Not Bullied - 17 May 2022

Motoring Podcast - News Show

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.

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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

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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.