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)
Piece of Cake - 30 March 2021
FOLLOW UP: VW SEEKS DAMAGES FROM FORMER EMPLOYEESFollowing 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 PLANTHonda 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 UKRimac, 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 FORCEPart 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 PUSHThe 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 DRIVERSOver 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
The 39 Steps - 23 March 2021
PLUG-IN GRANT REDUCED OVERNIGHT BY GOVERNMENTThe 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 INDUSTRYThe 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 ILLNESSWe, 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 FLATTERYFriend 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
Bear Stimulus - 16 March 2021
FOLLOW UP: BATH CLEAN AIR ZONE GOES LIVEBathe 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 VANSThe 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 DAGENHAMFord 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. ATHANAston 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 ACCESSIBILITYA 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 ECOTRICITYThere’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 ZONEOxford 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 97We, 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
Gone French On Them - 9 March 2021
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 PLANSThis 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 2021This 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 BUDGETDuring 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 UKAston 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 RIMACPorsche 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 CHARGERSAt 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 PORTStellantis has asked the UK Government for...
Automotive Eurovision - 2 March 2021
FORD BUYS BACK FACTORYIn 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 YEARWhilst 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 2021The 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 MERGINGVolvo 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 RATESFollowing 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.
It Will Save Lives! - 23 February 2021
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 EUROPEAccording 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 OCTOBERBristol 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 PARKPictures 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 CARSCoventry 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 SWEDENA 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 ATTACKSA report from the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) has outlined the potential exposure to risk AI provides in autonomous...
25m Swimming Certificate - 16 February 2021
FOLLOW UP: GHOSN ESCAPE TEAM LOSE COURT APPEALThe 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 STRATEGYJLR 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 DROPSThe 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 MANSLAUGHTERFollowing 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 BUGIn 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 GOVERNMENTThe 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...
Scope Creep - 9 February 2021
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 FIGURESIn 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 ROCKETSFollowing 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 APPLEA 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 CASEJaguar 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 LIMITThe 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...
There Is The Carrot - 2 February 2021
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 CROWNToyota 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 QUARTERThe 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 LOTUSMatt 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 FIGURESThe 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 UPGRADESThe 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 SCHEMEThe 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 CHARGERSAcross the Whitebread portfolio of hotels and...
Saturn On Upside-Down - 27 January 2021
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 UPDATEWhen 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 FINEVolkswagen 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 UKNissan 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 INCREASEFollowing 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 UBITRICITYShell 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 SALEThe 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....
House of Puns - 19 January 2021
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 MARKETSThe 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 AWAYThe 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 FACTORIESManufacturing 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 COLOURIn, 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 ANNOUNCEDThe organisers of the Monte Carlo Rally have been working closely...
Time That Precious Commodity - 12 January 2021
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 RECALLEDVolkswagen 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
Special Edition - Salvage Hunters: Classic Cars Series 5
Alan 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.
Perfect Curve - 5 January 2021
FOLLOW UP: VW DID BREAK LAW ACCORDING TO ECJThe 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 RULINGYou 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-7SMazda 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 SCAMSThe 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 SHAREHOLDERSThe 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...
Special Edition - Not-A-Pubcast Review of 2020
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.
Special Edition - Alan's Mercedes 230E
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.
A Million Keyrings - 15 December 2020
FOLLOW UP: SSANGYONG GB AND MITSUBISHI END TALKSSsangYong 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 FACTORIESThe 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 ENTERThe 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 GROUPHerbert 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 DEPARTURELouis 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...
Wine Cooler and Drinks Tray - 8 December 2020
FOLLOW UP: ASTON MARTIN ANNOUNCE INTERNAL INVESTIGATIONTobias 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 2020The 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 NETWORKThe 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 BRANDFor 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 WASThomas 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 AURORAUber 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 MANUALSHaynes, the publisher of repair manuals since 1966, has announced that new vehicle manuals will no longer be published, however,...
Special Edition - Hyundai i10 N-Line Review
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.
Amateurish And Disappointing - 1 December 2020
FOLLOW UP: GREEN IS GO FOR NUMBER PLATESFrom 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 CHARITYThere 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 FACTORYDespite 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 STOPPEDThanks 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 VEHICLESThe 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...
Special Edition - Mercedes-Benz Vito 119CDi Premium
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.
Cheery Note - 24 November 2020
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 ANNOUNCEDWhilst 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 CLAIMSReports, 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 SUVSJaguar 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 INCIDENTSOfficial 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 COMPAREDFurther 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 REVEALEDBloomberg CityLab has compiled data from global...
Special Edition - Subaru Forester e-BOXER Review
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.
How Much Have You Been Drinking - 17 November 2020
FOLLOW UP: GHOSN CLAIMS TO HAVE FLED TO ESCAPE INJUSTICECarlos 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 TUNNELAgainst 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 HEADQUARTERSAt 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 INVESTIGATIONModel 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.
Special Edition - Toyota GR Yaris Launch Review
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?