OFF ACCORDING TO RAC The RAC brings out its monthly report into fuel prices, once again confirming that supermarkets are holding onto the duty relief the Government intended to be passed onto the public. Click this Autocar article link here, to read more . JLR LAUNCHES BESPOKE INSURANCE FOR RANGE ROVERS Following the issues JLR have had around their vehicles and how older models have been targets for thieves, which they appear to have solved for some models, with a £10 million effort we discussed a few weeks ago, they now are offering insurance for those struggling to get cover. Click this Motoring Research article link for more information . AUDI E-TRON RECALLED IN THE US Audi E-Trons built before March 2022 have been recalled in the United States over a fire risk connected to LG Energy Solutions battery packs. The affects nearly 27,000 cars and there is no remedy yet. You can learn more by clicking this link here to a Consumer Reports article . TESLA RECALL OVER FAULTY DOOR RISK Tesla is issuing an over-the-air-update to fix the risk of doors opening during an accident, in the United States. Model S and X from 2021 to 2023 are affected by this. If you wish to learn more, click this CNBC article link here . HONDA RECALLING 1.13 MILLION CARS WORLDWIDE Cars fitted with a defective fuel pump, from the supplier Denso, are being recalled by Honda. 25 models built between June 2017 and September 2020 are affected. Again this appears to for the United States but also Japanese cars are involved. Click this article from The Japan Times to read more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Xiaomi SU7 The consumer electronic company has revealed their first model, due to be sold initially in China at some point in 2024. The silhouette is astonishingly close to that of the Porsche Taycan. Power claims of 670bhp with a 746 mile range are made by the company. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar article link here . NIO ET9 NIO is hoping to take on Mercedes-Maybach with this cross-over coupe, claiming to be the new benchmark for safety, luxury and efficiency. The car is due to come to market, in China, in 2025. You can read more, by clicking this Autocar article link here . Toyota GR Supra removed from sale The full UK allocation of the Toyota Supra has sold out, meaning that the car has been removed from sale here. There is no indication as to when or if it will come back. But an expected uprated model has been seen in development at the Nurburg ring, and is hoped to be coming to these shores. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar link here . Apple CarPlay in Porsche and Aston Martin Apple has revealed the look of their next generation CarPlay, with Aston Martin and Porsche. We talked about this back in 2022 when Apple first revealed it wanted deeper integration between cars and its system. The struggle is to see what makes these particularly Porsche or Aston Martin displays. On top of which is that they do not appear to be very “luxury”. Click this Car article to read more . Kia and Hyundai introducing connected services with Samsung Kia and Hyundai is going to integrate the Samsung “SmartThings” connected platform into their cars. This will allow anyone with a suitable device and has access to Samsung’s service to be able to control from their car. If, for some reason, you wish to learn more, click here to read a Top Gear article on the matter . LUNCHTIME WATCH: RICHARD HAMMOND ON MY WEEK IN CARS We are recommending watching this 59 minute interview of Richard Hammond by Steve Cropley and Matt Prior. They chat about his past, present and hopes for the future. This is a really sensible and grown up discussion about steps towards sustainability without going off the deep end. Click here to watch . LIST OF THE WEEK: CLASSIC CAR FONTS Daniel Goldson makes a great case for the wonderfulness of classic car fonts. He has compiled a slideshow of options for you to pick from, which you can see via this Jalopnik link here . Don’t forget to tell the chaps your favourite. AND FINALLY: SNIFFING OUT THE PAST Scientists are creating a ‘smell encyclopaedia’ to help give us an idea of how things smelt in the past. Included, is the Queen’s Rover. You can read more by clicking this Times article link here .…
In this episode, Alan talks all about his 2019 Lexus GX460 Premium. Since this was recorded, the replacement GX550 has been announced, and Alan has taken it on a 5,000-mile road trip to Wyoming and back. The 4.6 litre V8 has become more efficient over time; it’s underlined its ability to remain very comfortable for long periods of time, and, sadly, it still looks like Predator chewing a wasp.…
Follow Up: RULES OF ORIGIN DELAY AGREED Leaving it until almost the last moment, the EU and UK have agreed to delay implementing the rules of origin legislation, which would’ve hit car makers in both Europe and Blighty. This was expected to happen and there was an almost audible sigh of relief from the car industry. You can find out more on this, by clicking the link here from Autocar . MCLAREN SHARE RESTRUCTURE DEAL The Bahrain sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat, has effectively become the sole owner of the McLaren Group after the complicated share structure was reorganised. This has prompted many to believe (or hope) that means future model development and the move to EVs can occur with some confidence. If you wish to read more on this, click here for Sky New’s version of the story . VW DETAILS COST CUTS AS IT AIMS FOR $11B GAINS Following extensive discussions with the works council, Volkswagen has announced its plans for saving that will net gains of $11 billion by 2026. Steps include speeding up development, a more efficient purchasing strategy and reducing staff costs. There will be no redundancies but vacancies may not be filled. To find out more on the latest strategy from VW, click this Reuters link here . BYD TO BUILD CARS IN EUROPE BYD has announced it will build cars in Hungary, where it will hope this is a work around for any potential tariffs for Chinese built cars. No date has been announced when the works will be completed and car will start coming off the production line. Click this Autocar article link for more . NIO RECEIVES INVESTMENT FROM ABU DHABI NIO, the battery swap EV company, has received $2.2 billion investment from a fund backed by CYVN Holdings. The company has been struggling and made a net loss of $2.03 billion in 2022. They announced they would be delaying entering the UK market, last year, with no date being given where that would change. To read more, click this Nikkei Asia article link here . KIA ANNOUNCE NEW CEO OF EUROPE OPERATIONS Marc Hedrich, the former Ford VW Group and Toyota executive, has been revealed as the new President and CEO of Kia Europe. He started his role on 1 January 2024. If you wish to find out more, click this link to a JustAuto article . CAZOO NEEDS URGENT ADDITIONAL FUNDING Cazoo, the online retailer, has declared that it needs urgent funding before the second half of 2024 to remain in business. You can read more, by clicking this link to an AMOnline article . DAIHATSU PRODUCTION STOPPED AT JAPANESE PLANTS Daihatsu has stopped all car production in its four Japanese plants, following revelations of falsifying safety and testing data. Toyota, the parent company, has declared that “fundamental reform” is needed at the company. This problem effects not just Daihatsu and Toyota but also Mazda, and Subaru models that the plants built. Click this Sky News article link for more . STELLANTIS POSTPONES AGENCY MODEL MOVE IN UK Maria Grazia Davino, Stellantis UK Managing Director, has paused the move to agency model contracts with dealerships after the breakdown in trust with the group. The recent National Franchise Dealers Association survey results had all of the Stellantis group companies at the bottom of the rankings, with poor value being cited as a major factor. Problems stem from combining FCA and PSA to form Stellantis. You can read more by clicking this link here from AMOnline . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST REVIEW OF 2023 The chaps run through the stories and topics that cropped up time and again over the course of 2023, on the show. For another look at 2023 you can click this link to an Autocar article . MOTORING PODCAST PREDICTIONS FOR 2024 Alan and Andrew list their predictions for the coming year. Below is each of the selections. Alan’s Predictions Negative - New car registrations will struggle during the year, particularly the Private segment. Positive - The EV public charging infrastructure will catch up during the year, particularly main road stations. Silly / Wild Card - Tesla will unveil their long anticipated Tesla 2, which will have a launch price of $25,000. Andrew’s Predictions Negative - As it is an election year, motoring gets dragged deeper into the “culture wars” with more nutiness, lunacy and lies spouted. Positive - Car makers will go for lightness and educating us about what ranges we actually need, so smaller batteries can be fitted. Silly / Wild Card - People and organisations will give up on using flawed and incorrect data and information to make points or educate the public.…
Follow Up: CRUISE FIRE NINE EXECS IN ACCIDENT AFTERMATH Following the internal investigation by GM, into the incident where a pedestrian was dragged by a Cruise driverless vehicle, nine executives from the company have been sacked. Departments affected include Legal, Government Affairs, Commercial Operations and Safety and Systems. On top of that General Motors has stated that it is cutting 900 staff from the offshoot. Click here to read more, from The Register . Follow-Up: FRANCE EV SUBSIDY ELIGIBILITY LIST PUBLISHED France has published a list of electric vehicles that will be eligible for governmental subsidy, following the inclusion of production environmental calculations. Surprising no one, but Chinese made vehicles will not get financial help. This will come into force from 1 January 2024. You can read more, by clicking this link here to an electrive article . FOLLOW UP: CLEVEDON WIGGLY LINES ROAD CHANGES AGAIN An independent investigation into the controversial changes to Clevedon’s sea front has recommended reinstating some diagonal parking spaces. Many are still unhappy with this, wanting a return to the original layout before any changes were made. Additionally the council is investigating if they need to return the funding, if they make these changes, and how to pay for it. This link here , will explain more thanks to the BBC News article. EU VOTES FOR CRITICAL RAW MATERIALS SECURITY LAW With the push to electric vehicles the risk that the region could be held to ransom by other countries has pushed the EU Parliament to vote on bringing a law regarding critical raw materials. This will require up to 45% of recycling, as well as increasing the amount extracted in Europe. Click here to read more in an electrive article . TESLA RECALL DUE TO AUTOPILOT FLAWS Tesla has been forced to announce a recall for their Autopilot system in the US, which is the name for their driver assistance technology such as adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist and the likes. They are delivering it by an over-the-air update. The results are more frequent reminders for the driver to pay attention. To find out why this has happened, click this link to an electrive article . For a bit of background to all of this, click this link to a Rolling Stone article written by Ed Niedermeyer . CARIAD TO CUT COSTS INSTEAD OF JOBS CARIAD, the software division of the Volkswagen Group, has agreed with unions to cut costs to prevent job losses. By 2028 there must be a reduction of costs of 20%. You can learn more by clicking this link to an Investing article . GENERAL SAFETY REGULATIONS MANDATE MORE TECH The new General Safety Regulations (GSR2) have been published. These tie together a few different regulations, into the one but also add more technology that must be fitted as standard on vehicles. This will obviously lead to a rise in costs. To find out more and exactly what must be fitted, click this article link from Autocar . SCOTLAND TO INTRODUCE 20MPH URBAN LIMIT Following in the footsteps of Wales, Scotland will be introducing a 20mph limit to “suitable” urban roads by 2025. More can learned by clicking this link to a TransportXtra article . GREATER MANCHESTER CLEAN AIR ZONE INVESTMENT PLAN In a move that will shock many, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has announced a plan to invest in technology and road schemes to ensure the region hits the air quality targets it needs to by 2026. He has stated this will not happen if they introduce a charge, which is the only tool so many other cities and regions use. To understand more, click this BBC News article link here . SODIUM BATTERIES FAVOURABLE ALTERNATIVE STUDY FINDS Chalmers University in Sweden has reported on their research that suggests sodium-ion batteries are a viable and better alternative to lithium-ion ones. The material is “abundant” according to them and thus is vastly better for the environment and from a cost perspective. This does not mention their durability or capabilities but it is encouraging, nonetheless. Click this electrive article link to learn more . NEW ON-STREET CHARGING OPTIONS COMING TO ESSEX Qwello, a German EV charging company, has won the bid to install 70 on-street chargers in Essex. Their chargers can also double as street lights. You can find out more by clicking this electrive article link here . CABLE THIEVES HIT EV CHARGE POINTS Three Osprey rapid charge points have been hit by cable thieves who have removed the charging cables thus rendering the units inoperable. They aren’t the only ones to be hit. One person has been arrested. Click this article link from Harborough FM to learn more . GLOUCESTERSHIRE CAR PARKS HIT BY QR CODE SCAM Cotswold Council is warning that no one should scan any QR codes on their car park payment machines due to a spate of illicit codes being fixed to the regions machines. You can learn more by clicking this BBC News article link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Citroën e-Berlingo Citroën has revised the e-Berlingo, with changes to the front end look, bringing it in line with the recently revealed e-C3. Also, the battery and motor technology has been improved, providing a range of up to 199 miles over the current 175. Click this Autocar article link to learn more about the car . LEVC L380 EV Another entry into the luxury MPV sector has arrived, this time thanks to the London Electric Vehicle Company - the latest black cab maker. There will be a choice of configurations, from eight seats to a more luxurious six. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar article link here . Old Car Dead News - Renault Zoe After 11 years on sale, the Renault Zoe is being removed from the lineup. The company are citing that it is to make room for the Renault 5 EV but others within the company also confirm trying to make it comply with the latest GSR2 regulations would be prohibitively expensive. You can read more by clicking this Autocar link here . LUNCHTIME READ: IF THE MIATA LOOKS HALF AS GOOD AS THIS CONCEPT I CAN’T WAIT This week we return to the Japan Mobility Show, as Matteo Licata talks us through the gorgeous Mazda Iconic SP concept. One of the few bright sparks this year, in terms of car design, he explains a lot of the finer details and joins us in hoping this is very close to production ready. Click here to read the article from Hagerty . LIST OF THE WEEK: 42 OF THE WORLD’S BEST POLICE CARS A huge selection of fabulous looking police cars, from across the globe. Do not forget to tell the chaps your selection from the many, many options. Click here to see what they are, thanks to Top Gear . AND FINALLY: FIRST POLE TO POLE DRIVE COMPLETED Congratulations to Julie and Chris Ramsey for completing the first ever pole-to-pole drive and for doing it in a Nissan Ariya. Only modifications are to enable huge tyres to be fitted. Superb effort. Read more on this by clicking this Top Gear link here . AND AND FINALLY: FESTIVAL OF THE UNEXCEPTIONAL 2024 TICKETS ON SALE The Festival of the Unexceptional 2024 tickets are now on sale. Click this link to read more from Hagerty , also within the article is another link to take you to the sale site.…
1 Electromagnetic Molecular Interference Antifreeze Snow Removal - 12 December 2023 47:19
47:19 나중에 재생 나중에 재생 리스트 좋아요 좋아요47:19
나중에 재생 나중에 재생 리스트 좋아요 좋아요Follow Up - EU and UK Agree to 3-Year Rules of Origin Delay UK and EU politicians have agreed to delay the introduction of EV Rules of Origin by three years— more details in this Autocar story. Follow-Up - Tesla Vs. Nordic Unions - Unions Ahead Tesla continues to rebuff cooperation with Nordic unions, making life hard for Tesla. T he Guardian covers this in more detail in the story linked here . New Car Registration Figures for November UK new car registrations were slightly up in November, but the percentage of EVs is down slightly. Lots more and all of the numbers on the SMMT website. UK Motorists Continue To Be Overcharged For Fuel According to the RAC, the gap between wholesale and retail road fuel prices has narrowed but is still too broad. More here from Autocar. Euro NCAP States The Obvious Euro NCAP has declared that bigger, heavier SUVs present “safety concerns” to other drivers and pedestrians. Autocar explains more in this article. Sixt Migrates to BYD EVs While Hertz Steps Back From EVS Rental company Sixt is swapping Tesla for BYD after concerns about repair costs and residuals. Hertz is dialling back the speed with which it’s introducing EVs to its fleet. Jalopnik has more detail in this article. More Government Money For New Motorway Rapid Chargers UKGOV has set aside £70 million to fill the gaps in open-access motorway rapid and ultra-rapid chargers and ensure at least six chargers at each. Autocar has more detail here. EV Charging Companies Continue Evolving To Try To Make Money BP Pulse is expanding its rapid charger network , while Podpoint focuses on home and workplace chargers instead. NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Suzuki Swift Suzuki has unveiled a revised Swift. The outside is a bit rounder, and the interior has fewer buttons. Much more information is available from Autocar . Morgan XP1 The Morgan 3-wheeler is a magnificent machine, and Morgan’s hard at work on an electric version. CAR magazine has lots more details here . Stellantis Battery Swap Stations Stellantis is considering introducing multi-brand battery swap stations, starting with the Fiat 500e in Madrid. Autocar has the full story. LUNCHTIME READ: MEGA Yacht Builder Builds Mega Overlander Yacht builders know something about squeezing luxury and clever storage into small spaces, so it was only a matter of time before one incorporated their skills into a vehicle. Arksen has unveiled their Unimog-based “Project Everest”. It’s fantastic, and Jalopnik has the details. LIST OF THE WEEK: Top 10: Used Cars Everyone Should Own Once Building on a recent LOTW in which Autocar named 50 cars everyone should drive once. This time, it’s ten cars everyone should own at least once. Here’s the list . AND FINALLY: Frankel’s Favourite Car is a Tractor Frankel’s a little slow to an obsession I’ve had since I was barely a teenager - small Japanese tractors. Here’s the story from Goodwood Road and Racing .…
Follow Up - Volta Trucks Saved by Venture Existing Backers UK-based Volta Trucks has been saved by a venture capital fund that had previously invested them. There’s more about this in the Autocar story linked here . Follow-Up - Welsh Speed Limit Changes Cause Consternation Some roads in Wales are now subject to many more changes of speed limit than before. T his BBC story highlights one extreme example . VW to Cut Jobs In Bid To Increase Competitiveness The Volkswagen CEO has claimed that it is “no longer competitive” and will be taking advantage of the “demographic curve” to reduce staff numbers ahead of the previously-announced 2029 date for dismissals. More from Autocar here . £20bm Investment Boost for UK Auto Manufacturing in 2023 The SMMT has announced the latest figures for investment in UK manufacturing as well as the government’s Advanced Manufacturing Strategy. There’s more about this o n the SMMT website, linked here. Call for “Euro-Kai Car” for small, urban EVs In an effort to save the small car, European lobby group ACEA is pitching for legislation to encourage small, urban EVs. You can find out more in the Autocar story linked here . Tuner Fined for Fitting Illegal Exhaust Mods The DVLA has fined West Yorkshire tuner AET Motorsport for fitting a ”pop-bang” map and removing the catalytic converter from a Fiesta ST. Find out more in this Car article . Geely & NIO sign Strategic Partnership on Battery-Swap Technology Geely and NIO have signed a strategic partnership to develop battery standards, swapping technology, network expansion and development, swappable model development, and battery asset management. Big news, and you can read more in Geely’s press release here . Induction Charging Road Installed in Detroit An induction charging test road has been installed in Detroit to test the system's robustness in real-world conditions. Find out more in this article from Jalopnik . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Dacia Bigster Dacia has revealed their first model bigger than the Duster, a chunkily-styled 5-seat SUV available as a petrol mild and full hybrid. A competitor for the Ford Kuga and other, the Bigster is slightly larger, but expected to cost under £40,000 when it’s introduced tot he UK in 2025. Find out more in this article from Autocar . Dacia Duster At the same time as announcing the Bigster, Dacia has revealed the new 2024 Duster. More sophisticated than the current model, it offers more of the same value and practicality. There’s more detail and a video walk-around in this article from Car. LUNCHTIME READ: Why GM’s GMT400 Truck Design Remains Legendary After 30 Years In the week the Tesla Cybertruck was “delivered” to its adoring fans you can learn about the story behind one of the best-loking and enduring American pick-up trucks of the 20th and 21st Centuries in this article by Adrian Clarke for The Autopian . LIST OF THE WEEK: The Car World’s Most Famous Design Flaws In an ironic twist where the list itself is flawed, this week’s LOTW comes from Autocar and outlines some of the most well-known issues with cars. You can check it out and choose your favourite here . AND FINALLY: Ad Break: The Rover 100 was a Limo in Miniature Antony Ingram looks at print advertising for the Rover 100, inferring its limousine status in New York. You can read the article by clicking on this link to Hagerty UK .…
NISSAN TO INVEST FURTHER IN SUNDERLAND PLANT Nissan is investing a further £2 billion in their Sunderland facilities, with the confirmation that the next generation Qashqai and Juke, both to be electric only, will be built alongside the Leaf. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar link here . HYUNDAI BRINGS GENESIS OPERATION IN HOUSE Hyundai UK is brining the administrative operations of the Genesis brand, in-house from early 2024. On top of this, there will be a move away from an online only presence with some showrooms being utilised. More can be read on this by clicking through on this Autocar link here . JLR UPGRADES SECURITY ON OLDER MODELS Older models from the Range Rover brand are being retrofitted with improved security, after a flaw has been exploited by thieves for several years. JLR has spent £10 million in fixing the issue and updating customer cars. Click here to find out more, from Autocar . TOYOTA HILUX ADVERT BANNED A Toyota Hilux advert that showed off the capabilities of the four-wheel drive pick up has been banned for being socially irresponsible, in the eyes of the Advertising Standards Agency. Watch out car makers, do not show your vehicles doing what they were designed for. Click this link to the AMOnline article , to find out more and also see a video showing you what is now deemed socially irresponsible. PARIS TO VOTE ON WEIGHT BASED PARKING CHARGES The Mayor of Paris has announced that Paris citizens will be given the opportunity to vote on basing parking charges on the weight of cars. Any internal combustion engined car over 1.6 tons or EVs over 2 tons, will be charged extra if the plans are approved. To find out more, click this electrive article link here . INDUCTION CHARGING POSITIONING STANDARD AGREED SAE International, the global standards organisation equivalent to BSi, has agreed upon an induction charge aliment standard, based on the Mahle solution. The German based company calls their system DIPS, Differential Inductive Positioning System. More can be read on this, by clicking this electrive link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Peugeot e-3008 Peugeot has revealed their next generation 3008, whilst being an EV which is to be expected they have, unfortunately for fans of the current generation, decided to make it a coupe SUV. Brave move cutting off a huge chunk of your existing customer base by making it less practical and attractive to families. Click this Autocar link to find out more . Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer Electric If you do need a practical electric vehicle, then Vauxhall may have the car for you in the form of the Astra estate EV. With a maximum range of around 256 miles, prices start at £39,995 but top of the range is from £45k. You can see more, by clicking this Autocar link here . Callum Skye Callum design company has revealed their first bespoke vehicle, an electric 4x4 with wild rally raid-ish looks all in a small footprint. Plans are to build a small number and the price point aimed at is £100,000. We really like this and Alan is searching down the back of his couch for spare change as we speak. Click this Autocar article to find out more . Hyundai Tucson A face-lifted Tucson will be available from Hyundai in May 2024. Whilst we are struggling to spot any differences to the exterior looks, the inside is refreshed. The wide digital screen is now brought across from other vehicles in the range and the drive selector is mounted on the steering column. But most importantly, is the return of buttons and knobs for heating control. This Autocar article link will tell you more . LUNCHTIME READ: FORD’S FAILED TAKEOVER OF ALFA ROMEO Back in the 1980s Ford returned to Italy to try and buy one of their car companies, once again they failed. Click this Hagerty link to read more from Matteo Licata as he tells us what happened. LIST OF THE WEEK: ELEVEN 21ST CENTURY HOT HATCHES WITH 1980S SPIRIT Antony Ingram has compiled a list of hot hatches that evoke the spirit of the 1980s versions. As ever, expect a few odd ball suggestions, that are worthy of consideration. Click this Hagerty link to see your options and do tell the chaps which you’d go for. AND FINALLY: AFFORDABLE UK MOTORSPORT The HubNut YouTube channel brings you a cheap UK motorsport option, effectively autocross but in a quarry! Click this link to find out more and also see the video notes on how to find something near you. What a wonderful idea!…
FOLLOW UP: BRITISHVOLT OWNER SERVED NOTICE ON UNPAID WAGES An ex employee has served a legal notice on Recharge Industries, the “owner” of the failed battery manufacturer Britishvolt, for unpaid wages. If the money is not forthcoming, the firm could be pursued further with bankruptcy proceedings being an option. Click this link to read more from The Guardian . FOLLOW UP: CRUISE HALTS ALL OPERATIONS AND CEO RESIGNS Cruise has now halted all ride-hailing operations, even those with human safety drivers. On top of that Kyle Vogt has resigned as CEO of the company. Also departing is fellow co-founder Daniel Kan. You can see more by clicking this link to an article from The Register , which shows a timeline of recent events including the astonishing creation of a chief safety officer ten years after the company was formed. TESLA HITTING A UNION WALL IN SWEDEN Tesla is refusing to allow a Swedish union to use a ‘collective bargaining agreement’, with the members of the IF Metall union in their repair centres. They have been trying to get the company to do this for five years. They are now on strike and as is the way in Sweden, other unions are showing their support by refusing to do work with or for Tesla. You can find out more, b y clicking this link to an Associated Press article . UK GOVERNMENT PLEDGES CASH TO FIX SOME POTHOLES The UK Government has made a big announcement at how they are allocating some of the money that would have been spent on HS2 to fixing some of the potholes on our roads, over the next eleven years. Unfortunately, as Paul Lomax makes clear, it is a drop in an ocean of underfunding, which you can read more by clicking this Twitter thread here , for context. To find out more on this story, click this Autocar link here . UK GOVERNMENT INVESTS IN EV AUTO INDUSTRY The UK Government also announced that it is assigning £2 billion to help the automotive industry transition to the new zero emission market. However, as the chaps and the Business and Trade Select Committee in Parliament point out, this is welcome but where is the strategy or this is just throwing money without a plan. If you wish to learn more, click this link from Autocar Professional . AMAZON US TO SELL CARS FOR HYUNDAI ONLINE Amazon and Hyundai announced that they will team up to sell cars online in the United States, from late 2024. Full details have yet to emerge, including how will full prices be declared. On top of that, Hyundai will be adding Alexa to their new cars from 2025. Click this BBC News article link for more . MERSEYSIDE POLICE USE CAMERAS TO CATCH TRAFFIC OFFENCE VIOLATIONS Merseyside police are using a camera system that spots if drivers are using a mobile phone with their hands or occupants do not have their seatbelts on. To clarify, it is not “AI” it is image recognition. More can be learned by clicking this BBC News article link here . M49 GHOST JUNCTION GIVE LEASE OF LIFE The M49 has a junction on it that leads to no where as the access roads were not built in 2020. However, the UK Government has agreed to fund £7 million to help enable the works to be completed. Click this BBC News article link to find out more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Subaru Forester At the LA Motor Show the new Subaru Forester was revealed. Essentially a heavy facelift, but expected with a new hybrid powertrain when it comes to the UK. Whilst details are sparse, the price is expected to increase and be £40,000 or slightly more. Click this CAR article to read more . Polestar 5 Also from LA, Polestar revealed their new range topping car, the 5. A large saloon, with oodles of power and space, that is being engineered in the UK. Details can be found by clicking this link here to an Autocar article . Porsche brings Google apps to their cars Porsche is u-turning on their previous decision not to allow Google apps in their cars, for privacy reasons, as the issues with Group in-house CARIAD software continues. To learn more, click this link from The Verge . Toyota steer-by-wire system Toyota will be bringing their steer-by-wire system to the bZ4X and Lexus RZ in 2024, meaning a yoke-style steering wheel can be used. The One Motion Grip (stop sniggering) as the system is named, with have a 200 degree ratio, which is a tweak on the 150 degree previously for a more natural feel. Click here to read more from an Autocar article . LUNCHTIME READ: THE ESCORT COSWORTH IS A LEGENDARY RALLY MACHINE THAT’S HIDING A BIG SECRET The Autopian brings us the story of how the Escort Cosworth came to be, especially from such seemingly humble origins. Fantastic read that is well worth checking out, which you can do by clicking this link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE HERO CARS OF THE 1980S Autocar has compiled a list of, what it claims, are hero cars of the 1980s. They ask if we agree and we do not, in all instances. But there are a host to pick from, which you can check out by clicking this link here . Don’t forget to tell the chaps your choice. AND FINALLY: THE HOT WHEELS LEGENDS TOUR 2023 WINNER We, once more, bring you the Hot Wheels Legends Tour 2023, as they now announce the overall winner that will be made into a model for their range. Click this Top Gear link to read more and see some of the astonishing details of the car, making it a worthy winner.…
FOLLOW UP: RENAULT FINALLY CREATES AMPERE Renault has finally announced the creation of Ampere, the new division responsible for developing their EVs, circular economy and software for the Group. At the time of recording there was no mention of the IPO that was discussed when first announcing the entity. Click this electrive article to read more . FOLLOW UP: RIVIAN ENDS EXCLUSIVITY DEAL WITH AMAZON Rivian and Amazon have announced that the exclusive deal to supply the retail giant with electric vans is no more. Amazon were pulling down far fewer vehicles than expected, therefore Rivian needs to open its books up to more companies to ensure the business is viable. To read more, click this link here to an electrive article . AUTOMATED VEHICLE BILL ANNOUNCED IN KING’S SPEECH During the opening of Parliament, King Charles III’s speech announced the plan to introduce the automated vehicle bill. This has taken several years and multiple public consultations. Key elements will be who is held responsible and in which situations, along with companies being held responsible for exaggerating their system’s capabilities. The devil will be in the detail, however. If you would like to learn more or possibly just read some utter tripe quoted, click firstly this link to an Autocar article and then try this link from Top Gear . BMW TO LAUNCH UK ‘HANDS FREE EYES ON’ SYSTEM IN 2024 BMW is bringing a system that humans cannot handle, with their Level 2+ ‘Motorway Assist’. This is, similar to Ford’s BlueCruise, that requires the driver to continue to watch the road even though they are not holding the steering wheel. To repeat ourselves, there are many studies that show humans cannot manage this task, but that is not stopping the deployment and that the driver will still be help responsible for something they are being set up to fail. To read more on this, click on this Autocar link here . UK TESLA OWNER REIMBURSED FOR FAILED FSD PROMISES Using the Consumer Rights Act 2015, Ed Butler claimed that Tesla had breached their contract with him in not producing the promised Full Self Driving enhancements after he paid extra for the package. Tesla settled out of court, paying the original sum plus interest and legal costs. Click here to read more, from InsideEVs . ASTON MARTIN INVESTOR INCREASES STAKE IN COMPANY Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has returned to being the number two investor in Aston Martin, just ahead of Shufu Li, Geely Chairman. This continues the incremental increases from the three major shareholders, who all appear locked in some sort of bizarre game. You can learn more by clicking this link to an Automotive News Europe article . EDINBURGH BANS PAVEMENT PARKING Edinburgh Council are bringing in a new rule to ban pavement parking, even though there is a law that makes it illegal to obstruct a pavement already. We are unsure how adding a new rule to something that isn’t being dealt with will help alleviate the issue, but there you go. If you wish to know more, click this BBC News article link here . MAINE VOTES FOR RIGHT-TO-REPAIR LAW The citizens of the US state of Maine have voted for a right-to-repair law to be made part of the legislature. This is the fifth state to bring such a law into place. Click this link to read more from The Verge . US COURT RULES CAR MAKERS CAN INTERCEPT TEXT MESSAGES A court in the US state of Washington, has ruled that four car makers did not break the state’s privacy laws by intercepting and keeping owner’s text messages. This reiterates how messed up the US is, when it comes to privacy. Put this alongside the recent report from Mozilla about car data and it paints quite a bleak picture. You can learn more by clicking this link from The Record . US INFRASTRUCTURE BILL REQUIRES CAR ‘KILL SWITCH’ More of the press are picking up on what some spotted last year, when the Infrastructure Bill was announced, that from 2026 cars must be fitted with a ‘kill switch’. This is supposed to spot if the driver is impaired or incapable of driving safely and stopping the vehicle automatically. This is going to be quite the feat as the technology does not exist that can a) safely pull a car over in all conditions and b) spot if someone is impaired. If you would like to learn more, click this link to The Gentleman Racer who was discussing this in January 2022. BLOODHOUND PROJECT SEEKS NEW DRIVER As the Bloodhound project brushes the dust of itself and seeks new funding for a sustainably fuelled attempt at the land speed record, they are also looking for a new driver. To find out more, click this link from Autocar . ULTRA RAPID CHARGING POINTS FOR STARBUCKS Some Scottish Starbuck locations will be getting ultra rapid charging points, thanks to a partnership between the coffee shop and FOR:EV. Click here to learn more, from electrive . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Volvo EM90 Volvo has revealed the EM90, a luxury MPV along the lines of the Lexus LM we discussed a few weeks ago. This will be an all electric vehicle based closely on the Zeeker 009, with a potential for up to 458 miles of range. To learn more about the details, click this link to an Autocar article . Volkswagen ID.7 VW has revealed more details and the price of the ID.7, which will start at £55, 570. Lower specification versions, as well as an estate, are expected to follow the launch model. For all the details, click this link from Autocar . Mercedes-Benz CLE Coupe Mercedes are replacing the C and E coupes with one model, the CLE. This will come in a host of configurations, trim levels and engine options. Prices start at £46, 605. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar link here . Rivian Electric Van Following the end of the exclusivity deal with Amazon, Rivian are now open to new fleets. But what are the vans all about? Click here to find out the details thanks to The Autopian . Nissan Electric Car Subscription Service We missed it at the time but Nissan started a subscription service for their electric vehicles. Click this link from Fleet News to find out more . LUNCHTIME READ: THE ALFA ROMEO 33 STRADALE STORY Matteo Licata brings us yet another history lesson, this time all about the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale’s difficult birth. To read this fascinating story, click the link here from Hagerty . LIST OF THE WEEK: 10 HOT WHEELS LEGENDS TOUR FINALISTS The finalists have been found for the 2023 Hot Wheels Legends Tour, where the overall winner will be selected. They are all pretty amazing. Click this link from Top Gear to see more. Do you agree with Alan’s choice? AND FINALLY: THE RIMAC NEVERA HAS A WORLD RECORD BACKWARDS The Rimac Nevera now holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest car in reverse, with a speed of 171mph. That is utterly nuts. Click this link, from EVO , to find out more about all this.…
FOLLOW UP: BRITISHVOLT STAFF NOT PAID FOR MONTHS Recharge Industries, the company that has bought Britishvolt, although not finalised payment yet, has not paid UK staff for the last four months. Once again, the poor staff let down by management. If you would like to read more, including how much belief employees have in the assurances given, click this BBC News article link here . FOLLOW UP: JLR PARTS ISSUE TO LAST INTO 2024 JLR have confirmed that they are improving the repair parts backlog, they’re experiencing. With the steps being made, they anticipate getting back on track in 2024. The issue has been acknowledged by CEO Adrian Mardell. To read more, click this Jalopnik article link here . FOLLOW UP: TESLA NOT FOUND LIABLE FOR MODEL 3 CRASH A jury has decided that Tesla and their Autopilot software are not responsible for the accident that led to the driver’s death and passenger injuries, back in 2019. The claim was the software was faulty, there are arguments that how lawyers are pursing such cases is flawed and will ensure they never win such cases. If you want to read more about the case, click this article link from The Register . To find out more about why Michael DeKort thinks the legal cases are destined to fail, click this LinkedIn post link . OCTOBER 2023 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES The SMMT published the figures of the new car registrations for October 2023. A big jump in registrations over all, but BEVs only managed to capture 15% market share, which is less than in previous months. Another concern, for the industry, is how reliant they now are on Fleet registrations as Private remained the same as last year. Click here to read more , from the SMMT. SMMT CONNECTED AND AUTOMATED MOBILITY REPORT Sticking with the SMMT, they published a report based on KPMG research in to the potential connected and automated mobility aspects of the industry. Whilst a lot of it is incredibly optimistic in terms of potential earnings, impact and job creation, one chart caught Alan’s eye regarding which could be the sectors fastest and most likely to become automated and take advantage of connectivity. To learn more, click this link from the SMMT . DRIVERLESS FIFE BUS NOW DRIVEN BY A HUMAN DRIVER The bus that runs between Ferrytoll Park and Ride near Inverkeithing and Edinburgh Park, which is testing an autonomous driving system now is being fully driven by a human driver. You can read more, by clicking this link to a The Courier article . jLR POSTS RECORD REVENUES In the last quarter, JLR posted record revenue figures as demand for the Range Rover Sport and Defender was strong. Nice to be able to say something positive about JLR. Click here to read more, via The Guardian . EDINBURGH COUNCIL TO CONSIDER SUV BAN Edinburgh Council’s transport and environment committee has agreed to consider if SUVs should be banned from some roads in the city. Some of the tired cliched and false tropes were wheeled out, unfortunately. The chaps do point out the fallacies in some of what was said. You can read more, by clicking this link here to a BBC News article . LIVERPOOL TO INVEST £10M TO INCREASE EV CHARGERS On-street charging will get a boost in the Liverpool areas as £10 million is being earmarked to increase the number of chargers. If you would like to read more, click this electrive link here . ARRIVA ORDERS 34 MORE EV DOUBLE DECKER BUSES Arriva has order 34 more electric double decker buses, for its London fleet. This will take their number to over 100 for the operator. Click this electrive article link for more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Toyota Prius In a surprise move, Toyota is brining the latest Prius to the UK after disappointing the internet by saying it wasn’t. We hope you all go out and buy it or we won’t get nice things in the future! You can read more, by clicking this Autocar article link here . Skoda Superb Skoda are updating the Superb, which will be slightly longer, wider, bigger inside, nicer, have more tech, essentially betterer than before! A huge range of powertrains and spec levels. Once again, we need to buy the estate or companies will stop making them. Click this link, to read more from Top Gear . Hyundai Ioniq 5 N The first EV from Hyundai to get the N treatment is an odd choice, it being the Ioniq 5. Alan and Andrew both love the comfort, serene cabin and ride, hence their surprise this will get oodles of power and get the N Grin Boost mode. Prices start at £65,000 for the performance version, with the chaps reserving full judgement until they get the opportunity to try one out. Click here to find out more, thanks to CAR . Aston Martin DBX Aston Martin are refreshing the interior of the DBX which has mainly remained the same since first coming to market. Out goes the Mercedes derived infotainment, to be replaced by Aston’s own. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar link here . Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate Mercedes have revealed the details for the latest E-Class estate. For some bizarre reason, the UK mainly only gets the sporty trims, with associated ride. Click this Business Car article link, to learn more . LUNCHTIME READ: AKIDO TOYODA’S STILL PLAYING THE LONG GAME Road & Track have a fascinating and rare interview with Akido Toyoda regarding his time in charge of the company. Even if you are not a fan of his or Toyota’s this is an insight into why decisions that have been made have and the reasons behind them. Click here to read more . LIST OF THE WEEK: SEMA 2023 CAR has listed their highlights of the US modification motor show, which Andrew picks his top of the pile from. To see what options you have to pick, click this link here . Don’t forget to tell the chaps what you would want. AND FINALLY: TOYOTA LUNA CRUISER Toyota has revealed a concept for a lunar buggy, that would be part of a Japanese landing on the moon. We think it looks great, click this link here to read more from Top Gear . To watch a short video, click this YouTube link .…
FOLLOW UP: CRUISE PAUSES DRIVERLESS TAXI SERVICE Both Califoria’s Department for Motor Vehicles and Public Utilities Commission have revoked Cruise’s license to carry fee paying passengers in their robotaxis. Cruise, following this, has “paused” the operation of their fleet. This all stems from an incident on 2 October 2023, where a car driven by a human hit a pedestrian and they were knocked into the pathway of one of Cruise’s cars which could not stop in time and trapped the pedestrian underneath the vehicle. The DMV claims Cruise shared partial video that showed up to the point of the vehicle stopping. However, the DMV now states there was more as they were not shown that the Cruise vehicle tried to move to the side of the road with the lady still trapped beneath the car. The DMV stated that “the manufacturers vehicles are not safe for public operation”. To read more click this Vice article link here . For the next stage of the story, click this Tech Crunch article link here . To read the DMV’s own documentation on their decision, click this link here . For Cruise’s Twitter post regarding their pause, click this link . Forbes have a thoughtful piece on what has happened and what Cruise can and should do next. To read that, click this link here . FOLLOW UP: MERCEDES USER MANUAL FOR DRIVE PILOT Mercedes-Benz has now released the user manuals for their Drive Pilot Level 3 automated driving system. Looking at the documentation there are a number of inconsistencies and contradictions. Click this link to a piece from Philip Koopman on LinkedIn highlighting the issues in the text. Reading the information, we wouldn’t use the system as we have no idea if we would be held accountable or Mercedes, in the event of an issue. STELLANTIS TO SELL LEAPMOTOR VEHICLES IN EUROPE Following a £1.3 billion investment in the Chinese EV maker, Leapmotor, Stellantis will start selling their vehicles in Europe from 2024. No details have been revealed as to what models they would be. We also ask if it is the technology side of things that Stellantis is really after. You can read more, by clicking this link to an Autocar story . RAC STATES FUEL PRICES ARE UNFAIRLY HIGH The RAC has explained that all fuel retailers should be lowering their prices by at least 5p per litre, thanks to the drop in wholesale costs. They also point out how this is helping to ensure that inflation remains high. If you would like to read more, click this TopGear article link here . VOLKSWAGEN TO CUT THOUSANDS OF JOBS Volkswagen has announced that CARIAD, the software division of the VW Group, will bear the brunt of job loses that the board has agreed can take place. On top of that, the update software for their car’s operating systems is to be delayed 16 to 18 weeks. That is not the end of the bad news, as the next generation OS, 2.0, is being rewritten therefore the deployment in 2025 looks unlikely, at best. Click this Reuters article link here , to learn more VOLVO TO ALSO BUILD EX30 IN EUROPE Following the political statements from both Europe and China, Volvo has take the prudent step of declaring that their Ghent factory will also build the EX30, from 2025. Previously all production was expected to come from China. To learn more, click this AMOnline article link here . JLR TO BUILD EVS AT NITRA PLANT In a move that should surprise no one, JLR has announced that they will transform their Nitra Plant, in Slovakia, to be able to build electric vehicles by 2030. This is their newest site, which opened in 2018 and has built over 365,000 Discovery and Defender vehicles. Click this Autocar link to read more . TOYOTA HYDROGEN FOCUS TURNS TO COMMERCIAL VEHICLES Toyota has announced that it will be moving its focus, for the development of hydrogen vehicles, from private cars to commercial vehicles. They say, following world wide experiments, that the lack of infrastructure is the stumbling block for private owners. To read more, click this Autocar link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 Another week another SUV coupe (and regular SUV in the case) being updated, this time from Mercedes-AMG. A 3.0 litre straight-six engine will be mated with a hybrid system, for the first time. The PHEV version will do around 50 miles on electric drive alone. For more information, including the dizzying number of powertrain choices and outputs, click this link to read an Autocar article . Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV Follow the confusion, last week, for the chaps and the naming system of Audis, Mercedes steps up to the plate to befuddle Andrew and Alan. The EQS SUV is getting a better battery and improved efficiency. Later next year, the EQS saloon will also get this. Yes, for some reason Merc EVs don’t follow the convention of SUVs having a ‘G’ designation. Sigh. Anyway, if you want to learn more, click this Autocar article link here . Hyundai Ioniq 5 N The first EV from Hyundai to get the N treatment is an odd choice, it being the Ioniq 5. Alan and Andrew both love the comfort, serene cabin and ride, hence their surprise this will get oodles of power and get the N Grin Boost mode. Prices start at £65,000 for the performance version, with the chaps reserving full judgement until they get the opportunity to try one out. Click here to find out more, thanks to CAR . Ferrari 296 Challenge Ferrari has revealed their new car for the FIA-homologated own brand championship that takes place in North America, Europe, Japan and the UK. Obviously not road legal, but quicker and better than the outgoing 488 Challenge Evo. This is based on the 296 car, but with the hybrid system removed so it is relatively light too. If you want to find out more, click this CAR article link here . Ferrari 499P track car If the 296 Challenge is not exclusive enough for you, Ferrari think they have you covered. For a mere £4.6 million (plus VAT) you can get ACCESS to a derestricted 499P hypercar, based on the Le Mans winning vehicle. This access is in the form of nine racing events a year, for two years, at specific tracks that Ferrari designates. For those with incredibly deep pockets and an urge to race behind closed doors, click this Autocar article link to find out more . LUNCHTIME WATCH: AUTOSHENNANIGANS TRACKS DOWN THE “F1” CAR THAT APPEARS IN HIS M8 VIDEO Following the release of the M8 video, on the Autoshennanigans YouTube channel, many have mentioned and asked about what appeared to be a yellow F1 car that was in a drone shot. Well, John tracked down the owner who agreed to appear on the show and talk about that car and others he’s owned. Do enjoy, which you can do by clicking this link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE TRIUMPHS AND DISASTERS OF NAMEPLATE REVIVALS Alan chooses one model name that has been resurrected which seems to have gone well, whilst others on the list have not. Have a check of this Autocar link to see if any stick out to you. Don’t forget to tell the chaps which one you selected. AND FINALLY: BELGIUM STUDENTS WIN SOLAR RACE DOWN UNDER A student team from Leuven, in Belgium, has won the Australian Solar Race, with their innovative design that carefully married aerodynamics with a large surface area to fix the maximum number of solar panels too. On top of that they added a sail, which helped with stability and occasionally propulsion, if the wind was in the right direction. Click this Autoevolution to read more .…
1 Special Edition: Japan Mobility Show 2023 - 30 October 2023 49:16
49:16 나중에 재생 나중에 재생 리스트 좋아요 좋아요49:16
나중에 재생 나중에 재생 리스트 좋아요 좋아요JAPAN MOBILITY SHOW 2023 Alan and Andrew are rounding up the motoring element of the Japan Mobility Show 2023, which is the replacement for the Tokyo Motor Show. The organisers have expanded the remit and potential audience. There are stands about everything from wheelchairs to private jets and all things between. TINY CARS As this is Japan you can imagine just how many tiny and kei cars there were. We have picked only a small fraction to discuss. Honda CI-MEV Daihatsu ME:Mo Daihatsu UNIFORM Truck and UNIFORM Cargo Daihatsu Copen SPORTS CARS In selecting all the cars that are in here, some stretching of the definition of “sports” has occurred. Do bear with us as we try to explain why the choices that have been made, have been made. Honda Prelude Mazda Iconic SP Honda Sustania-C Toyota FT-3e Toyota FT-Se Nissan Hyper Force ELECTRIC SUVS As you would expect, there was a lot of electric SUVs on display. Here we have picked some of the more interesting ones, to our eyes. Nissan Hyper Punk Nissan Hyper Adventure Toyota Land Cruiser Se Toyota EPU FEEDBACK As this is only the second time we have tried to do this multimedia style approach, where we are showing what we discuss (if your player can display the photos), we would like your feedback. We know there are things to improve, but if you could let us know if the efforts we have gone to are okay or not, that would be great.…
CALLS FOR RULES OF ORIGIN AGREEMENT STRENGTHENED The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has reinforced its call for an agreement to be reached between the EU and UK over rules of origin delay. The SMMT has outlined what the average price increase would be for vehicles coming into or out of the UK and EU. You can read more about the potential impact by clicking this link to an SMMT article . The UK Government has stated that if a satisfactory agreement with the EU cannot be reached over rules of origin it would just make their own rules up. That have not clarified what these would be, nor how they expect them to help UK based companies. Click this Autocar article to read more . CHINA EXPORT TARIFFS APPLIED TO GRAPHITE China will be imposing an export tariff on certain grades of graphite, which is used in the manufacture of electric car batteries. This will mean that homegrown batteries will be cheaper than, those built using the material abroad. To learn more, click this electrive link here . £200M NET ZERO DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM The UK Government has set aside £200 million of the net zero funding to enable four demonstration projects for the viability of electric HGVs. This is a move to help encourage and demonstrate the positives of moving to the UK haulage industry. In order to read more, click this link here to a Current News article . UK GOVERNMENT URGED TO IMPROVE ROADS OUTSIDE THE SOUTH A report from the National Infrastructure Commission has called on the Government to improve on the amount of money allocated to the Road Investment Strategy being spent on the Midlands and the North of England. Only 22% goes to projects outside the South, which looks bad but there are a few reasons for why this is the case. To read more, click this article link from Autocar . VOLTA TRUCKS ENTERS BANKRUPTCY Following supplier Proterra going into administration and an inability to raise more funding, Volta Trucks has entered bankruptcy in Sweden, with it following suite soon in the UK too. Management are trying to find a buyer to take it on as a going concern. Click here to read more, via Autocar . JLR’S HUGE REPAIRS PARTS SHORTAGE Car Dealer Magazine has an exclusive report on 10,000 JLR vehicles being affected by the company’s huge parts shortage issue. Digging into the problem, it is clear the situation has been made so much worse with a huge consolidation project that combined a number of warehouse facilities into a new single site, changing parts supplier and combining a number of legacy systems into a new one. As Alan, who’s day job is just this sort of thing states, “that’s courageous”. If you would like to read more, click this link to the original scoop here . ALPINA FOUNDER PASSES AWAY Burkard Bovensiepen, who was the founder of ALPINA, has sadly passed away at the age of 87. He helped create an incredible company that was involved in not just making BMWs so very special. To learn more about his life and what he helped build, click this TopGear link here . GREENWICH COUNCIL LOSES EVERY PENALTY CHARGE APPEAL From July 2022 until September 2023, Greenwich council entered “no evidence” to all appeals against traffic penalty notices issued by them. This meant it was an automatic win for those appealing. The reason given was said to be a lack of staff, but this has now been rectified. However, if you are in London you have nearly a 50% change of winning any appeal. To read more, click this BBC News article link here . STUDENT INVENTS AFFORDABLE EV CONVERSION KIT Australian student, Alexander Burton, has won an award for his idea of helping make almost any internal combustion engined car become a hybrid. Behind each wheel there would be an electric motor fitted that would power the vehicle. We chat through this and question the sums quoted and practicality of it all, as we struggle to see how it could be built and installed for what he claims. However, that is not to say we don’t admire the thinking. Click this dezeen link here to see more . PILOT FOR WIRELESS CHARGING AT TRAFFIC LIGHTS The northwestern part of Kashiwa city, not far from Tokyo, will be trialling wireless EV charging by placing them on sections of the roads that traffic has to slow down to run on, such as traffic lights. The idea being frequent and short charging will help boost an EVs range. You can learn more by clicking this link from The Register . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Citroën e-C3 Citroën has shown us the e-C3, the replacement for the C3, which will be an electric SUV with a starting price of £23,000. This is to be aplauded! Finally, an EV that doesn’t cost in excess of £30K and be called “affordable”. What is less encouraging though, is the looks. Click here to view the concept Oli, from Citroën’s own article. Now compare that to the e-C3, which you can do here by clicking the link from CAR . Where’s the funky and fun on the e-C3? How is that “Citroën”? Delage D12 This week’s ridiculous and questionable car, comes from Delage, the long dead French car brand. A V12 hybrid hypercar that looks more at home in a computer game than the road, this £1.7 million car is one of a number of models planned. We’ll be amazed if any actually get made and bought. Click this Autocar link here to read more. Jaguar F-Type ZP Edition The F-Type is bowing out in expensive style. Costing from £134,925, the special edition will only have 150 car built, with only 10 of those slated for the UK. At that price, one is deep into Porsche 911 territory. To learn more about the details, click this EVO article link here . Mercedes-AMG GLA45 S The top of the range GLA is being refreshed next year, with no changes to the performance, but there is to the looks and the headlight technology. Yes, really. Also expect to pay closer to £70,000 for one too, or whatever that translates to for PCP. If, for some reason, you wish to learn more, click here to read about it via EVO . Audi A4 In 2024 the A4 will be going all electric, with an expected range close to 400 miles. There will also be an ICE version, but this will be named A5, thanks to the recent naming convention change from Audi. No real details yet, but if you’d like to look at what Autocar think it will look like, click this link here . LUNCHTIME READ: KKANGOO JAMBOREE Every year thousands of Japanese Renault Kangoo fans meet up to share their passion for the French car. This year was the fourteenth anniversary of the event. Click here to see Renault’s own press release . Click here for the CarThrottle article , that includes the livestream link you can watch. LIST OF THE WEEK: NINE OF THE BEST CAR INTERIORS OF THE 21ST CENTURY Top Gear once again bring us a list worthy of sharing with you. This time it is all about the interiors, and to be frank there are no bad choices here. Click this link to view the options and don’t forget to tell the chaps what you’d like to own. AND FINALLY: DRONE FOOTAGE OF THE RIMAC FACTORY A one-shot fly through of the Rimac factory, including the production line, is a wonderful way to round out this week’s show. Click here to see more , thanks to Design News.…
DOJ CHARGES EBAY OVER ROLLING COAL DEVICE SELLING The Department of Justice (DOJ) in the US, has taken eBay to court over allowing ‘rolling coal’ devices to be sold on the platform. These manipulate the control of engines and allow for huge plumes of black smoke to be emitted by vehicles. eBay says it cut so many out and does all it can. The fine, if found guilty would be a maximum in the region of $2 billion, but as its an American company it will not be that high. Click this CNBC article link to learn more . BATTERY RECYCLING PLANT OPENS IN WOLVERHAMPTON Battery recycling firm, Recyclus, have opened their new Wolverhampton operation that will eventually enable them to process up to 22,000 tons of lithium ion batteries. Called ‘urban mining’, such operations will be vital in bringing down the environmental impact of our electrified future. You can learn more by clicking this electrive article link here . WAE TO BUILD EV BATTERIES IN OXFORD FACTORY WAE will produce electric batteries, mainly for heavy plant vehicles, in its new £20 million factory, located near Oxford. The UK has a thriving heavy plant manufacturing industry and home built batteries will be vital to ensuring the viability of that sector. If you wish to learn more, click this link to an Autocar article . AUDI CUTS BACK PRODUCTION PLANS FOR Q4 ETRON Plans to build the Q4 eTron in Audi’s own Brussels plant have been put on hold as demand is not enough to meet the capacity at the VW Zwickau factory. Workers in Brussels have gone on strike as their contracts are changed to fit the new future. Click this electrive article link to see more . MERCEDES-BENZ EACTROS 600 Mercedes has revealed the 2024 eActross 600, a lorry capable of travelling 310 miles on a single charge, with a payload of 22 tonnes. With regular, legislated stops and charging whilst taking required breaks, will allow it to travel 600 miles easily. For more on this, click here to read more via Green Fleet. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Toyota C-HR Toyota has announced pricing for the new C-HR, with it starting at £31, 290 and topping out at £42,720 for the range topping Premier Edition spec. Click this Autocar article link to find out all the details of the car and options for powertrains. Lexus LBX The LBX is a small crossover, that is based on the underpinnings of the Toyota Yaris Cross, which will be the new entry level to the brand. Prices start at £29,995 and go all the way up to £40, 545 for the Takumi Design spec. You can find out more by clicking this CAR article link here . Kia EV2 Kia announced several new planned models, which we start with covering the baby one, the EV2. The brand aims to have an entry price of around £25,000 when it comes out in 2026 and is to be city car sized, targeting the likes of the Corsa, Peugeot 2008 and suchlike. Click this Autocar link to read more . Kia EV3 Next we move onto the Kia EV3, a baby SUV, due out next year, which will replace the Soul for less than £30,000. Looking at the size and price point this will be quite popular. For more on this, click here to read via Autocar . Kia EV4 This will be a saloon/fastback style car, instead of another SUV. The aim is to take on the likes of the Polestar 2. Again, not due until 2026, there are scant details on the vehicle. But, to learn as much as we all do, click this Autocar link here . Kia EV5 Back to SUVs and one that is initially aimed at China, but we will be amazed if it does not end up here too, the EV5. Continuing to use the ‘Tiger Face’ design language, this smart SUV is aimed at families. Click here to read more, from the CAR article . BMW X2 BMW has revealed the new X2 and iX2, which will now come as a smallish SUV coupe. It is utterly hideous, click this link to see exactly how bad it is, thanks to an Autocar article. Skoda to stop offering sat nav for free Skoda is experimenting with what customers will or will not accept as paid for extras, including if there is an appetite for subscription services. Sat nav, automatic headlights and adaptive cruise control will now be paid for extras. Click this Autocar link to read more . LUNCHTIME READ: STRANGEST THING ABOUT THE HUGE FIRE AT A BRITISH AIRPORT PARKING GARAGE IS HOW PEOPLE REACTED TO IT Following the fire at the Luton Airport car park, the loons of the internet rushed from underneath their rocks to scream about how is was an EV and clearly an EV when the fire service stated it was a diesel vehicle. The Autopian brings us a read on how nuts it has all been, from the outsiders perspective. Click here to read how mad it looked from afar . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE 19 VANS YOU NEVER KNEW YOU WANTED Top Gear give an brilliant list to pick from, click here to check it out and make your choice. Don’t forget to tell the chaps which you would have and if their choices were decent or not. AND FINALLY: FLORIDA MIGHT CHANGE A ROAD NAME IN HONOUR OF JIMMY BUFFETT A Florida lawmaker is asking the state to change the name of the A1A costal highroad, to the Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway. Click here to read more via an CNN article .…
FOLLOW UP: CHINA UNHAPPY AT EU SUBSIDY PROBE In a move that should surprise no one, China has complained about the process and speed of the EU’s investigation into the possibility of state backed subsidies for Chinese EV makers. Click here to read the Reuters article with plenty of quotes from China making it clear there will be ramifications. FOLLOW UP: PENDRAGON SUITERS DOWN TO TWO The Hedin Penske bid for Pendragon has been removed, which leaves two suiters. A report this week has suggested that the AutoNation offer can increased and take it well above the Lithia Motors proposal. If they do, the board of Pendragon are expected to recommend AutoNation. You can read more by clicking this article from AMOnline, here . SEPTEMBER 2023 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES No matter how positive many are trying to be about September’s figures, they were dreadful. Overall, whilst better than 2022 and ignoring the Covid years, it was the lowest since before 2007, EVs failed to break 16% again, private EV rates are down 14% and you have to wonder how long fleet registrations can prop up the industry. On top of all of that, the reporting on this has once again been poor. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) inevitably calls on the Government to support private buyers so that more cars can find new homes. Click here to read the SMMT’s official post . GOVERNMENT UNVEILS “THE PLAN FOR DRIVERS” DOCUMENT Last week the Transport Secretary revealed a document called “The Plan for Drivers” which is a 30-point plan aimed at helping to make driving less of a chore in the UK. If you would like to learn what the plan exactly entails, click here to read the document from the .GOV site . For a summary, click this Autocar link here . JLR IN TROUBLE WITH ASA The Advertising Standards Authority has banned an advert for the Range Rover Sport SVR from JLR. The ruling cited that the main message was about speed, which contravenes the CAP Code rule 19.4. JLR disagreed, but when the time from 0-60 was the second of two sentences, it is easy to see how the ASA came to the decision it did. You can read more, by clicking this AMOnline link here . POLICE USED VAN TO STOP RUNAWAY CAR A man called the police, in order to get them to help him find a way to stop his car that was stuck at 30mph. Eventually, they used a police van, which acted as the brakes, to bring to vehicle to a safe stop. There is no current understanding as to why the accelerator was jammed on. We hope when the reason is found that is reported to all of us. To read about this story, click here for the BBC News version . VOLVO NAMES NEW UK MANAGING DIRECTOR Nicole Melillo Shaw has been named as the next managing director for Volvo UK, following the news that Kristian Elvefors will be leaving the brand. Melillo Shaw is currently their commercial operations director. Click this AMOnline link to learn more . BMW ANNOUNCES MANAGEMENT There are several new names at several senior management positions within BMW, including Christopher Brownridge who is taking over the role of CEO at Rolls Royce following the announcement that Torsten Müller-Ötvös is leaving after 14 years at the helm. To learn all of the changes, click this electrive article link here . To read about Müller-Ötvös’s career and achievements at Rolls, click this Autocar link here . EXPERTS BEGIN TO WONDER WHY ADAS IS SWITCHED OFF EuroNCAP and Thatcham, the testers and campaigners for safety technology to be fitted to cars have stated that they blame drivers for switching off driver assistance technology in cars, as many have begun to question why death and injury rates are not falling after so much is fitted to cars. You need to listen to Alan and Andrew pull the statements from the two companies apart. To read this week’s Ledge of Fury™️ article, click this Autocar link here . INDEPENDENT GARAGES CAN ACCESS OBD PORTS COURT RULES The European Court of Justice has ruled that car makers cannot restrict independent garages from being able to access on-board diagnostic systems. AMOnline have more detail on this important news, which you can read by clicking this link here . ASTON MARTIN AWARDED GOVERNMENT FUNDING Aston Martin has been awarded £9 million to develop an all new battery electric platform. You can find out what this means, by clicking this Autocar article link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Skoda Kodiaq Skoda continues to update their offerings and following on from last week, announces the revised Kodiaq, their top of the range large SUV. Improvements to styling inside and out, as well as technology help to raise the profile of this vehicle. There will be the wide range of powertrains and prices are expected to be slightly up on the current range. Click this Autocar link to learn more . GM to return to Europe General Motors has announced it will return to Europe, initially in Switzerland with five other countries to be expanded into announced at this stage. They will be bringing the Cadillac brand initially, with the electric SUV Lyric being the first model offered. To read more on this move, click here for the Autocar report . Audi cancels plans to build flagship model in Hanover Audi has confirmed that they will not now be building the unnamed flagship model, which is the culmination of the Artemis Project, in Hanover but at Nekarsulm. There is still no date to when this will take place either. The chaps question why this is happening and if it is a sign of more problems for Audi or speaks of wider issues within the VW Group. Click this electrive link to find out more . VW to stop Up production Volkswagen has announced that the popular Up model will cease production. The move isn’t really surprising as Euro7 rules loom and that the sister brand’s models also have been pulled from sale in the last few years. To read more, click this Autocar article link here . LUNCHTIME READ: ESTATES OF AMERICA Top Gear go for a drive in an Audi RS6, to learn about the fascination for some, in station wagons (it is the US after all). Click this link to read more . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE BEST MODERN AND RETRO CAMPERVANS AND RVS IN THE WORLD Autocar provides you with a host of options for almost any type of holiday you might wish to take. Some of the promotional pictures, particularly for the older models, are glorious too. Click here to run through the choices and do let the chaps know what you would have. To see the first video in the RV rescue series, from Budget Buildz, click here . AND FINALLY: HUBNUT TESTS A TALBOT MATRA RAncho Ian Seabrook finally gets to test out a Talbot Matra Rancho. Click this YouTube link to enjoy the HubNut video on this special car that was ahead of its time and would not look out of place being made today.…
FOLLOW UP: ZEV MANDATE FINALLY ANNOUNCED The Government has finally published the details of the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate. As we discussed last week the expected percentage minimums of zero emission vehicles sold per brand have remained from the consultation. However, there is no additional detail from 2030 to 2035 except there being no new internal combustion engines sold from 2035. Click here to read the Autocar article on the story . To read the SMMT’s response, click this link here . UK ROAD DEATHS RISE The statistics on road deaths and injuries have been released by the UK Government. Deaths have risen, for the first time since 2017, but overall incidents are slightly down. Remember it is pointless to compare with 2020 and 2021 figures, therefore one needs to look to 2019 for comparison. Also, note that there is a lot of information and it is handed to us in a variety of formats, which you need to make sure you are aware of if reviewing the data. Click this link here to read Autocar’s summary . If you would like to review the data, click this Government link here . YEW TREE CONSORTIUM INCREASES ASTON MARTIN STAKE The Lawrence Stroll led consortium, Yew Tree, has increased their stake in Aston Martin, once again. They continue to be the largest single shareholder. In order to learn more, click here to read the Reuters article link . PENDRAGON DEALERSHIP CENTRE OF BIDDING WAR A trio of US-based bids have been received by Pendragon, for their company, after revealing record profits for the first six months of the year. There have already been increases in bids and counter offers, therefore this may not end anytime soon. You can learn more by clicking this link here to a Car Dealer Magazine article . PERTH TOYOTA DEALERSHIP CONTRACT REMOVED Stuans, the family owned dealer group, has unceremoniously lost their franchise agreement with Toyota, following no consultation or warning. The sites in Dundee and Perth will now be run by Eastern and Western Motor Group. This one is quite personal for Alan and he goes on to explain how little choice Scottish buyers now get. If you would like to learn more, click this AMOnline article link . VW HIRES EX TESLA AND RIVIAN SOFTWARE ENGINEER Volkswagen has brought in a non-VW employee to their CARIAD software division, in a shock move. Sanjay Lal, has previously worked at both Tesla and Rivian, as part of his 25 year career. He is being tasked with trying to improve the speed and quality of software development at the company. You can read more by clicking this InsideEVs article link here . FLEET DATA SHOWS EV TYRES ARE REPLACED MORE OFTEN Fleet data, analysed by epyx, indicates that EV tyres are being changed 6350 miles ahead of the petrol and diesel engined cars. Whilst there are many nuances and questions, it does appear that the heavier weight is having a knock on effect. More analysis is required but it is good to get actual data from actual real world use. Click here to read more . MERCEDES LORRY GOES 1000KMS ON SINGLE HYDROGEN TANK Mercedes-Benz drove a lorry, at its maximum gross weight, over 1000kms in Germany, on a single tank of hydrogen. This is an impressive feat. Unfortunately, there was no where to fill it up at the destination, but this achievement highlighted the potential and some of the existing constraints for the technology. You can read more, by clicking this link to the electrive article . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Skoda Kamiq Skoda has face-lifted their small SUV, with minor touches to the external looks and improved technology on the inside. Going up against the likes of the VW T-Cross, Peugeot 2008 and Vauxhall Mokka, Skoda hope this freshening up will lure buyers, as will the starting price of £24,070 for the entry level SE, rising to £29,275 for the range topping Monte Carlo spec. To find out more about engines and the upgrades, click here to read the CAR article link . Skoda Scala Not content with refreshing one model, Skoda have also given the Scala a spruce up. This small-ish hatchback which sits between B and C segments, has also been given the latest Skoda look, with the latest technology. Prices start at £22,095 for the SE and top out at £27,795 for the Monte Carlo. All engines are internal combustion, the same as with the Kamiq. Once again, CAR give all the fine details which you can read by clicking this link . Porsche 911 GT3 R Rennsport Whilst the Rennsport Reunion was underway, in the US, Porsche revealed their limited edition, track only, 911 GT3 R Rennsport model. Essentially a slightly rebodied derestricted GT3 race car. Costing a cool $1,000,000 we presume all have been bought by specially chosen customers of Porsche. You can read all about it here, after clicking this CAR link . Nissan to stop selling ICE vehicles after 2030 We were surprised by Nissan’s announcement that would would only release new EVs from now on and that they would stop selling ICE cars from 2030, but only because we thought they had done so already. If you would like to learn more about what this means, click this Autocar link here . LUNCHTIME WATCH: YEAR LONG RESTORATION Soup Classics motoring brings this week’s recommendation. Be warned, it is long, but wonderful. Either give yourself permission for a long lunch or watch in stages. Also, if you don’t already, do subscribe to this channel as the work is top quality. Click here to watch more . LIST OF THE WEEK: WORST REST STOPS IN THE WORLD This is effectively a US list, which we may poke a little fun at, for the disconnect with the title. However, its not the list but the horror stories associated with each nomination that make it so good. To run through several scaring road trips, click this Jalopnik link here . AND FINALLY: THE UK HOT WHEELS LEGENDS TOUR 2023 WINNER We said we would, and now we have, brought you more details on the fabulous car that won the UK leg of the Hot Wheels Legends Tour 2023, the MG B-EAST. To learn all about the work and the astonishing detail and dedication click this CAR link here .…
GOVERNMENT DELAYS 2030 ICE-ONLY BAN The Prime Minister announced that he was putting back the date when the sale of new internal combustion engined cars and vans would be banned in the UK, to 2035. This caused much comment, especially from an angry car industry. Click here to read about that , from Autocar. For an explanation as to what has changed, ie. nothing, click this LeasePlan article link . ZEV MANDATE TO REMAIN DESPITE NEW 2035 ICE-ONLY BAN Whilst much was made of the change in the 2035 date for the banning internal combustion engined only cars and vans, especially by the Government, the zero emission vehicle mandate is to remain in place. The Government is to demand car companies sell a percentage of zero emission vehicles despite adding five years to the deadline and thus making the job harder for those trying to sell cars. To find out more, about this idiotic move, click this Autocar link here . FRANCE REVISES EV SUBSIDY RULES France will change their electric vehicle subsidy rules, which means many Asian built EVs will not qualify for the financial assistance scheme. The French Government claim, in the face of calls of protectionism, that it is all guided by how green the manufacturing process of the vehicle is and China, for a random example, is still powered to a large extent by non renewable energy sources, according the France. In order to learn more, click here on this Reuters article link to learn more . EDINBURGH AIRPORT TO INSTALL 40 EV CHARGERS Edinburgh airport is installing 40 EV chargers, a mix of 7kWh and 22kWh versions. Some will be time constrained whilst others will not. Click this electrive.com article link to read more on the story . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Audi Q4 E-tron The revised Audi Q4 E-tron, for 2024, has been shown to us all. Improvements to the range, a new motor, better efficiency and revised suspension. The price, whilst not yet announced is to be slightly higher than the current version’s. To find out all the stats and info, click this Autocar article link here . Oshe Okovango Oshe have displayed their Okovango, a restomod version of the Land Rover Defender 90, that evokes the look of African safari vehicles. The price of this very attractive vehicle is £225,000. If you wish to learn more, click this Hagerty article link here . Frontline LE60 and BEE EV Frontline have taken the MGB GT and produced an electric only version as well as one with a Rover V8. They both look great and to read all the fine details, before their public reveal at Bicester Heritage Sunday Scramble on the 8th October, click this CAR article link here . David Brown Mini eMastered Continuing the restomod theme of the show, this week, we discuss the restomod of an original Mini, with an electric powertrain. With only a small battery, that’ll do 110 miles, it is only capable of charging at speeds up to 6.6kWh. However, as one would expect for a vehicle priced at £150,000 the attention to detail is superb. You can find out more by clicking this CAR article link here . Volvo will build no more diesel engines from 2024 Volvo has announced that it will not spend any more R&D money on diesel engines, nor will it build their own from spring 2024. Perhaps we are too wary with the wording of Volvo press releases but there didn’t appear to be the words “we will not sell a Volvo with an diesel engine” in all that. Click this CAR article link to see for yourself . Audi to change their model naming rules. Again. Audi has decided to change how it names it’s models, to help clear up any confusion we might have. Following their recent change to include 35, 45 and 55 which apparently helped consumers understand something better which we still can’t work out what they denote, all help is gratefully received. Audi will now name all electric vehicles with an even number and non electric are odd numbered, but electric vehicles will still retain the eTron moniker. Riiight, that’s all sorted then. If you wish to try and make sense of this, click this Autocar article link here . LUNCHTIME READ: PEDAL CARS AT GOODWOOD Friend of the show, Alex Goy has written up the fascinating story of the Dron family and their link to the Goodwood Revival and how that now runs to a third generation. Click this Motor1 article link to read this really lovely story. LIST OF THE WEEK: COMPLETE LIST OF THE CARS OF COLUMBO TV SERIES We have managed to find a belter of a list for you this week. How about all of the significant cars of each Columbo TV episodes? We are linking you to a 34 page PDF that shows them all in order from episode one to the last. Click here to lose yourself back in time . AND FINALLY: THE MAN WHO TAKES HIS VAN RALLYING DirtFish provide the end to our show, this week. Takahiro Kitami has made modifications to a Toyota HiAce, to make it legal to rally, which he then does with some gusto. Click the link here to read more and watch the embedded video to see Kitami-san in glorious action. Brilliant!…
INDUSTRY CALLS FOR MORE GOVERNMENT HELP The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has called on additional help from the Government, to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles. During their one day conference, called Electrified, they proposed four incentives that would help make the switch easier for the private buyer. You can find out more, by clicking this link here . NEW EV MINIS WILL BE BUILT IN THE UK BMW is investing £600 million in their Oxford and Swindon plants to enable it to build the new Mini Cooper Electric and the Mini Aceman. This secures around 4,000 jobs and does include some financial support from the UK Government. To find out more, you can click this Autocar article link here . EU INVESTIGATES CHINESE STATE SUBSIDES The European Union will begin an investigation into whether the Chinese Government subsidises their car industry and that gives them an unfair advantage in Europe. Alan and Andrew are quite scathing about how this situation has arisen and how this was a very obvious outcome but now politicians and the industry are equally surprised. Click this Autocar article link for more . We recommend you also click this BBC News article link , as it gives some context to what that means to the UK and potential ramifications if a trade war is started. SAT NAV WARNING OVER NEW WELSH 20MPH SPEED LIMITS Sat nav manufacturers are warning motorists not to trust their systems after the recent implementation of 20mph zones across Wales. They are recommending that the software is updated and to be watchful of the speed limit signs on the roads. To read more, click this BBC News article here . If you would like to see the extent of the new 20mph zones, click this link to a map showing just how many or few roads are actually affected. UK ROAD REPAIRS AT LOWEST LEVEL IN FIVE YEARS The RAC ha found that UK road and pothole repairs are at their lowest level in five years, with some councils carrying out no resurfacing work and many others doing no surface-dressing work. If you would like to learn more, click here to read the Autocar article explaining it all. CALLS FOR UK GOVERNMENT TO TIGHTEN AV LAWS Parliament’s Transport Committee has released a report outlining the areas the Government needs to tighten up the law for autonomous vehicles, if it wants a safe deployment of the technology. Where it is asking for language to be less vague and wooly is very admirable, but still there is the delusion that the way it is being developed will actually result in any safe AV operations is worrying. Click this link to read the committee’s report. ELECTRIC CAR SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE ONTO IN ADMINISTRATION Onto, the electric car subscription service which wrapped up nearly all the costs of owning and running an EV into one monthly fee, has gone into administration. Legal & General, their major backers pulled out which gave the company no choice but to wind up operations. The rising cost of charging, interest rates and other cost of living issues combined with the fall in value of the cars they have on the books made the business unviable. To find out more, click this Autocar article link . VILLAGE HOTEL CHOOSES IONITY AS CHARGE POINT PARTNER Ionity will supply all Village Hotel locations in the UK with rapid chargers that will be open to both members and the public. These are expected to be all operational by the end of 2024. Click here to read more , thanks to electrive and their article. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Smart #3 Smart has revealed the #3, the bigger sibling to the #1. Following on with similar looks, but in a bigger overall package, the SUV is inoffensive if unexciting. There is a silly amount of performance for a family vehicle, but that seems to be the way with electric cars today. Click this CAR article link to find out all of the details . Peugeot E-3008 The next generation 3008 has been revealed by Peugeot, first in electric only form, which includes a silly coupe SUV design. The external looks are quite smart, with the three claw mark motif being retained. The interior looks really nice and another evolution on the excellent work Peugeot have done in that department. Which makes it all the more confusing why they have made a family orientated practical vehicle, well, less practical. If you would like to learn more, click this CAR link here . Fiat 600e Fiat has shown us all the 600e, which has a lot of design touches of the 500 but in a much better resolved package than they previously managed with larger 500 models. This will come in electric only form and is the cheapest of the Stellantis options for the same sized vehicle, including the Jeep Avenger and Vauxhall Mokka. Click this driving electric article link to read more . Volkswagen ID X VW has showered the very dull ID.7 with stick on parts, a “sporty” interior and increased performance and called it the ID X. The chaps are thoroughly unimpressed by this car and the execution of the idea. To find out more, in a morbidly fascinated way, click this Autocar link here . Jeep Recon Jeep are aiming at the Defender Defender, with their model push in Europe and the UK. The Recon is bigger than the Avenger that is just out, and will be all electric with around about 600bhp. JLR will not have an electric version by the time this comes to our shores. If you want to find out more, click here for the Autocar article link . ELegend EL1 ELegend, a German company, is building a very small number of electric homages to the Audi Quattro Sport. With huge performance and being hand built, there is a bit of a spicy price tag. But the car looks great. Click here to read more, from EVO . LUNCHTIME READ: HOW THE AUDI TT WENT FROM DOODLE TO DESIGN ICON Tim Stevens writes in Hagerty, for this week’s recommendation. The design classic that is the Audi TT and it’s history is explained. Thoroughly fascinating story, even if it did give Alan flashbacks to all the mood boards he saw at university. To read about the TT, click this link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE FIRST ELECTRIC CAR MADE BY EVERY CAR MAKER Move Electric supply this really interesting slideshow of first electric cars, from very recently all the way back to the near dawn of motoring time. Do you agree with Alan and Andrew’s choices? Don’t forget to get in touch and let them know after you click this link to find out what options there are . AND FINALLY: FROM DRIVE EVENT TO DISASTER RELIEF The UK Mazda PR Team were meant to be driving with a host of journalists through the Atlas Mountains, but the night before start was when the dreadful earthquake hit Morocco and the areas they were in and due to drive through. Click this link to a Guild of Motoring Writers article explaining how the Team reacted and did what we would all hope we would do in the same situation. Well done to all involved for trying to do what they could in dreadful circumstances.…
NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR AUGUST 2023 For the first time, in a long time, the new car registration overall figure for August is close to those of the before times , being just under seven thousand less than 2019 numbers. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) jumped to a 20.1% market share for the month, unfortunately the year to date is still stuck in the 16s. The SMMT make it very clear they desperately need the Government to reveal what the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate will actually be as, astonishingly, they have not revealed what it will actually entail. Click here to read more about August from this SMMT article link . NEW EV MINIS WILL BE BUILT IN THE UK BMW is investing £600 million in their Oxford and Swindon plants to enable it to build the new Mini Cooper Electric and the Mini Aceman. This secures around 4,000 jobs and does include some financial support from the UK Government. To find out more, you can click this Autocar article link here . CAMBRIDGE CONGESTION CHARGE CANCELLED The plans for charging vehicles to drive in and around Cambridge, during peak times, has been shelved. The Lib Dems expressed “concerns” which removed much of the previous support for the scheme. Labour confirmed they too had concerns over certain aspects of the proposals. However, it was acknowledged that something will have to be done. If you wish to find out more, click this BBC News article link here . EV NETWORK AND BP PULSE OPEN UK’S LARGEST CHARGING HUB The NEC Campus is the location for EV Network and BP Pulse’s new charging hub, which is the largest in the UK. There are 16 rapid 300kW chargers and 150 7kW charging points, with provision for some accessible bays in both rapid and fast areas. Click this ZapMap article link to read more . RICHMOND BOROUGH TO INSTALL 525 MORE CHARGE POINTS The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames has announced it will be installing a further 525 on-street charge points across its area to bring the total up to 945. You can read more from the electrive.com article via this link here . LIVERPOOL HYDROGEN BUS PROJECT SCRAMBLES FOR FUEL A flagship hydrogen bus project, based in Liverpool, has not been running as the operator struggles to find a fuel supplier. The hope is for the situation to be solved soon, with the source also being sustainably produced. To learn more, click this link here from Hydrogeninsight . Montpellier is cancelling their hydrogen bus experiment due to the high running costs, when compared to electric buses. Hydrogen has been calculated as six times more expensive that the equivalent electric. Click this Recharge article link to read more . MOZILLA CLAIMS CAR DATA PRIVACY IS APPALLING The Mozilla Foundation has investigated car brands over the collection, handling and protection of our data they take from our cars. The results can be classified as “ungood”, to say the least. Click here to read The Verge’s article summarising the report . To read the Privacy Not Included overview article, click this link here . To run through the list from Privacy Not Included, of each of the car brands investigated and their individual reports, click here to go to the link . For the final link, about what really worries the researchers following the investigation, click this Privacy Not Included article link here . We cannot stress enough, that you need to read all these articles, you need to understand what is going on and what could well happen. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Toyota Century SUV Toyota has revealed the Century SUV. Utilising the same understated looks but in an SUV form, Toyota brings another option to the chauffeur market. One query that has come up is if it is based on the same platform as the Lexus LM we recently covered. This was also questioned by The Autopian. Click here to read about the Century via CAR’s link . To read an excellent piece from The Autopian, click this link here . Lotus Emeya Lotus revealed their much anticipated electric saloon. Their first saloon since the mythical Carlton. This car is very different. Huge amounts of power, even in “basic” spec and range between 304 and 373 miles depending on which trim level is selected. Prices for the S will be around £100,000 and start at roughly £120,000 for the top of the range R cars. To learn all about this car, click here to read more from Autocar . VW ditch ID naming Lost in all the hullabaloo over the Volkswagen Group deciding Seat will no longer make cars, we all missed that the VW ID naming prefix will also be ditched. Clumsy handling, poor products and muddled communication have all hampered the new EVs from Volkswagen. Click this AMOnline article to read more . VW offering a rebate to Londoners thanks to the ULEZ In an attempt to drum up more business, Volkswagen is offering a range of rebates for different models as long as you can prove you live in London and are eligible for the ULEZ scrappage scheme. To find out more, click this electrive.com article link here . LUNCHTIME WATCH: FIXING A 280Z THAT’S BEEN DEAD FOR 21 YEARS Ronald Finger walks us all through what needed to be done to fix up his Datsun 280Z which hasn’t run in 21 years. Of note is how easy it is to make a car “roadworthy” in Texas. But, as ever, Ronald’s films are wonderful, click here to watch this one on YouTube . Do subscribe to him as well, as we like to support those making good and interesting content. LIST OF THE WEEK: THESE ARE THE MOST SCREWED CARS AT BURNING MAN The Burning Man festival failed to live up to its name this year due to torrential rain just before the event was supposed to open. This caused the normally bone dry area to become a quagmire. This list is all about the cars most stuck, do you agree with Andrew’s choice of the saddest of all? Let us know after you click this Jalopnik link here to check out the options . AND FINALLY: PORSCHE DOES NOT RECREATE BEETHOVEN Porsche has failed to get a European trade mark for their electric car noise, which they likened to the opening bars of Beethovan’s 5th Symphony. The EU Intellectual Property Office did not agree with that opinion of the noise, in fact saying “he sound was not distinctive enough and could be applied to a variety of vehicles or their replicas.”. Ouch. To read more, click this link from EnergyPortal.eu .…
FOLLOW UP: XIAOMI’S EV PLANS Last week when discussing the approval of Xiaomi’s plan to build EV, Andrew should have clarified that this was the fourth to be given permission since 2017, not the fifth. FUEL PRICE RISE HITS HARD IN AUGUST Unsurprising to anyone who’s watched fuel prices over the last few years, petrol and diesel went up in August. That month when the UK takes to roads due to the school holiday. Prices increased by nearly seven pence per litre. To read more, including some of the justification of this, click here for the Autocar article . ALMOST HALF HOMEOWNERS WOULD PAVE GARDEN TO CHARGE Research by EO Charging found that 49 percent of homeowners would pave over their front garden, to make it easier to charge their electric car. This is despite 53 percent expressing concern in people paving over their front gardens. For further insight, click this link to read more at Motoring Research . JLR TO USE SUSTAINABLY FUELLED LORRY FLEET JLR (y’know, the lot that used to be called Jaguar Land Rover), will be running their lorry fleet on sustainable biofuel, from 2024. They estimate this will cut their road freight carbon emission by up to 84 percent. To learn more, click this link to the Autocar article referred to on the show . TOYOTA, VW AND KIA PRODUCTION HIT BY DISRUPTION Factories across the globe came to standstill in the last week for a variety of reasons. All of Toyota’s output in Japan ceased after an issue with a systems update. Kia’s factory in Hwaseong, South Korea, was shut following a fire. Volkswagen’s Slovakia plant stopped making the T-Roc following severe flooding in the region causing damage to a supplier’s operations. Click this AMOnline article link to read more . GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES MAAS TRAVEL APPS STANDARDS The Government has announced the guidelines for Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) apps.The aim is to make them more user friendly, safer and reduce costs for travellers. These apps are thought to be developed to contain public transport, road and micro-mobility information and costings. For you to learn more, click this link to an Intelligent Transport article . Maybe Alan’s dream app will finally happen? FRENCH ROAD SIGN CAUSES CONFUSION French authorities are testing a new symbol, to be displayed on digital road signs that indicate a lane is for car-sharing only. One tiny problem is, it looks a lot like the Renault logo, but following the company’s lawyers investigating no further action was taken. You can read more, by clicking this link here to a Connexion article . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Mini Cooper Electric Mini has revealed their new Cooper Electric, which is the new name for the five door hatch version, which we all used to call the One. The dimensions remain, essentially, the same as the previous model, but inside has two centimetres more room. The design is smoother and more resolved, particularly around the front, than the last model. To find out more, including prices and specs, c lick this CAR article link here . Mini Countryman Not content with the Cooper Electric, Mini also showed off their new Countryman. This certainly has not been kept to the same size as the previous generation. The design is a smart evolution on the existing model, again better resolved than previously. For more information, click this link to a CAR article explaining all the details . Volkswagen Passat VW has shown us the next generation Passat. Of note, it is only available in estate form, which is good news for those of us who like estates. Other than that though, there is very little that is remarkable about this car. If you wish to find out more, click this Autocar article link here . BMW Neue Klasse BMW, to much fanfare, revealed their new design language via their Neue Klasse concept car. Both Alan and Andrew struggle to see what makes it a BMW or have any enthusiasm for the design that appears to ape other brands. You can make up your own mind by clicking this Autocar link to see more . Roundup of IAA Munich Motor Show 2023 The original plan was for a Special Edition to be produced this week with our thoughts on the IAA Munich Motor Show, but we are so disappointed and lack any enthusiasm for anything revealed that has been canned. Instead you can see what Autocar thought of it by clicking this link to their roundup here . For CAR’s opinion, click this link to their roundup . Polestones 01 We thought the bad old days of Chinese copycat designs was over, but it most certainly is not with the Polestones 01 SUV. Defender, Toyota and Hyundai lawyers must be looking very closely at this. Filled to the brim with tech, for both the powertrain, driver assistance and entertainment, though it is, that has not stopped them throwing the kitchen sink at it. Click this Autocar link to see more and do double takes on many of the photos. Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale Again another car the chaps should be so excited about which has failed to really ignite a fire. Alan postulates that the original was so good that anything was going to struggle. Whilst it is a good looking and impressive car, is it a £1.7m good car? We’ll let you decide if it is, which you can do by clicking this Autocar link . Seat to stop making cars Volkswagen finally throw in the towel and announce that Seat will no longer make cars. Instead they will become a ‘mobility brand’. Successive VW boards have failed the Spanish company, so much so that the promise for them did eventually happen but only when they created a sub brand in Cupra. Click this Autocar link to learn more . LUNCHTIME WATCH AND READ: RADWOOD 2023 Andrew and Alan were hugely jealous of all of you that managed to make it to RADwood this year, celebrating everything ace about the 80s and 90s. We are linking you a video from HubNut, which captures the essence of what went on. Click here to watch that . Also, we recommend you read this Hagerty piece too, which tells you about the Show and Shine winners and the Hot Wheels Legends Tour which selected the UK’s representative for the global competition. Click this link to see more . LIST OF THE WEEK: INTERSTING FOUR-WHEEL-SALOONS WE FORGOT ALL ABOUT Autocar provide another slideshow for us to pour over and select the one four-wheel saloon we’d like to have more than the others. Do you agree with the selections made on the show? Do let us know your choice. AND FINALLY: SETTRINGTON CUP RUNS FOR 11TH YEAR As a reminder that Goodwood Revival is on this weekend, we link you to a piece from last year celebrating the 10th year anniversary of running the Settrington Cup, where children race to their pedal cars and are cheered on along a course to see who can make it to the finish line first. Click here to read more . The Motoring Podcast Watchalong party will start on Saturday just in time for this race to take place and go all through the afternoon, with the chaps coming back and doing it all again on Sunday! We hope you can join us and chat to us in the YouTube comments as we prattle on whilst watching. Don’t forget you need to have a separate window open with Goodwood’s own livestream playing as we cannot include it for understandable copyright reasons.…
FOLLOW UP: BATH CAZ MAKES A DIFFERENCE Following the introduction of a Clean Ari Zone (CAZ) to a portion of Bath, NOx levels have dropped by 26% and only 1% of vehicles entering the zone are non compliant. Bath took the approach of targeting taxis, vans, buses, coaches and lorries only. You can find out more, by clicking this BBC News article link here . DAMAGE FROM POTHOLES ROCKETS IN JULY July, in the UK, was incredibly wet which has help to make conditions that have led to a sharp increase in vehicle damage due to potholes. Drivers have not been able to establish if a puddle is shallow or to a depth comparable to Lock Ness. To learn more, including how to make a claim from the local council if you are unfortunate enough to damage your car, click this CAR link here . DEVON ASKS FOR MORE MOTORING OFFENCES POWER Devon County Council has started a public consultation on approval from residents to extend their powers to include prosecuting drivers for contravening some motoring offences. We are curious how some of the claims the council are making can actually occur by fining someone for going past a no entry sign. Click this link to a BBC News article to read more and also find the link to the consultation. GLASGOW HYDROGEN PROJECT CANCELLED Glasgow Council has cancelled their hydrogen refuse lorry project. Details are unclear as to why the decision was made. Alan and Andrew try to work it out with availability of suitable vehicles and the increase in the cost of hydrogen being likely suspects. They will now channel that money into electrifying their fleet. If you would like to read more, click this article link from FuleCellsWorks . LEGAL TESLA CHARGER OPENS IN UK Tesla has opened their first V4 chargers, in the UK. The significant improvements include a longer charging cable, meaning it should be easier to reach charging ports. But most importantly, is that they will finally be compliant with UK regulations and allow for contactless payment. Click this Top Gear article to read more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Kia EV5 Kia have revealed their EV5, which is a smaller version of the seven seat EV9, with very similar external boxy styling. Whilst no details have been released regarding price, it is expected to be around £50,000, similar to the Skoda Enyaqi, Ford Explorer and Fisker Ocean. Click this link to an Autocar article to see the clean and minimal design both inside and out, as well as some very clever storage solutions. Hyundai i20 Hyundai have given the very good i20 a refresh. Prices start at £20,770, with added safety tech, three new colours and the ability for over the air updates. To read more about this news, click here to an Autocar article link . Mercedes-AMG GT Mercedes has shown us a 911 for those who think the engine should be in the front. There is a striking similarity to the silhouette, but that is not us complaining as the car looks stunning. Details on performance are no less impressive. If you plump for poverty spec, at launch, you only get the GT 55, with a V8 that has a paltry 469bhp, 516lb ft of the torques meaning the car eventually drags itself from 0-62mph in a pedestrian 3.9 seconds. However, if you go for the GT 63, the V8 produces a more respectable 576bhp and 590lb ft of the torques, meaning 62mph is hit in a more satisfying 3.2 seconds. You can read more by clicking this CAR link here . BAC Mono BAC have decided to play a game of spot the difference with their new Mono. However, there are a number of changes, including using panels from the Mono R, as well as cabin updates and other areas that we will not see. Click this CAR article link to read more about the evolution of the Mono. Porsche 914 restomod Porsche restomods typically come from sunny California, well not this time, as Bakewell in Derbyshire is the location of Fifteen Eleven who has eschewed 911s and produced a fabulous 914 restomod. Click this link to read more, from Hagerty . To see more pictures and the philosophy behind their work, click this link to the Fifteen Eleven site , and check out the 914 page. China approves Xiaomi’s EV plans Xiaomi is only the fourth manufacturer to receive approval from the Chinese state planner to make electric vehicles, since 2017. This is worth noting as China is making big strides into the European and UK markets. You can read more, by clicking this Electrive article link here . LUNCHTIME READ: A MORGAN THREE WHEELER ROAD TRIP KICK STARTED MY MENTAL HEALTH JOURNEY Friend of the show, Alex Goy, has written a new version up of his trip in a Morgan to Lisbon, with a Polaroid camera, now including the importance of it to his mental health journey. This is a fabulous read for a number of reasons, do click this link to the Jalopnik article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE CARS FAST VANISHING FROM OUR ROADS Autocar and another friend of the show, James Ruppert, provide our list of choices. Do you agree with the selections made by Andrew and Alan? Don’t forget to tell them. Click this link to see what they could’ve picked . AND FINALLY: WANTED - THE ESCAPE OF CARLOS GHOSN Apple TV now has a new documentary about Carlos Ghosn and his remarkable escape from Japan and house arrest. As we’ve covered this story from the start we thought you might be interested and want to watch it.…
FOLLOW UP: CLAIMS WELSH 20MPH WILL CAUSE EMERGENCY SERVICES ISSUES DISPUTED A Conservative Freedom of Information request has led to accusations that the mandatory 20mph speed limit for urban areas in Wales will impede emergency services ability to fulfil their roles. This is disputed by both the Labour Government and the emergency services. You can read more, by clicking this BBC News link here . FOLLOW UP: CRUISE CUTS TESTING FLEET BY 50% Following a collision with a fire engine, Cruise has agreed to a request that it cut it’s testing fleet by 50% in San Fransisco whilst an investigation takes place. The incident led to a passengers being taken to hospital but then released later. To find out more, click this link to and article from The Guardian . This last seven days have not been great for Cruise, click this Twitter thread to read just some of the issues their cars have had. To read why reducing numbers for testing will have a big impact on Cruise, click this Jack Stilgoe Twitter thread . FOLLOW UP: TESLA IS SUING TWO EX-EMPLOYEES OVER HACK Tesla has confirmed that the downloading of 100 gigabytes of data from company servers was an ‘inside job’ and that two ex-employees are being sued. Whilst the individuals involved should be pursued for breaking the law, this does not absolve the company. Huge questions still remain over the culture and attitude to privacy and security. One question to ask is “how could they access so much and so diverse information?”. Click this link, to a Quartz article , for more information. FOLLOW UP: DVLA REMINDER SERVICE CLARIFICATION After we discussed the confusion, over paper reminders from the DVLA, we have been contacted by them. Paper reminders are still available, you must opt out to not receive them. Thank you to the DVLA for clarifying this situation. Click here to check out the information provided by the DVLA over this . TESLA EXECS APPARENTLY KNEW OF AUTOPILOT ISSUES Engineers for Tesla, whilst giving deposition for another civil case following the death of an owner, have stated that executives knew that Autopilot could not detect cross traffic and did nothing to fix it. This will be of interest to the other organisations investigating many issues with Tesla. Click here to read more from The Register . FORD MD TAKES ON UK CHAIR TOO Lisa Brankin has added Ford UK Chairperson to her title of Managing Director. She is taking over the position following Tim Slatter’s move to Ford in the US. More can be read on this, by clicking the link here to an AMOnline story . JLR RECRUITING 300 TECHNICIANS As part of the push to an electrified future, Jaguar Land Rover are recruiting 300 technicians to their factory and development centres across the country. You can lean more by clicking this Autocar link here . IVECO TO OFFER BATTERY SWAPS ON THEIR LCVS Iveco, the light commercial vehicle manufacturer, are now offering battery swaps on the Daily range. This is not swapping as NIO do, but enabling owners to change the capacity of their batteries depending on the use case and if that changes. This appears to be a clever and interesting way for these vehicles to be kept on the road longer and for them to play multiple roles during their lifetime. Click this link to the Autocar article that explains more . NIO DELAYS UK LAUNCH Talking of battery swaps…NIO has announced that it is delaying its launch in the UK until they feel they have sufficient infrastructure in place, such as the battery swap locations, service centres and partners to help with all that. More can be found out by clicking this Autocar link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Mahindra Thar.e Indian car maker, Mahindra, revealed their Jeep rival, the Thar.e which it plans to sell in Europe and is rumoured to be interested in the UK market too. You can listen to how we are a bit unconvinced and feel it will be very difficult for the manufacturer to crack these targeted markets. We hope we’re wrong. Click here to see more, from the Autocar link . Fisker Alaska Following last week’s Fisker that we felt was very silly and pointless, here we discuss the Alaska, an electric pick up. Prices start at $45,400 (don’t forget that isn’t on the road price), with a variety of powertrains, battery configurations and subsequently different 0-62mph times. Expected to be in customer hands in 2025, we have some time to wait. In the meanwhile, you can learn more by clicking this Autocar link here . Ford Mustang GTD The outrageous Mustang GTD was revealed by Ford, as part of homologation requirements of IMSA and the GTD class. Costing around $300,000 there will be a very small number made, with some even making it to the UK. The technical details are expected to be as bonkers as the looks. Oh, and to be clear, the chaps do not advocate abducting Ford employees and making them produce more incredible sports cars. Click this Autocar link to read more . Niels van Roij Fiat Panda 4x4 restomod Niels van Rojj has turned his eye to a Fiat Panda Sicily 4x4 and created something wonderful and all for a seemingly reasonable price, considering how much typical restomods end up being. Do click this PistonHeads link to see more . Also, click this link to Niels’s own LinkedIn post about the gorgeous car. Jaguar to end entire existing line up Jaguar are going to cull their entire existing line up, including the I-Pace, before the relaunch of the brand, earmarked for 2025. As they will not be using any shared elements of the cars and that the new designs will be “exuberant” which has meant they will have their own bespoke platform and not share with Range Rover, Discovery and Defender vehicles. Click this Autocar article link to learn more . 5 year PCP from Vauxhall and calls from industry for EV help Vauxhall has announced a 5 year PCP deal, on selected EV models. Click this link to a Stellantis press release to see the calculations . Meanwhile, others within the industry are calling on the Government to help attract more EV buyers with the reintroduction of incentives. Some manufacturers are adding their own, without waiting to see if the Government will indeed help increase demand. Click here to read more from the Autocar link . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: HARRIS MANN PASSES AWAY Harris Mann was behind some of the most controversial designs of British Motoring, as the original concept was them got hold of by management, engineering and British manufacturing in the 70s. Only in later years was his work recognised as being outstanding when more understood the truth. Click this link to AROnline to read a lovely obituary and retelling of his life. DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: BEN PAYNE NEW VICE PRESIDENT OF DESIGN AT LOTUS Following the shock death of Peter Horbury, Ben Payne has been promoted to vice president of design at Lotus. Click this Car Design News article link to read more . LUNCHTIME READ: THE ART OF A GOOD HAGGLE Friend of the show, TV’s Paul Cowland has written another advice column for Hagerty. This time he gives us his vast knowledge on how to do a deal where neither party feels ripped off or scammed. Click here to read the sage advice from Paul . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE SIMPLEST CARS EVER MADE Autocar once again provide the slideshow for you to peruse and consider when deciding if the chaps chose wisely or if you would do it differently, when it comes to the most simple cars made. Click here to check out your options and don’t forget to share your thoughts with Alan and Andrew. AND FINALLY: WILL THE MINI-JEEP MAKE IT TO MOAB? Take one lunatic Brit, one tiny jeep with an even tinier engine and the vast expanse of the US, mix them together and you get a wonderful series of videos as we hope to find out if they can make it to Moab. Click here for a link to the playlist with the first four episodes in it, but the fifth is in the normal channel area.…
FOLLOW UP: britishvolt saga takes another twist The buyer for the bankrupt Britishvolt company, Recharge Industries, has failed to make the final payment and is in breach of contract, according to the administrator. Recently we covered the news that the Australian head office was raided by tax officials and police. Click this Autocar Business article to find out more . FOLLOW UP: TESLA RANGE CALCULATIONS EXPLAINED Following the report that Tesla was deliberately misleading owners on the range of their vehicles, Car & Driver investigated how range was calculated in Teslas and compared that to other vehicles. Tesla appear to use a very simple formula which works in a very linear manner and does not adapt to conditions or driving styles. You can find out more, by clicking this link here . FOLLOW UP: LISTENER FEEDBACK Thank you, to Tony Wood, for writing in to us to tell us about the free Android app, called “Petrol Prices” which is available in the Google PlayStore, which uses crowdsourced information to tell you of the cost of fuel in areas of the UK. Tony went on to tell us of his experience of traffic lights changing dependent on whether the car is being driven in excess of the speed limit or not. He confirmed this was done in Spain a decade ago and he thought it was an excellent way to encourage better behaviour on the roads. If you would like to get in touch with us, please feel free to use our contact page, which is linked to here . HOUSE OF LORDS ASKS FOR EVIDENCE ABOUT OUR EV TRANSITION The House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee has asked for evidence of a strategy and plan from the Government and wider public on the transition to EVs by the mandated dates. Click here to read the Autocar article but also to find links to the committee’s list of questions and how to respond . CONFUSION OVER DVLA REMINDER SERVICE AND POST OFFICE CONTRACT Thank you to Meilyr Williams for sending a Mastodon thread to Andrew about confusion over the changes to the DVLA’s reminder service, for car tax, which you can read by clicking here . Check it out and then go see if you are in the system for reminders or need to get on the list for reminders. Additionally, we also we informed that the DVLA is looking to cancel its contract with Post Office, which will mean there will be no way to use a Post Office for any DVLA related services. Once again, the attack on those who are not on the internet or need to do things in person rears its head. Click this link to read more . CAR INSURANCE PRICES HIT ALL TIME HIGH Car insurance prices hit a record level, according to the industry itself. The blame is being put on the costs of repair increasing at an alarming rate. However, Andrew does have personal and recent experience that shows not all costs are justifiable. You can find out more by clicking this Motoring research article link here . WARNING OVER CAR EMISSION STICKER REQUIREMENTS in europe If you are taking your car to France, Spain and Switzerland, you will be required to obtain an emission sticker which shows how much pollution your vehicle produces. In France these are numbered and only certain stickers will allow you onto select roads in Paris and other cities. To learn more about this, click this RAC Twitter thread here . CLIVE SUTTON AND AC CARS LEGAL DISPUTE FINALLY ENDS After a lengthy and protracted legal dispute where claim and counter claim was made, the copyright use has been sorted out between Clive Sutton, who imports Shelby Cobras and AC Cars who make the AC Cobra. Click here to read more, from AM Online . HYUNDAI MOBIS WINS BIG EV BATTERY CONTRACT FROM VW GROUP Hyundai Mobis, a sister division to Hyundai and Kia cars, has won a huge battery contract from the Volkswagen Group. They will supply the small car MEB platform with batteries following the construction of a factory in Spain, enabling the supply of the Spanish production. To learn more, click this electrive article link . BRISTOL WORKPLACE PARKING LEVY SCRAPPED The Mayor of Bristol, Martin Rees, has cancelled the implementation of the workplace parking levy that was due to start soon, citing the cost of living crisis as the reason. Others are more sceptical as the announcement came just after the courts forced the sharing of the feasibility study report which had been refused. You can learn more by clicking this TransportXtra article link here . FORD WIFI VULNERABILITY FOUND Ford has disclosed that a vulnerability to some of their cars using their Sync3 infotainment system has been discovered in the WiFi module. Ford claim that there is no risk to the cars drivability because they have, wait for it, a firewall. To read more on this, click this link to a Bleeping Computer article . For more context on this, click here to read what Ken Tindell has to say via LinkedIn . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Fisker Ronin Fisker has shared details of the Ronin convertible EV, with a silly amount of brake horse power, enabling it to get to 62mph far too fast for nearly everyone to handle, costing a mere $385,000 and deliveries are supposedly starting in late 2025. The chaps are not exactly glowing about this, going so far as to question if it will happen at all. Click this EVO link to see more . Ford Maverick launch delayed In more news that is not the best for the company, Ford announced that they are being forced to delay the launch of their SUV Maverick in Europe until mid-2024. They claim that new battery regulations mean they cannot use what they had planned to. You can read more via this Autocar link . Audi S4 and S5 diesels cut from the range As consumers move away from diesels, manufacturers are increasingly removing them their UK ranges. The latest is Audi, with S4 and S5 versions no longer being sold here. To learn more about this story, click this Autocar link . LUNCHTIME READ: CRASHED TESLAS ARE ENDING UP IN UKRAINE AND OWNERS ARE TRACKING THEM Written off Teslas are being sold by insurers with whole cars being bought and shipped to places like Ukraine and Poland. They are then brought back to life and fixed, then being sold on in country. But the original owners are finding this out as the cars power up and new owners take advantage of the apps in the car. The Autopian has done a deep dive into what is going on, you can read that by clicking here . Also, remember to wipe your car’s data if you sell it and can still access it. LIST OF THE WEEK: AXED! GREAT CARS CANCELLED AT THE LAST MOMENT Our recommended list is all about the fabulous cars we so very nearly got, but were denied at the last moment as the manufacturers pulled the plug on them. Click this Autocar slideshow link to see what we could’ve had . Don’t forget to tell us what you would pick. AND FINALLY: ELECTRIC CAR ETIQUETTE GUIDE Debretts and Vauxhall have combined to produce an etiquette guide for electric cars. This is a really nice way to share information with us all and help those unsure what to do in certain situations. Click here to read more .…
FOLLOW UP: ULEZ SCRAPPAGE SCHEME EXPANDED The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that the scrappage scheme for the London ULEZ expansion has been altered to now cover all residents of London, unlike previously where only a small number of eligible groups were allowed to apply. Click this BBC News article link to read more . FOLLOW UP: UBER AV FATALITY LEGAL CASE ENDS The legal case brought against the test operator, Rafaela Vasquez, who was working for Uber in their autonomous vehicle program who was monitoring the system when it hit and killed Elaine Herzberg five years ago, has ended after she pleaded guilty to endangerment. This has resulted in three years probation but avoids any jail time. Of note is that no charges have ever been brought against Uber or anyone else from the company. Rafaela disputes claims she was watching The Voice on her phone, instead stating she was checking the in-company channel on the app Slack, as the Uber had instructed all operatives to do. Click this article link from WIRED to read more on these developments. We also strongly recommend you check out a piece from Ed Niedermeyer, discussing the case and what it means for the industry and us drivers. You can read that by clicking this link here . NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR JULY 2023 The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), have released the registration figures of new cars, for July 2023. Growth continues once again, which is positive news, but it is still over a decade (apart from the previous two years) to find a worse month. EV registration continue to hover around 16%, with diesel continuing to fall. To read more, click this link to the SMMT article. RESEARCHERS JAILBREAK A TESLA With physical access to a Tesla researchers have managed to access parts of the system that allow them to enable some options and activate them, without handing over their money to the company. As more companies fit all options and then hide them behind extra payments we will likely see a rise in such activities. You can find out more by clicking this TechCrunch article link here . CALIFORNIA DATA PRIVACY AGENCY INVESTIGATES CAR DATA Californian’s privacy regulator has announced it is investigating the collection and sharing of data by connected cars. This follows some moves in Europe. Click here to learn more, from a MSM news link . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Toyota Land Cruiser Alan clarifies the different model sizes of the range, which many in the US could’ve done with understanding when reporting on the reveal of the new Land Cruiser. The looks have been inspired by their historical models but they have managed not to create a pastiche. In the UK we will get the same 2.8 litre diesel until late next years when a mild hybrid powertrain will be available. Prices are expected to increase, with the base model creeping past £50,000, as a result in the upgrade to the quality and feel of the car. Click this Autocar link to read more . Pininfarina Pura Vision concept Pininfarina has shown us their utterly enormous luxury SUV which fails to hit the spot for the chaps. They struggle to work out who it is for and where it might be appropriate to have. You can see more of this incredible display of excess by clicking this Top Gear link here . Volvo axes all saloons and estates Volvo is culling all saloon and estate variants from its UK range. Emergency services will still be able to purchase these models, however. Whilst this is a disappointing move, the business case is understandable. To read more, click this Autocar link here . For some tongue in cheek coverage, click this link to an amusing Top Gear link . LUNCHTIME READ: TIRED OF RECORD-SETTING CARS? Michael Banovsky, via his newsletter Man I Drive Your Car , brings the recommended reading this week. Discussing the constant and seemingly never ending record breaking efforts of the car industry and how irrelevant they are to so many of us. Click this link to read more , and do not to forget to sign up to his newsletter to receive more of his thoughtful work. LIST OF THE WEEK: BEST CARS OF THE 90S Continuing on from last week, we step back a decade and trawl through the best offerings of the 1990s. Lots of choice in this Autocar slideshow. Don’t for get to tell us your selection. Click here to check out what is on offer . AND FINALLY: GOOGLE MAPS CAR IN POLICE CHASE The driver of a Google Maps car, for unknown reasons, decided to flee when he spied a police car. Follow a chase, involving speeds in excess of 100mph, the car came to rest in the bank of a river after attempting a Dukes of Hazzard style jump and failing. Click this link from The Drive to read more .…
