Surprisingly Practical - 10 August 2021

Motoring Podcast - News Show

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.

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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.