Air And Unicorn - 7 May 2024 Motoring Podcast

FOLLOW UP: EU WARNS OVER LACK OF COOPERATION WITH PROBE

The EU has accused BYD, Geely and SAIC of not providing enough detail for their investigation. Due to this, apparent, lack of cooperation the tariffs that will be imposed are going to be higher than they might have been. The timing of this is important as the Chinese President is visiting Europe imminently. Click this article link from Politico for more.

FOLLOW UP: MORE TESLA CUTS

Tesla is reported to be cancelling the ‘ground-breaking’ “gigacasting” plans, which were to start with an underbody made in a single metal sheet. There were many in the industry who were questioning if this could be made possible and if there were consequences to doing so, outside of manufacturing. The news is on the back of a tumultuous time for the company following the announcement of cuts to the workforce. If you wish to read more, click this link to an InsideEVs article.

FOLLOW UP: FIRST BY CABINET CONVERTED TO EV CHARGER

East Lothian is the location for the first BT cabinet to be converted to enable EV charging. The pilot will allow local residents to use it for free until the end of May. You can learn more by clicking this EV Powered article link here.

AUTOCAR GREAT WOMEN AWARDS 2024 WINNERS

Autocar have held the celebratory event for their Great Women Awards 2024, with Lisa Brankin, the Chair and managing director, Ford of Britain and Ireland winning the overall accolade. Congratulations to all those nominated and who won their categories. You can read through the article telling all about the event by clicking this link here.

FRENCH CAR INDUSTRY GIVEN NEW TARGET BY GOVERNMENT

The French car industry has reached an agreement with their Government to increase EV sales fourfold by 2027. They have also been instructed to produce two million electric and hybrid vehicles annually, by the end of the decade. If you wish to read more, click this link from Reuters.

PARTS BEING STOLEN FROM VEHICLES

Volkswagen owners are the latest to be hit by selective thefts of car parts, rather than the entire car, as technology, the cost of living crisis and safety regulations all drive up costs. In this instance, the radar sensors which are incorporated into the front grille badge, have been taken. This is an ongoing issue and has hit many car companies. Click this article from The Guardian, to read more.

ELECTRIC CAR MISINFORMATION CONSEQUENCES

An electric car owner, who was visiting the Liverpool hospital Alder Hey, was asked to park in one of the outside spaces as the multi-storey car park was having improvements made to the sprinkler system and during that time EVs were not allowed to use that specific area. This is all fine, but the reasoning was due to EVs ‘spontaneously combusting’ which is untrue but a consequence of all the misinformation posted by the media and individuals. All those who talk about cars need to do better, need to combat untruthful info, no matter who from. You can read more, by clicking this BBC News article here.

GOOGLE MAPS ADDING EV CHARGING INFORMATION

Google Maps are going to add electric vehicle charging information in a new update. This will include data such as the availability, type of charger and allow for filtering of searches. This is a welcome addition but adds competition to the likes of ZapMap and A Better Route Planner. If you wish to find out more, click this EV Powered article 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 SUPPORT THE PODCAST

NEW NEW CAR NEWS -

Renault Symbioz

Renault has found a gap in their offerings and has promptly shoved a car into that niche. Missing was a Qashqai-sized model, bigger than the Captur but smaller than the Austral. Begs the question as to what is the point the Scenic, though. Relatively lightweight the claims on efficiency are high, as well as this being a practical and competitively priced vehicle that will do a job for families. Click this Autocar article link for more.

Ferrari 12Cilindri

The replacement to the 812 Superfast has been unveiled. Appearances are that of what AI might produce if the prompt “what would a Daytona look like today” was used. Lots of power, performance and a hefty price tag. As Alan reminds us all, wait till we see proper photos or one for ourselves before slamming the looks. If you wish to read more on this, click here for an EVO article.

TWR Supercat

Talking of cars that might have come from an AI prompt, the TWR Supercat has been shown. A wide-bodied XJS restomod, costing £225,000 and limited to a run of just 88 examples. This car too created quite a stir on social media, with most of it being negative. Judge for yourself, by clicking this EVO article link here.

LIST OF THE WEEK: HAGERTY’S RADWOOD INDEX

Hagerty has created an index of value for 50 of the most iconic Radwood era cars. There are a lot of amazing choices to pick from, which you can check out here at this link. Let us know if you agreed with the options picked and what you would have.

*Yes, we realise we are not in the normal order and no, we have no idea how it happened

LUNCHTIME READ: IN MINIATURE - THE 4X4 MODELS OF ROBERT GUNN

Robert Gunn creates amazing model vehicles at 1:10 scale, by custom building everything by hand using materials he find and buys. They are truly glorious creations that you need to see and read about. Click this Hagerty link to be as stunned as we were.

AND FINALLY: THE NEW WOLRD OF VOLVO OPENS

The new World of Volvo has opened in Gothenburg, Sweden. But this is no ordinary building with some cars and lorries in it. There will be the historical examples for all to view, with an ever evolving display of current and future technologies and advancements by Volvo and Volvo Group. Additionally this is a space for events, meetings and much more. If you wish to read more, click this Hagerty article link here.