FOLLOW UP: ULEZ EXPANSION GIVEN GO AHEAD The High Court has ruled that the expansion to the ULEZ, as announced by the Mayor of London, is legal and allowed to take place. Five councils had brought the action against the increase in the area covered by the rules on vehicle emissions. You can find out more by clicking this BBC News article link here . ASTON MARTIN GETS NEW BOARD MEMBER Following their increased stake in Aston Martin, Geely are now entitled to a seat on the board of the sports car company. Daniel Li, the Geely CEO, has been appointed. Geely are the third largest shareholders, with 17% stake. Click this Automotive News Europe article link , to find out more. CLAIMS OVER TESLA RANGE MANIPULATION An article surfaced from Reuters claiming that Tesla has a secrete team who squash any complaints on the range of their cars, from customers. The claims centre around range exaggeration by the company creating an expectation in customer’s minds and them having to deal with the differences owners found. You can read that piece by clicking the Reuters link here . A well known YouTube EV specialists, Bjørn Nyland, has published a video discussing the article and pointing out areas he does not believe are correct, you can watch that by clicking this link here . BT TO CONVERT CABINETS TO EV CHARGERS BT, the telecoms giant, has announced it will convert on street cabinets to EV chargers once they are decommissioned as areas are serviced by full fibre systems. Starting in Northern Ireland in the autumn, a few cabinets will be converted to enable car charging before the project is rolled out across the UK. The expectation is up to 60,000 cabinets could be eligible for conversion. To find out more, click this edie article link here . SCAREMONGERING OVER MINERAL REQUIREMENTS Much is said, online, about the need for precious metals and how much of them will be required as we move to electric cars. We are linking you to an article from the Financial Times that discusses this, explaining how we have the supplies but also the reality that some communities will be affected by the increase in mines and manufacturing. Click here to read more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Lexus LM Lexus has revealed their new range topping model, a luxury MPV. LM is the acronym for Luxury Mover, aimed at those who are to be transported in comfort that don’t want an SUV or saloon. The car will come with a 2.5 litre petrol hybrid powertrain and an optional extra electric motor. Length is just over five metres and a width slightly under 1.9m. Configuration will be either four or seven seats. Prices start at £89,995, running all the way up to £112,995 for the top of the range Takumi trim. Click here to read more, via an Autocar article . Kia Sorento Kia has refreshed the Sorento with a new look to the front end that is linked to the EV9 design. The interior has also been spruced up, with a cleaner and clearer layout, which uses to the same screen layout first seen in the EV6. The expectation is the same powertrains will be used, which means the 2.2 diesel, 1.6 hybrid petrol and a plug-in hybrid petrol will be the propulsion options. Again there is no firm detail but prices are expected to be up on existing, with the entry level diesel starting at £42,000, moving to the range topping plug-in hybrid being around £50,000. To learn more, click this Autocar article link here . LUNCHTIME READ: CELEBRATING THE FESTIVAL OF THE UNEXCEPTIONAL Last weekend saw the Festival of the Unexceptional take place at Grimsthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire. Always a firm favourite of this show, with Alan being particularly bitter at not being able to attend this year. You can find out more by clicking this article link from Hagerty here . As ever with these events, it is not just the cars that are being judged and on display that are fascinating but also the car park. CAR Magazine has a list of some of the more interesting cars that were brought to the event, which you can see by clicking here . LIST OF THE WEEK: THESE ARE THE CARS THAT DEFINED THE 2010S Whilst this is a US centric list there are plenty of the options shown that we also saw over here in the UK. The principles of some of the segments also will resonate with us on this side of the pond. Click here to see what Jalopnik think make the list . AND FINALLY: THE YOUTUBE CHANNEL SAVING VHS RALLY COVERAGE YouTube channel VHS Rallies is chock full of 1980s to 2000s rallying, mainly UK coverage. Whilst we don’t cover rallying anymore, due to not doing it justice, we are huge fans and still watch it. But, when did our love of it start? Back when we saw this stuff the first time around. Click this link to learn more, from Hagerty .…
TATA BATTERY FACTORY TO BE BUILT IN THE UK Tata, Jaguar Land Rover owners, have finally confirmed thanks to Government help their battery factory will be built in the UK and not Spain. Production is planned to start from 2026, with the aim being to produce 40GWh of batteries when fully operational. These will be sold to the mobility and energy industries. Click this Autocar article link for more . JLR CONFIRM ADRIAN MARDELL AS PERMANENT CEO Adrian Mardell stepped in to fill the void following the departure of Thierry Bolloré several months ago. This was only a temporary appointment, however, Tata has announced that he will take over the role on a permanent basis. You can find out more by clicking this Autocar Business link here . SUPERMARKET FUEL PROFITS MORE THAN DOUBLE The RAC continues to hound the supermarkets over their fuel pricing. They have established that since the start of the Ukrainian war, supermarket’s profit per litre of fuel has doubled as they have not passed savings onto us consumers. More can be read on this, by clicking the link to the Autocar article here . LOTUS TO CUTS JOBS Lotus announced an already planned cull of approximately 200 jobs when releasing their financial results. The company is at pains to stress these were not the result of the increased losses of £145.1 million. A consultation is underway regarding the proposal. Click here to find out more, via an Autocar Business link . ALPINE GET A NEW CEO Laurent Rossi is being moved to a Renault Group position as Philippe Krief, ex-Ferrari engineering boss, takes over as CEO. No real explanation has been given for the change. More can be read on this by clicking this article link from Automotive News Europe . CHROME PLATING TO BE BANNED Chrome plating is set to be banned in Europe and the US, for new cars due to the dangers of the process and chemicals involved. This won’t actually make too much difference as very little actual chrome is used in today’s cars. Click this Autocar article link to read more . ANTI FRAUD SERVICE FOR USED CAR ADVERTS AVAILABLE Brego, a vehicle valuation company, has launched the Brego Advert Check to help second hand car buyers establish if an ad is potentially fraudulent. The price, compared to the market expectations, along with searching for the pictures used online and wording, are all utilised to evaluate the legitimacy of the advert. There is a case study in the article linked to from Autocar which you can read by clicking this link . CLEVER SPEED REGULATION IDEAS FROM FRANCE In France they are trialling some clever ideas to get motorists to slow down that is not all about enforcement but changing behaviour. One idea is a speed detector synched to traffic lights, which is the vehicle is at or below the speed limit remain green but change to red and stop the car if it exceeds the limit. You can read more on that here via The Sunday Times Driving article . The second trial involves squiggly lines painted on the roads which it is hoped cause drivers to be confused and thus slow down as they approach areas such a junctions and the likes. Click this link here from The Connexion to see more . LAMBETH COUNCIL REMOVING RESIDENTIAL PARKING Lambeth Council has decided to remove residential parking as only 40% of locals own a car. On top of this the council confirms it can make more money from this space by utilising it for other purposes. You can read more by clicking this link to a TransportXtra story . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Triumph TR25 Makkina, which is a British design house that normally works behind closed doors with manufacturers, revealed the Triumph TR25 single seat EV roadster concept. Based on the underpinnings of the BMW i3, this lightweight vehicle shows off what is possible with a small battery and lightweight construction. Click this Motoring Research link to see more . Audi and SAIC Deal Not strictly New New Car News however, it is sort of. Audi has been forced to sign a deal with the Chinese firm SAIC, who will supply the company with the platform for the A3 and A4 saloons. We do not know if that is just for the Chinese market or globally. Huge news in reality, click here to read more from electrive.com . Click this Bloomberg article link to see how patronising and wrong the Western press are about China. DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: ACHIM ANSCHEIDT STEPS DOWN Bugatti’s head of design, Achim Anscheidt, is stepping down to be replaced by his deputy Frank Heyl. He will continue to be an advisor for Mate Rimac the CEO. You can read more by clicking this Autocar link here . LUNCHTIME WATCH: PAUL COWLAND’S CAR COLLECTION Friends of the show, TV’s Paul Cowland and Chris “The Pollitt” Pollit take us on a tour of Paul’s fabulous and extensive car collection, via the Car & Classic YouTube channel. Click this link to watch this fabulous video . LIST OF THE WEEK: GREATEST CARS EVER MADE WITH POP-UP HEADLIGHTS We bring you a huge list of options when it comes to this week’s list. Many cars to click through in order to pick your favourite with pop-up headlights. Don’t forget to tell the chaps if you agree with their choices. Click here to see what you could pick, thanks to Autocar . AND FINALLY: AIXAM MEGA DESERT We round out the show with a link to the story behind a one-off Dakar racer that you might not have heard of and from a company who you wouldn’t expect to make such a vehicle. Click this link to read all about it, from Treetop Barn .…
Public Charge Point Regulations announced The Government has announced that it will bring in laws that require a 99% reliability to the charging network, for rapid chargers, as well as live status updates. Furthermore, new chargers over 8kW must have contactless pay reader fitted. Failure to meet the new regulations could result in a £10,000 fine for each unit that does not satisfy the requirements. Click here to read more, from Autocar . RENAULT-GEELY PARTNERSHIP HQ IN UK We first discussed the Renault-Geely joint venture back in November 2022, but now they have announced their headquarters will be in the UK. All production will occur outside the UK. They are still in talks with Aramco to join. Much misinformation has occurred over this story, click this Twitter thread from Edwin Hayward that unpicks the lies . If you would like to read more about the actual story, click here for the link from BBC News . RENAULT CUTS DEALERSHIP NUMBERS Renault announced that they are cutting their dealership numbers, by approximately 25% by 2025. The do not plan, at this time, to move to the agency model so many competitors find irresistible at the moment. To find out more, click the link here for the AM Online story . NISSAN AGREES INVESTMENT IN RENAULT Nissan has finally agreed a figure of investment in Renault. They are investing around €646 million in Ampere, which equates to a stake of less than 10% when it was expected to be 15%. You can read more, by clicking this electrive article link . NISSAN RECALLS 1.4M CARS GLOBALLY Nissan is recalling 1.4 million vehicles globally due to a risk of unintended acceleration in their Note, Kicks, Serena, Leaf models. The Note Aura is being recalled in Japan over a headlight issue. This includes the UK. No accidents have resulted in these matters. Click this Jalopnik article link to learn more . VW MANAGEMENT MUSICAL CHAIRS CONTINUES Volkswagen Group continue to play musical chairs for their senior staff. Stefan Weckbach will fill the role of Group Chief Strategist following Gernot Doellner’s move to CEO of Audi, we discussed in the Moved to Tears - July 4 2023 episode. André Stoffels will replace Thomas Sedran as CARIAD Chief Financial Officer. Andreas Lehe will fill the position at Bentley, Peter Bosch’s move to head up CARIAD created. Simon Bracco will add to the responsibilities of his position as Head of Corporate Quality at Audi to replace Michael Neumayer as head of Group Quality, which he held for less than a year. There are more, but you get the gist, lots of changes and all of it internal. You can find out more by clicking this article link from electrive here . PARIS INTRODUCES PARKING CHARGES BASED ON WEIGHT The full details of the changes to parking levies imposed by the city of Paris are yet to be announced, but size, weight and the motor of the vehicle are due to be part of the calculation. EVs and larger families are expected to avoid increases. SUVs make up 15% of the total vehicle ownership of Paris, having increased 60% in the last four years. More can be found by clicking this article link here, from The Guardian . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Aston Martin Valour In celebration of being 110 years old, Aston Martin gives a present to itself, the 705bhp V12 manual Valour, that takes a lot of inspiration from the Victor. There will be 110 made, costing between £1 million and £1.5 million. To learn more, click this Autocar article link here . Caterham Project V Caterham revealed the Project V, an electric three seater sports coupe. With an output of 268bhp and weighing just 1190kg, the 55 kW battery pack gives a range up to 249 miles. 20-80% charging can be achieved in 15 minutes with a 150kW rapid charger (conditions allowing). Starting prices are under £80,000 and takes Caterham into a new market as it has things like a roof and an interior. Whilst we were shown a concept model it is very close to what will come out of the show room in 2026. Click this EVO article link to see more . Hyundai Ioniq 5 N We all finally got to see the Ioniq 5 N running at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend. 641bhp, four-wheel drive, car will hit 62 from a standing start in 3.4 seconds and top out at 161 mph. The battery is a new larger 84kW unit, but we do not know what range this will give or how much hooning around dents that. 10-80% charging, via a 350kW charger and conditions allowing, will take place in 18 minutes. There are several driving modes, including a drift mode, endurance mode and for the track sprint mode. Lots of work has gone into this car so whilst prices haven’t been announced they are expected to be more than the Kia 6 EVGT. You can learn more from this link to an EVO article . Hyundai Santa Fe Hyundai has shown us the next generation Santa Fe, their large SUV. The design is a boxey one, with emphasised wheel arches and a flat back. Inside utilises the screen seen in the Ioniq range, for the driver and centre console. Like the Ioniq cars, the interior has gone for a minimalist approach, and from the images so far it is hard to tell what are buttons and what are areas of a touch screen one must prod. Powertrains will be a cross over from the previous model with hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants. These will be improved upon to increase efficiency and range. You can learn more by clicking this Autocar link here . Audi EP4 Audi apprentices have built a homage to the NZU Prinz to mark the 150th anniversary of Audi’s Neckarsulm factory. The 236bhp electric motor is in the rear and the batteries fitted in the front. The design makes strong reference to the original’s front and rear lights, as well as the shoulder line and the unmistakable cabin and roof. To see more about this, click here for the Autocar link . LUNCHTIME WATCH: MORE THAN YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THE TOYOTA HARRIER ZAGATO Once more we are recommending a Kevin McCauley deep dive. This time into the virtually unknown Harrier Zagato. Only 250 were produced and only for the home market of Toyota. Click this YouTube link to find out the story behind this car . LIST OF THE WEEK: EIGHT OF THE BEST THREE-SEATER SPORTS CARS With the new Caterham and Gordon Murray latest three seater sports cars are back on the agenda. Top Gear has compiled a list of what they think are the best. Do you agree with Andrew’s choice? Do not forget to let us know! Click here to see the options . AND FINALLY: TURNING POTHOLES INTO ART Tim Webb is using a special tactic to raise the issue of potholes near his home in Orpington, hoping that his local council will sort them out. Click this BBC News link to watch a short video and find out more.…
FOLLOW UP: NO CHANGE TO EU TARIFF RULES Following weeks of statements that the UK and EU were discussing the changes to the expected import/export tariffs, it appears that there will be no change to the tariffs for ‘rules of origin’ starting in 2024. The European Commission has rejected a call to postpone until 2027. Click this article link, to learn more, from Electrive . JUNE 2023 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES Once again registrations are up, year on year. However, they are still well below 2019 levels. Battery electric vehicles grew, for the month, to nearly 18% market share, but year-to-date still sits at a smidgen over 16%. Diesel has dropped, unsurprisingly, whilst PHEVs jumped. Petrol was also down for the month and year-on-year. The SMMT has called on the UK Government to cut VAT from public charging to help encourage more to switch. Click here to read the information from the SMMT . UK STELLANTIS BOSS STEPS DOWN Phil Willcox has announced he is stepping down as the UK boss of Stellantis. He will be replaced by Maria Grazia Davino, who will begin her new position on 1 September, moving from Head of Sales and Marketing for the group. Click the link here, to read more from AM Online . JLR ANNOUNCE NEW UK MANAGING DIRECTOR Jagual Land Rover has revealed the new Managing Director for the UK, Patrick McGillycuddy, who stepped into the role on a temporary basis, in the wake of Rawdon Glover moving to Jaguar, in March. You can find our more, by clicking this Fleet & Leasing article link, here . 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF TESLA SELF DRIVING CLAIM This is the tenth consecutive time Elon Musk has claimed that Tesla will achieve Level 4 or 5 automated driving this year. Happy anniversary! Again he has made the claims and again it will not happen. For more, click this article link from The Autopian . SAN Francisco RESIDENTS STOP SELF-DRIVING CARS Local residents, in San Francisco, fed up with the disruption of Waymo and Cruze’s self-driving test fleet being very, very poor at actually driving. The activists make it clear cones are to only be placed on empty cars. Traffic cones are put on the bonnet of cars, which causes the vehicle to stop as the system does not know what to do, but it does not actually damage the car. You can learn more, by clicking this link to a Jalopnik story . CLEVEDON SEA FRONT CYCLE LANE UNDER REVIEW Last year Clevedon council installed a new cycle lane to the sea front. Unusually, they used curving lines to delineate the road from the cycle path, which weave into the normal road area. This has proved controversial. The council has appointed independent experts to review the scheme. Click this BBC News article for more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Dacia Spring Dacia has announced their Spring EV model will be coming to the UK, in 2024. The car will be the facelifted version, that is coming out next year. Details on battery packs, range and price are yet to be announced. The expectation is it will be under £20,000 though. Click this Autocar article link to learn more . Peugeot E-208 Peugeot is updating the battery tech on the E-208. Again. This time to stretch the smallest battery’s range from 225 miles to 248 miles, thanks to improved efficiency and a better electric motor. Charging from 0-80% is expected to take only 25 minutes if connected to a 100kW charger. No news on the price yet. Click this article link from The Car Expert for more . We also are sharing this article, from Top Gear, where Peugeot make it clear sporty cars are not their focus right now so don’t expect any. Click here to read more about this distressing news . MG4 XPower MG are coming out with a sporty model of the MG4. Offering 429bhp, 0-62mph in 3.8 seconds and range of 239 miles. There is also a less powerful Trophy version that doesn’t go as fast but means you get a range of 281 miles. The XPower will cost from £36, 495, which does move it away from the ‘affordable’ tag the range has enjoyed. You can learn more by clicking this EVO article link here . Opel Rocks E-Xtreme Opel is the latest of the Stellantis brand to rebadge the Citroën Ami. However, they have at least changed it up a bit by offering design students a change to shake up their original design. Lukas Wenzhöfer has gone down the “Let’s off-road!” route, with raised suspension, chunky tyres, external rollcage and a huge rear wing. Click this link to the article from Automotive Design Planet that tells you more, including a video showcasing Lukas’s idea. LUNCHTIME READ: SLEAZY RIDERS MotorPunk brings you the delights of the 1970s custom van craze, explaining how it started and why. Learn about the decline and some who’ve kept the trend going. Click this link to read more . LIST OF THE WEEK: 11 SPORTSCARS POWERED BY THE ROVER V8 An older Hagerty list, but still one we recommend you running through to pick which car you would like to run around in. Do you agree with Alan’s choice? Don’t forget to let us know. You can see the options by clicking this link here . AND FINALLY: TOYOTA VIRTUAL FACTORY TOUR You can join us, virtually, as we geek out about car production by visiting Toyota to see how they do things. Always fascinating to see how a company tackles the various issues manufacturing brings. Click this link to find out more and go on the tour .…
FOLLOW UP: BIDIRECTIONAL CAMERAS CATCH 3200 DRIVERS In the first 15 days of operation, the four bidirectional cameras, installed by Devon and Cornwall councils, has been triggered 3200 times. One camera was activated 120 times a day. Thanks to listener Mark Snow for bringing this to our attention! Click here to read more from the BBC News article . UK CAR INDUSTRY CALLS ON NEXT GOVERNMENT FOR HELP The SMMT has moved on to calling to the next Government, whoever that is, to help secure the future of the car industry in the UK. They have laid out five pledges it hopes any of our politicians will pick up and run with. Click here, on this link , to learn more of this desperate move in the face of political apathy from all corners. SUPERMARKETS RIP MOTORISTS OFF Supermarkets have been found to have ripped the British motorists off, due to weak competition allowing them to charge 6p per litre more than they should have. One of the recommendations, from the Competitions and Markets Authority, is to force supermarkets to publish live prices in order that we consumers can compare and find the cheapest. There is no guarantee this will be implemented. Click this BBC News article here , to learn more. AUDI SACK CEO MARKUS DUESMANN The CEO of Audi, Markus Duesmann, has been sacked following very public criticism from VW Group CEO Oliver Blume. Duesmann was brought in by Diess, from BMW. He will be replaced by Gernot Doellner, the current VW Group strategy boss. Whilst Audi’s performance has not got close to the hopes from VW, there is context that shows it is not all his fault. Click this Twitter thread from Matthias Schmidt for context of what he inherited. To read more about the overall story, click this Forbes article link written by Michael Taylor . HYUNDAI AND TOYOTA EV ADS BANNED After a brief spell of being in agreement with the Advertising Standards Authority over dealer price claims, we return to normal service. Toyota and Hyundai adverts for their EVs have been banned because they do not warn people there is only a small number of the very fastest charge points available. On top of that, the complaints stated to achieve the fastest charge there were a number of variables that could thwart the process. You can read more by clicking this article link from The Times . SURVEY SUGGESTS DEMAND FOR EVS BELOW REQUIREMENTS A survey by Auto Retail Bulletin has revealed that current demand for EVs falls below next year’s imposed requirement by the Government of 22%. 60% of respondents state demand is below 15% and a third say it is below 10%. That would mean the car industry paying the UK Government a lot of money. However, most likely there will be a throttling of non compliant model availability, as we have seen previously. For more on this story, click this Auto Retail Network link . HMRC SAYS EV NUMBERS ARE CLIMBING AS DIESEL FALLS In this week’s blindingly obvious story, HMRC has confirmed that the number of company cars that are electric is increasing rapidly, whilst diesel numbers plummet. Anyone who listens to the monthly SMMT figures run-down, will have expected that. On top of which, there are the tax incentives to go EV. More can be found out on this item, by click here for the Motoring Research article . NEW REPORT ON PUBLIC EV CHARGING UTILISATION Zapmap and the Green Finance Institute have partnered to issue a report on the time and energy utilisation of public charging points. Time utilisation used the data of how long a vehicle was plugged in, even if not charging. The energy side of things looked at how much was delivered, compared to what it could deliver. The energy utilisation is interesting as it shows chargers not able, for a wide variety of reasons, to supply the amount they are advertised. You can learn more by reading the article from Zapmap after clicking this link here . LORRY FITTED WITH INDUCTIVE CHARGING TECHNOLOGY Electron and GINAF have partnered to fit a 50-tonne electric lorry with inductive charging technology that can be used whilst in motion or stationary. This is part of the further research and development of induction charging being fitted to roads. Click this Electrive article link to read more . STELLANTIS ELLeSMERE PORT PLANT TO RUN ON HYDROGEN Stellantis say their van plant at Ellesmere Port will be carbon neutral by 2028, as it will generate its electricity from hydrogen produced by natural gas locally. More can be learned by clicking this Autocar Business article link here . UK PIONEERING REPAIR AND REMANUFACTURE EV BATTERIES UK company Autocraft EV Solutions, has developed techniques to repair and remanufacture EV batteries, at scale, which is a key step in the circular economy that is required to help the transition to a more sustainable future. To read about this, click this link to The Manufacturer article . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Xpeng G6 Xpeng, a Chinese company, has revealed their 2024 G6 coupe SUV. Prices, in China, start at £22,900 for a single motor option, which gives a range up to 360 miles or if you stump up £30, 200 you can get a dual motor version with a range up to 469 miles. The car will be sold in select parts of Europe, with no decision on the UK having been made yet. You can find out more by clicking this link here . Singer DLS-T Alan and Andrew disagree over this car. Andrew thinks is fabulous whilst Alan likes the looks but not the ethos, for very personal reasons. This $2 million restomod takes a 964 version of the 911 and creates a homage to the 1977 934/5 Group A IMSA race car, as explained by EVO. To learn more and ogle some wonderful pictures, click this link here . McMurty Speirling Pure McMurty has revealed the road going version of their fan car, which has been improved over the prototype that dominated the Goodwood hillclimb last year. Now faster, lighter, more effcient and generally better all round, you can order one for £984,000 if you need to get you and a pint of milk home very quickly. Click this Autocar article link to see the bonkers stats and detail of this, lets remind you, road legal car. DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: PETER HORBURY HAS PASSED AWAY The Executive Vice-President of Design, Group Lotus, Perter Horbury, has suddenly passed away. Whilst the motoring world is shocked at this news, the outpouring of love and admiration for the man himself, as well as his distinguished career, has been a universal response. Click here to read the announcement from Lotus . To read the Car Design News obituary, click this link . To read the Autocar obituary, click this link . To read the Auto&Design obituary, click this link . LUNCHTIME WATCH: MEET THE NEVS EMILY GT Tom Ford, on behalf of Top Gear, shows us what could’ve been but also what there is still could happen, when a bunch of engineers and designers are left alone to create an EV. This is very clever as the motors are in the wheels. Click this link to watch and find out more . LIST OF THE WEEK: 9 ELECTRIC CARS AND PICK-UPS YOU’VE PROBABLY FORGOTTEN Move Electric bring us a host of unusual electric cars to pick one from. This is made harder for Alan as Andrew bans him from his usual selection. Click this link to find out more and see if you agree with Alan and his choice. Don’t forget to tell the chaps which you’d have from the options. AND FINALLY: RENAULT TWINGO 30TH BIRTHDAY REIMAGINATION The Renault Twingo is 30 years old. To celebrate this, Renault asked Sabine Marcelis, renowned artist, to reimagine the car. Click this link from Top Gear , to find out more about the wonderful work and homage that was paid.…
FOLLOW UP: ALL CARS WITH THERMAL WINDOW DEVICES OWE COMPENSATION IN EU A German court has ruled any car fitted with a thermal window device is deemed illegal, thus owners can sue the manufacturer unless they can prove there is no negligence on the part of the car company. These devices were permitted by the regulations that the EU brought in, up until July 2022. Click this Autocar article link for more information . FOLLOW UP: GHOSN SUES NISSAN FOR DEFAMATION Carlos Ghosn is suing Nissan, two other companies and twelve individuals for defamation, to the tune of $1 billion, relating to his ejection from Nissan and subsequent imprisonment. You can learn more by clicking this Hagerty article link here . FOLLOW UP: BRITISHVOLT OWNER RAIDED BY POLICE The owner of Britishvolt, who has yet to pay for the company, has been raided by Australian police, relating to tax matters. The company stresses this is all a misunderstanding and is cooperating fully. Click this BBC News article link here , for more information. For Peter Campbell’s tweet adding more context, click this link . CAR FIRMS WARN OF RULES OF ORIGIN PAIN EU car companies have warned of a £3.2 billion hit if an agreement cannot be reached over ‘rules of origin’ as car batteries will fail to meet the criteria imposed on them. For more on this story, click the Motoring Research article link here . NISSAN OUST COO GUPTA In a shock move, by Nissan, their Chief Operating Officer has been forced from the company under mysterious circumstances. No official reason has been given as to why the man who was steadying the ship, making it financially viable once more and even increasing market share has been kicked out. Click here , to read more from the Asia Times. HEATHROW CHARGING POINTS SHUTDOWN Heathrow short term parking EV charging points have shutdown, with no explanation from either Heathrow Airport or PodPoint. There is speculation as to why, which you can read more about from this Autocar article, linked here . Also, we recommend reading the tweet from Tim Oldland, giving realistic reasons why this may have happened and exposing a real issue as more charging points are needed across the country. Click here to see what he explains. BIDIRECTIONAL SPEED CAMERAS INSTALLED IN DEVON AND CORNWALL Certain roads in Devon and Cornwall now have bidirectional speed cameras installed, in further attempts to deal with speeding vehicles. Some are replacements, with others being new installations. To find out more and where they are, click this BBC News article link here . COUNCILS GOING APP ONLY FOR PARKING PAYMENTS Over 20 councils in the UK have moved to parking set ups that will only allow for app based payments. This is discriminatory and demonstrates the dangers of not considering future technological advances or what to do when the tech is no longer supported. You can read more on this, from the BBC News article by clicking here . ASTON MARTIN AND LUCID MOTORS STRIKE DEAL Lucid Motors will take a 3.7% stake in Aston Martin, in return for supplying the electric drive equipment Aston will need to build their future vehicles in the EV only future. To learn more, click this article link from UK Investing . There is also a link here , for another contextual tweet from Peter Campbell. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Volkswagen Tayron VW has shown off renderings for their second generation Tayron, currently a Chinse market only seven seat SUV. The new car will be a global vehicle, being sold not only in China but the North America, Europe and the UK. Click this link to read more , from Autocar. BYD Dolphin BYD has revealed their small, £25, 490 EV which undercuts most of the competition in terms of price. There will be a variety of battery pack and motor combinations that give a variety of ranges. The quickest cars will do 0-62mph in around seven seconds. To read more, click this link to the Autocar article . Toyota C-HR The new Toyota C-HR has been revealed, with an updated look and improved interior. This is the car that means the Prius is not coming to the UK, so there is a little pressure to ensure it is good. More can be found out about it, by clicking this Autocar link here . Aehra Saloon The Italian start-up Aehra, has shown us their second model, the Saloon, which will start at £160,000 and is aimed at those interested in the Porsche Taycan. The range is claimed to be 497 miles for the luxury GT. Stylistically it is an improvement on the SUV. Click here to find out more, via an Autocar article link . Renault Rafale Renault are bringing a coupe SUV that is promised to be all about the driving pleasure. Some have questioned how closely this looks to the current Peugeot range, which Drew Meehan’s tweet is but one. To learn more, click this Autocar link here . Ark Zero UK start-up Ark, has launched the Zero, which the company calls a micro-car. Aimed at the Citroën Ami market, this is a two seater EV, with a top speed of 28 mph and a maximum of 50 mile range. At the same time the company announced they would be bringing an A-Segment car and autonomous driving technology soon. Click this link to read more with an ever rising eyebrow, from Electrive. LUNCHTIME READ: VEHICLE PACKAGING CONSIDERATIONS A shorter than normal link, as we point you to Nir Kahn’s thread on the considerations required for vehicle packaging. Click here to read what Nir posted on Twitter. LIST OF THE WEEK: BIG ENGINES SMALL CARS Top Gear has another Top 9, this time all about small cars with big engines and not once do we see the words Toyota, Yaris or GRMN! Click this link to see if you agree with Alan’s choice and don’t forget to tell the chaps what you would pick. AND FINALLY: RARE MAZDA KOALA WHEELS If you fancy wildlife on your alloys, we have just the story for you. Click this link here , from The Drive, to find out all about how Koalas ended up on Mazda wheels.…
FOLLOW UP: NHTSA TELLS CAR COMPANIES TO IGNORE RIGHT TO REPAIR In a stunning move, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ( NHTSA) has told car companies in the USA to ignore the new Massachusetts right-to-repair law. The claims in the letter cover cyber security risks and malicious actions. Questions were also raised about the author of the letter and their involvement in the long battle by John Deere and the right to repair and how that could be seen as a conflict. Click this Reuters article link for more . For some context on the claims in the NHTAS letter and how they run a little hollow, click this link from Hot Hardware . VW ANNOUNCE ANOTHER NEW STRATEGY Volkswagen CEO, Thomas Schäfer, announced the latest strategy for the brand. They will be prioritising volumes, with sales, cutting some of their models as they focus on “core models”. There is also mention of more cross brand working. You can find out more by clicking this AM Online article link here . That is not the end of the announcements though, VW is dropping the manual gearbox if Euro 7 legislation is implemented as it is now. The claim is that it is needed for emission rules. Click this Autocar article link for more . Also announced, again by Schäfer, was the news that the interiors of Volkswagens will be improved and made simpler. Acknowledging the complaints about the touch-screen only approach, with a return to a more functional design and layout. Click this Autocar article for more . STELLANTIS ENDING ICE ONLY MODELS IN SOME US STATES Stellantis are no longer selling ICE only cars in 14 states in the US, in order to meet stricter emission rules. All models are electrified to greater or lesser extent. They announced the move in April. Click this Autopian article link to find out more. TIGHT FINANCES CAUSE OWNERS TO SKIP SERVICING In news that should surprise no one, Volkswagen Financial Services surveyed over 2000 owners to find out a third are skipping essential servicing due to the cost of living crisis. This is the latest in a number of such results from many companies reporting the similar news. Click this Autocar article link to read more on this worrying trend. NEW MOTORING OFFENCES SENTENCING GUIDELINES PUBLISHED The Sentencing Council has listed the revised and new sentences for motoring offences, covering dangerous, disqualified, careless and uninsured driving amongst others. Click here to read the list and what the sentence recommendations are, from the Council. INCREASED PARKING CHARGES FOR POLLUTING CARS Lambeth Council is introducing increased parking charges for the most polluting cars. There is also a surcharge if the car is a diesel vehicle. 59% of residents objected to the proposal but Lambeth introduced it anyway. Click this article link, from The Guardian , to read more. Islington is not to be outdone though, they are introducing parking rate bands for EVs, based on battery sizes in the vehicle. This will probably come as a shock to those who thought moving to a zero tail pipe emission vehicle was the right thing to do, as the council justifies the prices because there is “significant carbon imprint from the production and recycling of the battery, as well as the overall emissions.” Click this TransportXtra article link to read more. CORYTON LAUNCHES BIOFUEL FOR CLASSICS Aiming at the classic car market, UK biofuel company, Coryton, has launched a range of fuels that will allow owners to continue to run their car with reduced emissions but without the worry of damage to the engine. You can learn more, including the different strengths, by clicking this Autocar article link here . NYOBOLT TO PRODUCE NEW BATTERY Nyobolt, a UK based EV battery tech company, has confirmed that it hopes to be producing their new battery by 2026. The system will allow 100% charging in six minutes. They have targeted giving enough range coupled with a quick recharge time, rather than as much range as possible. To find out more, click this link here from Autocar . JLR SELECTS INDIAN FIRM FOR 420 MILE BATTERY Jaguar Land Rover has selected Agratas, an Indian company who is part of the Tata empire, to supply their 420 mile battery packs for their next generation EVs. Confirmation is still waiting on if they will be supplying from the projected date the cars are due in customer’s hands. Click this Autocar article link , to learn more. WELSH GOVERNMENT INVESTING MORE IN EV CHARGING The Welsh Government is to invest a further £15 million, in order to help councils provide more charging points across the Principality. This is on top of the previous £26 million. Click here , on this ZapMap article link, to learn more. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Software Republique H1st Vision Renault and a who’s who of French technology companies unveiled a concept car and “concrete, operations” technologies they believe will revolutionise mobility and car use. Systems such as utilising biometrics for opening and operating the vehicle, digital wallets tied to the car, driver monitoring that includes claims of facial expression and your mood recognition and more utter fantasy and ill-conceived ideas were paraded to the press. These all will unnecessarily expose the company to cyber security, privacy and legal issues that are silly and completely avoidable. Click this Autocar link to scoff at the suggestions . More real and actually interesting was the announcement about the Renault 5 EV being able to allow the battery to discharge back into the electricity grid. They go on to mention that is should save owners money. You can learn more by clicking this Autocar link here . NIO EL6 and ET5 NIO are bringing two new models to Europe and it is presumed the UK shortly after. The EL6 is a SUV which will be competing against the Audi Q8 E-tron and Mercedes ECQ. This will be a real test to see if buyers will go for premium products not produced by the Germans, as some believe they will not. Click this link to read more , thanks to Autocar. The ET5 is an estate EV, with its sights set firmly on the BMW i5 Touring. Slightly shorter in length but very similar otherwise, including power, range and performance. Again, it is yet to be seen if customers will eschew the German brands for this Chinese car. Learn more, by clicking this Autocar link here . Mercedes-Benz Vision One-Eleven Leaning heavily on the historic C111 from the 70s, Mercedes reveal their latest concept. This gorgeous low slung coupe, with gull-wing doors, as spectacular interior and a clean exterior design is wonderful poster material. On top of which the claimed technologies involved also give hints to future plans. You can read more by clicking this Autocar link here . However, to gawp as some stunning photos, click this link here . LUNCHTIME READ: FUORICONCORSO IS A FEAST FOR THE EYES - AND THE LENS Hagerty supply our Lunchtime Read, once again, this time making us all wish we had been at the FuoriConcorso event, on the shores of Lake Como to view some spectacular cars that are not all the usual suspects. Click the link here to read more about what went on and view some stunning vehicles. LIST OF THE WEEK: OUR 10 FAVOURITE CLASSIC SALOONS Great Driving Days provides the options for you to pick your favourite classic saloon. Do you agree with Alan’s choice? Don’t forget to let us know what you would pick. Click here to check out what you can select . AND FINALLY: HOT WHEELS LEGENDS TOUR IS BACK The Hot Wheels Legends Tour is back, with the UK leg selecting our nomination to win the top prize, taking place on 2 September 2023, during the RADwood car show, at Bicester Heritage. The judging panel consists of presenter and designer Helen Stanley, TV’s Paul Cowland and one half of Smith and Sniff podcast, Richard Porter. To find out more and if you’re quick a chance to win one of five giveaways from Motoring Research by clicking this link here .…
FOLLOW UP: COURT APPROVES MORE AREAS OF ULEZ CONTENTION The High Court has approved a further two grounds for contesting the expansion of the London ULEZ, following initial legal efforts in February where only two of five grounds were accepted. There are five councils fighting the expansion which is due to be reviewed on 4 July. To learn more, click here to read the Enfield Dispatch article . ‘NO MOW MAY’ RAISES CONCERNS ‘No Mow May’ is a campaign that allows verges to grow, thus enabling plant life to flourish. However, some concerns have been raised as this has led to reduced visibility. PlantLife have helped 300 local authorities to adopt this. Click this Autocar link to learn more . EV SHOULD PAY-PER-MILE SAYS THINK TANK The Centre for Policy Studies, an organisation with strong links to the Conservatives, has recommended to the Government, that all EVs are charged per mile, to help replace the lost vehicle excise duty venue. They go on to recommend a set amount of free mileage per year, with those in more remote locations allocated more. The rates would also tie into the weight of the vehicle. You can learn more, by clicking the AMOnline article link here . STELLANTIS PROMOTING KEEPING CARS ON THE ROAD LONGER The average age of cars on the road is twelve years, but Stellantis is suggesting fifteen is easily possible with remanufacturing. This is where cars that have reached the end of life are harvested for parts that can be refurbished and used by others. All of this will help reduce CO2, as a consequence. Click this Autocar Business article to learn more. To watch The Late Brake Show about ‘deproduction’, click this YouTube link . To read the Autocar Business article on ‘deproduction’, click the link here . MERCEDES GETS LEVEL 3 APPROVAL IN CALIFORNIA Mercedes-Benz US has gain approval for their Level 3 automated driving system, in California. Called ‘Drive Pilot’ and once engaged, will allow the driver to take their hands from the steering wheel and look away from the road. The driver needs to keep their face to the in-car monitoring camera but can do other things, like play with their phone. All of this will only occur when up to 40mph and when the car is in heavy traffic. Click The Verge article link to learn more . For context as to Andrew’s anger at this being deployed, and the change in tune from Mercedes from only a few months ago when it comes to responsibility, click this LinkedIn post . For even more context, a piece from The Autopian, explaining why Level 3 is a bad idea and inherently flawed, click here to read that . TOYOTA DEVELOPS AN OFF-ROAD SEAT Unfortunately, unlike last week’s And Finally , we don’t have bum scans to share with you on this seat story, but Toyota have looked at improving comfort in their rugged off-road vehicles. The IsoDynamic Performance Seat is designed to keep the driver in control of the vehicle, with their head still, their hands on the wheel and lessen the strain on the body. You can learn more, by clicking this Design News article link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Volvo EX30 Volvo revealed their smallest SUV, their fastest accelerating car and their most recycled vehicle in the form of the EX30. The impressiveness does not end there, prices start at £32,000 for the quite well equipped base model. Range and battery make up changes as you move through the trim levels. Click this Top Gear article to read about a car that both Andrew and Alan are struggling to see the downside of, if you can afford the asking price. To read about Bcomp’s involvement with the interior, click their article link here . Chery Jaecoo 7 SUV and Omoda C5 Chery, a Chinese brand, are coming to the UK in 2024. Their plan is to bring the Omoda C5, a Nissan CashCow rival, over first, followed by the larger Jaecoo 7, both of which are SUVs. They will come with ICE and EV options. They are working on having 40 - 50 dealerships open in time for their launch and aim for 100 in total. Click here to see more about their move from Autocar, and if you think it will work. Fiat Topolino Fiat has revealed their rebadged Citroën Ami, but it looks perfect and very “small Italian car”. The owners of private villas along the Amalfi coast will be rushing to purchase their own tiny electric vehicle. To see more, click this Autocar link . Polaris Xpedition Not really a car, but it looks awesome fun, the Polaris Xpedition is a four door ATV, which you can spend a long time sorting with the optional extras. Perfect for those weekends in the wilderness that Alan can now enjoy as he’s in the good old US of A. Click this link to visit their website and lose some of your day. you can thank us later. Porsche Mission X This concept, from Porsche, is the replacement for the 918 that ceased production in 2015. The Mission X will be the showcase of their technology, which will trickle into their line up over time, save the 1500bhp output we expect. To learn more, click this Autocar link here . Volvo culls some models Volvo is to cease selling the S90, XC40 PHEV and Cross Country estates, in the UK. They state this is so they can concentrate on their EV future, but sales figures were very low for each of these too. You can find out more by clicking this Autocar link here . LUNCHTIME READ: HOW THE FIAT X1/9 GOT (AND KEPT) ITS NAME Matteo Licata, writing for Hagerty, tells the virtually unknown and fascinating story about how Fiat named the X1/9 and how that stuck. Click this link here to read this wonderful piece from Matteo. LIST OF THE WEEK: THE WEIRD, WEIRD WORLD OF FORGOTTEN CAR ACCESSORIES Enjoy clicking through 49 slides on this Autocar supplied list, showing how far we have come, in terms of safety and motoring convenience. Don’t forget to let the chaps know if you agree with their choices and what stood out for you. Click this link to see more . AND FINALLY: ASTON MARTIN BULLDOG HITS 200MPH Designed in the late 1970s to exceed 200mph, finally that target has been achieved in the only example built, thanks to the desire and, frankly, cash of the current owner. Click here to read all about this feat, from Classic and Sports Car .…
FOLLOW UP: VW AND AUDI AGREE DIESELGATE DEAL WITH TEXAS Volkswagen and Audi have agreed, in principle, a settlement deal with the State of Texas over breaking environmental laws because of dieselgate. A sum of $85 million will be paid. Click this US News article link for more . FOLLOW UP: EV GRITTER NAMES After mentioning looking forward to seeing the EV gritter names on last week’s show, we have had some suggestions. Jouletide Grittings, Salt Watter and DeICEr. Thank you to Nir Kahn for those, they’re wonderful. Feel free to send the chaps your suggestions. MAY 2023 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES May 2023 New Car Registration figures are up 16.7% on last year, but don’t forget that was quite poor due to supply constraints. The main driver, sorry not sorry, of May’s rise is an increase in Fleet registrations, up nearly 37% on last year. There is also a change at the top of the ‘Most Registered Cars’ chart too. To find out more, click this article link from the SMMT . JAGUAR I-PACE RECALLED IN US OVER FIRE RISK Jaguar is recalling over 6,000 I-Pace cars due to the risk of fire, attributed to an issue with the battery pack but the exact reason is still not known. You can read more by clicking this Reuters article link here . JAGUAR LAND ROVER REBRANDING Jaguar Land Rover, as a Group, are rebranding. JLR now has a logo, they have developed a ‘Look Book’, which dictates all aspects of the various brand’s aesthetics from stationary through to what the dealership staff are to wear. There is much optimism for the future but also acknowledgement that aspects need improving. To find out more about the JLR logo and Group, click this Autocar link . For the expected benefits for us customers, with the move to the agency model, click here to read more from Autocar . To read about how the staff “uniform” has gone down with dealerships, click this Auto Retail article link here . If you would like to learn more about how the Discovery brand is seen as an exciting one, from within JLR, click this Autocar link here . REMOTELY OPERATED TAXI SERVICE IN MILTON KEYNES This week’s Ledge of Fury™ item is brought to you by Fetch, Milton Keynes and regulators that have approved a taxi service that utilised remote operators to drive the car, whilst a safety driver sits in the front seat. Following a whole 1,000 miles of testing this has been approved to run on public roads. Click this BBC News article link here for more . There are a huge number of reasons why this is a bad idea, dangerous and should not be allowed, which are backed up by plenty of research that has been published. Michael DeKort has written a great summary as to why it is a dangerous idea to allow this on the road. Click this Medium link to read more . PORSCHE UNVEILS NEW LOGO AND BADGE In one of the most Porsche moves ever, the company has revealed an updated logo and badge. Following very close inspection, we can confirm it IS different from the last iteration and is the best looking modern logo redesign in the industry, mainly because they didn’t ‘flatten’ it. Click this The Drive link to read more . REST AND BE THANKFUL SAFETY TUNNEL ANNOUNCED A section of the A83 in Scotland, otherwise known as the Rest and Be Thankful stretch, is to have a protective tunnel built along roughly 1.4km of it. The plan is for this to prevent the road being closed due to debris from the surrounding hills and thus removing the need for a 53 mile detour. Click this BBC News article link for further details . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Electric Vauxhall Astra The all electric Vauxhall Astra has been revealed and it is an actual electric car, not an EV SUV!. Rejoice. Added to which Vauxhall is making good looking cars right now. Coming with up to 258 miles range, ability to charge up to 80% in 26 minutes and go from 0-62 in 9.2 seconds, this sounds like a car that will meet the needs for many. Prices will start at £39,995 which will push it out of reach for many. Click this CAR article link to find out more . Lexus LBX Lexus showed off their smallest car, to date, in the form of the LBX SUV. Whilst it is based on the Yaris Cross platform this is no rebadging exercise. Stretching the platform, the company has said they’ve created a small luxury car, not a cheap Lexus. The powertrain is a three-cylinder petrol engine combined with an electric motor to produce less than 120g/km of CO2, yet still gives 134bhp. We recommend you click this Autocar link to find out how Lexus believe they’ve overcome the constraints that were imposed on the project. Range Rover Sport SV The Range Rover Sport SV is a V8 engined mild hybrid, producing 626bhp, enabling the 2560kgs to get to 62mph in 3.6 seconds and run all the way up to 180mph. That is, if nothing else, an incredibly impressive engineering feat. The cars will only be sold by invitation, with just 550 models vailable in the UK in the first year of production. Prices start at £169,000 unless you want the carbon optional extras where that price starts at £190,000. Click this Autocar article link to read more . Caterham EV Caterham has revealed a proof of concept electric Seven. Teaming up with Swindon Powertrain, the company has created a track focused car that weighs only 70kgs more than the equivalent ICE version, with that weight cleverly packaged to help the car rather than hinder. There is a special ‘track drive cycle’ that enables 20 minutes of track driving, with 15 minutes charging and then off for another 20 minutes thrashing it around a circuit. You can learn more by clicking this EVO link here . VW ID.Buzz LWB Unveiled for the US and European markets, Volkswagen has shown off their long wheel base version of the ID.Buzz, which can seat seven. Whilst it adds another row of seats, in the 250mm longer wheelbase, the practicality side of things isn’t great as there is minimal space behind the rear seats for any luggage. Not slated for the UK, yet, there are also no details of range or price. For more, click this Autocar link here . MG HS MG has updated the popular HS SUV models with a new nose and the latest software and interior design, bringing it in line with the rest of the range. Click this Autocar link for more information. LUNCHTIME READ: PRITHVI NATH TAGORE’S 1958 MERCEDES-BENZ W120 PONTON We are recommending a wonderful article telling the story of a 1958 Mercedes W120 which has been in the same family for many years and is now restored. Used regularly by the owner, we learn how it arrived in India and what it took to get it into the amazing condition we see in the lovely photos accompanying the article. Click here to read the deRivas & Ives article . LIST OF THE WEEK: 10 CONCEPT CARS THAT SAW IN THE 2000S IN STYLE Antony Ingram, via the Hagerty site, brings us ten concepts that gave us hope for a stylish 2000s. Click this link to check out the options . Let us know if you agree with Alan’s choice or not. AND FINALLY: MITSUBISHI BUM PRINTS There are times the press packs for new cars contain something utterly amazing. The new US-bound Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is one such example. The company are really proud of how comfortable their new seats are, so much so they’ve scanned bottoms to show how well they support passengers. Click here to read The Autopian’s look at this .…
CAR CRIME DRAMATICALLY RISES 2022 saw a rise of 25% in stolen vehicles, on the previous twelve months. Items stolen from vehicles also rose. Figures are expected to be higher as Devon and Cornwall Police could not provide statistics. Relay theft is being cited as part of the problem, but we know, thanks to Ken Tindell and Ian Tabor there is a new way some cars are being stolen, click here to learn more on that technique from Ken. Click this link , from Motoring Research, to read more about the rise in car crime. DEALERSHIP PRICE CLAIMS MISLEADING IN RULING The Advertising Standards Agency has ruled that pricing a car for only five days, then reducing that price and then claiming there will be a saving for the consumer is misleading. Marshall Motor Group did this and have been censured by the ASA as a result. Five days does not set any reference for the price, according to the ruling. Click here to read more from AMOnline and the wider implications to the industry. CHARGEPLACE SCOTLAND TO BE PRIVATISED As demand for the service and the need to upgrade the network takes its toll on Chargeplace Scotland, the news that it will now be managed by private contractors is not surprising. The Scottish Government has stated it cannot afford to back it anymore. To read more, click this Autocar article here . DEVON OPENS NEW 16 CHARGER EV SITE For the thousands that invade the South West every holiday there is good news if you drive an EV as a new site has opened to charge at. Buckfastleigh, just off the A38 between Exeter and Plymouth. 16 ultra rapid charge points, including two with extra long bays for bigger vehicles or those towing something are now open to the public. Click this BBC News article to learn more. EV GRITTER LORRY LAUNCHED Econ Engineering has launched their electric gritter lorry in the UK. But that is not all, thanks to the clever adaptability of their Electric Quick Change Body (E-QCB) system, the lorry can be used for a variety of roles throughout the year. You can find out more, by clicking this electrive.com article link . TESLA DATA LEAK AND ADAS COMPLAINTS A huge data leak, from Tesla - which the company blamed on a disgruntled employee, has revealed two things. First, Tesla will be investigated by data control authorities, as a huge amount of customer and employee information being accessed and taken. Secondly, the data leak also showed that there have been a huge amount of complaints over ‘Autopilot’ and its capabilities. To read more, click this link from The Guardian . POLICE WORK WITH GEORGE’S CAR MEDIA TO PROMOTE SAFETY Devon and Cornwall Police are working with George’s Car Media to promote safe and legal practices for modifying cars. Using TikTok they are reaching a younger audience, which put requests to change an aspect of a Ford Focus the channel uses to show how to modify correctly. You can learn more, by clicking this BBC News article link . This is the link to the Performance Automotive Aftermarket Association , which Andrew and Alan could not remember! NURSE’S STOLEN CLASSIC MINI RECOVERED Thanks to a campaign on social media, fronted by Paul Woodford, a nurse’s classic Mini, which was stolen from her work car park, was recovered by police. Congratulations to all who were involved, showing us the good side of Twitter. Click this BBC News link here , for more. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Aston Martin DB12 The first Lance Stroll-era Aston was revealed, the new DB12. A new look, fresh and improved interior and technology. Clearly a modern Aston, when you look at it, even with its fussy front end that is less well resolved than the rest of the car. Also, there is no V12, which seems to have upset a few, but then AMG don’t do a V12 anymore, so V8 it is. Prices start at £185,000, which feels right for this sort of car. Click this EVO link to read more . Mercedes-Benz E-Class The new E-Class was shown to us all last week. As expected, for the car and Mercedes, the exterior looks are ‘evolutionary’ rather than ‘revolutionary’. Inside they’ve thrown as many screens as they can for the front driver and passenger, although the car will disengage video playing apps and the likes once the car gets moving, in an attempt not to distract the driver. The car will come with hybrid and ICE powertrains. To read more, click this link to a Car Scoops article . BMW 5 Series In an attempt not to be outdone, BMW took the wraps off their new 5-Series and all electric version, the i5. The design is very much in the mould of current BMWs, that is to say a mess. Too fussy, too out of proportion and we haven’t even mentioned the front end that already looks like its been crashed. To read more about the car, the powertrain options and such like click this Top Gear link . BMW has embraced the ‘living room on wheels’ ethos with the 5-Series too, cramming tech in to help keep the occupants occupied whilst waiting for the i5 to charge. However, they, like the rest of the industry, seems to have missed that we all have an entertainment device in our pockets that are better plus the demographic is not one who loves a bit of TikTok or selfie cams. Click this Autoevolution link to see more about the silliness being deployed. BMW also revealed they will be bringing their Highway Assistant tech to the UK next year. This is a hands-off, eyes-on system similar to the one Ford announced a few weeks ago. Andrew finally got to explain why this is a bad, as he stepped onto the Ledge of Fury™ to lambast the car industry, the regulators and the insurance industry for even considering this, let alone allowing it. To read more, click this Autocar article link . Vauxhall Corsa Vauxhall are not resting on their laurels when it comes to the Corsa, even though it is sitting at the top of the most registered chart for 2023, so far. They have shown us the new look for the Corsa, that incorporates the ‘Vizor’ grille, we first saw on the Astra. Underneath it shares the updated Peugeot 208 architecture and technology. That will see a 255 mile range for the EV version, as well as multiple ICE and hybrid options. Prices expected to start between the current £18,015 and £20,000 for the new entry level ICE version and more than the existing £31,931 for the new longer ranged EV. You can find out more, by clicking this Autocar article link here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: ROBIN PAGE IS BENTLEY’S DESIGN DIRECTOR Following the surprise by Volvo to appoint Jeremy Offer in Robin Page’s role, the Brit is returning to Bentley as their new Design Director. He previously was the head of interior design between 2001 and 2013. The general consensus, by the design community, is that this is a good more. Click here for the Auto&Design article , to read more. LUNCHTIME READ: TRACING THE ORIGINS OF ONE OF THE GREAT EARLY RACING PHOTOGRAPHS Kevin McCauley fell down a rabbit hole when he started to looking into who took the famous photo titled “ John Cobb drives the Napier-Railton on a record run at Brooklands ”. Click this link to find out how his search went and also to see a short video of him explaining what went on. LIST OF THE WEEK: ELEVN OF THE BEST CAR GAME COVER CARS Goodwood Road & Racing brings us their suggestions for the best car games cover cars. You’ll take a trip down memory lane when you have a look. Do you agree with Alan’s choice? Do let the chaps know. You can see the options by clicking this link here . AND FINALLY: 1000 DAYS OF TOY CAR PHOTOS FROM AROUND THE UK A daily photo task, which took off during lockdown, where Ross Burns photographed his son’s toy cars in locations around the UK has clocked up over 1,000 days and counting. There are some fabulous settings and compositions, click this BBC News article link to learn more and how to follow Ross on Instagram.…
FOLLOW UP: US LAWMAKERS ATTEMPT AM LOSS U-TURN Senators in the US are banding together to try and create a bill that will force car makers to install the option of AM Radio in all new cars. The claim is that removing it weakens the Government’s ability to issue emergency broadcasts. Click here to read the Autoevolution article . GEELY INCREASES STAKE IN ASTON MARTIN After several attempts to increase their investment in Aston Martin, that Lance Stroll had rebuffed, Geely announced that it now owns 17% of the brand. This makes them the third largest shareholder. To read more, click this EVO article link here . CALL FOR OVER-70S TO GET MANDATORY EYE CHECKS Older Drivers Forum, as road safety organisation, has called for all drivers to take a mandatory eye-test as they hit 70 and every three years recurring. This sounds like an eminently sensible idea that we hope will become law. You can find out more, by clicking this Autocar link here . CAR INDUSTRY WARNS OF RULES OF ORIGIN IMPACT Vauxhall, quickly followed by Ford, brought up the issue of Rules of Origin, where parts and vehicles imported into the UK from Europe, and vice versa, face a 10% surcharge bringing into question the viability of UK car factories. The car industry has urged the Government to renegotiate a deal with Europe to prevent the cost implications. To read more, click this BBC News article discussing Vauxhall’s position . This is an issue that has been known and discussed by a few for some time. Click this Autocar article link , from Jim Holder explaining the issues and consequences. You can read more about the lack of industry strategy, at a Governmental level, how that is hurting the industry and may mean it dies altogether, by clicking this The Guardian link . CALLS FOR GLOUCESTERSHIRE ROADS TO BE DECLARED AN EMERGENCY Paul Hodgkinson, a Gloucestershire County Councillor, has called for the poor state of roads in the county to be declared an emergency. The Highways Department had “30 teams” working to address road repairs. They also stated they met Government targets to fix high safety priorities within one day and other safety issues within 28 days. Click this BBC News article for more information. MERCEDES PINK NOISE DEPLOYED TO SAVE HEARING This is not a new thing, as Mercedes-Benz has been adding this to their cars since 2015, however it is amazing. If the car detects it is about to have an incident, pink noise is played through the speakers which causes occupant’s ear drums to close over and prevent loud noises from hurting and disorientating them. Click this Uncrate link here and watch the video for more. NIO UNVEILS GEN 3 BATTERY SWAP STATION NIO, the Chinese EV maker, has unveiled its third generation battery swap station and technology. These are slated to be coming to the UK too. The claim is that the battery pack of a NIO will be swapped in under five minutes. Their new station design will allow for up to 400 swaps in a day. NIO cars can also charge in a typical EV manner. Click this Autocar article link to read more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Ford Tourneo Courier Ford’s new entry level model, following the cull of the Fiesta and Focus, is the new Tourneo Courier. This will eventually come in petrol and EV options. The petrol engine will be a 1.0 litre providing 123bhp (Andrew got it wrong on the show, giving it an single extra bhp) via a six speed manual or seven speed auto box. The EV is expected to have a 55kWh battery, estimated to be capable of around 230 miles. Prices are expected to start, for the ICE version, at £20,000. Click this Autocar link for more . DS9 Option Upgrades Upgrades to the option specs for the car French diplomats will be driven in abroad, the DS9, have been announced. New infotainment, enhancements in safety tech and passenger comfort are all part of the improvements. As well as a hybrid system that will only be found in the DS9. There are three trim levels, starting with the Rivoli+, Opera and Esprit de Voyage. Prices start at £56,000 and run all the way up to £74,415. Click this Autoevolution link to see more about the upgrades. Luvly 0 A Swedish firm has revealed a flat-pack EV quadricycle competitor to the Citroën Ami. Weighing just 400kg, thanks to a composite construction, the 0 has a claimed top speed of 56mph and a range of 62 miles. To read more, click this link to an Autocar article . Nils van Roij Design Defender Convertible Nils van Roij Design has revealed a convertible version of the latest Defender. Whilst the chaps cannot fully agree on whether they like it or not, they are in full agreement that they like that someone has tried. Click this PistonHeads link to read more . Tamiya Wild One Max The Little Car Company has confirmed that they will be making a full sized, road legal version of the 1980s Tamiya Wild One radio controlled car you can buy. We have not been this excited for a car in quite some time. Have your heart lifted by clicking this Calibre link and finding out more. LUNCHTIME READ: WHY THE RIVIAN R1T REPAIR COST $42,000 The Autopian once again is the source of our recommendation for something to read over a lunchtime. A small ‘fender-bender’ collision, involving a rental car and a Rivian R1T pickup went viral as the final cost to fix the Rivian came to $42,000. Most scoffed and were incredulous, but those at The Autopian sought the answers to why. Click here to find out what they thought and what it means for all of us in the future. LIST OF THE WEEK: 10 OF THE BEST RENAULT SAFRANES PetrolBlog brings us quite the niche list to make your choice from, this week, which Renault Safrane will you pick? Do you agree with Andrew’s choice. Don’t forget to tell the chaps. Click this link to explore your options . AND FINALLY: IS IT WORTH TRAVELLING FOR CHEAPER FUEL Auto Shenanigans has a video out where he tries to get to the bottom of the claim that it is worth travelling for cheaper fuel. A wonderful piece of nerdism, which we heartily applaud. Click here for the YouTube link .…
FOLLOW UP: LOS ANGLES SUBURB TARGETS STREET TAKEOVER CULTURE Following on from the recent news of Australia fining spectators of street takeover events, a Los Angles suburb, Pico Rivera, are introducing similar laws. Spectators up to 500 feet away can be fined up to $2000. Vehicles used in the event can be permanently confiscated. California already has tough rules for such events but this goes further. Click here to read more from The Drive . US AIRBAG RECALL REJECTED BY SUPPLIER ARC, the maker of 67 million airbags that the NHTSA has ordered be recalled because a found defect has created “an unreasonable risk of death and injury", has rejected the recommendation. ARC state that the NHTSA’s eight year investigation has failed to show a "systemic or prevalent defect” in the inflators. To learn more, click this BBC News article link here . JAGUAR LAND ROVER SHOWS SIGNS OF FINANCIAL RECOVERY Thanks to JLR’s supply chain woes easing slightly, their fourth quarter financial results are much improved on the previous year. Revenue is up 49%, production is up 24%and order books are still holding around 200,000 vehicles. Click this link to Jaguar Land Rover’s own press release on this matter. VW SHAREHOLDERS MEETING ATTACKED During the shareholders meeting for the Volkswagen Group, protesters threw cake at executives and bared their chests as they highlighted the company’s green credentials and working in the Chinese region of Xinjiang, where human rights violations are reported. You can read more by clicking this link to the Raw Story article . TESLA OTA UPDATES EQUATED TO HACKER ATTACKS Tesla is having to defend their Over-The-Air (OTA) updates in a court as it is claimed the software changes impacted the performance of the batteries, including making them inoperable. The lawyer for plaintiffs is stating this is equivalent to a hacker attacking a system and is using California's Computer Data Access and Fraud Act and California's Computer Fraud and Abuse Act as the basis for their case. To learn more, click this Autoevolution article link here . For some context on OTA updates for cars and why they are jolly hard to get right, click this article link from Ken Tindell. INDIA PROPOSES BAnning diesels in cities by 2027 A committee set up by the Indian Government proposes the ban of diesels from cities and high density urban areas by 2027, but with quite a caveat as it does not include two and three wheeled vehicles as they get a reprieve until 2035. The committee proposing the moves also states that from 2024 new delivery vehicles in urban areas need to be electric, but the country is seriously behind on investment in EV infrastructure. You can read more by clicking this Jalopnik link here . TOYOTA DATA LEAK UNDETECTED FOR A DECADE Toyota has confirmed that a misconfigured cloud data bucket has been accessible by anyone since 2013. The company were at pains to clarify that whilst car details have been accessible personally identifiable information was not, but also location data is so we are not sure that stacks up. Click this DarkReading article link to find out more. CORNWALL RESIDENTS ASKED ABOUT ACTIVE TRAVEL HABITS Cornwall Council and partners are asking residents to take part in an active travel survey, in order to help them understand what influences those who do. The aim of the study is to reduce car use in the county. More can be read about this by clicking the BBC News article link here . BUSINESSES PLUG-IN GRANT INCREASED The plug-in grant for businesses has increased £500, to £1,500, with immediate effect. The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) keeps the rates under constant review and is empowered to change them at any time. Click this AMOnline article link to learn more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - MG Cyberster MG launched their EV convertible sports car, the Cyberster, in London last week. The claim is it is the world’s most affordable EV coupe. Whilst that is technically correct it will set you back from £55,000, which is quite the price jump in the rest of the MG range. However, this is a good looking car and we wait to see how many leave dealerships. Click this Autocar article link to read more . Lotus Type 134 Lotus has announced some details, akin to teasing really, what their entry level vehicle will be. A compact SUV, rivalling the Porsche Mecan in size, that will also be “engineered to look, feel and drive a Lotus", as it states in the linked Autocar article. We are not fans of the render provided by the publication and expect it will look different in reality. A lot rides on this car though, with expectation being it will be worth half the sales of the company by 2028. Click the link here to find out more . Honda e:Ny1 Honda has revealed three electrified SUVs as they try to catch up to market. The first is the stupidly named e:Ny1, which is a renamed Chinese model that is itself an electric HR-V with more screens and a refashioned nose. Expected to cost around £30,000 and have a range of 256 miles, with expectation it will be sold later this year. You can find out more, by clicking this Autocar link here . Honda ZR-V Second of the three new reveals is the ZR-V hybrid, which is slotting into a new segment in Europe for Honda, as it sits between the e:Ny1/HR-V and CR-V. This too though is already in another market, this time the US, where Alan has seen these on the road. We are not keen on the looks but then we are struggling to get excited about the sheer volume of SUVs being given to us by manufacturers. This will be priced as roughly £40,000, have a 2.0 petrol mated with two electric motors to provide 181bhp, whilst emitting 130g/km CO2 and 50mpg on the WLTP test. For more on this car, click this Autocar link here . Honda CR-V PHEV and e:Hybrid The final car revealed by Honda is the Mitsubishi Outlander - sorry - the CR-V in either PHEV of e:Hybrid formats. Whilst it does look astonishingly similar to the Outlander, it is their largest European model. This is to go toe to toe with the likes of the Toyota RAV4. Click this Autocar link to read more . Honda Civic order books open again Honda has confirmed that they have cleared enough of the order backlog to open their order books for the Civic, in the UK, once again. Click the Autocar link found here to learn more. Mercedes-Benz end CLS production Mercedes has ceased production of the CLS, after nineteen years of production as it needs the capacity for their new E-Class model. You can find out more by clicking this Autocar link . Volvo delays EX90 production due to software woes Volvo has announced that it will delay production of the all electric EX90 as they iron out the problems they are having with its software. No details have been given about what those issues are. Autocar has more on the story, which you can read by clicking this link here . GM planning a European return GM is planning to return to Europe, which it only recently left after selling Opel and Vauxhall. They will only be coming with electric vehicles and are targeting Scandinavia initially. Click here to learn more , from The Drive. LUNCHTIME READ: HOW A REGIONAL AUTO SHOW IN OHIO SHOWED ME AUTO SHOWS MATTER The Autopian brings us this week’s offering to digest whilst you nibble on your sandwiches. We are told how pointless car shows are, from company execs and foot weary journalists but they are a key event for the buying public. Click this link to read more and realise they are worth maintaining. LIST OF THE WEEK: 10 THINGS YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT THE HIGHWAY CODE Top Gear, once again, bring us a list we feel you should read. This time with a hint of consumer journalism, discussing the recently altered Highway Code and elements that have changed which you may have missed. Click this link here to run through them and bring yourself a bit up to date. AND FINALLY: CRASH TESTING LEGO TECHNIC MODELS Our last offering for your enjoyment is a video crash testing Lego Technic models. Speeds range from 5 km/h up to 100km/h. Click this link to the Goodwood Road & Racing post to watch the chaos.…
FOLLOW UP: STADLER TO CONFESS TO ROLE IN DIESELGATE Former Audio CEO, Rupert Stadler is to confess to his role in dieselgate, after a judge told him to or face a lengthy prison sentence. He will now receive a suspended sentence and pay a fine of €1.1 million. During court case he maintained his innocence and stuck to the claim it was down to engineers that defeat device engines were still sold in Europe after the scandal broke. Click this Automotive News Europe article link to read more. FOLLOW UP: ARRIVAL DEATH SPIRAL CONTINUES Arrival released their 6-K Report in the US and it makes for quite the read. They are claiming they do not have enough personnel to sort it out reporting their financials properly so need more time, especially as they are scrambling around trying to raise more funds. They also declare they will report on their financial situation that will cause doubts on them continuing. To read more, click this link to Peter Campell’s Twitter thread on this extraordinary information. NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES APRIL 2023 The SMMT has released the New Car Registration Figures for April 2023, which is typically a quiet month coming after the plate change in April. Petrol and BEV market shares increased, with Diesel and PHEV both dropping. You can see more by clicking this link to Tristan Young’s Tweet. Overall, registrations are well down on pre-pandemic levels and even below 2021’s. Significantly, the SMMT is downgrading its forecast for the overall market share of BEVs, citing high energy costs and fears over the charging infrastructure being blamed. However, we feel the continued high inflation and rise in all costs mean people and businesses have less money. Add on top the starting prices of most EVs and it is easy to see a slowdown. To learn more about April’s figures click this article link from SMMT . VW FIRES EXEC TEAM OF CARIAD Oliver Blume, CEO of VW and head of the supervisory board of CARIAD, has fired three of the executive team leading the software division. Peter Bosch, Head of Production at Bentley will take over. Once again VW demonstrate they do not understand software. Even with the new team being assembled they are making demands on silly timescales and saving money. To read more on this situation, click this electrive article link . ASTON MARTIM BOLSTER MANAGEMENT TEAM Aston Martin are appointing Paul Thomas, ex-Rimac, to be Chief BEV Engineer and Vincenzo Regazzoni, ex-Ferrari, to be Chief Industrial Officer. They are intended to help Aston move to an electrified future more smoothly. You can learn more by clicking this link to an Automotive News Europe article . LEVC UNVEILS PLANS FOR NEW MODELS The London Electric Vehicle Company, maker of the current Black Cab, has revealed plans to expand its offerings. They will be launching a new platform, SOA, which will be the basis of this expansion. They are going large though, the vehicles will be big, think Mercedes Sprinter but much nicer when fitted for passengers but also the commercial van market is being targeted. Click this link to read more from Autocar . GLASGOW ULEZ BANNING VEHICLES Information has been revealed about the Glasgow Low Emission Zone, where they are banning vehicles that do not meet the criteria of Euro 6 for diesel and Euro 4 for petrol. The scheme comes into force on 1 June 2023, but Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Dundee will introduce their own versions with exactly the same criteria. Click this carwow article link to learn the details. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - 2023 PEUGEOT e-2008 Peugeot announced the facelift to the e-2008, they electric small SUV. As many, many executives told us, they didn’t feel the need for any flashy stunts on this reveal. The most important upgrades are to the battery and range, now a 54kWh battery and up to 250 miles in range. There is also a petrol variant and a hybrid due next year. Prices for the petrol engined version start at £24, 295 and the EV will be from £35,900 - oh goody, another affordable electric car! Click here for the Autocar article link to tell you all about the car. Land Rover Defender Islay Edition JLR are reviving the classic Defender in order to charge 30 owners £230,000 for a rare V8 version. The fully restored cars will also be uprated, especially the brakes and suspension as the engine will propel it along to 62 in 5.6 seconds, which sounds utterly terrifying. The overall ethos of the car harks back to the development that took place with Spencer Wilks behind the wheel in 1965. Click this EVO link to read more as that’s the closest nearly all of us will get to one. DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: ANTHONY JANNARELLY JOINS CATERHAM Anthony Jannarelly, the founder of Jannarelly Automotive, is joining Caterham as Chief Designer. His Design-1 is a stunning piece of work so the ambitions Caterham have could well be backed up with the looks. For more, click this PistonHeads link . LUNCHTIME TOUR: SIR WILLIAM LYONS EXHIBITION This week we bring you an interactive exhibition, where you can move around a virtual tour of the life and times of Sir William Lyons’s time at Jaguar. This is wonderful and well worth your time. Click here to begin the tour . LIST OF THE WEEK: 10 ALTERNATIVE CORONATION PROCESSION CARS Alex Grant, via TopGear, brings us an alternative list of cars that could’ve been used for the Coronation procession. Some you might expect but not all. Click this link to see what Alex has cooked up for us to enjoy. AND FINALLY: THE MOTORING FUTURE FROM 1971 We round out the show with a YouTube video from the BBC Archive channel, of a report on what the future of motoring will look like, as predicted from 1971. To be fair, they are not hugely off. Click this link to listen to clipped english accents tell us about driverless cars, road pricing and a channel tunnel.…
FOLLOW UP: CONTINENTAL EXEC IMPLICATES OTHERS OVER DIESELGATE A Continental manager has admitted their involvement in Dieselgate and implicated that others were involved, to German prosecutors. There are a total of 60 individuals being investigated over various levels of fraud. To read more, click this Automotive News article link here . FOLLOW UP: JLR LOSE C-TYPE COPYRIGHT Jaguar Land Rover has lost a copyright infringement case in Sweden where they were taking several defendants to court. In a move that it appears JLR lawyers were not expecting, the defendants claimed that because Jaguar had not done anything to prevent replicas before they had implicitly approved. For more information, click here to read an explanation from Mattias Malmstedt on LinkedIn. GOVERNMENT CONSIDERING GRADUATED DRIVING LICENSES Newly qualified under-25 could be restricted in carrying younger passengers for a set time. This is one of several ideas being considered to try and help reduce road incidents and injuries. This is something that happens across the globe. Click this link to read more from Top Gear. QUEENSLAND PASSES ‘ANTI-HOON’ LAWS In Queensland, a new law has passed that covers illegal street events, which are quite strict. Spectators could be fined up to $6,000 AUS, drivers could face up to a year in prison and the destruction of their car. Jalopnik has more on this story, which you can read by clicking this link here . ARNOLD CLARK CREATING EV CHARGING NETWORK Arnold Clark, the car retail company, has announced they are investing £23 million into a rapid charging network via their dealership sites across the country. Access will be allowed out of hours too, for approved vehicles. They are still working out the details for pricing but have made it clear they do not wish to nickel and dime users. Click this AM Online link to read more . JUST EAT SALES FLEET TO GO EV ONLY BY 2025 The corporate sale fleet of Just Eat will be EV only by 2025. That means 175 diesel vehicles will be replaced, which has already begun with the first 12 purchased. You can learn more by clicking this link here , from edie. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NNCN - ORA SALOON Ora has announced their larger saloon, known as the Good Cat in China, will be coming to the UK. This is aimed squarely at the Tesla Model 3 and Hyundai Ioniq 6, coming with a range of power outputs as well as both two and four wheel drive. Whilst most details are scant, Ora has confirmed it will have a range of 300 miles. Prices have not been announced but they consider this a flagship vehicle. Autocar has more on this which you can read by clicking here . NNCN - TWISTED SUZUKI JIMNY Twisted Automotive, the bespoke 4x4 conversion company, has announced they will be fettling with the Suzuki Jimny. This is their first work on a non-Defender vehicle. Details are a little light as to exactly what they will be doing but prices have been suggested at less than £50,000 (plus VAT) for a complete conversion. Click this Motoring Research article link for more . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: SÜhLMANN JOINS MCLAREN After only three months, Tobias Sühlmann, has left Bentley and gone to Mclaren to fill the void after Rob Melville moved to CEER. To learn more, click this link to a Car Design News article. LUNCHTIME READ: TAKE BACK QUIET TIME BEHIND THE WHEEL Friend of the show, Alex Grant, has written an opinion piece on why we should embrace disconnecting ourselves from being on our phones whilst driving, making it a bit of a sanctuary. We thoroughly endorse this idea. Click this link to the Fleet World digital magazine to read more. LIST OF THE WEEK: 10 THINGS YOU NEED TO GO OFF-ROAD As Alan has bought a new off-roader this is the perfect List of the Week from us. Tom Ford has compiled this list for Top Gear which our off roading expert Alan agrees with most of these. Click here to run through the suggestions . AND FINALLY: LOCALS HIGHLIGHT DREADFUL ROAD SURFACE In Carmarthanshire, locals have erected a sign to warn drivers of the appalling state of a road with a humorous sign. Click here to see how maybe humour might get something done for them, thanks to the BBC News article.…
JAGUAR LAND ROVER ANNOUNCEMENTS Jaguarl Landrover announced that henceforth it would be “brand house” JLR. Many words and an abstract teaser image were used to describe Jaguar’s future. You can learn more form Autocar here . FORMER FORD BOSS JOINS ASTON MARTIN Former Ford of Europe chairman, Steven Armstrong has joined Aston Martin as part of its latest recovery strategy. Autocar has more here . INEOS TO BUILD SMALL ELECTRIC OFF-ROADER Ineos is going to expand its model line beyond the Grenadier with a small, electric off-roader being engineered by Magna and expected in 2026. There’s more information here . ASTON MARTIN AND MCLAREN MUST SELL EVS Changes in US Emission rules from 2032 mean that small volume manufacturers will be subject to the same fleet CO2 targets as other manufacturers. Find out more here . EU MOTORIST GIVEN £11,000 ULEZ FINE Foreign-registered cars, even if compliant, will be fined on entry to the London ULEZ. Postal delays in sending out penalty notices abroad and then processing by hire and lease firms mean that appeal periods have passed. Find out more about more from The Guardian . DEVON AND CORNWALL POLICE DRONE Devon and Cornwall Police has unveiled it's using a drone to monitor for unsafe driving. More here from the BBC. GLOUCESTERSHIRE COUNCIL TO INSTALL 1,000 CHARGING POINTS Gloucestershire Council is getting serious about on-street charging with plans to install 1,000 on-street points across the county. Find out more here .…
FOLLOW UP: ALL NEW SMART MOTORWAYS AXED The UK Government has given in to populist pressure and scrapped all new Smart Motorway plans. Teh safety benefits are dubious, but no doubt this will result in a reduction in public infrastructure spending. You can read more in this Government press release . NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR MARCH 2023 New car registrations in the UK have risen year-on-year for March, with significant gains by EVs and small SUVs. They’re still nowhere near pre-pandemic levels, but supply is easing and demand seems steady. You can read more in this article from SMMT . TESLA WORKERS SHARE CAR-RECORDED IMAGES Ex-Employees are alledging significant data and privacy breaches at Tesla regarding in and out of car videos and still imagesbeing shared around employees. More detail in this Guardian article . FIRST HANDS-FREE DRIVING SYSTEM APPROVED FOR UK ROAD USE Ford’s BlueCruise system has been approved for use on UK roads. The “hands-off, eyes-on” system is geofenced for motorway use only, but if you have to keep your eyes ont he road, what’s the point? More in this Guardian article . CATERHAM TO MOVE, BUT NOT FAR Caterham are moving to anew, purpose-built facility in Dagenham, not far from their existing site, that will allow all parts of the business to be under the same roof while increasing production. More in this AM-Online article . Keyless Car Theft - Stealing Toyota Via Their Headlights British researchers have unveiled a popular method of vehicle theft via the vehicle’s own internal networks. Much more detail at The Register and on Ken Tindell’s blog . LUNCHTIME READ: Virtual Tour of the Lamborghini Museum Design News has shared a virtual tour of the Lamborghini museum for us to peruse from home. Click here to see the slides . LIST OF THE WEEK: The Forgotten Cars of The 1980s Autocar has compiled a list of 41 “forgotten” cars from the 1980s. Some are definitely ore forgotten than others, but it’s an interesting set nonetheless. Click here to see list . Click here to see our video on one of the choices too. AND FINALLY: MAN BUYS HOT WHEELS CAR BUT FORGETS TO POST IT TO SOCIAL MEDIA Major Gav has his tongue firmly in his cheek this week with this breaking story. Read it here on Petrolblog .…
FOLLOW UP: EX-AUDI BOSS FACES JAIL IN GERMANY Rupert Stadler, the former CEO of Audi has been told the case of fraud against him and others, has been substantiated and therefore could face jail unless he fully confesses. He and three other defendants were charged in 2020. The judge confirmed that there was no proof that one of the engineers was guilty of criminal activity. Click here to read more , from the Automotive News Europe article. FOLLOW UP: PARIS RESIDENTS VOTE TO BAN E-SCOOTERS With a turnout of just 6%, residents of Paris have voted to ban dockless shared e-scooters. This has cause furious anger from the pro-scooter brigade. Whilst the vote is only advisory the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, insisted she would abide by the result. Click this Move Electric article link to learn more. UK GOVERNMENT ZEV MANDATE CONSULTATION OPENS The UK Government has opened its zero emission vehicle mandate consultation. They have outlined their proposed implementation of policies that would require zero emission vehicles to be sold. You can read the consultation documentation by clicking this link here . Amongst the plans is to fine car companies if they do not meet targets for zero emission vehicles sold, the year on year changes to limits and how hybrids do not appear to be allowed post 2030 thanks to the new ICE vehicles ban. Click here to read more , from Move Electric. POOR ROAD REPAIRS TO INCUR FINES Utility companies will face fines for poor repairs to works, the Government has announced. Inspection of the work will be £50 and every subsequent inspection being £120. Those who do consistently excellent repairs will then be inspected less. To read more, click this Autocar article link here . SEAT TO BE THE MOBILITY BRAND OF THE VW GROUP In the latest efforts of the Volkswagen Group in trying to decide what to do with Seat, they announced they would become the mobility brand for the Group. Seat will offer car-sharing and e-scooters. Final plans are yet to be confirmed. You can learn more by clicking this Automotive News Europe article link here . GM ANNOUNCES ANDROID ONLY SOFTWARE IN THEIR CARS General Motors has announced that they will be utilising Android Automotive in their cars, starting with the Blazer EV. As a consequence Apple CarPlay will not be offered to owners. This offers astonishing levels of data to Google, especially if the driver logs into their account on the car. Click here to read an article outlining some of the data Google collects, via this Autoevolution link . This is a ‘brave’ move by GM to cut off a large section of actual or potential customers by excluding their phone of choice. As can be seen by reading this FT article, link here , Gen Z has gone all in on Apple, in the US. As we said when Apple showed it wanted deeper integration into car’s systems, this is a dreadful idea from a safety and security situation. These companies have no idea about safety critical software. Click this Forbes article link to read more about the over all story. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS: Follow Up - Kia EV9 - After we proudly proclaimed there is no way the EV9 will be coming to the UK, Kia announced the EV9 is coming to the UK. Ah, oops, but we always own up to our mistakes. Click this Autocar article link to learn more details on the car, including how stupidly quickly you can get to 62mph in such a large vehicle. Suzuki Warranty - Suzuki has announced it now has a 7 year 100,000 mile warranty, if you use their dealer network. This takes it on par with Kia, better than MGs, with only Toyota and Lexus beating everyone. Click here to read more from the Motoring Research article . Lamborghini Revuelto - Lamborghini has revealed their Aventador replacement, the Revuelto (however you pronounce that!). This will be a hybrid, producing 1000hp and an EV only range of six, yes SIX, miles. However, it looks absurd and fantastic as a Lambo should. To learn more about this poster worthy car, click on this link for an Autocar article . Smart #3 - Smart has revealed their latest car, the #3 (yes, we know, that is a very silly name). Approximately the same size as the VW ID.4 this is not a small car. Looks wise it captures the generic electric SUV perfectly, neither offensive nor enticing. The full reveal will take place at the Shanghai Motor Show. Click this Autocar link here to see more. LUNCHTIME WATCH: VW EA266 PROJECT HubNut has an excellent video about the mid engined replacement project for the VW Beetle, bewteen Porsche and Volkswagen. This is a departure from the typical style of videos Ian produces but is very good. Click this YouTube link to watch this fascinating and not well known story. LIST OF THE WEEK: 7 FAST ESTATE CAR LEGENDS FOR UNDER £20,000 Antony Ingram has compiled this week’s list, on Hagerty, where we all get to enjoy our yesterdays and estate car love. Click this link to see the options and don’t forget to tell us if you agree with Alan’s choice. Click here to see our video on one of the choices too. AND FINALLY: EASTER JEEP SAFARI CONCEPTS As we approach Easter it means Jeep reveals this year’s concepts for their Moab safari trip. Think of this as an extra List of the Week , and also tell us if you approve of Andrew’s choice, after clicking this link to the Top Gear article .…
FOLLOW UP: EU REACHES AGREEMENT ON E-FUELS POST 2035 After the sudden rejection of the ICE 2035 ban idea, after it was agreed to take it to formal vote, the EU has reached an agreement to amend the proposal to include the allowance of carbon neutral e-fuels to power ICE vehicles after 2035. The details of how this can work are to be established but there is much anger this was allowed. We have several articles to help explain the situation as well as how this was reported during the last few weeks. To read what has been agreed, click this Autocar link here . Automotive News, click the link here , reported this whilst the renegotiations were under way. The outlet Politico reported on the upheaval the sudden stance by Germany and Italy caused. You can read that by clicking this link here . FOLLOW UP: 3G SWITCH OFF RAMIFICATIONS Following last week’s request regarding the implications for the 3G switch off in the UK, Ken Tindell did come back. The main impact for vehicles is switching off previous generation emergency call/location services. This has hit a large number of cars in the US, which will be replicated here. Additionally, things like car park ticket machines will stop working and councils are deciding to replace these with apps, but that disadvantages those without smart phones, particularly the elderly, which is unacceptable. Click here to read the StokeOnTrentLive article for an example of this. FOLLOW UP: MERCEDES MUST PAY IF IT USED DEFEAT DEVICES The European Court of Justice has confirmed that if Mercedes did use defeat devices on their vehicles, which is what is claimed they are when they alter the engine’s emissions at certain ambient temperatures, and the owner has suffered damages, then they are liable for compensation. Mercedes reject such protection to the engine is a defeat device and that even if it is ruled as such owners have suffered no damages. Click here for an Autocar article to learn more. MCLAREN SECURES FURTHER INVESTMENT McLaren has raised £70 million in investment to allow it to move to an electrified future. This was raised from existing shareholders. Alan adds further context to what seems like constant funding seeking, which makes a lot of sense. Click here to read the Carscoops article on this story. PROPOSAL TO TRIAL 30MPH ON M8 IN GLASGOW A proposal is being put forward to trial and monitor a section of the M8 with a new speed limit of 30mph. The idea is to see what happens to the air quality and if it does improve ask to expand the ULEZ to include the motorway. This is still at a very early stage and not imminent. We also suggest and hope if it does occur there are other factors monitored and logged. To read more, click this link to the Glasgow Evening Times article . LEICESTER EV BUS FLEET GETS A TOP UP First Bus has secured even more Government funding that means they will be adding a further 18 electric buses to make the fleet fully electric for Leicester. Wrightbus will manufacture the buses in Northern Ireland. Click this Move Electric article link to find out more. FERRARI HAS CUSTOMER DATA HACKED BUT COMPANY OK Ferrari has been hacked and is under a ransomware attack, but the company says their own data is safe, but not its customer’s. We covered how a security researcher found a huge vulnerability in their system perviously, that was only made public in January. Ferrari has stated it will not cave to the ransom demands, which is very brave of them after allowing their own customer’s info to be accessed. To read more, click this Security Week article link here . To read the additional article Andrew mentioned, click this Tripwire link here . TESLA SYSTEM HACKED IN 120 SECONDS At the latest Pwn2Own event in Vancouver one security research firm hacked a Tesla Model 3 in 120 seconds that allowed them to access aspects of the vehicle, including opening the bonnet and doors whilst the car was moving. More can be learned about the story by clicking the DarkReading link here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS: Ford Explorer - To much fanfare, the new Ford Explorer EV SUV was revealed. Based on the VW MEB platform, there are obvious similarities to the ID.4 but the vehicle is a touch longer and has a Ford interior. Few details have been released yet, but you can learn more about this very important car, by clicking here on the Move Electric link . Nissan Townstar EV - Replacing the hateful e-NV200 is the new Townstar, a Nissan badged Renault Kangoo or Mercedes Citan. There is a WLTP range, for the short wheel base version, of 183 miles. Prices start at £29,945 (without VAT) and running up to £35, 845 (without VAT) for the top of the range long wheel base. This larger version can accommodate two euro pallets too. Click here to read more with this electrive.com article link . LUNCHTIME READ: MICHELIN MAN Thanks to Hagerty and Anton Ingram, we are recommending this fabulous article taking us through the history of the Michelin Man, such an icon of the roads. You can view the mascot designs from the first iteration up to today’s version, all in the various levels of horrificness. To read this, click here for the link . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE WORST CARS DESIGNED BY PININFARINA Restoring our faith in the universe, we bring you a Jalopnik link that shows even the most talented can have off days. Click this link to run through the options for the worst cars ever designed by Pininfarina. Do tell us if you agree with Alan’s choice or what you would pick. AND FINALLY: ROBOTIC PARKING LOTS Tom Scott’s latest video is about robotic parking lots in Japan, why they are, how they work and what it is like inside them. Fascinating stuff as he covers bicycles, cars and EVs. Click this YouTube link to see more . Click here to see the other YouTube video of what it is like to drop your car off at such a parking lot, that Alan mentioned.…
FOLLOW UP: EMERGENCY EXPERTS CONCERNED WITH LOSS OF AM In the US, emergency experts have called on car manufacturers to ensure that the AM frequency is available on the infotainment systems of electric cars as this is the only way some people can get vital information, particularly emergency info. The US, Canada and Australia have vast amounts of sparsely populated environments that do not get internet access and phone coverage, hence the vital nature of AM. Click the link here to read more from a Popular Science article. FOLLOW UP: BAC BACKS OFF HYDROGEN powered DEVELOPMENT Recently BAC, the makers of the single seater sports car the Mono, announced that they were developing a hydrogen combustion powered vehicle. However, the short term reduction in hydrogen filling stations, the Government’s stance on alternative fuels and the 2035 ICE ban caveats has allowed BAC to step back from this and concentrate on existing technology. To read more, click this Autocar link here . UK SPRING BUDGET ANNOUNCEMENT The Chancellor of the Exchequer gave the Spring Budget statement to Parliament, last week. Amongst the document there were some motoring related issues. The now 13-year long “freeze” in fuel duty was continued, the 5p-litre cut from last year has been carried over and more money being provided for repairing potholes. The first article we point you in order to learn more, is from AM Online, which you can read by clicking this link here . The second is from Influence emobility on LinkedIn, which can be read by clicking here . VW HAS RUSSIAN ASSETS FROZEN A court in Russia has frozen the assets of Volkswagen, in the country. They had shuttered their plant, at Kaluga, last year but were trying to find a buyer for it. At the same time a license partner, GAZ, is suing them for cancelling their contract last year. Click the Automotive News article link here to read more. RECORD BENTLEY PROFITS A third consecutive record profit year from Bentley, in 2022, helping to boost the Audi Group figures. Revenues jumped 19% with an operating profit of £280 million. By clicking this link to the AM Online article you can read more. JAGUAR ANNOUNCE NEW MD AND RELAUNCH Jaguar, after being so quiet for so long, has announced that they have appointed a new Managing Director, Rawdon Glover, replacing the interim boss Philip Koehn. Glover is an internal appointment, having been the MD of JLR since 2018. Additionally, we are told Jaguar will relaunch in 2025, but no details as to what that means for the brand or the direction they will go in. Click this Autocar Business article link , if you would like to learn more. VOLTA TRUCKS GAINS EUROPEAN WHOLE VEHICLE TYPE APPROVAL The Volta Zero has received the important European Whole Vehicle Type Approval. This means they are certified as meeting the standards required in the region. Click here for more information , thanks to the Volta Trucks press release. DVLA DELAYS TO 3M PAPER APPLICATIONS Whilst the DVLA swiftly dealt with 17 million online applications, since 2020, they have struggled with 3 million paper applications resulting in significant delays. On top of that they failed to answer 60 million phone calls in the same time period. The DVLA claim systems have been upgraded and delays are no longer an issue. You can learn more by clicking this BBC News article link here . WAZE TO ADD EV CHARGE POINT INFORMATION TO MAPS Waze, the crowdsource navigation app, will crowdsource EV charge point data and add that to their maps. This feels quite a late move but welcomed nonetheless. Click this Move Electric link for more information . 3G IS BEING TURNED OFF IN THE Uk Vodafone has started to switch off the 3G band, in the UK, which will cause problems for connected devices that cannot access the 4 and 5G networks. This has implications for older vehicles that use 3G sim cards and the likes. Click this MoneySavingExpert article link for more. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS: Kia EV9 - Kia has unveiled their range topping seven seater EV SUV, the EV9, which will have a max range of 337 miles. The looks are clean and crisp, with this being the first full design from Karim Habib. We do not think this will be coming to the UK and Europe due to the size of it. Prices are expected to start around £60,000 and move up to £80,000 as you climb the range and specification sheet. Click this Autocar article to learn more . Ferrari Roma Spider - Ferrari has revealed the Roma Spider, which maintains the performance of the coupe version, even though it is slightly heavier. Expectation is that it will cost more than the coupe which begins at £170,000. There is a twin-turbo V8, delivering just the 612bhp, that enables a 0-62mph time of 3.4 seconds and it tops out at 199mph. You can learn more by clicking this Autocar link here . Ford Bronco in Europe - Ford has confirmed that, in very limited numbers, the Bronco will come to Europe, targeting extreme off-road usage. Using the existing 2.7litre V6 Ecoboost engine as in the States. To find out more, click the link here to read an Autocar article. BMW XM Autocar Review - We weren’t going to cover this, but the review from Autocar is so scathing and fantastically written we wanted to share it with you. As a contrast, Jalopnik really like the car. Click here to read the Autocar review . BMW i5 Touring - BMW announced that they will be bringing an all-electric i5 Touring version of the new 5-Series in 2024. Details are, well, nonexistent, but the car does look like a restrained BMW design, which will appeal to all of us who prefer something a bit more subtle. More can be found out by clicking here for an Autocar article on the news. BMW axing most diesels - BMW has confirmed that they are removing most of the diesel engine options from its range, in the UK. The drop in sales is behind the move and is understandable. Click here to read more , from Autocar, including which models are involved. Citroën Berlingo petrol and diesel - Citroën has announced that due to customer demand, they will be offering the petrol and diesel five-seat Berlingo once again. However, there will be a fixed bulkhead, therefore this is a commercial vehicle and the reason they can offer ICE engines once more. You can read more by clicking this Autocar link here . LUNCHTIME READ: THE AGE OF AVERAGE We are recommending a tremendous piece to read about the homogeneity of our visual culture, whether that is architecture, retail, fashion, people, apps and obviously automotive. This is a really thought provoking piece that we hope you enjoy and makes you consider how samey so much of design has become. Click this link here to read what Alex Murrell has to say. LIST OF THE WEEK: THESE ARE THE BUCKET LIST ROADS Jalopnik has compiled a bucket list of roads it’s writers want to drive on. The all are tremendous, therefore it was a very tricky task for Alan to pick one. Don’t forget to tell us which you would make your number one after you click this link here to see the options. AND FINALLY: HOW SOLID SNAKE ADVERTISED A FORD Thanks to spotting a tweet from friend of the show, Alex Goy, we now know the incredible story behind the mashup between Metal Gear Solid and Ford, which resulted in Snake advertising the Ford Focus. Click this Twitter link to read more from David Hayter, the voice actor, on how it came to be.…
FOLLOW UP: CAMERA MIRROR VIEW ANGLES Thank you to Jamie Fretwell, Mercedes-Benz Trucks UK PR& Corporate Communications Manager, who did respond to our unfair public request for more information on the viewing angles of lorries with camera wing mirrors. Click this link to see more via a tweet with a video. Also, he has a thread on safety campaigns across the globe, with this particular beaut from Australia, click here to see more . FOLLOW UP: UK GOVERNMENT CUTS ACTIVE TRAVEL FUND Buried in with the announcement that HS2 will be ‘paused’, to save costs, the UK Government also stated that it will cut the budget fund for active travel, capping it out at £330 million, instead of the £710 million promised in 2021. Click here to read more , from Sustrans. VW TO OPEN NEW PLANT IN THE US Volkswagen has announced the first investment in North American plants thanks to the US Government’s Inflation Reduction Act. They will be building the Scout brand vehicles at a new factory in South Carolina. As the VW brand is tainted by dieselgate they are using an older US marque to get a bigger share of the market. Volkswagen claim they were always going to open a plant in the US but the incentives of the new act has pushed up that timescale. This is a blow to Europe as it still formulates it’s response to the dual threat of the US and China. Click here to read more from the TechCrunch article. FORD MUSTANG WILL NOT HAVE AM RADIO FREQUENCY The infotainment system of the Ford Mustang will not come with the AM radio frequency. This has been the case with several EVs but now is taking place in ICE vehicles. AM is being or has already been switched off in many countries in the EU and where it hasn’t there are alternatives, such as DAB. Click here to read the arstechnica article for more. TESLA RECALL AFFECTS THE AV INDUSTRY The recall of all Tesla vehicles fitted with ‘Full Self-Driving Beta’ software poses a risk to the autonomous vehicle industry, even though this is not self-driving software. Now that the NHTSA is finally doing something about Tesla, the claims it has made and the reality of their vehicles others may well come into the spotlight. As the linked article discusses, from SAE International, Tesla is not the AV industry. Click the link here to read more . HUD TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE HUDS WORSE Envisics Holographic has developed a Head Up Display (HUD) that adds augmented reality to what the driver sees. Whilst this sounds like a good idea, the point of a HUD is to reduce distractions for the driver, adding more info does the opposite. Click through on this Design News article link to read more and then watch the video part way down as see how advertisements have been added. Of course they have. TEVVA EV TRUCK ELIGIBLE FOR GOVERNMENT GRANT The Tevva 7.5 tonne electric truck, which we discussed after it received European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval in January, is eligible for up to £16,000 Government Plug-In Truck Grant. To read more, click this MoveElectric article link here . ARRIVAL CONFIRMS EXTRA CASH Igor Torgov, CEO of Arrival, announced the company plans and $300 million equity financing. The expectation, from the company, is that it will be building their vans in the Charlotte factory late 2024, as long as they get funding for said factory. They will also be reducing their headcount to below 800 personnel. To read more, click this link to a press release from Arrival . MAZDA MX-5 DRIVES 1,000 MILES WITH SUSTAINABLE FUEL Mazda, in partnership with Croyton SUSTAIN, drove an unmodified MX-5 1.000 miles around the UK to lap a race track in each of the home nations, using fossil-free fuel. Agricultural waste was used to create the fuel, which did not effect the performance or efficiency of the engine. To read more on this, click here for the Inside Mazda article and stunning photos. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS: 2023 Hyundai Kona EV - More details have been revealed about the new Kona EV, which whilst retaining the same battery pack and motors, will be bigger, bolder and upgraded in terms of quality. There is no confirmation on price yet, but is expected to slightly more than the existing, therefore we can expect around a £36,000 starting price. Additionally, to the increased interior space, many of the controls are buttons and dials! To read more, click this MoveElectric link here . Xiaomi MS11 - Xiaomi, the Chinese electronics company, has confirmed that their electric saloon, the MS11, will come to market in 2024. The exterior has captured the ‘generic EV saloon’ look with McLaren headlights slapped on the front. We are concerned at the amount of money being invested in the car division as it is very low, for industry standards. Click here to see more, via the Autocar article. UK Car of the Year 2023 Winner - The UK Car of the Year Category Winner for 2023 has been announced. Congratulations to MG as their MG4 topped the list. The Dacia Jogger was second and the Toyota GR86 was third, congratulations to both. To read more, including why some judges picked the MG4, click this link to the official UK Car of the Year website. LUNCHTIME READ: AUTOMAKERS NEED TO COME UP WITH BETTER EV NAMES The article we are pointing you towards, this week, is a little tongue in cheek but also there is a grain of truth behind it. The naming of cars is under the spotlight, click this link to see who is considered to be doing it well, merely okay and who needs to up their game, according to Car Buzz. LIST OF THE WEEK: THE COOL CONCEPT CARS WE TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT Autocar provide a 45 pictured slideshow for us all to run through and select our favourite forgotten concept cars. Yes Alan, we know YOU haven’t forgotten most of them, but us mere mortals have. Do you agree with Alan and Andrew’s choices? After you have viewed the options let them know. Click here to see some marvels. AND FINALLY: POLLITT’S PROJECTS - £700 V8 DAIMLER Chris Pollitt has refreshed his YouTube channel and released a video of him discussing and cleaning one of his latest car projects, a £700 V8 Daimler. Utterly delightful film from Chris, as you’d expect. If you haven’t seen it, click this link here to rectify that.…
FOLLOW UP: SAUDI ARAMCO JOINS RENAULT-GEELY VENTURE Saudi Aramco has agreed to invest in the Renault-Geely engine join-venture by furthering technological progress with synthetic fuels and hydrogen propulsion. They will take a minority stake in the partnership. Click this Automotive News Europe article link to read more. FOLLOW UP: GERMANY AND ITALY GET COLD FEET OVER ICE BAN Germany and Italy are now expressing doubts over the EU’s proposal to ban new ICE and hybrid vehicles from 2035. Italy have said it is a flat no, from them, as they claim industry and consumers will be affected. Germany, however, want some changes, mainly around synthetic fuel use being allowed in new ICE vehicles after 2035. The formal ratification vote has been delayed as a consequence. Click this link here to read more , from Euroactive. NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR FEBRUARY 2023 February was a genuinely impressive month, after several that were only good when compared with Covid affected years, with 74,441 new cars registered. The breakdown of ‘what you put in it to make it move’ is continuing along the trends, with BEVs slightly up, PHEVs slightly down and diesel down again. The real surprise is petrol, a big jump there and that is not great in terms of CO2 emissions. Click here for the SMMT article explaining the month’s figures. Click here for Tristan Young’s breakdown of what makes the cars go. ASTON MARTIN FINANCIAL RESULTS ARE NOT ALL BAD Aston Martin announced a loss of £495 million in 2022, but the last quarter saw an operating profit of £6.6 million. Whilst the losses are not good, there is a glimmer of hope that things are being turned around for the company. Click the link here to read more from The Guardian. TATA EXPANDING UK R&D FACILITY Tata, Jaguar Land Rover’s owner has announced they are expanding the workforce of their UK R&D centre at Leamington Spa. They are looking for an extra 350 staff. You can read more by clicking this Autocar Business article link here . JLR OWNER SEEKS GOVERNMENT FUNDING FOR UK INVESTMENT Tata, the Indian owner of Jaguar Land Rover, is looking for funding assistance from the UK Government in order to build a battery factory in this country, rather than Spain. There are serious question marks over the Government’s commitment to the UK car industry and this is a real test. JLR has already moved some production out of the UK. To read more, click this AM Online article link . VW SAVE THE GTI FESTIVAL Having been famously staged at Wörthersee for many years, the region had decided to no longer approve the festival. Volkswagen, though, has stepped in and will stage the event at Wolfsburg. Click this Motoring Research article link for more on the story. FIRST BUS ADDING ELECTRIC BUSES TO FOUR REGIONS First Bus, the public transport company, has announced that they will be purchasing 117 electric buses to four regions, York, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Hampshire. They also plan for the Norfolk and York depots to be zero-emission only. Funding from the Government will assist in this transition over the next 12 months. Move Electric have an article on this, which you can read by clicking this link here . NEW HYDROGEN FUELLING STATIONS PLANNED IN UK Element 2, a British Company, plans to open a network of hydrogen fuelling stations across the UK by year end. They also expect to add to the initial five sites, with up to 30 locations allowing hydrogen HGVs, light commercials and cars to refuel. You can read more by clicking this Autocar article link here . HGV BLINDSPOT CAMPAIGN STARTS To help other road users understand the limitations lorry drivers have with visibility around their vehicle, when on the move, National Highways has started a new campaign. Click this Motoring Podcast article link here , to learn where the blindspots are and help you to avoid putting yourself and the lorry driver at risk. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS: 2023 VW ID.3 - Volkswagen has revised the ID.3 ahead of schedule, possibly hoping to cut off the complaints about the quality of the software and interior. The exterior has also been slightly tweaked, especially around the front end. Early reports are that the interior does indeed feel better, whilst the underpinnings of the car remain the same. Prices are expected to slightly go up from the current £39, 425 to £47, 450. Click here to see more , thanks to EVO. Abarth 500e - If the MINI Convertible we discussed a couple of weeks ago is a bit too pricey for you, Fiat has released details on the Abarth 500e, which isn’t convertible but still is quite close to the MINI in terms of range. The electric motor will produce 152bhp and 173 of the tourques UK Car of the Year Category Winners - The UK Car of the Year Category Winners were announced last week. Andrew, who is now one of the judges, was at a driving day to try and pick his choice for the overall winner. We will bring you the decision next week. These are brought to you in association with heycar who have kindly sponsored the awards. Click here to read the information about the category winner, from the official awards website. LUNCHTIME READ: ICE ST MORITZ This week we bring you an article and a photo gallery of the most amazing event, where really, really expensive cars are taken to an ice lake at St Moritz and hustled around. Click here to read about the stunning event, via Hagerty. Following that click this other Hagerty link to see a gallery of the cars that were there. LIST OF THE WEEK: 10 HOT HATCHES WE COULDN’T TASTE For your enjoyment we bring you a Major Gav list of hot hatches we never got in the UK. Glossing over the lack of a specific Yaris which Alan is upset is missing, the list is a cracker. Click this Hagerty link and see if you agree with Alan’s choice in the end. Click the link here , for the Mighty Car Mods video that was discussed. AND FINALLY: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO PEUGEOT 205 40 years ago the Peugeot 205 was brought out and released to the world. To those of us of a certain age this is one of THE best superminis ever brought out and that is before you get to the amazing GTi. Click here for Peugeot’s own press release, including a wonderful logo you can download. Click this link to read the Top Gear buying guide to the 205. Click here on this Autocar link to run through a gallery of the GTi.…
FOLLOW UP: BRITISHVOLT BOUGHT BY RECHARGE INDUSTRIES The troubled British battery startup has been bought by Australian firm Recharge Industries, but that means a pivot to battery storage and away from automotive - at least for the moment. Click here to read the main BBC story and click here for the thread by Peter Campbell of the Financial Times. STELLANTIS POSTS RECORD PROFITS Stellantis has posted record profits while also recording a 41% rise global EV sales. Is this because of supply chain constraints forcing them to focus on building their most profitable models? Click here to read the Autocar story. CITROEN BOSS STEPS DOWN In a surprise move, Citroen boss Vincent Cobée has left the company. Click here to read the Motor1 story. SONO STYMIES SOLAR SION German solar panel startup Sono has ended its project to produce the Sion solar-augmented EV, instead it’s going to focus on producing solar cells suitable for vehicles through its existing partnerships. Click here to read the Move Electric story. MOBILITY APP SHOWS CO2 COST OF BUSINESS TRAVEL A new app can help calculate the total CO2 cost of employee business travel across all modes and can help benchmarking against similar organizations. Click here for the full Autocar story. ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS TO HELP EV MOTORWAY CHARGING National Highways is planning an £8million investment in containerized battery EV chargers for some high demand English service stations with limited electricity supply. Click here for the full Motoring Research story. More funding for Councils to expand ev charging Some English councils have won a share of £56million to expand their local EV charging networks. Click here for the move Electric Story. Firms greenwashing their products face steep fines New rules will prevent companies from selling their products and services on claims that may be false or impossible to prove. Click here for the Guardian article. Bentley W12 reaches the end of the line in the Batur Bentley’s W12 engine will bow out in 2024 in the limited-production Batur. Click here for the Autocar article. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS: Vauxhall Corsa - The Vauxhall Corsa is to receive a facelift to incorporate the “Vizor” grille as seen on the Mokka and Astra. Oh, and a performance electric version. You can read more by clicking this Autocar link . Updated Peugeot 508 PSE Revealed - The handsome Peugeot 508 will receive a facelift, so far Peugeot has only shared details for the powerful PSE plug-in hybrid. You can read more by clicking this Evo link . Audi TT Final Edition - The car that launched 1,000 mood boards, the Audi TT, will be retired soon. Its last hurrah in the UK will be the “all the spec” Final Edition. You can read more by clicking this Evo link . DESIGNER’S MOOD BOARD Hyundai and Genesis design chief, SangYup Lee, is World Car Person of the Year 2023. You can read more, including a list of the other four finalists, by clicking this Motoring Research link . LUNCHTIME READ: Spyshots: The Golden Age of Tip-Offs This week’s longer read is about the late 1990s anthe work of Hans Lehmann, Brenda Priddy and others capturing the test vehicles that manufacturers really didn’t want us to see. At least, not at that point. You can read the Hagerty article by clicking this link . LIST OF THE WEEK: 29 Car Brands We’d Like To Bring Back Motoring Research has compiled a list of defunct brands ready to return. Which would you most like to see return to the roads? To see the list and browse the slideshow, click this link . AND FINALLY: There May Be More Behind That Weird Hyundai Ad You've Seen Than You Realize The Autopian has noticed a strance Hyundai Ioniq 5 variant appearing in internet adverts, so they investigated and foudnd that it may not be a composite after all. You can find out more by clicking this link .…
