Amateurish And Disappointing - 1 December 2020

Motoring Podcast - News Show

FOLLOW UP: GREEN IS GO FOR NUMBER PLATES

From 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 CHARITY

There 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 FACTORY

Despite 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 STOPPED

Thanks 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 VEHICLES

The 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 fleet by the end of 2020. To read more, click here for the press release.

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FORMULA E: AUDI ANNOUNCE SHOCK DEPARTURE FROM SERIES

Audi Sport has announced not only a change of leadership but also a change in direction. After the 2021/22 season the organisation will switch focus to endurance racing and the Dakar event. This is another blow to the series that was already under pressure from the new Extreme E series, recently launched. To read more about the possible reasons why Audi have done this, click The Race article here.

WRC: MONZA STARTS THURSDAY

A reminder that the title deciding final round, at Monza, starts this Thursday. Eyes will be watching to see if the track can pull of an exciting and interesting event, for all involved.

LUNCHTIME WATCH: MICHAEL DI TULLO ON POLARISING DESIGNS

Designer Michael DiTullo talks about two designs that have featured large in the public’s mind over the last 12 months, the Cybertruck and PS5. Watch him discuss what polarising designs are, the specifics of these two and the pros and cons of such a strategy, by clicking the YouTube link here.

LIST OF THE WEEK: THE SIMPLEST CARS EVER MADE

As cars become ever more complex and gadget laden, it is sometimes easy to forget that there are many examples of cars that were incredibly simple in design and in terms of engineering. To run through the list that Autocar has put together, click the link here. Don’t forget to tell the chaps if you have a particular favourite.

AND FINALLY: #AUTOADVENT20 HAS BEGUN

We know it is getting close to Christmas, as Jon Male has started the #AutoAdvent20, his set of daily questions linking the pictures together with an obscure fact. To join in the fun follow the links supplied here for #AutoAdvent20 and the Twitter handle @mrjaydeeem. Have fun with them and good luck!