Adequately Unashamed - 24 January 2023

Motoring Podcast - News Show

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.

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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.