FOLLOW UP: EU CONFIRMS 2035 BAN ON ICE ENGINES The European Union Parliament has voted to ban the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid powertrain, from 2035. However, there is some breathing space, no pun intended, for small volume manufacturers. They will not be tied into the new CO2 reduction rules that were also approved, until the end of 2035. Interestingly, the EU will also share the methodology for calculating the lifetime CO2 emissions on new vehicles by 2025. Click here to read about the main story, from Autocar. To find out about what it all means for small volume manufacturers, click here to read another Autocar story. FORD TO CUT 3,800 EUROPEAN AND UK JOBS Ford has announced the extent of the job losses across the UK and Europe. 3.800 jobs will go, including 1,300 in the UK. With the move to electrification, fewer workers are required, Ford explained. However, the engineering and administration are bearing the brunt of the cuts as the company becomes “unapologetically American”. Click here to read the AM Online article, for more information. TESLA FORCED TO RECALL ‘FULL SELF-DRIVING BETA’ In a shock move, after years of inactivity, the National Highways Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has demanded that Tesla recall some of their cars. In this instance it is the ones that have ‘Full Self-Driving Beta’ software fitted. Due to fears the software is unsafe, particularly when approaching junctions, pass stop signs and incorrectly handle speed limit changes. The recall will be delivered via an over-the-air update. Click this Jalopnik article link for more information. RENAULT REPORT RECORD PROFITS FOR 2022 Renault announced record profit per vehicle, in 2022. Revenue was up to €46.4 billion, with an operating margin of €2.3 billion and that is despite the cost of relinquishing their Russian operations. To read more, click this link to an Automotive Daily article. WALES SHELVES ALL FUTURE NEW ROAD PROJECTS The Welsh Government announced that it was shelving all new road plans, due to environmental concerns. They will judge any future proposals against a tough criteria for them to be approved. Subsequently, the Government also stated that they did not have the finances to fund road developments. Click here to read a BBC News article about the initial announcement. To find out more about the lack of cash, click this link for another BBC News article. GRIDSERVE PLANNING SECOND CHARGING FORECOURT IN ESSEX Gridserve, who have charging forecourts in Braintree, Norwich with one due to open near Gatwick, is planning on a second Essex location. Plans have been approved by Basildon council. Click this link , to read more from Move Electric. DR SHOICHIRO TOYODA PASSES AWAY The Honorary Chairman of Toyota, Dr Shoichiro Toyoda, has passed away, at the age of 97. He was the first son of Toyota founder, Kiichiro Toyoda, and led the company from 1982 to 1992, where he took on the role as Chairman of the Board of Directors. In 2009 Dr Toyoda was named Honorary Chairman, a role he held until his death. To read more, click this article link from Toyota UK Magazine. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS: Mazda 2 - Mazda has released details of the 2023 Mazda 2 refresh. Stylistically this means a new grille, front wings and a more sporty looking car. Technology improvements include wireless Apple CarPlay, climate control and cruise control as standard. There are no changes to the engine line up, with a 1.5 litre petrol engine producing 73, 88 and 115bhp dependent on specification. There is a mild hybrid version, mated to a manual gearbox. Prices begin at £17, 750. To learn more, click this Autocar article link . Rolls-Royce Spectre - Possibly one of the most important Rolls-Royces ever is now closer to being in customers hands. The Spectre is the first fully electric car from the UK-based manufacturer. Previously this has been tested in the cold and now journalists get to experience it again, this time in South Africa. Fitted with a battery pack of about 106kWh and electric motors to the front and rear wheels the just under three ton car will hit 62mph in 4.2 seconds from a standing start. The estimated range is around 320 miles too. You can read further information on this by clicking this Autocar link here . Mini Electric Convertible - Mini will sell just 150 electric convertibles in the UK, once they find 150 people willing to spend £52, 500 on a soft top Mini with a 125 mile range. Click here to read more, once again from Autocar. LUNCHTIME READ: NEW POLESTAR DESIGN STUDIO Thank you, to listener Vroom101 (on Twitter), we are sharing the wonderful article from Wallpaper about how Polestar have utilised the brutalist ex-Volvo offices in Gothenburg for their design studio. Click this link to read all about it. LIST OF THE WEEK: DO YOU REMEMBER ANY OF THESE OBSCURE SUVS? Autocar has produced a list of obscure SUVs which you may have forgotten or not even known about. Run through the 62 slides to see some mad, bad and, erm, decent cars. Don’t forget to tell the chaps if you agree with their selections, this week. Click here to see them all. AND FINALLY: YORK ASKS APPLE WHAT IS IN A NAME? Those trying to input the location of York, in the UK, have been hitting a snag with anything using Apple Maps for locations. For some bizarre reason, this gets corrected to Milby, which is very much not York. Even after a fix was deployed there were still issues. Whilst this has been amusing it does show how easily real problems could occur. Click this YorkMix article link to read more.…
FOLLOW UP: SOUTH KOREA FINES GERMAN COMPANIES FOR COLLUSION South Korea has fined Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi for colluding over emission technology, to ensure no one produced better technology. The fine is €31.18 million combined, which is 42.3 billion won. The EU, following Mercedes informing them, fined BMW and VW Group in July 2021 for this issue. Click this EuroWeekly article link to find out more . NISSAN WARNS OF SUNDERLAND’S FUTURE Nissan has explained that unless the UK Government aids in reducing energy prices and helps to create a local functioning supply chain the future of the Sunderland plant is in doubt. Currently Sunderland is more expensive to make cars than their continental European plants. To learn more, click this Sunday Times Driving article link . LUCID MOTORS NEW MD IS EX-JLR SVO BOSS Following the surprise exit from Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicles Operation, Michael van der Sande has been announced at the Managing Director of Lucid Motors. The US EV company has started to sell their cars in parts of Europe as they slowly expand. You can learn more by clicking this link to the Automotive Daily article. LOTUS TECHNOLOGY TO MERGE WITH SPAC Geely is going to raise funds for Lotus by merging Lotus Technology, the non sports car division, with a special acquisition company (SPAC) that means it will be listed on the New York stock exchange. The expectation is that it will raise around $5.4 billion. Click this Automotive Daily article link , to learn more. BOLLINGER SUES MUNRO OVER PATENT INFRINGEMENT Bollinger is suing Munro All Terrain Electric Vehicles for infringing their patents. The US company claims a consultant has also passed on confidential documents that have helped Munro produce their 4x4 EV. You can learn more by clicking this link to a Newsweek article. US CHECKING CHINESE IMPORTS OVER FORCED LABOUR US Customs is checking incoming freight from China for any links to forced labour production, thanks to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. Already aluminium imports have been slowed as inspections are taking place, which could well affect the car industry. Click here to learn more from the Maersk Advisory Note . BATH CONSIDERING PARKING PRICE RISES Bath Council is considering increasing pay and display parking fees, once again, especially for vehicles that emit more emissions. The correct fee would be charged after entering registration data with the ticket machine. Click here for more on this matter , thanks to a BBC News article. Bath are also investigating if charging drivers to enter the city centre is a way in which they can help pay for the increased costs of installing the ‘ring of steel’ terrorism protection system. Click this BBC News article link for more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS: Nissan Max Out, Surf Out and Hang Out Concepts - Nissan has revealed three concepts hinting at their future design direction. The Max Out is a rather ugly two-seater open top car. The Surf Out is a pickup with a retractable load bay cover, giving it a pick-up coupe look (please don’t become a trend!). With the Hang Out being the most realistic idea, in that is it a medium sized SUV. To learn about the Max Out, click this Top Gear link . To find out about the Surf Out, click this Nissan link . For more on the Hang Out, click this Nissan link . That was not all though, they have made some very bold statements about bringing solid state batteries to market in the next few years. You can find out more about that, by clicking this Autocar article link here . Zeekr X - The Zeekr X is a Chinese SUV coming to Europe soon, following the full reveal at the Shanghai Motor Show later this year. A mid sized premium market chasing EV with a lot of power that the shared powertrain from the Smart #1 Brabus will use. No details on ranges or pricing is yet available, you can learn more by clicking this Autocar link here . Dead Car News - Kia Rio Kia will no longer sell their supermini, the Rio, in the UK or Europe. with the popularity of SUVs this comes as no real surprise. They will still be selling the Picanto, their smallest model. Click here for more on this from Autocar . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: JEREMY OFFER MOVES TO VOLVO Jeremy Offer, who has at Arrival, will now be the Global Head of Design at Volvo. Robin Page, the previous incumbent will remain at Volvo as a consultant. Click this link to the Auto&Design article link for more . 2023 CAR DESIGN AWARDS SHORTLIST The Car Design Award 2023 shortlist has been produced for concept cars, production cars and brand design language. Click this link to run through those selected as mentioned on the Auto&Design article. LUNCHTIME READ: MOTORING ART - JEREMY DICKINSON Jeremy Dickinson did not let the disappointment of a cancelled road trip, thanks to lockdowns, stop him from making automotive art. Instead he followed the route via Google Earth and selected locations to recreate on his canvas. Click this Classic & Sports Car article link to find out more and see some examples of his fabulous work. LIST OF THE WEEK: 9 FORGOTTEN HOT HATCHBACKS FROM THE 1990S Antony Ingram has produced an almost impossible selection quandary on his list for Hagerty. After hearing the choice from Alan, click on this link to see if you agree. Don’t forget to tell the chaps which you would select. AND FINALLY: 2CV MODEL FROM PLAYMOBIL Joining the likes of the Ferrari SF90, Mercedes-Benz 300SL is the newly released 2CV model. Whilst there is an astonishing oversight in no basket of eggs being added, there are milk churns, variety of license plate stickers and headlight colour options to play with. Click this Motoring Research article link to see more .…
FOLLOW UP: BRITISHVOLT BUYER FOUND The Administrator for Britishvolt, EY, has narrowed down the options to the Australian firm Recharge. They are a start up and have not constructed a major project during their time. At the same time that they target getting a battery factory built in the UK they will be trying to do that same in Australia. Click here to learn more , by reading The Guardian article. FOLLOW UP: NEW DEAL DETAILS FOR THE REBEL ALLIANCE Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi announced the details for the restructuring of the alliance this week. We knew about the changes to share ownership but they also confirmed investment in Ampere by Nissan and that Mitsubishi is considering joining. To read more about the story, click this link to a Yahoo Finance articl e. JANUARY 2023 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES SMMT has released the New Car Registration figures for January 2023 and they are up on last year. Whilst it is an improvement you have to go back to 2012 for a worse year. Petrol and BEVs are up, with PHEVs also slightly increasing their numbers and diesel is down. Click here to read Tristan Young’s always excellent thread . The SMMT is calling on the Government to help with the charging network and also with VED. Click here to find out more via their article . FORD EXECS GET SMALLER BONUS Due to the poorer than expected results, Ford executives are receiving a smaller than anticipated bonus, whilst non decision making staff are not affected by this change. Jim Farley, Ford’s CEO, stated that it was unfair on staff who could not fix the issues that have impacted on the company’s earnings. Click here to learn more from the Detroit Free Press . Talks are apparently underway between BYD and Ford, over the Saalouis factory that is slated for closure. This would give the Chinese company a foothold in Europe quite quickly. However, not everyone agrees, with some thinking it is quicker for BYD to build their pown facility. Click here for the link to the The Driven article to read more . Even more reports suggest that Ford is looking at large job loses in Europe, with one figure being as high as 3,200. To learn more, click this link to an Autocar Business article link . ARRIVAL CUTS MORE staff Arrival, the beleaguered commercial EV start up has announced the cutting of a further 800 jobs. This is on the back of a senior management reshuffle where the two top jobs just swapped nameplates. Click this Guardian article link for more . MERCEDES UNVEILS BEVISIONEERS CHARITY Eyebrows were raised when Mercedes sold one of two 'Uhlenhaut' SLR Coupes as they couldn’t have needed the cash. Well they did, but for a good cause, to start the beVisioneers charity. They have created a global fund for young people to access to help their projects that are aimed at sustainable goals. Successful bids will be helped to achieve the target of the schemes. Click this Complete Car article to learn more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST LUNCHTIME READ: EARLY MOTORING FASHIONS FOR MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN The Juicy History newsletter provides this week’s Lunchtime Read, where you can go back to the early days of motoring and see how to suitable dress before clambering aboard a motor vehicle. What a wonderful snapshot of attitudes, technologies and society. Click this link here to read more . LIST OF THE WEEK: TOP 15 FUN AND FRUGAL CARS We have Top Gear magazine to thank for their excellent list of frugal and fun cars, where you get to enjoy driving them but they don’t cost the earth to keep going. Don’t forget, guess which Alan would chose and do let us also know if you agree with Andrew’s choice. Click this link here to view the options . AND FINALLY: 70 YEARS OF MATCHBOX CELEBRATED There will be seven collections of new Matchbox cars produced to help celebrate the 70th anniversary of the toy car company. Click this Top Gear link to view some of the cars we will all be able to buy soon.…
FOLLOW UP: BRITISHVOLT BUYER SEARCH The Administrator for Britishvolt, EY, has narrowed down the choice to five potential new owners. They are trying to select the winner by Tuesday 31 January, the day of recording. Click here for a link to the Financial Times article explaining more. FOLLOW UP: HMRC CHANGES AER CALCULATIONS Following feedback from industry, HMRC has changed how it calculates the advisory electricity rate, that dictates how much company car driving EV owners can get reimbursed for charging their car. To learn more, click this Fleet News article link here . AKIO TOYODA STEPS DOWN AS CEO OF TOYOTA Shock news from Toyota as CEO Akio Toyoda announced he is relinquishing his role and becoming the Chairman. Koji Sato will become the president and CEO, stepping up from the head of both Lexus and Gazoo Racing. Click this link, to an Autocar article , to learn more. For more context about this and pointers to other thoughtful articles, click this Twitter thread link from Jean-Yves Jault . REBEL ALLIANCE REORGANISES Renault and Nissan have finally reached an agreement in the reorganisation of the alliance, primarily in the amount of shares Renaults holds in Nissan. Early indications are that Renault will reduce their shareholdings to 15%. Click this YahooFinance article link here to learn more. JLR POSTS PROFIT Jaguar Land Rover has posted a profit in last quarter of 2022, thanks mainly to US sales of Ranger Rover models, with pre-tax profits of £265 million. This is the first profit since 2020 for the company. Click here for the Autocar Business link . DRIVERS FINED INCORRECTLY IN FRANCE Thanks to mistakes upon installation, a speed camera in France has “caught” 50,000 speeding vehicles. The camera was pointed the wrong way. The police and local mayor has told those affected to ignore any summons. Click here to learn more , from a Connexion article. VOLVO RECALLS OVER 100,000 CAR DUE TO SAFETY BRAKE FAULT Volvo has globally recalled in excess of 100,000 cars due to a fault on the automatic safety brake feature that might mean it does not deploy. To learn more, click this Autocar article link . UK GOVERNMENT INVESTS IN DECARBONISING ROADS The UK Government is investing £30 million to projects aimed at decarbonising our roads, including green-waste asphalt and low energy street lighting. If the schemes are successful they will be expanded across the country. Click this Autocar link to learn more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS: Suzuki Jimny EV - Suzuki announced five new electric cars they will bring to market, by 2030. One that made the car corner of the internet very interested was an electric version of the Jimny. However, the first EV we will be offered will be a cross-over that is about the same size as the current S-Cross, with an estimated 342 mile range. There are plans for larger SUVs similar to the Vitara for size. Details, apart from a picture, are non existent for the Jimny. Click here to read the Autocar article to learn more . Wells Vertige - The Wells Vertige is a UK-built sports coupe, with a price tag of around £50,000 and a production run of 25 per year. The car was unveiled at Goodwood in the summer of 2021, since when the development team have been hard at work refining and testing durability. Click here to learn more , including all the behind the scenes stuff they are working on, from an Autocar article. LUNCHTIME WATCH: SUPER COOPERS Thanks to a kind listener of the show our Lunchtime Watch is all about one chap’s fascination with the original Mini, whilst based in the US. He has even shoehorned a Honda VTEC engine into one and how fabulous that combination is. Click here to watch Nicole Johnson’s Detour YouTube episode on this . LIST OF THE WEEK: GOOD, BAD OR UGLY? Autocar has provided our List of the Week , focusing on fads from the car industry. Do you agree with the choices made? Don’t forget to let us know which you would pick and why. Click here to run through the slideshow . AND FINALLY: HOW A POP BAND HELPED NORWAY GO FOR EVS A-ha are being credited with helping Norway pay attention to electric cars thanks to a collaboration with environmental activists and a campaign of civil disobedience that ensured high profile coverage. Click here to read more , from the BBC News article.…
FOLLOW UP: CAZOO TO CLOSE SOME UK SITES Following on the heals of their retreat from Europe Cazoo has confirmed that it will be closing some UK sites, in a bid to help their finances. The plan is to focus on selling fewer cars than last year but prioritising higher margin models. There will also be changes to senior management as the CEO and Chairman roles are to be split, with current CEO Alex Chesterman retaining the Chairman seat but Paul Whitehead becoming Chief Executive Officer. Click here to read more , from AMOnline. FOLLOW UP: MOT CHANGES PROPOSED AGAIN The UK Government has returned to proposals for changing the timing of MOTs, despite the outcry last time. The excuse of saving money was aired once more but now the claim that advanced technology such as LKAS will ensure safety is maintained. Motoring groups are united in condemning this idea. Again. Click this Autocar link to read more . FOLLOW UP: PARIS RESIDENTS TO DECIDE ESCOOTER FATE The Mayor of Paris has decided that she wants the residents of the city to decide if they should have e-scooters or not. The three companies involved have implemented and proposed a number of measures to ease the concerns around their use. The referendum will be held on 2 April 2023. For more on this story, click the Move Electric article link here . TESLA SELF-DRIVING VIDEO STAGED The head of Autopilot software for Tesla confirmed, under oath, that the 2016 video claiming to demonstrate Autopilot driving the car without a human driver involved was staged. The video explicitly claims the person sat in the driver’s seat is only there for legal reasons. This is testimony from a lawsuit connected to a 2018 fatal crash. Click here to read more , from Reuters. For more context on the issue of safety and Tesla software, click this Twitter thread from Mahmood Hikmet running through some of the shocking information that has come out. 2022 FAVOURITE COLOURS With virtually no surprise, grey once again is the UK’s favourite colour to daub on our brand new shiny cars. Whilst monochrome was the predominant hue last year it was nice to see that brown, sorry bronze, orange, yellow and green all increased in their visibility. Click here for the SMMT article running through all the details. Interestingly, sports cars do not conform to the mainstream trends quite as tightly. Click here for a Tweet from SportsandGT that links to a video running through those colour preferences. BAC NAMES EX-MCLAREN CEO AS CHAIRMAN Mike Flewitt, the ex CEO of McLaren has been named as the Chairman of Briggs Automotive Company. This appointment has occurred just as they enter the next stage of their scaling up. Click this EVO article link for more information. BYD COMING TO THE UK BYD, the Chinese EV company, has confirmed it is launching in the UK with their Atto 3 compact SUV. This is aimed at the MG ZS and Kia Niro market. Retailers will be opening by the end of the first quarter of this year. Click this article link from Motoring Research to learn more. GEELY-RENAULT POWERTRAIN PARTNERSHIP LOOKS TO OIL COMPANY The Geely-Renault powertrain partnership is looking to Aramco, the Saudi Arabian oil company, to join them with investment so they can develop ICE and hybrid technology. Click here to learn more by reading the Reuters article. BATTERY FACTORY TO OPEN NEAR OXFORD SOON WAE Technologies, who were bought by Fortescue the Australian mining company, has announced that their battery factory is nearing completion. Situated in Oxfordshire the company hopes to be up and running by April with the potential to create 300 jobs. A spark of good news for UK manufacturing. Click this Move Electric link here . EV CHARGING NETWORKS EXPANDING A Wolverhampton petrol station has been granted approval to remove their car wash and add seven charging stations. Click this Motoring Research article to learn more . Meanwhile in Liverpool, the City Council will partner with Ubitricity to install 300 on-street charging points across the city. The charging points will offer up to 5kW of speed and utilise existing street lamp infrastructure. Click this Move Electric article for more information . GOVERNMENT PLAN TO SAVE EV DRIVERS CASH Ofgem and the UK Government have developed a plan called the Electric Vehicle Smart Charging Action Plan. The claim is it could save owners up to £1000 with more intelligent and automated charging. The hope is this will take advantage of charging when the costs are lower or renewables make up the majority of the energy production. There is a lot of use of words like “could” and “hope” around this, we are yet to be convinced. To learn more, click this Autocar article here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS: Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray - Chevrolet has revealed the hybrid version of the Corvette. With 665bhp, thanks to using the 6.2l V8 mated with small electric motor, US prices start at $104,295 for the hardtop and $111,295 for the convertible. There is no confirmation if this model is coming to the UK. Click this EVO article link to learn more . Aston Martin DBS 770 Ultimate - Aston Martin are kicking off their 110th year celebrations with a limited edition DBS, called the 770 Ultimate. Whilst there are no changes to the power plant or the likes there is some serious fettling underneath with improvements to the chassis setup, dampers and the likes. Bad luck if you’re interested as they’ve already sold their allocation but we included it as it looks brilliant. Even if Alan doesn’t like the wheels. Click this EVO link to learn more . Mercedes-Benz CLA - Mercedes has revealed the 2023 CLA, which is the saloon and shooting brake version of the A-Class hatchback. The whole range has been updated with revised styling tweaks and electrified transmissions available. There are two hot versions, the CLA35 and CLA45 which aim to take on the Audi A3 S and RS. More usable real world engines will also be on offer, including diesel, petrol and hybrid. Click here to learn more , by reading the EVO article. DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: ANDREAS MINDT RUMOURED TO BE MOVING TO VW There are strong rumours that Thomas Schäfer, VW CEO, is replacing his head of design after apparently disliking the design language Jozef Kaban has developed. The claim is that he has poached Andreas Mindt from Bentley. Click this Autocar article link to learn more . LUNCHTIME READ: 10,000 MILE TRIP IN A VOLVO 144S Classic and Sports Car brings us the Lunchtime Read this week, with the wonderful story of Canadian, Xavier Thériault, beating the lockdown blues by taking an epic road trip across his country in a Volvo 144S. Click this link to read more and look at some stunning photographs. LIST OF THE WEEK: 83 CARS CELEBRATING ANNIVERSARIES IN 2023 Antony Ingram has collated a list of all the cars celebrating their anniversaries this year. And what a list it is. Click this link from Hagerty to see if you agree with Alan’s choice. Don;t forget to tell the chaps what you would pick. AND FINALLY: EVO CAR OF THE YEAR We have been very remiss this year and not pointed you towards the EVO Car of the Year film, for which we apologise. Here is the YouTube link , which means you can go and enjoy an excellent film.…
FOLLOW UP: DFT WITHDRAWS APPEAL AGAINST FOI REQUEST Dr Greg Marsden has confirmed that the Department for Transport has withdrawn their appeal over the Freedom of Information requirement for the justification of the Government’s plans for decarbonisation of transport. He has even been supplied with the answers to his three questions. Click here to see his Tweet about this . Now we wait on the analysis of said information. FOLLOW UP: BRITISHVOLT RESCUE PACKAGE SLASHES VALUATION Britishvolts has entered administration, you can find out more by clicking this link to Peter Campbell’s Twitter thread. Just last year Britishvolt was valued in excess of $775 million, now there are rescue packages which state the company is worth $39 million. There are, reportedly, two consortiums bidding. To read more, click this Automotive News Europe article here . For more context around battery factories and how the UK appears to be sinking behind others, click this article from The Guardian . ENVIRONMENT AUDIT COMMITTEE RECOMMEND IEA PLAN TO UK The Environment Audit Committee, from Parliament, has recommended the UK Government implement the ideas from the International Energy Agency (IEA)’s ten-point plan to reduce oil usage. Some of the suggestions are reducing the speed limits by at least 10km/h, allowing cars to enter cities on alternate days of the week, encouraging working from home and more. Click here to read the article on Autocar . For the IEA plan, click this link here . FUEL STILL TOO EXPENSIVE Whilst the wholesale price of oil has dropped, particularly in December, the retail price has not matched the same pace. This comes as no surprise to anyone, mind you. There has been seemingly constant calls on the big retailers, including supermarkets, to drop their prices more than they have, but to no avail. Click here to learn more , from a Motoring Research article. POTHOLE DAMAGE UP 34% SINCE 2016 In another piece of news that is not surprising in any shape or form, we find out that damage to cars from potholes has risen 34% since 2016. The suggestion is that due to the cold and the wet, which this winter has treated the UK to, the quality of roads will deteriorate further, meaning even more claims. Sunday was ‘National Pothole Day’, as promoted by Admiral insurance. Click here for more, from Motoring Research . UNMARKED SPEED CAMERA VANS TRIALED Northamptonshire Police are trialling the use of unmarked speed camera vans, in an effort to see if they deter excessive speeding and phone use behind the wheel. The force are at pains to explain they do not financially gain anything, bar an admin fee, for any tickets issues. They also explain that drivers do change behaviour when they see marked cars, so this is a tad confusing. Click this link to an EVO article for more information. RIGHT TO REPAIR FIGHT WON IN US The long running and bitter fight between John Deere and those wanting to be able to repair their own equipment has come to an end, with John Deere relenting over most points. The Memorandum of Understanding that was signed by both John Deere and the American Farm Bureau Federation means that farmers can choose how they want their equipment fixed. Whilst it isn’t legal the hope is it will be abided by both sides. This is important as manufacturers of all equipment in the US have been waiting to see if they could force owners to only use their service centres, including car companies. Click here to see more , from The Autopian. BRITISH HGV START UP TEVVA BUILDS 7.5T LORRY Following European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECWVTA), Tevva a UK zero emissions HGV company plans to mass produce their 7.5t lorry. With customers such as Travis Perkins and Royal Mail, which they have started to deliver to, they appear to have a sustainable business. The 7.5t lorry has a range of 140 miles and is for last mile and urban deliveries. Click this Move Electric article link for more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST WRC: OUR COVERAGE WILL NOT CONTINUE We will no longer be covering the WRC, unfortunately. We have felt for some time we are not doing the amazing sport justice and rather than give you a sub par segment we won’t be discussing it any more. To make sure you don’t miss out, we are recommending the following sites and people to follow; For overall top quality coverage, DirtFish. Click here for their site link . Colin Clark is brilliant and you should follow him on Twitter, by clicking this link . Also, for those who wish to geek out on details, we recommend the WRC Wings Twitter account, which again you can find by clicking this link . NEW NEW CAR NEWS: Mazda MX-30 R-EV - Mazda has unveiled a range extender plug-in hybrid version of the MX-30. The battery pack gives a maximum all electric range of 53 miles, but when combined with the rotary engine and 50l fuel tank that means an overall range of 370 miles. Prices start at £31,250, which is the same as the EV version. WLTP figure is 282.5mpg, but the reality will be very different. To read more, click this Motoring Research article link here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: MATTHEW HILL NEW HEAD OF INTERNAL DESIGN AT LOTUS Matthew Hill has been promoted by Lotus to head up their Interior Design after leading the team who created the Eletre’s interior. Previously Matthew has worked at Lotus, then Aston Martin and Ford Advanced. For more about this, click the link here to the Lotus Drivers Club article. LUNCHTIME READ: CULTURAL LENS ON ROBOTS Drew Smith, one half of Looking Out whom we regularly point you towards, has written a thought provoking piece on robotics, personal digital assistants and cars. As ever he draws on his own experiences as a consultant and research to dig below the surface of a topic and make us think better. Click here to read the article from his website StudioPhro . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE MOST RECALLED CARS IN EUROPE Autocar has compiled the list of the most recalled cars from across Europe, in 2022. This is not the list any of the manufacturers want to be on. Click the link here to see the offending OEMs. Don’t forget to let the chaps know if you agree with their choices of the most surprising brand to be on this list. AND FINALLY: THE AMAZING AND MYSTERIOUS CITROËN DS TAILLIGHTS The Autopian brings you the And Finally this week. In their semi-regular posts about taillights they tackle the story behind the DS ones. And it is quite the story. Click here to enjoy and be educated at the same time.…
NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR DECEMBER AND ALL 2022 The SMMT has released the New Car Registration figures for December, which also gives the full picture of 2022 and it wasn’t great. As expected the overall numbers for the year were down, ending up 2% lower than last year. Main cause of this was supply, significantly through a lack of semi conductor chips. One of the big positives, no pun intended, was that electric vehicles overtook diesel ending up at 16.55% of market share, according to Tristan Young writing for Broker News, which you can read here . Congratulations to Nissan as the Qashqai ended up the most registered vehicle, with the Corsa just ahead of the Tesla Model Y. You can read more from the SMMT by clicking this link here . NEW LONDON ZERO EMISSION RULES COME INTO FORCE Newly registered private hire vehicles have to be zero emission capable, in London, as of 1 January 2022. They must emit no more than 50g/km of CO2 and be able to drive 10 miles without exhaust emissions or a maximum of 75g/km of CO2 emitted and no exhaust emissions for 20 miles. If the vehicle is a hybrid then the engine must be Euro6 compliant. To read more, click this article link from BusinessCar . Quick note, TfL will launch a scrappage scheme from 30 January 2023, to help residents who will be affected by the expansion of the ULEZ in August. Interestingly, cargo bikes are being included as eligible for grants. Click this TransportXtra article link for more information. GLOBAL TRAFFIC SCORECARD INRIX, a traffic data analysis company, has produced a report on the most congested urban areas of the world. Utilising data collected they have calculated where the highest delays occur, stated a cost to these delays, shown how transportation trends have shifted and discussed the safety aspects. Click here to read more and you can download their full report by filling out the form at the bottom of that article. BARCELONA IMPOSING PUBLIC SPACE TAX ON DELIVERY FIRMS Barcelona City Council is introducing the first tax on delivery firms, as a step to help protect local businesses. Large e-commerce delivery companies, think Amazon, are being targeted as they are seen to have taken customers that would have selected a local option previously. On top of that, there is extra congestion and pollution. Click this CitiesToday article link to find out more. Barcelona is one of the C40 Cities groups, which is a group of global cities who are collaborating and moving quicker than national governments are to address, what they see, as issues that need immediate action. Click here to learn more about that organisation. QUALCOMM DEVELOPS A CHIP TO CONTROL TOO MUCH At CES, last week, Qualcomm revealed their new chip that will be capable of controlling the ‘digital cockpit’, driver assistance tech and automated driving. All discussions about car hacking and security are clear that the infotainment should be kept physically separate from any safety critical aspects, yet here is Qualcomm putting it all in one place. To read more, click this article link from The Register . CARS STOLEN IN SECONDS THANKS TO EASILY OBTAINED KIT Criminals can spend around £1300 to buy certain equipment and then make off with tens of thousands of pounds worth of cars, in a matter of seconds. With the advent of extra technology, both mandated and for convenience, bugs and/or built in vulnerabilities to these systems allow criminals to fool a car by accessing the CAN bus. Once accessed they can then do stuff, such as switch the alarm off. Then they are free to take the car away. Click here to read more from The Times . For more context, click this Mastodon post from Ken Tindell . The only recommendation, from industry, to solve this is to buy one of those huge disklok encasements for your steering wheel. AUTOMOTIVE ONLINE SECURITY EXPOSED We have been promised a wonderful future thanks to our cars being connected and data from them being vital to a better and more prosperous future. Unfortunately, the security side of things seems to have been forgotten. Security researcher Sam Curry has found a huge amount of cars and services with massive vulnerabilities that allow access to our data and even to do things to cars remotely. Click here for the summary of the horrific mess, from The Daily Swig. To read the specifics of what Sam and his Team found click this link to his own article. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS: CES 2023 - That time has rolled around again and it is CES in Las Vegas and our timelines. Plenty of noise from the show, we have two contrasting articles from Jalopnik regarding the show, guess which one Andrew is thinking is the more accurate? To read Option 1 and some optimism, click here . To read Option 2, click here . Sony Honda Mobility Afeela - Sony Honda Mobility revealed their EV saloon, the Afeela. The chaps struggle to get excited about something that looks like that. They are also still curious about the entire partnership, especially when the first car isn’t due until 2026. BMW iVision Dee - BMW unveiled their hints at future design and technology directions with the Dee, which apparently stands for “Digital Emotional Experience”. The car itself is a saloon EV, which is refreshing, as too is the clean look to the vehicle. Many got very excited about the colour changing exterior, the full width HUD and more. Click here to read EVO’s take on all this . To learn more about the HUD click this TopGear link here . Peugeot Inception Concept - We all got to see styling that will influence the direction Peugeot EVs will go in the future. Alan and Andrew were in agreement on how good the Inception looked, whilst the interior was pure concept car. Click here to read more from TopGear . Volkswagen ID.7 - The first saloon from VW’s ID range was sort of unveiled. Heavily disguised under a multicoloured QR-code pattern, we could still make out the overall shape of the car, including the very neutral design. Propertied to have a range of 350-ish miles, this will tick a lot of boxes, especially if you wish to see the heater controls in the dark. Click another TopGear link here , to find out more. Chrysler Synthesis Cockpit Demonstrator - Chrylser showed off their vision for EV interiors, which included lots of screens and a lack of buttons. Andrew asks a very important question about this and all the tech/concepts revealed. Click here for a, you guessed it, TopGear link to learn more . LUNCHTIME READ: NASHVILLE BY AERO 8 Jim Magill writes about his time in Nashville with a Morgan Aero 8. In very cold conditions. Do click this link for a wonderful read and fab adventure from Jim. LIST OF THE WEEK: 20 SUPERB SWEDISH CARS The Motoring Research Team supply this week’s List of the Week , which has no wrong answers on it at all. Fabulous cars which proved to be incredibly difficult to pick one each from. Don’t forget to tell the chaps if you agree with their choices or what you would have. Click here to see the list . AND FINALLY: SCARABEO - THE SECRET ALFA ROMEO PROJECT YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF Matteo Licata has done it again and come up trumps with another brilliant video, this time on something you probably haven’t heard anything about. Click here to watch his short film educating us all.…
Andrew was busy, so Alan’s joined by the ever-knowledgeable Alex Grant to catch up on some of the news from the holiday period. FOLLOW-UP: DfT Appeals Freedom of Information Request The Department for Transport is trying to stop a Freedom of Information Request release to see the assumptions on which the UK’s Transport Decarbonisation plan has been built. You can read more in this TransportXtra article . FOLLOW UP: Continental Cyberattack Continental has released a set of questions and answers about its August cyberattack. They can be found on the Continental webpage . STELLANTIS DEALERS COMPLAIN ABOUT ITS BEHAVIOUR Stellantis has been forcing dealers and buyers to register cars before arriving in the country to improve “stock velocity” and secure next year’s supply. That doesn’t seem good for today’s customers. Read more in this Car Dealer Magazine interview . Toyota To Build New Hybrid Powertrain in Wales Toyota has announced plans for investment in its Deeside plant to enable it to build its next generation of hybrid powertrains. You can find out more in this AM Online article . New Morgan Chairman Takes Over Lawrence Price, great-grandson of the company’s founder, HFS Morgan, has taken over as non-executive Chairman of Morgan Motor Company, according to this AM Online article . Volkswagen Group Reshuffles Again Volkswagen has rearranged the usual faces one more time. This time it’s “Strategic” according to Autocar. Stroll Ups Aston Martin Stake Lawrence Stroll has increased his stake in Aston Martin, with this Autocar article saying it’s to stop a Geely takeover. Rental e-Scooter Trials Report Contains 5 Key Takeaways You won’t believe number three, but you can read what they are, and follow a link to the report in this Move Electric article. Geospatial Commission Calls for Better Use of Location Data In Chargepoint Rollout The UK Government is looking at how to roll out the correct number of EV charging points in the correct places and how to make that data easily available to the relevant parties as part of a new report. You can read the summary and the full report on the Cabinet Office website. TOM Karen OBE The 96-year-old former Managing Director of Ogle Design has passed away. His best-remembered automotive work includes many Reliant and Reliant-derived models as well as the Leyland Roadtrain cab and limited-production Aston Martins based on the DBS. Here’s a link to the very concise Practical Classics announcement Tweet . Ken Block Co-founder of both DC Shoes and Hoonigan, Ken Block, has died suddenly in a snowmobile accident in Utah. There are many excellent obituaries, but there’s the one from Dirtfish . REVS Restore - Project Dates for 2023 Information on the project workshop dates for the REVS Restore 2023 has been released. You can find out what the dates are and how to register your interest via the linked press release . DESIGNERS’ MOOD BOARD - Karim Habib Gets Promoted The head of Global Kia Design has been promoted to Executive Vice President. You can read more via Car Design News . LUNCHTIME READ: No, Design Isn’t Dead. This is a delve into why the image of all the white SUVs isn’t saying that design is dead, but the opposite. That’s not a supposition either, as it’s the man who created the image that’s written an intriguing piece on LinkedIn on the subject and even published the chapter of this book that it was intended to illustrate for free on Medium. LIST OF THE WEEK: Jacked-Up Estate Cars No SUVs this week, it’s a list of 10 jacked up, classic estate cars. Do check out Hagerty’s article and see if you agree with his choice by clicking this link. AND FINALLY: Ford Has Opened its Photo Vault Ford Heritage has released thousands of photos of the Ford range over the years. You can see some of the highlights in this Top Gear article and access the full archive here .…
On this episode, Alan explains to us all Toyota’s US sub brand, Scion and his new car the Scion TC. Listen to his exasperation at how nothing costs what it is listed at, why he purchased it and how come Janet Street-Porter is relevant.
Andrew tried out the KIA EV6 GT Line, for a week when the weather was much nicer than now. You can listen to his thoughts on the car, KIA’s approach to electric cars in this instance and if the praise is deserved, in his opinion, that the car has received.
FOLLOW UP: ARRIVAL ‘PAUSES’ JV WITH MERCEDES Recently Arrival announced a joint-venture with Mercedes-Benz, to make electric vans in Europe. However, they have just stated there will be a ‘pause’ in the deal as they focus on the US market and becoming cash flow positive. You can learn more by clicking this Reuters link here. REGULATOR STATES FUEL PRICES NOT DROPPING FAST ENOUGH Competition and Markets Authority has concluded their investigation into retailer fuel prices, with the conclusion that they do not fall quick enough, especially compared to the increases. This is not surprising to anyone, as we have all seen the price gouging by those making huge profits. Click this Autocar link to learn more . BMW FINED BY UK REGULATOR OVER LACK OF DATA According to the BMW Group the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has no jurisdiction to demand information from it, only BMW UK, over the investigation into anti-competitive practices that is running concurrently with the European one. The CMA disagrees and is now fining the company. More can be read on this by clicking this MSM news article link . TOYOTA RESHAPING EV STRATEGY Toyota is reshaping their three staged EV strategy to move certain aspects further up the timescale. They will be holding a large call with relevant supplies in February 2023. To learn what this means, click this Market Screener link here . VW BOARD TO BE GIVEN SOFTWARE ‘REALITY CHECK’ Oliver Blum, the VW Group CEO, will present what is being described as a ‘reality check’ of their software program, to the Group board. The much heralded V2.0 release will likely be put back from 2026 to at least 2028. Don’t forget one VW CEO has lost their job thanks to their software woes. Click this Reuters link to learn more . M&S TEAMS UP WITH BP PULSE FOR EV CHARGERS Furthering their partnership, where M&S stores can be found at BP forecourts, BP Pulse is going to be the provider for rapid EV chargers installed at shops across the country. The plan is for 900 to be installed, being a mix of 50kW and 150kW capable chargers. To read more, click this Move Electric article here . WHEELCHAIR FRIENDLY EV DESIGN COMPETITION LAUNCHED Motability and Callum Design have teamed up to launch a design competition for students to come up with a future-proof and affordable design for wheelchair friendly EVs. 60 submissions have already been received with the winner being announced in January 2023. Click here to learn more , from the Move Electric article. UK ESCOOTER LAWS DELAYED Surprising no one, the Government has confirmed there will be a delay in producing laws designed to take account of escooters and their use in public spaces. As the trials have been extended for hire escooters and ministers stating they are analysing the data collected, this comes as no surprise. Click the Move Electric article here to learn more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST WRC: TÄNAK JOINS M-SPORT The final big piece of the WRC driver puzzle has been slotted into place, with Ott Tänak joining M-Sport for 2023, where he cut his rallying teeth as a member of their junior rally team. Click here to read what Malcom Wilson thinks this means for the team on DirtFish. LUNCHTIME READ: FIXING MY LEAKY PEUGEOT DROVE ME TO THE BRINK OF MADNESS David Obuchowski, writing for Jalopnik, takes us through the trials and tribulations of trying to fix a 1989 Peugeot in the US. Only those with a strong constitution should read this! Also, is a reminder for those of us who have relatively easy access to garages willing to help and parts supplies. Click here to read this excellent piece from David . Thanks to listener Ant Brown for bringing this to our attention. If you stumble across any interesting articles, videos or podcasts you feel should be shared do get in touch and those few like will end up in the show! LIST OF THE WEEK: 30 YEARS OF HONDA’S TYPE-R CARS Alan is picking from the list, which long time listeners will understand means he won’t be picking a couple of potential options, but the list is good. Do check out Hagerty’s article and see if you agree with his choice by clicking this link . AND FINALLY: SUPERMARKET CAR PARKS FROM THE 1980S Gavin Braithwaite-Smith, via Hagerty, has found that Sainsbury’s has a photographic archive of their shops and car parks. Obviously, at that point he searches for the most eighties of eighties picture he can. Click this link here to read and see what we are enjoying and also to access the archive to loose an afternoon running through the amazing resource.…
NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR NOVEMBER 2022 The SMMT has revealed the new car registration figures for November 2022 and there is reason to be more optimistic as the rise is genuinely impressive, if not up to pre-pandemic standards. Supply has allowed for 142,889 cars to be registered, with BEVs and to a certain degree PHEVs being a major factor in the push. Click here to read more , from SMMT. FORD INVESTING IN HALEWOOD PLANT Ford Motor Company is investing in the Merseyside Halewood plant, to enable the production of electric drivetrains. The aim is for the site to produce 70% of the drivetrains required for Europe, by 2026. To read more, click this link to The Guardian article. RIMAC EXPANDING UK R&D CENTRE Rimac is beginning a recruitment drive for their UK Technology R&D Centre, where they will add to the control systems, battery and electrical systems teams. Click here to learn more from TheBusinessDesk article. GOVERNMENT FUNDING TOYOTA HYDROGEN RESEARCH The UK Government is allocating £11 million to a project run by Toyota, researching hydrogen use for zero emission vehicles in isolated areas of the UK. There are plenty of places, in the UK, that it is not practical to set up an EV charging station, particularly in industrial settings, therefore investigating if this is viable is important. Click this Autocar link for more. SIRIUSXM VULNERABILITY EXPOSES CARS TO HACKING In the US SiriusXM is known, on the consumer side of things, as a streaming/radio platform. However, they also provide connected car services to many major car brands. Ethical hacker Sam Curry found a vulnerability tied into the VIN numbers of cars which then allowed him to access certain vehicles, unlocking doors, activating the horn, starting engines and the likes. All due to basic protection being non existent. SiriusXM claim they have fixed the issue. To learn more, click the AutoEvolutions article link here . To see exactly what Sam did, click his Twitter thread here . EUROPEAN AUTOMOTIVE CYBER SECURITY HUB FORMED Europe’s first automotive cyber security hub has been formed in Sweden, where the Research Institute of Sweden will join forces with telecom experts and ethical hackers. For more on this story, click the AMOnline article link here . BORGWARD FINALLY DECLARED OFFICIALLY BANKRUPT In a Chinese court, Borgward has been declared as officially bankrupt, closing the door on what was once a much hyped EV company that only seemed to sell anything in Luxembourg. Click this Autocar link to find out more . NOTTINGHAM EXTENDING ESCOOTER TRIAL Where many other trials are coming to an end and some places are even considering banning escooters altogether, Nottingham is extending theirs in line with the UK Government’s new time limit of March 2024. Move Electric have more on this, which you can read by clicking this link here . NORTHERN RAIL BANS ESCOOTERS FROM THEIR SERVICE Northern, the rail operator that occasionally decides to run trains in the North of England, has announced that it is banning escooters from their trains and platforms. Whilst they point out they are not legal in public places, they claim that the “horror stories” of battery fires are the reason for this move. Click this Move Electric link to find out more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: SALAR MOVES TO MOBILIZE Jean-Philippe Salar, the ex-Renault and Dacia designer, is heading up the design team at Renault’s new mobility division, Mobilize. He will have an important and, what looks like from the outside, fun job in helping to create the future for individual and non mass transport mobility ideas. Click here to read more , thanks to Autocar. LUNCHTIME READ: SAVING AND RESTORING A PEUGEOT 406 COUPÉ PUSHED ME TO MY LIMITS Friend of the show, Gavin Braithwaite-Smith, tells us all about his decision to save and then restore a 406 coupé. In case you need inspiration for something to do over the long winter months. Click here to read this honest account, on Hagerty. LIST OF THE WEEK: 10 1990s CONCEPTS THAT LET DESIGNERS RUN WILD This list, from Hagerty, shows some of the experimentation that took place in the 1990s and is superb for it. Run through these options and then let the chaps know if you agree with Alan’s choice. Click here to pick your favourite . AND FINALLY: #AUTOADVENT2022 IS NOW LIVE Jon Male, once again, delights and frustrates us with his wonderful #AutoAdvent2022. Click this link to take you to Day 1 where you will learn the rules and how to play along. Don’t forget to dust off your Scrabble board! And best of luck.…
FOLLOW UP: GHOSN HELPER NOW OUT OF US JAIL Michael Taylor, the father of the father and son duo who helped Carlos Ghost escape from custody in Japan has been released early from US detention. Authorities stated his months of good behaviour in Japanese jail mean they allowed him back into the community ahead of the expected January 2023 date. To read more, click the Bloomberg UK article here . FOLLOW UP: REVEALED EVIDENCE CASTS DOUBT ON GHOSN CHARGES Evidence, which Nissan and the Japanese prosecutors are supposed to have kept hidden from Carlos Ghosn’s lawyers, indicate that Ghosn did not have a secret deal with a very small number of co-conspirators but that the board members of Nissan at the time, knew the details. This casts even further bad light onto Nissan and particularly the Japanese legal system. As the Asian Times asks, if no crime actually took place, how can anyone be charged, let alone be found guilty. Click here to read yet more damning information thanks to the Asia Times article link. FOLLOW UP: ARRIVAL CEO STEPS DOWN Denis Sverdlov, the CEO of Arrival, has stepped down with Peter Cueno, taking over. The two are swapping roles. In the announcement was the news that the strategy chief and president, Avinash Rugoobur, has also stepped down. The hope is that stakeholders see these as positive moves that stabilise the company. Click here , to learn more, via the FleetOwner article link. FOLLOW UP: FBI TO HELP IN CONTINENTAL HACK German security forces have asked the FBI for assistance in their investigation into the data hack of Continental. Budget, strategy, investment information as well as some data about customers is reportedly been accessed. For more on this story, click this Yahoo Finance link here . LONDON ULEZ TO EXPAND Confirmation from the Mayor of London, came last week, to announce that the ULEZ would now expand to be contained by the M25. This comes into affect in August 2023. To read more, click this Autocar article here . There was an expected outcry over this move, but some were saying that many had already swapped their non compliant car when the first expansion came in. London is bringing in a scrappage scheme from January 2023, which will help those looking to scrap and retro-fit their vehicles with compliant technology. Click this Parkers link to learn more. JLR REDUCING PRODUCTION INTO 2023 Jaguar Land Rover is reducing the shift on certain production lines due to the chip crisis, they are particularly badly hit by. The focus will be on the more profitable models such as the Range Rover whilst the F-Pace and Velar do not. Click here for The Guardian article , to find out more. LEICESTER SCRAP WORKPLACE CHARGING COST Leicester City Council had planned to bring in a workplace parking levy, similar to that in neighbouring city Nottingham. Following a consultation that appears to be listened to, the city leaders heard about the cost of living crisis and the fears over the impact even more costs would have on that. Click here to learn more , from TransportXtra. LIDL UNDERCUTS EV CHARGING STATIONS IN FRANCE Lidl, the budget supermarket, has opened their first budget charging station, where they offer 350kW rapid charging for 35p/kWh. There are more planned across France. Click here to read the article from European Supermarket Magazine. PARIS CONSIDERED OUTRIGHT BAN OF ESCOOTERS The Mayor of Paris is considering an outright ban of escooters, in the city. Anne Hidalgo, who is a huge proponent of 15-minute cities, is also evaluating the existing licenses with the three operators currently permitted to hire escooters to the public. Click here to read the Move Electric article. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST WRC: MOUTON DOCUMENTARY WINS EMMY The Michèle Mouton documentary, Queen of Speed, has won an international Emmy. The film charts her life and career, explaining how she is still the only woman to have won a WRC rally event. Click here to read more , from DirtFish. You can still watch via CatchUp on Sky or NowTV. NEW NEW CAR NEWS Genesis X Speedium Concept: Genesis revealed not one but two further Speedium designs for a luxury four seater cars, in the form of a coupe and convertible. Genesis are very upfront about wanting to try and create an emotional connection with EVs, which has been one criticism to date. The stunning exterior is matched by a cosseted interior, that hugs the occupants rather than a large amount of space electric cars can allow. To see the Coupe design, click this link to the Genesis site. For the convertible, click this Genesis link . BMW 3.0 CSL: BMW has revealed a 3.0 CSL homage. 50 cars, based on the M4, will be produced, with prices yet to be revealed, but we think it is safe to say “eye-watering” will be applicable. The three litre in-line six turbocharged engine will produce up to 552bhp and be mated to a manual gearbox. To learn more, click this EVO article link here . Arbarth 500e: Stellantis are brining out an upgraded version of the 500e, aiming for the Arbarth market. Based on the existing electric city car, the engineers have fettled with the suspension and performance meaning that it can be claimed to be quicker around the Balocco test track, by one second. Also, there will be an optional ‘sound generator’, which apparently replicated the engine note of a ICE. There has been no mention of price for this either. Click here to read the Motoring Research article. OLD CAR DEAD NEWS Volkswagen Touareg R axed: VW will not longer sell the Touareg R in the UK, after only 18 months availability. Starting prices of £71,995 allowed those desperate to get something R-badged with a modicum of electrification. The standard Touareg will still be available. Click this Autocar link, to learn more. CAR OF THE YEAR SHORTLIST The European Car of the Year shortlist has been announced. Amazingly, some of them are on our roads now and not just in the hands of journalists for a brief few hours. Click here to read the Top Gear article listing them. LUNCHTIME READ: BRITISH GRIT AND OIL LAMPS ON THE LONDON TO BRIGHTON VETERAN RUN TV’s Paul Cowland was one of the participants of a very moist London to Brighton run, in pre-1905 vehicles. He tells us all about this year’s event and how wonderful it is. Click this Hagerty link to find out more. LIST OF THE WEEK: TOP GEAR’S TOP 9 - THE BEST CAR PEDALS Top Gear has a list extolling the joy of detail that can be found in the humble pedals we very rarely look at. Run through the list by clicking this link , and see if you agree with Alan and his choice. Don’t forget to tell the chaps what your choice is. AND FINALLY: THE JOY OF 1980S CAR PARTS CATALOGUES Hagerty provides the lighthearted end to this week’s show. Dipping back into the 1980s to look at the joy sending one pound to a parts supplier could bring in the return post. Click this link to read as Antony Ingram explain it all to us.…
GOVERNMENT BUDGET STATEMENT The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that electric vehicles will, from 2025, be required to pay Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for the first time. This will be £20 in the first year, if brand new, then rising to £165 per year after that. The extra charge for cars over £40,000 will also come into force at the same time. Fleets will also be impacted, not just via the introduction of VED but at the Benefit in Kind rate is changing. They will rise 1% from 2025 to 2028. Added to this, there are changes to National Insurance contributions, charging costs and workplace charging point installations. These are all protected to some degree, but home charging will not be as the Government is reducing the help it gives households, from April next year. To read more, click this Autocar article . For more context, click the Autocar article from Alex Grant here . THIERRY BOLLORÉ TO LEAVE JLR Thierry Bolloré has announced that he will be leaving Jaguar Land Rover, after only a couple of years in charge, due to “personal reasons”. The news is on the back of another round of losses, albeit much less than previous results. To read more, click this link from EVO . For some context around his departure, click this Autocar link to read what Steve Cropley has to say. And, if you fancy it, you can find more context with Peter Campbell and his tweet here . MAZDA EXITING RUSSIAN MARKET Mazda has sold their part of the joint-venture operations to Soller, for €1, with a three year buy-back clause in place. They are the latest manufacturer to make such a move. Click this MSN article link , to learn more. DfT ORDERED TO RELEASE FORECAST BEHIND NET ZERO PROJECTIONS The Information Commissioner has ordered the Department for Transport to release traffic level forecasts, which are behind the Net Zero projections. Professor Greg Marsden of Leeds University, submitted the Freedom of Information request as he states transport professionals and the public need to know what choices are behind the scale of change required to meet targets. Click here to read the TransportXtra article , for more on the story. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST WRC: DRIVER MUSICAL CHAIRS Now is the brief window between a season ending and the next starting in Monte Carlo, early next year, for WRC. That means it is silly season, where there is a scramble for drivers and teams to get seats filled. The not so unexpected news came from M-Sport, announcing that they’d parted ways with Craig Breen. Click here to learn more . However, quickly Hyundai stepped in to cheer Craig up by giving him a seat, as well as Esapekka Lappi, who has swapped a part time Toyota deal for a full time one with the i20. Click here to read more on that . That just leaves Toyota to now announce something. They have promoted Takamoto Katsuta to the full WRC roster, sharing the car with Sébastien Ogier. Click here to read more from Gazoo Racing . LUNCHTIME READ: MENTAL HEALTH AND CLASSIC MOTORS Friend of the show, Chris “The Pollitt” Pollitt, has written a very good piece about mental health, his own struggles, how cars fit into this all and associated organisations and communities that can help. We urge you to read this and if you are lucky enough not to be affected but know someone who is, please pass on the link to the article . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE 21 LARGEST CLASSIC AMERICAN CARS John Redfern has compiled an excellent list for us to all run through, but particularly Alan as he needs to know all these facts to continue staying in the good ol’ US of A. Do you agree with the choices made? Let us know which you would have blocking your street. Click here to see the Motoring Research article . AND FINALLY: RECYCLE TOY CARS FOR VULNERABLE KIDS A charity scheme, called the ‘Scrap Car Santa’, has been set up with the hope that people will donate their used toy cars that can be passed onto families, nurseries and schools for Christmas. We have until 4 December to get donations in, let’s help out if we can! Click here to learn more from the Motoring Research link.…
FOLLOW UP: MORE BAD NEWS FROM ARRIVAL Arrival announced that it has a cash problem, as in not enough to get it through to the end of next year. They are looking at cutting more costs, which is rumoured to include large layoffs in the UK as it focuses the operation in the US. To read more, click this article here from Yahoo Finance . FOLLOW UP: PORSCHE CLASS ACTION SETTLED IN US In diesel gate news we find that a US judge has approved a settlement of $80 to $85 million for the class action brought against Porsche over emission tampering and misleading fuel economy information. Porsche also have to pay $25 million legal fees. There is also an extra $250 per vehicle that has Sport+ fitted. Further information can be found by clicking this Automotive News article link . EURO 7 ENGINE RULES ANNOUNCED If both manufacturers and environmental groups are both unhappy with the new regulations for Euro 7 internal combustion regulations, does that mean they are pretty close to being right? Manufacturers are shouting it is too tough and the environmental groups are screaming it is too weak. Click here to read the Autocar Business article about the proposals. For some more context, on one of the trickier parts, is a thread from Julian Rendell discussing the constant monitoring tech that does not exist, which you can read by clicking here . More context can be found in this excellent article from Emission Analytics, who talk about the balance the regulations have hit. Click here to read that . JLR REDUCES LOSSES IN LAST QUARTER Thanks to the new Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, Jaguar Land Rover reduced their losses to £175 million, when £302 million the previous year. Sales were up to £5.3 billion, a jump of 36% on the three months previous and 20% on the same period last year. To read more about this click the BusinessLive article here . For some extra context, click the Tweet from Peter Campbell . CONTINENTAL DATA STOLEN IN HACK Continental, the Tier 1 supplier to much of the automotive and mobility industry, has been hacked by the group called LockBit. The group claims to be selling 40 terabytes of the company’s data to anyone willing to stump up $50 million. Continental stated it was hit in August this year but it had “averted” the attack, yet also confirmed to Handelsblatt business newspaper that data had been stolen. Not a great look when you desperately need to get your customers to trust you and your systems. This is potentially very bad for a wide range of mobility and automotive related areas due to Continental having a lot of fingers in a lot of pies. To read more about the incident, click this article link from SecurityWeek . You can learn more about the potential sale of the data by clicking this SecurityWeek link . RENAULT CONTINUES TO EVOLVE Big news from Renault this week. Firstly, they are entering a joint-venture with Geely on internal combustion engines and hybrid technology. Added to which, Renault are splitting the company into five divisions, Ampere (EV centred), Alpine (the sporty one), Mobilize (financial services), The Future is NEUTRAL (recycling focused), and the previously mentioned Geely joint-venture. To read more, click this FleetNews link here . You can click here, for another great Peter Campbell thread on Twitter. SLOUGH SUSPENDS ESCOOTER TRIAL Slough Council has suspended their escooter trial until, at least, June 2023. The current trial was ending soon and they are taking the opportunity to reevaluate the scheme and decide if they will put it back out to tender. Click here to find out more from Move Electric . FRANCE WANTS SOLAR PANELS OVER CAR PARKS The French Government has mandated that all car parks, with a capacity of at least 80, will be required to fit solar panels over the top. Those with 80-400 spaces have five years and those over 400 have three years in which to meet the new requirements. The calculation is that 11 gigawatts could be generated by this. Click here to read more on The Guardian . WALSALL M6 SHUT DURING THE NIGHT Highways England has announced that from 14 November to 15 December, the M6 northbound will be shut between Junctions 7 and 10 during the night. This is to allow for planned resurfacing works to be safely completed. You can learn more, by clicking this BBC News article here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST WRC: RALLY JAPAN Hyundai recorded a 1-2 finish to the final round of the 2023 WRC, with Neuville winning and Tanak second in his last race for the team. Takamoto Katsuta came third with his third career podium. Evans was leading for much of the rally, but a puncture put paid to that as his luck, which seems to have only been bad this year, continued. There were dramas throughout the field, with perhaps the most spectacular being Sordo’s Hyundai which caught fire and was destroyed. Still no word on what happened. Breen’s miserable time in M-Sport picked up where it left off, as he slipped off the road on Friday, hitting an Armco barrier. If he is still with the team next season it will be a surprise. To read all about the event, click this DirtFish link here . To find out what we learned, click this link to the DirtFish article . If you want to find out what Colin Clark had to say about the drivers, click this DirtFish link . Toyota revealed their Rally2 car, as expected, click the DirtFish link here to see it . NEW NEW CAR NEWS Volvo EX90 Volvo has finally revealed their flagship EV, the EX90, a large SUV cost around £100,000. It is packed with tech and safety features, as you would expect. There are also moments of unexpected delight, for example the way the headlights work, as can bee seen by clicking here for Daniel Golson’s tweet . The car will host a 111kWh battery, with an efficiency of 2.9 miles per kWh, giving a range between 364 and 360 for the Twin Motor and Performance models. Though, the charging speed can be up to 250kW, meaning 10-80 percent charge in about 30 minutes. There is much made about the safety and driver assistance technology. Lidar is fitted as standard and is the bump at the top of the outside of the windscreen. This sensor is to help provide data to the safety and assistance systems. To read more about the car and what Volvo have packed into it, click this Autocar link here . Plenty are complimentary about the design of this, including The Lonely Car Designer, who took to Instagram to show their love of what was revealed. Click here to chuckle along . But, ti does bring into sharp relief that we are being presented with yet another luxury and expensive EV, rather than anything towards the affordable end of the market. Click here to read a CAR Magazine article asking where have all the cheaper cars gone? OLD DEAD CAR NEWS KIA Stiner is axed To much wailing and gnashing of teeth, ok, so maybe just from Andrew, KIA announced that the Stinger is being withdrawn to allow space for the EV6 GT. We will see more and more of this as we approach the deadlines for EV only vehicles, but still this one does, erm, sting. Click here to learn more. LUNCHTIME READ: I TOOK MY RIDICULOUS CAR TO THE NÜRBURGRING AND YOU CAN TOO Antony Ingram, shares with us via Hagerty, his talks of taking his Smart to the ‘Ring alongside his chum’s Suzuki Wagon R. Cars you may not feel are appropriate for such a place, but he tells us all why that is a wrong assumption. Click here to read this wonderful tale and maybe become a smidgen inspired. LIST OF THE WEEK: 12 SUPERCHARGED CARS THAT MADE FORCED INDUCTION A FEATURE Again, Hagerty is supplying the link we are recommending you click, this time for 12 supercharged cars. Click here to see them all in their wondrousness. Do you agree with Alan’s choice? Don’t forget to tell the chaps which you’d have out of all these. AND FINALLY: MERCEDES-AMG ONE RECORD LAP NORDSCHLEIFE The Lunchtime Read is all about travelling around the ‘Ring slowly, but this is about going VERY fast. Click here to watch the record lap from the Mercedes-AMG ONE, it is something to behold. Also, doesn’t take very long.…
FOLLOW UP: BRITISHVOLT TEMPORARY REPRIEVE Before we had even published last week’s show the news about Britishvolt had changed from receivership to saved. More details are now available, as Glencore have given the company a five week lifeline. Britishvolt has again asked the UK Government for an early release of £30 million in funding. To learn more about what has happened, click this Move Electric link here . Peter Campbell has produced a Twitter thread with more context and information, click here to read . The Guardian has an article asking if the Government is doing enough for the car industry, click here to read that . FOLLOW UP: ARRIVAL IN TROUBLE Arrival, the EV light goods vehicle company, appears to be in more trouble than some thought. There has been a fire in one of their vans, there are reports of low moral and a company wide email from the CEO expressing his anger at leaks to the Financial Times. On top of that, some really silly management decisions such as thinking of opening an office in Mauritius and trying to develop an electric jet plane. For more click another Peter Campbell Twitter thread here . GHOSN’S RESCUE TEAM SENT BACK TO US The father and son team who helped Carlos Ghosn escape from Japan have now been sent back to the US, where they will serve the remainder of their sentence. To read more, click this Bloomberg link here . NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES OCTOBER 2022 The SMMT has released data on the New Car Registration figures for October 2022. They have risen 26.4% over 2021, but that was an appalling month. Battery electric vehicles were a big portion of the spike. Added to which the just announced canned Fiesta finally makes it back in the Top 10 Most Registered vehicles for the month, at No.1, pipping the Nissan CashCow by two! To read more about this, click here for the SMMT article link . ASTON MARTIN DOWNGRADES OUTLOOK FOR 2022 CEO Amedeo Felisa has stated that supply issues and logistics are at the core of their problems that have led to them cutting back on forecasts for margins and deliveries in 2022. However, he went onto say that the steps being taken mean 2023 onwards will be much better. Share prices dropped on this news. Click here for the BusinessDay article to learn more . BENTLEY DOUBLES PROFITS IN FIRST QUARTER Bentley has announced that it increased profits in the first quarter, thanks to sales improving in the US, Europe and the UK. These more than offset the drop in China, Middle East and Africa. New model derivatives and personalisation are the reasons why, according to the company. Learn more by clicking this BusinessLive link here . SAUDI ARABIA AND FOXCONN JOINT-VENTURE The Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund and Foxconn have agreed on a joint-venture that will result in the first Saudi car company, called Ceer, making EVs. This is all part of the Kingdom’s move from oil dependency. More can be found out about this by clicking the Autofutures article link here . TESCO AND PODPOINT INTRODUCING CHARGES Tesco and PodPoint have announced that they will begin charging user who charge car at their sites. The rate will be 28p/kWh, which could well be cheaper than some residential tariffs. With the increase in wholesale electricity prices, this is no surprise. Click here to read more on the Move Electric article . DIESEL PRICES ROCKET AGAIN In October diesel shot up, on average, 10p per litre to just over £1.90. However petrol has not increased much. The disparity is becoming much more pronounced. OPEC brought in their planned cut in oil production, which is in support of Russia. All this whilst we see record profits being announced again and again. To read more, if you can bear it, click this Autocar link . LONDON AND SALFORD EXTEND ESCOOTER TRIALS TfL has announced it is extending the escooter trial in the capital, until the end of May 2024. The new tendering process is being opened. Meanwhile Salford Council has stated that Lime will continue being the provider of the service in their area. To read about what’s happening in London, click this Autocar link here . For more on the story in Salford, click this Move Electric link . WANDSWORTH COUNCIL CAN NOW ISSUE SPEEDING FINES Once just the domain of the police, the monitoring and prosecution of drivers speeding, but no more. Wandsworth Council has started an eight month trial where they can fine speeders £130 for exceeding the limit, but not add points to their license. They have argued that police mainly stick to main routes for speed monitoring and ignore smaller roads, but speeding still occurs. Click this BBC News article to read more . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NATHALIE MCGLOIN RECOGNISED AS FIRST RACING QUADRIPLEGIC WOMAN The Guinness Book of Records has officially recognised Nathalie McGloin as the first ever racing quadriplegic woman. This is on top of the fact she is the FIA’s Disability and Accessibility Commission president, races, runs the Spinal Track charity and generally takes the phrase “you can’t do that” as an incitement to show whoever said it how wrong they are. We are delighted for Nathalie, she is an amazing woman and inspiration. Click here to read the Jalopnik article telling you more. To learn more about the charity Spinal Track, click this link here . OLD CAR NEWS Audi axes the A5 Cabriolet Audi has said that the A5 Cabriolet will be removed from sale, as it is at it’s end of life and there will be no replacement. Poor sales and an internal “consolidation” of the lineup finds no room for the soft top. Click here to read about this on Autocar. LUNCHTIME READ: GROUP B WARRIORS REMEMBER RALLYING’S DARKEST HOUR Often, when Group B is mentioned, it is all about the insane machinery, but there is a darker side to that period. This piece from Motorsport Magazine offers a different view on it, without the rose tinted glasses. A sobering but fascinating read, which you can access by clicking this link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 43 MOST CONTROVERSIAL CARS EVER This week we give a huge list of cars that caused controversy for a host of reasons, to run through. As ever, don’t forget to tell the chaps if you agree with their choices. Click here for the Motoring Research list . AND FINALLY: PORSCHE SOUND BAR WITH EXTRA AUTHENTICITY For a mere $12,000 you can get a sound bar from Porsche, that is extra special because they’ve slapped a rust exhaust box from a 992 GT3 on top. For, erm, reasons. The speaker chucks out 300w of noise, which is a lot, but for a fraction of the price you can get the original speaker without the clunky metal fixed to it. Click here to see more on The Register .…
FOLLOW UP: BRITISHVOLT IN RISK OF RECEIVERSHIP Things are moving quickly at Britishvolt. A week or so ago we were talking about them seeking funding, as of Monday’s news, they could well have been in receivership by the time you listen to this episode. They had sought to draw some of their funding from the Government early but have been rebuffed as they decide not to risk more public money. However, it appears they do have some short and medium term funding secured, but we don’t know from where. To get an idea of what has gone spactacularly wrong, click this Twitter thread link from Peter Campbell . To learn how they have found some funding click this BBC News article link . EU BANS NEW ICE CARS FROM 2035 The 27 countries of the EU have agreed to ban all new internal combustion engined cars, powered by fossil fuels, from 2035. There is also an increase in the reduction of CO2 emissions from 2030, up to 55% reduction on 2021 engines, where previously it was 37.5%. There are some exemptions though, for smaller production numbers. Those registering between 1,000 and 10,000 will be exempt until the end of 2035, whilst those registering less than 1,000 cars do not need to comply. Autocar has more information, which you can get to via their link here . FORD AND MERCEDES THE LATEST TO LEAVE RUSSIA Both Ford and Mercedes have sold their Russian facilities to in-country partners as there is no end in sight to the current geo-political instability, thanks to the invasion of Ukraine. Ford have paid a “nominal” fee and have a nice year buy-back clause agreed. We know very little of the details of Mercedes’s deal. Click here to access the Reuters article about the Ford story. For more on the Mercedes news, click this Reuters link . FORD AND VW PULLING THE PLUG ON ARGO AI Argo AI is an autonomous vehicle technology company founded in 2017. Ford and Volkswagen were their major investors but are now pulling their funding meaning that the company is closing. Argo AI were the only AV company who produced a safety case for their work, unlike all others in the industry. However, statements by Ford CEO has made it clear this would never succeed as board members still have no real understanding of what is and is not autonomous and automated tech. You can find out more by clicking this TechCrunch article link . GEORGE HOLTZ QUITTING COMMA AI George Holtz, who rose to fame claiming he could write autonomous vehicle software until the US Government told him to stop experimenting on public roads, is leaving his company Comma AI. Recently he pivoted the business to target driver assistance technology and started to call those still attempting to create AVs as con artists. He stated that he is not the right person to now lead the company as it needs to be led, to ensure it is successful. More can be learnt about this, by clicking this The Verge link here . TESLA FACING CRIMINAL PROBE OVER SELF-DRIVING CLAIMS The US Government is considering criminal charges for Tesla due to their marketing information that may lead customers to believe they have bought a self driving car. There are apparent contradictions on their website that could cause confusion. Click this Reuters link to learn more . JLR STAYS IN TESLA CO2 EMISSION CREDIT POOL To avoid eye watering fines from the EU, Jaguar Land Rover is remaining in the CO2 credit pool that is run by Tesla. To find out more about this, click the Autocar article link here . LEVC CUTS JOBS TO SAVE COSTS London Electric Vehicle Company, who make the new London hybrid taxis, is shedding 120 jobs in order to save costs as the reduction in sales hits. This is partially due to being based on Volvo technology and that they are also struggling to get parts to build their own vehicles. On top of this, the ongoing effects of lockdowns, which affects taxis as well as for Chinese suppliers, has impacted their customers and the company. Click here to read more in the Autocar article . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST OLD CAR NEWS Ford ends Fiesta production The rumours started just before last week’s show, that Ford were going to end the production of the Fiesta and these have been borne out. The Galaxy and S-Max will also not be made anymore. Andrew and Alan go into the possible why’s and wherefores over this move, which is unsurprising when you look at how manufacturers have prioritised SUVs, generally. Profits, platform restrictions and small market all play a part. But we do consider the dangers of going all in on SUVs, especially as the anti-SUV narrative is growing. To read more, click the Autocar article link here . Volvo “pauses” S60 sales Volvo has announced that it is pausing the sale of their mid sized saloon, the S60. A significant fall in sales has prompted the move. There is no clear indication that this may resume though. As with the LECV story, Volvo has struggled to get the parts it needs to build the cars it wants to satisfy customer demand. As with the Fiesta, we wonder if the success of their SUVs, particularly the XC-40, has impacted on the saloon’s sales. You can learn more by clicking this Autocar link . LUNCHTIME READ: THE TORSUS PRAETORIAN VS MOUNT ETNA Ridiculous vehicle, check. Inhospitable environment to travel over, check. Lunatic that will attempt it, check. Tom Ford takes the extreme environment bus, the Torsus Praetorian, to Mount Etna to see how it copes. Click the Top Gear link here to find out exactly what this special vehicle is like and revel in Dean Smith’s amazing photography. LIST OF THE WEEK: 10 TIMES FORD HAD FUN WITH THE FIESTA In a rare attempt at linking to stories earlier in the show, we link you to the Hagerty list about 10 fun Fiestas. Have a click here to see the list and then tell the chaps if you agree with their, as it turns out, choice. AND FINALLY: HOW TO MAKE YOUR EV GO WITHOUT PLUGGING IT IN Jalopnik brings us this week’s nuts And Finally , where the YouTube Warped Perception finds out how far you can run a Tesla Model S, without plugging it in, if you fit a one-cylinder engine to charge the battery. There are a couple of drawbacks with the whole thing which you can find out about by clicking the article link here .…
FOLLOW UP: US CITIZEN PLEADS GUILTY TO CAUSING DEATH OF HARRY DUNN A US citizen who initially claimed diplomatic immunity, Anne Sacoolas, has pled guilty to causing the death of Northamptonshire teenager, Harry Dunn after 3 years. She’ll be sentenced at the end of next month. More detail in this Guardian story . EU PLANS TO DITCH EURO 7 The EURO 7 emissions standard is rumoured to be in doubt as it’s now felt that the cost and difficulty in implementing will far outweigh the benefits it’s expected to bring. This is, unsurprisingly, contentious. There’s an Autocar story with more details and an informed Twitter thread from Emissions Analytics on the subject. EXPANDED LONDON ULEZ RAISES OVER £90 MILLION IN 8 MONTHS In the first 8 months since its expansion last November, London’s expanded ULEZ zone has raised £93.6 million in tolls but excluding late and non-payment fines. More in this Autocar article. STANDARD FOR EV CHARGE POINT ACCESSIBILITY PUBLISHED The British Standards Institute, in association with the UK Government and charity Motability, has published its first standard for the accessibility of public EV charging stations. This can’t come too soon. This Zap-Map article has more information. HYUNDAI PAUSING H2 LORRY TRIALS IN SWITZERLAND The rise in electricity costs across Europe has caused Hyundai to pause its hydrogen truck trials in Switzerland due to a shortage of “green” hydrogen. Here’s the twitter thread containing the original report in German and also a link to the LinkedIn rebuttal/correction from Hyundai . DEPARTING ARRIVAL Fladgling commercial EV manufacturer, Arrival, is looking to “pivot” back tot the US and “right-size” the company according to Tech Crunch and others. This isn’t looking good. NOISE CAMERAS 4 councils across England are looking to crack down on loud cars. Quite what constitutes “loud”, nobody seems able to say. Autocar investigated a little more. BENTLEY OPENS HERITAGE GARAGE Bentley has gathered its collection of historic vehicles into a new Heritage Garage at its Crewe factory. The collection will be open to the press, VIPs and customers according to Hagerty . MOTORSPORT NEWS Rally Spain Rally Spain took place over the weekend. Seb Ogier was victorious and Toyota have taken the World Championship crown. Oh, and Ott Tanak is leaving Hyundai at the end of the season… Ogier Wins Rally Spain Ogier is fined for celebrating winning Rally Spain What we learned from Rally Spain Tanak to quit Hyundai at the end of the 2022 season What will Tanak do next? Bloodhound Could it have another stay of execution? Autocar article . LUNCHTIME READ: HOW MAZDA DESIGNED THE FOURTH-GENERATION MX-5 It’s a monster this week, with a 4 pieces from Mazda about the design and evolution for the ND MX-5. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 LIST OF THE WEEK: 10 HIGH-TECH CONCEPT CARS FROM THE 1980s Hagerty has put together this excellent list of the best high-tech cocept cars from the 1980s . Alan’s decided his firm favourite, what about you? AND FINALLY: THINGS NOT TO SAY TO A TESLA OWNER We don't often feature The Onion as a source, but this listicle seemed too good to miss . We choose to believe it comes from a position of affection. Or something.…
FOLLOW UP: BRITISHVOLT SEEKS EMERGENCY FUNDING [00:00:24] Britishvolt is searching for investors to plug a £200 million cash shortage it needs to survive until the summer of 2023. Nothing is ‘off the table’ as they look for anything from minority investors all the way up to new ownership. They currently have 300 staff, which is costing £3 million a month in wages, but are not expecting any income until at least 2025. To learn more about this story, click this Business Matters article link . NIKOLA FOUNDER GUILTY OF FRAUD [00:03:12] Trevor Milton, the founder of Nikola electric lorry firm, has been found guilty on three counts of fraud relating to the business and tech of the company. The prosecution claimed he lied about the progress of their development, the capability and the deals done. The start of all this was the advert which Nikola claimed showed the vehicle running along the road, which was exposed as it being dragged to the top of a hill and rolling down. On january 27 2023 Milton will find out what he is sentenced to, out of the possible 20 years. For more, click here for the Engadget link . ELECTRIC MINI PRODUCTION MOVED FROM OXFORD [00:04:58] Oxford is losing the production of the electric MINI, but gaining the convertible version from the factory in Holland when the next generation comes along. However, tied in with the first story, this is another blow to the UK car industry. BMW state the plant needs investment and refurbishment, but a lack of battery production facilities in the UK must also be a factor. Click this link from The Telegraph to find out more . NISSAN EXITS RUSSIA [00:07:03] Nissan has agreed to sell its total operation in Russia to the Government backed company NAMI, for €1. On the upside, that is more than Real Alliance partner Renault got for AutoVaz. Nissan has a six month buy back offer, if the situation significantly alters. Only Mitsubishi, of the three Alliance members, still has any footprint in Russia. You can read more, by clicking here for the Forbes article . TRANSPORT FOR WEST MIDLANDS AND WAZE PARTNERSHIP [00:08:28] Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) is partnering with Waze to help provide smoother travel across the region. With Waze providing real time traffic data, to help plug the gaps where WfWM is not monitoring, the expectation is that planners can better deal with planned and unplanned restrictions. Key to this will be how many actually use Waze in the area, who is passing what info to whom and has the small print been read? Click this Autocar link to read more . FUEL SHORTAGES IN FRANCE [00:12:57] France has introduced bans on citizens filling up any jerry cans at petrol stations as they endure fuel shortages thanks to strikes at six of the seven refinery plants. Making huge profits, giving the boss a massive pay rise and then telling staff there’s no money to pay rises hasn’t gone down well. The French Government has reclassified some staff as vital workers, who are key to the safety and ability of the country to function and therefore stating they cannot strike. The move, whilst understandable, has pushed the people to the verge of a national strike. More can be found out by clicking this link for The Guardian article . HYDROGEN STATIONS CLOSED [00:15:39] Cobham, Gatwick and Swindon hydrogen refuelling stations were closed earlier this year, by Motive. That does not mean they are leaving the market, instead they are developing locations that allow for larger vehicles to refuel, such as lorries, which was not possible with the original sites. To read more, click this link here from the company. DIESEL ENGINE RETROFITTED FOR HYDROGEN FUEL [00:18:13] Scientists in Australia have retrofitted a diesel engine, with a hydrogen fuel injection for the cylinder, resulting in 26% increase in efficiency. Added to this, the quality of hydrogen that can be used does not need to be high purity, therefore reducing the production impact of the hydrogen. The researchers also managed to reduce the amount of NOx being emitted thanks to how they put the hydrogen into the engine. To read more, click this Interesting Engineering article link . BMW TO BRING GAMING IN-CAR NEXT YEAR [00:20:58] If you own the latest 7-Series, from 2023 you will be able to game via the centre console, during those times you’re resting. The new 7-series is the first car from BMW to be fitted with the hardware that will allow this to happen, but expect it to trickle down to the rest of the range as that is updated. No doubt you’ll need to purchase a subscription to access this feature and we are not sure why you would do this over, say, your own phone. Click here to read The Verge’s article on the news . NEW PRODUCT BOSS FOR PORSCHE 911 AND 917 [00:23:20] Frank Moser will be in charge of the next generation 911 and 917 models, Porsche announced. He has been in charge of quality for these vehicles, so the step up is not a major one. Frank-Steffen Walliser is the vice president complete vehicle architecture and characteristics, and therefore not leaving the 911 and 917 behind completely. To read more, click this Autocar article here . EV MACAN DELAYED DUE TO SOFTWARE ISSUES [00:24:27] Porsche announced in their IPO prospectus, that the electric version of the Macan was delayed due to problems with the software, provided by the VW Group Cariad division. The document also stated that the company will decide next year whether to go on their own, with software, or stay tied to the VW Group. Click here to read the Autocar article . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS: Honda Sony - [00:27:26] Honda and Sony has announced their first joint-venture car will be launched in 2026, in the US and Japan. This will be, apparently, a premium vehicle with a subscription model for the accessories and options. We are still bemused by this teaming up and really do wonder if anything will come of it. Click this Reuters link to read more . Ineos Grenadier - [00:31:01] The Ineos Grenadier is about fourth months behind schedule and has cost around £2 billion so far. Whilst the chaps have been happy to stick the boot in when deserved, over past actions, this is quite impressive from a brand new brand, with no experience in vehicle manufacturing AND in the current global climate with all the issues we’ve had over the past few years. To read more, click The Guardian article link here . LUNCHTIME READ: MEASURE OF SUCCESS [00:33:40] This week Design Field Trip provide the article we are recommending you peruse at your leisure. This is part two of two pieces which is about who is successfully capturing the current trend for retro-futurism. There is, in their opinion, only one who is managing it right now. Click here to read the thoroughly enjoyable piece . LIST OF THE WEEK: 39 LONGEST RUNNING CARS AND TRUCKS [00:34:49] Motoring Research give us 39 options, when it comes to picking our favourite from the list of the longest running cars and trucks. Have a click through to the link here and see if you agree with the chaps. Don;’t forget to tell them what you would prefer. AND FINALLY: MOTORING ART - KIERAN GABRIEL [00:36:47] Artist Kieran Gabriel is featured in Classic & Sports Car, where they showcase a small selection of his work. Inspired by both Edward Hopper and David Hockney, his pictures are undeniably British. Click here to see the article and then click the link at the bottom of that to see his portfolio. Better hurry though, before Alan buys up everything.…
FOLLOW UP: CLARIFICATION OF STROLL’S FORTUNE During the discussion of Geely buying a stake in Aston Martin, last week, we got the info about Stroll’s fortune incorrect. He has made his money through fashion and sportswear brands. Thanks to listener, David Edmondson, for straightening us out. NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES SEPTEMBER 2022 September’s New Car Registration figures are out. There is a rise, year on year, but do not forget, 2021 was the worst September since 2006 and down a third on 2019. Battery electric vehicles are up, though, just over 40%, and now have 14.5% market share. To read more, click here for the SMMT article . To see the breakdown via ‘what you put in it to make it go’, click here for Tristan Young’s Twitter thread . PERSONAL SAFETY STANDARDS AT EV CHARGERS DEMANDED Following an investigation in to the public’s thoughts on personal safety at EV charging points, the Government is being urged to set minimum standards. Lighting, CCTV and emergency call buttons are all being requested. You can read more on this, by clicking the FleetNews link here . DEALER PLUG-IN GRANT REINSTATED BY UK GOVERNMENT Earlier this year the Government announced, with immediate effect, the ending of the plug-in grant for electric vehicles under £32, 000. They have now reinstated the £1500 saving for orders placed via dealers, but not for consumers applying directly themselves. The new window runs until 31 March 2023 and is due to supply constraints. More can be found here, by clicking the Autocar link . CITROËN OFFER REWARDS TO PHEV USERS Similar to the BMW scheme, Citroën is offering rewards to users of their PHEV models who regularly charge their car and take advantage of what they offer in terms of electric only running. Details are yet to be released on exactly how the point system will work, but it is expected to start next year. For more, click the Autocar article link here . VW SIMULATING IPOS FOR OTHER BRANDS After the initial move of the Porsche IPO, the rest of the VW Group is now “simulating” IPOs for their specific brands. Following this test run, information will be presented on a market day. Click here to read the Reuters article further . NISSAN WANT RENAULT TO REDUCE STAKE During discussions between Renault and Nissan, over the hoped investment by the Japanese company in the new electrification unit also included a request that the French firm sells as much of its stake in Nissan as possible. More can be read here, by clicking the Reuters article link . AMAZON BUYING 20 ELECTRIC HGVS FROM VOLVO Amazon is buying 20 electric HGVs from Volvo, to help move their fleet away from the traditional diesel engine. This is only happening in Germany, at this time, but the expectation is for similar moves to occur across Europe. Click here for the Move Electric link . ASA ACTUALLY REJECT A MOTORING ADVERT COMPLAINT In an astonishing move, the Advertising Standards Agency has reject a complaint about a Toyota advert, which claimed it ‘perpetuated harmful gender stereotypes’. In the advert, the submitted complaint asserted, the male voice was rational and knowledgable, whereas the female voice was stereotypically not those things. The ASA rejected this. Click here to read more from the AMOnline link. ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: HYUNDAI PARTS WITH SOLBERG In another curious move from Hyundai, this year, they are parting ways with Oliver Solberg at the end of the season. The reason cited is that the team’s future plans with WRC have changed. You can read more about this, by clicking the DirtFish article link here . David Evans also writes a very good piece, which you can read by clicking here , on DirtFish trying to make sense of what is going on at Hyundai. LUNCHTIME READ: OVERLANDING WITH CHRIS SCOTT Chris Scott is a renowned desert overloading expert, who has undertaken more than 50 expeditions in sandy environments. He chatted to the Toyota UK Magazine about his life and, of course, Land Cruisers. Wonderful read and some stunning photos accompanying the story, which you can read by clicking this link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 11 CLASSIC CARS THAT DESERVE A COMEBACK We are bringing you a lovely list of classic cars, that Antony Ingram and Hagerty believe should be brought back, in the current retro movement. Click here to run through the list and see if you agree with Alan on his choice. Don’t forget to tell us what you would like to see back on the roads, in a modern interpretation. AND FINALLY: POLICE DEMAND STANDARD CAR GETS RETURNED TO STANDARD In California, the police are asking for the impossible. They have deemed a Hyundai Elantra N’s exhaust to not comply with noise regulations, which Hyundai disagree with most strongly. Added to which they have asked that the factory standard car be returned to factory standard condition. To read more, click the CarBuzz article link here .…
FOLLOW UP: PORSCHE TAKEOVER CASE DISMISSED A court in Germany has dismissed the claims for compensation by hedge funds, relating to the failed attempt by Porsche to takeover VW, which resulted in them then being taken over by Porsche. The judge decided there was no merit, whatsoever, whilst the plaintiffs have already appealed and asked for certain judges to be excluded. More information can be found, by clicking this Automotive News Europe link here . PATIENT GEELY BUYS STAKE IN ASTON MARTIN Geely are not a company to be denied, it would seem. After a couple of failed attempts in buying out or taking a stake in Aston Martin, they finally managed it by purchasing 7.6% shares in the UK firm. To read more, click here for the AM Online article link . GOVERNMENT ROAD INCIDENT STATS OUT The 2021 road incident statistics have been released by the UK Government and in some places make grim reading. A positive is that cycling fatalities has dropped 21%, which we guess is due to a combination of people remembering how to drive again and cyclists getting used to the roads. The bad news is that road fatalities has risen 7%, with an astonishing 30% relating to not wearing a seatbelt. Click this Autocar link here for more information . NEW CITROËN LOGO Citroën has updated their logo, harking back to the original, with the font an evolution on the previous version. As with all the current updates to logos, this is aimed at making their use and options of what you can do with them, much easier in this digital age. To have a look at the smart makeover, click the CAR link here . FCA WARNS INSURANCE INDUSTRY TO PROTECT CONSUMERS The Financial Conduct Authority has warned the insurance industry to help consumers, in the current cost of living crisis, and not foist unnecessary products on them. The FCA also reminded them it expects them to help those struggling to pay, so that they do not expose themselves by not having adequate protection. Click here for the AM Online link to learn more . CHINESE EV SALES RISE SHARPLY ACROSS EUROPE Tying back to last week’s Lunchtime Read which mentioned how the Chinese Government effectively subsidises their EV companies so they can sell their vehicles cheaper than other companies can, figures were released showing how well that tactic is doing. Just behind and catching rapidly, the German produced percentage is the Chinese. This link, to the AM Online article, will tell you more . WESTMINSTER COUNCIL INSTALLING LAMPPOST EV CHARGERS Westminster Council has engaged Siemens to install 500 lamppost EV chargers by March 2023, this will take the number of chargers in the area up to 2000. They are 5kW chargers, but do help to deal with the issue of on-street charging . Click here to read the wonderful headline and then the article explaining the story, by Move Electric . NEW FOUR-WHEELED ESCOOTER The Dragonfly Hyperscooter, is a four-wheeled escooter that comes in two guises, urban and more rugged off-road versions. They are great looking things, but obviously until escooters are legalised, we won’t see them in public. However, such a design should open up the market to those who are reticent to go on two-wheels or are unable to for whatever reason. Click this Move Electric link to learn more . ARRIVAL’S FIRST BICESTER PRODUCTION MODEL IS BUILT Arrival has built their first model on the Bicester production line. This will be used to find out what needs to be done for the full testing. Hopefully, this means that they can secure more funding as they are demonstrating that their production facilities are viable. To learn more, click this Oxford Mail link . HOW ANYONE CAN TRACK YOUR CAR In a rare moment of consumer reporting, we being you a Twitter thread that shows how easy and cheaply any car can be tracked, in the UK and across Europe. Do read this and see how it is done and also what limited steps you can take to protect yourself. Click for the thread . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: RALLY NEW ZEALAND Rovanperä won Rally New Zealand and in doing so became the youngest ever WRC Driver Champion. He was 22 years old and one day when he achieved this. He has been incredibly good this year, only with a wobble in the two previous events in Belgium and Greece. This has bene year to forget for M-Sport and one Hyundai will wish to put behind themselves too, after all the unedifying infighting. To read about the rally and Rovanperä’s victory, click the DirtFish link here . To find out what we learned, again click the DirtFish link here . And for Colin Clark’s Driver Ratings, click the DirtFish link here . NEW NEW CAR NEWS Citroën Oli - Citroën has revealed their design concept, the Oli, which is an investigation into sustainability and affordability. One of the key criteria is lightness, which has driven most of the design choices. The relatively small electric motor is good for around 247 miles, thanks to decisions on constraining the acceleration and top speed. We are big fans of clever stuff and this is very much in that bracket. Click the Autocar link here to read more . The Zem - A team of students from TU Eindhoven has produced a concept coupe that not only is sustainable but actually deploys technology that helps to clean up the air, by removing CO2. Admittedly, this one car removes two kilos of CO2 per 20,000 miles, but as an idea it is very clever. As with the Oli, we like this due to thinking around a problem and trying to produce a solution. To read the Autocar story, click this link . Maserati Granturismo Folgore - Maserati has announced details of the new Granturismo, which includes an EV to go alongside the V6 in their range. This is aiming squarely at the Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron GT. Fitted with a 93kWh battery, delivering 560kW and 997 lb ft of torque. Obviously this equates a stupidly quick 0-62mph speed and also a range up to 280 miles. Prices are yet to be released. For more, click the Move Electric story here . LUNCHTIME WATCH: WHY THE ORIGINAL PANDA IS A DESIGN MASTERPIECE Matteo Licata has produced two videos explaining why the original Fiat Panda is such a design masterpiece. As ever, these are wonderful videos which we know you will enjoy. For Part 1, click this YouTube link . And to see Part 2, click the YouTube link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 14 MULTI-SEAT FAMILY ESTATES WITH RETRO APPEAL We are delighted to bring you a MajorGav List of the Week , thanks to Hagerty. This time he delves into the options for a family vehicle that do not involve the letters S, U and V. Click the link here and see some delightful options for you to choose. Don’t forget to tell the chaps which you’d have from the list. AND FINALLY: HUGE ECLECTIC PRIVATE COLLECTION Studio 434 is the focus this week. Top Gear were lucky enough to have access to the collection and tell us all about the cars and why the collection exists. There are some wonderful photos too showing a small selection of their motors. Click here to view the article .…
FOLLOW UP: TOYOTA TO CLOSE RUSSIAN PLANT Toyota has announced that it will permanently shutter their production facility in Russia. They closed temporarily in March, following the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces which led to supply issues. They have not been able to resume production since, nor can they see when the situation may change. For more on this story, click here for the SupplyChainDive article link . FOLLOW UP: INVESTORS WANT PORSCHE SHARES The demand for the upcoming Porsche IPO has been described as “robust”, with some claiming all of the shares could be sold multiple times over. The floatation is expected to raise between €18 billion and €19 billion. Which goes to show, we don’t know anything about the game of share. To read more, click the Reuters link here . PHONE HOLDING DETECTION TRAIL Devon and Cornwall police will be trailing a new system that uses “AI” to detect if it believes a driver is using a phone, occupants are not wearing seatbelts and the speed the vehicle is moving at. If the software detects laws are being broken the photograph gets passed on to a human to decide if a warning or intention to prosecute letter is warranted. Click here for the BBC News article link . UBER GOING ALL ELECTRIC BY 2030 Uber has stated that it will be going all electric for it’s fleet, across the US, Canada and Europe, by 2030. They claim to be on track to hit their London 2025 target, for EV-only vehicles in the capital. To see more on this, click the Jalopnik link here for a video on the story . CANTERBURY E-SCOOTER TRIAL ENDS IN NOVEMBER Kent County Council has decided not to extend the trial of e-scooters in Canterbury, from the end of November 2022. The Government announced, in the summer, that it is extending the trial until 2024 and existing trials can be extended. The Council’s fear is that accidents will increase, although to date one person has been knocked over by someone using a scooter outside the trial area and on the pavement. Click the Move Electric link here to read more . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS Ford Mustang - Ford revealed the 2023 Mustang and Dark Horse variant, at the Detroit Motor Show last week. The car will retain the V8 and is using the current car’s base. Whilst it will have the latest infotainment system, it will not get new automated driving tech due to the age of the platform. The likelihood is that this will be the last ICE Mustang made. There will be a track focused version too, called the Dark Horse, with 500hp and roof lining mounted USB ports, to allow those who want cables trailing everywhere for cameras to be safer than currently. Prices are expected, for the regular model, to begin around $60,000 but there is no confirmation that the Mustang will make it across the pond to us in Blighty yet. To read about the new Mustang, click the Autocar article here . To read about the Dark Horse, click here for the Road & Track article . To find out why roof lining mounted USB ports are a thing, click the Slash Gear link here . Ferrari Purosangue - Ferrari has revealed their not-a-SUV SUV, the Purosangue. This will come with a 6.5 litre V12, 725hp and a 0-62mph time of 3.3 seconds. Costing, in Italy, the equivalent of €339,000, UK deliveries are expected to begin in the summer of 2023. Ferrari are limiting production to 2,200 a year. You can learn more, by clicking the Motoring Research article here . Jeep Avenger, Recon and Wagoneer S - Jeep has let us see three new EV cars. A European focused Avenger, which is based on the Peugeot e2008 running gear. The Recon is very much in the Tonka Toy style of design and is all the cooler for it. With the Wagoneer S aimed at luxury SUV buyers, although we are not sure if that will come across The Pond to us in Europe. For more, click this MoveElectric link here . Toyota bZ3 - Toyota has taken the wraps off their next full EV, as part of their move to dedicated electric vehicle options. The saloon is being aimed at the Model 3 area of the market, with it expected to launch in China before coming to Europe. Little is know of the capability, but you can read more by clicking here for the Autocar article . Renault 5 Turbo 3E - Renault has taken their latest concept to the drift track. This car is aimed at showing how much fun EVs can be by targeting going sideways the entire time. The looks are fab, both inside and out. You can see more by clicking this Autocar link here . Aehra brand - A new car brand, this time from Italy, has surfaced, called Aehra. Do click the link for the Top Gear article here , as it makes an interesting read into what they need to avoid to becoming another vapourware company. LUNCHTIME READ: THE LIGHT DUTY VEHICLE TO NOWHERE This week we are pointing you to an excellent piece by Emission Analytics, who are discussing the push for battery electric vehicles as the only solution to our emission issues. They do explain the risks of such a strategy, not just for society but business and legislators. Do click this link to read the thought provoking article . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE MOST IMPORTANT CONCEPT CARS EVER CREATED Autocar is the provider of the List of the Week , this time its a big one. A whole host of cars they suggest are the most important concepts of all time. Run through the slideshow yourself, by clicking this link . Then tell the chaps if you agree with them and if not what you chose. AND FINALLY: HIGH FASHION AND MODEL COLLABORATION Ah, but it’s not the type of model you are probably thinking of, this time we are talking about Hot Wheels and the Gucci Cadillac Seville special edition that commemorates the time Gucci and Cadillac actually brought out a special edition for the road, in 1982. Click here to find out more about this stunning story , from Hagerty, and the model that is coming out soon.…
FOLLOW UP: RIVIAN PARTNERING WITH MERCEDES Rivian are partnering with Mercedes to build large EV vans, at an existing facility somewhere in Central and Eastern Europe. They will base the vehicles on two platforms, one from each company. You can read more about this, by clicking the link to the The Verge article here . Additionally, Andrew needed to clarify the issues Rivian has with the proposed UK data law changes, from last week’s item. If the new laws come into force, then the UK loses the current data ‘adequacy’ with the EU, meaning the businesses need to deal differently with UK and EU data. This will cause expenses and extra hassle for businesses. QUESTIONS RAISED OVER PORSCHE IPO The proposed IPO of Porsche, by Volkswagen, is not as straightforward as some are making out. There is the timing of it, which when one looks at the current global financial projections, seems 'unwise. On top of that, VW’s own internal structures and connections in and out of Porsche could make investors very wary. Of particular note is that no voting rights will be granted any investors. To find out about how complicated this all is, click here for the AMOnline article . CAZOO EXPANSION U-TURN Cazoo, the online car retail organisation, is retreating from mainland Europe, to concentrate on it’s UK operations and being at a breakeven point with cash flow, by the end of 2023. The company claims it will save £100 million by closing down its operations in Europe, by the end of 2023. Amazingly that is exactly the amount it claims it will still have in the bank by the end of 2023. For more, click the AMOnline article link here . TOBIAS MOERS JOINS PIECH AUTOMOTIVE Following his departure from Aston Martin, Tobias Moers has moved to Pitch Automotive as Chief Technical Officer. He will, apparently, run the company alongside Manfred Fitzgerald, the ex head of Genesis. Click here for the Top Gear article link , to learn more. BMW PUTS ROUND PEG IN SQUARE HOLES BMW has unveiled a new battery design, moving away from square ones currently used, to cylinder ones. The company claims these will offer an improvement of range up to 30 percent and potentially a 50 percent saving. Click this Move Electric link here , to find out more. EV CHARGING SOLAR TREES UNVEILED Whilst called “solar trees”, they are large umbrella shaped canopies, that have solar panels on them to allow for charging of vehicles and properties. They can also be linked together to create a ‘mini-grid’. To learn more, click this link to the Renewables Now article . GOOGLE MAPS UPDATES CYCLING ROUTE INFO Google Maps has updated the information it displays and considers if you use the service for cycling. The cycle route details include areas of heavy traffic, suitable infrastructure, as well as elevation changes across your proposed trip. To note, Apple Maps has also updated in a similar manner. To read more about what Google has done, click here for the road.cc article link . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: ACROPOLIS RALLY Hyundai had their first ever 1-2-3 and locked out the podium in Greece after their competitors had rallies to forget. M-Sport’s started so well, with Loeb leading and Loubet in second, although he did lead for a couple of stages. But mechanical problems suppered and hopes for the entire M-Sport team. Toyota had a stinker too, with Rovenperra hitting a tree and ending up outside the points. Remarkably, it took a call from the President of Hyundai to ensure team orders were maintained for the final positions. To read more, click the link to the DirtFish article here . The DirtFish What We Learned article can be found by clicking this link . Colin Clark’s Driver Ratings can be read by clicking this DirtFish link . NEW NEW CAR NEWS Ford E-Transit Custom - Ford has now unveiled their electric mid-sized Transit, the Custom. This has a lot of the neat touches and uses that US F150 Lightening owners enjoy, in that they can utilise the power built into the vehicle to keep tools running and the likes. Range is in the region of 236 miles and the interior is as customisable as the ICE version. There are no prices for us to discuss yet. To see more about the innovation and cleverness of the E-Transit Custom, click the Move Electric link here . Nissan X_Trail - Nissan has revealed the new X-Trail looks and pricing. Starting at £32,030, all vehicles in the range come in hybrid form, mating a variety of electric motors, depending on spec, to a 1.5 litre petrol engine. Top of the range Tekna+ with added e-force (all wheel drive system) and the seven seat option is priced from £48,155. The interior looks a leap on the previous generation, in terms of tech, quality and sophistication. You can find out more by clicking this Autocar link . LUNCHTIME READ: HOW A FAKE BILLIONAIRE SCAMMED RICH BUYERS FOR MILLIONS WITH BOGUS FERRARI BUILD SLOTS This week we bring you a story from The Drive by Steph Schrader about Daniel Lesin, who it is alleged, has conned people out of a lot of money by pretending to be one of the super rich and flogging off fake build slots to those who wanted a Ferrari Monza. Click here to read this amazing tale . LIST OF THE WEEK: ARBARTH’S GREATEST HITS EVO provides us with the List of the Week and their suggestions for the greatest Arbarth cars of all time. They came to their conclusions after being on the FCA Heritage Hub tour. Click the link here to see the options and do read the wonderful accompanying text. Don’t forget to let the chap’s know if you agree with their choices or not! AND FINALLY: SEE THROUGH CYLINDER The And Finally this week is provided by Hagerty, this time all about the 3-D printed see through cylinder that shows just how combustion works. There is a great explanatory article and an embedded YouTube video so you can see it in action. Click here to enjoy !…
FOLLOW UP: RIVIAN NOT INTERESTED IN UK According to filings in August, Rivian made it clear that it would not consider the UK as the base for a factory due to the data laws, existing and proposed changes. On the surface, it would appear that Rivian wants to do what it likes with owner’s data and also it naively insists on housing all data in the US, which is not how countries are approaching data creating in their boarders. For more, click this Twitter thread from Vincent Manancourt . NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES AUGUST 2022 An increase of 1.2% on last year’s figures is a welcome sight, but it must also be remembered that 2021 was the worst August since 2013. EVs continued to increase their market share, even with constrained supply chains. SMMT has, though, warned of the energy price increases adding to the struggles for the industry. To read more, click the SMMT article here . BMW BEGINS HYDROGEN FUEL CELL VEHICLE PRODUCTION BMW are building a small fleet of iX5 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for testing and denonstration, at their Munich plant. BMW has been working with Toyota over this technology. BMW seem to think it has a place for personal mobility, whilst many believe it is best suited to commercial vehicles. To read more, click the AMOnline article link here . RENAULT HARVESTS USED PARTS FROM OLDER LORRIES Renault is disassembling old lorries to collect the parts that are still usable. This is all part of the ‘Renaulution’ plan to bring recycling in-house and reduce costs on parts and materials. You can find out more, by clicking this link for the Jalopnik article . FIRST BUS ORDERS 193 EV BUSES First Bus has placed a large EV order with Wrightbus, to be fulfilled within the next two years. York, Portsmouth, Leicester, Leeds and Norwich will all be getting these buses. Just under half the money is coming from from the Department for Transport’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Area grant. More can be learned by clicking this Move Electric link here . POLESTAR AND CITROËN SETTLE LOGO DISPUTE In France, Citroën objected to Polestar selling as they claimed the Swedish company’s logo was too similar to the famous double chevrons and would confuse buyers. Following a lengthy legal battle the two companies settled out of court, with the exact agreement still not known. All very silly. Only the lawyers won, as is usually the case. To read about this, click the CarScoops article link here . POLICE GAME WAZE TO CONTROL TRAFFIC Police in Surrey have admitted that they ‘game’ Waze, pretending there are more of them around that is the reality to get people to slow down. Whilst on patrol they indicate a location they are at, for a very specific time, but that users of the app will think are still there. This does not directly break any of Waze’s rules. More can be found about this by clicking The Register’s link here . AURORA AV COMPANY LEAKS CONCERNING MEMO Aurora, who are seen by the media as one of the more likely autonomous vehicle developers to succeed has accidentally leaked a memo due only for the board of directors. This lays out options for reducing the expenditure of the company, as well as hopes for who could buy them out. CRUISE RECALLS AV FLEET FROM PUBLIC ROADS Following an incident that injured two people in June, Cruise has recalled all of its 80 vehicle fleet. In defence of the collision, that was not just the AVs fault, Cruise stated their software “predicted” the other vehicle would turn, but it did not. To read more, click this link to the WIRED article . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS Ariel Hipercar - Ariel has revealed their carbon fibre bodies EV car. With looks along the lines of a shrunken bat mobile, this is all about form following function. Question marks remain about some of the exterior, such as the front wing vertical fins and what do they do in the event of a collision. Weighing 1445kgs, with one 295hp motor per wheel and a range of 150 miles, as well as a range extender in the form of a micro -turbine, two and four wheel options and 20 minutes of hard track driving, this seems to offer a lot. For more, click this EVO link here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: JULIAN THOMSON TO HEAD UP GM ADVANCED DESIGN STUDIO Julian Thomson has been revealed as the head of the UK-based advanced design studio, for GM. He and his team will work on GM products for all their markets. This has led to speculation that GM will be returning to Europe. To learn more, click this Auto&Design link here . LUNCHTIME READ: THE END OF THE MANUAL TRANSMISSION This article circulated on social media, before the summer, proclaiming the death of manual transmissions. Obviously this caused some “discussion” on social media. If nothing else it is thought provoking and Alan gives us some insight into why the US is so auto centric. To enjoy the article, click here for The Atlantic link . LIST OF THE WEEK: 11 GROOVY CONCEPT CARS FROM THE SWINGING SIXTIES Hagerty provides this week’s list, all about concepts from the 60s. This wonderful collection runs the breadth of styles and charts how thinking changed over the decade. Have a run through and see if you agree with Alan and Andrew’s choices. Don’t forget to tell them too! Click here to see what is on offer. AND FINALLY: HOW TO START A MODEL COLLECTION For our And Finally , Marian Gradus shares with Giles Chapman how he has created such a fabulous collection of model cars. He also had advice on how to fashion your own collection or not. Click here for the article link .…
FOLLOW UP: GENEVA MOTOR SHOW CANCELLED AGAIN For the fourth year on the trot, the Geneva Motor Show has been cancelled. Therefore, only the Qatar element of the new set up will be held next year. This has caused a lot of discussion about the suitability of the location, due to the country’s track record on human rights. As a note, due to the situation in Qatar, this podcast will not cover any aspect of the show. To read more about the story, click here for the Autocar link . FOLLOW UP: FORD DELAYING SPANISH INVESTMENT Ford is now delaying investing in their Valencia plant, following the June announcement, due to a “revised outlook for Europe”. The plant was due to be converted to produce electric vehicles. Ford’s statement is on the back of other manufacturers stating orders are beginning to slow. You can read more about this by clicking this Reuters link here . FOLLOW UP: STELLANTIS TO PAY US DIESEL EMISSION FINE FCA, now part of Stellantis, pleaded guilty to diesel emission false representations and have been ordered to pay nearly $300 million, as a consequence. We should note that VW has paid over $30 billion for the same offence. To read more, click the Reuters article link here . FOLLOW UP: BRITISHVOLT FACTORY ON ‘LIFE-SUPPORT’ The plans for the Britishvolt car battery facility, in Northumberland, are being pared back, currently, as the company looks to minimise cash flow out. There is a new round of funding the company is looking to unlock, but that will not be until next year. This throws doubts up about the ambitious targets the company has announced. More can be found by clicking The Guardian article link here . TOYOTA TRUCK AFFILIATE FALSIFIED EMISSION DATA Hino Motors Ltd, has been found to have falsified emission data, going back to 2003 for truck and buses made on behalf of Toyota. This came to light following an internal investigation after initial claims were made that information was incorrect in the past decade. Hino have been cut from Toyota, as a result. By clicking this Reuters link you can read more . STELLANTIS HALTS PRODUCTION AT PLANTS IN EUROPE Due to the ongoing issues with parts supply, Stellantis is halting production at their Peugeot, Open and van plants, across Europe. To learn more, click this link to an AMOnline article . FERRARI BRAKE FLUID RESERVOIR RECALL Ferrari is recalling nearly every car sold since 2005 due to a fault with the cap of the brake fluid reservoir which could lead to a brake fluid leak that ultimately would mean loss of braking function. That seems quite “ungood”. To find out more, click the Top Gear article here . OSPREY CHARGING REVEAL ACCESSIBLE CHARGING HUB Osprey, the EV charging provider, has opened their first accessible charging hub, which they state will be the minimum standard moving forwards. They have positioned the chargers so they can be plugged into the front or rear easily, cables are held up and are lighter, the screens are much lower on the chargers and there are no kerbs. This is excellent and will make charging easier for everyone. To learn more, click this Autocar link here . DEVON TO LOG CARBON EMISSIONS FROM ROAD WORKS Devon County Council, in association with the University of Exeter, have created a system that allows contractors to log the carbon emissions from the work they do to the county’s roads. The idea is so that with enough data they can prioritise cutting emissions. Click here for the BBC News article , to learn more. PROPOSED CAMBRIDGE CONGESTION PLAN The Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) is putting forward a proposal to Cambridge County Council to help deal with traffic issues in and around Cambridge. The main thrust is to charge nearly all vehicles to access the Greater Cambridge area. Only licensed buses, taxis, cyclists and some small groups are exempt from the charge. To read the high level points of the story, click the BBC News article here . For a more in-depth analysis, click Mark Williamson’s Twitter thread link here . GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATING EV VAN WEIGHT LIMIT RULE CHANGE The Government is looking at whether the rules around weight limits for large vans need to change for electric large vans. With the added weight of battery packs it is easy for such a vehicle to exceed 4250kgs which means that would be a heavy goods vehicle. You can learn more by clicking the link to an AMOnline article here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS Dodge Electric Charger Daytona SRT Concept - With the demise of the Semi engine Dodge has revealed a potential future that includes muscle cars, but electric. The concept harks back to classic muscle cars of the past and still is very potent with many silly sounding attributes, as well as starter buttons inspired by a fighter jet and a pistol grip drive selector. You can lean more by clicking The Drive’s link here . Munro Vehicles 4x4 - At the other end of the EV spectrum we have a 4x4 from Scottish EV start up Munro Vehicles. They are targeting industrial use with their vehicles, such a mining operations that need a permanent 4x4 system with locking diffs and a payload capability close to a Land Cruiser. Whilst they will be priced at £75,000 they will be flat pack which means US organisations can take advantage of the new American rules on ‘home soil built’ vehicles and get the tax credits. For more on this, click this Autocar link . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: JOHN PAUL GREGORY JOINS LOTUS John Paul Gregory, who was recently working at Aston Martin, has joined Lotus as Head of Exterior Design. He will be based in Coventry and working under the leadership of Ben Payne. For more, click the Lotus press release here . LUNCHTIME READ: INVESTIGATING LONG-GONE CITY-CENTRE DEALERSHIPS David Whitton takes Autocar on a tour of Edinburgh now and 40 years ago to explore the locations of the dealerships that used to exist. Click the link here to be transported in time and enjoy the wonderful story that David has in doing what he did. LIST OF THE WEEK: THE SEVEN BEST THREE CYLINDER ENGINES Goodwood Road&Racing has compiled a list of the best three cylinder engines. This is a mix and does not just sit with tiny city cars. Run through the list after clicking this link and see if you agree with Alan. Don’t forget to tell us which you think is the best. AND FINALLY: MINIATURE DETAILS FOR MINIATURE WORLDS This week we link to a story about the lengths some people go to add realism and detail to their model car dioramas. This article from The Autopian really digs deep into the effort some put into their hobby. There are plenty of pictures and videos to lose yourself in for quite a bit of fun. Click the link here to enjoy .…
Finally Andrew talks to Alan about the ‘new” Cracked Windscreen Family Hauler. They run through the remit, what was selected and what it’s like to live with it. Listen to them be childish about trim names, discuss storage options and consider the best cornering technique for such vehicles.
