Motoring Podcast - News Show
Motoring Podcast
Updated 3 days agoMotoring enthusiasts Alan and Andrew discuss their takes on the week's motoring news in this 45 to 60 minute audio podcast.
Are you the creator? Get your badge · Claim this podcast
Episodes (338)
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?
Reshuggling - 10 November 2020
NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES OCTOBER 2020The October New Car Registration figures were down only 1.6% year-on-year, even with the Welsh lockdown. Diesel, unsurprisingly, and petrol both down but battery vehicles up a whopping 143.9%. There is a surprise or two in the model Top 10 list as well. To read more, click here for the SMMT article. CO2 POOLING Car manufacturers are beginning to finalise their plans for dealing with the EU Fleet CO2 rules. In an effort to avoid large fines the fine print allows manufacturers to buy CO2 credits from others who have spare. To see further who has signed up with whom, click the CarScoops article here. M6 TOLL PRICE RISEFrom the 4 December 2020, the price will increase to use the M6 Toll Road. Cars will be charged £6.90 to use the full length of the road during the day, with the Junction price being £4.90. Local residents can get a Flxi-Pass, which means that paying £29 will allow for 10 Junction trips. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here. MORE DRIVING TRAINING REQUIRED FOR ASSISTANCE TECHNOLOGYA study run by the University of Nottingham, with support from the RAC Foundation, found that drivers who received behavioural training before using Level 3 equipped vehicles, were more measured in using the technology. The understanding of the technology meant they were paying more attention whilst the vehicle was undertaking manoeuvrers. To read more, click the FleetNews 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: COLIN CLARK’S INCREASING WORRY OVER 2022We have discussed the ‘hybrid issue’ that is still plaguing WRC as it pushes to be about the only top flight motorsport that is adamant new technology rules should still come into force. Colin Clark has written an interesting article explaining his growing fears over the future of WRC. To read this, click the DirtFish link here. BLOODHOUND TV SERIES AND SPONSORSHIP DRIVEThe Bloodhound LSR project will be on Channel 4 at 18:00 GMT on 14 November 2020, taking us through the highs and lows of the journey so far. This coincides with a renewed call for sponsors, in what is a financially tough time. To read more, click the link for information about sponsorship here.
Ride Comfort - 3 November 2020
FOLLOW UP: FORD TO REPLACE KUGA PHEV BATTERIESIn August Ford announced they were pulling Kuga PHEVs from sale and that owners should not plug in theirs in due to the risk of a battery fire. The cause of the issue is now known, with battery cells becoming contaminated, meaning that Ford will replace the traction battery packs via a recall. To read more, click the Autocar article here.TFL FUNDING PACKAGE REQUIRES £15 CONGESTION CHARGEPart of the agreement for the extra £1.7bn funding, agreed between the Government and Transport for London, requires the £15 temporary Congestion Charge to continue. However, rumours that the area will increase to be essentially inside the North and South Circular Roads have been rejected. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here.SHELL DITCHES LPG DUE TO LACK OF DEMANDJust as Dacia announce they are introducing LPG vehicles, to help with the CO2 rules of the EU, Shell announces it will be removing LPG from their stations as there is a lack of demand. To read more, click the Autocar article here.WHAT3WORDS INTEGRATED INTO SAT NAVSThe location service, What3Words is being integrated into sat navs by the Here consortium. The claim is the system is more accurate and less confusing than traditional postcode or grid references. The expectation is the system will be quickly in four out of five new cars. Not everyone is in favour of the system, plus this just adds another license for the manufacturers to pay for at some point. To read more click the Motoring Podcast article here.TAILGATING BEING CAUGHT ON CAMERAHighways England, in only the first two weeks of an initiative, filmed more than 10,000 vehicles too close to the car in front. Drivers spotted in this manner will be sent a letter advising them of their driving and encourage them to leave the minimum prescribed gap. The idea to get drivers to amend their behaviour. 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 PODCAST——————————————————————————-This weekend, the Motoring Podcast would’ve been at the Race of Remembrance, however and even though that has been cancelled Mission Motorsport and friends will be doing a number of activities to help raise funds for the charity. To find out more, click the link here. If you can please do give as generously as you can to this incredible organisation.——————————————————————————-WRC: YPRES CANCELLATION PUTS FOUR IN WITH A SHOT OF TITLEFollowing the cancellation of the WRC event in Ypres, the attention on Monza is even more intense as it is the last shot for four drivers hoping to win the title. Evans is in the prime spot, 14 points in the lead, with