Motoring Podcast - News Show
Motoring Podcast
Updated 1 day agoMotoring 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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Episodes (327)
Special Edition - Hyundai Tucson Ultimate Review
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!
Before Alan Falls Asleep - 13 July 2021
FOLLOW UP: EU FINES BMW AND VW BUT NOT DAIMLERFollowing 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 STRATEGYStellantis 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 MERCEDESMercedes-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 VENTURERimac 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 2021Alan 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 TaxiFIAT 500e ActiveCupra Formentor PHEVMINI Cooper John Cooper Works GPFord Kuga ST-Line PHEVPorsche Taycan TurboMG ZS EVToyota Supra GR 2.0AND FINALLY: HOW TO REALLY MAKE MONEY WITH AV CARSThe...
Special Edition - Lexus LC500h Review
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.
Anger As Consumer Advice - 6 July 2021
FOLLOW UP: SECOND UK-BASED VW EMISSIONS CLAIM LAUNCHEDThe 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 ISSUESAfter 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 2021The 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 HUBSunderland 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 SAVEDStellantis 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 GLITCHPorsche 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 PLANTNear Wesseling,...
Some Blue Whales Wide - 29 June 2021
FOLLOW UP: GREATER MANCHESTER CAZ STARTS IN MAY 2022The 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 CUSTOMERSAn 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 OFFThierry 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 YEARFollowing 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 BUILDINGThe 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 GERMANYIn 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 COVENANTStellantis 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. ——————————————————————————-
Special Edition - Classic.Retro.Modern
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.
Not Angry Just Disappointed - 22 June 2021
FOLLOW UP: GOVERNMENT STARTS E10 PUBLICITY CAMPAIGNWith 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 INVESTORSA 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 PROJECTSThe 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 TAXISIn 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 AIRThe 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 CONCEPTSRenault, 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...
Special Edition - Ford Focus ST-Line X Review
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?
S T O P That - 15 June 2021
FOLLOW UP: VW REPAID BY EXECUTIVESVolkswagen 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 ECOTRICITYAs 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 CEOBenedetto 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 EMISSIONSPeugeot 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 AUTHORITYPorsche, 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 ADVERTThe 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 GAFFOxford 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
Communist Motoring News - 8 June 2021
MAY 2021 SMMT NEW CAR REGISTRATIONSAs 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 2030During 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 ELECTRICThe 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 CONFUSIONThose 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 CALENDARThe 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 AGAINFor 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...
Special Edition - 4 Roads and The Future of Car Buying
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.
World's Most Expensive Picnic Basket - 1 June 2021
This week Andrew’s away, so Alan is joined instead by Alex Grant.FOLLOW UP: WINTERKORN TO PAY DAMAGES TO VWThe 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 NISSANAs 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 FEESDaimler 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 INTRODUCEDThe 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 GIGAFACTORYThe 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 CHOICESIn 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 PROBEThe 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 2020In 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.
Pretty Much Rightish - 25 May 2021
FOLLOW UP: GHOSN ORDERED TO PAY BACK MONEYIn 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 NETWORKOfgem 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 RECORDThere 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 SYSTEMSFord 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 FOUNDTencent 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 PORTUGALAnother 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
Special Edition - 400th Episode Celebration
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.
Hugely Incompetent - 18 May 2021
FOLLOW UP: TOYOTA OFFERS FREE CATALYTIC CONVERTOR PROTECTIONLast 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-SALESInternational 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 EXPANDFollowing 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 COMPANYConnected 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 GAFFIn 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!...
Special Edition - Ford Fiesta ST Line Review
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?
Entering the Traffic Zone - 11 May 2021
APRIL 2021 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURESThere 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 TRANSITA 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 CLIMBINGThe 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 HACKEDA 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 WAZEIn 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,
Special Edition - BMW M440i xDrive Review
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.
Daft Plan - 4 May 2021
GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCEMENT CONFUSES INDUSTRYThe 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 OPERATIONToyoda 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 BOARDSVolkswagen 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 SERVICESMoto 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 UKSubaru 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 LAUNCHLater 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.
Special Edition - The Intercooler with Dan Prosser
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.
Not Half-Bottomed - 27 April 2021
FOLLOW UP: CHIP SHORTAGE HITTING MANUFACTURERS HARDSeveral 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 HEADQUARTERSMcLaren 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 CANCELLEDThe 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 JAPANToyota, 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 STRATEGYHonda 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 LOCATIONSComing 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’SThe 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 NEWSHonda HR-V -
Rhymes and Everything - 20 April 2021
CHIP SHORTAGE TO LAST INTO 2023The 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 AWAYFollowing 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 NEWSDue 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...
Special Edition - Car & Classic with Chris Pollitt
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.
Taking A Fence - 13 April 2021
FOLLOW UP: VW TO PAY INTEREST ON DIESELGATE LOANSVolkswagen 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 YEARThe 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 BRITISHA 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 THINKINGThere 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 GRANTSThe 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.
Wider Berth of Bath - 6 April 2021
NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES MARCH 2021We 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 BUYERCaterham 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 REQUIREDWith 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, click the Autocar article here. GOOGLE MAPS TO INDICATE MOST ECONOMICAL ROUTEStarting 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 ONThe 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 NEWSWelcome 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...