Captain Yaris Fanboi had a Toyota GR Yaris for a week and, yes, the inevitable comparison happened. It couldn’t not happen. In this Special Edition Alan talks about the Toyota GR Yaris while trying to say things other people haven’t said about it in the hundreds of other reviews you’ve read and watched. Comparing and contrasting with his own Yaris GRMN hopefully means that was achieved. To listen to the GR Yaris Launch Special Edition, click this link here .…
Andrew attended the Northern Group of Motoring Writers annual event, which was supported by KIA. They brought a selection of cars from their range for us all to try out. Andrew took four cars out for a spin, listen in as he talks about curry hooks, timelines and surprises. Thanks to KIA for helping support the day and the Northern Group of Motoring Writers. Thank you to the Group for welcoming Andrew so warmly, we’re sure his “charm” will wear off in time.…
It’s been a long time since we drove a diesel SUV for The Motoring Podcast, but Genesis was keen that we tried their best-selling UK model, the handsome, not-quite-a-coupé, GV-70. Alan drove one to Scotland and back to find out what all the fuss was about.
FOLLOW UP: GREY HACKERS TO DE-SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS Grey-market hackers are looking to liberate options fitted to BMW cars but not activated from the subscription models being proposed by the manufacturer. You car read more in this article from Vice. DIESS TO LEAVE VOLKSWAGEN Herebert Diess is to leave his position as Volkswagen CEO on 1st September and will be replaced by Porsche boss Oliver Blume. Read more in this article from electrive.com . LONDON ULEZ EXTENSION HAD LESS IMPACT THAN HOPED This article from the Evening Standard looks at TfL figures showing a much lower impact on air quality than expected whet he London ULEZ zone was extended. ASTON MARTIN’S NEW OLD LOGO Aston Martin has updated its logo in a bit to secure younger buyers. We’re not sure how that’s going to work, but you can see old and new in this Autocar article . AMAZON & RIVIAN ROLL OUT NEW EV DELIVERY VANS Amazon and Rivian are launching their electric delivery vans in a selection of US cities over the coming months according to this article from Autocar . FORD DEVELOPS EV CHARGER FOR DISABLED DRIVERS Ford has developed a prototype EV charging unit that can automatically plug in an EV, meaning disabled drivers don’t have to wrestle with heavy cables. You can read more in this article from Move Electric . NEW HYDROGEN FUEL CELL FACTORY FOR HERTFORDSHIRE Johnson Matthey has announced a £80million investment in a new factory at Royston in Hertfordhire to make hydrogen fuel cells for automotive and transport use. There’s more detail in this article from CNBC . MOKE INTERNATIONAL RECEIVES NEW OWNER Good news if you’re looking for an electric, MINI-based 4-seater utility/fun car, MOKE International has been bought by EV Technology Group, which is looking to invest more int he company. Find out more from Move Electric here . DAIMLER LAUNCHES SECOND ELECTRIC TRUCK MODEL Daimler has launched a second electric model, this time based on its urban-focused Econic model and called the eEconic. You can find out more from this Reuters article. MOTORSPORT: PADDY HOPKIRK We were saddened to hear of the death of rally legend Paddy Hopkirk at the age of 89. You can read h is obituary on Dirtfish.com here . NEW NEW CAR NEWS Honda Civic Type-R - The launch is still underway, so many details haven’t been released yet, but the next generation of Civic Type-R is upon us. You can read more and see pictures in this Autocar article . Alpine A110 E-ternité - Alpine has revealed an electric A110 concept to celebrate 60 years since the launch of the original A110 model. Click through to the press release to see pictures and find out more. LUNCHTIME READ: ‘SAFETY BY NUMBERS’ This week, we have Chris Pollitt’s article on Car & Classic talking about how to keep your classic safe on the road and, possibly, make it even safer than it was when it left the factory. LIST OF THE WEEK: THE 10 BEST FRENCH CONCEPT CARS There was a lot of competition to get on this list, but Goodwood Road & Racing have done a great job of collating this list of 10 mostly-left-field concepts from l’Hexagone’s finest. Have a look and pick your favourite or, you know, simply the craziest… AND FINALLY: THE STAR OF INDIA Everybody needs a car that’s perfect for tiger hunting, right? This 1926 Daimler was designed for exactly that. This intriguing article from Revivaler discusses the who, why and how of this unique, beautiful car.…
FOLLOW UP: VW LOSES TEMP CONTROL ENGINE SOFTWARE RULING Volkswagen has been told by the EU Court of Justice that utilising software to protect engines outside a temperature range of 15 - 33 Celsius amounted to a defeat device, as below 15 Celsius is a normal temperature across Europe. This will, obviously, open the risk of more consumer class actions being taken against VW and possibly other manufacturers. For more, click the Reuters article here . ASTON MARTIN SECURE FURTHER FUNDING Aston Martin has secured £653 million more investment, which it states is only required to service the debt they have accrued. A Saudi Arabian fund, AMG and share issue will ensure that the cash reserves they currently have are deployed on their future development and not paying off their loans. You can learn more, by clicking this PistonHeads link here . BMW TRIALS OPTIONS SUBSCRIPTIONS BMW are trialling subscriptions for some options, with the ability to pay for them on a weekly, yearly or the entire time of your ownership of the car. This has caused a bit of controversy, but not all are against the idea. Click this Top Gear link to read about the move . James Mills wrote a piece for Hagerty, explaining why this has been introduced and why they may not be a bad idea at all. You can read that, by clicking this link here . Drew Smith, writing on the StudioPhro website, adds a dash of reality and caution to OEMs pursuing options via subscription, that can be read by clicking this link here . TESLA ORDERED TO REFUND CUSTOMER OVER AUTOPILOT FAULTS Tesla has been ordered to refund a customer, by a Munich court, due to the problems with the Autopilot function. Following a detailed technical analysis, it was confirmed that the system could not reliably recognise obstacles and changes to the layout of roads and lead to braking being applied unnecessarily. For more, click the Reuters article here . EV ISOLATOR ISSUE HITTING HOME Changes to regulations over the installation of home chargers has meant there is an added delay. There must be two visits, with one being the energy provider who needs to fit the new isolator to the properties existing electrical system. Until there is a single visit installation the problem will continue with the owner or fleet operator paying more as they have to use public charging points. To read about this, click the Business Motoring article here . PORSCHE BUILDS SECOND EFUEL FACILITY Porsche has chosen Tasmania for the location of their second efuel facility. They, along with their partner HIF Global, expect to be producing 100 million litres of efuels from 2026. More can be read about this and the potential for efuels plus their byproducts, by clicking this EVO link here . RENTAL E-SCOOTER TRIALS EXTENDED TO 2024 The Government has announced that it is extending the e-scooter trials until May 2024. To read more, click this Autocar link here . No doubt this will also delay the legalisation of privately owned scooters use on public highways. ZERO EMISSION MOTORBIKES FROM 2035 CONSULTATION The Government has launched a consultation regarding making all new motorbikes and scooters zero emission from 2035. For more, click the AutomotiveManagement Online article here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: RALLY ESTONIA Kalle Rovanperä once again took the top step of the podium, at the end of the Estonian rally. Evans was second and looked in superb form until it rained. Tanäk was third, but a long way off the pace, as were the other Hyundais and M-Sport. Only Toyota can really be pleased with their weekend. Only thing left for any sense of jeopardy with this season is exactly when Rovanperä will claim the championship. To read the review of the rally, click this link for the DirtFish report . To run through Colin Clark’s Driver Ratings, click this link here . To find out What We Learned, click here for the link . And to read about Tanäk’s fine, click the DirtFish link here . NEW NEW CAR NEWS Hyundai IONIQ 6 - After teasing pictures we have now got details for the IONIQ 6, from Hyundai. The sleek saloon will have a 379 mile range, along with 329bhp, in top spec. This is aiming square at the Model 3 and Polestar 2 segment, as it is about the same size too. Prices are expected to start around £45,000. To read more about this, click the Autocar article link here . MG 5 - MG has now revealed the updated 5, with a much smarter and sharper look, no longer aping an old Passat. Inside there are improvements too, including a larger infotainment screen. Prices will start at £31,000 and rise to £33,500 for a top of the range car. To learn about this, click this The Car Expert article link . Hyundai N Vision 74 Concept - We all looked on, with jaws slack and hearts beating faster, as Hyundai revealed their hydrogen coupe concept. This leans heavily on a previous design from Giugiaro, which is no bad thing, when you see it. Click here to read the EVO article on the car. To read the Daniel Golson thread and get access to the CNET Cars article Alan mentions, click here . To read Michael Banovsky’s article, click the Speedster News article link here . LUNCHTIME READ: ‘WE ARE KILLING PEOPLE’ Finally, after all the meaty articles we have linked to this week, we reach the real Lunchtime Read . From the LA Times, the article discusses how interior car design is not helping with, or in fact hindering, the problems with distraction. Whilst US-centric, many of the points stand up, including how OEMs are viewing this area, the reality of what happens to us humans and what it all means. Click here to read . LIST OF THE WEEK: THESE ARE THE 10 FAILED SUPERCAR MAKERS THAT DESERVED BETTER Click on the link here , to run through the 10 options Jalopnik give us in their claims for supercar makers that should’ve done better. After you’ve had a look, let the chaps know if you agree with Alan’s choice. AND FINALLY: CITYRAMA BUS FOUND After sharing Tim Traveller’s video about the Cityrama Bus, a couple of months ago, there is an update as he has tracked down the last existing one. There is now a campaign to get it restored, you can find out all about the bus and the restoration plans by clicking this link here . AND AND FINALLY: EVERYBODY BE COOL, YOU BE COOL We’ll leave this here for another week, as it continues to be “quite warm” in the UK. Thanks to a Tweet from Nir Kahn we now know how to cool our car in the most efficient way possible. Click this link to learn more and then thank Nir for sharing the wisdom !…
NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES JUNE 2022 The June 2022 figures for New Car Registrations has been released by SMMT and they are down nearly a quarter on last year’s figures. Supply shortages are the main culprit, with manufacturers having long lead times to actually get cars into customer’s hands. To read more, click the SMMT article link here . To read Tristan Young’s breakdown of figures by the fuel you put in, click this link here . FUEL PRICE PROTESTS HIT ROADS Some roads in England and Wales were hit by ‘go-slow’ protests last week. They were doing so to raise the issue of fuel costs to the Government, urging them to reduce fuel-duty to help. Several protestors were charged by police for driving too slowly on motorways. To read more, click the Autocar article here . The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a full review into fuel price rises, after declaring the current situation as a “cause for concern” which feels quite understated. To read more about this story, click this Autocar article link . WALES TO LOWER SPEED LIMITS TO 20MPH IN BUILT-UP AREAS A blanket reduction in speed limits, across Wales is being proposed with hopes to be first to implement this in the UK, pipping Scotland who are introducing this in 2025. This is a divisive subject, with some complaining about longer travel times, the unnecessariness and causing chaos to travel. Conversely, the safety aspect is highlighted, where we know anyone hit by a car at 20mph is less likely to suffer severe injury. Whilst, no one can question the impact safety benefits, questions have arisen over claims of lowering costs, emissions and general safety. To read the BBC News article, click the link here . To read the Welsh Government’s own document on this, click this link . LUNAZ EXPANDS PRODUCTION CAPABILITY Lunaz, the up-cycling electrification company, plan to increase its facility to enable it to cope with the rapid uptick in business. They will plan to get 1100 vehicles through their production system a year. You can learn more about what they do and what the expansion will mean by clicking the Autocar link here . HONDA KEYLESS ENTRY HACK VULNERABILITY Honda cars, built between 2012 and 2022, have a vulnerability in them that could allow a naughty person to unlock and remotely start the car. Honda has dismissed the issue but it doesn't appear to have been addressed. Honda haven’t dealt with this very well either, when the researchers brought it to the company’s attention. The solution is tricky and we wonder if it demands an official recall? The other thing to worry about is that the researchers believe other manufacturers are hit by the same flaw. To find out more, click this link to the Jalopnik article . To view the hack being replicated, click this link to the Tweet from Rob Stumpf . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS MG 4 - MG has revealed their new MG 4 a 281 mile hatchback, which will be competing directly with the VW ID.3 for sales. There will be a variety of powertrains, from 167bhp right up to 443bhp. Prices have yet to be confirmed, but going off their existing pricing the car will be class competitive. For more, click the Autocar link here . VW Amarok - Volkswagen has revealed the new Amarok, which was co-developed with Ford. The pick up of choice for those looking to save a few pounds on tax will get an upgraded interior, new look to the exterior and two types of four wheel drive systems, we presume one for those who need to park on verges with summer tyres and those who actually need to go off road. More details can be found by clicking this Autocar link here . Renault 5 Restomod - Pierre Gonalons has been let loose with a Renault 5 and reimagined it in a unique style. Whilst a lot of the car is stunning, such as the colour, the interior and the likes, some decisions are a little harder for us to get on board with, such as the marble pretzel steering wheel and the positioning of the gorgeous headlamps. However, what a wonderful thing to have done. Click this Hagerty link to view more . LUNCHTIME READ: SOMETHING TO REMEMBER Chris Pollitt has written a lovely piece on older car ownership and why people do it. It’s not all about having a flash car to show off with but usually its about the memories they bring back to us. Click the link here to the Car & Classic article. LIST OF THE WEEK: FIVE OF BRITAIN’S BEST ROADS Nik Berg has listed his suggestion for five cracking British roads to try that will be great in any car. He also has a website dedicated to suggestions for road trips you may want to consider yourself. TO view the Hagerty list, click this link . Then we encourage you to visit Nik’s website by clicking this link here . AND FINALLY: CHICKEN CARS Thanks to Si Browse, we now know that chicken cars are a thing. We still don’t know if we needed to know that, but we do. As we love to share the more eclectic side of the motoring world with you as well, you too now know about it. Go see more by clicking this link here . AND AND FINALLY: EVERYBODY BE COOL, YOU BE COOL Thanks to a Tweet from Nir Kahn we now know how to cool our car in the most efficient way possible. Click this link to learn more and then thank Nir for sharing the wisdom !…
HYUNDAI AND KIA RAIDED IN GERMANY German officials have raised the offices of Hyundai, Kia and Bosch over the possibility of a defeat device being fitted to their diesel engines. Details are scant so far, and the chaps will be keeping an eye out for any updates. To read more, click the Autocar article here . EUROPE CONFIRMS 2035 NEW ICE SALE BAN The EU has voted in favour of banning the sale of new combustion engined cars and vans, from 2035. There is a glimmer of hope though, left for e-fuels, which have been given more time to demonstrate if they can be made both environmentally friendly and economically. To read about the ICE ban, click here for the Reuters article link . To read about e-fuels, click the Autocar link here . GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES INCIDENT INVESTIGATION BRANCH The first ever road incident investigation branch has now been formed, by the Government, following a campaign and consultation to create such an organisation. They will independently investigate incidents and use their findings to make recommendations to changes in all aspects of road usage. For more, click the Government’s own link here . NOTTINGHAM TRIALS WIRELESS TAXI CHARGING Nottingham Council has secured funding to undertake a trial of wireless charging technology, using taxis, to establish if it is viable. Wireless technology promises a cleaner street, with less visible infrastructure and associated hazards of trying to use and get around. To learn more about this, click the Wireless Charging of Electric Taxis link here . YORK OPENS FIRST COUNCIL HYPERHUB York Council has opened the first of four “HyperHubs” which it will run, in the city. They will have a range of chargers and aim to help local residents and visitors. This is part of a scheme to help transition people to electric vehicles. Read more about this, by clicking this MoveElectric link here . SWARCO SIGNS DEAL WITH CORNWALL COUNCIL SWARCO will supply and run a number of council charging points, that are to be installed over the next four years. The idea is to improve the infrastructure for Cornwall. To read more, click the ZapMap link here . NEW HOME CHARGING RULES IN FORCE The new home charging rules have come into force, but there is still a lot of confusion as to what they mean to consumers. myenergi boss Jordan Brompton helps clarify costs and what they actually mean for us in this article on Transport+Energy, which you can read by clicking here . ASTON MARTIN SEEKS NEW FUNDING BUT NO NEED TO PANIC Following the exclusive story from Autocar, stating Aston Martin was seeking further investment, they had to come out and say everything was fine with their order books, which isn’t quite the same as “we don’t need cash”. To read the Bloomberg article on all this, click here . GERMAN COURT RULES SUV OWNER TO BE PENALISED MORE A German court has ruled that due to the driver being in a SUV, they can and should be penalised harder thanks to potential danger, extra weight and poor visibility. This is of note, because other jurisdictions may well follow suit, but targeting weight brings more than SUVs into the picture. Click here to read the Jalopnik article . CATERHAM HAVE NEW CEO Caterham’s CEO, Graham MacDonald is retiring after 10 years in charge, he will be replaced by Bob Laishley. Laishley was the head of Nissan sports cars. As we all know, the change in the car industry is almost unparalleled and smaller, niche companies such as Caterham are at risk, therefore his hands will be full in helping the company transition. For more, click the Autocar article link here . SELF-DRIVING CARS INQUIRY OPENS The Transport Committee has opened a public inquiry for self-driving cars, asking for evidence and comment regarding how best to legislate for them. We all must make our voice heard on this matter, so click the link to directly respond to this invitation . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- BLOODHOUND LSR Following a chance meeting, the current CEO of the Bloodhound LSR project spoke to Will Iron regarding the whole thing and its future. Click The Sunday Times Driving article link here , to learn all about the hope for the future. LUNCHTIME READ: HOW TO DESIGN A CAR PART 2 - FRONT GRILLES OvPart two of EVO’s series with Peter Stevens moves to a subject we in the car corner of the internet like to get exercised about, front grilles. Click the link here to read about them , which may help you understand why some look like they do. LIST OF THE WEEK: THE 19 VANS YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU WANTED Listen to Andrew and Alex wax lyrical about vans, click this Top Gear link here , to read more and see if you agree. Don’t forget to let them know if you think they were right or not. AND FINALLY: DRIVING UP A MOUNTAIN IN A CLOUD, FAST We round the show out with raw, onboard footage of the winning Pikes Peak run, by Robin Shute, in The Sendy Club’s car. Click here to send just over ten minutes transfixed .…
FOLLOW UP: FORD ENDING FOCUS PRODUCTION We discussed that Ford was considering the future of the German Saarlouis plant, three weeks ago during Screaming In Your Car episode. That now seems to have been decided, as Ford are investing in their Valencia plant for EV models. After 2025 the Focus will be end, which has caused an obvious conclusion that the German factory will close. For more on this, click the JustAuto article here . FOLLOW UP: PRIVATE PARKING CODE OF PRACTICE PAUSED In February this year, the Government proudly announced it was introducing new rules to cap fines, have a transparent and independent appeals system and essentially make parking fairer. Much more quietly, in fact so quietly it was almost silent, they announced that this would be withdrawn after legal action from parking firms. To read more, click this RAC article link . FOLLOW UP: FLEETS URGED TO SUBMIT EV DATA TO HMRC Two fleet industry organisations are asking their members to submit information to HMRC so that they can see the effect energy prices are having and suitably compensate in the September changes to rates. More can be read on this matter, by clicking this link to the Autocar article . NEW SENTENCING LIMITS FOR DRIVERS WHO KILL The sentencing powers have been changed for those who cause death by dangerous driving and careless driving whilst under the influence of drink and drugs. The new limit will be a life sentence. There will also a new offence of causing serious injury by careless driving, which will have a stiff penalty. For more on this story, click here for the BBC News article . BRADFORD CLEAN AIR ZONE DATE Bradford has confirmed that their Cat C + Clean Air Zone (CAZ) will go live from 22 September 2022. This will cover commercial vehicles, busses, mini busses, hackney cabs and private hire vehicles that do not meet the requirements. You can read more about his by clicking on the link to the BVRLA article here . LOTUS AND BENTLEY TO BUILD SOME CLASSIC EXAMPLES Lotus Advanced Performance will build bespoke, limited run cars based on 1960s and 70s cars. The newly formed wing of the company will also take over their motorsport interests. With limited details on exactly what is being planned there are some rumours of restomod versions of key cars from the back catalogue of Lotus. For more, click this Autocar link . Meanwhile, Bentley, buoyed by the success of their Blower Continuation Series, has announced they are producing 12 of their two-time Le Mans winning Speed Six cars. They have already been snapped up, at only £1.5 million. Again, to read more, click here for the Jalopnik link . TOYOTA RECALLING BZ4X OVER WHEEL NUT ISSUE Before they are even delivered, Toyota has spotted a potential risk of wheel nuts loosening during heavy braking of their first specific all-electric car the bZ4X. Once they have identified a remedy then the roll out of deliveries will take place. Click here to learn more , from the Autocar article. TFL TO BEGIN FINING CARS WHO ENTER CYCLE LANES Thanks to new powers, TfL are to begin to fine vehicles that enter cycle lanes illegally. During the initial six months warnings will initially be issued but then fines of £160 for each infringement, unless paid quickly, is the penalty. To learn more, click here to read the BBC News article . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: SAFARI RALLY Oh boy, that was a brutal one. Brilliant result for Toyota, a 1, 2, 3, 4! They also did that in 1993. A shocker for Hyundai and M-Sport. The Safari Rally is meant to be tough, but I’m not sure it should be this tough, although some covering the sport think they should all be as hard as this. Rovenpera won again, Evans was second and Katsuta made the podium this time after just missing out in Portugal. Ogier came in fourth, like Loeb, his participation was muted again. Neuville was the best placed Hyundai in fifth, Tanak retired TWICE and Solberg was tenth. To find out more about what happened, click here for the DirtFish article . To find out Alasdair Lindsey’s Driver Ratings, click the DirtFish link . To read the DirtFish What We Learned article, click here . GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED Over the last weekend we saw all manner of incredible vehicles being driven up the hill or sat outside the wonderful Goodwood House. Here we link to some of the coverage, for you to catch up with. Goodwood Road & Racing’s coverage can be found by clicking this link here . EVO’s coverage can be found by clicking this link and don’t forget to open the gallery as there are some stunning photos. For a full roundup of the cars that we on show, click here for the Autocar link. Obviously, the star of the show was the McMurtry Spéirling that broke the record for the hillclimb. Click here to watch the video . To see what Autocar found in the car park, click this link here . AND FINALLY: HOT WHEELS LEGEND TOUR 2022 Following the successful first Hot Wheels Legend Tour, last year, where Lee Johnstone’s Volvo P1800 Gasser won the global prize to be made into an actual model, the judges will be once again looking for the best real cars to make into a special Hot Wheels model. For more on this, click here for the Motoring Research article .…
UK HOUSEHOLDS GET CLEAN AIR MONITORS Houses in Tideford, Cornwall, along the A38, are having plug-in air purifiers installed as part of a project to understand how bad the air in that area is, thanks to the traffic. The results will be shared by the local council, with Highways England so they can all understand how much affect the number of vehicles have. To read more, click here for the BBC News article . EXPERIENCE SCORES FOR CARS The EPM Advisory Council, a collection of automotive brands and suppliers, has come up with a recommendation that cars are scored on the experience they give drivers and passengers, called the EPM. The Experience Per Mile is supposed to help evaluate how positive the in-car experience has been. Aspects such as remaining connected, how productive one is and entertained will all be given a score. More can be found on this by clicking this Autocar link . MG HALTS SALES Due to the rocketing demand for their vehicles and the continued effects of the semi conductor crisis, along with covid issues, MG has paused sales of their EVs in the UK. They anticipate being able to take orders once again soon. For more, click the AMOnline article link here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: SAFARI RALLY THIS WEEK A reminder to keep an eye out for the DirtFish coverage of the Safari Rally this week, as WRC returns! BRANDS HATCH BUS SERVICE Brands Hatch Shuttle Buses will run a service for some major racing events this year, ferrying people from Azalea Drive to the circuit. Hopefully this will make it easier for people to use public transport and get to see some cracking motorsport. For more, click here to read the Brands Hatch article . MOVE CONFERENCE ROUNDUP: Alan and Andrew talk about their time at the conference and highlights from what they saw. BICESTER SCAMBLE Alan has been busy this week, he went to ANOTHER event over the weekend, the fabulous Scramblers. You can hear him give a quick round up of what he saw. DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: NURNBERGER DOES RETURN TO ASTON Whilst Andrew sits smugly with the knowledge his lucky guess from a few shows ago was right, Miles Nurnberger has returned to Aston Martin following the departure of Tobias Moers as CEO. To learn more, click the Car Design News article link . LUNCHTIME READ: MY TRIP TO ITALY WITH SIR STIRLING MOSS Andrew Frankel recounts, in some wonderful writing, his time with Sir Stirling Moss and Norman Dewis in Italy to celebrate the Jaguar C-Type taking part in the Mille Miglia in 1952, The fondness Andrew has for the two and how wonderful it must have been to be there really comes across. Click here to read the Goodwood Road & Racing article . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE EVOLUTION OF THE SUPERCAR As Goodwood Festival of Speed is this weekend, we thought we would share a list all about supercars across history and how some moved the needle on. Click here for the Hagerty article link . Don’t forget to tell the chaps if you agree with the choice. AND FINALLY: FORD ONLINE ARCHIVE JUST WENT LIVE Ford has opened a massive online archive to the public. Items from between 1903 to 2003 can be accessed via the link in the Jalopnik article. What a wonderful way to spend many, many hours pouring over old information and pictures. Click here to read the Jalopnik article .…
PETROL PRICES REACH NEW RECORD Average petrol and diesel prices have increased, on a daily basis over the last week, to new heights. Consumer groups, as well as those of us who use a car, have called on the Government to do something to help in this extraordinary situation. To read more, click the Autocar story here . The UK is not alone in being hurt by fuel price rises, the French Government are aiding those who have to travel far due to work or to get to work. For more on this, click The Connexion article link here . SCOTLAND TO ‘DISCOURAGE CAR USE’ Plans to be unveiled this week, from the governing SNP and Scottish Greens, on the transport side of their net-zero aims will be focused on discouraging car use. Being considered are such actions as charging drivers per mile, only allowing investment in road infrastructure if it meets very tight criteria and encouraging active travel. Click here for the MSM link explaining more . VOLVO ELECTRIC TIPPERS NOW IN UK The first electric tipper trucks, in the UK, are already working for Fox Group to work locally from their Leyland base. They each have a 93 mile range, are plated to 27 tonnes and use two electric motors with a two-speed gearbox. Click this Move Electric link to learn more . FRANCE APPROVES ALLEGED SUPER-PRECISE SPEED CAMERAS France has approved the use of supposedly super-accurate speed cameras that remove the need to allow a percentage of speed for error. After testing the company who make the cameras unsurprisingly hailed that they’re 100% perfect. Equally unsurprising, motoring groups in France have not reacted well to this. Click on The Connexion link here for more . APPLE REVEALS NEW CAR PLAY Apple, at their recent developer conference, revealed their new Apple CarPlay, to much oohing and aahhhing by many. In their presentation they showed what a car with it fitted could look like. They also announced several car companies could use the system, This version goes deeper and allows Apple more access to the car’s systems outside the infotainment screen. For more about this, click the Motoring Research article here . JLR TO USE WHAT3WORDS NAVIGATION Jaguar Land Rover will utilise what3words navigation which enables some very misleading and silly reporting. what3words is not as accurate as the developers like to make out, added on to of which JLR will be paying for the privilege of using their “proprietary” system. To learn more about JLR’s move, click ThisIsMoney article link here . To learn more about the issues with what3words, click this Cybergibbons article link here . If that isn’t enough, click the second here . WESTFIELD IN RECEIVERSHIP The UK kit car manufacturer, located in the West Midlands, has entered receivership after 39 years. Originally aping the Caterham Seven, so closely that it ended up losing a court case, they moved onto more outlandish versions. To read more, click here for the Hagerty article covering the history of this car maker. ——————————————————————————- We are at the MOVE 2022 Conference at ExCel, London. Alan will be moderating a panel titled "All these EV targets, where's the charging infrastructure?" with Katie Black, head of the UK's Office for Zero-Emission Vehicles; Daniel Tibble, Director of Data Science and Analytics of the connected vehicle data company, Wejo; and Hui Zhang, the Vice President for Europe of EV company, NIO. More details on the conference can be found by clicking this link here . We have some complimentary tickets, which you can apply for, if you wish to attend the conference yourself. To do so, click this link here and fill out the details required. ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW MOTORSPORT SERIES ANNOUNCED Motorsport UK, the governing body for motorsport in the UK, has announced a new series which it hopes will attract more to the racing. The StreetCar series is all about letting you use your daily driver across 12 series organised by participating clubs. You can pick from Autotest, Trials and Rallying, selecting how much you wish to get involved. To learn more, including all the entry criteria, click the Hagerty article link here . NEW NEW CAR NEWS: Plasan WIlder - Plasan has revealed their latest military vehicle, which has been designed by friend of the show Nir Kahn. This is a vehicle for up to four personnel, with a central driver seating position. The footprint is small, about the same as a Jeep Wrangler, yet offers a great deal of protection to occupants and flexibility to those using it. To read more, whilst Andrew waits for the civilian version to test on the family, click here for the Autocar article . TO watch it in action click the Plasan YouTube video link here . Porsche 928 by Nardone Automotive - Nardone Automotive has revealed a modern interpretation of the original Porsche 928 with their restored and it looks tremendous. The exterior has been tweaked, with the use of composite materials allowing for some interesting emphasis of certain aspects of the design. No confirmation of prices, expect it to be “if you have to ask you cannot afford it” as well as no stated production date. For more information, including stunning pictures, click the EVO link here . LUNCHTIME READ: THE SURGE (I) This week we take another article from Design Field Trip, this time about the Renault Mégane Mk2. The article explains the importance of it and how it fitted in with the overarching design work of Renault. To read this fascinating insight, click the link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 10 STRANGE SEATING ARRANGEMENTS Major Gav has compiled a list of his Top 10 odd seating arrangements. Gone is the two up front with three in the back layout, these all play around with that format. Click the link to the Hagerty article and then let the chaps know if you agree with the selection. AND FINALLY: SCULPTING CARS Jonny Ambrose is an artist who sculpts cars in a wide variety of materials and styles. Except he always has some wood somewhere within his work. Click the Hagerty link here to read about and see his stunning work.…
FOLLOW UP: EU ADVISOR APPROVES PURSUING DEFEAT DEVICE DAMAGES CLAIMS An EU court advisor has stated that owners of vehicles fitted with defeat devices should be allowed to pursue damages. This is not a final ruling but very rarely do the judges not follow such advice. This case is against Mercedes-Benz. If this is ruled upon, it will be up to individual countries to calculate damages that align with loss and damages caused by such devices. For more, click the Automotive News story here . NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES MAY 2022 The weakest May, in three decades outside of 2020’s lockdown situation, meant that there was a 20.6% drop in registrations. Supply chain issues, including Covid lockdowns and the war in Ukraine are all contributing factors. You can learn more by clicking the SMMT link here . MERCEDES TO RECALL 1M CARS Mercedes-Benz is recalling nearly one million cars that could have faulty brakes. Owners of some R-Class, ML and GL models, built between 2004 and 2015, are being advised not to drive their cars until they have been inspected. To read more, click here for the Autocar article link . HMRC NOT KEEPING PACE WITH ENERGY PRICE RISES HMRC has now brought in their new mileage rates, which company car drivers can claim, however they do not match the rise in energy prices. They, in fact, do not rise at all, unlike petrol and diesel rates. This has caused much frustration from those who may well be out of pocket as prices continue to rise. More can be read on this, just click here for the Autocar article . FUEL PRICE SURGE IN MAY Petrol and diesel prices surged in May, rising on average 10p per litre. The war in Ukraine is being blamed for the 17% increase in wholesale costs. For more, click this Autocar article link . CARZAM CLOSES DIGITAL DOORS Carzam, one of the new breed of online only car purchasing sites has gone into voluntary receivership. Unlike Cazoo and Cinch, this entity was created by people from within the car retail industry and therefore thought of as one of the better prospects. For more on this story, click the Car Dealership Magazine link here . MERCEDES DITCHES MOST B-CLASS VARIANTS Prior to the facelift of the B-Class, later this year, Mercedes-Benz has cut all but two model options from the range. Only the 200 and 200d, a petrol and diesel respectively, versions will still be available to buy. Trim levels are also, well, trimmed down to now only give four options. More can be found out about this by clicking here for the Autocar lin k. FORD CUTTING FOCUS PRODUCTION In a move that likely indicates the demise of the Focus mode according to somel, the Saarlouis plant in Germany will reduce production of the model at the end of August. Ford has been vocal about prioritising more profitable models, therefore this does imply that the Puma is more favoured by management. To read more, click here for the Autocar article . ——————————————————————————- We are at the MOVE 2022 Conference at ExCel, London. Alan will be moderating a panel titled "All these EV targets, where's the charging infrastructure?" with Katie Black, head of the UK's Office for Zero-Emission Vehicles; Daniel Tibble, Director of Data Science and Analytics of the connected vehicle data company, Wejo; and Hui Zhang, the Vice President for Europe of EV company, NIO. More details on the conference can be found by clicking this link here . We have some complimentary tickets, which you can apply for, if you wish to attend the conference yourself. To do so, click this link here and fill out the details required. ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: RALLY ITALY Sardinia once again proved to be very tough, with an unlikely winner in the form of Tanak, who has shown no hint of his talent nor an appearance of being a leader this season, until now. He drove with purpose and intelligence to bring home a win for himself and Hyundai. Second was Criag Breen in the M-Sport Puma and Sordo rounding out the podium for Hyundai with another impressive drive. Championship leader Rovanperä was fifth, whilst Evans had a rally to forget, or is that a season to forget? For a review of the event, click the DirtFish article here . For the DirtFish What We Learned article, click this link . For the Colin Clark Driver Ratings article, click here for the link . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: MELVILLE LEAVES MCLAREN Rob Melville, McLaren’s design director, has announced he will step down from his role. He is credited with giving McLaren their distinctive style. There is no indication of who will replace him yet. For more, click here for the EVO article . NEW NEW CAR NEWS: Hyundai i30N Drive-N - A very limited run, of just 75 examples coming to our shores, plus improved interior and design cues along with a £1535 premium on the “normal” i30N marks this out. Mechanically it stays the same. For more info, click this EVO link here . Mercedes-AMG One - The much anticipated mega Mercedes-AMG hypercar has now been revealed. Power comes from a combination of the F1 engine, a V6, being mated to four electric motors, to produce 1049bhp. Only 275 examples are being built, with them all snapped up already at £2.2 million. To read more about this car, click the Autocar link here . LUNCHTIME READ: MERCEDES-AMG ONE OR NOTHING Michael Banovsky gives us his take on the Mercedes-AMG, well that and Mercedes the company. As ever, very enjoyable read, click here for the Speedster News article . LIST OF THE WEEK: 10 CARS THAT MASTERED AERODYNAMICS Hagerty has a list, thanks to Antony Ingram, of some of the most aero efficient vehicles sold, through history. Run through the list, and see if you would pick the same as Andrew. Don’t forget to tell the podcast Twitter account your choice! Click here for the list’s link . AND FINALLY: US CAR SO BAD A DICTATOR SAID NO Saddam Hussein was so disappointed by the quality of specially-built 1981 Chevrolet Malibus, that he cancelled the second part of the deal with GM, meaning 12,500 cars did not end up in Iraq. How bad was US car quality at that time? Shockingly so, it would appear. Click here for The Drive article explaining how this all happened.…
Super short this week as Andrew was plagued by microphone issues. As a result, there are many more stories here in the notes than were covered in the show. FOLLOW UP: VW SETTLE UK CONSUMER LITIGATION Volkswagen has agreed to pay UK consumers £193 million in compensation for fitting defeat devices to their diesel cars. Around 70,000 people will benefit from this payment. To read more, click here for the Automotive Management article . FOLLOW UP: STELLANTIS REACH PLEA DEAL OVER EMISSIONS PROBE Stellantis, via their FCA unit, has reached a plea deal with the US Justice Department over a probe into emissions from their vehicles. FCA has pleaded guilty and will pay in the region of $300 million. Three FCA employees are also to be charged. More on this story can be found by clicking this Reuters link here . JLR LOOKING ABROAD FOR EV PRODUCTION JLR is in talks over building EV models abroad in Slovakia, which is a blow to UK production. This also raises the issue that there are not enough battery plants in the UK now nor, as some fear, probably in the future, so other manufacturers will look aboard too. To read more, click the Bloomberg link here . AUTOCAR AND WHATCAR? GET AUTOTRADER ADS Autotrader will power the used car adverts on Autocar and WhatCar? sites, in a deal announced last Tuesday. Autotrader will now get access to more consumers and Autocar will be able to show readers possible options for the cars they are researching at that moment. You can read more on this by clicking here for the Autocar link . WASHINGTON TO CHARGE CARS ON WEIGHT In the first move, of what could be a new way for cities to control the vehicles on their roads, Washington DC is to charge an extra levy on vehicles over 6000lbs (2722 kgs) of $500 per year. There is an extra 1000lb waiver for EVs, apparently to prevent discouragement of adoption. For more, click the Green Car Reports article link here. REE TO BUILD EUROPEAN EV VANS IN MIDLANDS The Israeli start up REE is using its base in Warwickshire to build EU electric vehicle units, for commercial, buses and recreational vehicles. The aim is to produce 10,000 vehicles, which equates to 40,000 units as their system is a moor at each wheel. To learn more about their plans, click this MoveElectric article link . BAC AND VIRITECH HYDROGEN FEASIBILITY STUDY BAC and Viritech are undertaking a feasibility study of a hydrogen powertrain for sports cars. They are establishing if it is possible to make a Mono with this alternative power source. One of the problems they need to overcome is the potential for extra weight, if it were an electric battery powered car. Viritech are working on lightweight fuel cell drivetrains. More can be found out by clicking this article from BAC . FIAT AXING ALL NON ELECTRIFIED MODELS FROM JULY Fiat has announced that it will no longer sell any non electrified vehicles, in the UK, from July. Now that the Tipo and 500X have hybrid versions, Fiat can stop selling ICE only models. To read about this, click the Autocar link here . PUBLIC ULTRA-RAPID CHARGERS COSTS RISE The cost to use a public ultra-rapid charging station has increased dramatically, over the last eight months. The 50% rise is still less than petrol price rise over the same time period, which stands at 88%. For more about this, click here for the Autocar link . To learn more about the RAC Charge Watch click here . JLR RELAUNCHES ONLINE BUYING SERVICES JaguarLandRover has relaunched their online buying, subscription and hiring services. Called “Own. Subscribe. Rent.” they have simplified their previous offering, making it easier and quicker for a potential customer to get to the point of actually parting with their cash. You can find out more, by clicking the Automotive Management article link here . ——————————————————————————- We are at the MOVE 2022 Conference at ExCel, London. Alan will be moderating a panel titled "All these EV targets, where's the charging infrastructure?" with Katie Black, head of the UK's Office for Zero-Emission Vehicles; Daniel Tibble, Director of Data Science and Analytics of the connected vehicle data company, Wejo; and Hui Zhang, the Vice President for Europe of EV company, NIO. More details on the conference can be found by clicking this link here . We have some complimentary tickets, which you can apply for, if you wish to attend the conference yourself. To do so, click this link here and fill out the details required. ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS: Ora Funky Cat - Ora has renamed the Cat to help it take on rivals such as the ID.3 by now calling it the Ora Funky Cat, ready for an autumn launch in the UK. Prices will start at £30, 495 (including Government grant). The range will be 193 miles for entry level, 209 miles for mid range (when it becomes available) and 261 miles for the top of the range, again when available. To learn more, click the Autocar article here . Land Rover Defender 130 - Land Rover is launching an eight seater version of the Defender, titled 130, later this year. Prices start at £73, 895. The seating is a two, three, three layout, from the front to the rear. Land Rover claim three adults can travel in comfort in the back row, as well as access the seats simply, thanks to clever folding and sliding mechanism on the middle row. More can be found out by clicking this Autocar link here . LUNCHTIME READ: MATT FARAH HAS NEVER WORKED A DAY IN HIS LIFE Matt Farah, the host of The Smoking Tire, is the focus of this fascinating article. We learn about his past and how he really got started, the pivots along the way and the sense of responsibility he feels when he reviews vehicles. To read this excellent piece, click the link to the Avants article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 11 CONCEPTS THAT DEFINED THE 1970S Hagerty provides our List of the Week , with a selection of 11 concept cars they feel defined the 70s. After hearing what the chaps select, click this link here , then run through and let them know if you would pick the same. AND FINALLY: CANADA FIXES PROBLEM FOR IDIOTS WITHOUT LIGHTS Canada has come up with a plan to solve the problem of idiots driving along with their daytime running lights but not their proper lights as they’re oblivious to the issue. Click here for the answer , by reading The Autopian article.…
FOLLOW UP: AN EXPERT RESPONDS - CIRCULAR ECONOMY Thank you to Tom Lipscomb, from PriestmanGoode who are a design company who's purpose "lies in designing a better, more sustainable. He got in touch with the show, to help us understand what Circular Economy actually is. As explained its one of the key pillars of good design and relates heavily to the way products are made in that individual components should be easily disassembled into their constituent parts. GERMANY SALES BAN FOR FORD DUE TO COURT ORDER Ford has been taken to court by Japan's IP Bridge Inc, as their patented technology was being sold in Ford cars without the US car company paying for it, according to the German court. Ford can appeal, but if IP Bridge puts down a €227 million security payment this ruling becomes enforceable. For more on this, click here for the Reuters article link . LONDON ULEZ EXPANSION CONSULTATION OPENED London has opened the public consultation regarding the expansion of the ULEZ to cover most of the capital. To set date for any change is 29 August 2023, where a fee of £12.50 would be levied on any car, van or motorcycle that does not meet the requirements. Views are also being sought on introducing road pricing, which previously the Mayor said would not be considered. To learn more about this, click the BusinessCar article link here . SMART MOTORWAYS GET UPGRADED SAFETY TECH BY SEPTEMBER By September this year, Smart Motorways will get new safety cameras and radar detection upgrades to improve the network of the already installed sections of digital motorways. More can be read by clicking this link to the Motoring Research article here . NEW CAR AND TRAILER LEARNING SYLLABUS The DVLA has released the new training syllabus for car and trailer for drivers wishing to become safer with their vehicle. The rules are still that there is a reduction in the threshold of who should do this though. For more, click the DVLA article link here . NOISE CAMERA TRIAL BEGINS A new trial has begun to tackle the plague of noisy road users. This is the next stage in trialling the technology. Those exceeding the 72dB limit, the UK uses, will be fined between £100-£400 for their anti-social behaviour. More can be read about this by clicking the Hagerty link here . TESLA OPENS CHARGING NETWORKS TO ANY VEHICLE Tesla has opened 15 of their charging hubs to any EV, in a move that is welcomed by many in the UK. However, they are currently breaking the public charging rules by demanding customers agree to a contract with them, which is what registering with their app is considered by regulators. They have stated that they will open more hubs soon. To learn more about that, click the Autocar link here . NEC CAMPUS GAINS PLANNING PERMISSION FOR EV CHARGERS NEC and The EV Network has received planning permission to install charging points for 32 vehicles that can use 300KW DC chargers. Additionally, in another car park, 150 7KW chargers will be installed for those attending the site. To learn more, click this ZapMap link here . TESLA 3 AND Y MODELS EASILY ACCESSED AND DRIVEN OFF Naughty people can, very easily, gain access to Model 3 and Y Teslas, due to a security flaw that cannot be easily fixed thanks to the way they have decided to utilise bluetooth for easy unlocking. Tesla were informed in April, and the advice is to switch off Passive Entry. To read more, click The Register article here . TYRE WEAR EVEN WORSE THAN FIRST THOUGHT Emission Analytics, who previously investigated tyre degradation and pollutants, has returned to the subject to see what the results would be for real-world driving. The news is very grim, particularly for all the EV fanatics that screamed BEVs were falsely painted as bad. Tyre wear is 1850 times worse than tailpipe emissions. To read more, including the methodology and confirmation from independent evaluators, click their article here . GLIMMER OF HOPE FOR BLOODHOUND A surprise announcement this week has cheered us up on the podcast, there is a glimmer of hope for the Bloodhound LSR project as there are conversations with sponsors starting up again, following the pandemic and mothballing of the car. To read more, click the Autocar article here . ——————————————————————————- We are at the MOVE 2022 Conference at ExCel, London. Alan will be moderating a panel titled "All these EV targets, where's the charging infrastructure?" with Katie Black, head of the UK's Office for Zero-Emission Vehicles; Daniel Tibble, Director of Data Science and Analytics of the connected vehicle data company, Wejo; and Hui Zhang, the Vice President for Europe of EV company, NIO. More details on the conference can be found by clicking this link here . We have some complimentary tickets, which you can apply for, if you wish to attend the conference yourself. To do so, click this link here and fill out the details required. ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- JIM MAGILL DRIVING ACROSS THE US FOR CHARITY Friend of the show, Jim Magill, is driving across the US in the prototype VW XL1, to raise money for Alzheimer's Research UK. To follow along with Jim you can click this YouTube link here and select The Car of the Future Past videos. To support the effort and donate, click the JustGiving link here . WRC: RALLY PORTUGAL The stunning and seemingly unstoppable Rovanperä secured another victory, this time on the gruelling Rally Portugal gravel roads. Many said he wasn’t going to win and he just needed to keep his nose clean and bring the car home. The returning masters would have this one sorted. Rovanperä didn’t read that memo. As cars and reputations fell out of contention he kept it clean but also was very quick. In the end leaving everyone trailing behind him. For more about the event, click the DirtFish article linked here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: MILES NURNBERGER LEAVES DACIA Dacia have lost their design director, less than a year after he joined the company. David Durand will step up from vice president of design to run the team. No reason has been given for Nurnberger leaving. More information can be found at this Autocar link here . LUNCHTIME READ: MUD WRESTLING You know we like a good adventure story, well the 1993 Camel Trophy certainly qualifies. You can read about the atrociously hard event by clicking the Hagerty article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: ITS ALL IN A NAME Graham Easton, from Great Driving Days, has put together a list of Italian car names that seem like they had forgotten this part of the process. Run through the list, after hearing which one Alan selects, and see if you agree. Don’t forget to tell the chaps. Click here for the link . AND FINALLY: TRANSIT AN UNKNOWN PART OF THE FAMILY HOUSE A family in Germany found as they demolished one of their buildings, that a Ford Transit had in fact been the framework for a bathroom and pantry, without realising. For more, about this amazing story, click here to get to The Drive link .…
FOLLOW UP: VED PRICES FROM LAST SPECIAL EDITION ERROR As was kindly pointed out, by Tony Williams, the VED prices for the Toyota Yaris Cross, explained in the last Special Edition, were for the first year only. They change following that. Thank you Tony, for raising the point and the nice way you did it! GOVERNMENT INVEST £200M IN ZERO-EMISSION LORRY FLEET The UK Government is investing £200 million to help accelerate the move to zero-emission HGV vehicles. The money will be used to create a demonstrator fleet to help businesses know what is possible for them and their work. To read more, click the MoveElectric story link here . NEWCASTLE CLEAN AIR ZONE POSTPONED Newcastle transport chiefs have announced that they are postponing the introduction of the Clean Air Zone (CAZ), which would’ve meant a charge of £50 for lorries, buses and coaches, whilst vans and taxis would pay £12.50 a day if their vehicles did not meet the requirements. Private cars were not included in the proposal, at this time. For more on this, click here to read the Chronicle Live article . SMART MOTORWAYS GET UPGRADED SAFETY TECH BY SEPTEMBER By September this year, Smart Motorways will get new safety cameras and radar detection upgrades to improve the network of the already installed sections of digital motorways. More can be read by clicking this link to the Motoring Research article here . ALISON JONES PROMOTED IN STELLANTIS Alison Jones will move on from heading up the Stellantis team in the UK, to become senior vice president of circular economy. Whatever that means. Her replacement is Paul Willcox, who is Vauxhall’s managing director. The changes come into effect on 1 June 2022. To learn more, click the Automotive Management article here . PLYMOUTH INSTALLS 20MPH SPEED CAMERA Plymouth has installed a 20mph speed camera, along Old Laira Road. During the test period of the camera 23, 500 offences were recorded, with 1,100 in just the first 24 hours. The camera was fully operational as of Monday 16 May, 2022. Click here to read more, on the BBC News website . TOYOTA CUTS PRODUCTION DUE TO CHINA COVID LOCKDOWN The ongoing lockdown, in Shanghai, has caused Toyota to cut production thanks to parts not being able to be shipped out of the area to their factories. To learn more about the effects on Toyota, click this BBC News link here . RENAULT SELLS AVTOVAZ ASSESTS Renault has managed to extricate itself from Russia by selling their assets to a science institute, apparently for 1 rouble. However, they have retained the option of a six year buy-back option. You can read the Reuters article by clicking this link here . The Moskvitch brand is apparently being reborn and will take advantage of the production facilities. SHELL AIMING FOR 100,000 CHARGERS BY 2030 Shell has pledged to install 100, 000 public chargers in the UK by 2030, with 11,000 being rapid versions. On top of this they will be installing chargers for private homes and workplaces taking their total up to an estimated 500,000 by 2030. Click this link to read more from ZapMap . VW REVIVES SCOUT BRAND FOR US MARKET Volkswagen is reviving the Scout brand name as it targets the US with EV SUVs and pick-ups. In the US, VW still is feeling the effects of #dieselgate and what that has done to their image. By using an unrelated name, which they purchased last year, they will be hoping to sidestep any negative problems. To learn more, click here for the Autocar article . UK GOVERNMENT TO LEGALISE PRIVATE E-SCOOTERS The UK Government has announced that it will introduce legislation that legalises e-scooters on public roads. Ministers claim that safety is central to this and that they must be available to all. To learn more, click this MoveElectric article here . Then for information on opening e-scooters to all click the MoveElectric article here . ——————————————————————————- We are at the MOVE 2022 Conference at ExCel, London. Alan will be moderating a panel titled "All these EV targets, where's the charging infrastructure?" with Katie Black, head of the UK's Office for Zero-Emission Vehicles; Daniel Tibble, Director of Data Science and Analytics of the connected vehicle data company, Wejo; and Hui Zhang, the Vice President for Europe of EV company, NIO. More details on the conference can be found by clicking this link here . We have some complimentary tickets, which you can apply for, if you wish to attend the conference yourself. To do so, click this link here and fill out the details required. ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- JIM MAGILL DRIVING ACROSS THE US FOR CHARITY Friend of the show, Jim Magill, is driving across the US in the prototype VW XL1, to raise money for Alzheimer's Research UK. To follow along with Jim you can click this YouTube link here and select The Car of the Future Past videos. To support the effort and donate, click the JustGiving link here . NEW NEW CAR NEWS 2023 Ford E-Transit Custom EV - Possibly the most important commercial EV for the UK, Ford has announced the details of the E-Transit Custom. With a 232 claimed milage and a similar capacity of the ICE version. The Transit Custom outsold the best selling car in 2021, by 25%, so it is no understatement that this is a vital vehicle for Ford. Details are yet to be revealed as to which battery will be used, but it is expected to offer the same 181bhp or 265bhp motors that the E-Transit will use. Whilst prices have not been announced either, the expectation is for them to start around £40,000. To learn more, click this link for the Autocar article . 2022 Genesis GV60 - Genesis has now, after much teasing of the car, revealed the details and specifications of the GV60, their first dedicated EV. All versions use the 73kWh battery, with the Premium model being a 225bhp RWD version offering 321 miles. Moving up to the Sport model you get four wheel drive, with a 99bhp electric motor for the front wheels, resulting in a total of 314bhp and 292 miles. The top of the range Sport Plus has a whopping 482bhp and 289 miles range. To read more, click the Autocar link here . Vauxhall Insignia - Vauxhall are no longer selling the Insignia in the UK. A new models, reported to be a SUV, will hit the streets in 2026. For more on this, click here to read the Autocar article . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: MILES NURNBERGER LEAVES DACIA Dacia have lost their design director, less than a year after he joined the company. David Durand will step up from vice president of design to run the team. No reason has been given for Nurnberger leaving. More information can be found at this Autocar link here . LUNCHTIME READ: IT WILL SOON BE EASY FOR SELF-DRIVING CARS TO HIDE IN PLAIN SIGHT Following the publication of a UK based survey into people’s thoughts on self-driving cars, Jack Stilgoe has written an article about how AVs can not be easily distinguished from cars driven by humans and poses the question if we should allow that. To read this excellent piece, click the link to the MIT Technology Review article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: AUTOCAR AWARDS 2022 Autocar held their annual awards last week, and we have a slide show for you to run through, to catch up on all the categories and winners. Thankfully, these are given to cars you can actually buy which doesn’t always happen with some others. To run through the winners, click this link here . AND FINALLY: A GORGEOUS HOBBY Martin Aveyard creates stunning models and dioramas at 1:24 scale, just for the pleasure of doing so. His work is so good, that looking at the photos you’d think they were real cars from a fabulous tuning or modifying company. Click here for the Hagerty article link and then go find him on Instagram to follow.…
Alan had a Toyota Yaris Cross, a Yaris-based SUV, for a week and gave it possibly the hardest test he could. Does it deserve its “2022 World Urban Car” award? We find out.
APRIL 2022 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES April 2022 figures are down 15.8% on even last year’s poor results, due mainly to supply issues with continued effects of the chip shortage, the Ukraine War and China’s zero Covid policy that has shut down large amounts of the economic centres of the country. For more information, click here for the SMMT article . To get a bit more detail on the figures, click here for Auto Retail Network’s Tristan Young’s Twitter thread . TOBIAS MOERS LEAVES ASTON MARTIN Aston Martin’s CEO, Tobias Moers, is set to leave the company, being replaced by the ex-CEO of Ferrari Amedeo Felisa. This comes not long after Stroll, the owner of Aston, said he wouldn’t be going anywhere. However, rumours had grown increasingly loud that changes were coming. For more on the departure, click the EVO article here . To learn more about his replacement, click this link to the Top Gear article . LOTUS OPENS NEW MANUFACTURING FACILITY AT HETHEL Lotus has officially opened their new manufacturing facility at Hethel. Called the Chapman Production Centre, this is the latest moves in the £100 million investment in UK Lotus, to equip them for the aims they have as a company. You can read more, by clicking the link here to their own article . MINI HALTS MANUAL CAR PRODUCTION Due to the impact of supply chain restraints, MINI has been forced to stop the production of manual cars, for the foreseeable future. Recently, they had to stop all production due to the effects of the war in Ukraine. For more, click here to read the Autocar story . DEFENDER ADVERTS BANNED Due to the two viewers complaining about Land Rover adverts, that give the impression that reversing sensors would inform the occupants that a cliff edge was approaching, when they do not warn of an open space, the ads have been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). To read more and wonder why you don’t have that much time on your hands as some, click here for the Car Dealer Magazine article . ——————————————————————————- We are at the MOVE 2022 Conference at ExCel, London. Alan will be moderating a panel titled "All these EV targets, where's the charging infrastructure?" with Katie Black, head of the UK's Office for Zero-Emission Vehicles; Daniel Tibble, Director of Data Science and Analytics of the connected vehicle data company, Wejo; and Hui Zhang, the Vice President for Europe of EV company, NIO. More details on the conference can be found by clicking this link here . We have some complimentary tickets, which you can apply for, if you wish to attend the conference yourself. To do so, click this link here and fill out the details required. ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS Mercedes-Benz T Class - Mercedes has revealed their replacement for the Citan, which was competent but jolly expensive. Again, using a shared platform, with the Renault Kangoo, they will look to tap into the increasing van-derived car market, that offers oodles of practicalities for the footprint. Prices have yet to be announced in the UK, but equivalent for those stated for Germany equate to starting at £24, 565. A variety of petrol and diesel engines will be offered, with a full EV option following. For more, click the Autocar link here . Isuzu D-Max Arctic Trucks AT35 - Order books have opened for the new Actic Trucks AT35 D-Max. Think expedition pick up and you’ll be moving in the right direction when trying to imagine the AT35. Uprated suspension and tyres are very obvious indicators this is no normal D-Max. Prices start at £47, 999 (ex. VAT) for the manual, with you needing to add about £1500 for an auto. To find out more, click the link here to WhatVan?’s article . LUNCHTIME READ: INTERIOR EVOLUTION - JAGUAR MK2 XF Design Field Trip has run down the history of the XF interior, running through what made it good, not so good and how it could’ve been executed. A fascinating view at someone who is not just knocking things for the sake of it, but because they want and know they can do better. To read, click the article link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE COOLEST CARS OF THE 1990S This week we are recommending running through the Retro Motor’s list of the coolest 1990s cars. You can see if you agree with the chaps, by clicking this link here . Don’t forget to tell Alan and Andrew what you’d choose. AND FINALLY: DELIGHTS OF RUN-DOWN FRENCH CAR LOT Picking our jealousy baton once again, for Antony Ingram and his recent road trip through France, we are recommending that you read his account of going through a run-down car lot he spotted, as he was passing. Just the sort of place we could all loose hours in, poking around the parked up classics. To see some of what he did find, click here for the Hagerty article .…
Andrew had a Genesis G70 Shooting Brake for a week, to see what the latest company trying to crack the premium market can do. Listen in to explain to Alan what it was like, who the car is really for and how well all the aspects of ownership have been thought through. Less suspense in this one, we are afraid, as Andrew’s enthusiasm is not really kept in check.…
SUZUKI AND STELLANTIS DIESELS INVESTIGATED Prosecutors in Germany, Italy and Hungary are investigating Suzuki, Stellantis and supplier Marelli, over use of defeat devices in Suzuki vehicles. Stellantis are engine suppliers for Suzuki and Marelli are a supplier of engine parts. For more, click the Nikkei Asia article link here . FEAR OF FINES FOR BOX JUNCTION MISTAKES With local authorities outside of London, allowed to prosecute those who misuse yellow box junctions from June 2022, the fear that drivers could be mistakenly fined was announced. The RAC said that many are incorrectly painted, laid out, located and even hidden from clear view for those approaching. They have called on the Government to clarify the guidance on yellow box junctions, clarifying their use, design and maintenance once in place. To find out more, click the link here for the Motoring Research article . MOT TEST COULD BE EVERY TWO YEARS With a suggestion that has been roundly condemned by nearly everyone who has heard it, the idea to move MOT tests to every other year has not gone down well. To be clear, this is only a suggestion, apparently it will help with the cost of living crisis the UK is currently suffering. For more information, click the Autocar link here . BMW AND AUDI STOP FREIGHT TRAIN TO CHINA BMW and Audi have ceased sending cars to China via the rail link from Europe, due to the war in Ukraine. To learn more about that story, click the link to the Reuters article here . To learn more about the rail link to China, click the link here to Rail Magazine’s article . VOLTA TRUCKS REVELAS SMALLER LORRIES New 7.5 tonne and 12 tonne lorries have been unveiled but the electric truck company Votla Trucks. They will follow the 16 tonne lorry, being added to the line up in 2025.The previously announced model is undergoing final preparations before they start customer testing and production later in the year. More on this story can be found by clicking this Move Electric link . VW AND BP ROLL OUT NEW CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE BP will be partnering with Volkswagen to install their new rapid chargers that have integrated batteries that mean they can be deployed at low voltage sites, avoiding the need for extra infrastructure to ensure a suitable electrical supply is maintained. They will be starting in Germany and moving across Europe. Click here for the Business Motoring article , to learn more. GOVERNMENT TO LEGALISE PRIVATE E-SCOOTER USE Grant Shaps, the Transport Minister, has stated the Government plans to legalise the use of private scooters on public roads. Exactly how they will mandate for their safe use is yet to be established. To learn more, click the Move Electric article link here . PARIS’S ELECTRIC BUSES TAKEN OFF THE ROAD Following two incidents where Bolloré electric buses caught fire, all have been removed from the roads as a precaution whilst investigations into the causes are run. No one was hurt in either incident. To learn more, click this France24 link here . MCLAREN NAME NEW BOSS Ex-Ferrari technology chief, Michael Leiters, has been announced as the new CEO of McLaren. Leiters has worked at Porsche and recently Ferrari. His resume includes developing the Cayenne, prancing horse mid-engined V8s and their first ever hybrid super cars. To learn more, click the EVO article link here . MORGAN NAME NEW BOSS Ex-Lamborghini Chief Project Management Officer, Massimo Fumarola, has been named as Morgan’s new CEO. He will lead the company during their most innovative and progressive period since inception. For more on who Massimo is and the challenges he faces, click the PistonHeads article here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- SMMT DRIVE DAY 2022 ROUND UP: Below is a list of the cars Alan managed to find time to drive, whilst at the annual SMMT Drive Day, held at Milbrook. Thank you to SMMT, the manufacturers and other motoring journalists for organising, being there and actually talking to Alan so he didn’t feel lonely. Hyundai Kona N Mustang Mach-E (Extended Range) BMW 220i Luxury Active Tourer Peugeot 508 SW PSE SsangYong Musso Rhino Porsche Macan S Toyota RAV-4 Adventure Toyota Supra 3.0 Jeramy Racetrack Edition A look at the Genesis GV60 Skoda Enyaq iV 80 Sportline Alpine A110 GT Volvo C40 Dual Motor AND FINALLY: WHAT IS RUSSIAN FOR “OH DEERE” Following the invasion of the Ukraine, Russian forces have stolen John Deere manufactured farming equipment and taken it back to their country. However, John Deere has spotted this and ‘bricked’ the tractors and harvesters, rendering them inoperable. Whilst this is a good thing, that John Deere has done, it raises once again the awful concept of remote deactivation capability. Always relieves on you meeting arbitrary standards someone else has decided on, which you have no ability to appeal against. For more, click here to read The Register’s article .…
Alan took one for Team Motoring Podcast, recently, by going to Barcelona for the European launch of the Toyota Aygo X (pronounced cross). No longer is this part of a joint venture with PSA, but a stand alone product from within the company. Listen to Alan explain this to Andrew, as well as a fascinating interview with Stijn Peters, Senior Project Manager at Toyota, who tells us the lengths they went to for this car to be on the roads today.…
FOLLOW UP: FRANCE ISSUES ARREST WARRANT FOR GHOSN Authorities in France have issued an international arrest warrant for Carlos Ghosn, in connection with £12.6 million payments made to Suhail Bahwan Automobiles, in Oman. The claim is money was funnelled illegally to the company which Ghosn took advantage of to use personally. There are another four other individuals also implicated. To learn more, in yet another twist of this tale, click here for the Autocar article . UK GOVERNEMENT MAKES AMENDMENTS TO HIGHWAY CODE The Government has announced changes to the Highway Code, readying it for when we have self driving technology on the public roads. For cars that are classified, by the Minister for Transport, as self driving and in that mode, we will be able to have our “eyes-off” the road. Currently there are no vehicles on the Minister’s list. To read an accurate report on all this, click The Register’s link here . To read the Government’s own release, click here . For The Register’s article on AI and ML, click here . RIMAC HAS NEW INVESTOR The owner of Morgan, Investindustrial, has joined Porsche and Hyundai by investing in Rimac. They are pumping €120 million into the company, as they continue to pursue those moving towards the electrified motoring future. Click here for more information via an Autocar article . GOVERNMENT TO INTRODUCE CHARGING RELIABILITY LAW The UK Government is set to introduce a new law, that will require rapid chargers to work as intended 99% of the time. This is all part of their strategy for creating a ‘world leading’ charging infrastructure. They also promise to have 300,000 charge points across the country by 2030, but no indication they are mandated. To read more, click the Autocar article here . GRIDSERVE OPENS NORWICH CHARGING FORECOURT Gridserve has opened a new forecourt in Norwich, which is run on 100% renewable energy. There are 36 charging points, with 22 able to run up to 350kW. East Anglia is quite poorly serviced, currently, so this is a welcome addition to the area. For more, click here to read the Move Electric article . NEW CHARGING POINT RISE 33% IN LAST YEAR Over the last year there has been a 33% rise in the number of charging points being installed, across the UK. 7,500 were added, taking the total up to 30,290. The Government’s report also highlighted the disparity in spread of devices, with London being much better served than most other areas. Northern Ireland is particularly badly covered. Move Electric have more on this, just click this link here to read it . LANCASHIRE RESURFACING ROADS WITH RECYCLED TYRES A trial by Lancashire County Council is underway, to test the viability of using recycled tyres as part of the resurfacing material for roads. The main aim is to reduce the carbon footprint of roads, which it is claimed they have in this instance by over 30%. To read more, click the BBC News article here .——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: CROATIA RALLY After the seemingly endless wait for another WRC event (okay, we may have been a tad over dramatic there), we were treated to an amazing few days of rallying. Rovanperä, having led for so long over the three days, lost the lead of the race on the penultimate stage, to Tanak. However, a blistering final Special Stage meant he won by just 4.3 seconds. This was all after being well over a minute ahead of everyone on Friday. Neuville rounded out the podium, even after a big scare towards the end. To read about the event, click the DirtFish article here . To read DirtFish’s What We Learned article, click here . MOTORSPORT DATES FOR THE DIARY Mission Motorsport has announced the 2022 Race of Remembrance, to be held at Anglesey. Click here to learn more . For the Bad Obsession Motorsport video on last year’s event, click here . The 24hr of Le Mans program has now been released, which you can find by clicking this link here . NEW NEW CAR NEWS BMW 7-Series - The latest version of the flagship car of the range has been revealed by BMW. Thanks to feedback from the US and China, the biggest markets for this car, the looks are more modern and dramatic. Inside you will be able to add a hose of toys and features, including a ‘cinema screen’ for the rear passengers. There will be a host of powertrains, from mild hybrid petrol and diesels, PHEVs and full EV. The i7 will start at £108,305, no figure has been given for the PHEV but the existing models start between £73,305 and £80,405 depending on the variety you go for. For more, including the huge choice of powertrain options and configurations, click here for the Autocar article . Lexus RZ 450e - The first bespoke electric Lexus has been revealed, the RZ 450e. The basis will be the Toyota platform, TNGA, which the Toyota bZ4x also utilises. The RZ was one of the 15 models Akio Toyoda had with him as he revealed the new strategy, recently. The e-TNGA platform has two motors, one for the front and one the back, with a split of 150kW and 80kW respectively. This gives a total power output of 309bhp and 320lb ft, resulting in a 0-62 of 5.6 seconds and a speed limited 99 mph. Official range is just over 250 miles and will be chargeable up to 150kW. No prices have yet been announced. For more, click the Move Electric link here . 8 of the best at Salon Price in London - Motoring Research, well Tim Pitt specifically, was at the Salon Price event last week and has listed the eight best cars there. To see them, click this link here . Toyota GR86 sells out in 90 minutes - For more about how quickly the UK allocation of the GR86 sold out, click the PistonHeads link here . Citroen ends Grand C4 Spacetourer production - Citroen has announced it will not longer make the Grand C4 Spacetourer, which has been a favourite of many who need the practicality of an MPV but don’t fancy a van derived vehicle. To read more, click the Autocar article here . Nissan ends Datsun production Datsun will no longer make cars, Nissan has indicated, following years of slumping sales. For more, click here to read the BBC News article . LUNCHTIME READ: WHAT WAS THE QUESTION AGAIN? This week’s Lunchtime Read comes from Nir Kahn, who proposes we should look at original briefs of old cars to help freshen up our thinking today. Click here for his LinkedIn article explaining why we should and what the benefits could be. LIST OF THE WEEK: FIVE REASONS TO AVOID THE AUTOROUTE ON YOUR NEXT FRENCH ROAD TRIP Antony Ingram has compiled the list explaining why you should give the French motorways a miss, next time you drive through the country. Having just returned from what looked like a fabulous road trip (we are not jealous at all, nooooo, not us) he is in as good a position to put this suggestion forward as anyone. Click through and read his reasoning, in his Hagerty piece here. AND FINALLY: REVAMPED MAZADA MUSEUM HAS A NEW WEBSITE Mazda has revamped their museum, in Hiroshima, as well as the website explaining all about it. Click this link here to get a taster from what you could expect if you get the chance to go visit.…
HYUNDAI IONIQ5 WORLD CAR OF THE YEAR Hyundai has scooped the top prize of the World Car of the Year awards. Added to which it won the World Electric Car of the Year and World Car Design of the Year too. They were up against the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Kia EV6. To run through the full list of winners, for all the categories, click here to read the World Car Awards articles and further links . For Autocar’s article, click here . NCAP SCORES DACIA JOGGER ONE STAR Euro NCAP revealed their latest round of testing. One car stood out and not for a good reason, the Dacia Jogger, as it was awarded one star. Upon further investigation, a few things came to light which has caused many to start questioning how NCAP goes about things. To see the Jogger’s score, click here for the NCAP link . To see some of Dacia’s response to this, click here for the Autocar article . This has cause a lot of debate, around the tests, what is included, what will gain scores and by some if NCAP is fit for purpose. One article that delves into the problems, click the CAR article here . QUALCOMM AND STELLANTIS AGREEMENT Stallantis announced, how connected cars and software was critical to their plan for profitability in the coming years. They have now backed that up with an announcement of utilising Qualcomm’s software to run all that stuff. For more, click here to read the Reuters article . NEW PRIVATE CAR RULES NOW IN FORCE The new rules for private car parks, where a lower limit has been imposed for not paying or overstaying as well as a host of others aspects that make using such places a total joy. To be reminded of these, click the Autocar article here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: CROATIA THIS WEEK AND SEB IS BACK FOR PORTUGAL A reminder that Rally Croatia is back this week, after what seems like a very long break. Hopefully, the hybrid gremlins have been chased from the system. DirtFish has complied, what they think, will be the podium result, click here to see their choices . Today, M-Sport also announced that Sabastien Loeb will return for the team at the Portugal event. Click here for the DirtFish article detailing that . LUNCHTIME READ: GETTING A CONCEPT MADE (OR NOT) Adrian Clarke has written another design article for Hagerty, this time on how hard it is to actually get a concept car made, let alone be close to the original vision. To read that, click the link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 25 FANTASTIC FRENCH CLASSICS Major Gav is back! He has compiled a list of French classics. Have a listen to the chaps select their fav and then run through the list yourself to see if you are in agreement. As ever, do tell us your choice! Click here for the Motoring Research article link . AND FINALLY: PININFARINA DESIGNS A SCOOTER Pininfarina has launched an electric scooter, proving they are still with the zeitgeist. Have they managed to bring style to a scooter, only you can be the judge of that. For more, click the Autocar link here .…
UK GOVERNMENT TO MANDATE SWITCH TO EVS The UK Government has revealed that it will mandate the transition from ICE to zero emission vehicles. This will start at 22% from 2024 moving up to the full 100% in 2035. The car industry urged caution on this move. To read more, click the Move Electric article here . Additionally, manufacturers have pressed the Government to define what a hybrid is, during the final phase of transitioning to full zero emission vehicles of 2030 to 2035. For more on this story, click here for the Autocar link . PORSCHE INVESTS IN SYNTHETIC FUEL MAKER Further to the existing support to the e-fuel manufacturing facility in Chile, Porsche is taking a 12.5% stake in the company leading this development, HIF. This will cost the company around $75 million but are not alone in their investment, with a total of around $100 million being raised. More can be found by clicking here, for the Autocar story . GRIDSERVE HAS REPLACED ALL MOTORWAY ECOTRICITY CHARGERS Ecotricity was the former name of now Electric Highway, who have the monopoly on motorway charging infrastructure. They were bought out by Grid Serve, who have confirmed that all the former chargers are now replaced. This is good news for all of us who’ve had to deal with the previous kit. To see more, click the Driving Electric tweet here . SCANIA PARTICIPATES IN HYDROGEN PROJECT Scania, the lorry company, has announced that it will take part in a project focusing on the use of green hydrogen in heavy goods vehicles. There will be 20 fuel cell lorries delivered in 2024, to HyTrucks which is a joint initiative run between Air Liquide and the Port of Rotterdam Authority. You can learn more about the project and what it is hoped will be learned by clicking the Scania press release here . GENIEPOINT JOINS ZAP-PAY GeniePoint, the rapid charging network, is the fourth company to join Zap-Map’s Zap-Pay system, that is aiming to be a central point for users to pay for all their charging needs, when on the road. To read more, click the Zap-Map article here . VAUXHALL CORSA DIESEL IS NO MORE Vauxhall will no longer sell a diesel engine option, with their very popular supermini. From now on customers will only be able to buy electrified and petrol versions, in the UK. That brings to an end 35 years of diesel within the Corsa and Nova range. To read the Autocar article, click the link here . THE CARCROWD CAFE IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC There is a new destination, for petrolheads of the UK, who would like something to eat and drink whilst looking at wonderful machinery. The CarCrowd has opened their cafe to the public, on Thursdays through to Sunday. To go visit, their cafe is The Car Crowd Café at Mansfield Road, Edingley, Notts, NG22 8BG. To listen to the Special Edition with David Spickett, explaining all about The CarCrowd, click this link . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS Smart #1 - Smart has unveiled their new fully electric car, the #1. This is a brand new vehicle, which is purely electric. Similar in size to the ID.3, with interior space, apparently, comparable to a Mercedes E-Class. There is a 66kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt battery, which it is estimated gives 273 miles range and has 150kW rapid-charging capability. The expectation is for 268bhp, too. Prices are expected to be around £35,000. To learn more, click the Autocar article here . LUNCHTIME READ: FORD MONDEO IS AT AN END With the news that the last Model has rolled off the production line, we are recommending an article that looks back at the highs and lows of the Mondeo. To read and be reminded of Mondeo, click the Autocar article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 10 UNEXCEPTIONAL CLASSICS Hagerty has compiled a list of 10 unexceptional classics, which you can find here. Agree with Andrew’s choice? Let the chaps know if you do and what you would chose. Click here to run through the list . Also, tickets for the Festival of the Unexceptional are now on sale, click this link to find out more ! AND FINALLY: ISLE OF WIGHT CHARGERS SHOW MORE THAN EXPECTED Isle of Wight Council’s electric chargers, at Quay Road, Ryde, Cross Street, Cowes and Moa Place, Freshwater, were hacked and ended up showing porn on their screens. The Council responded by saying that as a matter of urgency someone would attend the sites, not they have but would! To have a laugh, click the BBC News article here .…
FOLLOW UP: SSANGYONG SEEKS NEW OWNER AS DEAL FALLS THROUGH Ssangyong has started the search for a new owner after the consortium headed by Edison Motors failed to meet a payment deadline. This money was supposed to be made to 95% of creditors and was a condition of the approval of South Korea’s bankruptcy court. For more on this story, click the Autocar article link here . MARCH 2022 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has published the March new car registration figures. As was to be expected, the figures are down, in fact the worst since 1998, thanks mainly to semi conductor shortages. However, battery electric vehicles had their best ever month, with 39,315 registered. To learn more about the month, click the SMMT link here . To get some more insight into what the figures mean, click here for Auto Retail Network’s Tristan Young’s thread on Twitter . THOMAS MULLER IS THE NEW JLR ENGINEERING CHIEF Thomas Muller, who is moving from VW, will take up the reigns of executive director of product engineering for Jaguar Land Rover, replacing Nick Rogers, who left the company at the end of 2021. Muller will be responsible for JLR’s technical development, as well as hardware and software for all future JLR vehicles. More can be found on this, by clicking the link here for the Autocar article . SCHÄFER AND ZELLMER GET NEW VW GROUP ROLES Thomas Shäfer will take over as Volkswagen brand COO come 1 July 2022, moving from Skoda. Skoda get a new boss, in the form of Klaus Zellmer who moves from VW passenger cars. To learn more, click the VW press release here . VW GROUP RECALLS OVER 100,000 PLUG-IN HYBRIDS Due to a fire risk, with Volkswagen Group plug-in hybrids, over 100,000 are being recalled. To learn more, click the Bauaelectric Auto News article link here . MAZDA IMPORTS DIRECTLY TO UK Mazda’s first shipment in Bristol Port has berthed, cutting 10 days from the time cars previously took to arrive on UK shores. Previously, they were brought to Zeebrugge and distributed on. Click here for the Mazda PR article , to learn more. GOVERNMENT PRODUCES LIFECYCLE ANALYSIS OF UK ROAD VEHICLES The Government, with the help of Richard Energy and Environment, has produced a comprehensive lifecycle analysis of UK road vehicles. This compares battery electric, hydrogen and ICE vehicles, for their CO2 footprint from their manufacture, through their expected life on the roads and recycling at the end. Click here for the link to the report . Their tweet with an interesting graphic, plus the joy of all the cyclists who found they weren’t included, can be clicked here . UK GOVERNMENT CONFIRMS WHERE GETS BUS BOOST The Government has informed the local authorities that were successful in receiving extra money promised, to improve and upgrade bus services. Only 40% of those who applied were awarded funding. The result of this has brought the Government under fire for failing to meet their own targets and promises. For more on this story, click the BBC News article link here . MOTOR SHOW NEWS Beijing Motor Show has announced that they will be postponing indefinitely, due to the Covid outbreak in China. To learn more, click the Autocar article here . Geneva Motor Show organisers have stated that next year will see the return of the show, this time in February. Click here for the story from Autocar on that news . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- REIMS-GUEUX PIT PHOTOS BAN Over the weekend, the news spread across social media, that we will no longer be allowed to stop at the Reims-Gueux pits to to take photos of the historic location. Groups have been meeting and causing a nuisance which has lead to this move by the local mayor. This is not a total ban from visiting, so do listen to Alan explain the why’s and how’s. NEW NEW CAR NEWS Lotus Eletre - Lotus, to much razzmatazz, revealed their first ever SUV and fully electric production model, in the form of the Eletre. This is a technological showpiece with much made of driver assistance type technology as well as the interior space. But with figures of 162mph top speed and an expected 0-62mph of under three seconds, this is should also be a driver’s car. For more, click the EVO article here . Toyota GR86 - Toyota has now told us the prices and specs of the GR86, which starts at £29,990 for those of us in the UK. The monthly costs also looks hugely enticing. But be quick as we only have two years to get one new, thanks to a limited run from Toyota. Click here for more from EVO on this news . Toyota Aygo X - Alan went on the European launch of the Aygo X. Not only that, but he has produced a 150 video to tell you all about the key details. Click here to view the YouTube video . LUNCHTIME READ: CAN YOU RACE AN AMBULANCE ACROSS THE USA? This week’s recommended article is all about the last Cannonball Run, the favourite for that year and what happened. Not only is there something to read but there is a video or two as well. The near full multimedia experience for you! Click here for the Arne’s Antics link . What a story! LIST OF THE WEEK: 10 CARS THAT ALWAYS GET RUINED BY THEIR OWNERS Jalopnik has put together a list of cars the feel are always ruined by their owners. Run through the list and see if you agree with Andrew’s choice. Don’t forget to tell the chaps which you’d stick at number one! Click here for the list . AND FINALLY: A CAR THAT WAS BOTH A FORD AND A CHEVY? There is one car that was sold by both Ford and Chevy, but which was something else entirely, the Suzuki Carry. Click the link here , to find out more thanks to new site The Autopian, which we anticipate will be providing a lot of And Finally articles in the future.…
1 Special Edition - Volkswagen Arteon Shooting Brake Review 45:57
45:57 나중에 재생 나중에 재생 리스트 좋아요 좋아요45:57
나중에 재생 나중에 재생 리스트 좋아요 좋아요Andrew tested out the Volkswagen Arteon Shooting Brake, for a week. Listen in to him explain his time with VW’s take on the lifestyle estate car. What he thinks of the looks, how he got on with the technology and was the PHEV-ness well done? Once again, he keeps us all in suspense as to exactly what he thinks until right to the end.…
NEW PHONE LAWS COME INTO EFFECT New laws, about the use of mobile phones whilst driving, have come into effect. Effectively, it has become illegal to hold and use your phone except when using it for a contactless payment. Using the phone whilst in a cradle is still permitted in some circumstances, such as the sat nav app. For more on this, click here for the Autocar article . GOVERNMENT AIMS FOR WORLD BEST CHARGING NETWORK Transport Minister, Trudy Harrison MP, announced at an SMMT event, that the Government is aiming for the UK to have one of the best EV charging networks in the world. This will be quite a feat as the announced ‘new’ policies and ideas were not binding in anyway, nor was there any new money being made available. To learn more, click the Move Electric article link here . The Government also announced, this week, they are opening up a consultation on accessibility, for disabled people, at public charging points. More can be found here, on that story . RENAULT HALTS ACTIVITY IN RUSSIA Following a backlash to Renault’s announcement that it will reopen it’s Russian factories, there has been a u-turn. Renault is particularly exposed in Russia as it has several plants thanks to ownership of Avtovaz, owning Lada and Russia being an important market for it’s cars. Renault has adjusted it’s financial predictions now. Click here for the link to the Autocar article , to learn more. POTHOLES COST UK DRIVERS £1.7 BILLION That UK roads are in a poor state of repair, surprises no one who lives here. What is shocking is the 35% rise in costs for fixing cars due to the pothole epidemic. Last year 59% of those surveyed by KwikFit stated they had hit a pothole in 2021, up from 46%. Only London appeared to have improving roads. To learn more, click the Motoring Research article link here . BENTLEY ANNOUNCES RECORD FINANCIAL RESULTS In the last independent results posted by Bentley, they have confirmed that 2021 was a record year. Operating profits were up 1,843% (not a typo), 14,659 Bentleys were delivered and that was a 31% increase on 2020 which was their previous record year! To learn more, click the YesAuto article here . UK GOVERNMENT AIMING TO END SALE OF NON EV BUSES By 2032, the UK Government want to halt the sale of non zero emission buses and mini buses. They have opened a consultation on this too. For more, click the Move Electric link here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS Maseratio Grecale - Maserati has shown off their new mid sized SUV, in the form of the Grecale. Due to supply issues this has been delayed, but production is expected to start in the later part of 2022. There will be three trim levels, GT, Modena and Trofeo. These will get 2l four-cylinder petrol engine and mild hybrid system, as well as a 3l twin-turbocharged Nettuno V6. A full EV drivetrain will be available in the future. Prices are yet to be revealed. Click here to learn more, from the EVO article link . Toyota GR Corolla - Toyota has released the release date for the official reveal on the much anticipated GR Corolla, which will come with 268bhp and be 4WD, all to take on the likes of the Civic Type R, in the hyper hot hatch bracket. We will all know more on 1 April. To see what Autocar has to say, so far, click this link here . Honda Civic eHEV - More information on the Civic eHEV, which will be coming to Europe, has been revealed. Most other territories have had the car for a while but supply chain issues have hampered Honda. The standard powertrain set up is a 2.0l 4-cylinder petrol engine, linked to two electric motors. This will give 181bhp and 232 lb ft of torque. The estimation is for 56mpg under WLTP conditions. To find out more, click the EVO link here . LUNCHTIME READ: THE FRENCH FAMILY GLOBETROTTING A PORSCHE 928 The Delaporte family, from France, have been using a 1989 Porsche 928 GT to travel around the world, including the Arctic Circle, from Paris to Iran and much more besides. Click here for the Hagerty link to find out more and also follow the link through to their own website where they go into much more detail about each of their journeys. We love this sort of story and salute the Delaporte family for showing what is possible with a car! LIST OF THE WEEK: 20 OLD CAR FEATURES WE MISS Once again, Hagerty has compiled a cracking list for us all to run through, this time on features we all miss from older cars. After hearing what Alan and Andrew select have a click on this link to see if you agree. Don’t forget to tell the chaps which you pick! AND FINALLY: ALFA ROMEO GTV-6 SHOOTING BRAKE RENDER Hagerty are supplying yet another recommendation of ours, this time getting Khyzyl Saleem to render an Alfa Romeo GTV-6 Shooting Brake. Click through on their link here to read more and watch how he goes about such a process. Also, can someone please make this, like right now? Pretty please?…
ELECTRIC VAN AND LORRY GRANT EXTENDED The Government has extended their grant scheme for electric vans and lorries, for two more years. Those looking to buy a qualifying vehicle can claim between £5000 and £16000. For more on this, click the MoveElectric article here . INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY LISTS OIL REDUCTION STEPS The International Energy Agency (IEA) has outlined ten steps we could take to reduce the amount of oil we need to use. If the ideas were adopted across the globe, the IEA predicts that an amount of oil equivalent to half of Russia’s exports could be saved. To find out more, click here for The Guardian article . VOLKSWAGEN ANNOUNCED PROFITS JUMP VW’s operating profits rose, over 2020, 451% on 2020, which to a certain degree is understandable. Whilst their sales revenue and returns on sale rose very slightly they actually sold 8% fewer vehicles. This is another example of companies targeting their higher profile specs and vehicles. For more on this story, click the Autocar article link here. AUDI GROUP POSTS RECORD PROFITS Audi is the latest company to say “we sold less but made more money”, with profits from Audi, Lamborghini and Ducati at €53.1 billion and record operating profits. We need to remember Bentley are not included yet as they were only assimilated into the group at the start of this year. To read more about this, click here for the Autocar article . POLICE TARGETING CATALYTIC CONVERTER THIEVES A national combined operation by police, in England, has targeted thieves of catalytic converters with over 30 arrests made. Added to this several scrap metal sites were served with forced closures. 38,000 catalytic converters were stolen in 2021. You can read more about this, by clicking the Motoring Research article here . NISSAN AXES THE GT-R IN EUROPE After 13 years the axe has finally fallen on the GT-R. The specific reason is stricter noise regulations, for this region, whilst changes to emissions and crash integrity being the official reason for other global markets. To learn more click here for the EVO article telling us the sad tale . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: CHANGES TO TIME PENALTIES FOR HYBRID FAILURES The FIA has amended their rule and penalty for teams who miss stages due to a hybrid tech failure, for WRC teams. For the first two rounds each stage absence cost the teams 10 minutes, whereas they will now be penalised two. As the hybrid tech is out of the team’s control, to hit them with a 10 minute penalty seemed silly. More on this can be found by clicking this link to the DirtFish article . NEW NEW CAR NEWS Mazda CX-60 - Mazda has unveiled their new range topper, the CX-60 a large SUV. Prices are expected to start a fraction under £44,000, raising up to £48,000 for the top of the range version. There will be a plug-in hybrid version which has their 2.5l petrol engine combined with 100kW electric motor and 17.8kWh battery. This gives a claimed 188mpg, 33g/km CO2 with 322bhp and 500Nm torque. Electric only driving has a claimed range off 39 miles with 42 in city driving. For more, click the YesAuto link here . Lotus Emira - Lotus’s new 718 Cayman rival has been revealed. The First Edition model will be priced at £71, 995 and come with the option of a V6 or a turbo 4-cylinder engine from Mercedes-AMG. Following on the Emira will be available at £59,995. The car comes with a more luxurious and high tech cabin which is apparently easier to get in and out of than other recent cars from Hethel. To learn more, click here for the Autocar article . LUNCHTIME WATCH: PRACTICAL CLASSICS CLASSIC CARE & RESTORATION SHOW 2022 - Part 1 Ian Seabrook was at the NEC over the weekend, hosting his own stand as well as trying to cover every inch of the vast Practical Classic show. Click here to see Part 1 of his in-depth review . LIST OF THE WEEK: 30 WEIRD AND WONDERFUL ‘90S CONCEPT CARS Classic & Sports Car has produced a mammoth list of 1990s concept cars that were a little, well, out there. Listen to the chaps pick their selections then click this link here to find your favourite. Do not forget to tell them if you agree or not. AND FINALLY: WEIRDEST BUS EVER BUILT The Citroen U55 Cityrama Currus was a bus that was built for a specific reason, as with things that have a single purpose they can be a bit weird. This is no exception. Look at it and remember there wasn’t aircon available at the time! For more, click the Jalopnik link here .…
Andrew had a Hyundai IONIQ5 on test, for a week. What does the family man make of the multi award winning car from Korea? Listen to him tell Alan about it, the looks, the tech, the tasks that are easier to be actioned via voice control and orientation of volume control icons. Andrew keeps us all in suspense as to his overall verdict until right to the end!…
FOLLOW UP: EXPANSION OF LONDON ULEZ ANNOUNCED Following weeks of rumours Sadiq Khan has announced his plans for cutting congestion and improving air quality, by increasing the ULEZ to cover all of London, which appears to deal with only one part of the problem. To learn more about this story, click here for the YesAuto article . FOLLOW UP: SONY HONDA JV EXPLAINED Nick Gibbs, in this linked Autocar article , goes into more detail of what the Honda Sony joint venture probably means. Click the link above to better understand what it means and why it might just work. FORD ANNOUNCES 7 NEW EVS BY 2024 Ford has announced that it will launch seven new EVs by 2024, comprising of three passenger cars and four light commercial vehicles. Ford has previously promised to be EV only for passenger cars by 2030. By teaming up with VW and using their MEB platform Ford says it will be able to fulfil this push. For more on the story, click the MoveElectric article here . BMW BUYS ALPINA BMW has bought the rights to Alpina, who undertake some of the most understated and tasteful tuning services out there. The news was met with much worry that BMW will now over expose the brand and thus take away a lot of that which makes it so special. Click here for the Top Gear piece explaining more. BMW POSTS BEST PROFITS IN HISTORY By focusing on high end and most profitable models, BMW posted it’s largest nett profit in history, €12.46 billion, which is up 150% on 2019! Having the anti-trust probe dropped by the EU also helped as they had set aside €1 billion specifically for that. More information can be found at this Autocar link here . BMW RECALLS 1 MILLION VEHICLES OVER FIRE RISK BMW is recalling 1.03 million vehicles world wide, due to a risk of a short circuit that could cause a fire in the vehicle. Vehicles built between 2006 and 2013 are involved. To learn more, click this Automotive News link here . VW INVESTS IN NEW EV FACTORY Volkswagen is investing in a bespoke facility at Wolfsburg, for their Trinity EV flagship model. The cost is expected to be in the region of €2 billion. For more on this story, click here for the Autocar article . ASTON MARTIN TO CO-DEVELOP HIGH PERFORMANCE BATTERIES Britishvolt and Aston Martin are teaming up to produce high performance batteries in time for the car companies first EVs in 2025. This follows on from the partnership between Britishvolt and Lotus, that was recently announced. To learn more, click the Autocar link here . HAGERTY FESTIVAL OF THE UNEXCEPTIONAL DATE ANNOUNCED Mark your calendar, put reminders in your phones, Hagerty has announced that the Festival of Unexceptional will take place on Saturday 30 July 2022. Click here for the information from Hagerty . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS ID Buzz - Volkswagen has finally revealed a production ready ID Buzz, five years after they first teased us with a concept. The design maintains the retro style so many applauded. There are MPV and van derivatives, with a long wheel base version in 2023. Prices are expected to start around £50,000 for the MPV and £40,000 for the van. More can be read by clicking this Autocar link here . LUNCHTIME READ: HOW TO DESIGN A CAR (PART ONE) - WHEELS AND TYRES EVO Magazine has asked Peter Stevens to help explain how to design a car, starting with Part 1, which is all about wheels and tyres. Click the EVO link here to find out more . LIST OF THE WEEK: EVERYTHING’S BETTER WITH SPOTLIGHTS Top Gear has produced another cracking Top 9 list, this time about cars with spotlights. Click the link here , to run through the list and see what you think, do you agree with the choice made on the show? Let the chaps know via the usual methods! AND FINALLY: ROD STEWART FIXES LOCAL POTHOLES Over the weekend the news broke that Rod Stewart had had enough of the state of his local roads that he was filling in potholes that the council were not getting too. To read more, click the BBC News article here .…
FOLLOW UP: GREG KELLY GIVEN SUSPENDED SENTENCE Greg Kelly, the former Nissan executive who was tricked into flying to Japan, has been found guilty on one of the charges brought against him. His sentence was suspended and he has flown back to the U.S. AS the Asian Times article, linked here , points out the ruling is “flawed”. FOLLOW UP: FELICITY ACE SINKS WITH VW GROUP CARS ONBOARD The Felicity Ace, with it’s cargo of VW Group cars, has sunk following the fire onboard. This follows work for a couple of weeks to rescue the ship following the removal of the crew. To find out more, click this Autocar link here . NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FEBRUARY 2022 The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has released the February 2022 data on new car registrations. The figures are up on the pandemic market but still 25% below the before times. Electric, as well as hybrid and plug-in hybrid registrations rose dramatically. For more on this, click the SMMT article here . CAR INDUSTRY EFFECTED BY INVASION OF UKRAINE Following the invasion of Ukraine, by Russian forces, there have been knock on effects to the car industry. Ukraine produces a lot of the wiring looms for vehicles but also many brands have paused selling vehicles in Russia. To find out more, click this Autocar article link . STELLANTIS LATEST TO ANNOUNCE ALL EV LINE UP IN EUROPE In this week’s “Company X will go all electric by Y” announcement comes from Stellantis. 2026 is the year all their model launches will be all electric in Europe. For more, click the Autocar article here . FORD TO SPLIT EV BUSINESS FROM ICE Ford is creating two companies, one focused purely on EVs and the other dealing with the ICE products. Ford Model E will look after the electric, software and connected car side of things, whilst Ford Blue will focus on ICE vehicle development, cost cutting, simplification and quality. Click this link here to learn more from the Autocar article . HONDA AND SONY PARTNERSHIP FOR EVS Honda and Sony are partnering to build electric vehicles. Honda is concentrating on the car side of things, whilst Sony deals with the software of the mobility platform. They plan on releasing their first models in 2025. For more on this story, click the Autocar article here . REGULATORS CAN BE SUED OVER EMISSION SOFTWARE Environmental groups have won the right to sue regulators over EU-approved emission software, which they feel amounts to defeat devices. Of particular interest is software that allows a temperature range, which some equate to a defeat device. To learn more, click the Automotive News Europe link here . VOLVO TESTING WIRELESS CHARGING TECHNOLOGY Volvo has announced that it is testing wireless charging with six Gothenburg XC40 Recharge taxis, over a three year period. Wireless charging is thought of as a huge step in making electric cars more viable and user friendly. More information can be found by clicking this Autocar link here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS Polestar O2 - The Polestar O2 is a concept outlining the replacement for the Polestar 1, which is coming to the end of its production run. The UK base developed car will be, the company claim, fun to drive, whilst being a 2+2 coupe. There is much talk about the use of recycled and recyclable materials, as one would expect. Added to which a lot of attention has been paid to the aerodynamics, which even goes to the level of the rear lights being designed to reduce turbulence. For more information, click the EVO link here . Morgan Super 3 - Morgan has revealed the replacement for their 3 wheeler. Whilst at first glance it does not appear much different, Morgan has developed the car fresh, from the ground up. A 1.5 three-cylinder Ford engine replaces the previous version for a reduction in complexity and weight. The looks are very similar but have evolved, thanks to inspiration of the jet age, added to which is a brand new wheel design. Prices beginning at £43,165, but be careful there are around 200 options selectable! To learn more, click the EVO article here . Fisker Ocean - Fisker revealed its SUV, Ocean, to a European audience in Barcelona. The model is expected to take on the Audi Q4 E-tron and BMW i3. A claimed range of 350 miles, added to several modes that allow for open air driving as well as treats for the rear passengers, the Fisker makes a compelling case. Prices start at £48,900 and will be in the UK from the middle of 2023. More on this story can be found from this link to an Autocar article . LUNCHTIME READ: ICE ST MORITZ IS THE COOLEST (AND COLDEST) CONCOURS IN THE WORLD Concours events are the epitome of cool vehicles on display that we normally don’t get to see as they are hidden away in pristine garages, but how do you top that? Well, you hold it at St Moritz, but not only that, you do so on the frozen lake at St Moritz. Click the link here to find out about this brilliant event, from Hagerty . LIST OF THE WEEK: 11 FORGOTTEN HOT HATCHBACKS OF THE 80’S The List of the Week is a reminder to the older listeners, of cars we used to see on the road, in our youth, but are an increasingly rare sight. Antony Ingram has compiled a list of just 11 80s hot hatches that may have slipped from our minds. Of course more could be added but he only had space for 11. To run through the list and pick the one you would most like, click the Hagerty link here . AND FINALLY: KEI CARS ATTACK A CLASSIC TOUGE Japan has some amazing roads that are driven on, “enthusiastically’, by drift cars and hot hatches. However, we are more into seeing souped up Keil cars take on these roads. Now we and you can, click here for the YouTube link to the Goodwood Road & Racing link .…
KIA WINS CAR OF THE YEAR AWARD The KIA EV6 has won the prestigious Car of the Year award, which was announced in Geneva but not whilst the motor show was on due to changes with the event. The EV6 is the first KIA to win and it fought off the Renault MeganeE-Tech Electric and the Hyundai IONIQ third. For more on this story, click the Autocar article here . STELLANTIS EXCEEDS FINANCIAL EXPECTATIONS Stellantis announced their financial results, for 2021, which exceeded expectations. Their nett profit, operating income and nett revenues far outpaced 2020, which is to be hoped and expected. All of which makes the announcement that they expect their suppliers to shoulder a bigger slice of the costs for EV tech rather hard to swallow. To read about this, click here for the Autocar article . ASTON MARTIN NARROWS LOSSES In 2020 Aston Martin loses were £466 million, during 2021 they reduced that figure to £213.8 million. Added to which their revenue was up 79% to £1.1 billion. Aston is hopeful they will deliver between 75 and 90 Valkyries to customers in 2022. The plan is to return to an operating profit in 2022 as well. For more on this, click the YesAuto story here . RENEWED PORSCHE IPO INTEREST FROM VW GROUP There is renewed talk of a Porsche IPO, with the VW Group to be in ‘advanced discussions’ regarding the shape this would take. Some or even many, have questioned why this has not happened before. Some have priced Porsche value at €85 billion, which the VW Group could do with as they push further into EV technology. More on this story can be found by clicking here for the YesAuto article . MORE 50MPH STRETCHES IN WALES In an effort to tackle pollution, in South Wales, two more sections of roads are being considered for a speed limit of 50mph. This is one option for the next stage in improving the air quality of the region. A public consultation will be undertaken when the full options have been explored. To learn more, click the BBC News article here . SHEFFIELD CHOSEN FOR BATTERY TECH R&D AND MANUFACTURING The Ultimate Battery Company (UBC) has picked Sheffield to locate their new research and development and manufacturing facility. They are working on advanced battery technology that will help reduce costs, improve charging capacity and quicker charging times. For further on this story, click the ZapMap article here . HOME EV CHARGING GRANT RULES CHANGING The Government will be changing the rules over grants for the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS). If you live in a detached, semi-detached, terraced or bungalow house you will no longer be eligible for the £350 grant. Rental houses and flats however, will be, if they can prove dedicated off-street parking. Click this CAR Magazine article to find out more . CONSULTATION ON GREEN LANE USAGE Thanks to Twitter user @DiamondHell , the consultation from the Government over the usage of green lanes was brought to our attention. If you use green lanes with a motor vehicle you need to run through the questionnaire linked below or there is the risk of more such spaces being lost due to not being deemed suitable. Click here for the consultation . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: RALLY SWEDEN The WRC rolled into Sweden over the weekend for another thrills filled event. As is the norm for WRC, there was much drama and unexpected action. For the third time in his career, Rovanperä won with a very composed and faultless drive. He was pushed until Sunday morning by Evans who had to retire with a hybrid tech issue. This meant that Neuville dragged the Hyundai into second, which is an amazing feat after their showing at Monte Carlo. Esapekka Lappi, on his return to the main event after Mexico last year, rounded out the top and third step for Toyota. It was a forgettable race if you were a fan of M-Sport, with Breen struggling. Tanak was another DNF for Hyundai and Solberg bringing his car home in sixth. To learn more about the rally, click the DirtFish article here . For the ‘What We Learned’ article from DirtFish, click here . And to find out how Colin Clark scored the drivers, click the link here . LUNCHTIME READ: IS PARIS CAR BAN A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME? Jim Holder has written an interesting article about Paris’s plans to deal with congestion and help clean up their air. However, he has also asked if this is something that others will adopt and use in their cities, such as in the UK. We have already seen some implementations of CAZ that have been less well thought out than in other locations. This is an important topic and we all need to be thinking and discussing it or we’ll get lumped with systems that make everyone’s lives harder. To read the Autocar piece, click here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 15 QUIRKY JAPANESE CARS OF THE 1990s In Alan’s absence we will discuss quirky Japanese cars, which would most probably be his specialist topic if he went on Mastermind. Run through the list by clicking the Classic & Sports Car link here , to select your choice. Don’t forget to let the chaps know which you’d rather have. AND FINALLY: HAGERTY FRONT WHEEL DRIVE QUIZ How well do you know your front wheel drive info? Well, put yourself to the test with the Hagerty quiz, written by the fiendish quizmaster Antony Ingram. No pressure, but by pure fluke Andrew did rather well this time! Click here for you to have a stab at the questions .…
Andrew had a Volvo XC40 Recharge, with the twin motors, on loan for a week. How did he get on? You’ll have to listen to find out. Additionally, you get in-depth discussions on curry hooks and good fonts for driver display information. You cannot say we do not know how to treat you!
SHIP CARRYING VW GROUP CARS ABLAZE A ship carrying cars from Volkswagen Group companies, is on fire in the Atlantic Ocean. Conflicting reports state where the fire originated but that this has spread to the rest of the ship, including the cargo. Whilst Porsche has confirmed some of it’s vehicles were on board, it is not clear what other cars are involved. For more information, click the Autocar article here . RENAULT BACK IN PROFITS After two tough years and burying the hatchet with Nissan, Renault has returned to profit in 2021. In doing so it has achieved some longer term aims well ahead of schedule. Renault do make it clear that the semiconductor crisis is and will continue to hit business in 2022. To learn more, click here for the Autocar article . NEW FLOATING LOTUS Lotus has announced it is going to float the company, which got us all excited that there would be another car/boat model but then quickly dashed on what it actually meant. The plan is to put the EV division on the stock exchange, which they are hoping will be valued at £5-6 billion. If there is enough interest from potential investors, they hope to bring this to the stock exchange in Asian, New York our London within 12 to 24 months. For more on this story, click the Autocar article here . OLA ELECTRIC OPENS UK BASE The Indian from, Ola Electric, will open an engineering and design facility in Coventry. Over the next five years the company plans to invest £100 million into the West Midlands site. The site will be called Futurefoundry. To learn about this story, click here for the Autocar article . ECO FRIENDLY TYRES DEVELOPED Enso, a new UK company, is bringing their tyre technology to market, in order to break up the traditional models. Their tyre is more efficient for the vehicle, but also harder wearing and thus reduces the amount of pollution. More on this can be found by clicking this link to the Autocar article . HYDROGEN V8 DEVELOPMENT Toyota and Yamaha are working to gather to develop a hydrogen-fuelled V8. The project is using a Lexus RC F engine and modifying the injectors, heads, intake manifold and other elements, which ends up with a claimed 449bhp at 6800rpm and 398lb ft at 3600rpm that is almost the same as an unmolested engine. You can learn more about this by clicking here for the Autocar articl e. CALLS FOR REGULATED PUBLIC EV CHARGING POINTS SMMT has called on the Government to implement a seven point plan for regulating public EV charging points or risk failing to meet the needs of their 2030 zero-emission target. Unsurprisingly they also call for a regulator, to be named Offcharge. To find out more, click the Autocar article here . NEW EV CHARGING HUB OPENED IN SOUTH WALES Moto and Gridserve has opened a new charging hub at Moto Swansea, on the M4 in South Wales. Six 350kW chargers have been installed allowing suitable vehicles to get 100 miles in 10 minutes of charging. For more, follow this link to the YesAuto article . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: FINAL CALENDAR LOCATION DECIDED WRC has announced the final piece of their calendar puzzle with Ypres Rally Belgium being the location for the event without a home over 18-21 August dates. For more information, click the WRC article here . NEW NEW CAR NEWS: Volkswagen ID Buzz We have covered the Buzz recently, but the embargo lifted, this week, over the ‘first drive’ reviews. There are a lot of them out there. PARALLEL POMEROY TROPHY 2022 Alan attended this year’s Parallel Pomeroy Trophy, hosted at Silverstone by Toyota. The weather was as expected during the same times as one of three named storms battered the UK. Whilst he had fun, Alan has come away with notes to self along the lines of ‘must do better’ next year. LUNCHTIME READ: DRIVING CROSS-COUNTRY IN A FERRARI 308GTS On 15 February, the sad news that P J O’Rourke had died greeted us. A man who was supremely gifted in his ability to write we have selected his story of driving a Ferrari 308GTS across the US as just one example of what we will now miss as this week’s offering. To read this fabulous piece, click the Car and Driver article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: NINE CLASSIC 4X4 THAT AREN’T LAND ROVERS A list about 4x4s that does not include a Land Rover? Is that not illegal in the UK, well we are going to see if we end up on the run from the police whilst we pick our favourites from the list linked here , via Hagerty. Have a look and tell the chaps which you prefer. AND FINALLY: MORGAN DRONES ON Morgan, flying (almost literally in this case), in the face of the perception that they are a company rooted in the mid 19th century or something takes us on a drone tour of their establishment. Click the YouTube link here to enjoy the brilliant video.…
FOLLOW UP: MANCHESTER CAZ “PAUSED’ Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, has announced that the Government has agreed on a delay for the region hitting clean air requirements, until 2026. Burnham has argued that due to the pandemic there is a problem in sourcing the zero emission vehicles needed by commercial and private hire companies. To read more, click the YesAuto article here . FUEL PRICES CONTINUE TO RISE A new record average price was hit over the weekend for both petrol and diesel, at £148.02 and £151.57 respectively. Crude oil nearly at $100 per barrel the retailers are quick, as ever, to pass that straight onto drivers. For more depressing information about this story, click here for the Autocar article . NEW ELECTRICITY RULES TO PREVENT STRAIN ON NETWORK The Government is introducing new rules, which includes residential EV charging points, that must be able to prioritise charging when demand is lowest or renewable energy production is high. Included in the changes is the need for security and provision of information for users. To find out more, click the YesAuto story here . TESCO STARTS USING ELECTRIC ONLY LORRIES The supermarket brand Tesco has started using electric only lorries between two distribution centres in South Wales. The company said whilst the technology is not suitable for long distances yet, they wished to understand how best to utilise it so are trying it now. For more on this, click the BBC News link here. LOTUS ANNOUNCES NEW DIVISION Ex-Aston Martin Q boss, Simon Lane, will be the head of Lotus’s new Advanced Performance division, which will be a special projects arm of the company. This is being termed as a ‘blank sheet of paper’ team where they are to create the “most exciting and exclusive Lotus cars”. To learn more about this, click here for the Autocar article . VOLVO UPGRADING TORSLANDA PLANT Volvo will be investing around £800 million in their Torsldana site in Sweden, as it steps up efforts to be EV only by 2030. They will be introducing meg-casting, where they combine many separatly created parts with a system that makes it all in one go, such as casting the rear floor plan which currently involves 100 pieces. For additional information on this story, click the Autocar article link here . KOENIGSEGG FACTORY EXPANSION Koenigsegg has revealed plans of their factory expansion which will allow them to increase production capacity as well as other aspects of the business. The new four set Gemera hyper-GT will be produced within the factory space but also allow space dedicated to customers. To learn more, click the Autocar link here . RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC DROPS In 2021, figures show that rush hour traffic dropped by an average of 35% on 2019 levels, across the UK. Some towns, such as Reading had falls over 50%. Whilst it is acknowledged much of this occurred because we were working from home, as the Government’s plan to ‘live with Covid’ is due to be announced the expectation is for traffic levels to increase again. Click here, for the YesAuto story , to learn more. GREENFEILD HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS ADD MORE CAR JOURNEYS Greenfield housing developments rely on cars as the main mode of transport, thus add to the congestion on the roads, according to a Transport for New Homes report. Surprising no one, but there are usually no shops, schools or other expected amenities within safe walking and cycling distances. To read more, click the BBC News article here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS: Alfa Romeo Tonale - Alfa Romeo has revealed their new, compact SUV, called the Tonale, which is expected to go up against the Audi Q3 and BMW X1. This was delayed from last year as the new boss said it just wasn’t good enough. The powertrains offered will be mild hybrids, plug-in hybrid, diesel and petrol engines. Prices are expected to start around £35,000 rising up to £45,000. The exterior is a clean and good looking car, with a return of three lights to each headlight cluster. The interior is familiar to anyone who has experienced an Alfa in recent years. To learn more, click the EVO link here . Vauxhall Astra This is the first Stellantis platformed Astra, which is based heavily on the current Peugeot 308 underpinnings. This has lead to a lowering, widening and overall lengthening of the car, but it seems the interior is less practical with the lowered roofline and seating position. The front end is very good looking, but then you can see the resemblance with the 308 moving further back. The interior is a big improvement and much more upmarket. Power trains will be a either a choice of petrol, one diesel, plug-in hybrid or wait for a full EV. Prices start at around £27,000 for the petrol engine but there is a £4000 increase for plug-in models. To learn more, click the Autocar article here . Audi A8 There is a new Audi A8, although you will be hard pressed to spot the difference with the old one and, dare we say it, an A6, however Alan explains just what to look out for when adding it to your spotters notebook! For more helpful information, click here to go to the Autocar article . LUNCHTIME READ: THE ASSISTIVE DRIVING TECH IDEAL Alistair Dabbs, writing in The Register, has a poke at the hype and messaging around assistive and autonomous driving technology. He has spotted a theme in the way the obstacles to the technology are portrayed by those pushing for them. Click the link here to read this excellent article . LIST OF THE WEEK: DID YOU KNOW THE HISTORIES OF THESE 12 CAR BADGES Top Gear has dug into the history of 12 car badges and helped us to learn more about them. Click here for this week’s educational segment ! AND FINALLY: PICTURES BRICK MAZDAS In the continuing adventures of infotainment software really isn’t great, a Seattle based radio station added images to their radio stream but did not include the file extension. This caused the effected units to try to reboot but without success, bricking them so they went blank but the station was stuck on KUOW 94.9. Mazda has announced it will replace the units free of charge. To learn more, click the ArsTechnica article here .…
FOLLOW UP: PRIVATE PARKING FINES CAPPED Private parking fines and the rules surrpounding them are to be tightened up. Read the BBC story here . JLR REVENUE BOOST IN Q3 2021 JLR’s revenue has ramped up in the third quarter of 2021, and they also have a new EV platform on the way . ROAD PRICING COULD BE EN ROUTE A story from Evo magazine says that GPS-based road pricing could be here by 2024. BORTISHVOLT AND GLENCORE TO OPEN RECYCLING PLANT Britishvolt and Glencore are to work together to open a new EV battery recycling plant in Kent according to Autocar . TREASURY URGED TO RECONSIDER UNFAIR TAX According the YesAuto , the UK Treasury is being urged to address the discrepancy in VAT between home EV charging and public EV charging. BP ACQUIRES 30% OF OIL COMPANY BP has acquired a stake in a UK producer of hydrogenated vegetable oil that be used of biofuels. More in the Autocar story here . UK GOVERNMENT CONSIDERS DECIDING WHAT IT MAY DO ABOUT e-SCOOTERS The UK Government is considering introducing a new vehicle class for e-scooters according to Autocar . ROLLS-ROYCE UNVEILS AERO SPIRIT OF ECSTASY Rolls-Royce has revised the Spirit of Ecstasy to make it more realistic can more aerodynamic in preparation for its EV future. DAIMLER TRUCK SEES SIGNIFICANT SALES INCREASE IN 2021 Volvo are to offer free minor repairs to Volvo cars, no matter their age, via their dealer network according to Motoring Research . GOODWOOD FOS TO CELEBRATE “MASTERMINDS OF MOTORSPORT” Goodwood has announced that the theme of the 2022 Festival of Speed will be “Masterminds of Motorsport”. Find out more, and when the ticket prices will increase, here. NNCN: FISKER OCEAN Fisker has revealed some specs and prices for its Ocean SUV. More information from Top Gear here . NNCN: FORD BRONCO Specialist importer Clive Sutton is now offering the Ford Bronco in the UK. You can find out more here . LIST OF THE WEEK: CABIN FEVER Hagerty has compiled a list of the best interiors from each decade of the automobile in this excellent list . AND FINALLY: FORD BRONCO, BUT SMALLER Tamiya has revealed its 2022 catalogue and some of the models within it. We particularly love the little Bronco. You can find out more from Top Gear here .…
GREY IS THE MOST POPULAR COLOUR Grey is the most popular colour chosen by British new car buyers for the 4th year in a row. You can read the release from the SMMT here and analysis from Autocar here . COUNCILS COULD ENFORCE MOVING TRAFFIC OFFENCES FROM JUNE Councils in England and Wales could be able to follow the examples of London and Cardiff and enforce some traffic offenses from June. They will have some hoops to jump through though. You have read more here . STREETLIGHTS TO GAIN MORE TECH Some streetlights could gain additional tech to help aid car to car communication as part of their scheduled refurbishment. More information about this here . CALLS FOR AUTONOMOUS CAR USERS TO BE USERS, NOT DRIVERS A report on legal changes required to enable autonomous vehicles in the future has called for four significant law changes. You can read more in the BBC article here . ALLIANCE OUTLINE LATEST EV PLAN Renalut-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance has outlined its plans for 35 new EVson 5 platforms across the next few years, but we won’t see them all in Europe. The Autocar story is linked here. BENTLEY RECEIVES SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT BEYOND 100 Volkswagen Group is investing heavily in 5 new electric Bentley models and refurbishment of the Crewe factory. More here from evo magazine. ALL CURRENT ROLLS-ROYCE MODELS TO GO ELECTRIC In an unsurprising move,Rolls-Royce has announced that all their current models will be EVs by 2030. More from Autocar here . HEALTH WARNING ON FRENCH CARS The French government plans to mandate that a percentage car adverts is given over to a warning panel promoting alternative transport methods. To find out more, here’s the article from treehugger.com . DAIMLER TRUCK SEES SIGNIFICANT SALES INCREASE IN 2021 SMMT commercial vehicle registrations figures for 2021 haven’t been released yet, but Daimler, globally, sold 20% more vehicles in 2021 than 2020. You can find out more here . As promised, here’s the additional story about Daimler teaming up with Blackrock Renewable Power in tthe US to build a network of CV refuelling and recharging stations. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NNCN: VOLTA ZERO ELECTRIC TRUCK A slight tangent to the usual NNCN story, but the Volta Zero will be out and about in Central London very shortly. More about that, here. NNCN: SKODA ENYAQ COUPE vRS Skoda’s revealed its first hot EV. Find out more here . LUNCHTIME READ: RIVERSIMPLE UPDATE News about the hydrogen vehicle developer Riversimple has been short for a while now. In t his Autocar article they give an update on their plans and development progress. LIST OF THE WEEK: UK’s BEST DRIVING TUNNELS Alfa Romeo has compiled a list of the UK’s best-sounding road tunnels. You can read the list here and there’s YouTube playlist of audio clips here. AND FINALLY: MAKE YOUR OLD LAND CRUISER NEW AGAIN If you’re in a rush to update your Land Cruiser and you’re worried about the wait for a new one, as covered in last week’s show, then this Jalopnik article tells you all you need to know about transforming the outside of your Cruiser from old to new. REAR VIEW PODCAST Don't forget the archive of the interview show from the team at Motoring Podcast, Rear View, where we talk to fascinating people from the motoring universe. To go listen to the episodes already released on Apple Podcasts click here . TO GET IN TOUCH WITH ALAN AND ANDREW... To get in touch with Alan via Twitter To get in touch with Andrew via Twitter To get in touch with the Motoring Podcast via Twitter To follow the Motoring Podcast on Instagram To watch the Motoring Podcast on YouTube…
Alan had Volkswagen’s most important new car since the Golf for a week. Is the ID.3 People’s Car 2.0 or does its hurried gestation in the light of Dieselgate shine through?
FOLLOW UP: MYTHS ABOUT HIGHWAY CODE CHANGES Last week the chaps had an article on the changes to the Highway Code as the Lunchtime Read as they are significant and we all need to understand them. Apparently some did not listen to us, with reports from mainstream media outlets not correctly explaining the issues. In case you didn’t read last week’s recommendation then click this article from The Guardian , so you are well informed. FOLLOW UP: MORE DETAIL ON POSSIBLE LONDON ROAD TRAVEL CHANGES As Andrew and Alan stated during the article, as they were confused with the change in price, they have found some more detail which helps to explain the possible new rules better. Click here for the Move Electric article . POLICING LEVELS BLAMED FOR STATIC ROAD DEATH FIGURES Between 2010 and 2019 the level of road deaths, on British roads, has remained stable, after three decades of reduction. The main blame for this is the level of visible police on our roads. Added to this, Panorama found that roughly 50% of static speed cameras do not work. For more about this story, click the YesAuto article here . WILLIAMS ADVANCED ENGINEERING BOUGHT The Australian mining group, Fortescue Metals, has bought Williams Advanced Engineering, the engineering, design and technology offshoot of Williams F1. Fortescue are aiming to become a major company in the industrial transport sector. To learn more, click here for the Autocar article . BRITISHVOLT SECURES MAJOR FUNDING FOR BATTERY FACTORY BritishVolt announced that through a combination of private and Government funding they had secured around £1.7 billion for their battery factory planned in the North East, due to open in 2024. For more information, click the article from Autocar here . LEICESTER LATEST COUNCIL TO TAX COMPANY CAR PARKS Leicester City Council are set to introduce a parking levy on companies that provide ten or more spaces. The charge is £550 per space, with the money being reinvested into zero emission public transport and active travel schemes for the city. More on this story can be found by clicking here for The Guardian link . CHRIS BOARDMAN LEADS ACTIVE TRAVEL PUSH Chris Boardman, the former Olympic cycling hero, is to lead a push to get more people to switch to active travel options, when making journeys. Active Travel England will be evaluating schemes that encourage walking or cycling, including the infrastructure. To learn about this, click the BBC News article here . INSURANCE PREMIUMS ALREADY RISING AFTER CHANGE As predicted by many, including this show only a couple of weeks ago, premiums for car insurance have risen. We were all told that we would save money, now that insurers were not allowed to offer lower rates to new customers therefore putting existing ones at a disadvantage. For details of what has happened, click the YesAuto article here . EX ASTON CHASIS BOSS JOINS JLR Matt Becker, who was expected to join McLaren for that only to fall through, has joined Jaguar Land Rover, as Mike Cross announces his retirement. Becker will not replace Cross though. Meanwhile JLR are still to announce a new engineering boss following Nick Rogers departure. In order to learn more about this, click here for the Autocar article . LAND CRUISERS A FOUR YEAR WAIT IN JAPAN Toyota has announced that there is a four year wait for Land Cruisers in Japan. They state that this is not due to the chip shortage or Covid. To find out more, click the BBC News article here .——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: MONTE CARLO The first round of the 2022 WRC calendar did not disappoint! As you would expect from Monte there were thrills and spills, some of them spectacular! The new Rally1 cars were generally very reliable and did not lack in pace, noise or helping the action. Hyundai struggled, really struggled, especially without a figurehead, such as Adamo. Loeb rolled back the years to pip Ogier and give M-Sport a win, with Green rounding out the podium. We were reminded, though, of the words from the FIA President, that the sport needs superstars, not just winners. To find out how the rally went, click the DirtFish article here . For the DirtFish, What We Learned, click here . To find out how Colin Clark rated the drivers, click here for the DirtFish article . LUNCHTIME READ: MY LIFE & CARS - SHAMI KALRA The founder of Omologato, the watch making company that takes inspiration for their designs from motorsport, discusses his life and his cars in this EVO Magazine article. To read our recommendation, c lick the link here . To listen to Shami’s Rear View Part 1 interview, click here . For the Part 2 episode of Rear View, with Shami, click here . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE CARS THAT HELPED SAVE THE COMPANY Autocar has compiled a slideshow of cars they suggest saved a car company. Click through and see if you agree with Alan and Andrew’s choices. Don’t forget to let them know! Click here for the list . AND FINALLY: ONE-OFF BLUEBIRD Nissan has converted a Mk1 Bluebird, from the Sunderland plant, to EV as a celebration of that site’s 35 years of production. To find out more about this, click the Autocar article here .…
TOKYO AUTO SALON Alan and Andrew are rounding up the highlights from the Tokyo Auto Salon 2022, a tuner focused show that is worth paying attention to because a lot of ideas and themes get explored at their most undiluted form, by manufacturers experimenting and trying to wow audiences. PERFORMANCE CAR HIGHLIGHTS There is a huge performance car contingent to the show, with the following highlights discussed. Toyota GR GT3 Concept Toyota GRMN Yaris Toyota bZ4X GR Sport Subaru Solterra STi Subaru E-RA Concept Nissan Fairlady Z Honda Civic TypeR Concept KEI CAR CONCEPTS Kei cars are the small vehicles that are tightly regulated to take up minimal space and run with very small engines, that Japan is famous for. Some of the highlights include the following; Daihatsu Atari Camper Concept Honda N WGN Picnic Concept Honda K Climb Concept Mitsubishi K EV Concept X-Style JACK IT UP AND SHOVE IT ON KNOBBLIES Much of the show was either slammed to the ground as though suspensions had just given up or jacked up and shoved on knobblies. We like the second option so have focused on them. Lexus NX PHEV OffRoad Honda Fit e:HEV Crossstar Concept BEST IN SHOW There are many ‘Best In Shows’ for various classes, we have picked our favourite from the huge number of options. Best in Show MPV Class FEEDBACK As this is the first time we have tried to do this, where we are showing what we discuss (if your player can display the photos), we would like your feedback. We know there are things to improve, but if you could let us know if the efforts we have gone to are okay or not, that would be great.…
SMART MOTORWAYS HALTED BY GOVERNMENT The roll out of new smart motorways will be halted for five years, as the Government wants to use that time to collate more data on the safety of the existing sections. Those schemes that are already being built will continue, however. In the meantime, £900 million has been pledged to improving the safety of existing smart motorways. For more on this story, click the Autocar article here . FUEL DUTY LOSS ESTIMATED AT £5 BILLION THANKS TO EVS The RAC Foundation has estimated that the Government could lose £5 billion in revenue from fuel duty, with the rise in EV adoption, by 2030. This brings up the thorny problem of how will that be recouped, especially as car owners already feel they are over burdened with costs. To learn more, click here for the YesAuto link . LONDON MAYOR CONSIDERING A DAILY CAR CHARGE Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, has commissioned a City Hall report into achieving the net zero target for London of 2030. One of the recommendations is for a daily charge of £2 per car, except the zero emission vehicles, as well as charging those from outside entering Greater London. This would increase the scope and area of existing schemes. The claim is this is needed for clean air reasons. In order to find out more, click the BBC News article here . POTHOLE DAMAGE AT THREE YEAR HIGH The RAC attended an astonishing 27 call-outs related to pothole damage each day in 2021. This is a three year high. The RAC has called on the Government to properly invest in maintaining roads to a safe and acceptable standard, as well as fresh thinking as current practices and funding levels are inadequate. Further information can be found by clicking this Motoring Research article link here . SCOTLAND PUSHING FOR CAR USE REDUCTION The Scottish Transport Minister, Graeme Day, has published a ‘road map’ for reducing the need to use cars. This has been criticised for having little in terms of actionable steps. To read more about this, click the YesAuto article here . This stance is being echoed in the UK Government, with Transport Minister Trudy Harrison, stating we need to move away from private car ownership late last year. You can read her comments and more by clicking the AMOnline link here . RENAULT GROUP SALES SLIDE AGAIN For the third year running, sales fell for Renault Group, two of the last three years are fairly easy to explain though. Last year, further disruption from Covid and the semi conductor chip shortages are being blamed. Some bright news is that Alpine, Dacia and Lada made gains. For more on this story, click the Autocar article here . RENAULT TO BE ALL EV IN EUROPE BY 2030 Renault are the latest to announce when they will be electric only in Europe. They have plumped for 2030, but Dacia may be behind that mainly due to costs of the technology and how Dacia is priced currently. More information can be found by clicking this Autocar link . VEOLIA OPENING CAR BATTERY RECYCLING CENTRE IN THE UK Veolia has announced the opening of it’s UK-based car battery recycling centre in Minworth, West Midlands. They estimate they will be able to handle 20% of the end of life batteries, in the UK, by the end of 2024. To learn more, click the YesAuto article here . SHELL OPENS FIRST EV CHARGING HUB IN LONDON Shell has converted a petrol station and forecourt to their first electric car charging hub, in Fulham, London. Nine cars will be able to charge using the 175kW chargers. Further information can be found if you click this link to the YesAuto article . BOLLINGER PAUSES 4X4 EV DEVELOPMENT Bollinger has announced that they will be focusing on commercial EV development, pausing their work on the B1 and B2 4x4 passenger vehicles. Deposits have or will be refunded on the $100,000 vehicles. For more, click the Autocar article here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: FIA BOSS WANTS CHANGES The new FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, has views on what WRC needs, in order to survive and thrive. He is looking for a more inclusive collaboration between WRC, promoters and manufacturers. Three manufacturers is not enough to help draw crowds and TV to the spectacle, in his view. With diminishing viewership and locations such as Great Britain losing their round, it is hard to argue with him. Click here for the DirtRally interview , which includes a podcast in their post. LUNCHTIME READ: HIGHWAY CODE UPDATE FOR 2022 - A REMINDER As a reminder we wanted to share the changes in the 2022 Highway Code, which fundamentally alter the relationship and actions of drivers in relation to more vulnerable road users. To learn what you should do as a road user, c lick the Parkers article link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: SIX WAYS TO MAKE CARS YOUR HOBBY IN 2022 Once again, we link to a Hagerty article, this time about what you could do in 2022 to further your involvement and enjoyment in the car world. Do not to forget to let the chaps know which of list you want to explore more this year. For the list, click the link here . AND FINALLY: THE BREATHTAKING CARS OF FRANCO SCAGLIONE We have been remiss for far too long in not having a video from the Roadster Life YouTube channel linked to, on the podcast. We address that now by recommending Matteo’s video about the designer Franco Scaglione and the amazing vehicles he penned. To enjoy just over eight minutes of loveliness, click the YouTube link here .…
Andrew had a Hyundai i20N, for a week, to see if it could be as good as so many are saying. Listen in as he chats to a jealous Alan about what he found out whilst battling his local mud strewn roads. To listen to Alan’s review of the i20 Premium, click this link here . To listen to Alan chat to Andrew about his driving day with Hyundai, that included a quick run in an i20N, click here for the link .…
FOLLOW UP: PROPOSED MANCHESTER CAZ TO BE REVIEWED Greater Manchester’s Mayor has announced that the proposed Clean Air Zone will be reviewed, ahead of the implementation on 30 May. There are concerns that it will impact businesses heavily. Andy Burnham has called on the Government to do more to support those trying to transition to cleaner vehicles. The CAZ will only charge commercial and private hire vehicles, not private cars. For more on this story, click here for the BBC News article . FOLLOW UP: OXFORD ZEZ GOES LIVE FEBRUARY 2022 Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council have announced they will be opening the city’s first Zero Emission Zone (ZEZ) in February this year. Initially it will be a very small number of streets in the city centre that will charge petrol and diesel vehicles to enter. The second phase will be larger but has yet to be confirmed in size and when it will come into force. To learn more, click the Motoring Research article here . To find out more about clean air zones and if you might be affected, click this link to a Motoring Research explanatory . If you wish to find out if your vehicle will be required to pay to enter a CAZ, click here for the .GOV checker . NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR DECEMBER AND 2022 The December 2021 New Car Registration figures have been released by the SMMT, which you can find out more about by clicking their link here . Tristan Young has also taken a dive into the figures and has written a very good thread on Twitter, adding more context to the details. Click here to read through that . Autocar has also written an interesting article on the best selling car of 2021, the Ford Transit. Click here to find out how and why that happened . SSANGYONG BOUGHT FOR $255 MILLION The struggling Korean car maker, SsangYong has been bought for $255 million, by a local consortium which included EV maker Edison Motors. This allows Mahindra to divest itself of the company’s shares after it took up 75% ownership when it bought the collapsed company in 2010. For more information, click here for the Automotive News Europe article . TOYOTA TO REMANUFACTURE PRE-OWNED CARS Toyota is going to remanufacture and heavily refurbish cars up to three times to improve the longevity of their cars and maintain a longer direct contact with customers. To find out more about this story, click the Autocar article here . FERRARI MANAGEMENT RESTRUCTURE Benedetto Vigna, the new CEO of Ferrari, has announced a shake up to the management structure of Ferrari, to enable it to thrive in the new electrified future that the automotive world is approaching. New departments and staff have been created and brought in, for one of the biggest structural changes to the company since it was formed. For more, click here to access the Autocar article . FORD EUROPE APPOINTS MARTIN SANDER Martin Sander, formerly of Audi, has been appointed general manager for passenger vehicles in Europe. He moves from the VW Group where he has 25 years experience to help Ford with their push on the electric and connected vehicle business. To learn more, click here for the Autocar article . FORMER BMW EMPLOYEE CHARGED WITH CORRUPTION A former senior employee of BMW has been charged with receiving kickbacks on awarding consultancy contracts between 2007 and 2015. Five people, in total have been charged by prosecutors. For further information, click the Automotive News Europe article here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: MONTE CARLO - NEARLY HERE Monte Carlo and the start of the 2022 season is nearly upon us, in anticipation of this incredibly exciting year, thanks largely due to the unknown quantity that is the hybrid system we have a couple of articles from DirtFish, thank you to Rich Gooding for thrusting them our way! Click here to learn more about the new hybrid boost system . Click here to find out why David Evans thinks the meagre 0.3% electric only distance will be spot on . NEW NEW CAR NEWS BMW Pattern Shifting Concept Using the same technology as an e-reader, BMW has released a concept that changes colour and patterns to the exterior design of a car. For more information, click The Verge article here . Stellantis EV Only MPVs The Citroën Berlingo and Peugeot Rifter will be immediately only sold as EV versions, with the Vauxhall Combo following shortly after. Added to this, the prices have been reduced which brings much of the ranges under the £32,000 plug-in grant cut off. For more information, click the Autocar article here . LUNCHTIME WATCH: EVO CAR OF THE YEAR 2021 EVO has now released their Car of the Year film, on their YouTube channel. You get to see the options as well as hear how the COtY is put together and decided. Click here for the link to the film . LIST OF THE WEEK: 1972 BIRTHED A NEW ANGLE FOR ITALIAN SPORTS CARS Hagerty has compiled an interesting list of pointy and angled Italian sports cars, which we first saw in 1972. Run through the list yourself and see if you agree with Alan’s choice. Don’t forget to tell the chaps what is your favourite. Click here to view the options . AND FINALLY: VISITING CIRCUIT REIMS-GUEUX Tim Traveller has gone off to visit the Circuit Reims-Gueux, you can enjoy this trip of his by clicking the YouTube link here .…
FOLLOW UP: CHANGES TO CHARGER RULES ROLLED BACK Over the festive period, the Government quietly rolled back some of the changes they had outlined would have to happen when it comes to installing charging points at non residential properties with a large car park. Now only new or refurbished commercial properties will be required to install at least one charging point. To read more, click The Guardian link here . FOLLOW UP: NEW GREG KELLY EVIDENCE EMERGES Information disclosed to Asia Times seems to show that Greg Kelly is innocent of the charges brought against him, yet is still facing trial. In a damming report, outlining the tale of what happened, how both he and Ghosn were tricked and how those inside Nissan have behaved has to be read to be believed. For more information, click here for the Asia Times article . FCA RULES SHOULD REMOVE NEED TO HAGGLE INSURANCE EACH YEAR New rules from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) should mean that when it comes to renewal time we will not have to haggle to get the best price from our existing insurer. Firms are no longer allowed to offer new customers a better rate than those who already have a policy with them. To read more about this, click the Autocar article here . TESLA RECALLING OVER VARIOUS SAFETY ISSUES Tesla is recalling 356,309 Model 3 cars over an issue with the reversing camera. Meanwhile they are recalling 119,009 Model S cars over a problem with the bonnet. Both of these are US only at this time. This is on top of the debacle over allowing games to be played on the touchscreen as the car is driven, forcing Tesla to disable that “feature”, as well as the ongoing investigation into their rollout of the testing program for “full self driving” software/feature, to name but two. For more information, click here for the CNBC article . CHINA REMOVES FOREIGN INVESTMENT RULES FOR CAR MANUFACTURING As of 1 January 2022, the rules on ownership of car manufacturing facilities in China are changed, to allow 100% foreign ownership, instead of the joint-venture policy previously. How quickly any firms move to enable this will have to be seen. To read more, click the CNBC article here . RIVIAN BATTERY FACTORY OFFERING Rivian, the EV start up based int he US, is being courted by the UK Government in the hope that they choose an offered site near Bridgewater, Somerset, over two option in the EU for their factory. A decision is expected within the first quarter of 2022. To find out what the site could be and what has been offered, click the Somerset Live article here . HYDROGEN FUEL-CELL CARGO BIKES TRIALLED IN ABERDEEN Aberdeen has been selected to trial the viability of hydrogen fuel-cell cargo bikes. Electric Assisted Vehicles (EAV), have stressed they focus on lightness in their vehicles. How they cope with Aberdeen’s weather will be interesting. If you wish to learn more, click here for the Autocar article . MILTON KEYNES TRIALLING REMOTE OPERATED VEHICLES A trial of remotely operated vehicles will begin soon, in Milton Keynes. Initially there will be a safety driver on board as back up, but Fetch, the company behind the idea, plans to remove them as soon as possible to be run from a remote location. For more information, click the BBC News article here . Andrew was silent during this item. For you, the listener’s, welfare in mind. ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS Cupra Born EV The chaps have covered the car before, but now we know specifications and prices. Initially the mid range version will be released, shortly followed by the entry level and then a year later the top of the range. TO learn about the prices and specifications, click the Autocar article here . 2022 Volkswagen Multivan Prior to the ID Buzz coming out, Volkswagen has revealed details of the replacement for the Caravelle, now called the Multivan. There will be a choice of powertrains, including hybrid, sizes and specification levels. Expect to see them hurtling to the seaside soon, in the meantime click the Autocar article here to get an idea of specs and prices . Honourable Mentions We wave goodbye to the Nissan Navara , as production comes to an end at the Barcelona plant. We say hello to the Toyota Hilux GR Sport . We did into some of the clever engineering of the concept car from Mercedes Benz, the Vision EQXX , and as a bonus we get to hear Alan go on about coefficient drag factors! LIST OF THE WEEK: 30 YEARS ON - GREAT CAR ADVERTS FROM 1991 This Autocar slideshow will remind some of us that there used to be very good adverts in magazines, many of which would be banned now. Have fun by clicking the link here and flicking through the trip down memory lane. LUNCHTIME READ: WHAT DO CAR DESIGNERS DO ALL DAY? As Alan points out in the show, we do not put up links that are behind a paywall, but have made an exception for this article from The Intercooler. If you’ve not tried it, you can get it for 30-days free, before committing to the on-going payments. To read the article, click this link here . AND FINALLY: PLANS TO RESTORE FUZZY BEAR’S STUDEBAKER The Studebaker Museum wants to restore Fozzy Bear’s car, from the original Muppets movie. This is a good thing. Click the Jalopnik link here , to learn about the plans and what happened in the movie.…
FOLLOW UP: CHANGES TO TOWING RESTRICTIONS NOW IN FORCE After recently confirming that the changes to the towing rules had not, in fact, changed, we were informed by one eagle-eyed listener that as of 16 December 2021, they have changed. To find out who is allowed to do what, compared to who was allowed to what previously, click the Government’s own guidance link here . PLUG-IN CAR GRANT ALLOWANCE CHANGED AGAIN Once again , the Government has changed the eligibility of the plug-in grant with no notice at all. The criteria is that if you select a car that has a book price of less than £32,000 new, you will receive £1,500 grant, down from £35,000 and £2,500 respectively. To learn more, click here for the Motoring Research article . Some manufacturers have reduced their prices so that certain models are still capable of collecting the grant, to find out which no longer qualify at the time of recording, click the YesAuto link here . CONGESTION CHARGE TIMING ADJUSTED OVER CHRISTMAS Between Christmas Day and 3 January 2022, the Congestion Charge will not be enforced at night, in a bid to help out the beleaguered West End. This was, clearly, an idea before the scale of the Omicron variant was known. But, from February 21 2022, the timing will change back to 07:00 to 18:00 daily when the congestion charge will be applicable. For more information, click the Evening Standard article here . NICHE UK FIRMS SUPPORTED BY SUPPLIER SUPPORT WITH EVS WEVC and Equipmake, are working together to help niche UK manufacturers electrify their range and help them deal with new and impending legislative changes. To find out more about the companies and the work they do, click here for the Autocar article . VOLVO AND NORTHVOLT JOINT INVESTMENT IN BATTERY FACTORY Volvo, with the help of Northvolt, will be opening a battery research and development centre and factory near Gothenburg next year. Investment is in the region of £2.5 billion for the factory. Volvo wants to try and control better the cost of EV batteries but also produce them in as environmentally protective manner as possible. To read more, click here for the YesAuto article . ALBERT BIERMANN RETIRES In news that took the chap’s breath away, it was announced that Albert Biermann is to retire from Hyundai. He will be retained as an advisor, but steps away from day to day activities. He is, of course, lately known for the amazing job he has done with the N cars from Hyundai. To read more about this and who his successor will be, click the Autocar article here . TOYOTA HIT BY SEMI-CONDUCTOR SHORTAGES AGAIN Toyota has extended the stoppage time of their Land Cruiser and Lexus production thanks to supply chain issues, mainly due to chip shortages which are due to Covid related issues. Where some suggested the industry was coming out of the issues it appears that the more pessimistic predictions are proving more accurate. To read more, click the BBC News article here . For a round up of how the rest of the industry is effected, click here for the Autocar article . TOYOTA ANNOUNCES FUTURE STRATEGY Akio Toyoda presented the vision for Toyota and Lexus’s future, with 15 new electric vehicles front and centre of that future. There will be a total of 30 battery electric vehicles launched by 2030. This is a huge step, especially as it is only happening in eight years. There are many who have chided Toyota for not moving to EVs quicker and amazingly some who still thought this was not good enough. To find out more, click the Autocar article here . To see how Toyota Rickrolled us all, click The Drive article link here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- REVIEW OF 2021 Alan and Andrew run through some of the stand out items from 2021, in this week’s second half of the show. Have a lovely Festive break and stay safe everyone!…
FOLLOW UP: VW RESHUFFLE COMPLETED Volkswagen Group announced a host of senior management changes, which didn’t occur in quite the way some reports suggested, in the previous week. The main one is that Thomas Schäfer is moving from Skoda to head up VW. Brandstätter, who was tipped to take on more responsibility from Diess is sent to head up their China operations. Added to which Diess will take control of Cariad, their software division. For more information, click here to read the Autocar article . RENAULT ZOE GETS ZERO STARS FROM EURO NCAP The latest Renault Zoe is the third car in history to receive zero stars from Euro NCAP, but it is not just a case of safety moving on, Renault has removed part of the safety capability from the previous model, by reducing the protection to occupants with airbags. But this does bring up the worry that people may think they are buying a safe car, particularly second hand, but are in fact not. To learn more, click the Autocar article here . PEUGEOT LATEST TO ANNOUNCE ALL ELECTRIC FUTURE From 2030, Peugeot will be an all-electric car company, in Europe. They are the latest to declare an electric only future from a specific date. This is later than those confirmed by other Stellantis brands, so far. For further reading, click the Autocar article here . STELLANTIS SOFTWARE DRIVE Stellantis, to much fanfare, announced they anticipate €20 billion revenue from software products and subscriptions in 2030. Included in all this is over the air updating, without the need for hardware to be installed, automated driving capabilities, data and fleet services. To learn more, click here for the Autocar article . BENTLEY OPENS NEW TEST FACILITY Bentley has opened a new test facility, in Crewe, that will enable them to test emission and electrification aspects of their designs. The £12.5 million facility, will start being used straight away after receiving approval from the Vehicle Certification Agency. This should speed up and eventually save costs compared to sending their vehicles to a third-party testing site. If you would like to read more, click the Autocar article here . VW DRIVES FURTHER INTO ELECTRIFICATION Volkswagen announced that they will be investing £76 billion in electrification and digital technologies. This is an increase on their previous investment. The plans were declared in September but have taken until now to be confirmed by the Board. For more information, click the Autocar article here . GRIDSERVE CONSTRUCTING TWO NEW EV FORECOURTS Gridserve is building two new electric charging forecourts, one in Norwich with the other at Gatwick Airport. Added to this they will be opening 11 new EV hubs across the country. To read more about this, click here for the Autocar story . VOLVO SUFFERS CYBER ATTACK Volvo has confirmed that they were subjected to a cyber attack recently, that affected their R&D information but does not appear to have compromised anything connected with customer facing elements of their business. For more information, click the Automotive News article here . DVLA WARNS OF SCAM DVLA are warning motorists to avoid those impersonating the organisation and those who charge for services the DVLA perform for free or at an admin only cost. Make sure you tell friends and family of this. To read more about this, click here for the Bournemouth Echo article . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- LUNCHTIME READ: F***D IT AGAIN TONY Nir Kahn has written an interesting article regarding car design and when individuality is lost. Obviously, the Multiple comes up and it is the poster child for such discussions but Nir’s points are well made and worth your time. Click through on the LinkedIn article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: BEST SANTA-COMPLIANT CLASSICS Great Driving Days has compiled a list of cars that would be suitable for Father Christmas to use on that special night of the year as he undertakes a campaign of breaking and entering across the globe. Click through on this link here , then let us know if you agree with Alan’s choice or not. AND FINALLY: WE BRITS ARE RUBBISH AT NAMING OUR CARS The DVLA has published a survey of theirs, where they asked if people named their cars and if so what did they call them. The results were a little tame, it has to be said. Have a read of The Register’s article here .…
1 Special Edition - Bcomp Natural Fibres Composite Materials 23:21
23:21 나중에 재생 나중에 재생 리스트 좋아요 좋아요23:21
나중에 재생 나중에 재생 리스트 좋아요 좋아요The Swiss company, Bcomp produce lightweight, natural fibre composite materials and panels which are beginning to find their way into the automotive sector. Listen in as Andrew talks to Per Mårtenson about how Bcomp started, what they do and how these clever products can be used. Thank you to Per for chatting with Andrew and giving us this fascinating insight into a different material.…
FOLLOW UP: MORGAN HINTS AT FUTURE DESIGNS Recently the chaps discussed the new appointment of Matthew Hole as CTO and idly wondered what that would mean for future designs. Seems Morgan heard, well, okay, they probably didn’t, but let’s not dwell on that as they have teased out some sketch designs of how future Morgan’s could look. To find out more, click the Morgan article here . NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES NOVEMBER 2021 The SMMT has published their monthly new car registration figures, for November, which shows a continued issue due to supply. To read more, click the SMMT link here . SHARP RISE IN CYCLIST DEATHS ON RURAL ROADS 89 people lost their life on English rural roads, whilst cycling, in 2020, Department for Transport figures confirm. A campaign from NFU Mutual, British Cycling and British Horse Society has begun to raise awareness in driving to the conditions and dangers of rural roads. For more information, click here for the BBC News article . 1 IN 50 CARS UNINSURED ON UK ROADS The Government has revealed that it estimates 1 in 50 vehicles on the road, is uninsured, costing approximately £119 million in lost revenue. The suggestion is a mix of affordability and lack of enforcement, as two of the major contributing factors. To read about this, click the Autocar article linked here . RIVIAN APPARENTLY OFFERED SWEETENERS FOR UK FACTORY The UK Government is, a report states, offering incentives to Rivian so they open a factory in the UK. The sweeteners include changes to the local road infrastructure, dust off a shuttered railway line and develop training facilities. The hope is Rivian invests around £1 billion for the facility near Bristol. In order to learn more about this, click this link here to the Autocar story . VW MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE IN DISCUSSION Reports suggest that Volkswagen CEO, Herbert Diess’s future is under discussion after the Unions raised concern over the job losses touted. We will have to wait to see if this ends up with the departure or lessening of the powers Diess has. In the meantime, you can read more about the matter by clicking this Autocar link . FORD JOINS VW UK CO2 POOL To meet the rules on CO2 limits across a company’s fleet, Ford has joined the Volkswagen Group pool, that also includes SAIC, which is mainly MG Motors. To read more about this move, for 2021, click the Schmidt Automotive Research article link here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: ADAMO LEAVES HYUNDAI WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT The surprise news, on the day of recording, was released that Andrea Adamo has left Hyundai WRC with immediate effect, although it is “mutually agreed”. Hyundai President Scott Not will take charge for the foreseeable future. This adds further weight to the question if Hyundai will be ready for Monte Carlo. To read more, click the DirtFish article here . To read the official statement from Hyundai, click the link here . NEW NEW CAR NEWS Mazda2 This is not quite New New Car News , but Mazda has stated that they will be using the Toyota Yaris as the basis for their 2022 Mazda2. They will take advantage of the hybrid and petrol versions. The cars will be available from April. No confirmation of when the current 2 will be taken off sale. For more information, click on the link to the Autocar article here . KIA Sportage The next generation KIA Sportage will go on sale from 15 December 2021, starting at £26, 745, topping out at £43, 495 at the top of the range. The SUV has been designed and engineered with European tastes in mind. There is, for cars in the WLTP era, a wide range of powertrains available, starting with 1.6l petrol and diesels, through mild hybrids and onto plug-in hybrids. For more information, on this very important model in KIA’s lineup, click the Autocar article link here . Suzuki SX4 S-Cross The 2022 SX4 S-Cross has been revealed by Suzuki. The second generation car has been redesigned and had more bells and whistles thrown at it. Not only has equipment and trim improved but there is more space inside. Prices start at £24,999 and rise to £29,799 for the top of the range Ultra. There is one engine choice, a mild-hybrid 1.4l petrol engine producing 127bhp. To see the upgrades over the outgoing model, click here for the Autocar article . LUNCHTIME READ: THE YOUTUBERS MAKING CLASSIC MOTORING FUN FOR ALL Hagerty are the providers of this week’s Lunchtime Read , talking about three very good options for your viewing pleasure if you fancy something a bit more classic as your motoring pleasure. To read through the article and then visit the channels, click the link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 12 GIFTS OF PETROLHEAD CHRISTMAS Stewart Longhurst has compiled a list of 12 gift ideas for the petrolhead in your life, covering a wide range of options and ideas. Click through on the All Torque Digital link here and see if you agree with the chaps and their choice for the number one present. AND FINALLY: PANDAMONIUM M-Sport has got hold of a Mk1 4x4 Panda and breathed some of their magic on it, click the link here to see the video and enjoy their fabulous work. AND AND FINALLY: #AUTOADVENT2021 IS HERE Jon Male is back with his two-pronged Auto Advent quiz, where he produces a fiendishly difficult option and a quite difficult version. To jump on board the fun follow Jon on Twitter by clicking the link here . For #AutoAdvent21, click this link here . For #AutoAdventLite21, click here for the link .…
ALISON JONES NAMED PRESIDENT OF SMMT Alison Jones, Stellantis VP and Country Manager for the UK, has been announced as the first female President of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. She will take up her position on 1 January 2022. Dr George Gillespie OBE, steps down after a three year tenure as President. To find out more, click the SMMT article here . UK CAR PRODUCTION WORST SINCE 1956 The continued pressures on the supply chain constrained the UK’s car production in October to on 64, 729 vehicles, the lowest since 1956. Whilst the chip shortage was a major factor, Honda permanently shutting the Swindon factory in July also impacted the figures. For more information, click here to read the Autocar article . EV CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE OPENS Milton Keynes is the preferred location for Intertek to open their electric vehicle centre of excellence, where they will test and develop EV powertrains. Costing £12 million, the centre will also develop powertrain components. To read more about this, click the Autocar article here . REE EXPANDS UK OPERATIONS REE, the Israeli electric start-up, is expanding their Warwickshire operations to include producing their ‘corners; product that combines suspension, wheel and electric drive in one compact package, effectively creating in-wheel motors. For more about this interesting company, click here for the Autocar article . LONDON SCRAPPAGE SCHEME OVERSUBSCRIBED The £61 million that Transport for London (TfL) had allocated to a ULEZ scrappage scheme has been oversubscribed and the budget is now used up. 23,300 applications were made, with 9,370 accepted. TfL also acknowledged that there would be a shortfall in ULEZ income at 91% of vehicles are compliant with the rules. To learn more, click the Evening Standard article here . IONITY TO EXPAND NETWORK Ionity is to expand their network of EV charging points across Europe by 2025, with a £700 million investment. The plan is to quadruple the number of 350kW chargers to 7000. For more information, click here to read the Autocar article . COST OF EV CHARGING RISES WITH ENERGY PRICE SPIKE The rising price of wholesale energy is now hitting the EV charging network, with organisations increasing their tariffs in line with the increases. The jump in prices is not insignificant either. To find out more about how you may be effected, click the Autocar article link here . 2022 BRUSSELS MOTOR SHOW MOVED With the ever changing situation, due to the global pandemic, the organisers of the Brussels Motor Show have taken the decision to postpone it until 2023. To read more about this, click here for the Autocar article . GOVERNMENT PLANS CAUSE PANIC FOR PARKING INDUSTRY The Government is proposing a new cap of £50 for illegal parking, reducing it from the current £100, following the raising of “concerns about the practices of some parking operators”. The parking industry has hit back, somewhat hysterically, with claims car parks will be awash with illegally parked cars happy to pay the £25 fine rather than the fee for a day’s parking. For more information, click the YesAuto article link here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: RALLY1 YARIS AERO Whilst we impatiently wait for the start of the next season, WRC Wings has been keeping it’s eyes peeled on the development of next season’s new rally cars. In this instance they have an article discussing the new Yaris aero, which you can read by clicking their link here . NEW NEW CAR NEWS Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Porsche has decided to drop their 4.0 litre, naturally aspirated, flat-six from the 911 GT3 into the 718 Cayman GT4 RS. Oh glory be. This will give it 493bhp, 332lb ft of the tourques allowing for a 0-62mph time of 3.2 seconds, which seems ‘quite quick’. But, this will not come cheaply, in fact it is only about £15 grand less than the GT3, at £108,370. To find out more, click the Top Gear article here . LUNCHTIME READ: THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF THE AFRICAR The Africar was the idea of Tony Tony Howarth, this week’s Lunchtime Read delves into the idea, the attempt at producing it and what happened. To read this fascinating story, click the Silodrome article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: INTERESTING CARS THAT DESERVED BETTER LUCK According to this Autocar slideshow, there have been a number of cars that have been unlucky not to do better than they ultimately did. Have a click through to the options here , then let Alan and Andrew know if you agree with their choices. AND FINALLY: TRY THE FIENDISH HAGERTY JAPANESE CAR QUIZ Hagerty has released another car quiz, this time centred around Japanese cars. You too can find out how unimpressive your actual knowledge is, along with us, by clicking the link to it here .…
Alan went to Oxford for a day to try some of the new sporting and electric offerings from BMW. With the keys to everything fromt he new M3 Competition xDrive to an electric MINI, how did he get on and what new and novel insights did he gain?
FOLLOW UP: VW SHOULD’VE PUBLISHED ENGINE PLAN In a test case brought by investors in Germany, Volkswagen is accused of failing to disclose the problem from back in 2008. The judge has stated that it is on the investors to prove VW or any of their staff withheld information, but it is up to VW to prove the board not telling investors from 2012 was not grossly negligent nor deliberate. To read more, click here for the Reuters article . FOLLOW UP: CONTINENTAL EX-CEO AND EX-CFO INVESTIGATED The ex-CEO, Dagenhart, and just sacked CFO, Wolfgang Schaefer, who held their roles for Continental, are being investigated by German prosecutors over their involvement in dieselgate, specifically regarding the 1.6 litre diesel engines. To read more on this story, click the Yahoo News article here . HAND HELD DEVICES TO BE ILLEGAL BEHIND THE WHEEL The Highway Code will be updated with changes to interacting with your mobile phone, whilst driving. The loopholes that allow playing games, filming or scrolling through playlists whilst holding the phone, will be illegal. However, if the device is in a cradle it can still be prodded as though it was a touchscreen infotainment system fitted to the car. To find out more, click here for the BBC News article . NATIONAL PARKS NOT CONSIDERING BANNING CARS Stories started circulating that some National Parks were considering banning cars from some roads at certain times of the year, this is not the case. However, they are all looking at what they can do to reduce congestion and the effect so many visitors have travelling to these beauty spots. To read more, click the Autocar article here . PORTSMOUTH CAZ OPENS 29 NOVEMBER Portsmouth will be starting their Clean Air Zone (CAZ) initiative on 29 November. This will only affect HGVs, buses, vans, taxis and private hire vehicles as it is designated as a Class B CAZ, therefore private car drivers are not going to be saddled with extra costs to enter the city. To find out more, click here for the YesAuto article . VOLTA TRUCKS STARTS PRODUCTION IN COVENTRY Volta Trucks has started building their prototype all-electric Zero lorry, in Coventry. The vehicles comes with a range of 95-125 miles. 25 prototypes will be built in Coventry and once Volta are ready for full production they will be built in their Austrian factory. To find out more, click the Autocar Professional article here . MORGAN APPOINTS NEW HEAD OF EVS Morgan has made it clear that electrification is very much in their future, with the appointment of Matthew Hole as Chief Technical Officer, with Graham Chapman who moves up to Chief Operations Officer. To read more, click here for the Autocar article . MOTORWAY SERVICES EV CHARGING MONOPOLY LOOSENS Gridserve, who now own Ecotricity, has informed the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that they will not enforce the exclusivity clauses in their contracts with MOTO, Extra or Roadchef, after 2026, over EV charging stations. This will allow other operators to install their equipment and give consumers a choice on charging providers. To find out more, click the Electrifying article here . SMMT PUBLISHES MARKETING GUIDELINES FOR AUTOMATED TECHNOLOGY The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), has worked with industry organisations, the Advertising Standards Agency, Thatcham Research and Government departments to come up with principles for advertising automated vehicle technology. To find out more, click here for the SMMT article . PRIVATE E-SCOOTERS NEED MORE RESEARCH BEFORE LEGALISATION The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety has advised that more information is required before private e-scooters can be legalised as there appears to be a difference in behaviour between rental and privately ridden scooters. They wish to gather more data so that recommendation that allow for safe approval of the idea or rejection can be fully considered. To read more, click the Autocar article here. ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: RALLY MONZA Sebastien Ogier rounded off his last full time season with a win, which meant he captured his eighth championship. He was pushed all the way by teammate Elfyn Evans and Dani Sordo, for Hyundai, rounded off the podium. Ogier will take part in only a small number of events next season. To find out more about what happened at Monza, click here for the DirtFish article . To read the What We Learned article, click the link here . To watch the DirtFish video showing Ogier’s final full-time season, click the link here . To watch the chat the Team Principles have with each other, click the DirtFish video here . NEW NEW CAR NEWS Hyundai Heritage Series Gandeur In recognition of the importance of the Grandeur, Hyundai have created a retro-modern reinterpretation of their flagship model which they originally released 35 years ago. Similar to the recent Pony concept car, there are some lovely modern touches but a retention of the original, recognisable, shape. To read more, click the YesAuto article here . Genesis G70 Shooting Brake Whilst marketing calls this a shooting brake, it is an attractive estate with five doors. They will be fitting this European only car with the same V6 from the Stinger, plus letting the Germany development centre make sure the ride, handling and everything else is how we expect them to be in this market. PRices start at £35, 250. To find out more and look at the rather attractive shape, click the EVO article here . LUNCHTIME READ: THE CORBY ORBITAL NORTHERN ROAD This article explains why the Corby Orbital Northern Road took £10 million public funding but has never been completed and possibly who is now the owner of it. Intrigue, multiple owners at the same Channel Island address and more can be found in this excellent example of why local reporting is so very important. To read the article, click the Northamptonshire Telegraph link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: GORDON MURRAY’S TOP 10 CARS You can watch a fascinating video from Goodwood Road&Racing where they propose the Top 10 cars designed by Gordon Murray. Don’t forget to let Alan know if you agree with his choice and if not which you would pick as the number one car. To view the video, click the YouTube link here . AND FINALLY: TINY ENGINE THAT IS A WORK OF ART A creator called Maker B has spent 1,000 hours creating a miniscule 4-stroke engine and condensed the process into a 15 minute video show ing the skill and artistry involved in making the engine and getting it running. To see this click the Hagerty link here .…
FOLLOW UP: VW LOSES APPEAL IN SUPREME COURT Volkswagen has lost their appeal, in the US Supreme Court, to have claims for damages brought by individual states thrown out. VW felt that the rules only allowed the federal government to make claims for damages under the Clean Air Act. This means the potential for further financial penalties is very real, with Ohio along with counties in Florida and Utah prosecuting Volkswagen and Bosch. To read more, click the Reuters article here . FOLLOW UP: TOWING RULES CHANGE POSTPONED The change in rules, to allow more people to tow larger trailers, has been quietly postponed, with no date yet given as when they will come into force. To see more, click the tweet from @thelorryist who shared the screenshot of the official site amendment, by clicking the link here. FOLLOW UP: “WINNER” OF UK EV CHARGER COMPETITION SHOWN The Government has revealed the “iconic” charger, for the UK, following work from Royal School of Art and PA Consulting. The design is meant to put ‘ease of use and accessibility’ at the heart of the final product. To read more, about this underwhelming concept, click here for the Autocar article . STRIKE ACTION NOT VOTED THROUGH AT DVLA Strike action will not be taking place at DVLA’s headquarters, in Swansea, as there wasn’t enough votes registered. There has been a long running dispute over the safety of staff, from Covid issues, which prompted this latest move by the unions. To read more, click here for the YesAuto article . COP 26 SOME OEMS SIGN SOME DO NOT At the recent COP 26 global gathering, to discuss and plan our way out of the climate crisis we have, some manufacturers pledged to aim for deadlines well in the future to stop selling internal combustion engined vehicles, in some markets. On the surface it looks like hitting the targets already stated by many Governments. Not every company agreed to this but as Alan argues, does it matter if a piece of paper is signed if they are actually doing it? To find out more, click the Autocar article here . UK BATTERY INDUSTRY LOSES CHEMICAL FIRMS INVOLVEMENT Johnson Matthey, who were partners for a number of battery production firms, in the UK, has announced they are pulling out of the market and will now focus on decarbonising chemicals in the supply chain and hydrogen technologies. This is a blow to the UK industry. For more information, click here to read the Autocar article . TVR IN JOINT VENTURE WITH MINING COMPANY TVR has announced a joint venture with Ensorcia Metals, a lithium mining company, who will bring cash to help develop the V8 Griffiths and EV technology for future models. To read more and make up your own mind on whether we will actually see any Griffiths on the road, click the Auotcar article here . BRITISH BUILT EV BUSES IN TRIAL Electric double deckers buses, with a range in the region of 300 miles, will begin trials next year. Norfolk based Equipmake, Spanish coachbuilder Beulas and London’s largest bus operator are partnering up to investigate the viability of such vehicles. To find out more, click here for the Autocar article . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS Volkswagen Tiago The VW Tiago, is known as the Nivus in South America, has been tweaked and brought to Europe next year. Starting at £21,960 and based on the same platform as the Polo and T-Cross, it is a B segment coupe SUV. For more information, click here for the Autocar article . Subaru Solterra Subaru will be revealing their new EV SUV, the Solterra, at the LA Motor Show. You will be unsurprised to hear that due to co-developing this with Toyota (who call their version the bZ4X, if you remember) that it looks almost identical to Toyota’s version. More details are due when they pull the covers off at LA. To find out more now though, click the Autocar article here . LUNCHTIME WATCH: NEC CLASSIC CAR SHOW 2021 Alan went to an event last weekend, the NEC Classic Car Show. He met lots of lovely people, some of whom he even remembers their name (as well as actually meeting them!). You can hear him tell Andrew what a fab time he had and also, watch Ian Seabrook’s two ace videos from the show here. For Video 1, click this link . After that has whetted your appetite, click here for Video 2 . LIST OF THE WEEK: GOOD, BAD OR UGLY? THE BIGGEST AUTOMOTIVE FADS You can run through the Autocar sideshow of some of the more memorable fads to have struck the motoring world. Once you’ve been through, don’t forget to tell the chaps which is your favourite one and why. To have a look, click this link here . AND FINALLY: UK P1800 GASSER WINS HOT WHEELS LEGEND STATUS The UK based Volvo P1800 gasser that was the UK’s entry into the global finals for the next Hot Wheels Legend car has been picked as the overall winner! The car screams Hot Wheels and we are delighted for Lee Johnstone. To find out more, click the Elan PR post here .…
Alan had a Honda HR-V for 48 hours to find out how this 3rd generation of Honda’s left-field compact SUV coped on the roads of Northamptonshire. It’s divisive in many ways, but was it a Joy Machine?
FOLLOW UP: ENVISION SCALES BACK OUTPUT PREDICTION Envision, the Chinese company partnering with Renault on their battery factory, in Northern France, has lowered the predicted production output due to a change in the site’s layout. The wooded area, previously marked for demolition will now not be destroyed because it is a wildlife habitat and building there would be “complicated”. Output is now predicted to be 30 gigawatts per hour against 43 previously expected. To find out more, click the Today News Post here . OCTOBER 2021 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES Another month means more grim reading, with figures down 24.6% on last year, and that was hardly spectacular. Chip shortages are the main reason why. Electrified vehicles, though, helped reduce the pain. To find out more, click here for the SMMT article . TESLA RECALLS ON BACK OF SOFTWARE GLITCH A communication error, for nearly 12,000 cars sold in the US since 2017, could result in false forward collision warning and application of the automated emergency braking. The issue appears to be two chips not communicating once woken from sentry or summon standby modes. To read more, click The Guardian article here . MERCEDES RECALLS EQC DUE TO WATER INGRESS DAMAGE Mercedes-Benz has issued a recall for their EQC SUV, built between 11 December 2019 and 18 May 2020. The steering wiring harness may have been damaged during assembly, which could lead to water ingress. This model has been hit by a number of recalls. To find out more, click here for the Autocar article . MERCEDES ACCUSED OF DEFEAT DEVICE USE A German environmental group (DUH) has accused Mercedes-Benz of using eight ‘defeat devices’ in an engine tested on an E350d Bluetec. The German regulatory authority has stated it was aware of these devices and that they were permissible, to ensure a long life of the engine. DUH claim, these devices are not about longevity of life. To read more, click the Autocar article here . JCB AWARDED DEWAR TROPHY BY RAC FOR HYDROGEN ENGINE The RAC has awarded JCB their Dewar Trophy, for "an outstanding British technical achievement in the automotive field", thanks to the development of the ABH2 hydrogen engine which gives a similar performance to the diesel equivalent. Whilst it produces no CO2, it also produces less NOx than a diesel. To read more, click here for the Autocar article . GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES ROAD COLLISION INVESTIGATION CONSULTATION The Government has launched a new consultation about setting up a dedicated organisation to investigate road collisions. The idea is for lessons to be learned and shared after investigating road incidents, including those where automated and driver assistance technologies are involved. To find out more and give your opinions, click the link here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS Toyota Aygo X Is this the most Alan new car to have ever featured on the podcast? Only time will tell, but what we can say is this small SUV is very much a car for now. Due to it’s size it will not threaten other road uses, as do larger vehicles, but still give an elevated driving position. It will come with a 1.0 petrol engine, without any electrification, giving 71hp, 69lb ft of torque and 107g/km of CO2. To find out more, click the Autocar article here . Oh, one more thing, apparently, there could be a GR version too. Now THAT makes it the most Alan car. To see more about that, click the here for the Autocar article . Ora Car EV The Ora Cat is a Chinese offering, due to be on sale from December, with a starting price of £25,000. This supermini sized EV will have a range of 261 miles, via a 63 kWh battery pack, for the top of the range. The base model will have a 53 kWh pack capable of 209 miles. The company, a brand of Great Wall Motors, has high hopes for their range. To find out more, click the Autocar article here . LUNCHTIME WATCH: BRINGING CAR HEAVEN TO MANCHESTER The Late Brake Show was continuing their World Tour of stadiums (this may be a slight over exaggeration), this time in Manchester. Andrew actually went and interacted with real people and cars. You can get a glimpse of how much of a wonderful event it really was by watching their round up video, by clicking this link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 1996’s BEST CARS NOW IN THE US Thanks to the US’s odd import rules, our friends over the pond have to wait many years before they can get their hands on stuff we’ve had and discarded. Here is a list, from Motoring Research, of the best of what they could now get from 1996 . As ever, don’t forget to tell the chaps your choice and if you agree with their selections. AND FINALLY: SUNG KANG’S RALLY-SPEC DATSUN 240Z Sung Kang, famous for The Fast and Furious franchise movies, has built his own tribute to the 50th anniversary of the East African Safari Rally winning car. And we want it. Like now, please. This is better than a tarted up Juke, that is for sure. To gaze on and lust, click the Top Gear link here .…
UK GOVERNMENT CONSULTING ON THE FUTURE OF TRANSPORT The Government has launched a consultation on the future of transport, looking at vehicles parts and equipment and engines of non-road mobile machinery. They are looking to cover everything from road vehicles, to trailers, to farm machinery etc. The aim is to ensure there is applicable regulatory powers and framework for security, environmental and safety performances. Added to this they wish the outcomes to tackle tampering as well as improving compliance. This is a big task but has caused a ripple of fear due to the unintended consequences that could come out of this. To read more, click the official website here . GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED AUTUMN BUDGET The Chancellor of the Exchequer finally announced his budget in Parliament, with some good news for motorists. The freeze on fuel duty remains in place. He also described the monies being allocated to pothole repair, regional public transport and helping the Outer Hebrides host a round of the Extreme E championship. To read more from Autocar, click the link here . To see how much of the pledged money is new for regional public transport, click the BBC News article here . JLR Q2 LOSS DUE TO CHIP SHORTAGE Jaguar Land Rover made a loss of £302 million in the quarter from July to September, this year, on the back of the global chip shortage. The news is not all bad though, as they state they have record numbers of orders placed. To read more, click the Autocar article here . JRL JOINS TESLA EMISSION CREDIT POOL Jaguar Land Rover announced that it is to join the CO2 pool that Tesla has, to offset the fines that would be imposed for fleet CO2 levels, from the EU. To read more, click the Autocar article here . UK FUELS PRICES AT RECORD LEVELS Over half of the UK is forced to pay more for petrol and diesel than in 2012, the previous record year. To read more, click here for the YesAuto article . PLUG-IN HYBRIDS NO LONGER EXEMPT OF LONDON C-CHARGE The rules for exemptions of London’s Congestion Charge have changed, with plug-in hybrids now having to pay the same as other non-exempt vehicles. As a reminder, EVs will also be paying the charge from 2025. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here. BP AND PIAGGIO TO DEVELOP SMALL EVS FOR ASIA AND EUROPE BP and Piaggio are working together to develop two and three-wheel EVs for European and Asian markets. The vehicles will be focused on urban areas to help reduce congestion and pollution, initially in India where already ICE two and three-wheeled vehicles account for a lot of traffic. To find out more, click here for the Auto Futures article . TESLA PULLS FSD Tesla pulled it’s ‘Full Self Driving’ software from customer cars after the company decided it was not suitable for the roads. What also transpired is that AEB and Forward Collision Warning was turned off, but owners were not informed. To read more, click the Automotive News Europe article here and the Tweet from Mahmood Hikmet here . DUTCH FORENSIC LAB CRACKS TESLA DRIVING CODE A lab working for the Dutch Government has announced that they have reverse engineered Tesla’s driving code and found out the company records a lot more info than had been previously declared. To find out more, click the Reuters article here . MCLAREN CEO SUDDENLY DEPARTS Mike Flewitt made the surprise announcement that he is stepping down as McLaren CEO. As interim boss, new Board member Michael Macht will take over some of the responsibilities, with Paul Walsh adding marketing, sales and PR operations to his role as executive chairman. To read more, click the Autocar article here . WIRRAL TO TRIAL ‘SCHOOL STREETS’ Wirral Council will trial the introduction of ‘School Streets’ in some areas, which closes the roads to most vehicle traffic at drop off and pick up times. The hope is that air quality improves, confidence to use more active travel options and improve safety around school gates by reducing the congestion. To read more, click the Birkenhead News article here . JLR WIN A CASE AGAINST INEOS AT LAST Jaguar Land Rover has won their fight to have the Defender 110 and 90 registered as 3D trademarks. To read more, click the Tweet from Ed Callow here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS Follow Up: MG ZS EV Recently the chaps discussed the updating of the MG ZS EV, but at the time there was no indication as to the price. That has now been confirmed, with the range starting at £28,495 with the £2,500 Government plug-in grant. To refresh your memory on the changes to the car, click here for the Autocar article . Toyota bZ4X The first full EV from Toyota, on their new dedicated platform, has been revealed, the bZ4X, which is a RAV4 sized SUV with a 280 mile range and lots of guarantees on battery quality and lifespan. This is the first of many EVs to come from the Japanese manufacturer. To find out more, click the Autocar article here . Range Rover The next generation Range Rover has been revealed, with very much an evolution of the design. The car will be packed with technology and the LWB version will have a huge amount of space for passengers. The range will have ICE engine, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and full EV options. To read more about this very important vehicle for JLR, click here for the Autocar article . WRC: 2022 CALENDAR To see the nearly complete 2022 calendar for WRC, click the official WRC tweet here . WRC: HYUNDAI TESTING RALLY1 CAR Hyundai have cleverly held a controlled three day test of next season’s Rally1 cars, in simulated rally event conditions. They have gone through all of the aspects of being at an event and what they need to consider and plan for with the new cars. To find out more, click the DirtFish article here . LUNCHTIME READ: THE INTERSECTION OF CARS AND ARCHITECTURE This article is about a book, called Carchitecture Houses with Horsepower , which celebrates stunning architecture celebrating owner’s cars. The photographs are gorgeous, as you would imagine, and has us scrambling to our favourite local book store to get a copy. To find out more, click the Hagerty article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE CARS THAT ARE CULTS Amazingly, this does not include Tesla, but more expected cars and one you won’t! An excellent list that the chaps could’ve picked a number of cars from. Run through the slide show and let them know what would be your No.1 choice. To see the options, click the Autocar article here . AND FINALLY: AUTOCAR ARTICLE Congratulations to the team at Autocar for digitising over 6000 issues for their archive project. You can access this resource for a fee too. To find out more click the link here .…
1 Special Edition - Suzuki Ignis 1.2 Hybrid SZ5 4WD Review 41:19
41:19 나중에 재생 나중에 재생 리스트 좋아요 좋아요41:19
나중에 재생 나중에 재생 리스트 좋아요 좋아요Andrew tried out the Suzuki Ignis 1.2 Hybrid SZ5 4WD, for a week. Find out if the chaps need to change their reviews to include small canine quantifiers, can a family of five use a four seat car and does Andrew’s lead footedness hinder the efficiency of the engine.
FOLLOW UP: VOLVO P1800 GASSER IS UK’S HOT WHEELS The judging of the UK’s Hot Wheels candidate took place last weekend. A Volvo P1800 gasser was chosen to represent the UK in the Hot Wheels Legends Tour. To watch the Car Throttle stream of the event, click the link here . To read more about the result, click the Elan PR article here . FORD INVESTS IN HALEWOOD PLANT Ford is investing £200 million in converting their Halewood transmission plant to an EV focused production line. This will safeguard 500 jobs at the plant and is a real boost to UK car manufacturing. The Government is part funding the investment. To find out more, click The Telegraph article here . TOYOTA SUED BY STEEL SUPPLIER In an incredibly rare more a Japanese supplier has sued Toyota and Chinese supplier over their use of steel technology, which Nippon Steel argues is their patent. The claim is for $177 million and for a ban on Toyota selling any cars that use the disputed technology from any other supplier buy Nippon Steel. To read more, click here for the AP News article . NISSAN ORDERED TO PAY JOIN-VENTURE PARTNER IN UAE Nissan’s joint-venture partner, Al Dahana FZCO, won their case that Nissan had not fulfilled it’s part of their agreement for the distribution of vehicles in the region. The Japanese company has been ordered to pay $345 million in compensation. To find out more, click the Arabian Business News article here . CASTBOX PODCAST APP ON MORE OEM APP STORES Castbox, an iOS and Android, podcasting app has partnered with Faurecia Aptoide Automotive, who power most of the car manufacturers own infotainment systems and app stores, thus making it available on the car’s own app store. This could help those who don’t use CarPlay and Auto to power their infotainment needs but who still want to listen to podcasts. To find out more, click the Faurecia Aptoide article here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS Ford Focus A mid-life refresh is happening to the Focus range, with an improvement in technology, connectivity and changes to the drive-train options. The suspicion was that the diesel engine would get canned, in line with recent changes to the Ford range, but it stays. However, hybrid power trains are more available, including a 48v version being mated to the 1.0 EcoBoost to give nearly 52mpg. Ford have gone for the massive screen, as part of the improvements to the interior. But heating controls have gone button-less, now being accessible only via the touchscreen. To find out more, click the Motoring Research article here . Nissan Leaf Nissan has revealed very early sketches of the third generation Leaf, which will be a SUV, ditching the small hatchback that the first and current models have been. In the announcement they also confirmed they will not be pursuing a hydrogen strategy, sticking solely with electric. To find out more, click the Autocar article here . Foxxconn Foxconnn are the Taiwanese supplier to the likes of Apple and they have revealed a couple of EV models in a push to become a global car maker. The SUV and saloon were revealed via a livestream event earlier this week. To find out more, click here for the Autocar article . WRC: RALLY SPAIN The fabulous Rally Spain took place over the weekend, with Hyundai on the top step, thanks to Neuville’s brilliance on the tarmac. Sordo was in third for Hyundai, making it a very good weekend for the Korean team and Evans in second chipping more points from Ogier, who was fourth. You can read more about what happened, by clicking this DirtFish article here . It is all to play for at Monza! Talking of Ogier, he was fined, again, this time for a road traffic violation, by overtaking on the hard shoulder between stages. Another silly penalty. To read more about that, click here for the DirtFish article . For Colin Clark’s What We Learned article, click the DirtFish link here . WRC TO USE AI DETECTION FOR STAGE SAFETY Following a FIA initiative in using cameras and AI detection software, from 2022 WRC cars will be fitted with a system that will scan the roads ahead for possible spectator intrusion, allowing the organisers to quickly address any potential safety risks for drivers and those watching. To find out more, click the Jalopnik article here . GOODWOOD ANNOUNCES 2022 CALENDAR OF EVENTS Goodwood Road and Racing has announced their 2022 calendar of events for the Member’s Meeting, Festival of Speed and Revival. The big news is the FoS will be moving to 23 - 26 June. To find out more and possible buy tickets, click the Goodwood link here . LUNCHTIME READ: THE MISGUIDED WAR OF ELEMENTS Gill Pratt, who is the CEO of the Toyota Research Institute has written a very interesting piece on why the arguments of electric over hydrogen, and vice versa, are pointless. This echoes what we on the Show often say, there is much more nuance and detail to this than 240 characters in all caps can deal with. To read this fascinating article, click the Medium link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: LUXURY CARS WE FORGOT ALL ABOUT There are a large number of cars to peruse, in this List of the Week. You will see why we have forgotten some of these but others deserve some time in the limelight again. To run through the list yourself, click the Autocar link here . Don’t forget to tell the chaps which one you would have! AND FINALLY: UK’S FIRST HYDROGEN POWERED RC CAR A trio of companies have got together to procude the UK’s first hydrogen powered radio-controlled car. Tamiya, Bramble Energy and Toyota have created a 1/10th scale Mirai. To find out more about this cool project, click the Toyota Press Release here .…
Alan spent a little while talking to mindfulness coach Christoph Spiessens about mindfulness at the wheel, how it can help and how you can start to achieve it. They also discussed four tracks that Lexus have released, created using the sounds created by Lexus cars. To listen to the tracks and read more about Lexus’ mindfulness music click this link . To listen and download the tracks from Spotify click this link. To find out more about Christoph and his work click this link.…
FOLLOW UP: HYPER-MILING A MIRAI AGAIN In the United States a Toyota Mirai has driven 845 miles, on a single tank, to break the official record. The journey, which took two days, was carried out by Wayne Gerdes and Bob Winger in California at the end of August. TO find out more, click here for the Top Gear article . GENEVA MOTOR SHOW POSTPONED AGAIN Geneva Motor Show has again been postponed, this time due to “industry wide issues”. To find out more, click the Autocar article here . FUNDING DROPS FOR ROAD MAINTENANCE The Local Government Association has stated that the Department of Transport (DoT) has reduced the funding for local road maintenance by about £400 million in the last year. The calculations for making the roads truly fit for purpose is an eye-water 10 billion, so to lose this amount is a huge dent in keeping the infrastructure of Britain fit for purpose. To read more, click here for the YesAuto article . BMW M DIVISION GETS A NEW OLD BOSS The previous head of the M division, Frank van Meel, returns to his position as Markus Flasch moves to the position of overall vehicle development for luxury, upper and mid-range cars in BMW. To read more, click the EVO article here . MCLAREN GROUP’S CASH INJECTION COMES WITH CONDITIONS McLaren Group is having to appoint five new board members as part of the conditions for the latest £550 million injection of funding. To find out more, click here for the EVO article . THOUSANDS VOTE TO BAN CARS FROM BERLIN Over 50,000 people have signed a petition to ban all private cars from approximately 34 square miles of Berlin. There are stages to go through, but this radical plan could be made law. To find out more, click the Autocar story here . PUBLIC WIRELESS EV CHARGING TRIAL BEGIN Char.gy has started public trials in Bedfordshire, with modified Renault Zoes and their induction wireless charging pads. Their plan is to make EV charging without cables and especially for those without off-street parking, viable. To read more, click here for the Autocar article . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS MG ZS EV MG has updated their SUV EV, called the ZS. Now with a refreshed exterior design and a longer range up to 273 miles, an increase of 110 on the previous version. Further details on the specifications as well as pricing is expected next month. To find out more, click the YesAuto article here . Piëch GT Piëch Automotive will be launching the Piëch GT, a 595hp grand tourer, in 2024, with a range in the region of 311 miles. This sticks quite closely to the original concept revealed a couple of years ago. TO find out more, click the EVO article here . WRC: DRIVER CONFIRMATIONS The WRC driver swap season has now ended, with the three teams confirming who will be driving for them next year. The big news, for M-Sport, is that Craig Breen has a two year contract to drive the Puma. Find out more about that by clicking the DirtFish article here . Hyundai announced that Soldberg and Sordo will share the seat of the third car, to find out more about that, click here for the DirtFish article . Ending all speculation, Ogier has confirmed he will race next season, but his co-driver of many years will retire. Ogier is going to share the third car with Lappi, who has been in the rallying wilderness since Citroen left. To read more about that, click the DirtFish article here . LUNCHTIME READ: THE HANDBOOK OF SLOANE RANGER CARS - PEUGEOT 504 & 505 ESTATES Giles Chapman, writing for Hagerty, takes us through why the Sloan Ranger would go for the Peugeot 504 and 505 estates. Click the link here , to understand why these cars are so special even though they did not go for flamboyant engineering like the Citroens and Renaults of the same era. LIST OF THE WEEK: 10 JAPANESE KEI CARS WE’D LOVE TO OWN Kei cars are a quirk of the Japanese market due to legislation, but that doesn’t mean we don’t look fondly on from afar. YesAuot has suggested the best ten that we wish we could get hold of. Click the link here to run through the options, then tell Alan and Andrew if you agree with their choice and tell them what you would have. AND FINALLY: RENAULT TWIZZY SELLS FOR £27,500 A Renault Twizzy, with design cues inspired by F1 racing, has sold for £27,500. The car is one of five made by Oakley Design. For those whom the Twizzy didn’t quite stand out enough. To find out more, click the Motoring Research article here .…
FOLLOW UP: ROLLS ROYCE 102EX CONCEPT CAR In response to Alan’s query about the wireless charging for the 2011 102EX concept car, from Rolls Royce, Dave Monks has got in touch. He confirmed that the wireless charging did work and in fact he designed it to deal with a wide range of voltages, grid frequencies and types of charging interface. There was only one model and they drove it around the world to show it working. Thank you Dave, for putting us straight! NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES SEPTEMBER 2021 SMMT has released the UK’s September New Car Registration figures and they are the lowest since September 1998. On the upside, it is the best month for battery electric vehicles. Tesla is the most registered, so a boat must have docked, with the Vauxhall Corsa being the top registered car year to date. The Spreadsheet of Doom is predictably doomy. To find out more, click here for the SMMT article . FISKER APPOINTS ASTON MARTIN ENGINEER David King, the former Aston Martin engineer who was head of their Special Vehicle Operations, will head up Fisker’s new UK-based special vehicles division. He is tasked with showcasing the use of specialised materials and technologies. To find out more, click the Autocar story here . FORD DITCHING MORE DIESEL OPTIONS The Mondeo, Galaxy and S-Max will no longer be offered with a diesel engine option, joining the Fiesta. They will, instead, have a petrol hybrid choice which is very close to the same efficiency and better with the emissions. The Kuga and Focus retain diesel engines, for now. To find out more, click here for the Autocar article . BIRMINGHAM LOW-TRAFFIC PLAN Birmingham has proposed making the centre of the city a low-traffic area. Using existing roads, the idea is instead of funnelling cars through the centre of the city but turn them back to the ring road and travel to another of the seven zones that will be created. To read more, click The Guardian article here . ABB LAUNCHES FASTEST EVE CHARGER ABB has released information on their Terra 360 modular charging station, which will be able to charge four different vehicles at the same time but is also flexible in the charging rates it can deliver that to each of the vehicles. Added to this, they claim that an EV can be fully charged in 15 minutes. To find out more, click here for the Business Motoring article . WARRINGTON INSTALLING ON-STREET CHARGERS Connected kerb, in partnership with Warrington Council, are installing 30 on-street charging stations for houses without off-street parking. To find out more, click the Connected Kerb article here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC FINLAND Elfyn Evans won the Rally Finalnd event, clawing back 20 points on championship leader Ogier, in the process. Tanak and Breen were second and third, for Hyundai. To learn more about this brilliant win, click the DirtFish article here . For the amazing on-board footage of Evans, click the WRC link here . For DirtFish’s ‘What We Learned’ article, click the link here . NEW NEW CAR NEWS Why the Chip Shortage Is So Complex There is no New New Car News , this week, but we have this topical article from Jalopnik that helps to explain the situation, from both sides of the negotiating table. Think of this as an additional Lunchtime Read . To find out more, click the link here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: NIO APPOINT TWO DIRECTORS NIO, the Chinese EV company, has appointed Alister Weaver, from JLR, and Joaquin Garcia, from SEAT and Cupra, as studio directors. This is another loss for Jaguar Land Rover’s design team. To read more, click here for the Autocar article . LUNCHTIME READ: PICTURE PERFECT Hagerty has a wonderful interview with Paul Howse, who’s design work helped bring the P1, 570, 720 and Artura to fruition for McLaren. Paul was signed off with stress in 2020 and then was one of 1200 who were made redundant by McLaren, as a result of the impact of the Covid pandemic. However, this is a positive tale. By reading the article you will learn how well he is now doing and what he is doing, by clicking the link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: BIGGEST ESTATE CARS EVER BUILT You know we like and estate, on this show, well here is a list of the biggest that have been made. Have a listen to Andrew and Alex’s choices, then click this Autocar link here , and see if you agree or would pick something else. AND FINALLY: SILVER GHOST RE-ENACTS LONDON TO EDINBURGH RUN Bored of hearing how priceless classic cars are kept undercover in warehouses? So are we, instead you can hear about an original Rolls Royce Silver Ghost re-enacting the run it made in 1911 from London to Edinburgh, as close to the original run as possible. To find out more, click the Rolls Royce article here .…
Alan spent a day with Hyundai driving some of the newest additions to their range. This Special Edition includes short drive opinions of:- Tucson PHEV i20 N-Line i20N Kona N-Line IONIQ 5 To listen to the recent Hyundai Tucson Hybrid Twin Test Review, click this link here . To listen to the recent Hyundai i20 Premium Review, click this link here . To listen to Alan’s conversation with Albert Biermann, click this link here .…
FOLLOW UP: VW TEMPERATURE EMISSION LEVELS QUESTIONED At the European Court of Justice, the prosecutor’s expert witness has stated that Volkswagen has no justification in using an external temperature and altitude guided emissions device, in Austria. The average temperature and operating altitude is often outside the scope for running at lower NOx emissions. The judges have yet to give their verdict. To find out more, click the Autocar article here . FOLLOW UP: JLR SETTLES LUXURY SUV FIGHT WITH VW GROUP At the end of November 2020, Jaguar Land Rover started legal proceedings against Volkswagen Group, over their use of Terrain Response in the group's luxury SUVs. JLR claimed the technology is patented by them and could not be used and sold by VW Group brands, in the US. The two sides have settled a week before this was due to go to court, although we do not know the details. A separate case, between JLR and Bentley is still due to go to court. For more information, click here for the CarsUK article . FOLLOW UP: WELSH ROAD SPEED LIMITS REDUCED IN SOME AREAS Some areas of South and North East Wales will have a new limit of 50mph introduced next week, in a bid to improve air quality. The roads will be policed by average speed cameras. To find out more and where they are, click the BBC News article here . VAUXHALL LOOKING AT LUTON JOB LOSSES Due to the semi-conductor ship crisis, Luton bosses are looking at reducing the number of shifts and personnel. In the region of 200 job losses are expected, along with a move from three to two shifts. TO find out more, click here for the BBC News article . HERMES ORDERS 168 ESPRINTER VANS FROM MERCEDES In the first push to electrification, by Hermes, 168 eSprinter vans have been ordered from Mercedes, along with 132 diesel versions. They will also be partnering up with PodPoint who will provide the charging points required. To read more, click the Zap-Map article here . ADDISON LEE SWITCHING TO ALL-ELECTRIC FLEET BY 2023 Addison Lee has committed to ensuring their entire London fleet is electric only by 2023. They have begun the switch with the purchase of 450 VW ID 4 SUVs. This will mean that there will be 20,000 zero-emission journeys on the roads of London. To find out more, click here for the Autocar article . POST OFFICE TRIALLING SMALL EV DELIVERY VEHICLES The Post Office is trialling two types of small EVs, for delivery in residential areas. They are approximately the size of a golf buggy or quad bike. The study will look at the practicalities of replacing larger vans for the same routes. In order to read more, click the YesAuto article here . FORD UNVEILS EV PRODUCTION INVESTMENT Ford, in the US, has announced that they will be investing $7 billion in new production sites. Tennessee will produce electric commercial vehicles and Kentucky will be the base for their battery factory. To find out more about this huge move, click the Autocar article here . POLESTAR VALUED AT $20BN Polestar, who are planning to launch on the Nasdaq stock exchange, have been valued at $20bn. With this move they will be able to fulfil the next stage of development of the company, launching three more models. To find out more, click here for the Autocar article . TOYOTA LAUNCHES MOBILITY APP IN DERBY Toyota has launched an all-in-one mobility app for students and staff at Derby's university and college. This will focus on rail and bus travel, but allow users to plan and pay for their entire journey in one app. One of the hopes is that the app suggests the most efficient route and mode for the user as well as the environment. To find out more, click the Autocar article here . MINI MOKE TO BE PRODUCED IN THE UK Following an agreement with manufacturing company Fablink, the newly reborn Mini Moke will be produced in the UK. To learn more about the news, click here for the Autocar article . GB STICKERS REPLACED BY UK VERSIONS Following the change in the distinguishing sign, confirmed to the UN, the 'GB' sign will no longer be valid and have to be replaced by a 'UK' version. To find out more, click the RAC article here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS Rolls Royce Spectre This is Rolls Royce's first all electric car. For a brand that is famous for the quietness of their vehicles, moving over to electric has been a surprisingly long time in coming. From 2023 you will see, but not really hear them on the roads. To find out more and we do really encourage you to click the link just for the marketing waffle, click the link here . LUNCHTIME READ: ADVENTURING IN THE MAD EQC 4X4 2 Tom Ford takes a modified EQC for a trip off into the rugged wilds of the Alps on the French Italian border. Click the Top Gear link here , to find out what has been 'tweaked' and the difference that makes. But also, Tom's thoughts on electric wild exploration. LIST OF THE WEEK: MOST FAMOUS ADVERTISING SLOGANS IN THE WORLD Run through the list of the famous advertising strap lines and see what has replaced them today. A lot of memories will be brought back by this list. To see more, click the Autocar link here . Don't forget, get in touch with the chaps with your preferred one. AND FINALLY: I LOVE YOU, MAN Caffeine and Machine, has been running the initiative I Love You, Man, aimed at encouraging us all to open up about mental health struggles. The monthly event has special guests who open up about their experiences, with the idea of helping others be more open about themselves. We salute Caffeine and Machine and Phil McGovern for coming up with the idea and running the events. To find out more, click the Porsche Newsroom article here .…
FOLLOW UP: MAN GUILTY OF SELLING SCANIA SECRETS Back in February, of this year, we talked about the Swedish man accused of selling secrets from Scania and Volvo to Russia. His trial is now complete and he is guilty of passing on information from Scania but not from Volvo. To read more, click the Automotive News Europe article here . OSPREY CHARGING INSTALLING 150 CHARGING HUBS Osprey Charging has announced that they will be installing 150 high-powered charging hubs across the UK, over the next four years. This will be around 1,500 rapid chargers after an investment in the region of £75 million. To find out more, click here for the YesAuto article . RENAULT ANNOUNCES JOB CUTS DUE TO EV MOVE Renault has said they will cut around 2,000 jobs in their move to electrification. However, it claimed that it will be creating 2,500 roles, to help meet the needs from building nine new models in France. To learn more, click the Reuters article here . UK AUTO FLEET REDUCES CARBON EMISSIONS SMMT has revealed that the UK auto carbon emission has shrunk by 11.8% as buyers move to electrified vehicles. But, due to the pandemic, the environmental costs to production saw an increase in 2020 over 2019. To read more, click here for the Autocar article . UK TO SWITCH TO DIGITAL DRIVING LICENSES The UK Government has announced it will start to switch over driving licenses to be digital only from 2024. Additionally they will make the process of booking and reporting MOTs digital too. To read more, click the Autocar article here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS Subaru 2022 Subaru has revealed the new 2022 WRX, hooray! They also said it is not coming to the UK or Europe, boo! This looks like a slightly tighter version of the last generation, which is more rigid and therefore safer. Based on the same global platform as the latest Forrester. To learn more about what we’re going to miss out on, click the EVO link here . Skoda Fabia 2022 Skoda has announced UK specs and prices for their supermini, the Fabia. Starting at a very reasonable £14, 905, they will come with a host of tech and features one would expect from higher up the VW Group food-chain, which leads the chaps on to a conversation about the positioning of the Group’s brands. To read more, click here for the Autocar article . LUNCHTIME READ: CAR OPINIONS AS A TEENAGER Sooz Kempners, a comedian, has written a lovely thread about car obsession whilst a teenager. Her attention to detail is superb and brings back those years of reading and re-reading car magazines, scouring the stats in the back and generally nerding out about cars. Times have changed so much. To read our suggestion, click the Twitter link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: THESE 10 LOTUS-ENGINEERED CARS DIDN’T HAVE LOTUS BADGES Gloss over the fact the headline is incorrect, which you’ll see as you go through the list. Gloss over the fact they ignored two of the bes, but do get a drink handy before Alan tells you what they are. Now revel in the cars on the list as there are some crackers. Don’t forget to tell the chaps what your choice is! To run through the list, c lick here for the Jalopnik article . AND FINALLY: HELP SELECT FIVE FUTURE CLASSICS Autocar, in association with the National Motor Museum, is looking to us all for help. They want to select five future classics from what will be available in 2022. There is a list of over 100 options, where you can pick three which will go forward and be subjected to the selection process. To find out more and submit your votes, click the Autocar article here .…
Alan spent a week with an outlier in the Lexus range, the electric UX300e. How well does Lexus’ first UK-sold EV fare in daily use and would you want to own one?
GOVERNMENT CHANGES HGV AND TOWING TESTS In a bid to reduce the backlog of tests and increase the number of HGV drivers, the Government has decided to do away with some of the previously mandatory requirements to show someone was a safe and competent driver. There will only be one single HGV test, for both rigid body and articulated lorries. The hitching and reversing elements are no longer required either. To find out more, click the YesAuto link here . ONE THIRD OF ULEZ FINES UNPAID Transport for London (TfL) has vowed to recoup the fines of over 330,000 that are unpaid. The ULEZ will expand, in London, to the North and South Circular roads. Some argue that the current system needs amending before any expansion. To read more, click here for the Autocar article . SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT HUB OPENED IN SUNDERLAND Sunderland City Council has opened a sustainable Mobility Hub, for staff, giving them access to 10 Nissan Leafs, as part of their move to sustainable transport for the council. 20 e-bikes will be also part of the initial fleet. These are steps towards the area becoming carbon neutral by 2040. To read more, click the YesAuto article here . ITALY WANTS ENGINE EXEMPTION FOR SUPERCAR MAKERS Italy is making the argument, to the EU, that supercar makers should be exempt from the 2035 ICE ban, due to them making so few vehicles and therefore having such a negligible effect on climate change. To find out more, click here for the YesAuto article . PORSCHE STARTS BUILDING SYNTHETIC FUEL PLANT Porsche has started building a synthetic fuel plant in Chilean Patagonia. The site was partially selected due to the conditions which enable excellent wind generation of electricity, which means the site and project will be virtually carbon-neutral. The intention is to use the fuel for their own internal purposes, such as their racing teams, but the idea will be to sell it to Porsche owners. To find out more, click the EVO article here . DOUG FIELD LEAVES APPLE FOR FORD Doug Field, who is credited with leading the development and design of the Model 3 for Tesla and the mythical Apple car, will be working for Ford as their chief advanced technology and embedded systems officer. He will be overseeing the push into connected services, cyber security and over-the-air-updates amongst other aspects. To read more, click the Autocar article here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: ACROPOLIS RALLY After an eight year hiatus from Greece, the rally returned to the WRC calendar. Rovanperä secured his second win of the season, with a commanding drive, blitzing the field on Sunday, to end up 42 seconds ahead of second place Tanak, with Ogier coming in third. Neuville has admitted his chance of the title and that of the Hyundai’s, is as good as gone. 90 points are left with Ogier 44 ahead. To find out more, click here for the DirtFish article . To see how Colin Clark judged the drivers, click the DirtFish article here . To find out what we learned, click the DirtFish article here . LATE BRAKE SHOW - THE LEICESTERSHIRE EDITION The Late Brake Show trundled into Leicestershire, with an eclectic mix of people and cars turning up to enjoy the day. The Motoring Podcast was represented by our roving reporter Alan. Who also took one of his fleet along. TO watch a 15 minute video from The Late Brake Show, click the link here . LUNCHTIME READ: LAMLEY INTERVIEW - IAN CALLUM Ian Callum is part of the judging panel for the Hot Wheels Legend Tour, where someone’s UK-based car will be made into a Hot Wheels model, as we talked about in last week’s And Finally . This is a great read about Ian Callum, including how die-cast car models have been an important part of his life. To read this week’s recommendation, click the Lamley Group interview here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 11 COOL CLASSIC SOFT-ROADERS This week the chaps pour over the options presented by Classic & Sports Car, to try and pick one of the excellent options of classic soft-roaders from years gone by. To go through the list yourself click the link here and don’t forget to tell/argue with the chaps about your choice! AND FINALLY: 2CV HYDROPLANE A group of French friends decided they would fashion a plane from a 2CV, utilising the engine and the bodyshell, with a wing slapped on top. Read through and then watch the short video demonstrating it actually taking off, just. To find out more, click the Hagerty link here .…
Alan had a chat to David Spickett of The Car Crowd to find out all about buying a share, or shares, in a classic car and what you can expect as a result. To find out more about The Car Crowd you can follow them on Instagram , on Facebook and on their website .
FOLLOW UP: PARIS SPEED CAMERAS RUNNING INTO PROBLEMS The unpopular reduction of the speed limit in Paris has meant that some runners are being caught by the City’s speed cameras, exceeding the 30km/h limit. In a promotional and clever stunt the running shop DISTANCE has teamed up with professional athletes to get caught at night triggering the cameras. To read more, click The Connexion article here . NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR AUGUST 2021 The August figures for New Car Registrations have been revealed by SMMT and they are predictably poor. Through a combination of supply and Covid issues, SMMT tells us are the reasons behind the worst August since 2013. To find out more, click here for the SMMT article . HYUNDAI LATEST TO ANNOUNCE ALL-ELECTRIC FLEET FROM 2035 Hyundai is the latest manufacturer to announce when they will be electric only, in Europe. From 2035 they will only sell EV or hydrogen powered vehicles. They also aim to be carbon neutral from 2045. To find out more, click the YesAuto article here . In their drive, pun intended, to get help the public understand hydrogen and the potential for it better, they will be making efforts to ‘popularise hydrogen’, with one tactic to release a 671hp hydrogen powered sports car. To find out more, click here for the Autocar article . FUEL PRICE 20P PER LITRE MORE THAN LAST YEAR Shocking news from the petrol retail industry, the price of fuel has not risen in August, however, we are still paying more than 20p per litre over last year’s prices. As we all holidayed in the UK this summer they didn’t need to put the price up to exploit the motorist. To find out more, click the Motoring Research article here . CONNECTED KERB INSTALLS 22 CHARGING POINTS IN LAMBETH 22 roadside charging points have been installed in Lambeth, as part of a project to demonstrate how affordable public charging can be set up and accessed by all. The 7kW units utilise contactless payment, via the company’s app. To find out more, click here for the Fleet News article . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS Hyundai Casper This is a funky, small SUV along the lines of the Suzuki Ignis. The engine is the same 1.0 MPI and T—GDI engines found in the i10. Just because it is small does not mean it isn’t designed with practicality in mind, clever touches show the company has thought through how it will be used. The bad news is that it is not coming to the UK. We say “Boo” and indeed “Hiss” to Hyundai for not brining this cute car to our shores. To find out more on what we’ll be missing out on, click the Autocar article here . Dacia Jogger Dacia has revealed their first 7-seater vehicle, the Jogger. A design that has elements of estate, SUV and MPV the well priced car will look to entice those who have larger families or maybe run a 5-a-side team. Expected to start around £15,000, with three engine options, this practical car will be attractive to those who prefer a more no frills approach to motoring. To find out more, click here for the Autocar article . Cupra UrbanRebel The UrbanRebel is a concept car, that will be the basis for a road-going electric hatch from the Spanish brand. Whilst the concept car is outrageously over-styled, this does demonstrate the importance of urban EVs to the VW Group. To read more, click the Autocar article here . Munich Mobility Show Round-up To catch up on the news from the Munich Mobility Show, click here for the Autocar article . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: PETER HORBURY NOW SENIOR VP OF DESIGN FOR GROUP LOTUS Peter Horbury has moved from Geely Auto Group, where he was vice president of design, to Group Lotus to be senior vice president of design. This really looks like Lotus are being given every tool possible to make the brand as successful as possible. To read more, click the Group Lotus press release here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: STEFAN SIELAFF VP OF GLOBAL DESIGN FOR GEELY Following the departure of Peter Horbury, Geely have appointed Stefan Sielaff, the former head of Bentley design, as vice president of global design. He will oversee the brands including Geely Auto, Geometry, Lynk&Co and Zeekr. For more information, click here for the Autocar article . LUNCHTIME READ: TRANSPORT FOR NORTH BOSS CALLS FOR DEBATE ON RAISING COST OF DRIVING Before you go howling off about the headline, remember it is the Motoring Podcast that is recommending this article. Ignoring the headline and taking a breath, the article is actually very interesting and raises some points we are going to have to come to terms with. We really encourage you to read it with an open mind. Click The Guardian link here . As a counter to this, you can read a reply from Autocar, by clicking this link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: CRAZY CONCEPTS FROM THE JET AGE Autocar has produced a list that brims with complete optimism at the potential of humans and ignores what aerodynamics are actually about. Click the link here then pick your favourite car and share with the chaps via Twitter. AND FINALLY: HOT WHEELS WANTS TO MAKE A UK CAR INTO A MODEL Hot Wheels is running a competition, where they will build a die-cast model version of someone from the UK’s car. That is AMAZING! To find out more about the competition, click the Elan PR link here . To go straight to the competition, click the Hot Wheels Legends Tour link here .…
UN SAYS LEADED PETROL IS NO MORE The UN has announced that the last country to sell leaded petrol to the public has now stopped. Algeria was the last of 80 odd countries that used this petrol well into the 2000s. The announcement was made on the eve of E10 unleaded petrol being mandated in the UK. To read more, click the Hagerty article here . DS AND AUDI MAKE FURTHER ELECTRIC ANNOUNCEMENTS DS Automobiles is the latest manufacturer to announce their shift to fully electric models only, from 2024. To learn more about their move, click the Autocar article here . Audi have also announced an acceleration to e-mobility, with them saying they will have more than the previously mentioned 20 models as EVs, by 2025, as well as working closer with energy suppliers, as we saw with the recent news of more charging companies being accessible via their one pay service. WORLD’S LARGEST CHIP MAKER PUTS THE BOOT IN Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is reportedly putting up the prices of automotive chips, at a time when the industry is struggling just to get hold of them at all. Older chips, such as those the car industry uses, will have a bigger price rise than more modern and profitable products. To find out more, click here for the Autocar article . LOTUS TERMINATES DEALERSHIP PARTNERSHIPS Lotus has been reviewing their dealership partnerships and has, apparently by mutual agreement. With the shift in strategy for Lotus more investment will be required by any retail locations, for branding alterations and electrification. To read more about this, click the Autocar article here . FEARS OVER PLANS TO SCRAP TRAILER AND HEALTH TESTS The Government is proposing changing the requirement for an additional test, those who wish to tow a trailer and do not meet the exemptions. This is concerning as this is in place due to safety reasons, therefore to discard them seems dangerous. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . Additionally, the British Medical Association has expressed fears that the Government is seeking to circumvent the medical assessments required for some drivers, including HGV. This, as well as the trailer test issue, are all suggestions to get around the backlog that has built and the subsequent shortage of lorry drivers the country is facing. To read more, click here for the Motoring Research article . CITROËN ROLLS OUT SIGN LANGUAGE IN ALL RETAIL OUTLETS Citroën has started a program that will make their retail outlets more accessible to those who are hard of hearing, with sign language facilities. To find out more, click the Motoring Research article here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- LUNCHTIME READ: THE UNDEAD - EV MYTHS David Twohig, writing on LinkedIn, has published an article explaining how difficult it is for a car manufacturer to actually design and make an electric vehicle. In doing so he is popping some of the more persistent myths that those outside of the industry do not understand. To read this excellent article, click the link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE MOST OVERRATED CARS EVER MADE As a counter to the last List of the Week we are suggesting you check out this Jalopnik slideshow, pointing you to cars they feel are overrated. They pick some special cars too, do check out the list and see if you actually agree with them or not. Click here for the link to the list . AND FINALLY: THE ELECTRIC XBUS Want to find out what a cute EV van can look like or even what will be clogging the roads of Britain during the holiday season, then check out the XBUS in this TopGear article. To find out more, click the link here . Thank you, to Richard Gooding for stepping in to fill Alan’s shoes as he was unable to join Andrew this week. We encourage you to visit Richard on Twitter, via the link to his handle here @richgoodingcom and thank him that you didn’t have to just listen to Andrew prattle on!…
SEMI-CONDUCTOR CRISIS - UPDATE Whilst this has been an ongoing issue for the car industry, we haven’t updated you on who is being hit hardest at the moment, but we address that in this episode. Of note is Toyota announcing a cut of 40% in global output, Volvo idling the Gothenburg plant again and JLR telling lease companies it is struggling with supplies. To read more about that and all affected, click the Autocar link here . VAUXHALL HERITAGE FLEET AT THE BRITISH MOTOR MUSEUM What remains of the the Vauxhall Heritage Fleet will now be kept at the British Motor Museum, allowing us all to see the significant and interesting cars from Vauxhall’s past. This is great news and congratulations to all who maintained the fleet, enabling many to enjoy these cars for years to come. To find our more, click here for the Autocar link . BLACKBERRY ADMITS TO SERIOUS BUG Blackberry has finally admitted to a serious flaw in their past versions of the QNX software, to be found in 175m cars, industrial systems and medical devices. To date this has not been exploited but the race is on to update all the software. To find out more, click The Register’s article link here . BLOODHOUND LSR NEWS Bloodhound LSR has announced a new CEO, the search for future funding ramping up, contracts for the engines extended and a new display home of the Coventry Transport Museum. Whilst they have been publicly quiet over the last 18 months, clearly behind the scenes things have been busy. To find our more, click their own press release here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS Nissan Z Nissan have revealed their next generation Z car, continuing the name that goes back to the lovely 240Z. Unfortunately, the car will not be coming to Europe, due to the tighter emission controls across fleets, but it is seen as a direct rival to the GR Supra in those territories it can be sold in. Alan likes it, whilst Andrew is underwhelmed by the looks. To find out more, click here for the EVO link . Kia Soul EV Maxx Kia has revealed the face lifted Soul EV along with a new top of the range, in the form of the Maxx which replaces the First Edition. Fitted with a 64kWh battery the range is around 280 miles and will come with a lot of toys. With the plug-in grant of £2,500 this will cost £32,445. To learn more about this, click the Autocar link here . LUNCHTIME READ: DAWN PATROL - BRACO, COMRIE MOOR AND CRIEFF Another Hagerty Dawn Patrol for you to read and maybe inspire you to visit. These are the roads that were used by Jackie Stewart and Parry-Jones to help develop the ride and handling of Fords such as the Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo. To find out about the route and why you will want to go, click the link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE MOST UNDERRATED CARS EVER MADE This is another cracking list, do we ever suggest anything else? However, Andrew and Alan could have selected many cars as the ones they discussed to give you a flavour of the options. Can you guess which car Andrew is saying he disagrees with the inclusion of? To run through the slideshow yourself, click here for the Autocar link . AND FINALLY: MUSTANG MACH-E DRIVEN BY 101 YEAR OLD Harold Baggott took two of his great-grandchildren for a ride in a Ford Mustang Mach-E, 90 years after learning to drive in a Model T. This is a fantastic story of someone wanting to understand developments for the future. To read more, click the Ford press release here .…
FOLLOW UP: WHAT MAKES A SALE A SALE With thanks to the SMMT we can now confirm that a “sale” is when there is a change in owner, so if a person or company continue their lease beyond the original time frame, that will not be added to the figures reported. Which makes the reported numbers even more impressive than the chaps originally thought. CORNWALL SPARKS COMMERICAL EV DRIVE Watt Electric Vehicle Company has announced that it plans to build up to 5000 electric commercial vehicles a year, from 2023. They will be utilising a ‘skateboard’ platform to aid modularity and allow different sized vehicles to be built. The first prototype will be revealed in 2022. These will be built at a new facility in the Midlands. To find out more, click here for the Autocar article . TESLA AUTOPILOT INVESTIGATED IN US The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), has launched an investigation into 11 traffic incidents that involved stationary emergency service vehicles, whilst the driver of Tesla vehicles were utilising the Autopilot feature. This is a very tight remit of investigation, however, the findings could effect the entire industry. To read more, click here for the Autocar article . For some context and background to this, click here for the Ed Niedermeyer Twitter thread . NAT WEST TO INSTALL 600 CHARGERS Nat West Bank wants to install 600 charging points across it’s branch network by 2023. Added to that they intend to change 300 of their fleet to EVs. This plan is aimed at helping the company and staff decarbonise their transport, but will also be available for customers. To find out more, click the ZapMap article here . AUDI IMPROVES EV CHARGE CARD SERVICE Audi has announced that for UK drivers, their one-card EV charging service will now cover 17500 charging points, which is almost 75% of the public chargers available. Their service has two tiers, with city and transit tariffs. Those who mainly do urban miles are only charged £4.91 per month plus a charging fee and transit is charged out at £16.81 per month plus charging fees because they need access to faster charging points. To read more, click the Autocar article here . HYDROGEN STRATEGY ANNOUNCED BY GOVERNMENT The Government is investing £240 million to help “kick start” the hydrogen “revolution” in transport and heavy industry, as part of their switch to a net-zero carbon future. A consultation has also been launched into how to fund the switch from fossil fuels to hydrogen. To read more, click here for the Autocar article . Autocar, also has an opinion piece from Jesse Crosse, which looks at the announcement with a slightly raised eyebrow. To read this, click the link here . For even further reading, click here for Jan Rosenow’s Twitter thread about the information. ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: YPRES RALLY Hyundai finished one-two, with Neuville and Breen coming home is first and second respectively, giving the Belgium a home-soil win. Kalle Rovanperä came in third, for Toyota, with Evans and Ogier finishing fourth and fifth. To find out more, click this link here for the DirtFish report . For the DirtFish What We Learned article, click here . For Colin Clark’s Driver Ratings, click here . NEW NEW CAR NEWS Mazda2 Mazda are updating the 2 for 2022. There will be a raft of engine improvements as well as the deployment of mild-hybrid technology. To find out more, click the Mazda press release here . Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4 Car Silly Season continues, this time with a very limited run on the reimagining of the Countach. 112 vehicles will be built, costing from €2 million. Whilst the chaps got excited about the Huracan STO, this strangely leaves them cold. To find out more, click the Autocar link here . Mini Strip Mini, in partnership with Paul Smith, has stripped back the materials and build of a Mini Cooper to see if they could create a sustainable car. To read more, click here for the Jalopnik story . LUNCHTIME READ: MY DAD BORROWED A BOND CAR Richard Hill is the chief aerodynamicist for Lotus, who has worked on a diverse range of projects such as the Evija to Chris Boardman’s Olympic winning bicycle. Click here for the Motoring Research article , to find out about his career and some of the projects that stick out a bit more than others. LIST OF THE WEEK: RE-OPEN SPECIAL - GREAT CAR MUSEUMS TO VISIT Another week another Autocar list, this time, suggesting a number of excellent car museums to go visit as the country opens up again. To run through the options, click the article link here . AND FINALLY: SRI LANKAN TEENAGER BUILDS SOLAR POWERED TUK TUK Want to feel like you wasted your lockdowns? Well, how about the 15 year old, from Sri Lanka, who used scrap metal and spare parts to build a solar powered Tuk Tuk? This is an amazing and brilliant feat, really wonderful to see. To find out more, click the BBC News article and video here .…
JULY 2021 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES SMMT has released the July figures for new car registrations. In what is being reported as a combination of factors, thanks to Covid and chip shortages, the numbers are not good. They are the worst since the 1990s, in fact. To find out more, click the SMMT article here . To see Triston Young’s breakdown of numbers by fuel type, click his Twitter thread link here . HYUNDAI LAUNCHES ELECTRIFIED SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE Hyundai has launched Mocean, a subscription service for their electrified models. The one monthly fee will cover insurance, the VED, maintenance, repairs and roadside assistance. Prices start from £339 per month, with Greater London being the first location covered. To find out more, click here for the Autocar article . BMW TO REWARD PHEV OWNERS FOR ELECTRIC ONLY DRIVING If you drive one of the selected BMW plug-in hybrid models, in one of the selected areas, only in electric mode, you will earn yourself points that once they reach a certain level can be redeemed at selected charging units. To find out more, click the Autocar article here . GOOGLE MAPS TO WARN OF ULEZ ZONES When planning a route, with Google Maps, the service will now warn users if their intended route will go through a clean air zone. On the initial roll out, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Berlin will be covered. To find out more, click here for the BBC News article . RENAULT AND GEELY PARTNER FOR HYBRIDS IN ASIA In a shock announcement, Renault and Geely will partner up to build hybrids for the Chinese and South Korean markets. Geely will build the cars for Renault, whilst they worry about the branding and marketing. The chaps muse how this has been received in Nissan-land. To read more, click the Autocar article here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS Morgan Plus Four CX-T Morgan, in partnership with Rally Raid UK, have revealed an overland adventure version of the Plus Four model. This looks fantastic and Andrew has added it to the yet to be realised multicar test titled ‘ Surprising Cracked Windscreen Family Hauliers ’ that has a number of, well, surprising cars that you wouldn’t expect would make perfect family transport. To read more about the Morgan, click the Car & Classic article here . Radford 62-2 The Radford 62-2 is retro coachbuild inspired by the Lotus Type 62 racer. There will be two types, the ‘Classic’ and ‘Gold Leaf’. The car will have a Toyota V6, as do modern Lotus. Whilst the exterior harks back to older cars, the interior, underpinnings and technology will be modern. Just 62 examples will be built, starting later this year. To read more, click here for the Autocar article . LUNCHTIME READ: WHY YOUR VILLAGE NEEDS AN ELECTRIC CHARGING POINT Gavin Braithwaite-Smith has written an excellent article proposing a way to keep life in rural villages as so many amenities close. To find out more about this very good idea, click the Motoring Research article here . MUCH LONGER THAN JUST LUNCHTIME READ - “POWER PLAY: ELON MUSK, TESLA AND THE BET OF THE CENTURY” BY TIM HIGGINS Alan is reading a book. The book is very good and a rare thing in that it seems to be an unbiased account of the start of Tesla and where the company is now. If you are interested in this, and you wish to help the podcast out, you could use this Amazon referral link by clicking here . LIST OF THE WEEK: CARS THAT GOT TOTALLY FORGOTTEN - WHICH DO YOU REMEMBER? Autocar has compiled a list of 36 cars that you may well have forgotten about, or possibly didn’t even know existed in the first place. There are some that it is easy to see why they did not have a long and glorious life, but others which it is harder to understand how we have forgotten them. Do not forget to tell the chaps which is your favourite of the lot. To run through the slide show, click the link here . AND FINALLY: MISSION MOTORSPORT TAKES THE PLASAN SANDCAT FOR A DRIVE Plasan brought over one of their SandCats and whilst they were here, Mission Motorsport got the chance to try it out on the Silverstone Rally School track. The Martini-style wrapped vehicle then took the charity’s beneficiaries for a blast around the rally route. This has not dampened Andrew’s assertion that a SandCat would make a brilliant family hauler. To see more about this brilliant day, click the Mission Motorsport link here .…
Alan had the Toyota Yaris Design for a week. Listen in as he explains, to us all, about the differences between this and the last generation, his surprise and we have to find out if Andrew has to pull him up for the lack of balance and justification in his review. Note: For this episode only, the Alan Drinking Game(TM) is suspended due to concerns for the listeners health.…
SECURITY VULNERABILITY FOUND IN SMART CHARGERS PenTestPartners has investigated smart EV chargers available to those buying for themselves as well as public chargers, finding many security vulnerabilities. For those interested, click here for PenTestPartners’s own report . However, one concern is the operating system used by some firms. Where Raspberry Pi is used there are more issues, because that is not a suitable OS for a connected device due to a lack of security layers inherent in the system. For more info click here for Ken Munro’s tweet , commending the quick reaction by one firm to the information. Click here for another tweet from Ken Munro expressing his dismay at another company’s reaction. Click here for Cybergibbon’s tweet explaining why Rasberry Pi is not suitable. FORMER FRENCH MINISTER UNDER INVESTIGATION Rachida Dati, a former French Minister, has been placed under formal investigation for payments made by the Dutch based Renault-Nissan joint-venture, during Carlos Ghosn’s time as CEO. Dati has previously been cleared over payments and her lawyer stated these were all reported and legal. To read more, click the Automotive News article here . CLIMATE SPOKESPERSON CAUSES ONLINE KERFUFFLE Allegra Stratton, the Prime Minister’s climate spokesperson, stated that for her a third-hand diesel Golf is better than an EV, due to the lengthy journeys she travels to visit relatives. One aspect is that she seems to have no understanding of the current state of EV and the charging network. Also, however, there were many Twitter conversations, where some journalists and those who should know better, demonstrated their lack of understanding of the current situation. To read more, click The Guardian article here . GOVERNMENT FUNDING FOR ZERO-EMISSION TRUCKS The Government is putting forward £20 million for initiatives aimed at helping improve the viability of electric and hydrogen lorries. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . IMPORTANT CHANGES TO HIGHWAY CODE A new hierarchy of road users will be implemented with proposed changes to the Highway Code, meaning pedestrians and cyclists will be given priority over others. The idea is that those who have the potential to cause the most problems and danger have to take the most care to prevent that. Only snag the chaps can see in that idea is those who really need to know the changes will be oblivious unless there is a huge communication campaign. To read more, click here for the YesAuto article . FORMER TOYOTA EUROPE BOSS PASSES AWAY Johan van Zyl, the former head of Toyota Europe, has passed away after a short illness at the age of 63. He was instrumental in securing investment in the Burnaston site in Derbyshire, as well as over seeing the change of ‘no more boring cars’ from the company. Thoughts are with his family and friends. To read more, click the Autocar article here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS Honda HR-V The order books have now opened for the next generation HR-V, from Honda. Prices start at £26,960, rising to £31,660 for the Advance Style model. To read more, click here for the Autocar article . Lamborghini Huracan STO If you wish to know what the track focused YouTube star will be trying to get their mitts on and wrap, have a look at the Huracan STO, which Lamborghini have stripped a lot of weight from. Costing only £268,000 this 1339kg (dry weight) version has got both the chaps quite interested in. To find out more, including how they’ve got it in Motoring Podcast colours, click the Autocar link here . LUNCHTIME READ: FESTIVAL OF THE UNEXCEPTIONAL Alan went to the Festival of the Unexceptional. So did many of our friends from Car Twitter. You can find out what happened by clicking Hagerty’s own article link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: LITTLE CAR DETAILS YOU CARE ABOUT Jalopnik asked their readers what are the little details that can make or break a car for them. Click here for the slideshow and no prizes for guessing which one the chaps highlighted. Don’t forget to say which detail is the one for you and letting the podcast know. AND FINALLY: NEW MULSANNE LIMOS FOR SALE Bentley has found five Grand Limousines that are now for sale, after the model finished production last year. These are unregistered and undriven examples of the stretched Mulsanne, so be quick to get in touch with your nearest dealer! To find out more, click here for the Autocar articl e…
Alan had the Hyundai i20 Premium for a week. Listen to us talk about the direction of the corporation, fuel filler caps and Alan’s wonderful circulation in a review that you will get no where else. Also, we do actually discuss the car, so you will find out if Alan rates it or not.
FOLLOW UP: MITSUBISHI AFTERSALES DEAL DONE A deal has now been finalised between The Colt Car Company and IM Group over the future of Mitsubishi aftersales business, resulting in the formation of a new company I.M. MAPS (UK) Ltd which will take the reigns. This is reassuring news for existing Mitsubishi owners. NISSAN OPENS 400 JOB POSITIONS IN SUNDERLAND Nissan has announced there will be 400 positions, in the manufacturing team, opening up at Sunderland to help build the new Qashqai and Leaf. This will be a mix of agency and permanent employees. To read more, click here for the BBC News article . RIVERSIMPLE HITS FUNDING TARGET Riversimple, the hydrogen car manufacturer, has hit their target of £1.5 million they needed to roll out customer trialling of their cars. Angle investors have pitched in and HMRC has agreed they meet the criteria for tax breaks that is advantageous to investors. To read more, click the Business News Wales article here . PROBE INTO EV CHARGING The Competitions and Markets Authority, is the latest to announce they are investigating the UK’s EV charging business. One aim is to make charging as easy as buying diesel or petrol. Another key area of investigation is the near monopoly Ecotricity (now Electric Highway) has with motorway charging facilities. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . SHELL TO CHARGE UP WAITROSE Shell has announced it will be installing 800 charging points at Waitrose supermarkets across the country. This will be a mix of 22kWh and 50kWh. The project is expected to be completed by 2025. To read more, click here for the Autocar article . TESLA TO OPEN SUPERCHARGER NETWORK TO OTHERS Musk has announced that Tesla will open up the Supercharger network to non Tesla EVs soon. Whilst this sounds great, there are some expressing scepticism with how many will actually be able to take advantage due to charger set up and connector options. Added to this, some Tesla owners have voiced their anger at what they saw was an exclusive part of being a Tesla owner. To read more, click the Autocar article here . HIGHWAYS ENGLAND TO REDUCE MOTORWAY SPEEDS FOR NOX Highways England, working with the Joint Air Quality Unit, will monitor sections of the road network, which if they exceed safe air quality levels, will then be slowed down to reduce emissions. Other aspects, such as traffic management and congestion reduction will be used. However, this is another sticking plaster solution to a problem that requires more than Level 1 thinking. To read more, click here for the Autocar article . DVLA OLIVE BRANCH TO CLASSIC CAR OWNERS During an appearance at a select committee, the DVLA Chief Executive Julie Lennard announced the organisation would be willing to meet with representatives of the historic and classic car industry to work on problems that have occurred with delays, inconsistent rule implementation and errors. To read more, click the link to the Historic and Classic Vehicle Alliance press release . POLICE WARN OF KEYLESS CAR THEFTS A three percent rise in vehicle crime, mainly due to keyless entry theft, between May and June, has prompted the Police to warn owners to take mitigating steps to prevent becoming victims. However, the industry needs to step up and do something to stop this easily exploited flaw that they have foisted on customers. To read more, click here for the YesAuto article . MERCEDES ADOPT OPTIONS SUBSCRIPTION MODEL To get the enhanced rear-wheel steering option of the new EQS, owners will pay a subscription of £420 a year. They are not the only manufacturer to express an interest in this model. However, reaction to this has not been positive. To read more, click the YesAuto article here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- LUNCHTIME READ: AVERAGE IS THE NEW EPIC TV’s Paul Cowland has written an excellent article in favour of the unexceptional, explaining why now they are not. To go read this, click here for the Hagerty article . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE BEST CARS FROM JAPAN Autocar has put together an interesting list of what it thinks are the best cars from Japan. In Alan’s absence, Andrew makes a bold move prediction of what he would have selected. To run through the options yourself, click the link here . Don’t forget, get in touch with the show to tell us which you would say is the best. AND FINALLY: LIGHTS FROM CAR PARTS Philipp Eissner started making lights from parts when he made something personal for his father, this has now morphed into making lamps out of all sorts of car parts. To find out more about these wonderful creations, click the Hagerty link here .…
FOLLOW UP: VW APPEALS DUTCH CLASS-ACTION RULING Volkswagen has appealed a Dutch court ruling that gave compensation to owners of new and second-hand VW Group cars that were fitted with defeat device software. VW is adamant that the owners have suffered no financial loss in owning a car judged to have been fitted with the naughty software. To read more, click the Automotive News Europe article here . FOLLOW UP: GHOSN ESCAPE TEAM SENTENCED IN JAPAN Father and son, Michael and Phillip Taylor, have been sentenced by a Japanese court to two years and one year eight months respectively. They had previously admitted their guilt and expressed their regret in their actions. To read more, click here for the BBC News article . MCLAREN RECEIVES CASH INJECTION McLaren has announced that it has received an injection of £550 million from current and new investors, which will be mainly used to push their electrification plans forward. To read more, click the Autocar article here . STELLANTIS ANNOUNCED AGENCY SHIFT TO DEALERSHIPS Stellantis announced a “consultation”, which seems to be stretching definitions, by informing their franchise dealerships that it will be moving to an ‘agency-style’ retail model. The existing dealerships will be categorised A, B or C, with A remaining, B having to have a long chat with them and C being booted out. Only time will tell if they go down a big franchise or smaller, more independent, dealership route. To read more, click this link here from AM Online . PARIS MOTOR SHOW RETURNS IN 2022 The Paris Motor Show will return in 2022, with new partner Equip Auto, the trade equivalent, after a four year absence. The question will be how many manufacturers turn up. To find out more, click the Autocar link here . GOVERNMENT ATTEMPTS TO REASSURE MOTORISTS Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, has moved to reassure motorists that the Government is not anti-car or demonising drivers. However, they want us to use transport that does not harm the environment or people’s health. Added to this, classic car owners were told that they will be able to use their vehicles for years to come, with no plans to ban them from the road. To read more, click firstly here for the YesAuto article and then click here for the second article which is from Hagerty . EU PROPOSED BAN ON ALL NON ZERO-EMISSION CARS FROM 2035 A proposal has been put forward for the EU to ban all cars and vans that are not zero emission from 2035. This will, for the first time, also remove the exemption that small volume manufactures receive until that point. To read more, click the Autocar article here . POLICE NOW INSTANTLY ACCESS DVLA PHOTO RECORDS After a trial of nearly two years, the Police and DVLA are working together to allow road-side stops to become more efficient by access to the photo driving license records instantly. This allows confirmation of identification much quicker than previously. To find out more, click the link here for the Motoring Research article . PARISIANS INCENSED OVER A LIMIT THEY CAN’T REACH Apparently, the news that there will be more roads limited in speed to 19mph, has not been well received by Parisians. The average speed is 9mph, so this sounds more like a target to reach rather than their freedoms being restrained. To read more, click here for the Motoring Research link . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: RALLY ESTONIA Last weekend saw Rally Estonia take place, with Rovanperä becoming the youngest to ever win a WRC event. Breen and Neuville were second and third. Ogier struggled but stayed consistent, bringing the car home in fourth, with Evans in fifth. To find out more about the event, click the DirtFish article here . For the ‘What We Learned’ article from DirtFish, click the link here . Neuville has also been slapped with suspended ban, running for the rest of the season, for exceeding the speed limit of a public road, by more than twice the legal limit. To find out more about that, click the DirtFish article here . NEW NEW CAR NEWS Vauxhall Astra Vauxhall was released images of the 8th generation Astra. The design, particularly at the front, continues the design language already deployed on the Grandland. The interior looks a big improvement on the existing. Engines will be a mix of petrol, diesel and hybrids. Prices are expected to start around £22,000, moving past £30,000 for PHEV models. To read more, click the Autocar article here . Lotus Emira Goodwood was the venue for the World debut of the Lotus Emira. This is a car aimed at the Alpine A110 and Porsche 718 Cayman. After the First Edition models run out, with a price range of £60-80,000, the expected starting price will be just under £60k. There will be two engine choices, Toyota’s V6, giving around 400bhp, and AMG’s 4-cylinder engine from the A45. We can expect the chassis and handling to be top notch, but customers will have to wait until spring 2022 to find out for sure. To read more, click the EVO article here . Wells Vertige A new British sports car was revealed, the Wells Vertige, costing around £45,000, but majoring on lightness. Expected to only weigh around 815kg, with a design that harks back to the 1960s in some angles. The car is also not very big, slightly narrower but a touch longer than a MX-5. To read more, click the Hagerty article here . LUNCHTIME READ: DAWN PATROL - BEDFORDSHIRE AND CAMBRIDGESHIRE Antony Ingram has written up a Dawn Patrol route which he recommends you try for flowing roads and great scenery. This is also an inspiring piece, which may make you consider organising your own early morning drive, particularly whist the weather is so good. To read more, click the Hagerty article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL - 9 SMALL CARS THAT GAVE US LUXURY Another Hagerty article, this time our List of the Week showing examples of small yet luxurious cars. We can get on board with that concept! To run through the list yourself, click the link here , then tell us your choice! AND FINALLY: DON’T SAY IT WITH FLOWERS TO AN AV Philip Koopman shared a link that explained how three years of testing was derailed, in Vienna, when an AV bus was foiled by daisies growing up through a crack in the road. To find out more, click the link here .…
Both Alan and Andrew each had a Hyundai Tucson Ultimate Hybrid, for a week. Listen to them explain the multi-dimensional problem that is the spec and option choices, their thoughts on the changes to design both inside and out, as well as if their opinions aligned. Oh, as special congratulations to Hyundai on the deployment of the highest number of acronyms in a car spec, the Motoring Podcast have tried yet!…
FOLLOW UP: EU FINES BMW AND VW BUT NOT DAIMLER Following the whistleblowing move from Daimler, informing the EU of a technology cartel dating back to the 90s, involving Daimler, BMW and VW Group, which we mentioned in Ep 248 My Turn With The Shovel, fines of $1 billion have been levelled at BMW and VW Group. Daimler does not pay anything due to them being the whistleblower. To read more, click this TechCrunch article here . STELLANTIS ANNOUNCE EV STRATEGY Stellantis has announced the electric strategy for their brands, including Opel/Vauxhall, which will be electric only from 2028. To read more about what is planned and the amount of money being invested click the Autocar article here . Added to this, mission statements were assigned to each brand. Some appear to have been decided by committees, whilst others seem more successful. Click the Motor1 tweet showing them all, here . GERMAN CLASS-ACTION EMISSIONS CASE AGAINST MERCEDES Mercedes-Benz have been filed a class-action case with regards to emission altering technology in their OM651 engines, installed in the GLK and GLC models. Mercedes strongly refute the claim. To read more, click the Autocar article here . NEW BUGATTI AND RIMAC JOINT VENTURE Rimac will own 55%, with Porsche owning 45%, of the new joint venture Bugatti-Rimac, which is hoped will utilise the engineering prowess of Bugatti and the technology of Rimac to move the brand forward for the future. To read more, click the YesAuto article here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- SMMT TEST DAY 2021 Alan went to the twice delayed SMMT Test Day, on July 13 2021, where he met many people, which was lovely, and tried many cars, which was also lovely. The list of cars he tried are as follows; LEVC Taxi FIAT 500e Active Cupra Formentor PHEV MINI Cooper John Cooper Works GP Ford Kuga ST-Line PHEV Porsche Taycan Turbo MG ZS EV Toyota Supra GR 2.0 AND FINALLY: HOW TO REALLY MAKE MONEY WITH AV CARS The link takes you to an excellent article, which pokes serious fun at some companies and their approach to getting money for their technology. To read more, and help hone your cynicism for this technology, click here for The Onion article .…
Andrew, after years of wearing the people at Lexus down, was loaned a LC500h, to try for a week. Have listen to find out if it lived up to his hopes and what he thought of the car.
FOLLOW UP: SECOND UK-BASED VW EMISSIONS CLAIM LAUNCHED The legal firm, Leigh Day, has launched a second emissions claim against Volkswagen, this time connected with the fix. They are claiming that VW “covertly made fundamental changes to affected vehicles” by altering other engine types that were not part of the #dieselgate outcry. Volkswagen responded that they have not been informed of such action and believe such claims to be without merit. To read more, click the Autocar article here . FOLLOW UP: JLR TO FOCUS ON RELIABILITY ISSUES After last week’s show, where the chaps discussed what they saw as holding Jaguar Land Rover back, which wasn’t the designs, Thierry Bolloré announced that they would be solving the company’s reliability and build quality issues. To read more, whilst the chaps wait for their consulting fee to arrive from the firm, click the Autocar article here . NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR JUNE 2021 The June registration figures are up on last year, as expected, but they are not at the levels of 2019, with much talk about constrained supply chains. The Tesla Model 3 was topped the charts for the most registered. To find out more, click the SMMT link here . SUNDERLAND TO BE NISSAN’S EV HUB Sunderland has been selected as Nissan’s EV Hub, following investment from both the company and the UK Government, to secure the site’s future. To read more about this news, click the Nissan press release here. As additional information, click Pernile Rudlin’s twitter thread explaining the deal here . Thanks to the decision the UK has made, about it’s position in the global market, there is now a rush for more battery factories, which you can read more about by clicking the Guardian’s link here . ELLESMERE PORT PLANT SAVED Stellantis has confirmed that it will invest in the Ellesmere Port Vauxhall plant, so that it can make small commercial EVs. This will be the first electric vehicle only plant in the Group. To read more, click the Autocar article here . PORSCHE RECALLING TAYCAN OVER SOFTWARE GLITCH Porsche are recalling around 45,000 Taycan cars over a software bug that can cause the vehicle to cut power and get a warning notification to pull over. 135 cars have suffered from this error, which can be sorted by a reboot. To read more, click the EVO article here . SHELL OPENS 10MW HYDROGEN ELECTROLYSIS PLANT Near Wesseling, in the Rheinland, Shell has opened Europe’s largest Hydrogen electrolysis plant. There already plans to expand it to cope with commercial interest. To read more, click the Reuters article here . DON’T PAY FOR DVLA SERVICES WARNING The DVLA has reiterated that you should avoid any ads and companies that state they will use one of the DVLA’s services, on your behalf, for a fee. To find out more, click the Motoring Research article here . ‘GREEN CARD’ INSURANCE FOR EUROPE WAIVED The European Commission has waived the requirement that UK based drivers must carry the internal documentation to prove they are insured to drive in Europe. Obviously this makes it much easier for those who have to traverse the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To find out more details, click the Hagerty link here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS Renault 5 The name badge of that small French car, that makes many go misty eyed, is back on Renault’s latest EV model. The concept styling is reminiscent of the original car, but the aim is to undercut the Zoe quite significantly in terms of price. The expected starting point will be around £18,500, in the region of a third less than the Zoe, but still with a range of 248 miles. There is no confirmation exactly when the 5 will go into production, but it won’t be soon enough for us! To see more, click the Autocar article here . VW Polo GTi The Volkswagen Polo GTi is retuning to our roads, this time with 204bhp and the latest corporate face. There will be 236lb ft of the torques available, helping propel the car to 62mph in 6.5 seconds. The styling will fall in line with the latest models offered, including the thin light-bar running just under the bonnet lip. There is no further detail on prices, as of yet. To find out more, click the Autocar link here . LUNCHTIME READ: AROUND THE WORLD IN THE “BABY BENZ” A couple from Austria toured the World in their Mercedes-Benz 190D, racking up around 250,000 kilometres in the process. To find out why, then move on to how and end up sitting in admiration at what they’ve achieved and the car that helped them, by clicking the Daimler article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE 12 BEST RETRO CONCEPTS Further to rebirth of the Renault 5, we have a look at 12 more retro concepts that were super cool. To run through the list yourself, click the Goodwood Road & Racing link here . Don’t forget to tell us which you’d pick over all the others! AND FINALLY: MOBILE PARK ABIDES BY PARKING RULES Adam Tranter created a ‘parklet’ that fitted within the guidelines of a single parking space on a local ‘car-free’ day initiative. This included a bench, artificial grass and flowers. However, a single complaint meant the council removed it. He was not to be thwarted though and is back with a motorised ‘parklet’, that sits on the flatbed of a 1970s Peugeot Ape van, meaning it is a vehicle that is entitled to use the space. Again people are using the facility. To read more, click the YesAuto link here .…
FOLLOW UP: GREATER MANCHESTER CAZ STARTS IN MAY 2022 The Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone has been confirmed as starting from May 2022. To find out more, including a reminder of the vehicle classes covered, click the Motoring Research article here . DVLA STRUGGLING TO DEAL WITH CUSTOMERS An ever increasing volume in the complaints about the lack of service from the DVLA is occurring. Added to the pressures, staff are taking industrial action over unsafe working conditions. To read more about the problems customers are facing, click The Guardian article here . FRESH JAGUAR STRATEGY SIGNED OFF Thierry Bolloré has signed of the new strategy for Jaguar, with the aim being to position it similar to Range Rover in the SUV market, but with cars. This is an ambitious plan, to get people to pay more than they do for their BMW, Audi or Mercedes, as well as be seen as above them but not quite at Porsche and Aston Martin levels. To read more, click here for the article from Autocar . POTHOLES COST COUNCILS £8 MILLION A YEAR Following a FOI request, we have learned that councils spent £8 million in costs associated with potholes in 2020, when most of the country was not allowed to drive for vast amounts of time. The cost of repairing a pothole varies across the country and so does the compensation to rivers who have been injured as a result and had their vehicles damaged. To read more, click the YesAuto article here . WELSH GOVERNMENT STOPS ALL NEW ROAD BUILDING The Welsh Government announced that it will be halting all plans to build new roads, due to the environmental impact their construction and use will cause. Instead money will be spent on improving existing roads and being used for active travel and public transport projects. To read more about this, click here for the Motoring Research article . HYUNDAI TRIALLING HYDROGEN BUSES IN GERMANY In Germany Hyundai will be using their hydrogen buses as part of a pilot to test out the viability of such transport in an urban environment. To read more, click here for the YesAuto article . STELLANTIS SIGNS ARMED FORCES COVENANT Stellantis have signed the Armed Forces Covenant, where they agree to train, assist armed forces members and their families as they transition to civilian life. Another cracking effort by Mission Motorsport to help companies become aware of the valuble asset ex-armed forces personnel are. To read more, click this link for the CarDealer article . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: SAFARI RALLY KENYA After a wait of 19 years, some Teams may be hoping it is another 19 years before they return to this beautiful but brutal rally. From way back in the pack Ogier won, through consistent driving and the misfortune of others, including team mate Evan who was out on Day 1, along with Sordo. Neuville was leading into Sunday but broke a rear damper, which put him out. Katsuta took his maiden senior WRC podium with second and Tanak being the Hyundai driver who was in third this time. To read more, click the DirtFish article here . For Colin Clark’s Driver Ratings , click the link here . To find out What We Learned , click this link here . NEW NEW CAR NEWS Honda Civic Honda has revealed the next Civic, which looks like a slightly rounded off version of the current one. However, the interior looks a big step forward, which is good. The chaps don’t think it will massively help Honda garner new sales and is the first non Swindon built model of the Civic. To Read more, click the Motoring Research article here . LEVC Camper Van The London Electric Vehicle Company has revealed plans to create a camper van based on their van, which is based on their taxi cab model. The chaps are very interested in this and recommend that LEVC slap some plastic cladding on the side, jack the ride height up a touch and it’ll be perfect. To read more, including about the range extender nature of it, click the Autocar article here . Dacia Duster Dacia has revealed the upgrades to the popular Duster. This honest SUV is going slightly more upmarket and has been handsomely modified exterior looks. This prompts a bit of a discussion about a fear that Dacia may step too far away from it’s current market positioning. To read more, click the Autocar article here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: NÜRNBERGER MOVES TO DACIA Following a 13 year stint at Aston Martin, Miles Nürnberger is moving to Dacia. No reason has been given as to why he has left Aston Martin, but it will be interesting to see the design direction the company goes in, under his leadership. To read more, click here for the Autocar article . LUNCHTIME READ: PEDANT’S CORNER - WHY THE TERM ‘GIGAFACTORY’ GRATES On the day of recording there was a lot of talk about ‘gigafactories’ but then the chaps saw this article from Autocar trying to pop the hype-bubble around factories that make batteries. Do go read this and rest assured we will only refer to them as “factories” because that is what they are. Click here for the link . LIST OF THE WEEK: NINE ALTERNATIVES TO ‘LIFESTYLE’ VEHICLES Top Gear has a list of nine alternatives to the usual suspects, providing an excellent set of options. To run through the list click the link here . AND FINALLY: HYUNDAI BUYS BOSTON DYNAMICS Hyundai has increased their investment in Boston Dynamics to full ownership. To help celebrate this, they have released a bunch of really creepy, dystopian videos. We cannot suffer alone, so we are sharing them with you too. Click here for the link to the announcement video . To watch a ‘headless-dog-robot’ dance with a K-Pop band, click the link here . Please Hyundai, don’t make any more of these.…
Alan was joined by Ian Robertson and Richard Dredge of new magazine Classic.Retro.Modern to talk about what makes their new magazine stand out from its competition. You’ll be able to buy the first issue from newsstands on 1st July, 2021 but to find out more about the magazine and other ways to get it digitally or on subscription, go to the website and keep up to date by following the magazine on Twitter, Facebook , Instagram and subscribing to their YouTube Channel.…
FOLLOW UP: GOVERNMENT STARTS E10 PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN With the new E10 fuel being rolled-out across forecourts, from September, the Government has realised it had better tell the public it is happening and why it is a good thing. To find out more, click the Motoring Research article here . ASTON MARTIN SUES INVESTORS A deal penned by the previous management team, according to the current owners of Aston Martin, meant that Nebula Project AG, in return for providing funding for the Valkarie project, could take a percentage cut of any deposits placed, that they had secured. Aston Martin allege that they are owed £10 million as a result. They have started legal proceedings and asked for a criminal investigation into two of the former directors of Nebula. To read more, click the Autocar article here. GOVERNMENT AWARDS FUNDING TO VARIOUS EV PROJECTS The latest round of funding has been awarded, by the Government, to companies and projects that are both innovative and practical. For example, the OX project, where they are developing a solar powered refrigeration capability to their OX vehicle but that reduces the impact on the electric range has won. There are several other equally clever winners who are tackling a specific issue. To read more, click the Autocar article here . MADRID GOES HYDROGEN FOR TAXIS In a concerted effort to clean up the air of Madrid the various stakeholders have pulled together and produced a plan to replace ICE taxis with Hydrogen ones by 2025. They are talking about 1000 of them too! To read more, click the Fuel Cell Works article here . GREATER MANCHESTER MAYORAL CANDIDATES FIGHT OVER CLEAN AIR The Greater Manchester area is one of those who the Government has demanded take action over the quality of their air. The current proposal is for the entire region to implement a Clean Air Zone similar to Bath, that targets only commercial vehicles, taxis and buses. The subject is being hotly fought over in the campaigning for the Greater Manchester Mayor elections. To read more, click here for the Manchester Evening News article . RENAULT REVEALS THREE URBAN EV CONCEPTS Renault, via their Mobilize brand, have seemingly fully embraced the electric and mobility focused future. They have revealed three urban focused EVs that are proposals for car-sharing and last mile deliveries. There is some interesting thinking going on in Renault and it has prompted the chaps to realise there isn’t a one-size fits all solution to the type of vehicle that will be dominant, as there is right now. We are all going to need help shifting our mindset to select the most appropriate transport for the task we wish to achieve. To read more, click the YesAuto article here . AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE ‘SIGHT’ CAN BE SPOOFED Researchers have shown how easy it is to confuse camera-based systems so that they either cannot “see” the obsticle, or be fooled into thinking there is something there so the vehicle takes avoiding action. Now that you are a bit spooked, read the article from The Register to be properly scared by clicking the link here . Now that we have your attention, there is more news that should dampen the hype around AVs and that is that radar signals interfere with other radar signals. Additional homework for you, dear listeners, is to read the EE Times article by clicking the link here . PORSCHE GB APPOINTS SARAH SIMPSON AS NEW CEO Porsche GB has appointed Sarah Simpson as their new CEO, following a move from Bentley, where she was Regional Director covering the UK. To read more, click the Fleet&Leasing article here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- FORMULA E: MEXICO Race 1 - Following an incident filled race, thanks in large part due to the position of the Attack Zone and where it exited onto the main track, Pascal Wehrlein went from winner to disqualified. Andrew is jolly grumpy with Formula E right now, this is the latests self-inflicted embarrassment of the season. A season there was high hopes for. To read more, click The Race’s article here . Race 2 - This weekend was a double-header event. In Race 2 Edoardo Mortara took Venturi’s second victory in Formula E and in the process gave himself a 10-point lead in the championship. To read more, click The Race’s coverage here . 2021 FESTIVAL OF SPEED GOES AHEAD The Goodwood Festival of Speed will be part of the Government’s Events Research Program, where they are experimenting on configurations for events and establishing what can and cannot be safely run in the UK. To find out more, click the Motoring Research article here . NEW NEW CAR NEWS Hyundai i20N Hyundai has announced specs and prices for the new i20N, their latest spicy version of their range. Think the i30, but smaller, so fighting with the ‘Best Thing Since Sliced Bread’ award winner, Fiesta ST. To read more, click the Autocar article here . Peugeot 308 SW In the face of a sea of SUVs, Peugeot is launching the 308 SW, and mighty pleased are we to see they are. Now we hope enough people will buy them to ensure estates continue to be an option. To read more, click the Top Gear link here . LUNCHTIME READ: AMI, MYSELF AND I Incredibly tall and impossibly nice Editorial Director at Haymarket, Jim Holder, has spent some time with the wonderfully cute Citroën Ami. We urge you to read how much he liked it as well as how much his family liked it! To do your homework, click the Autocar link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: TOP GEAR’S TOP 9 - FORGOTTEN FRENCH LUXO BARGES Continuing the French theme this week, especially as we are suckers for luxury French cars, the Top 9 luxo barges, thanks to Top Gear. To run through the list, click the link here . As ever, do tell the chaps your choice. AND FINALLY: SABINE SCHMITZ KURVE ON THE NORDSCHLEIFE The Nürburgring has announced they will be honouring Sabine Schmitz by naming the first corner on the Nordschleife after her. The official ceremony will take place on 11 September, when the 6 hour Endurance Race takes place. To read more, click their Tweet here .…
Alan spent a week with the Ford Focus in sporty ST-Line X trim with a 155PS mild-hybrid drivetrain. Does the addition of new technology help or hinder the legendary Focus driving experience?
FOLLOW UP: VW REPAID BY EXECUTIVES Volkswagen has now confirmed the story that former executives of the Group will repay around $351 million as a result of the #dieselgate debacle. This does show we were right to mock the excuses of ‘rogue engineers’ or “software issues’ that were initially used. To read more about this, click here for the Automotive News Europe article . GRIDSERVE BUYS ECOTRICITY As ticker tape falls from the sky, EV owners across the country rejoice at the news that Ecotricity has been sold, with Gridserve increasing their 25% stake to full ownership. Ecotricity, ironically, has probably done more to hold back EV adoption in the country than anything else, thanks to the unreliable network across the motorway system. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . FERRARI NAMES NEW CEO Benedetto Vigna has been named the new CEO of Ferrari. He moves from ST Microelectronics to take over the helm. To read more, click here for the Autocar article . FRANCE CHARGES MANY OVER EMISSIONS Peugeot is the latest brand to be charged by French authorities over consumer fraud relating to emissions. Renault has been previously charged with test manipulation, Citroën and FCA are also expected to be in trouble. To read more, click the Reuters article here . PORSCHE INVESTIGATED BY GERMAN CAR AUTHORITY Porsche, following a voluntary submission of information, is being investigated by the KBA, in Germany, over inconsistent declaration of fuel consumption of their petrol engined cars. Porsche seem to think, if they have incorrectly stated consumption figures it is on less than 1% of their fleet. To read more, click the Yahoo Finance article here . ASA BANS HYUNDAI ADVERT The Advertising Standards Agency has banned Hyundai’s hydrogen Nexo adverts from stating ‘its so clean it purifies the air’, as the car does cause emissions in the form of brake and tyre particulates. The chaps wade in on the silliness of the ruling but now expect anyone stating cycling is clean to be equally rebuked in an equally daft manner. To read more, click here for the Motoring Research article . OXFORD LTN MAP INFO GAFF Oxford County Council have caused Google Maps and TomTom to show a large number of roads closed to vehicles until March 2022, after uploading information regarding their new Low Traffic Neighbourhoods. There is much mention of ‘glitches’ and the likes, but it would appear to be a ‘user input error’. To read more, click the BBC News article here . YORK TO USE LIVE TRAFFIC DATA York City will be using live traffic data and software to help manage the flow of traffic in and around the area. They will warn users of possible problems and control the traffic light sequencing to ensure traffic flows as well as it can. Essentially this is Smart Motorway technology being used in an urban environment and is very clever. To read more, click here for the Motoring Research article . CINCH OWNER BUYS ROCKINGHAM Rockingham race complex has been sold for £80 million to the owners of Cinch and WeBuyAnyCar. They will use the facility, after further investment, as a base for storing and preparing vehicles, a training academy and logistics hub. To read more, click the PistonHeads article here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: 2022 CAR TECH AND WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR WRC Wings has written a fascinating article on the scant information we have available to us, at the moment, about what the capabilities of next year’s cars are likely to be. To read through what is know and what can be surmised, click the link for the article here . MISSION MOTORSPORT: RACE OF REMEMBRANCE 2021 Mission Motorsport has completed the attempt to break the record for the distance travelled on a single charge, by a Renault Zoe. We here, at the Motoring Podcast, want to congratulate everyone involved for the successful run that not only beat the previous record, but smashed it. To find out more, click here for the Mission Motorsport article . TOYOTA MURAI HYPERMILES TO 1000KM ON A TANK Toyota have driven a Murai on the public roads of France for just over 1000 kilometres on a single charge, breaking the previous record. To find out more about this truly impressive feat, click the Toyota press release here . NEW NEW CAR NEWS Volkswagen Multivan VW is replacing the Caravelle, with a new vehicle based on the cost-saving MQB platform, that all new models are sitting on. The Multivan will be longer, wider and sit lower, apparently all in the name of aerodynamics. To find out more, click the YesAuto article here . Lexus NX You may be forgiven for questioning, when you see the design, if this is an “all new” NX from Lexus. But it is. To find out more, c lick the Lexus press release here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: COMEBACK FOR LANCIA? Stellantis appear to be backing up their statement that they have plans for Lancia, as they have appointed Jean-Pierre Ploué, who was the Director of Design for the entire PSA Group before the merger and creation of Stellantis. We, along with many of our listeners will be sitting with fingers, toes and almost everything else crossed that this is a serious attempt to bring Lancia back. To read more, click here for the CarScoops article . LUNCHTIME READ: GO TO A CAR SHOW - IT’S GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH PetrolBlog has published a fabulous article that recommends going to car shows, not only because you’ll be at a car show, but it will do you good to get a little bit of normality back into your life. To read more, click the link to the article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 10 BEST RALLY DRIVERS AND THEIR CARS Top Gear has produced a list, that will no doubt cause some controversy as it involves drivers and a list. As there is no WRC this week, this should help lessen the pangs of absence pangs. If you need another excuse to read the list, the artwork for each of the cars is exquisite. To find out more, click here for the link . AND FINALLY: 1/2 MILLION MILES IN A PIUCASSO Ashley Winston, from Palmdale Motors, has been on a mission, that mission was to take a Citroën Picasso to 500,000 miles. The original owner put 430,000 miles on the clock but Ashley and a host of friends have helped get it up to the magic number. To find out more, click the YouTube link to Our Tim who was there for the final few miles .…
MAY 2021 SMMT NEW CAR REGISTRATIONS As it is the beginning of the month, that means the chaps can run through the New Car Registration figures for May 2021. Due to the lockdown situation last year, the figures this year were always going to be better. Even so, there are some outstanding percentage increases. To find out more, click here for the SMMT article . FIAT GO ELECTRIC ONLY FROM 2030 During a discussion about future mobility and urban areas, FIAT CEO Olivier Francois, stated that the brand would be all electric in 2030, starting the phasing out process from 2025. They are the latest bowing to the inevitable thanks to regulatory changes across the globe. To read more, click here for the Yes Auto article . BUS DEPOT GOING ALL ELECTRIC The First Bus depot in Glasgow is aiming to be the largest electric charging hub, in the country, once it finishes installing the required charging points for an all electric fleet of local buses. Public transport moving to zero emissions is vital if we are to clean up the air we breathe, as the bus strike in London a few years ago showed, as well as the pandemic. To read more, click the BBC News article here . LONDON ULEZ CHECKER CAUSES CLASSIC CONFUSION Those with MOT and VED exempt classic cars are finding that the Transport for London ULEZ checker is incorrectly stating their cars need to pay to enter the areas it covers. TfL has stated that they ill be making amendments to their system, but are unable to declare when that will be completed. To read more, click here for the Hagerty story . GENEVA MOTOR SHOW ON THE 2022 CALENDAR The new organisation running the Geneva Motor Show has confirmed it will be back in 2022, albeit in an improved format. Hoteliers have been the quickest to respond to that, cancelling bookings and putting the rooms available at twice the price, which is nice of them. There are scant details on how the event will be better, nor of any exhibitors yet. To find out more, click the Autocar story here . FUEL PRICES RISE AGAIN For the seventh month in a row, the price of petrol and diesel has risen. This time, price rises are out of step with the wholesale cost, as that is dropping. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . ——————————————————————————- If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: RALLY ITALY Once again, there was heartbreak and drama during the latest WRC event, this time in Italy. Hyundai and Ott Tänak must feel like they are cursed at the moment, with Sordo being also unlucky. Their misfortune was Toyota’s, erm, fortune, as Ogier and Evans came home in first and second, with Neuville once again rounding out the podium and gaining some respectability for the Korean outfit. M-Sport’s chances were over on the first day as both drivers had to retire. To read more, click the DirtFish review of the event here . For Colin Clark’s driver ratings, click here . For the What We Learned article, click here . MISSION MOTORSPORT: RACE OF REMEMBRANCE 2021 Mission Motorsport has announced the Race of Remembrance will be taking place on the weekend of 12-14 November 2021. Not only will they be returning to Anglesey, but there will be an online iRacing event again, a karting event and the #YouRoR. To find out more, click the link to their article here . As this episode is released, James Cameron and a Team from Mission Motorsport are attempting to break a record for driving a Renault Zoe the furthest on a single charge of electricity, wrestling the record back from a Frenchman, Pierre Desjardins, who has wished them all the very best of luck in a splendid show of support. To find out more, check out this thread from James by clicking here . NEW NEW CAR NEWS BMW i4 EV BMW has now revealed the specs for the two versions of the i4 EV, which is based on the 4-series, but is fully electric. One neat feature is the washer fluid is refilled via the propeller badge on the front of the car. You will have already made up your mind on the looks, but the range possible will be either nearly 300 for the single motor one or 240 for the two motor M version. To read more, click the Jalopnik article here . Kia Sportage This is an incredibly important car to Kia, with the fully redesigned model taking cues from the EV6. The interior gets an upgrade too, in terms of looks and design, much more premium in feel. The price is expected to increase too. To find out more, click the Autocar article here . LUNCHTIME READ: HOW TO CELEBRATE THE TOYOTA LANDCRUISER’S 70TH BIRTHDAY IN STYLE Rowan Horncastle, for Top Gear, took a Toyota Landcruiser 70 across South Africa, to celebrate the model’s 70th birthday. To read about the adventure and the car, click the link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: TOP 10 HYPERMILING TIPS In case the Mission Motorsport Team need any extra tips during their record breaking attempt, our List of the Week is the Top 10 tips for hypermiling, Click the link here for the iDriveSafely article . AND FINALLY: BOY’S HUBCAP REPLACEMENT CAMPAIGN Thanks to the Smith and Sniff podcast, the subject of a hubcap replacement fairy came to notice, only for us all to find out there is a boy, in Gloucestershire, who is already doing it. He searches for hubcaps that have lost a car, cleans them up and if he sees a car without and he has the right type he fits it to the car, with a note to explain what is going on. What a wonderful thing to do. Well done Matthew! To find out more, click the BBC News story here .…
Alan invited James Browne of digital agency 4 Roads on to explain their view on the multi-channel future of new car buying. To find out more about 4 Roads you can visit their website .
This week Andrew’s away, so Alan is joined instead by Alex Grant . FOLLOW UP: WINTERKORN TO PAY DAMAGES TO VW The ex-Volkswagen Group CEO, Martin Winterkorn is to pay €10 million in damages to Volkswagen. You can read more from Business Insider here . FOLLOW UP: GHOSN APPEALS AND INVESTORS SUE NISSAN As Andrew predicted last week, Carlos Ghosn is appealing the rejection of his wrongful dismissal case in the Netherlands. Also, overseas investors are suing Nissan for the share price plunge after Ghosn’s arrest. More here from Just Auto . FOLLOW UP: DAIMLER TO PAY NOKIA PATENT FEES Daimler has settled its patent licensing fight with Nokia, joining other manufacturers in paying the fees. More from Auto News Europe here . BIRMINGHAM CLEAN AIR ZONE INTRODUCED The Birmingham Clean Air Zone was introduced on 1st June, but with a “soft launch” meaning that nobody will be charged until 14th June because of issues with the payment systems. More from Autocar here . NISSAN GIGAFACTORY The Financial Times has broken the news that Nissan is in talks to build a huge EV battery factory at its Sunderland site, joining the recently announce Britishvolt facility nearby. The BBC story is here . MPs ASK ABOUT EV BUYING CHOICES In a very brief survey, linked here , the Transport Committee are looking to find out what would make you buy and electric car. Be very quick though as the survey ends on 2nd June. The full story from Motoring Research is here . UK ELECTRIC CAR CHARGING INDUSTRY AVOIDS PROBE The results of a study into the UK public charging infrastructure by the Competition and Markets Authority has ended, concluding that while there are issues then they have ways to deal with them. Read more here . NUMBER OF CAR THEFTS FALL IN 2020 In a story that will surprise nobody, the number of car thefts fell significantly in 2020. A separate study also showed that keyless car theft accounted for 93% of stolen cars last year. You can read more here . TOYOTA AND LEXUS LAUNCH 10 YEAR WARRANTY Toyota and Lexus have launched a 10 year warranty on all of their new and existing vehicles up to 10 years old and 100,000 miles provided they’re serviced at a Toyota dealer. To find out more then click here . INDY 500 In a break from out normal motorsport coverage, Alan watched the Indy 500 and surprised himself by enjoying it. You can find out more aboutt he race and the win by now-four-time-winner Hélio Castroneves here . NEW NEW CAR NEWS DS 9 The handsome new DS 9 saloon has been launched in the UK with a choice of hybrid or petrol engine and front wheel drive for the moment and the promise of a hot, 4wd hybrid to follow. It’s expected to be a very niche car, but hopefully it will find some buyers keen enough to not follow the traditional path to a German marque. You can find out more from this Car article . Rolls-Royce Boat Tail Rolls-Royce has coachbuilt an exclusive car designed for taking on a picnic. There are expected to be 3 built, all slightly different, and if you need to ask the brice then you can’t afford one. You can find out much more about the details in Autocar’s interview with the designer here . LUNCHTIME READ: THE FIVE SENSES: SIGHT The first in, hopefully, a series about the importance of the different senses in the appeal of a car, Design Field Trip explores the importance of it being eyecatching in the right ways. You can read the article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: WORLD’S GREATEST VIP ARMOURED VEHICLES Autocar has 19 of the best ways to transport very important people around dangerous places. We chose a Citroen and a Toyota, but which would you have? Find out here . AND FINALLY: GARAGISTAS Reverend Adam Gompertz and the Revs Limiter Facebook group have gathered together to bring a new twist to card-based vehicle comparison games with this first set based on vehicles suggested by community members. You can find out more here .…
FOLLOW UP: GHOSN ORDERED TO PAY BACK MONEY In a shock, for Carlos Ghosn, instead of winning a case where he sought €15 million for unfair dismissal from a Dutch registered Nissan/Mitsubishi joint venture, he lost and has been ordered to pay back the €5 million he got through the entity. To read more, click the Automotive News Europe article here . OFGEM TO INVEST £300M IN CHARGING NETWORK Ofgem has announced how it will be investing £300 million into the network infrastructure to allow for rapid and ultra rapid charger installations across the motorway networks, as well as more remote areas. To read more, click the GreenFleet article here . CARS ON ROAD OLDEST ON RECORD There are now more older cars on the road, since records recorded such data. The average age is 8.4 years, with nearly 10 million being 13 years and older. To find out more about the reasons, click the Motoring Research article here . A companion piece is from Autocar, explaining why there is such a demand for used cars, by buyers. Click here for that link . FORD PATENTS BEAMING ADS TO INFOTAINMENT SYSTEMS Ford has applied for a patent on technology that would beam specific details from billboards, to the infotainment screens within cars. This has caused a bit of a stir, but it must be remembered it is only a patent and may not even be for vehicles that require a human driver to be in charge of the vehicle. More detail is required before the chaps at the Motoring Podcast grab their pitchforks and flaming torches, even Andrew says this. To read more, click the Interesting Engineering article here . MERCEDES SOFTWARE BUGS FOUND Tencent Security has disclosed information on software bugs they found in the Mercedes-Benz User Experience infotainment system. To be clear at no point were the researchers able to access any of the aspects of the vehicles that were any part of the driving element. Mercedes has started to roll out a patch for this, where they are contacting customers. To read more, click the Security Week article here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC RALLY PORTUGAL Another action packed thrill ride in WRC, unfortunately for Hyundai, apart from Sordo, it was not a good event. Toyota were the main beneficiaries, with Elfyn Evans capitalising on first Neuville’s accident and then Tanak’s mechanical failure to win the rally, holding off Sordo, with Ogeir further back in third. To find out more, click the DirtFish report here . To read the excellent ‘What did we learn’ article, click here . To see how Colin Clark judged the drivers, click the link here . Hyundai WRC2 driver Veiby has been banned from WRC for six month, for breaking coronavirus protocols. To read what he and his co-driver did and then didn’t do, click the DirtFish article here . NEW NEW CAR NEWS Cupra Born - The first full EV for Cupra has been revealed. Using the same technology as the ID3 it is very close in size and weight, but the Spanish brand has put their spin on the aesthetics, plus they will make sure it is an engaging and fun drive. Expected to cost around £35,000, it will be a smidgen more than the ID3. Time will tell if the public will be drawn to this very good looking car, ignoring badge snobbery. To read more, click the Autocar article here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: NEW ROLLS ROYCE DIRECTOR OF DESIGN Rolls Royce has appointed Anders Warming as Director of Design, following the departure of Jozef Kaban. Warming was previously design chief at Mini. To read more, click the Autocar article here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: NEW FIAT AND ABARTH HEAD OF DESIGN Fiat and Abarth has appointed a new Head of Design, François Leboine, who joins from Renault. To read more, click the Stellantis link here . LUNCHTIME WATCH: THE IMPACT OF THE F-150 ON THE US Unless you were living under a rock, you’ll be aware that Ford has launched an full EV version of the best selling “car” in the world, the Ford F-150. To help understand what an important vehicle that is, click this link here showing MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow explain . LIST OF THE WEEK: MOST BEAUTIFUL ROAD TRIPS In a vote, from the British public, that doesn’t appear to be utterly nuts, we have a list of the most beautiful roads to take a trip along. To find out more, click the link to the You Magazine article here . Do you agree with the choices or did they not include your favourite road. AND FINALLY: CRAZY CELEBRITY CAR ADS Ignoring how Celica is pronounced, here is a link from Jalopnik showing us some of the weirder endorsements, particularly for the Japanese market. Click the link here to “enjoy” their work !…
In a rare moment of self indulgence, Alan and Andrew held a livestream to celebrate reaching the 400th episode of the Motoring Podcast. They chat through how and why they started, how they’ve continued to try and improve and their plans for the future. Prizes are given away throughout the show and they round it all out by thanking all of the people who have listened, helped and supported them along the way.…
FOLLOW UP: TOYOTA OFFERS FREE CATALYTIC CONVERTOR PROTECTION Last week, the chaps talked about the police operation to recover stolen catalytic convertors. Toyota has announced it is offering a marking scheme to aid owners of older Toyota vehicles. Free of charge they will mark the convertors so they can be tracked if they are stolen. To read more, click the National World article here . INTERNATIONAL MOTORS LTD TAKES OVER MITSUBISHI AFTER-SALES International Motors Ltd, part of the IM Group who are official importers of Subaru and Isuzu, have agreed a deal with Mitsubishi Motors to take over the after-sales business following the end to the new vehicle sales part of the business. To read more, click the AM article here . LONDON ULEZ WILL EXPAND Following the re-election of Sadiq Khan, as Mayor of London, he has confirmed that the ULEZ will expand in October, as planned, as this is a key part of the project to clean up the capital’s air. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . UNDERSERVED KENT AREAS BEING PRIORITISED BY EV CHARGING COMPANY Connected Kerb is working on adding EV charging points to poorly served areas of Kent, in a bid to help bolster the charging network of the county. To read more, click the Autocar article here . MANCHESTER COUNCIL REVEALS REGISTRATION PLATES IN GAFF In an attempt at transparency, Manchester Council released information regarding which parking wardens had issued tickets. Unfortunately, they forgot to omit the registration, and therefore personally identifying details of the penalties, between April and June 2020. We have long said we fear incompetence more than nefarious actions most when it comes to data. To read more, click The Register article here . _____________________________________________ Announcement: Last week we invited you to join us for a live stream of the recording of our 400th episode on Wednesday 19 May at 8:30pm BST. During the show we will, like an automotive podcasting Ant and Dec, be giving away some great prizes thanks to the support of some generous companies. In order to be in with a shout of grabbing one of the prizes we need you to go to our website, hit the Contact section at the top of the home page enter your name, email address and the phrase "Please Can I Win?" into the Subject line so we can add your name to the draw. You need to have done this by 8pm BST on Wednesday 19th May. Click this link here to go directly there ! ——————————————————————————- WRC PORTUGAL - REMINDER Just a quick reminder that WRC is back this week, in Portugal this time. NEW NEW CAR NEWS Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA - For those of you who feel the Four Cheese version of the Giulia is a bit too tame, you can stop worrying, Alfa Romeo are going to release GTA and GTAm versions. There will only be 500 made and prices start at €176,500.00 for the GTA, whilst the GTAm starts at €181, 500.00. TO find out more, click the Alfa Romeo press release here . Vauxhall Vivaro-e Hydrogen - Vauxhall has released details on their hydrogen fuel-cell van, due on roads from 2023. The range will be up to 249 miles with a payload of 1100kgs, the same as the ICE and fully EV versions. To read more, click the Autocar article here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: VOLVO APPOINT T. JON MAYER AS HEAD OF EXTERIOR DESIGN Following the move by Maximillian Missoni, who now heads up Design at Polestar, Volvo have appointed T. Jon Mayer as Head of Exterior Design at Volvo. He was lead on the exterior design for the S60, V60 and V60 Cross Country. To read more, click the Volvo press release here . LUNCHTIME READ: SUNDAY DRIVES - SCOTLAND Justin Leighton has been interviewed, by Porsche Newsroom, where his career is discussed, as well as him enthusing about the stunning landscape that is northern Scotland but particularly near the North West 500 route. To find out more, click the link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 20 CARS THAT ROCKED POP-UP LIGHTS As longer term listeners will know, we at the Motoring Podcast, are big fans of pop-up lights, here from Classic & Sports Car is a list of 20 that really suited them. Click here for the link to the list . AND FINALLY: DONATE YOUR CAR TO CHARITY An organisation, called Charity Car, allows you to donate the value of your car, to a selected charity, by either it being properly scrapped or if it is still roadworthy, auctioned off. To find out more, click the Charity Car link here .…
Alan spent a week with the ubiquitous Ford Fiesta. In this case, it’s a mild-hybrid, 1.0 ST-Line that took temporary residence in his driveway. Does the Fiesta still deserve its sales success?
APRIL 2021 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES There have been some attention grabbing headlines written, which seem to forget that whilst the year-on-year comparison stats are dramatically up on last year, we were all locked in our houses 12 months ago. Against the 10 year average the number of new car registrations are still down. To read more, click the SMMT article here . FORD AND NHS TRIALLING VACCINE TRANSIT A specially converted Ford Transit is being trialled by the NHS to take the Covid vaccines out to the community. There are fitted with temperature controlled fridges, folding seats and other equipment to administer the injections. Hopefully this works, as it will help get the vaccine to everyone, especially those who cannot travel to the centres that have been set up to administer them. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . ROAD AND RAIL INVESTMENT BEING REEVALUATED In a move that should be unexpected to everyone, the Government is reevaluating the transport infrastructure spending plans. The supposedly reduced numbers commuting is one reason given, but mainly this will be because every budget across the Government, whether central or local, will be inspected closely due to a lack of cash. To read more, click the BBC News article here . POLICE FIND OVER A THOUSAND CATALYTIC CONVERTERS In a large operation police over a thousand catalytic converters were recovered with over 50 people being arrested. There has been a rise in thefts from cars due to the increase in price for rare metals. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . PETROL PRICES KEEP CLIMBING The RAC has revealed that we are on a run of six months of continued price rise in fuel prices. This is expected to continue over the summer, where there will be an increase in demand, along with supplying nations capping production. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . EV CHARGING POINTS HACKED A Chinese Security research team has demonstrated gaining access to a car, via the CANBus, from an EV charging station. They were able to alter the rate of charge, avoid paying and sending messages. To read more, click The Register article here . FRENCH VILLAGE AIMING TO THWART WAZE In a bid to stop Waze re-routing congested traffic away from hold ups on the local main roads and through their village, residents added a sign, essentially saying ‘access only’ which was communicated back to the app, which meant the algorithm no longer used that diversion. We applaud that clever way of altering behaviour. To read more, click The Connexion article here . _____________________________________________ Announcement: Last week we invited you to join us for a live stream of the recording of our 400th episode on Wednesday 19 May at 8:30pm BST. During the show we will, like an automotive podcasting Ant and Dec, be giving away some great prizes thanks to the support of some generous companies. In order to be in with a shout of grabbing one of the prizes we need you to go to our website, hit the Contact section at the top of the home page enter your name, email address and the phrase "Please Can I Win?" into the Subject line so we can add your name to the draw. You need to have done this by 8pm BST on Wednesday 19th May. Click this link here to go directly there ! ——————————————————————————- FORMULA E: MONACO Well isn’t that a relief? We get to discuss racing and not rules or safety cars or penalties, just the racing! To find out what happened, click the link to The Race article here . To read the driver ratings, click The Race article link here . To find out more about the possibility of Monaco becoming an annual event, click here for The Race article . NEW NEW CAR NEWS Citroën My Ami Cargo - We are continually told how there is a ‘last mile’ problem, when it comes to deliveries, Citroën think they have one solution to that, the My Ami Cargo. To find out more about this cute little vehicle, click the Autocar article here. Mercedes-Benz Concept EQT - Whilst the EQT is called a “concept” it looks remarkably close to production ready in the images released by Mercedes. We are big fans of a van-derived passenger vehicle, this one looks great too, much more like a Mercedes than the current Citan. To find our more, click the Autocar article here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: JULIAN THOMSON LEAVES JAGUAR The sudden announcement that Julian Thomson is leaving Jaguar, caught all by surprise. There are some guesses as to why, but whatever the reason the pressure is really on the Management Team of JLR to back up all of the words that have recently been said with regards to design. To read more, click the Autocar article here . To read an opinion piece from Steve Cropley, click the Autocar article here . LUNCHTIME READ: THE DEATH OF THE TEST DRIVE? Russel Gowers has written an interesting article about test drives and questions what purpose do they serve, especially for those who aren’t really interested in cars beyond what badge it has. To read that, click the LinkedIn link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: CELEBRATE THE SIZES Car & Classic has a list of six cars that fall under the catchment of six cylinders and six grand. Read Chris Pollitt’s words and enjoy the suggestions he has for the various options. To see more, click the link here . AND FINALLY: METAL ELEMENTS The car design and coach build company Niels van Roil Design have developed, with Heritage Customs, metal coated accents for the new Defender. There are a number of finishes and types available that open up a host of possibilities. We think this is incredibly clever and an interesting project that hopefully leads to interesting uses in car designs moving forward. To find out more, click their link here .…
Alan spent a week with one of the most divisive vehicles to have been launched in the last year, the BMW M440i X-Drive. Find out how he got on and just what he thought of “that” grille.
GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCEMENT CONFUSES INDUSTRY The Government announced that there could be “self-driving” cars on the road towards the end of the year. This caused a lot of confusion because the driver assistance technology they were mentioning is not, nor ever will be, ‘self-driving’ as it is Automated Lane Keeping Systems. These are going to be only allowed to move a car up to 37mph, whilst keeping it in a lane of the motorway, with the driver able to remove hands and feet from the controls but still paying attention to the road and surroundings. To read more, click the Top Gear article here . TOYODA GOSEI SHUTTING DOWN UK OPERATION Toyoda Gosei, which is part of the Toyota Group, has announced they will be closing their production facilities in the UK. This will lead to the loss of 458 jobs, which the company is blaming on “a significant reduction in key UK customer demand”. They supply Toyota, Honda and Nissan in this country. To read more, click the Autocar article here . DIESS LEAVES SEAT AND SKODA BOARDS Volkswagen Group CEO, Herbert Diess, is leaving the supervisory boards of SEAT and Skoda, to allow more focus on the software division. VW has struggled with their new software, both in terms of deploying and the quality of it. SEAT and Skoda are now worried their voices will not be heard as much by the Group Board. Only time will tell if the move helps the software and reduces those brand’s influence. To read more, click the Autocar article here . MOTO OPENS LARGE MOTORWAY EV CHARGING SERVICES Moto has opened a new service area, on the M6 at Junction 1, which will have 24 ultra-rapid chargers, split between Tesla and open market charging. This is another step on their move to upgrade service areas with the latest charging technology. To read more, click the ZapMap article here . SUBARU EXPANDS IN UK Subaru is expanding their dealership network, in 2021, having added four new franchises in the first part of the year and expect a further 10 to be added by the summer. We, on the show, had been worried for Subaru, especially after the plan to pre-register cars backfired last year. To read more, click the Business Leader article here . GENESIS ANNOUNCE UK LAUNCH Later this year, Genesis will come to the UK, Germany and Switzerland. They will be bringing an aggressive model launch strategy for the first 12 to 24 months following their arrival. To read more, click the Autocar article here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- FORMULA E: MONACO For the first time, Formula E will run on the full F1 Monaco track, this weekend, with a slight tweak to one section just before an uphill element. To read more about the layout and alterations, click here for The Race’s article . The series really needs a weekend of wonderful racing and no controversies after the start to this season. To find out why all is not well in Formula E-land, click The Race’s article here . NEW NEW CAR NEWS Kia EV6 GT - Following on a few weeks after the reveal of the smart looking EV6, Kia announced the specifications for the top of the range GT version. 576bhp, all-wheel drive, 0-62mph in approximately 3.5 seconds and still give around 300 miles of range. Prices will be close to £60,000, but for a car that Albert Beirmann has ‘fettled’ with we are sure the price is justified. To read more, click the EVO article here . VW ID 4 GTX - Volkswagen has revealed a ‘hot’ version of the ID 4, electric SUV. GTX will denote GTi equivalent for electric vehicles, in VW. The car will produce 210 bhp, with a 0-62mph time of 6.2 seconds and a range of 298 miles. There will be touches such as red stitching and accents to mark it out as a sporty version. To read more, click the Autocar article here . VW Golf GTi Clubsport 45 - Volkswagen has put on sale a limited run special GTi edition adding Clubsport to the package makes this more powerful than the Golf R. The ‘45’ is acknowledging that it is 45 years since the first GTi was launched on the public. To read more, click the Autocar article here . LUNCHTIME READ: SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM AND YOUR CAR Murray Scullion has written an incredibly accessible yet comprehensive article about your car, the data it produces and who wants to get hold of it. Whether you know much about the subject or not you will learn a lot from Murray’s work. To read it, which we cannot stress enough that you should, click here for the Parker’s link . Bonus Link: If that did not make you go wide eyed enough, click this article link from The Intercept to give a real world demonstration of exactly what can be extracted from your car. LIST OF THE WEEK: 39 CARS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD This is a bold claim, of a list, by Autocar however we can find no fault with it. Click your way through 40 slides showing cars that have had a huge impact on the world. To do so, click this link here . AND FINALLY: BREAKING THE MONOTONY OF THE SUPERMARKET Gareth Wild completed the work of 6 years last week, by finally parking his car in the last remaining space he hadn’t previously parked in, at his local supermarket. We applaud the dedication, planning and most of all, use of a spreadsheet in accomplishing this feat. Bravo! To find out more, click the BBC News article here . To see more from Gareth himself, click the Twitter thread here .…
Alan was joined by Dan Prosser of The Intercooler to talk about the new digital car-based magazine he’s founded with Andrew Frankel. You can find out more about The Intercooler by visiting their website , following on Twitter and Instagram or by downloading their app for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store .…
FOLLOW UP: CHIP SHORTAGE HITTING MANUFACTURERS HARD Several manufacturers have now openly discussed the challenges of the current semi-conductor chip shortage and how that will effect their factories. To get a round up of who is currently feeling the effects, click the Autocar article here . FOLLOW UP: MCLAREN SELLS HEADQUARTERS McLaren has found a buyer for it’s Woking headquarters, but at £170 million rather than the £200 million they were seeking. To read about the details of the agreement, click here for the Autocar article . TOKYO MOTOR SHOW CANCELLED The 2021 Tokyo Motor Show has been cancelled for the first time in it’s history, by organisers, due to the ongoing risks of the pandemic. They intend to return as a live event but be rebranded and include all aspects of mobility. To read more, click the Autocar article here . V2V COMMUNICATION PROTOCOL AGREED IN JAPAN Toyota, Suzuki, Daihatsu, Subaru and Mazda have reached an agreement to use a standardised vehicle data communication system and technical details for the next generation of connected cars. Each manufacturer will maintain and develop their own user interfaces and apps but the technical and behind the scenes technology will be the same. To read more, click the Mazda press release here . HONDA ANNOUNCES NEW STRATEGY Honda has announced that it will no longer sell combustion engines, globally, from 2040. This is part of a huge investment into becoming carbon neutral by 2050. To read more about what this will mean, click here for the Autocar article . FRANCE TO BAN APPS FROM WARNING OF POLICE LOCATIONS Coming later this year, there will be a ban in France that will mean apps can no longer inform the public of the location of police roadblocks and checks connected with terrorism, drink and drug driving. To read more, click The Connexion article here . THE MARKET IS BOUGHT BY BONHAM’S The online car auction service, The Market, has been bought by Bonham’s, the classic car auction house. The idea is that The Market will continue as it has but now there is access to the Bonham customer base. To read more, click the Classic and Sportscar article here . NEW NEW CAR NEWS Honda HR-V - Honda has revealed the new HR-V, that will fight it out in the B-Segment SUV market. There will be an electrified platform, with improved space internally and a new look. To read more, click the Autocar article link here . Volkswagen Polo - Volkswagen has revealed details about the 2021 Polo, that make the car more Poloy, as well as bring design touches in line with other recent models. Interestingly, they will not be fitting a hybrid power train to the Polo. To find out more, click the Autocar story link here . Hyundai KONA N - Hyundai have revealed details of the N division version of the KONA SUV. There is a lot of upgrades over the standard KONA, which should make this an interesting car. To find out more about this, click the YesAuto link here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- FORMULA E: NIO333 COMMITS TO GEN3 Nio333 has committed to joining the Gen3 seasons of the series. There was some concern that the team would pull out of Formula E, so it is with a touch of relief that everyone sees this news. To find out more, click the Formula E article here . FORMULA E: VALENCIA First time racing on a dedicated race track, first time a race is fully wet, first time there are five safety cars, first time there are multiple DNF and DQs because of too much energy used. All in all, the end was a mess of Saturday’s race. Sunday was much better, with Dennis winning his first race for BMW. To find out more about Saturday’s race, click here for The Race’s coverage . To find out what happened during the calmer Sunday race, click The Race’s article here . To find out the reason behind the ending to Saturday’s race, click here for The Race’s summary . WRC: RALLY CROATIA TO BE SPECTATOR FREE Following an announcement by the Croatian Government, Rally Croatia will have no spectators. The hope was some would be allowed on the more rural stages but that is now not possible. To read more, click the DirtFish article here . WRC: RALLY CROATIA For the first time, WRC visited Croatia, for an action packed and beautifully located rally. Ogier ened up winning the event by 0.6 second from team-mate Elfyn Evans, on the final stage of the rally. That ended an “eventful” day for the Toyota driver and the Team, after he was involved in a road accident whilst trying to get to the start of the day. To find out what happened on the rally, click here for DirtFish’s coverage . To check out the details and punishment for Ogier’s accident, click the DirtFish article here . LUNCHTIME READ: CHÂTEAU DE SAVIGNY-LÈS-BEAUNE - FRENCH FANCY Car and Classic bring us this wonderful vehicle collection, located in Burgundy, that Alan thoroughly recommends everyone go visit. There is a spectacular collection of amazing vehicles as well as being sat in the midst of the region with the “best wine” (Alan’s words) which you should add to your ‘trvelling around France’ list. To read more, click the article link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 11 SPORTS CARS POWERED BY THE ROVER V8 This fabulous list runs through some of the sports cars which were fitted with the Rover V8, helping to add a layer to their personality. To run through the list, click here for the Hagerty article and don’t forget to tell us the one you’d like the most! AND FINALLY: THE JUNCTION YOU CANNOT ESCAPE FROM In Paris, there is one junction that has been modified with restriction signage, to the point now, that if you take a private car onto it, you will be unable to legally leave. To find out more, click The Connexion article here . But also take the time to watch the short video from The Tim Traveller by clicking here .…
CHIP SHORTAGE TO LAST INTO 2023 The automotive chip shortage is expected to last into late 2022 and even 2023 according to some semi conductor manufacturers. This will add pressure to OEMs already trying to recover from a year of lockdowns across global markets. To read more, click The Register article here . There is some good news, though, with the Japanese factory that was damaged in a fire is expected to be back at full capacity by the middle of May. To read about the remarkable recovery, click here for The Registry article . RICHARD PARRY-JONES HAS PASSED AWAY Following a tragic accident on his farm, Richard Parry-Jones has passed away. He was the man heralded as turning modern Fords into enjoyable, fun driving cars rather than just cost-conscious boxes. Many throughout the industry have shared stories and their deep admiration and respect of both what he achieved and who he was as a person. To read more, click the TopGear article here . NEW NEW CAR NEWS Due to the Shanghai Motor Show taking place this week and that being the first mass gathering of manufactuers, in the world, for over a year, news is thing on the ground. This week we’ve moved the New New Car News segment to the first part of the show, as a result. DS 9 - DS announced their new flagship model, the DS 9, a premium saloon, which has a very DS interior that the chaps are all excited to see. The external looks are less dramatic but still handsome. However, they do wonder who in the UK may buy such a car. To read more about it, click the Automotive Management article here . Toyota bZ4X Concept - Toyota has revealed their first every purely battery electric concept, which is a sporty looking SUV, that shows it is different whilst still obviously a Toyota. The driver is in for a real treat in this thinly disguised production ready model, as they has a new design wheel, drive-by-wire system and display binnacle. To read more, click here for the Toyota press release . Nissan X-TRAIL - The next generation X-TRAIL has been revealed by Nissan. Externally it continues the brand design language that we’ve seen on the latest Juke and Quashqai. The X-TRAIL will take advantage of the clever e-POWER system, that has the petrol engine charging a battery, when needed, which powers the electric motors to drive the car. To read more, click the Nissan press release here . Audi A6 e-tron Concept - Audi has revealed their latest concept, an all electric A6, which has been designed to be very aerodynamic, fast charging and a range of up to 700km. To read more, click here for the Audi press release . Genesis EV G80 - Genesis has shown off their electric flagship model, the G80. The technology will be shared from other Hyundai Group vehicles, allowing for a good 300-ish mile range, quick charge ability and a lovely charging port cover which is integrated neatly into the front grille. To read more, click the Autocar article here . Mercedes EQS - Mercedes has taken the wraps off their first luxury EV only model, the EQS. There are some incredibly impressive technical features to this vehicle, but one price is the weight due to the amount of batteries required to allow for a 711km range. Much is made of the quietness within the cabin, as this is the EV equivalent of the S Class, just how quiet can it be? To find out more, click here for the Mercedes press release . Geely - As the Shanghai Motor Show is a home show, Geely was ut in force with many of the group’s brands attending. The new plug-in hybrid version of the Lynk & Co 05 and the Volvo XC40 were shown. But also they made announcements which were interesting. To find out more, click here for the Geely press release . Hyundai Pony EV Concept - This was not at Shanghai but we still need to mention this gorgeous looking repagination of the Pony for the electric age. The changes are very subtle but superb, with lights and a clean look to the original Giugiaro design. The interior is a place of wonder, mixing minimalism with superb details and finishes. To see more, and do see more, click the CAR Magazine link here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: RALLY CROATIA TO BE SPECTATOR FREE Following an announcement by the Croatian Government, Rally Croatia will have no spectators. The hope was some would be allowed on the more rural stages but that is now not possible. To read more, click the DirtFish article here . WRC: 2022 HYBRID SYSTEM PAUSES TESTING Compact Dynamics made the three Rally1 Teams stop testing the 2022 hybrid system and return them to their base in Germany. There is an undisclosed issue with the battery element. We do not now how much testing has actually been undertaken by the Teams. We will have to wait for more news to see if this impacts the development and use of the system in 2022. To read more, click the DirtFish article here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: CHANGES AT DACIA AND ALFA ROMEO Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos has left his position as head of Dacia design, less than a year after starting in post, to move to Alfa Romeo. David Dourand will temporarily replace him, being seconded from Renault Group Global Access design chief. To find out more, click the Autocar article here . LUNCHTIME READ: DESIGNERS ARE FROM NEPTUNE AND ENGINEERS ARE FROM JUPITER Nir Kahn has written another excellent piece about another aspect of a designers job, this time collaboration with engineers, or it should be. Click the link here , to find out why he is a proponent for such a move and some of the excellent cars we’ve had as a result. LIST OF THE WEEK: 20 YEAR OLD CAR FEATURES WE MISS Antony Ingram has written an marvellous list, allowing us to reminisce on features we used to like, in the main, on our cars in days gone by. Click the link here for the Hagerty article and don’t forget to tell us the one feature you miss most! AND FINALLY: A MOVIE RECOMMENDATION PetrolBlog makes the case for us all switching on subtitles and watching the French Netflix movie, Lost Bullet, which has some human actors but really is about a Renault 21. That’s good enough for us! But, if you still require convincing, click the link here to read the arguments for watching .…
Alan was joined by Chris Pollitt, Head of Editorial at online marketplace Car & Classic, to chat about buying and selling classic cars. You can find out more about Car & Classic, browse vehicles for sale, find out how to sell your own vehicle and find editorial outlets via their website linked here . You can find out more about Chris’s background in his Rear View chat with Andrew. You can follow him on Twitter here .…
FOLLOW UP: VW TO PAY INTEREST ON DIESELGATE LOANS Volkswagen will have to pay the interest on a car loans taken out by customers who bought cars affected by defeat devices. The German judge was quite specific on the ruling, which has left no room for appeal. To read more, click the Automotive News article here . WORLD CAR PERSON OF THE YEAR The boss of Toyota, Akio Toyoda, has won the World Car Person of the Year Award. In typically humble fashion, he feels it is the result of the hard work of the Toyota Team, rather than him specifically. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . VAUXHALL RULED AS BRITISH A number of people, who were clearly very bored, have complained to the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA), over the claim by Vauxhall that it has been a “British Brand since 1903”. Those with nothing else to do, cited the ownership by GM and now Stellantis, both of whom are foreign companies, to show they were no longer British. The ASA agreed with Vauxhall’s response that it only sells to the United Kingdom. To read more, click the Automotive Management article here . CITY CENTRIC THINKING There were two articles this week, that were based on urban dwellers, but are part of a worrying trend in the discussions over the future of transportation and mobility, seemingly ignoring those outside of towns and cities. Added to this, the analysis and ‘research’ by organisations releasing the ‘news’ to the media is flawed and suspect. The first was about SUVs and how they should be banned, you can read and mock the BBC News article here . Fortunately, the RAC spokesperson talks sense in that piece. The second is a survey, which we cannot see the questions asked, that shows city dwellers want new ICE vehicles banned from 2030. Again, the organisation this info comes from is one whose findings we have routinely questioned. Added to this, we all know we can get surveys to say whatever we want them to, if you try hard enough. To read that article, click the Automotive News Europe article here . CAR MUSEUMS AND EVENTS GET GOVERNMENT GRANTS The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Culture Recovery Fund has been successfully applied for by five organisations and events, from the motoring world. Notably the Coventry MotoFest is getting help, along with the Association of Heritage Engineers. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . To listen to Alan chat with Dominic Taylor-Lane from the Association of Heritage Engineers, click here for that Special Edition . REGISTRATION OPEN FOR FESTIVAL OF THE UNEXCEPTIONAL Hagerty has opened registration for those who wish to enter their car for the Concours de l’Ordinaire at this year’s event. To go to the registration page, click the link here . To read a lovely article about the event, click the link here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NEW NEW CAR NEWS: CITROËN C5X This week Citroën revealed their new flagship model, the C5X, as sort of jacked up large fastback/estate car. Their hope is that it crosses the boundaries between saloon, estate and SUV markets. The car will, they claim, be supremely comfortable thanks to their Advanced Comfort® programme. Prices start around £27,00 for ICE, with it jumping to somewhere near £35,000 for the hybrid versions. We hope this succeeds and we hope it sells lots, although we know it will be hard for Citroën. To find out more, click the Autocar article here . FORMULA E: ROME EPRIX Thanks to the track itself and the weather, rather than the layout, there was an action packed Rome ePrix. DS Decheetah, Mercedes and Jaguar had the best of the weekend. To find out what happened in Race 1, click The Race article here . To find out what happened in Race 2, click The Race article here . To see how the drivers were judged, click The Race article here . LUNCHTIME READ: AN INTERPRETIVE GUIDE TO EBAY ADVERTS This week Jake Belder, writing for Not2Grand, has given us a cheat sheet of the terminology used in eBay (and elsewhere) car adverts. To read this excellent piece, click the link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: UNLIKELY TRACK DAY CARS As the UK opens up again, we note that track days are booking up fast, however, you don’t need to take the latest supercar around them to have fun. Autocar has created an alternative list of affordable cars that will bring a smile to your face as you hurtle around a track in them. Click here for the link . Don’t forget to tell us which one you’d like to take! AND FINALLY: LIBRARY OF CAR BLUEPRINTS We stumbled across a site that has a huge library of randomly sorted cars and their blueprints. Primarily aimed at those who need the information for 3-D printing, we couldn’t help but get lost looking at the vast variety of vehicles. To also lose hours in your day, click the Drawing Database link here .…
NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES MARCH 2021 We will now start seeing the effect of national lockdowns on the annual comparison figures, which is why many of the headlines abut March’s figures were quite silly. Due to the difference in the lockdown restrictions, the monthly numbers were up on last year. To read more, click here for the SMMT article and data . As ever, we also include a link to Tristan Young’s tweets on the figures and type of fuel used, to see that data click here . CATERHAM FIND JAPANESE BUYER Caterham has been bought by their Japanese importer, VT Holdings, with a commitment to continuing the Seven model, in line with legislation. As for future development of the brand there is no news yet available. To read more, click the Autocar article here . CYBER SECURITY TYPE APPROVAL TO BE REQUIRED With cars becoming more connected to the internet, than ever before, manufacturers will be required to go through type approval for their cyber security efforts. They must protect the vehicle for it’s entire lifecycle, according to the regulations. To read more, c lick the Autocar article here . GOOGLE MAPS TO INDICATE MOST ECONOMICAL ROUTE Starting in the US, Google Maps will show the most economical route for a car to take, as part of the options. Along with this, new information such as Clean Air Zones will also be indicated. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . However, the inherent issues with digital route services was highlighted on this news, to find out more click here for the Ben Wagner Twitter thread explaining what is the problem with such services. _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- FORMULA E: ROME EPRIX STILL ON The lead up to the Rome ePrix has been very quiet, for a change, and will still be taking place even though Italy is going into a stricter lockdown. To find out how you can watch the races where you are, click the link here . NEW CAR NEWS Welcome to the new, regular, segment about new cars. Up to now the podcast has avoided mentioning new car news on the weekly show, saving it up for Special Editions. However, this gap in our curation has now been closed and we will discuss the most interesting, influential and important new car information as the chaps come across it. First up, we start with a car, that on paper, sounds like it should be a proper treat. Click here to learn more about the GR86, from Toyota’s own press release. Note, this segment will get slicker, the more we do it! LUNCHTIME READ: WE FOUND FORD’S INCREDIBLE, TURBINE-POWERED SEMI-TRUCK ‘BIG RED’ THAT’S BEEN LOST FOR DECADES This week is the multi media extravaganza that is the story behind the purchase, restoration and secrecy of Big Red. To find out more, click the Drive article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: WILLIAM HAS HAD ENOUGH OF THESE TOP TEN LISTS William Dickey, has had enough of some Top Ten lists, especially the lazy and click-baitey ones. To read more, click this link here for more information from PetrolBlog . AND FINALLY: TOYOTA GETS WHO APPROVAL TO TRANSPORT VACCINES Toyota is the first to receive clearance to transport vaccines, to help take the fight against Covid19 to remote locations. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . AND FINALLY: ZOOM ZOOMERS The monthly Zoom Zoomers livestream took place on Monday 5 April, Alan was once again in attendance. To watch Alan and the other excellent participants, click the YouTube link here .…
FOLLOW UP: VW SEEKS DAMAGES FROM FORMER EMPLOYEES Following the conclusion of the independent internal investigation into the dieselgate situation, Volkswagen Group has released a statement where they announce they will be seeking damages from former employees, for failing in their ‘duty of care’ for the company. To read more, click the Car Dealer article here . HONDA FINDS BUYER FOR SWINDON PLANT Honda will stop production of the Civic in July, thus ending their time in the UK. Panttoni, a logisitcs and industrial site developer, has confirmed it will be investing heavily in redeveloping the site. They should take ownership from early 2022, after Honda has finished decommissioning equipment. To read more, click the Autocar article here . RIMAC OPENS R&D CENTRE IN UK Rimac, has opened a new Research and Development Centre in Warwick Enterprise Park, at the company edges closer to the launch of their new hypercar, the C_Two. To read more, click the Autocar article here . UK AV AND EV ACT PARTIALLY COMES INTO FORCE Part of The Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018 , comes into force from 21 April 2021. To find out exactly what is covered, click the link here . To run through the full act, click the link here . CAR INDUSTRY UNHAPPY AT GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR EV PUSH The car industry, at an online event held by SMMT, expressed anger and disappointment at how the Government was helping industry encourage the public to go for electric vehicles, ahead of the 2030 deadline. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . PROPOSALS FOR OVER-70 DRIVERS Over the last decade, the number of deaths attributable to drivers over 70 years old has risen from 96 to 145 a year. This has prompted the DVLA and Driving Mobility to put forward proposals to increase the safety of older drivers, especially as more are living longer. Some of the ideas include forbidding them from driving at night, being limited to 20 or 30 miles from their home address and fitting their cars with black boxes to monitor compliance. But, this could be seen as enabling people with some conditions to ability to still be mobile, but in a restricted manner, whereas now they would just be banned. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- FORMULA E: NISSAN AND PORSCHE COMMIT TO GEN3 Nissan and Porsche have announced their participation in the Gen3 racing series, which was expected. TO read about Nissan, click The Race link here . To read about Porsche’s decision, click The Race link here . WRC: ACROPOLIS RALLY RETURNS TO CALENDAR WRC announced that not only will the Acropolis Rally step into the void that the cancellation of the Chile event has left, but that this is a multi-year contract too. Dust off your Acropolis Rally Bingo Cards and prepare to tick off “rocks”, “big rocks” and “rutts”! To read more, click the WRC article here . LUNCHTIME READ: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF THE FORD MONDEO Following the announcement, that should have surprised no one, that Ford is ending production of the Mondeo, Autocar has compiled a slide-show of some of the key aspects of the long running name. To read through, click the link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: MOTORING EVENTS IN 2021 With the easing of restrictions, the warming of air, a more optimistic outlook is beginning to spread across the country. Hagerty has compiled a list of motoring related events taking place in the coming months. To run through and see what is already planned and where, click the link here . AND FINALLY: CAN YOU MAKE A WOODEN ENGINE LIFT Someone, and looking at what has been created we can only assume it is a man as there are one or two obvious flaws in it, has built a frame that appears to be supporting the engine of an Audi. Due to the rickety looking nature of it, Jalopnik decided to try and work out if it could actually safely do the job it appears to be trying to do. You have to love the nerdy car corner of the internet. To find out if they feel it is possible, click the Jalopnik link here . AND FINALLY FINALLY: NEW VIDEO FROM ALAN Alan has filmed and published a video, giving everyone a glimpse inside his garage, a note or two about some of the cars on his drive and an update on one of his cars that doesn’t fit on his drive. Very much worth your time to watch that, so click here for the YouTube link .…
PLUG-IN GRANT REDUCED OVERNIGHT BY GOVERNMENT The Government announced, with immediate effect, the reduction in the plug-in grant they were making available for cars with a price up to £50,000. Not only has the grant amount been reduced from £3,000 to £2,500 but also the eligibility price is cut to a maximum of £35,000. There was much howling at the timing, immediacy and depth of cut. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . As a counter to this FleetWorld has an opinion piece giving some explainers as to why the Government has made some of the decisions it has. To read that, click the link here . To find out which cars are affected, click the Autocar article here . To read about Citroën tackling the issue with their e-C4, click the ZapMap article here . COMPUTER CHIP SHORTAGE HURTING CAR INDUSTRY The global shortage of computer chips was already impacting the global car industry, however this situation has been made worse by a fire at one of the main production plants, in Japan. But this points to a concern for manufacturers, as this could be a dry run for battery issues as Europe and the UK build up their local production capability. Secure supply chains are vital. To read more, click the Autocar article here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- SABINE SCHMITZ PASSES AWAY AFTER ILLNESS We, along with most of the motoring world, were stunned at the news of Sabine Schmitz’s death last week. She passed away after a long battle with cancer. The Motoring Podcast would like to offer their condolences to all her family and friends. To read more about Sabine click the BBC article here . Chris Harris has also written about his friend, which you can read by clicking here . LUNCHTIME READ: THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY Friend of the Show, Nir Kahn, wrote about plagiarism in the design world. This is a fascinating subject that is more nuanced than you may expect. Whilst it is an older article the points remain valid as does the battle. To read more, click the LinkedIn article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: FIVE MISUNDERSTOOD MOTORS Not2Grand has compiled a short list of cars they feel have been misunderstood. Expect controversial opinions as some of these fly in the face of conventional wisdom. To see more, click the link here . AND FINALLY: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MULTIPLA The modern Multipla, a favourite of designers for its clever packaging, never took off with the public like it should’ve. However, it is 21 years since it was first on sale and we feel that is worth celebrating, especially when legislation is making it harder for cars to stand out in the market. To read more about the car, click the Autocar link here . As an added bonus there is a link to see one of the weirdest press shots for a car, which you can get to by clicking the TopGear article here . AND FINALLY FINALLY: NEW VIDEO FROM ALAN Alan has filmed and published a video, giving everyone a glimpse inside his garage, a note or two about some of the cars on his drive and an update on one of his cars that doesn’t fit on his drive. Very much worth your time to watch that, so click here for the YouTube link .…
FOLLOW UP: BATH CLEAN AIR ZONE GOES LIVE Bathe has implemented a Clean Air Zone, which remains free for passenger cars and motorcycles to enter, but could cost up to £100 per day for older lorries and buses. Find out more here . FOLLOW UP: CONSULTATION ON ENDING THE SALE OF NEW ICE/HEV CARS AND VANS The Uk government has concluded its consultation on the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans. You can read the official response here . NEW ENGINE DEAL FOR DAGENHAM Ford has announced that Dagenham will build the engines for the next generation of Transit Custom. The engines will be exported to Turkey, where the van is to be built alongside its Volkswagen sibling. Read more on this story here . ASTON JOB LOSSES AT ST. ATHAN Aston Martin has announced job losses at its St. Athan factory. The DBX production line is being “downsized” to help a return to profitability. 95 employees are to lose their jobs alon with around 100 contractors. You can read more here from Autocar and here from the BBC. CONCERNS OF EV CHARGER ACCESSIBILITY A report by the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers (RIDC) shows that two thirds of disabled people fear that they would find EV charging “either difficult of very difficult” in its current form despite wishing to own an EV. You can read more here . GRIDSERVE PARTNERS WITH ECOTRICITY There’s hope for motorway charging with Gridserve taking a 25% stake in Ecotricity’s Electric Highway. This investment will be used to upgrade chargers and customer services provision. You can read the press release here . OXFORD PLANS TO INTRODUCE ZERO EMISSION ZONE Oxford County and City Councils are due to vote on a proposal to introduce a Zero Emissions Zone. The small area of the city centre will be free for zero-emission vehicles to enter but will charge between £2 and £10 for other vehicles. You can read more here . LEGENDARY F1 COMMENTATOR DIES AT 97 We, along with so many of us around the world, were saddened to hear fo the death of the man who introduced the vast majority of us to motorsport, Murray Walker. There are so many great tributes and obituaries and the Autocar one is here . LUNCHTIME READ: DRIVERS NEW TO AUTOMATED ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS MISS GIANT TEDDY BEARS Stef Schrader has written an interesting for The Drive about how people new to automated assistance systems were exposed to a “teddy bear stimulus” multiple times while driving a vehicle with SAE Level 2 ADAS systems engaged and their responses to whether they noticed anything unusual on an hour-long drive. You can read the full article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE TOP 10 FRONT-WHEEL DRIVE RALLY CARS Following a ruling that will remove the front-wheel drive category from WRC, DirtFish compiled their favourite 10 Super 1600 and Kit Cars from the modern-ish era. To run through this fab list of ace looking rally cars, click the link here . Do not forget to tweet the chaps about which you’d pick, if you had to have one! AND FINALLY: KEITH IS A CAR ENTHUSIAST Keith WR Jones has written an excellent short piece on the challenges of being a car enthusiast in modern society. You can read it here .…
FOLLOW UP: ANDREW GOT LOST IN LIVERPOOL Thank you, to the keen eared listener who corrected Andrew on where Aigburth Road actually is in Liverpool, when he described Edge Lane. FOLLOW UP: DEALERS UNHAPPY WITH VOLVO PLANS This week’s ‘well knock me down with a feather’ news item is that the dealerships who found out that Volvo wants to ditch a lot of them for sales, are less than happy with this idea. To read more, click The Truth About Cars article here . NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FEBRUARY 2021 This will be the last month that does not compare restricted UK, year on year, when looking at registration figures. Considering the country has been in another ‘full’ lockdown, manufacturers and dealers have done well to only be 35% down on last year. To read more, click the SMMT figures here . In our not very regular segment about LGVs, it is interesting to see that vans are still going strong, with registrations being up 22% on last year. To read more about that, click the SMMT article here . FUEL DUTY NOT RAISED IN BUDGET During his Budget speech, the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed that there would be no rise in fuel duty, as was expected. That was pretty much the only item specifically aimed at motorists. To read more, click the Autocar article here . ASTON MARTIN WILL MAKE EVS IN THE UK Aston Martin are the latest brand to announce they will be building electric vehicles, ahead of the UK Government’s ICE ban. Additionally, these will be built in the UK. As the cost of purchasing their cars is so high and happens in such small numbers, any rules of origin issues will be minimised for Aston Martin. To read more, click the BBC News article here . PORSCHE INVESTS MORE IN RIMAC Porsche has announced that it is increasing their stake in Rimac to 24%, with an new £60 million investment in the Croatian electric super car brand. By doing so, they will be able to access Rimac’s technology, which will help the development of their own EVs. To read more, click the EVO article here . M6 SHOCKED BY NEW RAPID CHARGERS At Welcome Break services at Corley, in the West Midlands, Instavolt has opened a new rapid charging hub northbound, with one due to go in southbound by the end of March. To read more, click the ZapMap article here . STELLANTIS ASKS FOR GOVERNMENT AID FOR ELLESMERE PORT Stellantis has asked the UK Government for financial aid, if it wants to keep the Vauxhall Ellesmere Port factory open in the future. To read more, click the Bloomberg article here . In what was claimed to be an unrelated move, the factory has been paused due to a lack of demand for the vehicle they make there. To read more, click the BBC News article here . SKODA SALES BOSS OFF TO BENTLEY Alain Favey, who is the head of sales and marketing at Skoda, will take over from Chris Craft later in the year. He will head up the vehicle launches for the new Beyond 100 strategy. To read more, click the Autocar article here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- DFT CALLS FOR MORE ACCESS TO E-SCOOTERS The Department for Transport has called for e-scooters to be made more widely available and affordable to help increase uptake in this option for active travel. They also call for more urban and rural cycle lanes, so that users and potential users will feel safer with these types of transport. To read more, click here for the Zag article . LUNCHTIME LISTEN: THE ECONOMIST ASKS - HERBERT DIESS Richard Porter has written an excellent article popping the perception that the pinnacle of motorsport technology makes for gains in road cars. To read more, click the EVO article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE TOP 10 FRONT-WHEEL DRIVE RALLY CARS Following a ruling that will remove the front-wheel drive category from WRC, DirtFish compiled their favourite 10 Super 1600 and Kit Cars from the modern-ish era. To run through this fab list of ace looking rally cars, click the link here . Do not forget to tweet the chaps about which you’d pick, if you had to have one! AND FINALLY: LOVE BUG MOVIE NOT THAT BAD Jalopnik has published an article making the case for the movie, The Love Bug, saying that it is not as bad as you think or falsely remember. The piece must be convincing, as Alan has parted with his own cash to receive the back catalogue of movies (but not the remake!). To read more, click here for the link .…
FORD BUYS BACK FACTORY In Merseyside, Ford has bought back the remaining stake in a transmission factory, securing the future of 600 workers. This is a glimpse of good news and look forward to finding out why they have made such a move. To find out more, click the Business Live article here . YARIS IS THE EUROPEAN CAR OF THE YEAR Whilst many are only grumbling about Geneva, rather than getting ready to go AND grumbling, the European Car of the Year was announced. The winner is the Toyota Yaris. To find out more about which country voted for which cars, click the Motoring Research article here . There is a fun article running through all the past winners, to see how they fared after being hailed as the best, to read about that click the Autocar article here . E10 PETROL TO BE SOLD FROM SEPTEMBER 2021 The Government has announced that E10 petrol will start to be sold throughout the UK from September 2021. This has a higher amount of ethanol in it than existing fuel. The expectation is that around 700K vehicles will be affected by the more aggressive nature of the composition of the fuel, meaning that some parts and components may wear more quickly than previously. To find out more, click the Motoring Research article here . For more detail on what the fuel change means to older cars, you can read the Not2Grand article by clicking here . To find out if any vehicle you own will be impacted, click the direct link to the Gov.UK check site here . VOLVO AND GEELY NO LONGER MERGING Volvo and Geely announced that they will no longer be merging, as they had intended. However, they will be forging closer ties on technology sharing and the likes. The reason for not merging is not known, nor is it really clear, if this is such a great outcome, why they were intending to in the first place. To read more, click the Autocar article here . Volvo also announced how they are the latest firm to confirm they will be going all electric prior to whichever legislative date has been shouted about last. Added to the news of ditching ICE from 2030, they also stated sales will be online, which may come as a shock to their dealership partners. To read more, click the Autocar article here . ROADS WITH THE HIGHEST SPEEDING RATES Following a Freedom of Information request, many police authorities have confirmed the number of offences recorded on roads within their jurisdiction. To see if you live near any particular hot spots, click the Motoring Research article here . BRITISH MOTOR SHOW RETURNS IN 2021 A new, dynamic British Motor Show will be held, in August, at the Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre, bringing back an event that we haven’t had since 2008. To find out more, click the Motoring Research article here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- FORMULA E: DIRIYAH NIGHT RACES Over the weekend the start of the latest Formula E season began. Two night time races, with mixed fortunes for drivers, teams and us spectators. On Friday Mercedes dominated, resulting in Nyck de Vries winning his first race. Saturday was less smooth all round. An early finish to the race, due to a bad accident, meant Sam Bird won in his first weekend for Jaguar. The racing was blighted, though, because of the rocket attacks thwarted near the racetrack. To read more about Race 1, click The Race article here . To read about Race 2, click The Race article here . WRC: HANNU MIKKOLA DIES Over the weekend, the sad news of Hannu Mikkola’s death was announced. The man who won the first four-wheel drive WRC crown, driving the Audi Quattro, which he continued to do so during the crazy Group B era. To watch a lovely tribute, click the DirtFish video link here . To read more about his achievements, click the DirtFish link here . WRC: ARCTIC RALLY Tänak completed his first ever start to finish domination of a rally to jump back into the championship fight, after a dreadful first rally. Ogier struggled thanks to warmer temperatures and being first on the road. Overall Hyundai had a better weekend than Toyota, which in turn was more successful than M-Sport. To read about the event click the DirtFish article here . To check out the driver ratings, click the DirtFish article here . To find out What We Have Learned, click the DirtFish article here . LUNCHTIME READ: IT’S TIME FOR SOME HARD TRUTHS ABOUT MOTOR RACING’S INFLUENCE ON ROAD CARS Richard Porter has written an excellent article popping the perception that the pinnacle of motorsport technology makes for gains in road cars. To read more, click the EVO article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: HERE ARE 11 THINGS WE MISS FROM OLD CARS We have another excellent Top Gear List of the Week to point you towards, this time about stuff from old cars that is fondly remembered. We don’t agree with all the choices, but most we do. To find out if you like them all, click the link here . AND FINALLY: WEDGED WONDERS From the website Docubyte, we want to share the art project that celebrates Italian concept cars from 1968-79. Click the link here to take in the gorgeous cars and then go explore the rest of the site and artwork. AND FINALLY FINALLY: ZOOM ZOOMERS CALL Alan takes part in a gathering of folks from the motoring world, on a Monday night, run by Damien Cross. If you would like to see the Christmas Special meet up please click the YouTube link here . AND FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY: THE PISTON PODCAST Alan has been busy this week, as he was also on The Piston Podcast, with host Daniel Achterhuis, to discuss Yaris and Pandas, as well as podcasting. To listen in, click the link here .…
FOLLOW UP: 2000 JOBS TO GO IN JLR ‘REIMAGINATION’ There has been further clarification to the information from Jaguar Land Rover, with regards to their ‘Reimagination’ strategy. 2000 salaried, non manufacturing, workers will be lost from the global workforce in the next year, as part of the cost cutting element of the strategy. To read more, click the Autocar article here . FOLLOW UP: MITSUBISHI MAY NOT BE LEAVING EUROPE According to reports, Mitsubishi may be about to change their position on Europe, thanks to Renault. Suggestions are that their models will be built in Renault factories that, however there are no new models being designed for Europe and this would not affect the decision to stop selling cars in the UK. To read more, click the Automotive Management article here . FOLLOW UP: BRISTOL CLEAN AIR ZONE STARTS IN OCTOBER Bristol has now confirmed the latest idea and map for their Clean Air Zone, following the Government asking the council to rethink the decision to ban all diesels for large portions of the day. CAZ D, as it is knows, is not without controversy, as it snares two main roads that are used by many to, ironically, avoid the city centre. To read an ever so slightly biased article from the Bristol 24/7 site, click the link here , but really just do it to see the map. ROCKINGHAM IS NOW A CAR PARK Pictures were released this week, showing the sad demise of the Rockingham race track, as it become a giant car park for mainly ex hire and lease cars. To see more, click the BBC News article here . TRIAL IN OFFERING GIFTS TO OWNERS TO DITCH THEIR CARS Coventry is the first location to offer, in exchange for up to £3000, travel credits, to entice drivers out of their cars and onto alternative forms of transport. These can be used for ebikes, escooters, car share clubs, taxis and public transport. Hampshire is also interested in trialling this idea. To read more, click the RAC article here . RUSSIA ACCUSED OF SPYING ON VOLVO AND SWEDEN A technology consultant, based in Sweden, has been accused of passing on information about Scania Trucks and Volvo Cars, to Russia. Swedish prosecutors have said the country has been put at risk with some of the information passed on. To read more, click The Moscow Times article here . EU REPORT ON AI LEAVING AVS OPEN TO CYBER ATTACKS A report from the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) has outlined the potential exposure to risk AI provides in autonomous vehicles. Not all the issues highlighted are solely an AV issue but also cover connected cars. Hopefully this will be taken seriously and dampen down the hype over autonomous vehicle technology. To read more, click the Venture Beat article here . DUNE BUGGY INVENTOR HAS PASSED AWAY Bruce Meyers, the inventor of the Meyers Manx, has passed away. He is the pioneer of a sub culture in the motoring world. To find out more about the man and his creation, click the Top Gear article here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- FORMULA E: CONFIRMED ON THE BBC Formula E starts its season this weekend and there is the news that the BBC will continue to air it for free in the UK. To read more, click the official Formula E article here . WRC: ARCTIC RALLY RUNNING ORDER The WRC Arctic Rally event takes place this weekend. DirtFish has produced an article explaining who will be there, plus the running order, so to get a quick fix of rally info before it starts, click the link here . LUNCHTIME READ: THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER Friend of the show Chris ‘The Pollitt’ Pollitt has written an article that is worth all our time. He is letting us know that he understands people’s frustrations and anxiety at the moment but that things will improve, we will meet up again, we will get to travel. For that alone you should click the Not2Grand article link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 10 OF THE BEST - THE FRENCH CARS OF CONARKY Despite Andrew making an utter hash of the pronunciation of the capital of Guinea you should click the PetrolBlog link here to view old French cars in an African port city setting. To find out more, click the link here . AND FINALLY: RECREATED PORSCHE 914 As Richard has been so kind as to join Andrew on this week’s show, it was only fair to discuss the re-imagination of the 914, as outlined in this TopGear article . If this has sparked some interest in the original Porsche 914, you would do worse than to check out Richard’s book on the car. You can get a copy straight from Crowwood Press by clicking this link here .…
FOLLOW UP: GHOSN ESCAPE TEAM LOSE COURT APPEAL The father and son team who are accussed of helping Ghosn spring from bail in Japan, has lost their appeal to be extradited to Japan to face charges relating to Carlos Ghosn’s escape. To read more, click here for the Automotive News article . JAGUAR LAND ROVER ANNOUNCE NEW STRATEGY JLR has announced a ‘reimagining’ of their path forward. From 2025 they will be a fully electric focused company. Jaguar will ditch SUVs as they will be Land Rover’s sectors. The XJ, which is so deep into development, has been ditched. There are a lot of aspects to their plans, in order to read more, click the Motoring Research article here to get an overview . For some more in-depth analysis, click here for Professor David Bailey’s take on the news in Car Dealer Magazine . GOVERNMENT POTHOLE FUND DROPS The Government announced it is injecting £500m into the pothole fund, to help local councils repair the shocking state of the roads. Whilst this is a lot, it is a reduction on last year’s overall fund. Councils are warning that they will not be able to tackle everything they need to as a result. To read more, click the Highways Magazine here . HIGHWAYS ENGLAND RECOMMENDED TO FACE CORPORATE MANSLAUGHTER Following a tragic incident and death on the M1 on a smart motorway section, a coroner has recommended that Highways England face charges of corporate manslaughter. To read more, click the Autocar story here . MERCEDES ECALL SYSTEM BUG In the US, if there is a sufficient voltage drop to the eCall emergency call system and it is involved in an accident, the location will be given in Europe to the emergency services trying to locate the vehicle. Up to 1.3m vehicles are thought to be involved in the recall. To read more, click the BBC News story here . TWO EV ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE GOVERNMENT The Government has opened a consultation regarding public charging points, seeking feedback on how to improve them. As Alan points out, we will do far more good by filling this out than bleating on Twitter, so to help click the link here to go straight to the page . Also, announced was that the Home and Workplace Charging Schemes have been extended. This gives financial assistance to those looking to install a charging point at home or work. One detail that was spotted by friend of the show, Daniel Puddicombe, was that the B&Bs had now been included buy workplaces should only be installing for use by employees. We will keep an eye out for any changes to the detail to see if customers can be serviced by these schemes too. To read more, click the FleetNews article here. _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- FORMULA E: DS TECHEETAH COMMITS TO GEN3 DS Techeetah has commited to being part of the Gen3 stage of Formula E’s existence. To see more, click their tweeted announcement here . FORMULA E: ADAM CARROLL NIO333 BACKUP DRIVER NIO333 has announced that Adam Carroll, former Jaguar driver, is the backup driver for the next season. To see more, click The Race tweet here . FORMULA E: NEW RULES APPLY IF YOU WANT TO LEAVE Formula E has revealed new rules, for the Gen3 stage, which will require teams to financially commit to the entire lifecycle of Gen3. If any team wishes to leave part way through, they will have to pay the outstanding amount of their annual fees, within 60 days of leaving. To read more, click the Jalopnik article here . WRC: HOW THE COLD WILL AFFECT AERO Think of this article as a supplemental Lunchtime Read as it is packed with really interesting detail on what the teams are going to have to overcome, from an aero perspective, during the Arctic Rally. To read more, click the WRC Wings article here . And thank you WRC Wings for existing, we applaud your nicheness! LUNCHTIME READ: BRITAIN’S PRESERVED AND CRUMBLING LOCAL PETROL STATIONS This week we have a lovely read, which is extracts from a book by Richard Duisberg, showcasing the disappearing local petrol station. To take a trip around the country, click the Hagerty article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: TOP GEAR’S TOP 9 - WEIRD JAPANESE HOT HATCHES We have linked to a fabulous Top Gear list of crazily named hot hatches, from Japan. To run through the options, click the link here . AND FINALLY: DRIVE AND LISTEN The And Finally this week is a particularly good one, we feel. By clicking the link here, you get the chance to travel around many cities from around the world and listen to their local radio stations whilst you do so. Hopefully this helps with the lack of travel you are currently experiencing, don’t forget to tell the chaps where you’ve been too. To lose several hours, click the link to Driver & Listen here .…
FOLLOW UP: TESLA CHIP RECALL EXPANDED TO UK Tesla has expanded the recall they were forced to initiate in the US, to the UK, for Model S and X cars. The issue is with the type of chip used in their touchscreens, which is not able to cope with the demands of automotive use. There is no timescale on when the recall will begin. To read more, click the Car Dealer article here . JANUARY 2021 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES In January there was a drop of nearly 40% in new cars being registered, which is an excellent effort from the industry considering the country is in another lockdown. The Top 10 *Most Registered* list has a few surprises. To read more, click the SMMT article here . For Tristan Young’s breakdown of registrations due to the ‘fuel put in it’, click the Twitter link here . To learn more about Used Car Transactions, from 2020, click the SMMT link here . DIESEL MOT FAILURE RATE ROCKETS Following the introduction of the latest MOT rules, in May 2018, the number of diesel vehicles failing the emission element has rises 240%, with petrol up by 37%. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . HYUNDAI NOT IN TALKS WITH APPLE A renewed rumour about Apple making their own car surfaced again recently, this time with Hyundai being associated with the project. However, this has now been clarified, Apple is not discussing such a project with the Korean giant. To read more, click the Autocar article here . JLR WINS C-TYPE COPYRIGHT CASE Jaguar Land Rover has won a copyright case over the shape of the Jaguar C-Type, in Sweden. The court acknowledged that the shape was individual enough to warrant intellectual property rights. To read more, click the Car Deal Magazine article here and don’t do any Jag sketches! CALLS TO LOWER THE DRINK-DRIVE LIMIT The Government is under pressure to lower the drink-drive limits in England and Wales. Fatal accidents from drivers being over the limit account for 13 percent. There are a series of steps and suggestions which can be found within the Motoring Research article by clicking the link here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- LUNCHTIME READ: This week, Andrew and Alan give you two bits of homework. Following several weeks of grumpiness from the chaps, over how some who should know better have been reporting on their time with EVs, Autocar has two excellent articles that show both the positive and negative of the current situation (none of that sentence was intended to be seen as a pun, sorry!). For Part One, click the article link to Nick Gibbs’s piece . For Part Two, click here for Jim Holder’s article . LIST OF THE WEEK: TOP GEAR’S BEST EVER PICKUP PICS Whilst we were expecting unadulterated and even wall to wall Tom Ford, within this slideshow, our disappointment was slightly offset by the fabulous pickups in fabulous locations. To spend some time wistfully thinking of where you would go, click the Top Gear link here . AND FINALLY: HOW AUTOCAR MADE A PORSCHE CAYMAN FLY This has been a much rumoured story, floating around certain parts of the internet, which has now been finally told by a man who was not just there but was in the car at the time. Click here to read how the amazing photo was taken, the horrific damage to the car and if anyone had a job at the end of it, by clicking the link here .…
OLD TYRES BANNED Following a lengthy campaign after a tragically fatal accident involving a coach with old tyres, a new law has come into force that bans tyres over 10 years old from being fitted to lorries, coaches and buses where there is only a single tyre. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . TOYOTA RECLAIMS WORLD’S LARGEST CAR MANUFACTURER CROWN Toyota was the largest car manufacturer in 2020, knocking the Volkswagen Group from the lofty top spot. Whilst all were affected by lockdowns across the globe, the reach of Toyota’s network appears to have softened that blow. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . JLR POST PRE-TAX PROFIT FOR LAST QUARTER The impact of the dramatic cost-efficiencies across Jaguar Land Rover are bearing fruit, as they announced a pre-tax profit of £439m, for the last quarter. To read more about this good news, click the Autocar article here . NEW MD NAMED BY LOTUS Matt Windle has been named the new Managing Director of Lotus, taking over from Phil Popham. As he was Executive Director for Engineering he will already be familiar with the recently announced plan to move the company forward. To read more, click the Lotus press release here . JATO NO LONGER SEPARATING HYBRIDS FROM ICE FIGURES The analysis company JATO Dynamics will no longer reporting hybrid vehicles under “electrified”, as they have deemed they are mainly driven by the internal combustion engine. Only plug-in hybrids and fully electric will fall under this classification. We have been saying this for some time now, when we cover it during the monthly registration figures. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . GOVERNMENT PLEDGES £93M TO ROAD UPGRADES The Government has stated that there will be an additional £93m made available for upgrading certain roads that are deemed vital in the economic recovery of this country. The majority will be focused on the North. To read more, click the Autocar article here . GOVERNMENT PLEDGES £20M TO ON-STREET CHARGING SCHEME The Government has stated it will be providing £20m to the on-street charging scheme, that local councils can access to improve provisions in their areas. This is a jump from last year and a huge increase compared to 2019. To read more, click the Autocar article here . WHITBREAD INSTALLING THOUSANDS OF GENIE POINT EV CHARGERS Across the Whitebread portfolio of hotels and pubs, thousands of Genie Point EV chargers will be installed. 600 are expected to be working in the next three years. To read more, click Business Motoring here . NEW HIGHWAYS ENGLAND TRAFFIC INFORMATION SERVICE DEAL Sopra Steria has won a £42m contract to upgrade the Highways England Traffic Information Service, over the next few years. Many organisations and apps rely on the information provided by this, so there’s no pressure on it seamlessly being upgraded. To read more, click The Register article here . GOOGLE TO PROVIDE FORD WITH A NEW INFOTAINMENT OS Ford and Google have struck a deal to replace the in-house Sync system with Android Auto. To read more, c lick the Autocar article here . VEHICLE AUTOMATION MODE CLASSIFICATION SUGGESTIONS Edge Case Research, who are focused on the safety of autonomy and autonomous systems, has released a classification system aimed at the user, instead of engineers and legislators. As many have mentioned the SAE levels are not really suitable, especially for drivers and passengers. Edge Case Research has simplified when those in the vehicle are responsible and liable for being in control. To see this excellent list, click the link here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- FORMULA E: SECOND SET OF 2020/21 RACES ANNOUNCED Formula E has released details of the races following the season opening in Saudi Arabia. To read more, click the official post here . WRC: ARCTIC RALLY FINALISED The route for the upcoming Arctic Rally has been finalised, which has had competators pouring over the documentation. That won’t be the only thing that will have caught their eye, the note to pack a winter survival kit may also piqued interest. To read more about the event, click the DirtFish article here . LUNCHTIME READ: TOP GEAR’S GUIDE TO COACHBUILDERS - GHIA Whilst Ghia was the way we all knew who had the poshest Ford, the name wasn’t always synonymous with the Blue Oval. Let Top Gear help educate you as to where they started and how they became so closely linked to Ford, by clicking here for the link . LIST OF THE WEEK: FIVE CARS FOR SUBURBAN SATISFACTION This is an older list, yet still is valid thanks to no one going anywhere, from the Not2Grand site, putting forward options for older cars that would not cause the net curtains to twitch and gossip to start about how less well off you are compared to the neighbourhood. To run through the classy list, click the link here . AND FINALLY: HUBCAP CREATURES Trawling through the internet, Andrew came across the artist, Ptolemy Elrington, who creates sculptures from old hubcaps. To see more of these stunning works of art, click the link to Ptolemy’s site here .…
NEW CAR REGISTRATIONS MAY 2020 As expected, the number of new car registrations, in the UK for May 2020 was very low. However, surprisingly, is the amount that actually was registered. Click through here for the SMMT article detailing more . JLR’S CASTLE BROMWICH SITE REMAINS CLOSED Jaguar Land rover’s Castle Bromwich production facility will remain closed until 10 August, when a phased program of production will begin. This will allow the company time to install the equipment needed for the new production line that the yet to be revealed electric XJ will be built on. To read more, click the Autocar article here . UK MOTOR INDUSTRY JOB LOSSES Aston Martin, Bentley and Lookers have all announced planned job cuts. Aston Martin’s will be of little surprise as new management teams always make grand gestures when starting out. Bentley’s plans were due to come in March, as part of their Beyond 100 project. Lookers’ announcement is a reflection of both the current situation and their ongoing financial issues that remain both complicated and murky. To read more about Aston Martin, click the Autocar article here . For more information about Bentley, click the Autocar article here . To read about Lookers’ job losses, click The Guardian article here . To find out more about the financial issues Lookers’ has, click The Guardian article here . 7-MONTH PHOTO DRIVING LICENSE EXTENSION GRANTED The DVLA has announced that it is automatically extending photo driving licenses that have expired, between 1 February and 31 August 2020, for seven months. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . VW BRAND GETS NEW CEO Ralf Brandstätter has been internally appointed as the new CEO of the Volkswagen Brand, taking over from Herbert Diess who remains as VW Group CEO. There were many rumours flying around earlier this week, with regards to the potential changes. To read more, click the Autocar article here . CUTTING POLICE FUNDING AFFECTS ABILITY TO POLICE A study, carried out for the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, has concluded that cutting funding to the police has a negative and direct effect on incident and collision numbers. This is particularly pertinent as all public purses will be squeezed in the coming years, with any government having to tread carefully with where it chooses to spend money. To read the Autocar article, click the link here . To read the full report, click the link here . HONDA’S GLOBAL PRODUCTION HIT BY CYBER ATTACK Plants across the globe, run by Honda, have been hit by a cyber attack. Details are sketchy at the moment, but it is known that production has been affected. To read more, click the BBC News article here . LONDON CONCOURS PERMITTED An announcement has been made that the London Concours has been granted permission to run 19-20 August. This will probably be the first major UK automotive event since the lockdown was initiated. To read more, click their tweet here . We are pausing our Patreon for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing crisis, however, if you are still able to help someone, we recommend supporting Mission Motorsport’s COVID-19 Response Fund. To find out more click this link here . FORMULA E: WHERLEIN JOINS PORSCHE Pascal Wehrlein has left Mahindra with immediate effect, choosing not to activate his third-year option, so that he can join the Porsche team. Neel Jani, the driver who he will replace, is expected to complete his contract with Porsche. To read more, click The Race article here . WRC: EVENT CANCELLATIONS ANNOUNCED Finland, New Zealand and Great Britain events have all been cancelled this year, due to the effects of the Covid-19 crisis. A combination of logistics and safety for those watching and taking part means it is impossible to hold them. To read more, click the DirtFish article here and also click the Goodwood Road&Racing article here . REVS RESTORED EVENT RETURNING THIS WEEKEND The virtual car event, run by Adam Gompertz, will return this weekend (13-14 June 2020), with another array of fabulous people. To find out more, click the Facebook link here . LUNCHTIME READ: AIRLOCK Spacesuit Media, the motorsport media collective, has released a fabulous digital magazine with an array of fabulous and thought-provoking articles and imagery. To find out more, click the link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: NINE CAR MUSEUMS TO VISIT FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR SOFA Top Gear has created a list of museums that you can virtually visit, to help you get the motoring fix you may need. They have selected a particularly wonderful mix, which you can look at by clicking the link here . AND FINALLY: RX-7 SAVED FROM FLOOD BY STRANGER Austin Owens came across the sight of a Mazda RX-7 in danger from floodwater, via social media. He decided that he could and would help. Both he and a friend organised supplies and helped to raise up the car so that it could be raised up out of the potentially ruinous water. What a guy. To read more, click the Jalopnik article here . THE ZOOM ZOOMERS Alan takes part in a gathering of folks from the motoring world, on a Monday night, run by Damien Cross. If you would like to see last Monday’s meet up please click the YouTube link here .…
Alan was joined by Dominic Taylor-Lane from the Association of Heritage Engineers to find out why the Association exists, what it’s all about and how people can get involved. To find out more about the Association of Heritage Engineers visit their website and follow them on Twitter and Instagram .
FOLLOW UP: VW NOT SHIELDED FROM MORE US FINES Volkswagen lost a case, where counties from Utah and Florida were seeking damages in relation to #dieselgate. The court found that the legislation did not exclude state and local governments from fining VW, even though they had reached a settlement with the US Government. Volkswagen was seeking a further review of this ruling. The potential liability this could expose VW Group to is huge. To read more, click the Reuters article here . FOLLOW UP: HOMEMADE COG ADVERT WINNER ANNOUNCED The winner of the best homemade advert, inspired by the Honda COG advert has been announced. There were some fantastic submissions, including one from Jonny Smith, who shared the amount of work it took to create his final effort. To read more and watch the videos, click the Honda article here . CORNAVIRUS AND THE AUTOMOTIVE WORLD Once again, we refer to James Attwood’s ongoing timeline of what is happening in the automotive world during this virus outbreak. A couple of points are highlighted, that dealerships opened again on 1 June (8 June for Northern Ireland) and motorsport will be starting again soon behind closed doors. To read more, from the Autocar article click here . To read the excellent piece from TV’s Paul Cowland, click Car Dealer Magazine here . 197 CARS MADE IN APRIL Unsurprisingly, car production was an incredibly small amount, compared to months prior to the virus crisis. Only 197 vehicles were built during April. To read more, click the City AM article here . FRANCE ANNOUNCES CAR INDUSTRY RESCUE PACKAGE President Macron has revealed a package to help the French car industry, with €8 billion being made available. Some measures include incentives for people to buy new, cleaner vehicles, however, it is not clear if this is a scrappage scheme. One of the provisos is for the money to be spent in France, as one would expect. To read more, click the BBC News article here . REBEL ALLIANCE ANNOUNCE CLOSER TIES Renault Nissan and Mitsubishi announced their plan for closer ties and how to return to profitability. There will be more sharing of developed platforms, technology and design, including the effectively rebadging of cars for each of the brands. They will have one lead company for specific global regions. To read more, click the Autocar article here . NFU GIVES FREE HOME RECOVERY COVERAGE Insurer NFU will provide free home start and recovery service, via the RAC, for existing customers until 31 August 2020, following lockdown restrictions. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . We are pausing our Patreon for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing crisis, however, if you are still able to help someone, we recommend supporting Mission Motorsport’s COVID-19 Response Fund. To find out more click this link here . FORMULA E: AND WE GO GREEN DOCUMENTARY A Formula E documentary, focusing on Jean-Eric Verne during his championship-winning season, has been released. You can find it on Channel 4, in the UK. To learn more and where you can see it, click the Formula E article here . WRC: WIN A GR YARIS WRC has announced the prize for the winner of the latest WRC 8 e-racing championship, will be a Toyota GR Yaris. Not a toy, model or radio-controlled version, but an actual car. Whilst that is tempting for Alan, not even such a prize has motivated him enough to get into sim racing. To learn more, click the WRC article here . W-SERIES ESPORTS LEAGUE The female-only racing league, W-Series, has announced an online league that will start on 11 June. Congratulations to Luke Crane, who helped create the league, and will be the lead commentator. He will be joined by David Coulthard, co-commentator, Lee McKenzie, lead presenter, and Billy Monger, race pundit. To read more, click the W-Series article here . RACE OF REMEMBRANCE 2020 ANNOUNCED With motorsport being permitted once again, Mission Motorsport has announced the 2020 Race of Remembrance details. To learn more, click the article here . LUNCHTIME READ: INDIRA FLACK AND THE GBRD Indira Flack will be exhibiting her series of portraits of British racing drivers, at Silverstone. The Influx article explains how the project came about and how she has managed to get so many to participate. To read more, click the article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE BEST SECRETS HIDDEN INSIDE CARS Autocar has produced a delightful list of hidden secrets that can be found in various cars, from rotary triangle shapes throughout the Mazda RX-8, to a drink holder underneath the bonnet of a Dodge Challenger, these touches help make the cars extra special. To run through the list and learn some fascinating facts, click the link here . AND FINALLY: OWNER SELLS CAR WITHOUT DRIVING IT The owner of 1 of 77, track-only, Porsche 935, is selling the car without having had the pleasure of driving it. This isn’t the normal story of rich collector holding onto a car and not using it for the purpose intended, click through to The Drive article here to learn more . THE ZOOM ZOOMERS Alan takes part in a gathering of folks from the motoring world, on a Monday night, run by Damien Cross. If you would like to see last Monday’s meet up please click the YouTube link here .…
1 Special Edition - Aston Martin Zagato Heritage TWINS by R-Reforged 19:30
19:30 나중에 재생 나중에 재생 리스트 좋아요 좋아요19:30
나중에 재생 나중에 재생 리스트 좋아요 좋아요Adam Donfrancesco of R-Reforged joins Alan once again to discuss the latest project by R-Reforged, the Aston Martin Vantage V12 Zagato Heritage TWINS, a limited edition of 19 pairs of bespoke, V12 Vantage S - based Coupé and Speedster pairings. To find out more about R-Reforged, the Heritage TWINS and other projects, visit their website and follow them on Twitter and Instagram .…
FOLLOW UP: VW PAYS $10M TO END CEO CASE Volkswagen has paid nearly $10 million to a German court, to end the case against CEO Herbert Diess, who was accused of manipulating market prices by not revealing the scandal that became #dieselgate sooner. VW reiterate that although they have paid they are adamant that the case was baseless. To read more, click the Automotive News Europe article here . FOLLOW UP: VW LOSE LANDMARK CIVIL CASE In a different court, Volkswagen lost a civil case where the claimant was seeking compensation akin to that given in the US, for those who had bought affected vehicles unknowingly. VW will have to pay an amount of money if the owner wants to keep the vehicle or buy it back at a rate adjusted relative to the mileage of the car. To read more, click the Automotive News Europe article here . FOLLOW UP: MORE ARRESTS OVER GHOSN’S ESCAPE In the US, two security consultants have been arrested in connection with the plot and execution of Ghosn’s escape from Japan. The father and son duo were part of the team that scoped possible escape routes and brought in the large boxes that were supposedly used to smuggle Ghosn from the country. To read more, click the Jalopnik article here . FOLLOW UP: KHAN AND GOVERNMENT BOTH TO BLAME FOR CONGESTION CHANGES The mudslinging and accusations over who was directly at fault for the increase in Congestion Charge fee, the time it covers and bringing in changes sooner has slowed sufficiently for us to find out that part of the conditions of the bailout did stipulate changes had to be made, however exactly how much, when and exactly what time they cover was down to TfL and the Mayor of London. To read more, click the link here . FOLLOW UP: MCLAREN MORTGAGES ASSETS McLaren has now agreed on a loan, using some of their assets as collateral. However, due to already having secured funding previously, they cannot use all their assets. To read more, click The Guardian article here . McLaren also announced, on the day of recording, that it was going to make 1,200 staff redundant. To read more, click the BBC News article here . SHOWROOMS ALLOWED TO OPEN FROM 1 JUNE The Government has announced that car showrooms and open markets will be allowed to re-open on 1 June, ahead of the other ‘non-essential’ shops date of 15 June. They have done this now to give sites time to put in place the measures required to be allowed to safely operate once more. To read more, click the Autocar article here . ASTON MARTIN GETS NEW BOSS Dr Andy Palmer has left Aston Martin, with immediate effect. Three other board members have also left the company. Mercedes-AMG boss, Tobia Moers, will take over from 1 August 2020. To read more, click the Autocar article here . NEW EURO NCAP TESTS As part of the way Euro NCAP works, they update their testing regime every two years. In this installment, they will be adding driver assistance technology, a new mobile barrier test and other improvements. To read more, click the Waynes World article here . JLR SEEKING AID FROM GOVERNMENT Jaguar Land Rover is in discussions with the Government over financial aid, due to the current crisis. To read more, click the BBC News article here . GENEVA MOTORSHOW UNLIKELY IN 2021 The Foundation that runs the Geneva Motorshow has turned down a grant from the Canton of Geneva, as it is unable to accept the conditions of the aid. This means that the 2021 show is “unlikely” and in their press release, they advised exhibitors to plan for 2022. Some took this to mean there will never be a show again, however, Alan is a little more optimistic. To read more, click the GIMS release here . We are pausing our Patreon for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing crisis, however, if you are still able to help someone, we recommend supporting Mission Motorsport’s COVID-19 Response Fund. To find out more click this link here . FORMULA E: RACE FROM HOME During Saturday’s race, Daniel Abt, the Audi driver, employed a pro-sim racer to take his place for qualifying and the race. Abt has subsequently explained they thrashed out the idea just before qualifying and disguised the fact it was not him in the main event. Formula E found out and disqualified him, banned him from the rest of the competition and recommended he donate €10,000 to charity, the sim driver is also banned for the rest of the series. Abt claims this was all done in jest and to entertain the fans with some different and interesting content. To watch Abt’s video statement, click the YouTube link here . Audi, on the day of recording, also announced their punishment which was to ‘suspend’ Abt from driving for them. The expectation is he won’t drive for Audi again. To read more, click The Race article here . There has been an increasingly poor reaction from real-world drivers and some of the press, who have used straw-man arguments such as “it’s only a game”, “it’s only online”, “it’s just meant to be fun” and the likes. Those are disrespectful, nonsense statements that could easily be tweaked and used about real-word racing. To read some balanced thoughts on the situation, click The Race link here . LUNCHTIME READ: RECREATING ICONIC IMAGES WITH LEGO We have selected another from the series of #GetCreativeWithPorsche to feature as our List of the Week. This time, automotive photographer Dominic Fraser takes us through the process of recreating iconic photos with the help of Lego. To read more, and hopefully, get inspired, click the link to the Porsche article here . If you create any shots like this, do remember to tag the podcast in! LIST OF THE WEEK: ARE THESE THE BEST RALLYING SUPERCARS OF ALL TIME? SuperUnleaded has created a fab list of rallying supercars. Click the link here , to run through the short list and try to select your favourite! AND FINALLY: OFF-ROAD BUS WINS RED DOT AWARD The heavy-duty off-road bus, built by Torus, has won a prestigious Red Dot Design Award. The amazing looking bus is designed to help workers get to inhospitable areas relatively easily. To read more, click the SuperUnleaded article here . THE ZOOM ZOOMERS Alan takes part in a gathering of folks from the motoring world, on a Monday night, run by Damien Cross. If you would like to see last Monday’s meet up please click the YouTube link here .…
FOLLOW UP: E-SCOOTER CONSULTATION The Government has released a consultation about e-scooters, seeking opinion on what one is, where they should be used and the like. We have until 23:45 on 2 June 2020 to respond. To read more and answer, click the .Gov.uk page here . AUTOMOTIVE CORONAVIRUS UPDATE Once again we recommend clicking on the Autocar timeline article, excellently written by James Attwood, which lists what is happening in the automotive world due to the current crisis. To do so, click the link here . There are a couple of stories that the chaps highlighted though, the first is that McLaren was turned down when they originally asked for a loan of around £150 million. As a consequence, they are investigating mortgaging some of their assets such as historic racing cars. To read more, click the BBC News article here . LONDON CONGESTION CHARGE RETURNS Transport for London was very close to collapse, last week, however that has been averted by a bailout by the Government. At first, the news was reported that the return of the congestion charge and the subsequent increase to the fee, days and time covered was claimed to be a condition of the bailout. This has subsequently turned out to be untrue, it was the decision of the Mayor of London. To read more, click the article about how TfL got into this mess here . To read through the thread from the author of that article, click here . To read about the changes to the congestion charge, click the Autocar article here . CALLS INCREASE FOR A SCRAPPAGE SCHEME There is an increasing number of calls for a scrappage scheme to be announced, coming from the auto industry, to help the sector in what is expected to be tough financial times. Alan and Andrew discuss this, as there are mixed messages at the moment. We have had the campaign that dealerships be allowed to open again as there was a large pent up demand of people wanting to buy cars. So which is it? The chaps also discuss how the industry has to become sustainable, which is obviously isn’t if every time there is a blip the call goes up for Government help. To read more, click the Car Dealer Magazine article here . YORK AIMS FOR ZERO-EMISSIONS York is investigating becoming the first zero-emission city in the UK, taking advantage of the current guidance on travel. Part of the plan would be to ban petrol and diesel cars, buses, vans and lorries from the city centre. The ban would not cover disabled drivers though. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . ARRIVAL OPENING NEW COMPOSITIES FACILITY Arrival, the until recently secret EV company, has announced it is opening a new composite facility. This is in addition to their other factory, which we discussed recently. To read more, click the MTD MFG article here . We are pausing our Patreon for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing crisis, however, if you are still able to help someone, we recommend supporting Mission Motorsport’s COVID-19 Response Fund. To find out more click this link here . VIRTUAL LE MANS As the real race has been moved to September, there is a hole in the calendar, which will be filled by a virtual 24-hour race starting on June 13. There will be 50 teams, comprising of two real-world drivers and two sim-racing drivers. To read more, click the Top Gear magazine article here . WORLD’S SMALLEST CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE There is a way we can continue to enjoy car shows, during this time, with a model Concours d’Elegance. Every two weeks the Isolation Island event shows off model car entrants, which have cost no more than $350. To learn more and maybe even submit your own, click the Motoring Research article here . LUNCHTIME READ: BANGERNOMICS MAG - THE BRIT ISSUE James Ruppert’s Bangernomic Magazine is our lunchtime read. All of it. As usual, there is a fab mix of articles, but of particular note are the two about getting Britain going again as lockdown eases off and supporting local specialist businesses. Added to that, for free, James is including businesses that are connected with the motoring industry to help raise awareness that they exist, they’re still there and they too will require our help. To read the magazine, click the link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE UNTHINKABLES - 10 OF THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL CAR INNOVATIONS Autocar has produced an excellent list of cars that were shocking when they were first revealed. The aspects that made them so seem quite tame today, but is that familiarity or that they worked as well as the company hoped? To run through the list, click the link here . AND FINALLY: WORLD BEE DAY 20 May is World Bee Day, thanks to the UN. Rolls Royce and Toyota are celebrating by telling us more about how their sites have been designed with bees in mind. To read Rolls Royce’s work, click the link here . To read about Toyota, click the link here . THE ZOOM ZOOMERS Alan takes part in a gathering of folks from the motoring world, on a Monday night, run by Damien Cross. If you would like to see last Monday’s meet up please click the YouTube link here .…
Alan and Andrew both had examples of the Jeep Wrangler range, to try out, for a week. Listen in as they compare how many Jeep decals they found, the level of thoughts that has gone into the actual use of the car and how the performance was a little surprising for them and others. (No groundhogs were harmed in the testing of these JEEP.)…
FOLLOW UP: ARRESTS IN TURKEY FOR ASSISTING GHOSN Seven people, including pilots, flight attendants and airline executives have been arrested in Turkey, for their involvement in the remarkable escape from Japan that Carlos Ghosn perpetrated. The airline, MNG Jet, also filed a criminal complaint in relation to this. To read more, click the BBC News article here . FOLLOW UP: INTERPOL ISSUE RED NOTICE OVER DUNN SUSPECT Interpol has issued a Red Notice globally, for Ann Sooclas, who is wanted in relation to the death of Harry Dunn. The US has flatly refused to accept an extradition request, from the UK and has also stated that it will not comply with this Red Notice. To read more, click the Axios article here . CAR SHOWROOMS CONSIDERED ‘NON-ESSENTIAL RETAIL’ As car showrooms have been classed as ‘non-essential retail’ they will be allowed to operate, if following safety guidance, when England reaches Step 2 of the lockdown release. The earliest this will come into force is June 1. There is no news on whether Wales and Scotland will follow suit. To read more, click the AM Online article here . UPDATE FROM THE CAR WORLD We are, once again, linking to Autocar’s timeline on what changes are occurring in the automotive world. To read through the latest steps taken, click the link here . GOVERNMENT ENCOURAGES US TO CONSIDER OUR TRAVEL Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, has announced that we all need to consider the mode of transport we are going to take for our travel, be that to work or for leisure. This backs up his department’s report on how transport in the UK will need to evolve in the years to come. Some misinterpreted him and took it that cars were being banned, which is not the case, just that we need to use the most appropriate form of transport for the task. To read more, click the Gov.UK article here . Connected with this, was the announcement that £250 million was being provided to councils so that alternative or active transport could be encouraged, during the current situation, whilst providing safety to those walking, cycling or similarly. Added to that, is the news e-scooter legislation could be rushed through enabling them to be legally used. To read more, click The Guardian article here . Wales has also asked councils to register their interest in encouraging alternative transport methods. The Welsh Assembly has given them until 21 May 2020 to confirm they wish to install pop-up cycle lanes, bring in more 20mph zones and the likes. To read more, click on the press release here . We are pausing our Patreon for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing crisis, however, if you are still able to help someone, we recommend supporting Mission Motorsport’s COVID-19 Response Fund. To find out more click this link here . MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA PRODUCES POSSIBLE BLUEPRINT Australian motorsport’s governing body has released a blueprint that could mean motorsport can begin to take place again, safely. They have encouraged others to review the document and hopefully, this means that live events startup. To read more, click the DirtFish article here . REVS LIMITER VIRTUAL CAR SHOW THIS WEEKEND Adam Gompertz, the man behind the REVS Limiter idea, has managed to get a great collection of people to take part in this wonderful sounding event. To learn more, click the Classics and Sports Car link here . LUNCHTIME READ: HOW THE ODDBALL MATRA RANCHO INVENTED THE CROSSOVER Gavin Braithwaite-Smith has donned his best Sherlock Homes gear and investigated the wonderful, if flawed (but let us gloss over that), Matra Rancho. In doing so he comes to the conclusion that this was the start of the crossover craze. Also, the chaps realise where their like of plastic cladding originated. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 6 UNBELIEVABLE RULE-BENDING STORIES FROM RALLY Michael Banovsky wrote the List of the Week for Petrolicious, a while ago, however, it is still a brilliant piece of work. Run through the six examples of rally motorsport pushing, and possibly crossing, the boundaries of what was allowed by the rules. To read more, click the link here . AND FINALLY: FADED BEAUTY OF ABANDONED CARS Dieter Klein, a German photographer, photographs abandoned cars, some of these have been made into a book called Lost Wheels. Click on the BBC News article here to run through some of the wonderful photographs he has taken. THE ZOOM ZOOMERS Alan takes part in a gathering of folks from the motoring world, on a Monday night, run by Damien Cross. This week Alan got a lovely surprise as Andrew was the guest! If you would like to see last Monday’s meet up please click the Twitter link here .…
FOLLOW UP: FERRARI OPENS AGAIN Thanks to their “Back on Track” initiative, which the chaps discussed on 14 April’s episode, Ferrari opened Maranello once more, to begin a phased ramping up of production. To read more on this and what else is happening around the world, click the Autocar link here . NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR APRIL 2020 Surprising no one, UK New Car Registration figures fell by 97.3%, with 4,321 registrations happening in April 2020. The cars in the Top Ten are a very different lot from normal. To read more, click the SMMT article here . HITACHI PARTNERING WITH GRIDSERVE Hitachi is investing in the electric service station developer, Gridserve, helping them to open the first of their planned one hundred EV dedicated charging stations. The first of which is due to open this summer. To read more, click the Autocar link here . PORSCHE ADDS APPLE CARPLAY TO HISTORIC CARS Porsche is offering the ability to retrofit Apple CarPlay into vintage cars, via their Classic department. These are discreet units that fit into older Porsches but allow owners to utilise their Apple devices. To read more, click the Motoring Research article . SHEFFIELD CITY COUNCIL’S ANPR DATA EXPOSED 8.6 million vehicle records were accessible, covering thousands of vehicles, without a password or authentication. Individual vehicles, as well as their journeys, were traceable to anyone who logged into the management dashboard. Time will tell if anything happens or if ANPR was being used outside the scope the public expect it to be used. To read more, click the link to The Register article . NOTTINGHAM REPORTS BACK ON ULEZ Nottingham, one of the first locations for an Ultra Low Emission Zone, has reported back on the lessons that have been learnt in the first two years of the project. When reading the document, it can be seen that this was from before the lockdown, as could be expected. Some of the findings will now need to be re-evaluated but the chaps do commend Nottingham for reviewing the status and publishing their findings. To read more, click the ZapMap article here . If you would like to read the report itself, click the link here . ITV INVITE RECREATIONS OF HONDA’S COG ADVERT The ITV program, The People’s Ad Break , has asked for members of the public to recreate the famous Honda advert, that featured the parts being triggered to move. Good luck with your version, you have until 8 May to submit so get your skates on. To find out more and the chance to rewatch that superb advert, click the Motoring Research article here . We are pausing our Patreon for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing crisis, however, if you are still able to help someone, we recommend supporting Mission Motorsport’s COVID-19 Response Fund. To find out more click this link here . WRC: RALLY PORTUGAL CANCELLED Rally Portugal is the first event to be officially cancelled, as the organisers could not make a provisional October date work. We suspect it will not be the last that is cancelled. To read more, click the DirtFish article here . Also on DirtFish is an article discussing a topic raised on one of their recent podcasts, cost-cutting and simplification of the rules to continue to make the sport attractive to manufacturers and teams. Citroën pulling out must have made alarm bells go off, within the WRC organising committees, the added financial pressures that will come following this pandemic are likely to put all motorsport in line for being cut. We saw how quickly VW dropped it’s motorsport commitments to deal with costs from dieselgate. Does not take much thinking to see others following suit. To read more, click the article here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: DONCKERWOLKE LEAVES HYUNDAI Luk Donckerwolke has resigned, with immediate effect, as Hyundai Group Chief Design Officer, due to personal reasons. To read more, including some of the stunning concepts he presided over, click the FormTrends article here . LUNCHTIME READ: MAZDA’S STORY ON THE FOURTH-GENERATION MX-5 DESIGN Another FormTrends article, this time one about how Mazda produced the design of the fourth-generation MX-5. This is a fascinating read, about the process Mazda went through to finally emerge with the final look of the car. To read this, click the link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 25 THINGS WE LEARNED WHILE WATCHING MOVIES This week’s list comes from the Double Apex site, where, with tongue firmly embedded in their cheek, they tell us what we should be doing whilst driving if movies are to be believed. Click their link here , to read more. AND FINALLY: BMW HELPS WITH OUR EDUCATION During this time of lockdown, there have been plenty of asinine posts about how you should be bettering yourself and if you aren’t what a fool you are. Well, we think that is silly, however, a little improvement is probably doable. BMW has come to our aid and released a video that tells us all how to pronounce BMW in German. Click the YouTube link here and then you will have a nice warm feeling as you have learnt something today. THE ZOOM ZOOMERS Alan takes part in a gathering of folks from the motoring world, on a Monday night, run by Damien Cross. If you would like to see last Monday’s meet up please click the Twitter link here .…
Alan heard from Adam Donfrancesco of R-Reforged about some of the thinking and engineering that goes into limited-production projects such as the Aston Martin Vanquish 25 by CALLUM. In this, we talk mostly about the engineering and thinking that’s gone un under the skin, for more pictures and information about the aesthetic tweaks that Ian Callum and the team at R-Reforged made then I recommend this Motoring Research article from the concept launch. To find out more about R-Reforged and their ongoing projects then visit their website.…
UPDATE ON EFFECTS OF GLOBAL LOCKDOWN ON INDUSTRY Autocar has compiled a list of the effects the global pandemic is having on the motoring industry and sport. To get a snapshot of the impact, click through on the link here . AA MAKE SILLY CLAIM ABOUT FUEL PRICES The AA has claimed, just days after the oil price went through the floor, that petrol prices hadn’t fallen to reflect this and drivers were being ‘ripped off’. This was a silly claim, one that Andrew has “views” about. To read more, click the BBC News article here . The RAC look at all of the factors that affect the current situation to learn more, click on the Motoring Research article here . CLASSIC CAR AUCTION HOUSE COYS IN ADMINISTRATION Coys of Kensington Automobiles has gone into administration with trading debts of £1.65 million. The last 12 months have been quite turbulent for Coys. To read more, click The Telegraph article here . Note, you may need to register to get access to this article. THREE-MONTH CAR FINANCE FREEZE ANNOUNCED The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has introduced new rules, that allow UK residents who are struggling to pay their PCP or PCH, to apply for a three-month freeze. The FCA also stated that there should be no strings attached to applications of the freeze. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . CLAIMS PEOPLE WILL AVOID PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND BUY CARS Autotrader revealed their research, that people will avoid public transport and buy a car, once lockdown measures are eased. Andrew and Alan don their white coats and push their glasses up their nose to look a little more into this story. To read more, click the Autotrader article here . LOWER SPEED LIMIT ON ISLE OF MAN As more people appear to be using our roads and with plenty of stories of vehicles stopped for speeding, it should be noted that the Isle of Man introduced a lower speed limit, of 40mph, on 27 March. The idea is to reduce the strain on their healthcare system. If enough people continue to flout the laws of the road, it is easy to see the UK following suit. To read more, click the Isle of Man Government statement . MOST ACCIDENTS OCCUR ON SLOWER ROADS Department of Transport figures have revealed that more accidents take place on slower roads, but more fatalities occur on higher speed roads. Choose My Car commissioned the research into the detail of accidents in the UK. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . We are pausing our Patreon for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing crisis, however, if you are still able to help someone, we recommend supporting Mission Motorsport’s COVID-19 Response Fund. To find out more click this link here . LUNCHTIME READ: CAR DETAILING Porsche has asked Richard Tipper, the car detailing wizard known more commonly as @perfectionvalet, for his tips on detailing your car. As part of their #GetCreativeWithPorsche, the third instalment helps those of us looking to up our car presentation game. To read more, click on the Porsche article link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 10 OF THE BEST LOOKING CLASSIC ESTATES If you’ve listened to the show for any length of time, you’ll know how much the chaps like and estate. Well, this is almost the perfect List of the Week, it is as though Gareth Herincx wrote it especially for us. Run through the glorious estates of yesteryear, before they became a glorified large hatchback, by clicking the Admiral link here . AND FINALLY: BEST WAY TO TRANSPORT YOUR NISSAN FIGARO Want to know which accessory allows you to transport your Figaro, well a ton rated roof rake is the answer. There is a glorious explanation into the competitive world of sturdy roof racks, from Hagerty. Click on the link here , to learn more than you thought was the reality. THE ZOOM ZOOMERS Alan takes part in a gathering of folks from the motoring world, on a Monday night, run by Damien Cross. If you would like to see last Monday’s meet up please click the Facebook link here . These should be on YouTube from next week if all goes to plan.…
FOLLOW UP: VW SETTLE MOST CLASS-ACTION CLAIMS Volkswagen has confirmed that it has settled with 200,000 of the 260,000 that are claiming damages due to the #Dieselgate scandal. They have been granted an extension to reach an agreement with the remaining. VW remains adamant that there is no legal basis for consumer’s claims. To read more, click the Automotive News Europe article here . CAR BANNING POWERS HANDED TO COUNCILS In a bid to allow key workers to safely travel by foot or on a bicycle, councils have been handed powers to ban cars from roads. The idea is that people will be able to travel in a more active manner but still maintain a social distance from other road users. To read more, click the BBC News article here . FESTIVAL OF THE UNEXCEPTIONAL POSTPONED TILL 2021 Confirmation was given that the Festival of the Unexceptional is now postponed until July 2021. To read more, click the link here . TOYOTA GB WELLBEING PLEDGE Last week we discussed how Ferrari was going to help staff, with the aim of beginning production once more. They are not alone in looking out for their staff, Toyota GB has announced a wellbeing program that aims to support staff’s physical, financial and mental health. The scheme was introduced last year following consultation with workers but has kicked into gear during the COVID-19 crisis. To read more, click the Automotive 30% Club article here . WHY DOES EV CAR-SHARING STRUGGLE IN LONDON In February, the two largest electric vehicle car-sharing operators left London in near-deafening silence as no one trying to implement Mayor of London’s vision for a healthier capital said anything. This is odd as car-sharing and the use of EVs, if a car must be used, is key to reducing congestion and improving air quality. Or one would think so. To read more, click the link to Company Car Today and flick to page 7 here . THE FALLACY OF ZERO EMISSIONS Emission Analytics has been delving further into emissions from vehicles, but ICE and EV, as tailpipes clean up we come to realise there are other factors that need to be considered for the environmental footprint of cars. How the energy or fuel they use is generated, tailpipe emissions, mpg and non-tailpipe emissions all need to be thought about. To read more about the comprehensive approach to this ever-evolving situation click the link here . We are pausing our Patreon for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing crisis, however, if you are still able to help someone, we recommend supporting Mission Motorsport’s COVID-19 Response Fund. To find out more click this link here . FORMULA E: SEASON SUSPENSION EXTENDED As the scale of the problems caused by the global pandemic is slowly becoming more clear, Formula E has taken the step to extend the suspension of the season until at least the end of June. They will continue to monitor the situation and make further decisions as information becomes known. To read more, click the Formula E statement here . E-RACING: FORMULA E STARTS NEW SERIES Last weekend was the start of a new e-racing series, from Formula E, involving Formula E drivers, professional racers and sim racers. The competition will raise funds for UNICEF. To read more including the season calendar, click the e-racing 365 link here . E-RACING: OTHER SERIES NEWS GT World Challenge is starting a new series this coming weekend, where pro GT drivers, other professional drivers and sim racers are able to take part, culminating in a race between the best of the three divisions. To read more, click the release information here . Our streaming channel of choice, Actrollvision, is involved in a 24hr race this weekend and will be giving away Logitech goods to all watching the stream. To learn more, go to his Twitch channel over the weekend. You can find the channel by clicking here . A reminder, if you own an Xbox, have subscribed to the Gold service you are able to download and keep forever, Project Cars 2, however, the offer runs out at the end of the month. LUNCHTIME READ: THE MAN WHO BOUGHT NINE RENAULT AVANTIMES Gavin Braithwaite-Smith brings us the astonishing story of the world’s largest fleet of Renault Avantimes, in the world. Click the Petrolblog link here , to take you to this amazing tale. BONUS - LUNCHTIME WATCH: FULL TOUR OF THE PETERSEN AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM VAULT Thanks to Joe Hallenback for brining this one-hour-long YouTube video to our attention. We all get a chance to peek inside the vault of one of the most famous automotive museums. Click the link here to escape from everything for an hour. LIST OF THE WEEK: RECOMMENDED AUTOMOTIVE PODCASTS We were outraged, OUTRAGED we tell you, over the lack of podcasts in Autocar’s feature for getting our automotive fix during these strange times. Well, rather than write to our MP to complain, we have compiled a list of ones we recommend you should try out. The list is not in any order of preference but does cover the ones we enjoy. Old Timers Gareth Jones on Speed - One of the inspirations for the Motoring Podcast to actually be a thing. Going for 15 years, oodles of fun from Gareth Jones, Zog and Sniff Petrol. To visit the podcast, click the link here . Midweek Motorsport - Weekly, yes really, podcast covering the racing and news that the team from Radio Show Ltd cover. Click the link here to visit the podcast. Middle Aged Car Chat with Sam Moores - Car photographer Sam Moores chats to people from the car world. Relaxed and enjoyable conversations. Search for his podcast on your podcatcher of choice. EV News Daily - Electric car news produced, erm, daily. Short show that gives you the headlines to what’s going on in the world of EVs. Click here to find out more . Automovie Podcast - The podcast about cars and motorsport on TV and in films. Great fun conversations that you can get involved with. Click here for more information . Collecting Cars Podcast - Chris Harris and Edward Lovett chat to various people from the world of motoring. Excellent conversations and insights shared on the podcast. Click here to listen to the episodes . Younglings DriveNation - Dan Prosser and Andrew Frankel now have a podcast for their DriveNation project on Instagram. Full of information and excellent chat, click here for Apple Podcast or search for it on the podcatcher of your choice. Smith & Sniff - Jonny Smith and Richard Porter have recently brought their fun and frolics to the audio format. if you like their YouTube offerings, you’ll love this. Click here to find out more . US LOT Session - From Lotus Cars, conversations with owners of Lotus and those who help make them the way they are. Excellent conversations and insight into the Lotus community. Search for the podcast on your podcatcher of choice. SPIN, The Rally Pod - DirtFish are our recommended location for everything WRC and they have a podcast too. Click through here to visit the website or search for them via the service you use. Spinning Wheels Podcast - from Paul Woodford and Guy Smith chatting about motorsports and special guests have just started. They are on the usual service suspects, so use the search facility and you’ll be listening to them in no time. Talking Shop The Morgan Podcast - Alex Goy is the presenter for this podcast where he chats to guests from the Morgan community. Again, search for them on your preferred podcasting platform where you should it. AND FINALLY: HOW TO SHOOT IN A MOVIE CHASE SCENE The Autocar team has brought us a video of unparalleled consumer advice, which is exactly what we expect from them. Learn if it is possible to drive with a basket on the windscreen, if wind flow effects a Nerf dart and the best speed to drive at to be hit. To watch this ace video, click the link here .…
SIR STIRLING MOSS PASSES AWAY The sad news that Sir Stirling Moss had peacefully passed away was announced on Sunday. There are few people, let alone racers, who have achieved the level of fondness amongst the nation. Social media was filled with delightful stories that gave us all a glimpse into his life, his character, his personality and his achievements. We have selected the obituary from Autocar to share with you, to read what Steve Cropley wrote, click the link here . We have also included a celebration of his epic Millie Miglia victory, which you can read by clicking here . CALLS FOR SCRAPPAGE SCHEME BEGIN In, what seems like a premature move, some have begun to call for a scrappage scheme to help the automotive sector, once lockdown restrictions begin to lift. Alan has some “views” on this and the chaps discuss the wider issues that will be involved in any attempt to stimulate the economy. To read more, click the Car Dealer Magazine article here . SECURITY VULNERABILITIES FOUND ARE NOT AS BAD AS MADE OUT Which? has released an article to much hysteria about security vulnerabilities found in Volkswagen and Ford models. Fortunately, The Register spoke to an expert who put them into perspective, Ian Tabor who runs Car Hacking Village UK. We thoroughly recommend you read the article and check out the six tips at the end of the piece, where Ian lays out ways to make connected cars safer. To read this, click the link here . FERRARI LAUNCHES ‘BACK ON TRACK’ INITIATIVE Ferrari is working on a plan to get production up and running again, once the Italian Government relaxes their lockdown rules. The comprehensive scheme which looks at essentials such as testing of employees and suppliers to helping with the psychological effects of the lockdown is very impressive. To read more, click the Complete Car.ie article here . 75 YEARS AGO US LIBERATES WOLFSBERG FACTORY On 11 April 1945, US soldiers released 7,700 forced labourers from the Wolfsberg Factory. HOW DO TOYOTAS END UP WITH SUDANESE REBELS An investigation by the organisation Global Witness has found out how so many Toyota Land Cruisers and Hiluxs end up in the hands of Sudanese rebels. Global Witness make it very clear they are not suggesting Toyota has any hand in this. To read more, click the Jalopnik article from Max Finkel here . We are pausing our Patreon for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing crisis, however, if you are still able to help someone, we recommend supporting Mission Motorsport’s COVID-19 Response Fund. To find out more click this link here . TEMPORARY WRC TESTING BAN INSTIGATED The news that the FIA has introduced a temporary ban on testing, for WRC teams, came as a bit of a shock as the chaps had presumed it was already the case. However, now it is official. To read more, click the DirtFish article here . ADVICE ON SIM RIGS FOR EVERY BUDGET Goodwood Road & Race has released an article outlining how you can build your own sim rig, starting at the lower end of the budget scale, moving up to more, shall we say, costly options. To read this, if you’re thinking about sorting yourself out with some virtual driving, click here . LUNCHTIME READ: THE WORK OF TERRY DAVEY If you’ve picked up a Haynes manual, you will probably have marvelled at the cutaway drawings, which we can thank Terry Davey for. Chris Pollitt has written an excellent article about his work for the manuals, from 1972 to 1991. To read more of the Car and Classic piece, click here . LIST OF THE WEEK: HOW TO GET YOUR MOTORING FIX AT HOME - FILMS AND TV Autocar has created a list of ways we can all still get our motoring fix, whilst we stay at home. We have picked out the film and TV article as the one to check out this week. To run through the list, click the link here . AND FINALLY: HOW TO PRONOUNCE THE PLURAL OF LOTUS Thanks to Alex Goy sharing this, from the very excellent Lotus PR Team, here is a trip back in time to when Lotus had to clarify how to pronounce the plural of their name. To find out how, for yourself, click the link here .…
Alan had a chat with Principal Acoustic Systems Engineer at Harman, Wolfgang Zieglmeier about car audio systems and his work on the Harman-Kardon audio system in the Kia Stinger.
FOLLOW UP: VW TO FACE CLASS-ACTION IN UK Following the ruling, this week, Volkswagen does have a case to answer in the UK class-action case over #Dieselgate. Whilst the judge has ruled, in line with several other countries, that the software and technology in certain engines is a defeat device, there is no confirmation that VW is liable in the compensation claim. To read more, but not the comments, click on the Autocar article here . WEBSITE HELPS KEY WORKERS FIND LOCAL CAR SERVICES A new website, called KeyworkerGarages.co.uk , has been set up by a company called Cazana to help key workers who need help with their vehicles find a local garage that is open. To read more, click here on the Motoring Research link . 240 MILES FOR LOAF OF BREAD DRIVER FINED A driver from Nottingham has been fined under new Coronavirus rules, as well as existing road laws, after being pulled over for doing 110mph in the M1. When asked why he was on the road, he stated that he’d gone to London for bread, as it was £1.00 cheaper there. To read more, click the BBC News article here . GIVE PEAS A CHANCE BRIDGE HAS A NEW MESSAGE The famous bridge, which spans over the M25, that used to have ‘Give Peas A Chance’ painted on it, has now been changed to ‘Thank You NHS’. This has been met positively, unlike when ‘Heck’ was put over ‘Peas’. To read more, click the BBC News article here . MARCH 2020 NEW CAR REGISTRATIONS Obviously, we are not in normal times, which has been partly reflected in the new car registration figures released by SMMT, for March. Overall figures are down 44.4%, with electrified vehicles bucking the trend and showing an increase on last year, which can be aligned to new BIK rules expected from April. Andrew and Alan run through the ‘Spreadsheet of Doom’ in mercifully quick time as they only talk about the positives. To read more, click the SMMT article here . DECARBONISING TRANSPORT IN THE UK REPORT The Transport Secretary released a report into the plan to decarbonise UK transportation recently, which Andrew has looked at. To his, frankly, astonishment, it is well written and very interesting. Within the document, there are graphs that go to show how much passenger cars contribute to the UK’s overall emissions. The news is startling. However, it does help to explain why a large number of initiatives and ideas are focused on cars. To read it and also gain a better understanding of where we currently are and where we need to move to, click the link here . EXTENT OF TYRE POLLUTION INVESTIGATED As the focus of vehicle emission has been on power plants, now that they are cleaning up other elements that pollute are becoming known. Tyres have been investigated by Emissions Analytics, who has found great variations depending on the actual tyre, road surface, road layouts and driving styles. Vehicles that are heavier and develop more torque increase the wear of tyres, which is potentially bad news for EVs and SUVs. However, more research is required which could possibly result in new tyre labels or even the banning of some. To read more click here for the Motoring Research article and for a more in-depth article, click here to read about it from Tire Technology . OLD FASHIONED TOYS MAKING A COMEBACK As a result of lockdown in the UK, there has been an increase in toys such as slot cars and model railways being purchased. Anyone who follows the podcast will know Alan has bought a remote control car that he is in the middle of constructing, now surprises that he selected a Toyota Yaris WRC. To read more about how people are trying to amuse themselves, click the Telegraph article here . We are pausing our Patreon for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing crisis, however, if you are still able to help someone, we recommend supporting Mission Motorsport’s COVID-19 Response Fund. To find out more click this link here . MISSED YOUTUBE RECOMMENDATIONS In the list of online racing being suggested, Andrew forgot to add anything about WRC games, which is very remiss of him. However, we now have a link to DiRT Rally 2.0’s own official channel to their World Championship which all rally fans can access by clicking the link here . For those who prefer to watch real-world rallying, we forgot to add the wonderful VHS Rallies YouTube channel, showing classic Group B rallies from the '80s, to wallow in crazy, ear-splitting nostalgia, click the link here . IMSA iRACING PRO SERIES SCHEDULE For those who love the commentary of LeMans Radio and the Team, they are still working hard even though racing has gone online. They are broadcasting the IMSA iRacing Pro Series, racing league. To find out when they are on the air, helping us to follow some excellent racing, click the link here . HOW TO SPEND A LOT ON A SIM RACING RIG Professional racing driver Robb Holland walks us through his dive into sim racing gear, as he explains how much he spent on setting up his own rig. This is a cautionary tale, in more ways than one, for example, you can get set up without spending anywhere near as much as he did, also maybe don’t explain to your partner how much you’ve spent! To read more, click The Drive article here . LUNCHTIME READ: RACE AGAINST TIME This week’s Lunchtime Read is about motorsport photographer Drew Gibson and how he took THAT fabulous shot of the Ford GTs at Spa. Some say constraints bring out the best in creatives, well that is put to the test in this story. To read more, click the Canon article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 14 CARS THAT ARE 50 YEARS OLD IN 2020 Just in case being cooped up wasn’t bad enough, we thought we would add to that by sharing this list of cars that are now 50 years old, which has aged us all! To run through the list of some glorious and some, erm, not so much, click the Goodwood Road & Racing article here . AND FINALLY: KEEPING YOUR CAR IN TOP CONDITION DURING STORAGE Harry Metcalfe has created a video to help all of us take care of our cars whilst we are off the road. To be fair, he knows a thing or two about keeping a car in top-notch condition whilst it is in storage. To have a watch, click the link here .…
Alan headed to the Sussex to spend a day with the new GR Yaris to find out more about this WRC homologation special. Is the 1.6 litre 3-cylinder up to the job? Most importantly, is it special enough to evict the GRMN from his driveway?
NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES OCTOBER 2020 The October New Car Registration figures were down only 1.6% year-on-year, even with the Welsh lockdown. Diesel, unsurprisingly, and petrol both down but battery vehicles up a whopping 143.9%. There is a surprise or two in the model Top 10 list as well. To read more, click here for the SMMT article . CO2 POOLING Car manufacturers are beginning to finalise their plans for dealing with the EU Fleet CO2 rules. In an effort to avoid large fines the fine print allows manufacturers to buy CO2 credits from others who have spare. To see further who has signed up with whom, click the CarScoops article here . M6 TOLL PRICE RISE From the 4 December 2020, the price will increase to use the M6 Toll Road. Cars will be charged £6.90 to use the full length of the road during the day, with the Junction price being £4.90. Local residents can get a Flxi-Pass, which means that paying £29 will allow for 10 Junction trips. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . MORE DRIVING TRAINING REQUIRED FOR ASSISTANCE TECHNOLOGY A study run by the University of Nottingham, with support from the RAC Foundation, found that drivers who received behavioural training before using Level 3 equipped vehicles, were more measured in using the technology. The understanding of the technology meant they were paying more attention whilst the vehicle was undertaking manoeuvrers. To read more, click the FleetNews article here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: COLIN CLARK’S INCREASING WORRY OVER 2022 We have discussed the ‘hybrid issue’ that is still plaguing WRC as it pushes to be about the only top flight motorsport that is adamant new technology rules should still come into force. Colin Clark has written an interesting article explaining his growing fears over the future of WRC. To read this, click the DirtFish link here . BLOODHOUND TV SERIES AND SPONSORSHIP DRIVE The Bloodhound LSR project will be on Channel 4 at 18:00 GMT on 14 November 2020, taking us through the highs and lows of the journey so far. This coincides with a renewed call for sponsors, in what is a financially tough time. To read more, click the link for information about sponsorship here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: CHANGES AT JLR There have been big changes at the design departments of Jaguar Land Rover. Firstly, Massimo Frascella has been made Design Director of Land Rover. Gerry McGovern has been named Chief Creative Officer for JLR. This will mean that Julian Thomson, Design Director at Jaguar, will also report to him. However, there are some wondering if this will be an advisory role, as Tata has a policy of staff retiring at 65, which Mr McGovern is approaching. To read more, click the link for the Autocar article here . LUNCHTIME READ: THE HISTORY OF IN-CAR ENTERTAINMENT Gavin Braithwaite-Smith has written an excellent article, on Motoring Research, taking us through the evolution of in-car entertainment. Go and click the link here to find out how far we have come since the first radios were introduced in 1920. LIST OF THE WEEK: PERFECTLY USELESS THINGS YOU CAN BUY FOR YOUR CAR We recommend another Autocar List of the Week for you to peruse and enjoy. This time, the suggestions are stuff you really shouldn’t buy for your car. There are many items we agree with, but not all. Do let the chaps know which you find the most cringe-worthy after you’ve run through the options. To find out more, click the link here . AND FINALLY: CELEBRATE HOW GEOFFREY PALMER HELPED AUDI Geoffrey Palmer sadly passed away last week, however, we want to celebrate what he did to raise the profile of Audi in the UK thanks to adverts like the one for the 100 Avant and the Quattro. PetrolBlog has written about how much his ads had a hand in turning public opinion about the German brand. To read that, click the link here . To watch the Audi 100 ad, click the link here . To watch the Audi Quattro ad, click the link here .…
FOLLOW UP: FORD TO REPLACE KUGA PHEV BATTERIES In August Ford announced they were pulling Kuga PHEVs from sale and that owners should not plug in theirs in due to the risk of a battery fire. The cause of the issue is now known, with battery cells becoming contaminated, meaning that Ford will replace the traction battery packs via a recall. To read more, click the Autocar article here . TFL FUNDING PACKAGE REQUIRES £15 CONGESTION CHARGE Part of the agreement for the extra £1.7bn funding, agreed between the Government and Transport for London, requires the £15 temporary Congestion Charge to continue. However, rumours that the area will increase to be essentially inside the North and South Circular Roads have been rejected. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . SHELL DITCHES LPG DUE TO LACK OF DEMAND Just as Dacia announce they are introducing LPG vehicles, to help with the CO2 rules of the EU, Shell announces it will be removing LPG from their stations as there is a lack of demand. To read more, click the Autocar article here . WHAT3WORDS INTEGRATED INTO SAT NAVS The location service, What3Words is being integrated into sat navs by the Here consortium. The claim is the system is more accurate and less confusing than traditional postcode or grid references. The expectation is the system will be quickly in four out of five new cars. Not everyone is in favour of the system, plus this just adds another license for the manufacturers to pay for at some point. To read more click the Motoring Podcast article here . TAILGATING BEING CAUGHT ON CAMERA Highways England, in only the first two weeks of an initiative, filmed more than 10,000 vehicles too close to the car in front. Drivers spotted in this manner will be sent a letter advising them of their driving and encourage them to leave the minimum prescribed gap. The idea to get drivers to amend their behaviour. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- This weekend, the Motoring Podcast would’ve been at the Race of Remembrance, however and even though that has been cancelled Mission Motorsport and friends will be doing a number of activities to help raise funds for the charity. To find out more, click the link here . If you can please do give as generously as you can to this incredible organisation. ——————————————————————————- WRC: YPRES CANCELLATION PUTS FOUR IN WITH A SHOT OF TITLE Following the cancellation of the WRC event in Ypres, the attention on Monza is even more intense as it is the last shot for four drivers hoping to win the title. Evans is in the prime spot, 14 points in the lead, with Ogier in second, followed by Neuville and then Tänak. In reality, Ogier is the only one with a realistic chance overhauling Evans, but as we know rallying is nothing if not unpredictable. To read more, click the excellent DirtFish article here . NEW TV CAR SHOW TV’s Paul Cowland and Helen Stanley are fronting an new, fun car show where they help members of the public buy a new car. Keep your eyes peeled for the show on Quest starting this week. To read an interview with both the presenters, click the Freesat article here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: DONCKERWOLKE RETURNS TO HYUNDAI Luc Donckerwolke, who left Hyundai in April, is back at Hyundai as executive vice president, with a title of chief creative officer and head of design communications for Hyundai Group. He will be focusing on pushing growth for the Genesis and Ioniq brands. To read more, click the Autocar article here . LUNCHTIME READ: NOT AS AWFUL AS WE LIKE TO BELIEVE PART 1: THE SKODA ESTELLE This article from Great Driving Days, explains the Skoda Estelle and makes the case for us to consider that it wasn’t as rubbish as the jokes made out. To read the article, click the link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE STRANGEST CAR COLLECTION IN THE WORLD Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan al Nahyan’s car collection is the focus of this week’s List of the Week . Click the Autocar link here , to see an array of oversized, rainbow covered cars as well as normal looking ones! AND FINALLY: IS IT A HOUSE OR A DEALERSHIP In Mendham, New Jersey, car dealerships look like no where else, as they look like branded houses. Local pressure mean commercial properties are strongly encouraged to look like the housing of the town. Inside, they are more like what we would expect, once you cross the portal, but with ceilings instead of double height, natural light filled boxes. To read more, click the Jalopnik article here . AND FINALLY FINALLY: ZOOM ZOOMERS CALL Alan takes part in a gathering of folks from the motoring world, on a Monday night, run by Damien Cross. If you would like to see last Monday’s meet up please click the YouTube link here .…
FOLLOW UP: BRANKIN NEW MD OF FORD BRITAIN AND IRELAND Ford of Britain and Ireland has announced that Lisa Brankin will be the new Managing Director, from the 1 November 2020. This follows her stepping into the interim position after Andy Barratt who took a leave of absence recently. To read more, click the Ford release here . THATCHAM CALLS ON A HALT TO AUTOMATED DRIVING PUSH Thatcham Research is calling on the Government to pause the introduction of ‘hands-free’ driving from Spring 2021, as the technology is not there to do so safely. Listeners may have heard Andrew say this once or twice. To see more, click on the Thatcham tweet here to see how far off technology is from perception. TAYCAN ADDS APPLE PODCAST AND MUSICLYRICS The Porsche Taycan is the first car to have full integration with Apple Podcasts, including charts, all the 1.5 million shows and in over 100 languages. Added to this, passengers get the advantage of MusicLyrics, the Apple service that displays time-synched lyrics, in their dedicated screen. To read more, click the Porsche release here . LOW TRAFFIC NEIGHBOURHOODS POPULARITY RISES There is, apparently, increasing popularity in ‘Low Traffic Neighbourhoods’ (LTNs) where residential streets are closed off to through traffic. The article, from the Guardian, that is linked here , goes into detail about how LTNs can benefit urban areas and what they should be targeting, the one-off local urban journeys. We can hope that the next wave is better implemented than the knee-jerk versions that the pandemic allowed to occur. _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- FORMULA E: CALENDAR CHANGES FOR 2020/21 SEASON Before the season has even begun, Formula E has had to implement some of their contingency plans due to the pandemic. Mexico City and Sanya are being postponed, so the opening event at Santiago will now be a double-header. To read more, click The Race article here . FORMULA E: NOW HAS ELITE SPORT QUARANTINE EXEMPTION Motorsport UK has announced that Formula E is an elite sport, therefore those involved can take advantage of quarantine exemptions. This gives the five British based teams the opportunity to apply for an exception to the rules. Other teams will have to discuss matters with their national organisations. To read more, click The Race article here . LUNCHTIME READ: E(M)BARRASSING OR I(M)PRESSIVE? Lee Walton has written about the furore that has erupted on Car Twitter following the unveiling of the BMW M3 and M4. Lee discusses what the designs may mean for BMW and the German car industry and if Car Twitter has been even-handed in their criticism. To read this thought-provoking article, click his post here . LIST OF THE WEEK: GREAT CAR DESIGNERS AND THEIR CARS This Autocar List of the Week runs through a whole host of famous car designers and selects a particular car that came from their pen. To run through the list, click the link here . AND FINALLY: CAR MANUFACTURING EXPERT ASSESSES JALOPNIK’S CHEAP EV Sandy Munro, who is a leading expert in breaking down how much it costs to make a car, by, erm, pulling them apart, has been exposed to the ‘World’s Cheapest EV’ as bought by Jason Torchinsky, at Jalopnik. Enjoy watching Sandy get his head around this car by clicking the link here .…
LOOPHOLE CLOSING CONSULTATION OPENS A consultation, with suggestions on closing loopholes on the use of mobile phones whilst driving, has been announced. Whilst these are a welcome step, some are asking if the Government is really serious about safety as there are no proposals to ban hands-free mobile phone calls, even though there is a stack of scientific evidence that proves how impaired a driver becomes. To read more about the consultation, click the BBC News article here . To go straight to the consultation, click the link here . To listen to Nick Freeman discuss how the proposals do not go far enough, click the YouTube link here . COLLABORATIVE POTHOLE MAP CREATED The Government, collaborating with the likes of Uber, Tesco, Deliveroo and Ocaado, will create a map of the UK’s roads, allowing highway departments to plan their works and take advantage of the fund set aside for mending the epidemic of potholes on our roads. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . GLOUCESTERSHIRE’S ‘MISSING LINK’ ROAD CONSULTATION RESULTS Following a public consultation, the ‘missing link’ road, that would join the M5 and M4 up, updated plans have been released for further scrutiny. After more than 2000 people contributed last time, Highways England was able to modify their plans to be less disruptive to the environment, repurpose the existing road and benefit local communities. To find out more, click the link to the Motoring Research article that also includes a link to the consultation . LONDON’S CONGESTION CHARGE MAY INCREASE IN SIZE Transport for London is once again asking the Government for financial aid, apparently, one of the conditions is to increase the size of the Congestion Charge, as well as remove reductions in cost to some. When we first covered the changes to the Congestion Charge, earlier in the year, we were told it was the Government demanding such change, which turned out to be false. To read more, and make your own mind up until more detail is know, click the MyLondon link here . TFL DATA PROJECT Transport for London has begun a data project to map all dockless hire bicycles and e-bikes. This will help TfL understand traffic flows and patterns, as well as hot spots for poor bike storage. To read more, click The Register article here . NOISE CAMERAS DEPLOYED IN WEST LONDON In a bid to stamp out the roads of West London being turned into ‘race tracks’, noise cameras have been installed, with a trigger limit of 75dB. Some have already been caught exceeding this level. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . BMW RECALLS ALL 2020 BUILT PHEVS All plug-in hybrids built between January and October 2020, have been recalled by BMW, due to a fire risk. This affects the 3, 5 and 7 Series, the X1, X2, X3and X5 SUVs, the 2 Series Active Tourer and the Mini Countryman PHEV. Added to that the i8, if built this year, is also effected. To read more, click the Autocar article here , LOTUS EXPANDING HETHEL BASE Lotus is investing in their base at Hethel as well as opening a new location, on the campus at University Warwick. The expansion and improvements are to help the engineering consultancy part of the business. To read more, click the Autocar article here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: ALDO BRAVARONE PASSES AWAY Aldo Bravarone, who worked for Pininfarina, has passed away aged 94. He designed such cars as the Ferrari Dino, Maserati A6GCS and Lancia Gamma Coupé. To read an excellent obituary, click the Classic & Sports Car link here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: DIEZ RETURNS TO SEAT Jorge Diez has returned to SEAT, for a third time. Having spent the last 12 months with Mitsubishi Europe he goes back to a company he has clearly has a fondness for. To read more, including the names Andrew mangled, click the FormTrends article here . LUNCHTIME READ: SCHRÖDINGER'S CAR Emissions Analytics has produced an article that gives us a much better insights into the reality of Plug-In Hybrids, including their positives and negatives. They suggest we could be walking into another issue, similar to the diesel one after politicians in Europe encouraged up to buy diesel. To read more, click the EA link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: WORST CAR NAMES OF ALL TIME There are some hilarious and downright bad names on the List of the Week, giving us all options for the worst car name. Pull up a chair, grab a beverage and enjoy as the various suggestions automatically move past your eyes. To view the options, click the Motoring Research article here . . AND FINALLY: MINI METRO TURNS 40 40 years have passed since the first click the BBC News link herAustin Rover Metro. To read more about that, click the BBC News article he re. To see a short film, click the link here .…
Andrew spent a week with the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, just before it had a mid-life update. For you, dear listener, he sacrificed a lot to do a thorough review of the car, driving it for many, many miles just to make sure he could conclusively say if it was any good or not. Hear him chat with Alan as he discusses optional extras, steering feel and understatedness.…
FOLLOW UP: SEPTEMBER REGISTRATION FIGURES ANALYSIS Jim Holder has looked at the September registration figures of the UK and sales figures of Europe for a deeper analysis of what the industry looks like. He also noted the weak performance of Subaru and several other brands. To read more, click the Autocar article here . CLEAN AIR ZONES FOR BATH AND BIRMINGHAM Bath has announced the date for their Clean Air Zone (CAZ), which will be 15 March 2021, also it is not for private cars or motorbikes. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . Birmingham has also confirmed the start of their CAZ as June 2021, but this does cover private cars if they are not Euro-6 diesels or Euro04 petrol engines. To read more, click the Van Fleet World article here . BP CHARGEMASTER IN £21M POLICE SCOTLAND DEAL BP Chargemaster and Police Scotland have announced a deal, worth £21 million, to supply charging points for police vehicles. Scotland, unlike England, has a large network of free charging points for EVs so entering this market is quite tricky for charging point businesses. To read more, click the Autocar article here . DVLA LAUNCHES ONLINE V5C LOG BOOK SERVICE Back in June the DVLA launched an online service to update the V5C logbook, which was such a success that they are introducing a new service that will allow owners to apply for a duplicate logbook online. Again, this should cut waiting times from six weeks to five days. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . SKODA USES SOUND TO DIAGNOSE ENGINE ISSUES Skoda is introducing an app to help them diagnose potential problems with a car, by analysing the sound waves recorded. This is a clever bit of technology being trialled which will hopefully lead to quicker solutions as the workshop will have a better idea of what the potential problem is before the car arrives. To read more, click the Autocar article here . HIGHWAYS ENGLAND TRIALLING INFLATABLE BARRIER The West Midlands is the location for a the trial of a new safety barrier for road workers. A large, inflatable cylinder will be positioned at the end of coned off sections, replacing the customary lorry with the large “Stop” sign on the back. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . DISCUSSIONS ON HOW WILL SPEED LIMITERS WORK IN CARS ONGOING EU regulators and car manufacturers are in ongoing talks about how to best comply with the new rules for limiting a car to maximum speeds mandated. On one side it appears a much more forceful and dictatorial approach, whilst the manufacturers prefer to have reminders and warnings. To read more, click the BBC News article here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC ITALY: SORDO TRIUMPHS FOR HYUNDAI In another compelling event, Sordo won with Neuville pinching second in the final stage from Ogier, by one second. Evans still leads the championship, but now by 14 points. Hyundai is also ahead of Toyota with two rounds left. To read about the result, click the DIrtFish article here . For more analysis and insight, click the DirtFish ‘What we learned’ article here . GOODWOOD SPEEDWEEK This weekend Goodwood will be hosting and streaming their Speedweek, an amalgamation of the Festival of Speed and Revival, hoping to bring some motoring related cheer to us all. To find out how to watch it, the details of what is happening and more, click the Goodwood link here . BEST MOTORSPORT FACE MASKS Motoring Research has scoured the net to find the best motorsport related facemasks available, there are some crackers in the list so do click the link here for more information . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: BURGESS LEAVES GEELY UK Wayne Burgess has left Geely UK, after a short stint at heading up their UK design efforts. As Chief Design Officer he will be helping deign and engineering company Paramex to further cement their position in the automotive industry as suppliers of technology, visualisation and animations for manufacturers. To read more, click the FormTrends article here . LUNCHTIME READ: CARTUNES - A MIXTAPE FROM KENNY SMITH This is the second MixTape feature we have recommended to you, from PetrolBlog. The idea is to list a songs the evoke strong memories of a particular car, journey or experience. Kenny Smith has provided a cracker. To read more, click the link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: FAST FIVES - SUB-£1000 CARS WITH EVOCATIVE ENGINES Lewis Kingston has written a fab list of cheap cars that have very interesting engines. To run through the five options, click the YesAuto link here . Don’t forget to tell us which one you would pick. AND FINALLY: INTERIOR GRIPE ONLY WORRIES JOURNALISTS PetrolBlog features once again, this time Gavin Braithwaite-Smith pokes fun at the cliched gripe that some interiors have hard plastics in some places. In a wonderfully judged tone, the silliness of the complaint is exposed for what it is. We, here at the Motoring Podcast, fully endorse this message. To read the excellently written piece, click the link here .…
NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES - SEPTEMBER 2020 As we all know, September is a ‘new-plate’ month which traditionally is a higher registration month. There are some surprises, including who is Number 1 of the Top 10! Another interesting point was how close the number was to last year, even though there is the current global situation. To read more, click the SMMT article here . UK EU DEAL BLOW TO MANUFACTURERS Following the latest round of negotiations between the UK and the European Union, manufacturers discovered rules about car parts country of origin means those from Turkey and Japan will not be considered British. This matter will also hit electric cars, which were part of a separate request to be considered British even with most parts coming from outside of Britain and the EU. To read more on this, click the BBC News article here . Following this news, Nissan, Toyota and other manufacturers have announced that they will seek compensation for tariffs imposed following conclusion of negotiations. To read more, click the Twitter thread from Pernille Rudlin here . REVIEW INTO ROAD SAFETY AROUND NORTHAMPTONSHIRE US BASE Following the tragic death of Harry Dunn, Grant Shapps has announced a review into road safety around 10 US bases in the UK, including RAF Croughton the scene of the collision. The review will start this month. To read more, click the Northamptonshire Times here . DVLA LAUNCHES ONLINE V5C LOG BOOK SERVICE Back in June the DVLA launched an online service to update the V5C logbook, which was such a success that they are introducing a new service that will allow owners to apply for a duplicate logbook online. Again, this should cut waiting times from six weeks to five days. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . E-SCOOTERS SHOULD BE LEGALISED IN UK Parliament’s Transport Committee has called on the Government to legalise the use of scooters on UK roads, within the next 18 months. This would mean private individuals would be able to use a scooter, in the same way they can a bicycle. To read more, click the Sky News article here . EURO NCAP INTRODUCES DRIVER ASSISTANCE TECHNOLOGY SAFETY RATING As more technology is legislated for and introduced by manufacturers, assisting drivers, the need has arisen to review the systems and score them. NCAP has introduced the first such grading in Europe for technology such as lane keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, braking and driver monitoring. To read more about the ratings, click the Motoring Research article here . FORD OF BRITAIN BOSS TAKES TEMPORARY LEAVE OF ABSENCE. Andy Barratt, the MD of Ford of Britain, is taking a temporary leave of absence with Lisa Brankin, sales director, stepping into his shoes. To read more, click the Car Dealer article here . LOTUS GAINS GOVERNMENT BACKED FUNDING TO DEVELOP NEW EV PLATFORM Lotus has won funding from the Advanced Propulsion Centre, backed by Government funding, after they submitted the winning application for the Advanced Route to Market Demonstrator competition. They will work with their partners to further develop their lightweight electric vehicle architecture, with the help of this funding. To read more, click the Autocar article here . EX-VW BOSS NEW CEO OF PIËCH AUTOMOTIVE Matthias Müller, the ex-boss of Volkswagen, has been named as Chairman of Pïech Automotive, an EV start-up founded by Toni Piëch son of the late Ferdinand Piëch. To read more, click the Autocar article here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- FORMULA E: NISSAN STARTING NEXT SEASON WITH OLD POWER-TRAIN In order to help teams with costs in transitioning to the new rules for the 2020/21 Season, they can start the new season with the old power-train as long as they introduce it before the first European round. Nissan are not expected to be alone in this approach, thanks to the pandemic hampering testing and development. To read more, click The Race article here . FORMULA E: CALENDAR STRUGGLES ONGOING Sam Smith has written a very interesting piece for The Race, about the struggles that are ongoing for Formula E to run their first World Championship season. The coronavirus pandemic has meant contingency plans have to be put in place if the ratified locations cannot host the rounds, as hoped. The article gives is all a little peak at the herculean efforts that are underway to make sure the series takes place, is viable to all participating and attractive to fans and sponsors alike. To read through the struggles, click the link here . WRC HYBRID DEADLINES PASSES WITHOUT HYUNDAI SIGNATURE The FIA imposed deadline, of the end of September, for all parties to be signed up to the new hybrid technology agreement has been and gone, without full agreement from all the teams. Hyundai are still discussing various matters with WRC and the provider Compact Dynamics. Whilst Toyota and Ford have agreed, there is real fear Hyundai could just walk away. To read more about this incredibly complicated matter, click the DirtFish article here . A reminder, WRC Sardinia is taking place this week. Always an exciting event, it will be interesting to see what difference an October date makes. MISSION MOTORSPORT RACE OF REMEMBRANCE - #YOURROR CAMPAIGN Mission Motorsport, an organisation founded on the back of overcoming challenges, has decided they will not let the cancellation of this year’s event mean that it passes without marking the weekend. They are asking all supporters of the event to do something to help raise funds and commemorate the weekend. To find out more, click the Mission Motorsport article here . To see James Cameron’s video announcing the campaign, click the Tweet here . LUNCHTIME READ: LONE RIDER REVIEW The Lunchtime Read is a book review, from Jalopnik’s Elizabeth Blackstock, talking about the solo adventures of Elspeth Beard who decided to ride a BMW motorbike around the world, starting in 1982. The story is so amazing that the chaps will be adding it to their buying list immediately. To read more, click the link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: MOST EXTRAVAGANT OPTIONAL EXTRAS YOU CAN BUY During these times we need some ridiculousness, well look no further than what you can spec for a car, if you so wish and have the oodles of cash required. To run through the list, click the Autocar article here . Don’t forget to tweet the chaps what choice you would make! AND FINALLY: LEGO CRASH TESTING Becky Miller, a Senior Research Engineer at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) organisation, decided to fill some of the tedious lockdown hours with a return to her childhood studies, crash testing Lego cars. Watch the video of this wonderful work by clicking the Tweet here . AND FINALLY FINALLY: ZOOM ZOOMERS CALL Alan takes part in a gathering of folks from the motoring world, on a Monday night, run by Damien Cross. If you would like to see last Monday’s meet up please click the YouTube link here .…
FOLLOW UP: EX-CEO WINTERKORN FINALLY FACES TRIAL Proceedings have finally started against Martin Winterkorn over accusations of fraud and market manipulation, connected with #dieselgate. To read more, click the Autblog article here . FOLLOW UP: FURTHER EIGHT VW EMPLOYEES CHARGED Eight more employees of the Volkswagen Group have been charged in connection with the #dieselgate scandal, concerning either encouraging, supporting or not preventing the defeat device from being fitted, amongst other charges. To read more, click the Reuters link here . FOLLOW UP: FCA SETTLES OVER REPORTING SALES CHARGE FCA has paid $40 million fine, whilst admitting no guilt, to the charge of misreporting their monthly sales figures, in the US. The Securities and Exchange Commission brought the case against the company. To read more, click the RoadShow article here . FOLLOW UP: UBER GET 18 MONTH LICENSE IN LONDON Uber has now been allowed to continue working in London, after it was awarded an 18-month license. They have been deemed to have improved enough to allow them to continue their service in the capital. Much to the relief of the police. To read more, click the BBC News article here . GREATER MANCHESTER CAZ CONSULTATIONS Greater Manchester will open two public consultations regarding the need to create a Class C Clean Air Zone (CAZ) in the region. This is aimed at commercial vehicles and not private cars nor motorbikes. To read more, click the Air Quality News article here . HIGHWAYS ENGLAND TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR DISABLED DRIVERS Highways England, in partnership with AccessAble, will be creating 360 degree images that will enable disabled people to see what the facilities are like at service stations, helping them to plan ahead. To read more about this excellent initiative, click the Motoring Research article here . GOVERNMENT CLARIFIES PETROL FORECOURT USE Last week the Government stated that drivers should not use service stations and petrol forecourts unless it is absolutely necessary. This caused a bit of a noise from petrol retailers, which led to a clarification of exactly what was meant. Essentially, be safe, keep your distance, wear gloves when using petrol pumps, wear a mask etc. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . VW TO PAY BRAZILIANS COMPENSATION Volkswagen has admitted to helping the military ruling governments from 1964- 85, by informing on employees who may have unfavourable political leanings. The amount has been agreed and will be distributed to those affected. To read more about this startling matter, click the Guardian article here . ROAD SAFETY REPORTING GUIDELINES The Active Travel Academy has released suggestions for the media when reporting on road safety. This is heavily leaning towards cycling, as you would expect, but does reiterate the need to stop saying “accident” and replace it with “collision” or “crash”. In a nutshell, they are asking for balanced, neutral language that does not alienate one form of transport over another. To read more, click the Guardian article here . WORLD’S LARGEST CAR MAKERS NAMED The Daily Kanban lists the World’s largest car makers on a regular basis, as this is not a usual year the chaps were interested to see the effect of the global pandemic on manufacturing. As expected it is quite impactful. To read more, click on the article here . TOTAL BUYS BLUE POINT LONDON CHARGING NETWORK Total has bought London’s largest charging network, Blue Point London, with the aim of having over 150,000 charging points across metropolitan areas of Europe. To read more, click the Business Wire article here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- NURBURGRING 24HR Over the weekend was this year’s Nurburgring 24hr race, unlike last year’s ‘Sausage Watch’ thanks to Alan’s fixation of trying the wonderful culinary options at the race, no crowds were there. However, the race and weather did not disappoint. Thanks to horrific conditions there was a 9 hour overnight red flag, which bunched the field up again. All of which, combined with another unexpected rainstorm an hour before the end, meant the race was as exciting and unpredictable as ever. Congratulations to Charlie Martin for her 4th place in class, on her first outing. To find out more about the race, click the Motorsport article here . LUNCHTIME READ: IS YOUR ELECTRIC CAR BATTERY-FARMED OR FREE RANGE Friend of the show, Nir Kahn, has written a very interesting article calling out the industry on judging an EV on the size of its battery. Efficiency and therefore lightness are keys to a better electric vehicle, which Nir goes on to explain. To read more, click the LinkedIn article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 15 FAT ESTATES THAT AREN’T OBVIOUS OR EXPENSIVE Top Gear has provided this week’s wonderful List of the Week , which looks at estates and quirky ones at that. Run through the list and see if there are any in it that will tempt you away from an SUV for your next vehicle. To see the options, click the article link here . AND FINALLY: THE SIGNS THAT YOU ARE DRIVING IN FRANCE Each country has its own quirky when it comes to road signage, France is no different. Whilst you plan your next journey, over or under the Channel, have a look at the article from Drive France, which will help you from making a mistake or potentially having an accident. To read more, click the link here .…
Alan took a trip to sunny Milton Keynes to try out as many of the trial e-scooter services as he could. In the course of one afternoon he tried scooters from Ford-owned Spin , established street-mobility contender Lime and UK-based Ginger . Did this two-wheeled cocktail leave his views on urban mobility shaken or stirred? There will also be a video version of this podcast out very soon.…
FOLLOW UP: SUPERVISING DRIVER OF UBER TEST CAR CHARGED The supervising driver of the Uber test bed car, that killed Elaine Hertzberg, has been charged with negligent homicide. A reminder that Uber will not be charged with any wrong doing, in connection with the collision, by the local sheriff’s office. To read more, click the BBC News article here . PRODUCT DESIGN AWARD FOR STUDENT’S TYRE PARTICLE COLLECTOR Imperial College London and Royal College of Art students have created a device that will collect tyre particles via the use of electrostatics. The claim is that up to 60% of particulates are collected. To read more, click the Autocar article here . As we have discussed the matter previously, we wish to link to a revisited article from Alex Grant, who has been reporting on this issue, to read the updated article click the link here . RIMAC IN TALKS TO BUY BUGATTI The surprise news that the VW Group is in discussions with Rimac to sell Bugatti off, hit us last week. The question is why? Looking into it, all is not what it seems, this is actually a move to get more of a controlling stake in Rimac by the Porsche owners of the VW Group. To read more, click the Autocar article here . NATIONAL SURVEY ON ROADS POLICING OPEN Northamptonshire Police has issues a link to a national survey on the state of road policing in England. We think this is an important survey that we should all contribute to. In order to help the Police understand what our thoughts and expectations are for road policing, click the Twitter link here . PLUG-IN HYBRID REPORT BLOWS OPPORTUNITY TO CONTRIBUTE MEANINGFULLY A report from Transport & Environment and Greenpeace has been picked up and widely reported on, regarding plug-in hybrids and how awful they are. However, once you dig into it and not take it at face value, as we so recently learned that mistake, they themselves undermine their own argument. For example, they talk about ‘official tests’ when they mean the old and no longer used NEDC test. They through in hear-say of how a car operates, as though it is fact, which it may well be but they do not investigate it. They cry foul over how some owners do not use the technology properly as though that is the tech’s fault. As we have pointed out previously, Transport & Environment are very good at getting headlines, yet their detail requires investigating. To read the BBC News article, where the author has not investigated, click here . To read T&E’s own report, click the link here . GENEVA MOTOR SHOW 2021 COULD HAPPEN In a week of unexpected news, we have been told the Geneva Motor Show may happen in 2021. There are a number of packages available to OEMs who wish to show off from one car and an LED TV wall with a maximum of 10 guests, up to 4 cars and 100 guests for the most expensive option. At the time of recording, no one had taken up any of the options. To read more including the eye-watering prices, click the Autocar article here . FCA TO REGULATE INSURANCE LOYALTY PENALTY We are all aware that our insurance price rises, each year, if we stick with our existing provider and don’t quibble the quote. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has stated they will regulate this out of practice. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- FORMULA E: CARBON NEUTRAL STATUS GAINED Formula E has announced that it is officially confirmed as a carbon neutral sport. From inception, one of the aims is to be carbon neutral, which means they need to consider everything about how the races are staged. This is an incredibly impressive achievement. To read more, click The Race article here . WRC TURKEY As expected, this brutal event took its toll on those racing. In the end, Elfyn Evans was victorious for Toyota, following one Sunday section where all the other front runners picked up punctures except Evans. Ogier had mechanical difficulties, which culminated in engine failure. Neuville looked set for victory until a puncture put paid to his chance. Loeb who was running up front on Friday also paid the price in the Sunday tyre killing section. M-Sport had another rally to forget. To read about the result, click here for the DirtFish article. To read about the overview of the weekend and what was learnt, click another DirtFish article here. Toyota announced it is buying the rally team Tommi Mäkinen has built up and run for the Yaris WRC program. The aim, was for this to happen, which will mean from 2021 Tommi will be employed as a motorsport advisor, whilst Gazoo Racing officially run the team. To read more, click the DirtFish article here . LUNCHTIME WATCH: BARGAIN RACEMENT FROM BAD OBSESSION MOTORSPORT The chaps at Bad Obsession Motorsport have a new video series, this time taking an £850 city car and making it into a race car. In a, frankly staggering move, they have completed the project and filming before they released any of the weekly episodes. To start the journey, click here for the first instalment on YouTube . LIST OF THE WEEK: CARS WE’D HAPPILY LEAVE AT HOME As it was World Car Free Day, when the chaps recorded the show, they have a topical List of the Week , from Motoring Research. A list of the worst cars in recent history has been compiled for us to scroll through, whilst hiding behind the couch. To run through the list, click the link here . Oh, and we have complained that the Wrangler is on the list as both Alan and Andrew like it. AND FINALLY: MINI MOKE IS BACK Moke International is building a small number of Mini Moke’s which will be available for around £20,000. If you wish to fulfil a partial fantasy involving Patrick McGoohan you now can! To read more, click the Autocar article here .…
FOLLOW UP: WINTERKORN AND FOUR OTHERS CHARGED WITH FRAUD A court in Braunschweig, Germany, has allowed a case to move forward charging Winterkorn and four other former VW managers with fraud. Additionally, the court has allowed an amendment to add additional criminal gang charges. To read more, click the Autocar article here . FOLLOW UP: MERCEDES AGREE DEFEAT DEVICE SETTLEMENT IN US Mecedes-Benz owner, Daimler, has agreed to pay £1.17 billion to the U.S. Government and State of California for installing defeat devices on some of their diesel engined vehicles. Mercedes will also have to fix all affected models, as part of the settlement. As part of the settlement Merceds deny the charges levelled at them and any wrong doing. To read more, click the CarDealer article here . FOLLOW UP: KELLY AND NISSAN TRIAL BEGINS In the abscence of Carlos Ghosn, Greg Kelly’s trial has started in Japan, where he is accused of hiding the misappropriated funds that Ghosn is supposed to have taken from Nissan. Nissan has admitted liability and paid a fine, Kelly has reiterated that he is not guilty. To read more, click the SuperUnleaded article here . MCLAREN LOOK TO RAISE FUDNING McLaren is planning a fund and lease back plan, involving their HQ. Contrary to how others have reported it, they are not selling up and moving away from Woking. The expectation is that the properties will raise over £200 million, which is needed, they say, as a result of the impact of Covid-19 on motor racing and car sales. To read more, click the Autocar article here . MERCEDES LOSES ANOTHER PATENT CASE Mercedes Benz has been found to be using some of Sharp’s technology without paying to do so. This is the second case where this has been found to be the case, in the last few weeks. This time, Sharp need 'only post a collateral of €5.5 billion to ban the sale of any vehicle using the disputed technology. To read more, click the Automotive News Europe article here . To find out how all this mess came around click here for the Automotive News article explaining it all. SECTIONS OF MOTORWAYS TO BE REDUCED TO 60MPH LIMIT IN TRIAL Highways England is trialling the reduction of some sections of motorway’s speed limit, to see how that impacts emissions. The M1, M5, M6 and M602 will be affected in very small areas. The trial is expected to begin before October and run for 15 to 18 months, if successful they could become official policy. To read more, click the EVO article here . SPEEDING NOT RISING OVERALL BUT STILL TROUBLING The Department for Transport has released information on vehicles speeding, showing that overall there is no increase in speeding but certain speeds have seen an increase. Exceeding 70 and 30mph has climbed but there are drops for cars and motorcycles in 60mph areas. Exceeding speed limits was a contributing factor in 5.1% of road traffic collisions, according to DfT’s own data. To read more, click the Autocar article here . T-PLATES TO BE TRIALLED BY BLACK-BOX DRIVERS Co-Op has stepped in to help young drivers, who are using black-box telematic insurance systems, that feel under pressure from other road users to drive faster by trialling T-plates that show anyone they have an insurance device fitted. The hope is that other drivers will ease up and not make younger drivers feel unsafe. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . EU AND UK AUTOMOTIVE BODIES CALL FOR POST-BREXIT TRADE TO BE URGENTLY AGREED The UK’s SMMT and European equivalent organisations have called on both side negotiating the post-Brexit trade deal to urgently announce details of any agreement, asking for it to be frictionless or there will be “severe repercussions”. We can only hope they are listened to. To read more, click the Autocar article here . Dr Andy Palmer has some interesting thoughts on why the lack of clarity is affecting the automotive sector. To learn more, watch the video here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- FORMULA E: MAHINDRA SIGN EX-MERCEDES POWERTRAIN SPECIALIST Mahindra have signed Josef Holden, who was the Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains team leader. They will hope his experience of being part of the Mercedes F1 Team will be invaluable. To read more, click The Race article here . WRC TURKEY WRC Turkey is taking place this weekend, where they will be implementing the same restrictions as they did in Estonia. To read more about that and the lead up to the event, click the DirtFish article here . There is another excellent DirtFish article, this time discussing the move to hybrid cars, which we all thought was done and dusted. Apparently not, Hyundai are now wavering, due to the cost and perceived benefit, to the point that leaving the championship is on the table. To read about that and what the options are, click the article here . LE MANS SPOTTER GUIDE FROM ANDY BLACKMORE Andy Blackmore has once again created his Spotter’s Guide for the 2020 Le Mans race that takes place over the coming weekend. To see more, click the link to the Tweet from Andy here . LUNCHTIME WATCH: HOW THE M-SPORT STORY BEGAN Managing Director, Malcolm Wilson, talks through how his and the M-Sport story began, for this week’s Lunchtime Watch, from DirtFish. To watch this fascinating interview, click here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 11 OF THE BEST FUN CARS WITH LESS THAN 150BHP This week’s List of the Week is curtsey of Top Gear, talking about fun cars that are blessed with nothing more than 150bhp. To find out more and select your own favourite, click the link here . AND FINALLY: EV CHARGING RECORD SET FOR JOHN O’GROATS TO LANDS END Zero Carbon World achieved a record time of only 1 hour, 32 minutes, 32 seconds of charging, for their run from John O’Groats to Lands End. The overall journey time was 15 hours 32 minutes. To read more, click the Zap-Map article here .…
FOLLOW UP: GREEN NUMBER PLATE TRIAL Last week we discussed the news that Nissan dealers were trialling, the soon to be introduced, green number plates that indicate the car is an EV. Alan and Andrew were confused by why only Nissan and why a trial, turns out that these are only mock-ups and not actually road legal. The chaps apologise for not doing enough research to have established the full facts. We will do better in the future. NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR AUGUST 2020 August is traditionally a quieter month for New Car Registration figures due to holidays and September being a new plate month. However, even taking that into consideration, the market was still down 5.8% year-on-year. Considering the state of, well everything, only 5.8% is not bad! The figure was boosted by a surge (sorry) in the number of electric vehicles registered. To read more, click here for the SMMT article . ZAP-MAP BRINGS PAYMENT UNIFICATION Zap-Map, the best EV charging station mapping service for the UK, has unveiled its one-stop payment service, called Zap-Pay. This means that you can just pay via this to be able to charge at any point regardless of the network provider, so long as they have joined with Zap-Map. To read more, click the article here . FUEL-PRICES CONTINUE TO RISE Petrol and diesel prices have risen for their third month in a row, yet they still remain on average below January’s prices. Motorway fuel is also significantly cheaper than it was previously. The hope is prices will drop again as there is a reduction in oil price and the holiday season is over. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . KODIAQ VRS SALES TO STOP Skoda has announced they will be ceasing production of the current Kodiaq vRS, due to the EU emission targets that require a much stricter fleet average than last year. However, for fans of a fast SUV, they will be bringing it back next year with a revised engine and mid-life facelift. To read more, click the Autocar article here . JIMNY IS BACK SORT OF Recently Suzuki stopped selling the Jimny due to the EU emission rules that we discussed int he Kodiaq story, however, Suzuki has announced that it will be coming back in limited numbers as a commercial vehicle. Commercial vehicles have different rules over emissions and they can’t have rear seats, but most owners didn’t use the back seats anyway. To find out more about this good news, click here for the Autocar article . NEXT QASHQAI DELAYED UNTIL 2021 Nissan has dialled back from an expected October production start for the next generation Qashqai, with claims that the main reason is the pandemic and also uncertainty over Brexit, causing the company to pause its investment until more is known. To read more, click the Autocar article here . _____________________________________________ GIVEAWAY COMPETITION TIME After realising we were about to hit our 350th episode and our 5th year anniversary, almost at the last second, we joked how we are hopeless at celebrating milestones. Thankfully some wonderful people listen to us, Phil Huff (of FrontSeat fame) and James Rüppert (Mr Bangernomics) have donated prizes for a giveaway. By answering the question in the episode, via our contact form on the site and using the word COMPETITION in the subject line, you could win a Lego Speed Champions McLaren 720S and a copy of the book Bangernomics: Rebooted. To go directly to our Contact Form, click here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST WRC ESTONIA By all accounts, whilst Estonia was hosting the WRC for the first time, it felt as though it had been part of the calendar for years. Ott Tänak took the win, for Hyundai, with Craig Breen making it a one-two for the Korean manufacturer. Third was secured by Sébastein Ogier, bringing in the highest placed Toyota who charged hard but could not get past Breen. This has closed up the manufacture and driver’s championship. To read more about the result, click the DIrtFish article here . To read about how well the event went down, click the DirtFish article here . GOODWOOD REVIVAL GREATS LIVESTREAM Whilst Goodwood has had to postpone a live Revival, they are going to stream the Revival Greats over what would’ve been the event’s weekend. To read more and make a note of when it starts, click the Goodwood Road & Racing article here . LUNCHTIME READ: HOW A POWERFUL NISSAN INSIDER TORE APART CARLOS GHOSN’S LEGACY In what reads like a medieval story of power and dethroning, Bloomberg has a fascinating article on how the fall of Ghosn came about. Intrigue, conspiracy and scores to be settled, in what could be from a thriller. We remind our listeners, that the pentest element of the story is often how these things are run so do not read too much into that without information of wrongdoing being revealed. To read this excellent article, click the link here . Thanks to Damien Scully for the recommendation, it is one hell of a read! LIST OF THE WEEK: 24 RANDOM THINGS MADE BY CAR MANUFACTURERS This week’s List of the Week is some of the other things that car manufacturers have made. What a gloriously mad list it is too. To have a look, click the Autocar article here . AND FINALLY: VINTAGE JCB RESTORED Tying in with the List of the Week , we bring you the story of the 1964 JCB backhoe loader, that has been fully restored. To read more about the restoration, click the AggNet article here . AND FINALLY FINALLY: ZOOM ZOOMERS CALL Alan takes part in a gathering of folks from the motoring world, on a Monday night, run by Damien Cross. If you would like to see last Monday’s meet up please click the YouTube link here .…
Alan left his own car for a fortnight’s holiday “Chez Toyota” and took a Corolla Touring Sport on holiday instead. How did Toyota’s handsome, hybrid C-estate challenger cope with long motorway journeys and a minimal amount of urban start/stop? To hear Alan’s chat with Richard Seymour about how the Toyota hybrid system works and has evolved, listen to the dedicated Special Edition in episode 200 .…
FOLLOW UP: INEOS SET TO BE SMART ABOUT THEIR FACTORY Ineos is in advanced talks with Daimler, over purchasing their Smart factory in France. A bid has been tabled, with the expectation that a deal will be reached soon. This means that the Portugal and Bridgend plants will be shelved. To read more, click the CarScoops article here . FOLLOW UP: CYBERSECURITY FIRM HIRED TO TEST NISSAN IN 2018 Hari Nada, Nissan Senior Vice President, brought in French cybersecurity firm Waveform, to run a pentest on Nissan in 2018. This is being made out as an attempt to hack Ghosn’s emails, which it is not. When running a pentest you keep as few people as possible in the loop. Question marks will be raised if this invalidates Nissan’s submitted information, as this happened at the same time as Nada was helping authorities. To read more, click The Drive article here . MINI OXFORD REDUCING WORKFORCE The Mini plant, in Oxford, is shedding nearly 400 agency staff due to a reduction in demand. As the chaps have discussed before, this is a typical move by car plants, to reduce agency workers in times when demand dips. However, in this instance, there will also be a small number of MINI staff who will be offered redundancy and early retirement. To read more, click the BBC News article here . GREEN NUMBERPLATES GO ON TRIAL Nissan dealers are trialling the use of the green segment of numberplates of EVs. The Government will be fully introducing the scheme before the end of the year. Other countries which have adopted this claim that it encourages others to buy zero-emission vehicles. To read more, click the Fleetworld article here . EU GAINS POWERS TO ENFORCE CAR RECALLS ACROSS EUROPE The EU has taken the step of adding the power to over-ride an individual country’s vehicle authority and demand recalls. To read more, click the Reuters article here . SCOTTISH LOW EMISSION ZONES TIMETABLE The Scottish Government has released information on their proposed timetable to introduce low emission zones to Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh, in 2022. This had been paused due to the pandemic, however, the clear expectation in this announcement is that life will be more or less back to normal by early 2022. To read more, click the Scottish Government article here . DVSA SITE CRASHES AFTER SURGE OF TEST APPLICATIONS Learner drivers attempting to book practical tests have been struggling to do so as the site has crashed by the sheer volume of those visiting. There are only a limited number of slots available, which get released in batches. To read more, click the Autocar article here . Driving licenses, that are due to expire, up to December 2020, will automatically be extended for 11 months from the date of expiry. To read more, click the HonestJohn article here . NANTES INTRODUCES 30KPH LIMIT Nantes is the latest French city to introduce a speed limit of 30kph, to almost everywhere, in an attempt to reduce noise, pollution and improve safety. To read more, click the Connexion France article here . GREEN KING INSTALLING EV CHARGERS Green King intendeds to have installed chargers to 900 premises across the UK, by the end of 2020. As the chaps have said, pubs and restaurants make an ideal place to install rapid chargers. To read more, click the Independent article here . _____________________________________________ GIVEAWAY COMPETITION TIME After realising we were about to hit our 350th episode and our 5th year anniversary, almost at the last second, we joked how we are hopeless at celebrating milestones. Thankfully some wonderful people listen to us, Phil Huff (of FrontSeat fame) and James Rüppert (Mr Bangernomics) have donated prizes for a giveaway. By answering the question in the episode, via our contact form on the site and using the word COMPETITION in the subject line, you could win a Lego Speed Champions McLaren 720S and a copy of the book Bangernomics: Rebooted. To go directly to our Contact Form, click here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST FORMULA E: WHY DO DRIVERS LEAVE BMW Sam Smith, writing on The Race, makes an interesting point, why do so many good drivers leave BMW? Sims is the latest, who we talked about last week, and is moving to Mahindra. We encourage you to read this article and share your thoughts with us, why do you think they leave? To read more, click the article here . TOUR AUTO CURRENTLY UNDERWAY IN FRANCE For those, who are in France, who like a classic car the delayed Tour Auto is underway. To find out if you can visit, or if you just want to follow the Twitter account, click the link here . NEW REVS EVENT TAKING PLACE Refuelled and Ready will be the third event set up and run by Adam Gompertz, via the REVS Facebook page, due to run from 09:30 on 12 September. Click here for the Classic & Sports Car article explaining all the details here . LUNCHTIME READ: THE HAUNTING ABANDONED WRECKS OF RURAL FRANCE For our Lunchtime Read we turn to Autocar, with a wonderful and at times bleak slideshow, of abandoned and rotting cars found in France. Each photograph has a snippet of information about the car rusting away. To read more, click the article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 50 CARS TO DRIVE AT LEAST ONCE Again we are with Autocar and Andrew Frankel, who has compiled a list of 50 cars we all need to drive, for a variety of reasons. After running through the list, the chaps realise they can only tick off a woefully small number. To run through the list, click the link here . AND FINALLY: TOYOTA’S LUNAR VEHICLE IS NAMED The joint venture between Toyota and JAXA, for manned exploration of the lunar surface, has named the vehicle to be used. They will use a Lunar Cruiser, taken from the dependable Land Cruiser of Earth fame. To read more, click the Toyota press release here . AND FINALLY FINALLY: ZOOM ZOOMERS CALL Alan takes part in a gathering of folks from the motoring world, on a Monday night, run by Damien Cross. If you would like to see last Monday’s meet up please click the YouTube link here .…
FOLLOW UP: GERMAN PROSECUTORS AGREE DEAL WITH POETSCH AND MUELLER Parent company Porsche Automobil Holding SE has paid Stugartt prosecutors €1.5 million for them to drop further investigations into the claim of market manipulation levelled at Hans Dieter Poetsch and Matthias Mueller. They reiterate that the pair have done nothing wrong. To read more, click the Reuters article here . FOLLOW UP: CLEAN AIR ZONES ON HOLD Leeds and Bristol have announced that their planned Clean Air Zones are now postponed, due to air quality levels being above the minimum threshold thanks to less traffic. As they do not meet the criteria for Government funding, the local councils are not implementing their plans. They are actively looking at non-charging options and encouraging continuation in the recent work patterns and lifestyle changes. To read more about Bristol’s position, click here for the BristolLive article . To learn more about the situation in Leeds, click the BBC News article here . ACTIVE TRAVEL SCHEMES BEING CLOSED Councils are beginning to close some of the active travel schemes they implemented, off the back of the Department of Transport’s £250 million green roads initiative. Complaints have come from local residents and business owners, who cited extra congestion and harm to local businesses. To read more, click here for the Autocar article . DETAILS OF STRATEGIC ROAD INVESTMENT The Government first announced it would be spending £27.4 billion with Highways England to improve the road infrastructure, now adding the detail of what the money will be spent on. This has caused an uproar from environmental groups who claim the CO2 impact of these works has been underestimated due to looking at national and local impacts and benefits. To read more, click the Autocar article here . JUDGE REJECTS ATTEMPT TO BAN OFF-ROADING IN LAKE DISTRICT A campaign, from the Green Lanes Environmental Action Movement (GLEAM), to ban off-roading on green lane tracks has been rejected by a judge. The High Court has dismissed the legal action on all counts. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . PORSCHE INVESTIGATES ALLEGED PETROL ENGINE MANIPULATION Porsche is investigating claims that software and hardware changes were allegedly made to some petrol engines after they received type approval. This is on the back of Audi being investigated for possible exhaust manipulation of their 2.0 four-cylinder petrol engine fitted to Q5s, by the Offenberg region. Hopefully, this does not lead to another 5 years plus story for the chaps to cover! To read more, click the Autocar article here . CO2 LEVELS OF OEM FLEETS ON THE RISE At the end of this year, manufacturers need to have an average fleet CO2 level of 95g/km, whereas last year saw an average of 121.8g/km. The global pandemic, drop in sales and many countries dipping into technical recession has added further pressure on car companies. We have already seen some drop certain models, like Suzuki and the Jimny. The rise in CO2 levels since 2017 has been put on the shoulders of SUV popularity. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . FROM DECEMBER 21 ALL CARS WITH RADIOS MUST HAVE DAB Any new car sold with a radio, from 21 December 2020, must have DAB functionality thanks to the implementation of EU legislation by the UK Government. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST FORMULA E: SIMS MOVES TO MAHINDRA Alexander Sims has signed for Mahindra after leaving the BMW i Andretti team. Next season will be his third in Formula E. Pascal Wehrlein left in June, to be replaced by Alex Lynn who out-qualified and out-scored d’Ambrosio who has also been released by Mahindra. To read more, click The Race’s article here . WRC: GERMANY DUE TO BE CANCELLED The organisers for the German round of the revised WRC season are expected to announce the cancellation after local government restrictions include no mass gatherings over 350 people. This reduces the calendar to seven events. To read more, click the DirtFish article here . LUNCHTIME WATCH: GEELY VOLVO SUPER FACTORY This week we have a video of the Geely Volvo super factory at Taizhou, which is a meld of Chinese and Sweedish management. To watch this, click the YouTube video here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 10 OF THE BEST - A CELEBRATION OF BABY POO YELLOW Gavin Braithwaite-Smith has compiled another cracking list, this time in honour of baby poo yellow. To run through the best wearers of this striking colour, click the PetrolBlog link here . AND FINALLY: FIND YOUR PERFECT TESLA-DRIVING PARTNER Ever thought, whilst flicking through a dating app, “what this needs is a filter to show only Tesla drivers”? Well, the answer to your very specific prayers is over, for behold the Tesla Dating app is almost here! The idea is to hook up with other Tesla owning people who “really understand you”. That’s one way to keep a ready supply of adoring fans. To see more, click the link here . AND FINALLY FINALLY: ZOOM ZOOMERS CALL Alan takes part in a gathering of folks from the motoring world, on a Monday night, run by Damien Cross. If you would like to see last Monday’s meet up please click the YouTube link here .…
Alan chatted to Tim Oldland about his new venture, Raduno Events, a single-point car event listing service. Tim tells us all about how the idea came about, what it aims to provide for both attendees and organisers as well as some of the challenges of launching the service in 2020. Raduno Events launches on Monday 24th August 2020. We also talked about some of the other things Tim does, so links to everything discussed are below. Raduno Website: www.raduno.events Raduno Instagram: @raduno_events Raduno Twitter: @raduno_events Raduno Facebook: @radunoevents Tim’s “In The Headlights” YouTube channel. Tim’s classic car part recreation business: Modernclassicparts.com…
FOLLOW UP: RENAULT NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES During last week’s discussion about the SMMT New Car Registration figures the chaps remarked at how impressive the increase by Renault was. Alan has donned his deerstalker and polished his magnifying glass in an effort to investigate why. They had an increase in their core fleet business but also their best-ever month as part of the Motability scheme. END OF BAILOUT TALKS BETWEEN JLR AND UK GOVERNMENT JLR and parent company TATA’s talks with the UK Government over financial help have ended. Reports are that the company did not meet the requirements to receive taxpayers funding. Additional sticking points appear to be suggested requirements for an acceleration of their electrification process. TATA has announced that they are continuing to discuss possible options for financial help with the Government. To read more, click the Autocar article here. NOKIA WINS PATENT RULING AGAINST DAIMLER Nokia has won a legal dispute, with Daimler, over the use of their patented technology without a license. Daimler is appealing the ruling. In separate actions, Nokia is being investigated for abusing its position in the market, in the EU. The centre of all of this is the fee Nokia charges to license its mobile communication technology, which Daimler and others want to stop being charged on the basis of each car sold. To read more, click the Bloomberg article here . KUGA PHEV SALES HALTED AND RECALL ISSUED The newly launched Ford Kuga PHEV has a temporary ban on sales, issued a recall and informed owners to not charge their high-voltage battery until they have had their car serviced and fixed. The exact issue is still unclear. To read more, click the Autocar article here . TOYOTA TO USE AMAZON CLOUD STORAGE FOR CONNECTED CARS As part of Toyota’s move to create and offer its next-gen mobility services, they are utilising more of Amazon’s cloud storage and professional services. Some services could be for fleet managers to monitor their service needs or driver behaviour based insurance to access information. To read more, click The Register article here . MOTORWAY ROADWORK SPEED TO LIMIT TO BE RAISED Some sections of motorway roadworks are to have their speed limits reevaluated, with the potential to increase up to 60mph. Simon Wickers explained to Andrew why this may be the case and what factors are considered, which you can read by clicking the link here and also clicking here . To read more about the item, click the BBC News article here . GOVERNMENT CONSULTATION ON AUTOMATED LANE KEEPING ASSIST SYSTEMS In the next potential step for introducing automated technology on the road, the UK Government has launched a consultation about Automated Lane Keeping Assist systems. The system will take over driving the vehicle, in motorway conditions, without direct input from the human driver by regulating the speed, distance from vehicles around and keeping in the lane occupied. To read more, click the link to the official release here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST FORMULA E: SEASON WRAPS UP IN BERLIN We reach the end of this strange season, with the last two races being at Berlin again, last week. Formula E, the teams, drivers and everyone else associated with the Berlin races deserve a lot of credit for getting this to happen at all. In Wednesday’s race, Oliver Rowland won for the first time, for the Nissan e.Dams team. To read more about that and how Rowland has improved as a racer, click The Race article here . The final race of the season resulted in a Mercedes 1-2, with Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries completing a satisfactory debut season. Also, this was Vandoorne’s first Formula E victory. To learn more about what happened, click here for The Race’s article . For the final standings, click the Forumal E article here . WRC: JAPAN EXPECTED TO BE REPLACED BY YPRES DUE TO COVID-19 As a result of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the expectation is that the Japanese leg of the season will be cancelled and replaced by Ypres. To read more, click the DirtFish article here . LUNCHTIME READ: HOW TO HAVE THE BEST DRIVE OF YOUR LIFE Andrew Frankel has written a wonderfully optimistic piece in Autocar about getting back out on the open road and how to enjoy the experience. Key to this is preparing yourself and your car. To read through the advice from Mr Frankel, click the article here . Once you’ve read it, followed it and gone for a drive get in touch with us to tell us where you went and how it was! LIST OF THE WEEK: TOP GEAR’S TOP 9 - EVERYTHING’S BETTER WITH SPOTLIGHTS EDITION Top Gear has put together a list of cars that look superb with extra spotlights attached to them. To run through them all, click the link here . AND FINALLY: NEW HYUNDAI EMPLOYEE COLLARED At A Hyundai dealership, in Brazil, a stray dog kept turning up, and kept turning up, and kept turning up. In the end, they adopted him and gave him an employee badge. To read more about this heartwarming story, click the BoredPanda link here . AND FINALLY FINALLY: ZOOM ZOOMERS CALL Alan takes part in a gathering of folks from the motoring world, on a Monday night, run by Damien Cross. If you would like to see last Monday’s meet up please click the YouTube link here .…
FOLLOW UP: FOUR EX-AUDI EMPLOYEES CHARGED IN GERMANY In Germany, three ex-Audi executives and a retired engineer have been charged over #dieselgate. Ulrich Hackenberg, Stefan Knirsch, Bernd Martens and Richard Bauder are accused of fraud, false certification and criminal advertising. To read more, click the Automotive News Europe article here . FOLLOW UP: VW LOSES UK APPEAL AGAINST GROUP ACTION Volkswagen has lost its appeal against the attempt of a group action lawsuit for compensation to those who bought a VW Group car with diesel engines fitted with, what the court has confirmed is, ‘defeat devices’. The case is not expected to start until 2022. To read more, click the Autocar article here . FOLLOW UP: LEVANDOWSKI SENTENCED Bringing to an end the messy chapter of Anthony Levandowski, stolen trade secrets and Uber trying to create autonomous taxis, Levandowski has been sentenced to prison for 12 months which he will serve once Covid-19 has receded. To read more, click the BBC News article here . NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR JULY 2020 In a rare and probably brief moment, there is good news from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders as July showed a double-digit increase in registrations on 2019. To read more click here for the SMMT article and charts . JLR LOSE REGISTERED DESIGN CASE In a lengthy legal process, starting with a case to cancel the registered design for the Defender, brought by INEOS against Jaguar Land Rover, finally culminating in JLR losing in the court of appeal a design patent for the Defender. The original decision was made on 21 November 2018, to read the original ruling, click the link here . To read more about the design patent matters, click the Autocar article here , but note there is confusion in the reporting on this between trademark and design patent. Thanks to Lee Walton for clarification on the case but also to Ed Callow who was mentioning this whilst no one else was over a year ago. TESLA WIPER CONTROLS LAND DRIVER IN TROUBLE A German driver was prosecuted under the nation’s same laws as using a phone behind the wheel when altering the speed of the wipers via the touch screen which resulted in a crash. Who knew putting controls on a screen that takes eyes from the road is dumb? To read more, click the BBC News article here . TESLA IN TROUBLE OVER MISLEADING DESCRIPTIONS FOR AUTOPILOT Another German court has ruled that Tesla must stop using misleading descriptions for its Autopilot software, such as “full potential for autonomous driving” and “Autopilot inclusive”. They have also been told off for their advert suggesting self-driving cars are allowed on German roads. To read more, click The Register article here . UK’S FIRST DUTCH-STYLE ROUNDABOUT OPENS Cambridge, where else, has installed the UK’s first Dutch-style roundabout that prioritises cyclists instead of cars. To see more, click Joe Giddens tweet here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST FORMULA E: MANY, MANY RACES AND A TITLE WINNER With two races left in the season, Antonio Felix da Costa won the 2019/20 season with DS Techeetah, who also claimed the constructor title. To read about that, click here for The Race’s take on the event . To read about why da Costa won the title click here for another The Race article . However, it wasn’t all sweetness and light in the Techeetah stable, one race saw Vergne become furious with his teammate and the team at large for the failure of the pre-race plan to be followed. To read more about that, click another The Race article here . In other news, Blomqvist is replacing Calado at Jaguar for the remaining two races. Calado’s season has been poor. To read more, click The Race article here . 24HR LE MANS TO RUN BEHIND CLOSED DOORS An official statement from Automobile Club de l'Ouest has confirmed that whilst the race will still take place, there can be no crowds. Seems that the Virtual 24hr Le Mans was a dry run for the real thing this year. To read more, click the Autocar article here . LUNCHTIME READ: INTRODUCTION TO G8 TFX Lewis Kingston has written a wonderful Long-Term Report on his C4 Corvette. To read more, which we obviously encourage you to do, click the Yes Auto article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: ESTATE OF MIND - FIVE LUXURY LOAD-LUGGERS Not2Grand is the provider of this week’s List of the Week , as the country holidays and the roads become clogged with SUVs Chris Pollitt offers some alternatives that will do more than your jacked-up hatchback. To read through, click the link here . AND FINALLY: BUY A CAR AND BE ON TV TV’s Paul Cowland is filming a new show, where he helps someone buy the perfect car for their needs, within their budget. If you wish to get involved click here for the link to his Tweet with the info . AND FINALLY: ZOOM ZOOMERS CALL Alan takes part in a gathering of folks from the motoring world, on a Monday night, run by Damien Cross. If you would like to see last Monday’s meet up please click the YouTube link here .…
FOLLOW UP: VW ASKS FOR REVIEW OF EMISSIONS UPDATE PENALTIES Volkswagen has asked the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to review the penalties being imposed by two counties after their emission system updates. To find out more visit the Automotive News article here . THOMAS SCHAFER IS NEW SKODA BOSS Thomas Schafer succeeds Bernard Maier as the new boss of Skoda. Unsurprisingly, Schafer has been appointed from within Volkswagen. To read more, click through to the Autocar article here . FORD CEO JIM HACKETT TO RETIRE Ford CEO and President Jim Hackett has announced he will retire on 1st October, to be replaced by current COO Jim Farley. There’s more in the Autocar article here . THIERRY BOLLORÉ IS NEW JLR CEO The former Renault boss will take over from Prof. Sir Ralf Speth on 10th September. Speth will stay on a non-executive vice-chairman. You can find out more in the Car article here. JLR ANNOUNCE “SIGNIFICANT IMPACT” OF COVID-19 Unsurprisingly, JLR sales are down significantly as a result of global COVID-19 lockdowns, but with sales “only” down 42% seems to have remained more stable than most. There’s more analysis i n this Autocar article . MITSUBISHI PULLS OUT OF EUROPE A corporate decision at Mitsubishi sees it suspending the introduction of new models to Europe in order to focus on other markets. There’s more information i n this Motor Trade News article . REPORT CALLS FOR AD BAN FOR LARGE POLLUTING CARS A report from a “green think tank” and a climate change charity says adverts should be banned for vehicles over 4.8 metres long or emitting more than 160g CO2/km. Click through to the BBC article here . FUEL TAX REVENUE PLUNGES DURING LOCKDOWN This week’s “story of the obvious” is about how the UK Government lost £2.4 billion of tax revenue during the lockdown as the country used less petrol and diesel. For more information, click through to this Motoring Research article . HIGHWAY CODE COULD INTRODUCE A HIERARCHY OF ROAD USERS A new consultation document is looking to improve safety for all road users. One of the proposals is to give greater protections to cyclists, pedestrians, and horse riders through a number of means including introduction of the “Dutch Reach” and clarification of existing rules. There’s more in this Motoring Research article and you can read and contribute to the consultation document here . PARKING SENSORS DETRIMENTAL TO DRIVER SAFETY A survey of Fleet managers shows that 70% of fleet managers either agreed or strongly agreed that technologies such as parking sensors de-skilled drivers to the detriment of driver safety. That feels very wrong, but you can r ead more in this article from Fleet News . FORMULA E: IT’S BACK IN BERLIN Formula E will be back before you read this. The 6 races at Berlin Templehof, using 3 different track layouts on the former airport begin on Wednesday 5th August and will end the series for 2019/2020. To find out more about some of the changes to FormulaE over the last few months, click here to an article from The Race . To find out how you can follow these rounds of the championship, click here for the viewers’ guide. LUNCHTIME READ: Citroen 2CV To commemorate thirty years since the manufacture of the last Citroen 2CV, Gavin Braithwaite-Smith has written an excellent article charting the history fo the iconic French car. You can read the article, and marvel at the period press pics, via this link to the Retro Motor website . DESIGNERS’ MOOD BOARD: GILLES VIDAL JOINS RENAULT Former, and very recent, head of design at Peugeot, Gilles Vidal, is to join the design team at Renault. There’s more information in t his Autocar article . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE EIGHT BEST 3-SPOKE ALLOY WHEELS EVER MADE Allegedly a niche article, this week’s list from Goodwood Road and Racing discusses the potential delight of the 3-spoke alloy wheel. Read the article and choose your favourite here . AND FINALLY: GORDON MURRAY T50 Everyone else is talking about this son-of-McLaren-F1 so we felt that we should do to. Alan, like the back of the car, is a fan… You can read the Autocar article about it here. AND FINALLY: ZOOM ZOOMERS CALL Alan takes part in a gathering of folks from the motoring world, on a Monday night, run by Damien Cross. If you would like to see last Monday’s meet up please click the YouTube link here .…
FOLLOW UP: OLIVER SCHMIDT TO FINISH SENTENCE IN GERMANY Former VW executive, Oliver Schmidt, has been granted permission by a Detroit judge to complete the rest of his sentence in a German prison. To read more, click the Reuters article here . FOLLOW UP: AUDI TO RUN SOFTWARE ARM OF VW Dirk Hilgenberg will replace Christain Senger as the head of VW Group’s Car.Software division. This will also coincide with the main office of the division moving to Ingolstadt and Audi. To read more, click the Reuters article here . FOLLOW UP: E-SCOOTERS STOPPED ON A19 Less than a week after the e-scooter trial opened in the Tees Vally, teenagers were stopped and escorted from the A19 dual carriageway, where they were found travelling at 12mph. Some are questioning if they have broken any laws, although rental and trial rules state they should not be ridden on roads with a limit of more than 40mph. To read more, click the Independent article here . ELLESMERE PORT REOPENS FOR PRODUCTION Positive news from Vauxhall, as they announce that Ellesmere Port will be reopening to production from 17 August, in a gradual and controlled manner. To read more, including some of the measures they’re putting in place to be safe, click the Vauxhall press release here . DVLA WARNS OF DELAYS FOR MOTORISTS Due to the pandemic, the DVLA is warning motorists of delays to processing their requests. This is particularly concerned with paper application of driving licenses, logbook changes and the likes. We are all being encouraged to use the digital processes, to help speed matters along. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . CAR FINANCE ASSISTANCE EXTENDED The Financial Conduct Authority has announced that help for those struggling to pay their car finance will have assistance packages extended a further three months. This is in line with the help announced for mortgages. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . CAR-SHARING LIKELY CAUSE IN LOCAL SPIKE A spike of Covid-19 cases, in Northampton and Kettering, is being put down to car-sharing by local health experts. This does raise the concern, for Richard and Andrew, is how much at risk driving instructors are too, due to the confined nature of their working day? To read more, click the Northamptonshire Telegraph here . TFL FACES LEGAL CHALLENGE OVER CONGESTION CHARGE Following the recent ‘temporary’ increase in the Congestion Charge, TfL is being taken to court. From the 22 June, the rate increased to £15, runs for longer during the day and now is in place seven days a week. That there was an increase was conditional to their bailout funding from the Government, however, the extent of it was at the discretion of the Mayor of London and TfL. To read more, click the FleetWorld article here . For an insight into the man now running Transport for London, click on the Evening Standard article here . Not great news if you own a car. DECARBONISING WALES REPORT RELEASED The Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee, of the Welsh Parliament, has released their report into the plans to decarbonise Welsh transport. As has become a regular theme, the private car is not seen as the future, with only grudging acceptance it must be mentioned at all. This seems a particularly strange act considering how little of the country is served by public transport and good road networks. To read more, click the report here . MOTO TRIALING MOTORWAY PETROL PRICE CUTS Motorway service station operator, Moto, is trialling reduced fuel prices across three sites, to evaluate the viability of doing so across its entire network. If successful, Moto will reduce fuel prices to the local average. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . RENAULT ZOE VAN REVEALED Renault has revealed a commercial vehicle variant of their small EV, the Zoe. Whilst the doors remain, along with the 245-mile range, the windows will be tinted, rear seats removed and a rubber flooring put in place. As Andrew and Richard discuss, this seems like a cracking vehicle for the tricky ‘last-mile’ issue we are constantly told needs to be addressed. To read more, click the Autocar article here . MODERN CLASSICS MAGAZINE FOLDS There is the sad news that Modern Classics magazine has now published its last edition. A deal for a new buyer could not be finalised, and so after four years and 52 excellent editions, the publication has come to an end. We wish all the staff affected by this the best of luck in finding work quickly. To read more, click the Press Gazzette article here . This does act as a reminder to us all though if you like an outlet that produces content you enjoy, find a way to financially support them if you can. We cannot expect excellent articles, films and stories for us to read, watch and hear to be free. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST FORMULA E: HARTLEY PARTS WITH DRAGON Brendon Hartley has suddenly left Dragon Formula E team. Very few details are available but Hartley was not having a good debut season, with a lack of pace from the car not helping matters. To read more, click The Race article here . WRC: COMPRESSED CALENDAR REVEALED WRC has revealed the new compressed 2020 calendar. The reduction in events combined with them being held at new times in the year will further complicate the race engineer’s plans. To read more, click the official WRC article here . TV RECOMMENDATIONS: AN UPDATE Richard is recommending a couple of TV series you may have missed, which are worth catching up on. The first is a Channel 4 series called “How to Build”, with five episodes being currently available. To select one of those, click the Channel 4 link here . The second is Vintage Voltage, from Quest, which follows the efforts to convert classic cars to electric-only drive-trains. To watch those, click the Quest link here . LUNCHTIME READ: THE BEST UK ROADS FOR CAR-TUNING, ACCORDING TO CHASSIS EXPERTS The Lunchtime Read is an interesting take on the ‘ best driving roads in the UK ’ as Autocar speak to real car dynamic experts. Included in this is David Pook, who was a guest on episode 69 of Rear View. To find out the roads that help develop some of the finest cars there are, click the link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE MOST INSPIRING PEOPLE IN THE CAR INDUSTRY Another list from Autocar, this time from the keyboard of Steve Cropley, when he suggests people are inspiring we should all sit up and take note. To run through the list, click the link here . AND FINALLY: STELLANTIS IS BORN The merging of PSA and FCA will create a new group called Stellantis, which is apparently derived from Latin and is quite silly really. How often anyone will actually say the name will be seen. To see the official explanation, click the tweet here . AND FINALLY: ZOOM ZOOMERS CALL Alan takes part in a gathering of folks from the motoring world, on a Monday night, run by Damien Cross. If you would like to see last Monday’s meet up please click the YouTube link here .…
FOLLOW UP: VW FACES DIESELGATE CLAIMS WHERE CARS ARE BOUGHT An Austrian court sought confirmation from the EU Court of Justice, if it had jurisdiction to proceed on a class action claim. In essence, these cases can take place where the damage has taken place as opposed to where the defendant is domiciled. This potentially opens the floodgates for claims across the EU. To read more, click the Reuters article here . FOLLOW UP: JUDGE THROWS OUT GM CLAIM AGAIN FCA The judge presiding over the claim, by General Motors, that FCA had colluded with labor unions for a higher wage cost to GM, has dismissed the case. He stated that their claims initially looked to have merit but once inspected did not hold up. GM has confirmed they will be pursuing this matter in the courts. To learn more, click the Automotive News Europe article here . FOLLOW UP: PSA VULNERABILITY CLARIFICATION Last week’s List of the Week included a vulnerability found by Ian Tabor, in his DS5. Andrew did not make it clear that any PSA vehicle with the same unit fitted had the same vulnerability. You will learn more by reading his report on the issue and his closing remarks, which can be found by clicking the link here . VOLKSWAGEN SOFTWARE BOSS TO BE REPLACED VW is looking at a replacement for Christian Senger, who has been heading up the new software division within the Group. There have been a number of issues with the software for the ID3 and the latest Golf. Senger will be joining Andreas Renschler and Stefan Sommer, in leaving the company. All three were brought in from outside the Group. To read more, click the Carscoops article here . SKODA BOSS LEAVING Bernhard Maier is set to leave Skoda at the end of the month, with no news as to his next move. He took over the helm of the Czech firm from Porsche. To read more, click the Autocar article here . SUZUKI DROPS JIMNY FROM UK Suzuki has dropped their small 4x4, the Jimny, from their lineup in the UK, however, they will fulfil orders already placed. This is due to the average CO2 emissions across the fleet, as previously discussed. To read more, about this sad news click the CarScoops article here . BRITISH GAS SWITCHES TO ELECTRIC British Gas has placed an order for 1,000 all-electric Vivaro-e vans from Vauxhall. This is the first step in fully electrifying its entire 12,000 fleet by 2030. For Vauxhall, this is a massive shot in the arm for the sales of their first full commercial EV. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . CLAIMS GOVERNMENT ROAD BUILDING AT ODDS WITH CO2 LIMITS A report from Transport for Quality of Life, has claimed that the Government’s plans to invest £27 billion in road building projects would scupper the aim to meet the strict CO2 emission targets. The Government rebuffs these claims, due to out-of-date data being used. However, one aspect that the podcast has mentioned a couple of times, is the mention of brake dust pollution. To read more, click the BBC News article here . COUNCIL PARKING REVENUE BADLY CUT Councils, who all rely on revenue from parking, have been hit hard due to an estimated £885 million reduction in income across the country, due to the reduction in travel and free parking offers. Councils are now stuck between encouraging people to return to high streets and potentially putting them off by re-introducing fees. To read more, click the Autocar article here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST FORMULA E: MISSION CONTROL CENTRES BANNED So-called ‘mission control centres’ are to be policed by the FIA, after they became aware that engineers were working in a support function to the trackside team with additional analysis and advice, for some teams. Added to this fewer operational passes will be allowed, cutting the number to 17. To read more, click The Race article here . LUNCHTIME READ: CHANGE OUR MINDS - HATCHBACKS DON’T NEED MANUAL GEARBOXES This week Top Gear provides the thought-provoking article, discussing gearboxes suitable for a hatchback. We encourage you to read it and consider if a car has to have a manual gearbox to be considered a ‘proper car’ or you to be a ‘proper driver’. To read, click the link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE GREATEST CARS FOR CORNERS As we are a country filled with corners, one may think this could just be a list called The Greatest Cars . Motoring Research has put forward their suggestions for the best cars to enjoy the twisty stuff in. There are some cracking cars, with the odd surprise. To read through, click the link here . AND FINALLY: ARE CLASSIC CARS ALL BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Si Browse, who runs a classic car hire company, has recorded a short video discussing classic cars, particularly in the current climate of moving everything away from the combustion engine. To watch, click the YouTube video here . ZOOM ZOOMERS CALL Alan takes part in a gathering of folks from the motoring world, on a Monday night, run by Damien Cross. If you would like to see last Monday’s meet up please click the YouTube link here .…
Alan had a chat with Thomas Cowley about the Rotodama, a forward control cab kit for the Land Rover Discovery chassis dreamt by him and three friends. We talk about how it came about and the challenges of designing and building a vehicle with production in mind. To find out more about the Rotodama you can visit the website and follow them on Facebook or Twitter .…
FOLLOW UP: NORTH EAST ENGLAND TRIALLING E-SCOOTERS FIRST The first location for trialling e-scooters will be in the North East of the UK, the Tees Valley Mayor announced. Ben Houchen was delighted to be able to provide a location where 100 scooters can test the viability and practicalities of renting e-scooters to the public. To read more, click the BBC News article here . JUNE 2020 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES The June New Car Registration figures have been released by SMMT and they’re not as bad as feared, however, they were presented with notes of extreme caution and concern. To find out more, click the SMMT article link here . ELECTRIC CAR SCRAPPAGE SCHEME REJECTED The Government has apparently ruled out creating an electric car scrappage scheme. The call by the industry to ask for a scrappage scheme, which has become the defacto stance every time there is a bit of trouble in the market, is predictable yet when ‘low-hanging fruit’ is left untouched seems a bit of a risk. Andrew has “views” after his current experience of the car retail trade. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . MERCEDES TO SELL FRENCH SMART FACTORY Mercedes-Benz has announced it is selling off the Hambach factory, where Smarts are built, as part of their cost-cutting and streamlining process. This brought the news that Ineos, the Defender-that-is-not-a-Defender company, is in talks to take over the site, instead of the previously proposed Welsh or Portuguese locations. The recent announcements have caused the chaps to question further the viability of the Ineos project. To read about Mercedes’s decision to close the factory, click here for the Autocar article . To read about the supposed Ineos interest, click another Autocar article here . BMW LOOKING AT SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE FOR OPTIONS BMW has announced that it is considering offering options via a subscription model. This will be a departure from selecting and paying for selected options upfront. As with any change, there has been a lot of negative comments, however, some have thought this is might be something customers will embrace. To read more, click the RoadShow article here . If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST FORMULA E: ABT GETS NEW SEAT NIO 333 has announced that Daniel Abt will fill in for Ma, who is unable to complete the season due to travel restrictions. This is a quick turn around for a driver who was out of a job a few weeks ago. To read more, click the NIO 333 tweet here . FORMULA E: HANKOOK OFFICIAL TYRE SUPPLIERS Hankook has outbid Michelin to be the official tyre supplier for Gen 3 of Formula E. This has surprised many, as Michelin has a history with the series and has been a major supporter. To read more, click The Race article here . FORMULA E: KEY APPOINTMENTS MADE Formula E has appointed senior marketing and branding executives, to help the series in their efforts for more business opportunities to come out of the series. Personnel from McLaren, the International Cricket Council and Manchester United will try to help them fulfil this aim. To read more, click The Race article here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: KABAN FINDS A HOME WITH VW Following quite a tumultuous time, professionally, for Jozef Kaban, he is returning to Volkswagen, where he will head up the car brand. Klaus Bischoff is moving upstairs, to look after the group, taking over from Michael Mauer who once again can focus on Porsche’s look. To read more, click the Forbes article here . LUNCHTIME READ: WHY WE DRIVE REVIEW This week’s Lunchtime Read is a review of a book, that has shot to the top of both Alan and Andrew’s ‘ books we must buy ’ list. Michael Crawford has written about the supposed rush towards technology and autonomous vehicles are making a mistake in not understanding how important cars are to people. To read more, c lick the Guardian article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: TOP 25 CAR HACKS (+ EXTRA BONUS HACK) Forbes has created a list of what they consider the Top 25 Car Hacks. As cars become ever more connected thanks to legislation and companies looking at new ways to make money, risks increase. These risks are made worse when car companies are having to learn about software, attack vectors and realise copying and pasting GitHub code isn’t the greatest recipe for success. To run through the list, click the link here. Andrew gives us an extra bonus security flaw, thanks to Ian Tabor, who runs Car Hacking Villages at security conferences. Journalists may want to pay attention to this one. To read more, click the link here . AND FINALLY: Alan takes part in a gathering of folks from the motoring world, on a Monday night, run by Damien Cross. If you would like to see last Monday’s meet up please click the YouTube link here .…
Alan spent nine weeks with a Kia Stinger decorating his driveway during the lockdown. When restrictions eased and allowed him to go further than the supermarket, how did he get on? To listen to Alan chat with Wolfgang Zieglmeier, one of the Principal Audio Engineers from Harman on the Stinger project, click here .…
FOLLOW UP: MCLAREN FINDS FUNDING McLaren has secured £150 million in funding after it got into difficulties due to the Covid-19 crisis. This does not cause all of the company’s issues to disappear, as they are still trying to raise more funds via a bond against its factory. To read more, click the Autocar article here . FOLLOW UP: RENTAL E-SCOOTERS TO BE LEGALISED The Government has announced that e-scooters will be legalised from Saturday, as long as they from a rental company. The idea is to offer another form of persona transport as we are still advised to avoid public transport where possible. Detail is light on exactly what will be allowed but the expectation is they will be banned from pavements, limited to 15.5mph and recommend that riders wear a helmet. To read more, click the BBC News article here . DRIVING LESSONS ALLOWED AGAIN From the 4 July, driving lessons will be permitted once again. Once again, the detail was light, on what exact measures would be needed for the safety of both instructors and learners. To read more about this and other major updates click the link here for the Autocar timeline update . INCREASE IN NUMBER OF SPEEDERS CAUGHT An article from the BBC News website, linked to below, came with a clickbait headline, which the chaps duly clicked, about an apparent increase in the number of drivers speeding being caught. Once you dig down into the facts, it is not quite that. To learn more, click the link here . MOT EXEMPTION ENDS 1 AUGUST From the 1 August, MOT tests will be required once again, bringing to an end the six-month postponement that had been introduced. To read more, click the Car Dealer link here . 2021 GENEVA MOTOR SHOW CANCELLED The slim chance of the 2021 Geneva Motor Show taking place, has now been confirmed as feared. The Foundation will not accept the loan offer, or cannot accept due to its own rules, and selling the Foundation is their preferred solution. To read more, click the official press release here . GOVERNMENT ADVICE GROUP CALLS FOR VEHICLE COSTS INCREASE The Committee on Climate Change, an independent advisory group, has called for a number of steps to be taken by the Government to ensure the climate targets are still met, especially whilst we try to recover from the Covid-19 challenges. Some of these suggestions include increasing taxes on fuel, bringing forward the banning of ICE only vehicles and reducing reliance on car journeys. To read more, click the BBC News article here . TVR SEARCHING FOR MORE INVESTMENT TVR is looking for a further £25 million funding to help it produce the long-teased Griffith car. The company claims it is £40 million orders, yet has only director-level employees and owes roughly £5 million. After failing to raise the money via the London bond issue they are now seeking to do so in Dublin. To read more, click the Autocar article here . ASTON MARTIN SEARCHING FOR MORE CASH Aston Martin will issue shares as one of a variety of steps the company will take to try and raise £245 million to help it recover from the Covid-19 situation and launch the new DBX model next month. They have been granted a £20 million loan due to coronavirus and are seeking to draw a further £55 million of borrowing. To read more, click the Autocar article here . AUTOMAKERS STRUGGLING TO COMPLY WITH STRICT EU RULES New, tighter, EU emission rules are biting automakers hard, as the region’s new car CO2 average has increased to 122.4 g/km in 2019. The 2020 target is 95 g/km, which will require a significant drop, added to that the pandemic situation and expected financial knock-on effect will mean manufacturers will struggle. To read more, click the Automotive News Europe article here . MCDONALD’S TO INSTALL EV CHARGERS In partnership with InstaVolt, McDonald’s will install hundreds of electric car charging points across the UK. The chaps are waiting for the consultancy cheque to arrive in the post, as they recommended this course of action over three years ago. To read more, click the Independent article here . We are pausing our Patreon for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing crisis, however, if you are still able to help someone, we recommend supporting Mission Motorsport’s COVID-19 Response Fund. To find out more click this link here . Please note that we will be restarting our Patreon from the 1 July 2020. If you have any concerns over this, do not hesitate to get in touch with us. FORMULA E: NIO333 SEARCHING FOR STAND IN DRIVER For the completion of the 2019/20 season, NIO333 will not have the services of Ma, due to the difficulties and risks of travelling at this time, so they are searching for a stand-in. Names being mentioned include Piquet Jnr and Abt. To read more, click The Race article here . FORMULA E: DS TECHEETAH TESTING NEXT SEASON POWERTRAIN Current champion, Vergne, has been testing DS Techeetah’s powertrain for next season, in north-west France. To read more, click The Race article here . LUNCHTIME READ: HISTORY OF THE FIAT PANDA To celebrate the Panda’s 40th birthday, CAR Magazine has written a history of the car, from the origin of the name, through the many derivatives and how the car came back again. To read the article, click the link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: ALFA ROMEO AT 110 - ITS GREATEST CARS Another 'Happy Birthday’ is required, this time for Alfar Romeo as it reaches 110. There is a mammoth slide show from Autocar, as frankly, Alfa has made that many excellent cars. To spend some time gazing at a lot of truly wonderful cars, click the link here . AND FINALLY: END OF THE ROAD FOR SEGWAY We round the show out with the news that Segway will stop production in the US. They were a pioneer in personal mobility and, when we look back, will be seen to have been too ahead of their time. To read more, click the BBC News article here . THE ZOOM ZOOMERS Alan takes part in a gathering of folks from the motoring world, on a Monday night, run by Damien Cross. If you would like to see last Monday’s meet up please click the YouTube link here .…
1 Special Edition: Sim and Community Racing with Actrollvision 26 June 2020 45:02
45:02 나중에 재생 나중에 재생 리스트 좋아요 좋아요45:02
나중에 재생 나중에 재생 리스트 좋아요 좋아요Andrew is joined by Luke Crane, a professional commentator and online racing community founder, to discuss sim racing, the impact of recent controversies, the viability of online racing for broadcasters and sponsors and what community racing can be all about. To find out more about the Actrollvision leagues and community, click this link for the website . To join the Actrollvision Discord, click the link here . To watch Actrollvision league racing streams, click the Twitch link here . To watch more content from Actrollvision, including interviews, click the YouTube link here . To follow Actrollvision on Twitter, click the link here . To follow Actrollvision on Facebook, click the link here .…
FOLLOW UP: ISLE OF MAN LIFTS COVID-19 SPEED LIMIT The Isle of Man Government has lifted the 40mph speed limit, as restrictions due to Covid-19 are eased. To read more, click the Tweet here . RENAULT NISSAN ACCUSED OF PETROL DEFEAT DEVICE A new legal action, from Harcus Parker, claims that the two companies are fitting engines that emit up to 15 times the legal limit of nitrogen oxides. Renault Nissan has denied the charge that their diesel and one particular petrol engine are fitted with defeat devices. To read more, click the BBC News article here . OVER TWO MILLION MOTS DURING LOCKDOWN Whilst the UK was on lockdown, over two million MOTs took place. Either, all our key workers went at the same time or some ignored the lockdown. This figure is five million less than for the same period last year, however. MOTs for lorries, buses and trailers is restarting from 4 July 2020. To read more, click the AM Online article here . SMMT CALLS FOR GOVERNMENT SUPPORT The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has renewed its call for ongoing and planned support, from the Government. Highlighting that one in six jobs could be lost, in the sector, once furloughing stops unless there are incentives to encourage the public to spend money. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . DVLA LAUNCHES ONLINE LOG BOOK ADDRESS CHANGE The DVLA has launched an online service that allows motorists to update the V5C form, without having to send the paper copy to Swansea. The waiting time will be reduced from six weeks to five days, according to the DVLA. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . ASTON MARTIN APPOINTS NEW CFO Aston Martin has appointed a new Chief Financial Officer, Kenneth Gregor, who previously was at Jaguar Land Rover. This new appointment is aimed at regaining investor confidence after the share price has plummeted since joining the stock market. To read more, click the Reuters article here . LAMBORGHINI WITHDRAWS FROM ALL MOTOR SHOWS Lamborghini announces that they are withdrawing from exhibiting at public motor shows in the future, deciding that their customers deserve more bespoke and personal attention. To read more, click the Twitter thread from Eric Gallina here . APPLE ANNOUCEMENTS AT WDCC Apple announced, on the first day of WDCC, that there are updates to CarPlay, with more functionality for EV owners, better maps and the ability to use your iPhone as a key if you own a new BMW. To read more, click the Autocar article here . We are pausing our Patreon for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing crisis, however, if you are still able to help someone, we recommend supporting Mission Motorsport’s COVID-19 Response Fund. To find out more click this link here . Please note that we will be restarting our Patreon from the 1 July 2020. If you have any concerns over this, do not hesitate to get in touch with us. FORMULA E: REVISED SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED Formula E and the FIA has announced a proposed calendar for the 2020/21 season. This is on the back of the news that Berlin will host six different races, on three layouts, over a nine-day period in August, to round the season out. To read about Berlin, click the BBC Sport link here . To read about the provisional 2020/21 season calendar, click the Formula E article here . LUNCHTIME READ: A PARIS-DAKAR RALLY ROLLS-ROYCE RIDES AGAIN This week the chaps are recommending you spend time finding out about the Rolls-Royce (well, sort of a Rolls) that took part in the 1981 Paris-Dakar Rally. To read this amazing story, click the Robb Report article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 14 CLASSIC DASHBOARDS YOU’D NEVER SEE IN A MODERN CAR As the title implies, this week Alan and Andrew have a list of fabulously quirky dashboards that we will, probably, never see the likes again, unless it is a downloadable option as an interior skin to use. To run through the gallery, click the Classic & Sports Car link here . AND FINALLY: CARTUNES A NEW FEATURE FROM PETROLBLOG CarTunes is a new feature on the always wonderful PetrolBlog site. Peter Counsell and Gavin Baithwaite-Smith’s idea is to fondly stroll down memory lane, where a particular song reminds you of a specific car and journey. Once again PetrolBlog brings us the features we did not now we needed, but now realised we do. To read more, click the article link here . THE ZOOM ZOOMERS Alan takes part in a gathering of folks from the motoring world, on a Monday night, run by Damien Cross. If you would like to see last Monday’s meet up please click the YouTube link here .…
1 Special Edition - Hyundai IONIQ Electric Premium SE Review 32:47
32:47 나중에 재생 나중에 재생 리스트 좋아요 좋아요32:47
나중에 재생 나중에 재생 리스트 좋아요 좋아요Andrew had a Hyundai IONIQ Electric, for a week, to find out how much had changed since he and Alan drove around Britain in one. Listen in to hear about comfort, the impressiveness of the improved regeneration technology and the key question, does the symbol for the volume control knob stay vertical?…
FOLLOW UP: SUPPOSED EMAIL TRAIL IMPLIES GHOSN IS RIGHT A string of emails, which Nissan deny are real, indicates that there was an effort to oust Ghosn from the Rebel Alliance, as he has always maintained. The information that has been revealed is quite damning if it transpires the emails are real. To read more, click the Automotive News Europe article here . AUTOMOTIVE WORLD CORONAVIRUS UPDATE The chaps refer, once again, to the timeline from James Attwood on Autocar’s website, updating with the latest developments in the automotive world, as a result of the current crisis. Of note, is that the DVSA has not been able to clarify when driving lessons and tests can resume. Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant will not reopen until September. To read more, click the Autocar article here . EV LICENSE PLATES TO HAVE GREEN PATCHES The Government has given the go-ahead for a green patch to be added to electric vehicle license plates. The chaps are a bit bemused as to why this has been agreed and permitted. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . TOYOTA BUILDS 4.5 MILLIONTH VEHICLE IN THE UK Congratulations to Toyota, as they confirm they have built their 4.5 millionth vehicle in the UK. They have managed that number in just under 30 years of production, in the UK. To read more, click the Toyota Media article here . JLR POSTS LOSS BUT REMAINS UPBEAT Jaguar Land Rover has posted a £422 million loss but the company is still bullish about things moving forward. With China opening up again, as it is their largest market, and their increase in cost-cutting efforts, along with the cash they can access if needed, management is confident they are on the right track. To read more, click the Autocar article here . FORD AND VW REVEAL COLLABORATION DETAIL Ford and Volkswagen first announced they would be working closely together to develop, vehicles and share technology, last year. They have now revealed, in more detail, what that will look like. This is not a rebadging exercise, however, there should be significant cost savings by working together more closely. To read more, click the Autocar article here . DACIA TO OFFER LPG ACROSS THE RANGE Dacia has made the surprise announcement, that they will offer LPG variants across their range and these will be available in the UK as well as the rest of Europe. This will lower the brand’s average CO2, but in a more economical manner than fitting hybrid and battery technology. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . We are pausing our Patreon for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing crisis, however, if you are still able to help someone, we recommend supporting Mission Motorsport’s COVID-19 Response Fund. To find out more click this link here . Please note that we will be restarting our Patreon from the 1 July 2020. If you have any concerns over this, do not hesitate to get in touch with us. WRC: TOYOTA PULLS PLUG ON 2021 GR YARIS Unsurprisingly, when considering timescales and costs, Toyota has announced it will not be replacing the current Yaris car for the 2021 season. There will have to be a new car in 2022 due to the change in regulations and introduction of hybrid technology anyway, so this would put too much pressure on the Team. To read more, click the DirtFish article here . 24HR LE MANS VIRTUAL The first-ever official 24hr Le Mans Virtual event was staged at the weekend, with nearly 50 teams taking part, using drivers from across the globe. This was the most impressive TV production of an online race, to date. Whilst there were a couple of snags, overall the reaction was very positive, especially from those who do not normally tune in to online racing. To read more, click the eMotorports News article here . LUNCHTIME WATCH: TV’S PAUL COWLAND BUILDS A MUSTANG SERIES To title the new series of YouTube videos, Building the Perfect Mustang is putting your head above the parapet. However, TV’s Paul Cowland is that brave though. Click here to watch the first of a series of films that tracks the progress of building what he considers to be the best Mustang. LIST OF THE WEEK: HANS MEZGER’S SIX GREATEST HITS Last week there was the sad announcement that former Porsche engine designer had passed away. To read about his life and the amazing work he accomplished click the Andrew Frankel article from Goodwood Road&Racing here . Top Gear magazine created a list of his top six engines, to find out more about them, click the link here . AND FINALLY: WHAT TO WATCH INSTEAD OF THE HOMAGE TO LE GRAND RENDEZ-VOUS The internet was awash with the film of Charles LeClerc apparently storming around Monaco, in a Ferrari HP, as a homage to the utterly wonderful Le Grand Rendez-Vous. If you haven’t seen it, we don’t recommend you bother, instead, we suggest these two films which should give you your fix of fast cars being driven spiritedly. To watch the Shell and Ferrari film, click the YouTube link here . To watch the Pennzoil Dodge Demon film, click the YouTube link here . THE ZOOM ZOOMERS Alan takes part in a gathering of folks from the motoring world, on a Monday night, run by Damien Cross. If you would like to see last Monday’s meet up please click the YouTube link here .…
FOLLOW UP: VW APPEAL $20M SPANISH CLAIM After a Spanish court order Volkswagen to compensate owners €3000 each, who bought a car with the defeat-device fitted. The company has announced it will appeal the ruling. To read more, click the Reuters article here . FOLLOW UP: VW SEEKS US RULING ON EMISSION UPDATE When Volkswagen agreed to settle the criminal and civil actions, in the US, to the tune of $20 billion, it did not get liability protection from state and local governments, according to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals. VW disagree and are taking the ruling to the US Supreme Court to attempt to protect themselves from state and local governments claiming penalties for the defeat-devices. To read more, click the Automotive News Europe article here . VW FACING FLEET CO2 FINE Volkswagen Group missed their required target for fleet CO2 levels, in 2020, and is now facing a potential fine of €95 for every g/km missed per car sold. Diess tried to put a brave face on it, by stating VW and Audi brands exceeded the targets. Whilst we wait for the final ruling from the EU, click the Autocar article here to read more . NISSAN TO BUILD EVS IN UK Nissan has committed to building EVs in the UK for the foreseeable future and to enable that will package the batteries in the UK too, due to Rule of Origin requirements of the Brexit deal. To read more, click the Relocate Magazine article here. For further background information, see the Twitter thread involving Jim Holder, Haymarket Editorial Director, and Dr Andy Palmer, formerly of Nissan and Aston Martin, by clicking here . TFL SEES CONGESTION CHARGE INCOME INCREASE Following agreement between the Government and Transport for London (TfL), for a financial handout in 2020, the “temporary” increase to the scope and level of the charge resulted in an £86 million increase of income. The '“temporary” changes will remain in place until the end of this financial year, at least. To read more, click the Autocar article here . SHELL BUYS UBITRICITY Shell is continuing to expand into the EV charging industry, with the announcement that it is buying Ubitricity. There are 2700 charging points, mainly low energy versions built into street furniture such as bollards, street lamps and the likes. To read more, click here for the Autocar article . BLOODHOUND LSR UP FOR SALE The Bloodhound Land Speed Record project, is once again up for sale, after Ian Warhurst stated he could not afford to take attempt the record due to the extra investment required. Hopefully, someone can come in and support the project to a successful conclusion. To read more, click the BBC News article here . SUBARU TO REMAIN IN THE UK Subaru’s new boss, who was appointed last summer, has confirmed that the company is staying in Europe and the UK markets. Admitting that 2020 was an embarrassment John Hurtig is confident they have a recovery plan to address their poor market performance. We hope they do and they work out who they are as a brand. To read more, click here for the Autocar article . LOTUS ANNOUNCES NEW MODELS Lotus has presented a plan to move the brand forward, starting with a new model this year, called the ‘Type 131’, whilst they will also be aiming for Porsche. We feel this isn’t a rehashed Bahar move, as we think their plans are more realistic, which fills us with more optimism. To read more about the exciting plans, click here for the Motoring Research article . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- FORMULA E: THE COST CAP DILEMMAS DESTABILISING FORMULA E This is an article from Sam Smith, writing on The Race, explaining the nuances of the problems of a cost cap and the various aspects that have to be taken into consideration. This will be fascinating to watch unfold, but to get up to speed, click the article link here . WRC: MONTE CARLO RESULTS The Mote Carlo Rally took place, no one unauthorised turned up, no stages had to be cancelled and it went as smoothly as could be expect. Hooray! Ogier won the event for the eigth time and his 50th win in WRC, with team-mate Evans second and Neuville ensuring Hyundai were on the podium. To read about the event, click here for the DirtFish article . For the ‘What we learned’ article from DirtFish, click the link here . To find out how the organisers managed to pull off the rally, click another DirtFish article here . DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: MORAY CALLUM TO RETIRE Moray Callum, Ford’s Design Chief, is set to retire, being replaced by Anthony Lo, previously at Renault. Callum started out with working on the Lotus Carlton, but has also penned the Ford GT, the Mustang and the Mustang Mach-E. To read more, click the Autocar article here . LUNCHTIME READ: RUPPERT’S BANGERPEDIA 2000-2010 A disclaimer, before we start, we have been sent copies of James Ruppert’s latest book, Ruppert's Bangerpedia: 2000 - 2010, which covers most of the models that were available to buy in the UK between 2000-2010, with a rating, information, stats and things to look out for if you intend to buy. Having read through this book, we feel this is a vital tool for you, if you intend to go down the Bangernomics route. If you are interested in buying a copy, you can click here on an Amazon affiliate link that will benefit both James and this podcast . LIST OF THE WEEK: TAKE A LOOK AT HOW THE SUPER RICH CUSTOMISED THEIR ROLLS-ROYCES IN 2020 If you are wondering if money can guarantee taste, or not, you will find examples at both ends of the spectrum in this list from The Scotsman, where we see how some owners personalised the look of their cars. To run through the list, click the link here . AND FINALLY: NISSAN OVER-ENGINEERED A FUEL GAUGE The top of the range Nissan 300ZX from 1984, had one peculiar feature, especially for a sports car, and that was a dual fuel gauge. This allowed the more financially conservative to closely monitor how little fuel they actually had left. To read more about this bizarre move by Nissan, click the Jalopnik article here .…
FOLLOW UP: SOME CHARGES DROPPED AGAINST WINTERKORN A Lower Saxony court has dropped the charges of market manipulation, against former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn, preferring to focus on the accusation that he knowingly sold vehicles fitted with defeat devices. Winterkorn’s lawyers maintain his innocence of all charges. To read more, click the DW article here . STELLANTIS LAUNCHES ON STOCK MARKETS The newly formed company, following the merger of the PSA and FCA groups, has launched on several stock markets across the globe. Their share price has been positively welcomed by traders. To read more, click the Automotive Management article here . JURGEN HUBBERT PASSES AWAY The former Chairman of Mercedes-Benz, Jurgen Hubbert, has passed away at the age of 81. He took on the role in 1989, holding it for 15 years, ushering in many changes to the company and their models. To read more about what he managed in that time, click here for the Autocar article . RENAULT ANNOUNCES NEW STRATEGY Ignoring the dreadful mashing of words together, Renault’s new strategy was revealed in a glitzy press conference. There will be a host of new models launched, across all the brands of the group, with much sharing of platforms and technology. To read more, click the Autocar article here . SEMICONDUCTOR SHORTAGE HITS FACTORIES Manufacturing plants are having to slow production due to a global shortage of semiconductor chips, needed for several aspects of modern cars. Audi, VW, Honda and Toyota have all been affected, amongst others. To read more, click the Autocar article here . GREY IS THE UK’S FAVOURITE COLOUR In, what feels like, a reflection of the nation’s mood, grey has again been applied to more new cars than any other registered in the UK, in 2020. Black, followed by white, make up the top three, but also 6 in 10 cars are coated in these three colours. To read more, and see where the interesting colours are, click here for the Motoring Research article . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- WRC: LATEST MONTE CARLO RESTRICTIONS ANNOUNCED The organisers of the Monte Carlo Rally have been working closely with the region’s leaders to ensure the event can take place and do so safely. All fans are banned, flying over the stages will be strictly controlled and the shakedown stage has been cancelled. Hopefully, the fans stay away and just enjoy the coverage available online. To read more, click the DirtFish article here . DirtFish has also produced an itinerary of the event, including who is where on the road. To read that, click here . LUNCHTIME READ: INSIDE THE INDUSTRY - WHY RULE OF ORIGIN IS BREXIT TIMEBOMB This week’s Lunchtime Read is not a long one, but an important one. To understand what impact the Rule of Origin will have on the manufacturing industry, in the UK, do read Jim Holder’s explanation by clicking the Autocar link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: TOP 10 SECOND-HAND CARS YOU SHOULD OWN ONCE Autocar and James Ruppert have compiled a list of the Top 10 second-hand cars you should own at least once. Whilst Alan and his family have done their best to tick all of those on the list, Andrew has not. Also, he makes the case for a tweak in what car you need to own to be classed as a petrolhead. Tell us which you would have or if there is anything missing from the list, via Twitter. To run through the list, click the article link here . AND FINALLY: ADVICE ON WORKING FROM HOME Toyota has applied the Toyota Production System to working from home and written an article full of advice on how to do so better. Hearing that, you may roll your eyes and think it will be dry, but trust us, this article is written by a human who has been through all the problems that working from home can bring. The advice is practical and helpful. To have a gander, click the article link here .…
NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR DECEMBER AND ALL 2020 The New Car Registration figures are dissected for December and the whole of 2020. That the overall figure is only down 29% for 2020 is remarkable. The Top 10 registered cars (not sellers!) has a different look to it. As a side note, the Ford Transit Custom had more registered than the third place Golf for 2020. To read more, click the SMMT article here . 56,000 VW GOLF MODELS RECALLED Volkswagen is issuing a “voluntary service measure”, to fix software issues with the Golf’s infotainment and reversing camera systems. VW has struggled with software issues for both the Golf and ID.3, which were launched last year. To read more, click the Reuters article here . SUPERMARKETS ACCUSED OF FUEL PRICE RIP-OFF Supermarkets have increased their forecourt prices well above the cost of wholesale fuel. This has led to anger from motoring groups and customers. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . ANPR CAMERAS USED BY DEVON AND CORNWALL Devon and Cornwall Police are deploying ANPR cameras, to spot vehicles entering the counties who are not registered locally, to prevent those travelling from other areas doing so against the latest Covid restriction rules. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . DETROIT 2021 MOTOR SHOW CANCELLED Organisers of the 2021 Detroit Motor Show have taken the advanced step of cancelling the event that was due to take place in September. New plans are for a combined indoor and outdoor experience aimed at car fans, with a location of Phoenix. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . COMPANIES WITH NEW FLAT LOGOS Thanks to electrification and the ability to light up car badges or logos, many companies have reinvigorated theirs, with a ‘flat’ design. Kia is the latest to do so, along with General Motors. To find out more about what the new looks represent for Kia click the Autocar article here . To learn more about what GM have done, click the Autocar article here . To find out who else has made this move in the last year, click the Dezeen article here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- FORMULA E: MCLAREN TAKE OPTION TO JOIN GEN3 SERIES McLaren have taken up the option to join the Formula E series, from 2022/23 season. There is no news if this will be partnering the Andretti team, who will be without a manufacturer or going solo. To read more, click the Formula E article here . FORMULA E: GEN3 POWERTRAIN SUPPLIER SELECTED Formula E has announced the selection of the Gen3 ‘front powertrain kit’ supplier to be Atieva, who are the current battery supplier. To read more, click The Race article here . FORMULA E: ESPORTS SERIES ANNOUNCED Formula E will be launching a new eSPorts series, to begin later in January, which will combine sim racers with the real-world racers into manufacturer team, with both helping to decide the manufacturer title. There is also a combined €100,000 prize fund to be shared, along with a Gen2 car test drive. To read more, click The Race article here . FORMULA E: NEW PLAN B TRACK LINED UP Formula E has been working hard for ‘Plan B’, in case the pandemic affects any of the races this year, with a back-up track. The new layout of Valencia is the favourite to fill any gaps. To read more, click The Race article here . WRC: MONTE CARLO RALLY SCHEDULE The shortened schedule of the Monte Carlo Rally has been announced, with rubber stamping expected anytime, which will mean the even can take place. Organisers and local officials will monitor the situation closely but the hope is the rally will take place now. To read more, click the DirtFish article here . WRC: YPRES IN WITH GB OUT WRC mad the sad announcement that Rally GB will be dropped from the 2021 calendar, to be replaced by Ypres. To read more on that move, click the DirtFish article here . The fear is now, that we will not see another WRC event in Britain for many years to come. To understand how we have got to that situation and how it does look so bleak, click the DirtFIsh article here . LUNCHTIME READ: SIDE EFFECTS MAY INCLUDE…. Emission Analytics has a very good article about the pros and cons of trying to move to zero emission transportation, what the options are and how some are more suitable than others for particular needs. In other words, they bring some much needed balance and show the nuances that are part of the issue. To read this excellent piece, click the link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE CAR WORLD’S GREATEST MISSED OPPORTUNITIES Autocar has compiled a slide show with 5 examples of cars that could’ve been great but for a variety of reasons were not. To run through the list, click the link here . AND FINALLY: WHEN IS A GATE NOT A GATE? Somerset Council installed a new cattle grid and gate on one particular road that has flummoxed many automatic emergency braking systems into thinking it was, in fact, a wall or obstruction. Due to the gradient when approaching the cattle grid, the sensors ‘saw’ something blocking the car’s path, applied the brakes, which has caused a few incidents. The council has adapted the area, spending quite a bit of cash to reduce the camber and gradient. To read more, click the BBC News article here .…
1 Special Edition - Salvage Hunters: Classic Cars Series 5 38:16
38:16 나중에 재생 나중에 재생 리스트 좋아요 좋아요38:16
나중에 재생 나중에 재생 리스트 좋아요 좋아요Alan was joined by television’s Paul Cowland to have a chat about the latest series of Salvage Hunters: Classic Cars. We talk about jeopardy, flouncing off in a huff on screen and Jensen Interceptors amongst other things. We mention the show on occasion. You can find out more about Paul’s background in his Rear View chat with Andrew. You can follow him on Twitter here and on Instagram here . Drew Pritchard is on Twitter here , Instagram here and his autobiography is here (affiliate link). You can learn more about Quest here and Discovery+ here .…
FOLLOW UP: VW DID BREAK LAW ACCORDING TO ECJ The European Court of Justice has ruled that Volkswagen Group, by fitting the defeat device, did break the law. The claim that it was to protect the engine was rejected by the court. This, combined with a separate ruling allowing consumers to sue VW in the country they bought the car rather than Germany, has potentially opened up more financial pain for the company. To read more, click the Car Dealer article here . FOLLOW UP: MERCEDES UNDER PRESSURE AFTER ECJ VW RULING You will have seen or heard the adverts from a legal firm telling you that as an owner of a Mercedes you *may be eligible for compensation because Mercedes-Benz are accused of fitting a defeat device to their engines. The Volkswagen ruling in the European Court of Justice has emboldened those chasing compensation. To read more, click the Car Dealer link here . FOLLOW UP: GHOSN ASKS WHY JAPANESE WON’T VISIT LEBANON French investigators are intending to meet with Carlos Ghosn, in Lebanon, over open cases, which has prompted his to ask why Japanese investigators are not doing likewise. In Ghosn’s opinion this emphasises how false the charges are against him. To read more, click The Mainichi article here . FOLLOW UP: MAZDA NOW SELLING PARTS FOR RX-7S Mazda has confirmed that it will be selling service parts for Gen 2 and 3 RX-7s as there is sufficient demand from owners. This will allow cars to be maintained with genuine parts. To read more, click the Mazda press release here . WHAT IS ALLOWED IN NEW ENGLISH NATIONAL LOCKDOWN As this latest national lockdown comes into force, with more nuanced rules than the first one, questions have arisen from drivers over what is and is not allowed. Autocar has compiled an excellent article to take you through the more common questions about what you can do. To read more, click the link here . DVLA WARNS OF INCREASED NUMBERS OF SCAMS The DVLA has warned the public there has been a big jump in the number of attempts to scam motorists via email, text and phone calls. We are all urged to be on our guard and know that they would never ask for sensitive information to be given or confirmed via the phone or similar. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . FCA-PSA MERGER APPROVED BY SHAREHOLDERS The shareholders of both the PSA and FCA groups have given the final green light to the merger of the companies, meaning that Stellantis will become a thing. Expect heavy use of platform and technology sharing as they take advantage of economies of even greater scale. To read more, click the Autocar article here . TOYOTA TAKE FULL OWNERSHIP OF KOLIN PLANT Related to the last item, the Toyota Kolin plant was used to build the Aygo, C1 and 108 sister cars, however, Toyota has now taken full ownership of the site which will continue to build this generation of the A-segment cars, but add capacity for the latest Yaris. To read more, click the Toyota press release here . BMW MAY OR MAY NOT NAME AND SHAME OWNERS Just before Christmas, the news was released that BMW would alert drivers of cars out of warranty that they could buy a warranty package, via personalised billboard messages. This caused a bit of consternation and has since been clarified that they won’t be highlighting individual cars, more making a general statement when special billboards spot a car outside of warranty that the product is available. Whilst we wait to see what will really happen, you can read more, by clicking the Motoring Research article here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- FORMULA E: SEASON OPENING CHILE IS POSTPONED Due to travel restrictions, following the new strain of the coronavirus being found in the UK, the season-opening CHile event has been postponed. No confirmation of when this will now take place can be given at this time. To read more, click The Race article here . More positive Formula E news is that those taking part in ongoing talks of a race being held in Japan are more hopeful in this resulting in Yokahama being the host. Plenty of hurdles are still to be cleared, however, this would be an excellent addition to the calendar. To read more, click The Race article here . WRC: MONTE CARLO RALLY DECISION THIS WEEK Due to the ever-changing covid picture, a decision will be taken this Thursday as to whether the Monte Carlo Rally can take place and if so, with what restrictions. To read more, click the DirtFish article here . LUNCHTIME WATCH (WHEN IT COMES OUT): SALVAGE HUNTERS CLASSIC CARS IS BACK This week sees the return of the Salvage Hunters Classic Cars, in their latest series. The show will be on Quest TV, 21:00 each Wednesday for five weeks starting on 6th January 2021. There will also be a Special Edition , where Alan chats with TV’s Paul Cowland about the show. LIST OF THE WEEK: THE 25 MOST POINTLESS CARS TO IMPORT IN 2021 Jalopnik has compiled a list of cars they feel are not worth importing from 1996, which have just been made available thanks to the US’s 25-year rule on car imports. There are some cars that the chaps wouldn’t even import to the UK let alone the US, in the list. To view what is possible, click the link here . AND FINALLY: WHICH CAR MAKES YOU MORE ATTRACTIVE Registration plate specialists, Click4Reg, commissioned research into which cars Tinder users find more attractive when included in a picture. The results may surprise you, particularly the cars that don’t work. We need to thank the Newspress Business Journalist of the Year 2020 and Newspress Automotive Technology Writer of the Year 2020, Alex Grant for bringing this to our attention. To read more, click the article link here .…
As we were not allowed to record the Pubcast in-person this year we managed to convince those who were there for the last one, to join us again! You can listen to Alan and Andrew chat with Erica Haddon from Toyota, Ian Robertson from Diesel Car and Eco Car magazines, Scott Brownlee from Toyota and Phil Huff from Front Seat Phil and Editor of Pick-Up Truck and Professional 4x4. Simon Branney was unable to join us due to a cursed internet. You can hear what positives came out of the year, the mocking of last year’s prediction quality and what everyone thinks will happen in 2021. Happy New Year to all our listeners and hope you have a safe and prosperous one! To follow our fine guests on Twitter click the relevant links below; For Erica, click the link here . For Scott, click the link here . For Ian, click the link here . For Phil, click the link here .…
How often do you think of saying to someone, “If you’re considering selling, can I have the first refusal?” Way back in midst of the first lockdown Alan said just that to Chris Pollitt referring to the Car & Classic Mercedes 230E project car. A few months later Chris sent the “you know you wanted first dibs…” message and, well, it spiralled from there. In this Special Edition Alan talks about the car, what attracted him to it and why it’s now on his driveway. To see more about Arrows, who were mentioned, click the Motoring Research link here . To go directly to Arrows own site, click the link here .…
FOLLOW UP: SSANGYONG GB AND MITSUBISHI END TALKS SsangYong GB and Mitsubishi have now ceased, over the possibility of the Korean brand taking over the UK operation from the Colt Car Company. Suggestions were that the price both wanted was too far away from each other to satisfactorily conclude negotiations. To read more, click the CarDealer article here . PORT DELAYS AND COVID AFFECT BRITISH FACTORIES The ongoing delays at British ports, for both import and export goods, has caused some problems for manufacturing sites in the UK. The most notable examples of this are Honda, which had to halt production last week. JLR’S site Castle Browmich, has been hit by a slow down of parts from suppliers due to the impact of Covid. Whilst Swindon has started up again, the West Midlands site has not. To read more, click the Autocar article here for Honda and click here for the JLR Autocar article . TFL CONSIDERING CHARGING NON LONDON CARS A FEE TO ENTER The financial hole that TfL is trying to fill could mean that cars, that are based outside of London, may be charged £3.50 to enter the city limits. Transport for London is looking to claw back some of the public transport income they would’ve expected to have received this year. To read more, cick the Autocar article here . NORTHUMBERLAND PICKED FOR EV BATTERY FACTORY Britishvolt has selected a site near Blythe, Northumberland, for the large (we will not be calling it a gigafactory!) electric vehicle battery factory. The expectation, until very recently, was for a South Wales location to be used but after agreement between the Welsh Government and Britishvolt that it would not be ready in time they decided up the North East. To read more, click the Autocar article here . DIESS FENDS OFF THREAT TO LEADERSHIP IN VW GROUP Herbert Diess has had to deal with an internal power struggle, within the Volkswagen Group, over his leadership and plans to move the organisation forward. Following a vote of confidence, that he brought forward himself, he has got the backing of the board. The future of Bugatti is still unclear but all the other brands will be following the strategy for their Together 2025+ plans. To read more, click the Autocar article here . FERRARI CEO IN SHOCK DEPARTURE Louis Camilleri has announced his retirement, with immediate effect. He had been suffering from Covid and was recuperating following a stay in hospital, according to reports, although this was not the main reason for him leaving. Under his short tenure he has helped the company sell more cars than ever before, breaking the 10,000 barrier in 2019. There is no indication as to who will lead the company on a permanent basis. To read more, click the Autocar article here . BLACK AND SILVER NUMBER PLATE CLARIFICATION The DVLA has now adjusted legislation for vehicles that are in the historic tax class and therefore exempt from from paying VED. Under the previous rules the 40 year date for entering the historic tax class is a rolling, ever moving line, which meant black and silver plates could technically be fitted to cars younger than 1973. However, this has now changed, from 1 January 2021, only cars built prior to 1 January 1980 can have those plates fitted. To read more, click the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs article here . FRANCE CAR TAX LAWS HURT HOT HATCHES France has different car tax rules than we do in the UK and they’re getting tougher in 2021. They start to heavily penalise the first owner of a car, if that car emits over 133g/km. However, if you buy a car with 218g/km or more, dig deep to fork out the extra €29,070 on top of the list price! This particularly hits performance cars, such as hot hatches. To read more, click the EVO article here . LIST OF FREE PARKING AROUND THE UK OVER CHRISTMAS Gavin Braithwaite-Smith has compiled a list of all the places that have free parking leading up to and over Christmas, to learn if anywhere local to you does click the Motoring Research article here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- FORMULA E: GEN 3 LANDSCAPE Following the announcements from Audi and BMW, Sam Smith has written a piece to explain how Formula E is shaping up to Gen 3. To read more, click The Race article here . WRC: 2021 As the dust is still settling on the end of the 2020 season, 2021 is coming at us fast. France is expected to announce new restrictions on the population, to prevent a third wave thanks to Covid, which will effect Rally Mote Carlo. To read about the implications, click the Dirt Fish article here . Rally Sweden has fallen already, again due to tighter governmental controls to prevent the infection spreading through the country. However, there may well be an Arctic Rally. To find out more, click the DirtFish article here . In further good news, Rally Australia may well be back on the calendar. Rumours abound, mainly in Europe, that Bathurst could host the event, however, it looks like Adelaide is trying hard to be the location. For more information, click the DirtFish article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: IN MEMORIAM - THE CARS THAT DIED IN 2020 Autocar has compiled a list for us to run through, confirming the cars that stopped being produced in 2020. There will be some sadness and also some surprise, that they were still being built as much as anything. To pay your respects, click the article link here . LUNCHTIME READ: HOW LASER SCANNING TRACKS MAKES A DIFFERENCE FOR GAMES There is an interview with the makers of Assetto Corsa Competizione, explaining some of the efforts they went to in order to replicate as much realism as possible in a game that can be found on both PC and console. To read more, click the article link here . AND FINALLY: SUBARU LEVORG IS JAPAN’S CAR OF THE YEAR 2020 The latest iteration of the family estate from Subaru, the Levorg, has beaten off stiff competition from Toyota and Honda to be named the Japanese Car of the Year for 2020. In what was a surprise to many, possibly including Subaru themselves. To find out more, click the link from Motoring Research here .…
FOLLOW UP: ASTON MARTIN ANNOUNCE INTERNAL INVESTIGATION Tobias Moers, the CEO of Aston Martin, has announced that there will be an internal investigation into the involvement of the company in the report that has been so thoroughly debunked, in terms of the information supplied, after questions were raised over the connection between the PR company that produced the report and individuals within or close to the company. To read more, click The Guardian article here . NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR NOVEMBER 2020 The SMMT has released the November New Car Registration figures, which are predictably down on last year, due to the lockdown that England went into. Of note is that electric cars, in some shape or form, exceeded the amount of diesel cars registered for the first time. To read more, click the SMMT article here . COMPETITION WATCHDOG TURNS EYES ON CHARGING NETWORK The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is investigating the electric vehicle charging industry to see that a competitive and fair market develops. There is an ‘invitation to comment’ open on the CMA website, until 5 January 2021. To read more, click the Autocar article here . VOLKSWAGEN R BOSS LEAVES THE BRAND For the second time, in five years, Jost Capito, has left the VW R performance division, with lots of talk of ‘differences of opinion’ in the future direction after the announcement that VW was walking away from motorsport. To read more, click the Autocar article here . THE SPEED RECORD THAT NEVER WAS Thomas Davies, claimed via PistonHeads, that he made the John O’Groats to Lands End journey in a record nine hours and 36 minutes, which would’ve meant an average speed of 89mph. He was taken to court in Truro, charged with dangerous driving and two counts of perverting the course of justice. He was cleared of these charges as there was no actual proof that what he said was what he really did. To read more, click the BBC News article here . UBER ‘SELLS’ AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE DIVISION TO AURORA Uber has moved their autonomous vehicle division to Aurora, a self-driving start-up. In order for this to happen, Uber is investing $400 million in Aurora. To read more, click the Reuters article here . To view a more acerbic dive into what the deal means, click Cory Docterow’s thread from Twitter here . HAYNES ANNOUNCES THE END OF PUBLISHED NEW VEHICLE MANUALS Haynes, the publisher of repair manuals since 1966, has announced that new vehicle manuals will no longer be published, however, they will continue to print existing manuals. For new cars, they will go digital only. To read more, click the Autocar article here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- FORMULA E: BMW ANNOUNCE DEPARTURE FROM SERIES Almost before we managed to publish last week’s show, with Andrew fearing that this may be the start of an exodus from the series, BMW announced they would be following Audi and leaving Formula E at the same time. BMW say they are now focused on launching new EV models and have got what they can from Formula E. To read more, click The Race article here . Sam Smith has written an interesting article regarding the recent news that both Audi and BMW are leaving. He is fearful that the management team, of the series, has become complacent with where they are, what value they give and their communications strategy. There is also the fear that both Porsche and Mercedes are questioning their commitment to the Gen3 rules. To read more, click The Race article here . WRC: MONZA DELIVERS THRILLS AND SPILLS We wondered if there would be anything unexpected happening at Monza this weekend, as it is WRC, and that was certainly the case. Coming into the event Evans was top of the standings, with team mate Ogier his only real competition. With tricky, slippery conditions in the mud and wet on Day 1 Evans kept his nose clean whilst Sordo and Lappi swapped positions for the lead. However, Day 2 saw snow in the mountains, with tragedy for Evans as he slid wide and off the road, his race and championship was shot. Credit to him for standing there the entire stage and warning approaching drivers of the treacherous conditions. Ogier went on to wrap up a seventh World Championship and the win at Monza. Hyundai won the manufacturers title. To read more about the event and results, click the DirtFish article here . To read Colin Clark’s Driver Ratings, click the DirtFish article here . To read the DirtFish What We Learned article, click here . LUNCHTIME READ: 2021 - IT’S GOING TO BE OUTSTANDING Chris Pollitt, writing for Car & Classic, has written an uplifting piece about how 2021 is looking really good, for the classic car scene. To read more, click the link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: 2020’s WORST AUTOMOTIVE CHRISTMAS GIFTS Every year we look forward to the overpriced tat that manufacturers think they can get away with selling, for that special someone who needs a toasting ford with a Ford logo on it - we have just made that up, but if we see it being sold they’ll hear from our lawyers! So, click through the YesAuto article here , listing some wonderfully dreadful merchandise car makers have decided deserves their badge. AND FINALLY: 2CV DRAG RACING FOR CHARITY The video we have all been waiting for has finally been published, Andrew Frankel taking on Chris Harris in a drag race, in their own 2CVs, in a field. To watch that, click the link here and don’t forget, they’re doing this for Mission Motorsport, so if you can add a few pounds to their coffers please do so!…
When Alan last tried the Hyundai i10 it was competent but slow. With a turbocharged 1.0 triple delivering 100PS and set of subtle suspension changes, has Hyundai cured its Achilles heel? Alan tried the i10 N-Line for a week to find out.
FOLLOW UP: GREEN IS GO FOR NUMBER PLATES From December 8, the Department of Transport has confirmed that a green flash on a number plate, to denote a zero-emission vehicle, will be allowed. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . FOLLOW UP: ZERO CARBON WORLD CHARITY There is a new Autocar article about Alexander Sims and the Zero Carbon World charity, we mentioned a few weeks ago, who are giving away free charging points to businesses that customers can use in their car parks. To find out more about this surprisingly aged charity, click the link to the article here . 50,000 MILES EV CLAIM QUESTIONED On Friday and over the weekend, several media outlets published articles claiming, thanks to research sponsored by some well know auto industry organisations, that an electric car needed to run for nearly 50,000 miles before it offset the carbon debt of production and energy needed to run it during its life. However, following dissection of the figures quoted by a world-renowned academic, who pointed out flaws and inaccuracies in what was stated. Further investigation by others suggested there was something odd about the PR company used to promote the report. To read more, click the LinkedIn article by Michael Liebreich here . RENAULT WILL STOP MAKING CARS AT FLINS FACTORY Despite opposition from unions, Renault has announced that it will cease building cars at their Flins factory. This is part of their new strategy and the workers will be retrained to support the conversion of this site and nearby Choisy-le-Roi reconditioning facility, into “Europe’s leading circular economy factory dedicated to mobility” - whatever that means. To read more, click the Autocar article here . TAMAR TOLL INCREASE STOPPED Thanks to a Government grant of £1.6m, the proposed toll increase to the Tamar bridge, linking Devon with Cornwall, will not take place. The increase was only coming into effect after the drop in income due to the pandemic and restrictions in movement. To read more, click the BBC News article here . CHRISTMAS TRAVEL TSAR APPOINTED The Government has appointed Sir Peter Hendy, the chairman of Network Rail, as the Christmas Travel Tsar to help make sure there isn’t chaos on the roads, rail and in the air for the few short days we are allowed to visit our household bubbles, yet still, be safe whilst doing so. To read more, click The Guardian article here . RAC UPGRADES RECOVERY VEHICLES The RAC has announced that it has begun to upgrade their heavy-duty patrol vehicle, enabling them to better deal with a wider range of vehicles and engine types. They expect to have over 100 examples on their fleet by the end of 2020. To read more, click here for the press release . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- FORMULA E: AUDI ANNOUNCE SHOCK DEPARTURE FROM SERIES Audi Sport has announced not only a change of leadership but also a change in direction. After the 2021/22 season the organisation will switch focus to endurance racing and the Dakar event. This is another blow to the series that was already under pressure from the new Extreme E series, recently launched. To read more about the possible reasons why Audi have done this, click The Race article here . WRC: MONZA STARTS THURSDAY A reminder that the title deciding final round, at Monza, starts this Thursday. Eyes will be watching to see if the track can pull of an exciting and interesting event, for all involved. LUNCHTIME WATCH: MICHAEL DI TULLO ON POLARISING DESIGNS Designer Michael DiTullo talks about two designs that have featured large in the public’s mind over the last 12 months, the Cybertruck and PS5. Watch him discuss what polarising designs are, the specifics of these two and the pros and cons of such a strategy, by clicking the YouTube link here . LIST OF THE WEEK: THE SIMPLEST CARS EVER MADE As cars become ever more complex and gadget laden, it is sometimes easy to forget that there are many examples of cars that were incredibly simple in design and in terms of engineering. To run through the list that Autocar has put together, click the link here . Don’t forget to tell the chaps if you have a particular favourite. AND FINALLY: #AUTOADVENT20 HAS BEGUN We know it is getting close to Christmas, as Jon Male has started the #AutoAdvent20, his set of daily questions linking the pictures together with an obscure fact. To join in the fun follow the links supplied here for #AutoAdvent20 and the Twitter handle @mrjaydeeem . Have fun with them and good luck!…
With characteristically good timing, Alan needed to make a trip to Scotland inter-lockdown to collect more stuff than would ever fit in a Yaris. This seemed like a good opportunity to play at “White Van Man” to remind ourselves just how competent the current generation of mid-sized vans is and to see just how much you can fit into a Mercedes-Benz Vito.…
FOLLOW UP: UN SAYS GHOSN TREATMENT ‘UNFAIR’ An independent group of experts, working for the United Nations, has stated that Japanese treatment of Carlos Ghosn was ‘fundamentally unfair’. They have made no comment on the allegations of his crime, only how he was arrested several times and the harsh bail conditions levied on him. To read more, click the Guardian article here . FOLLOW UP: ICE 2030 BAN FORMALLY ANNOUNCED Whilst we were recording, last week’s show, the Government announced that they will be bringing in the ban on new internal combustion engined cars from 2030, as we stated we were waiting for. Rather than go through it all again and because there is so much misinformation and misunderstanding with the situation we recommend you read the Motoring Research article that calmly discusses the matter and what it will mean, to do so click the link here . NISSAN REFUTES SUNDERLAND CLOSURE CLAIMS Reports, from a respected German automotive magazine, suggested that Nissan had decided to close Sunderland but was yet to officially announce it yet. Nissan has stated that this is untrue. To read more, click the Sunderland Echo article here . JLR ASKS U.S. TO BAN VW GROUP SUVS Jaguar Land Rover has filed a complaint to the US International Trade Commission over the use by Volkswagen Group SUVs, of Terrain Response. JLA claim this is patented technology is being used without permission. To read more, click the Autocar article here . POLICE DATA REVEALS REAL CAUSE OF ROAD INCIDENTS Official police report data has been collated to show what actually causes road incidents and collisions. Reaffirming the point the podcast has made many times, but “Driver Error” was by far and away the biggest factor that contributed, at 66%. Second, some way back was “Driver Behaviour” and third, even further back was “Injudicious Action” which includes speeding. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here . ENGLAND E-SCOOTER HIRE PRICES COMPARED Further to the Special Edition, where Alan went to try out some of the options when it comes to e-scooters which you can listen to by clicking here or watching by clicking here , ZAG has collated all the prices for hiring an e-scooter. Their research backs up Alan’s summary that e-scooters may not be the economical choice for many. To read more, click their article here . PANDEMIC TRAVEL TRENDS REVEALED Bloomberg CityLab has compiled data from global cities to investigate how the pandemic effected travel. This is a fascinating article looking at a variety of modes of transport, some socioeconomic inequalities, and locations. These only give a general oversight and the conclusions made make that clear, but it does show how policy could well move in densely populated urban areas. Click here for the article . Connected to this, official UK figures show how Lockdown 2 has altered road usage. Traffic has dropped by 30% during the increased restrictions. Which either shows how many people ignored the rules or that so many industries need people to be at their workplace. Click here for the Motoring Research article . MASSACHUSETTS APPROVES ‘RIGHT-TO-REPAIR’ LAW During the elections in the US, voters were choosing new laws as well as politicians, one of which in Massachusetts, was for a ‘right-to-repair’. The specifics of the law will require car manufacturers to hand over information that will allow independent repair centres to fix cars properly. To read more, click the Grist article here . VICTORIA PROPOSES EV ROAD USE TAX Victoria, Australia, is proposing a new tax specific for zero emission cars which will be calculated by how far they drive. Whereas most countries are using incentives to encourage uptake of zero emission vehicles, the Australian state is one of the first to tackle the issue of them not fitting current vehicle taxing systems. To read more, click the ABC article here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- FORMULA E: FIRST NIGHT RACES FOR CHAMPIONSHIP Formula E will have their first night time races, in the 2020/21, at Diriyah on February 26 and 27. The entire event is planned as a net zero carbon one, therefore maintaining the record of the series since it started. To read more, click the official article here . NIO 333 has announced that Tom Blomqvst will be one of their drivers. To read more, click the link here . WRC: OGIER NOT FINISHED WITH WRC Sébastien Ogier announced that he will be racing for Toyota next year. He is looking forward to fighting for yet another title with the team. To read more, click the link here . REVS GARAGISTA EVENT THIS WEEKEND On Saturday 28 November, there will be another REVS event, this time focusing on the stories of those who have tackled car related projects. To see more, click the link here . LUNCHTIME READ: DRIVING THOUGHTS - THE PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS OF DRIVING Professor Lynne Pearce is a psychologist with an interest in the effects driving has on our mental state and health. In this article she articulates aspects of driving we have all experienced but not thought about. To read this fascinating piece, click the Porsche Newsroom article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: RANKED - THE MOST EXCITING CAR CHASES OF ALL TIME Gavin Braithwaite-Smith takes us through a list of what is claimed as the most exciting car chases of all time, based on heartbeat levels. To be clear this is not his list, he is pointing it out and reminding us all, lists are there to start debate, which is why we bring them to you. Click here for the Motoring Research article and see for yourself . AND FINALLY: ENOUGH OF THE EV RECORDS PLEASE Porsche, using a rear wheel drive only Taycan, has set one of the most silly electric vehicle records we know of, a continuous drift for 42.171kms, on their skid pan (stop sniggering). Ok, can we stop now, this does nothing to further EVs nor driving. If you must, click here for the Autocar article to read more .…
Andrew had an example of Subaru’s first tentative step into the world of adding hybrid technology to their cars. Listen in as he tells Alan about his week with the car, how hybridy the car is and have they done a good job first time out.
FOLLOW UP: GHOSN CLAIMS TO HAVE FLED TO ESCAPE INJUSTICE Carlos Ghosn has a book coming out soon and in an interview with the Sunday Times he discusses what has happened to him and how he claims he fled Japan to escape injustice. To read more, click the Autocar article here . GOVERNMENT CONSIDERING ROAD PRICING Over the weekend, the news was leaked that the UK Government is actively looking into adopting road pricing, due to the expected short fall from a lack of fuel and vehicle excise duty, with more EVs being used on the roads ahead of the expected 2030 cut off date for no more new ICE cars. To read more, click the Autocar article here . This is not a new idea within Government, click here to see what George Freeman had to say on the subject in November last year in Company Car Today. The BVLA has also released a report following their investigation into the idea of road pricing, which you can find by clicking here . Thanks to Tom Callow for tweeting the link out. Related to this, Zero Carbon World has some 7kW and 22kW charging stations they will donate for free, to UK locations such as B&Bs, tourist attractions, cafes, etc that can pay for the installation. Click the link to their tweet here to find out more . GOVERNMENT APPROVES STONEHENGE TUNNEL Against the backdrop of a very vocal campaign, the Government has approved the controversial plan to dig a tunnel and create a dual carriageway. The Planning Inspectorate also state there would “permenant, irreversable harm” as a result of the project. The works are due to start in 2023, to read more click the Autocar article here . GORDON MURRAY GROUP INVESTS IN NEW HEADQUARTERS At a cost of £50 million, the Gordon Murray Group are investing in new headquarters and production facilities, in Windlesham. There are to be three phases to the build project, which will be completed by 2024. To read more, click the Autocar article here . NHTSA UPGRADES TESLA INVESTIGATION Model Ss built between 2012 and 2018 and Model Xs built between 2016 and 2018, are being investigated for touch screen failures. Reports suggest that NAND memory chips are becoming worn out and failing. More typically, these chips are found in mobile phones and cheap laptops. They are supposedly reaching their program-erase cycle limits meaning they can no longer store data. Some symptoms include rear view camera failure, lack of turn signal sound warning, climate setting controls and more. To read more, click The Register article here . _____________________________________________ If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ——————————————————————————- FORMULA E: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR TESTING Formula E will be at Velencia, between 28 November to 1 December, for testing prior to the start of the 2020/21 season. For everything you need to know about all the drivers and teams, click the Formula E article here . WRC: HOW MONZA IS MAKING ITSELF WRC WORTHY DirtFish have been finding out how Monza is going to be as a worthy specticle for the fans and a challenging event for the drivers. A lot of thought has gone into the itinerary and the layout of the stages. This will definitely be an event to watch, not just because it is the finale to this odd season, but also due to the efforts to make a viable rally event based around a racing track. To read more, click the article here . LUNCHTIME READ: MODERN CARS ARE TOO EFFECTIVE FOR THEIR OWN GOOD Matt Prior makes the case for car limits being too far out of reach for us, on public roads, so we need lighter, smaller cars, that we have a hope of getting close to their performance capabilities. TO read more, click the Autocar article here . LIST OF THE WEEK: BEST CARS OF THE 1990S The Club PetrolBlog Members were asked to tell Gavin Braithwaite-Smith, which car they felt was the best of the 1990s. There is a fantastic selection to run through, but be warned, if you play along with the Motoring Podcast Drinking Game™️ you must charge your glass before you view, as there is one car involved that will trigger participation. To read through the list, click the PetrolBlog article here . AND FINALLY: HOW THE NISSAN MICRA ALMOST WENT TO AMERICA Raphael Orlove takes us through the 2002-10 Nissan Micra and how it almost went to the US but as a Smart. Find out how this odd idea came close to fruition and how he has come t like the aesthetics of what was not one of Nissan’s finest design moments. You will also hear a, frankly, insane suggestion from Alan. To read more, click the Jalopnik article here .…
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CarCast is twice weekly automotive podcast hosted by Matt “The Motorator” D’Andria, former NFL and WWE superstar, Bill Goldberg, and Vice President Editorial & Editor-in-Chief at Edmunds.com, Alistair Weaver. CarCast explores all aspects of the automotive space from the performance aftermarket to new car buying and the future of the automotive industry. The guys answer your questions, offer advice and feature guests from the automotive industry and celebrity car enthusiasts.
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Let’s Drone Out is a light-hearted and chatty drone focused podcast. Recorded live and interactively every Thursday 8-9 pm UK time on YouTube, come join the interactive chat. Jack and his wife Tony, as well as the rest of the LDO crew are here to bring noobs and pros together. Tune in every Thursday at 8:00PM UK time for the latest on tech, events, news, interviews and a behind the scenes look into the hobby. LEGAL NOTICE: Any views expressed by any guests on this show are personal and may ...
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We promise we are not as Horrible as you think at video games, well maybe. Join us in a weekly show discussing video games, the culture around it and the latest topics going on in the industry. You’ll find insightful discussions , game reviews, and industry news that cater to all gaming enthusiasts. Join us as we dive deep into the world of gaming, sharing our thoughts and experiences. Give us a listen and share us with your friends. Your feedback is always welcome, and we appreciate your su ...
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Under The Hood® Show. Syndicated across America since 1990 Americas' Favorite Car Talk Show! This Live Radio Show is here to help you get free Auto Repair Advice helping you to save money on Auto Repairs. The hosts take your calls about any Automotive Questions and help guide you to a Repair Solution. If you need Car Repair Help to Make Your Own Do It Yourself Auto Repairs or just need a few Automotive Hints to help when you visit a shop, the guys will help you. The guys work in the Automoti ...
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Sneak Attack! is a homebrew actual play tabletop RPG podcast set in the world of Brannis, as well as the depths of outer space. While in season, new episodes release every Friday.
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A weekly podcast dedicated to improving your play at Magic: The Gathering with an emphasis on Limited play.
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Audio home of The Jimquisition, featuring its lovely little podcast, Podquisition - starring Jim Sterling, Laura Kate, and Conrad Zimmerman!
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The UK Column is an independent news organisation analysing the information war. Operating without financial backing or external investment, we remain free from advertisers, foundations, and political parties, relying solely on support from our audience through memberships and donations.
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