Call me Captain Cynical - 16 January 2024

FOLLOW UP: CAR MAKERS LOBBIED AGAINST INCENTIVES FOR SMALL EVS

In the consultation over the introduction of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which came into force on 1 January 2024, documents have revealed that some manufacturers fought against rules that encouraged more efficient, smaller and lighter vehicles. Not a great look for the car industry. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar link here.

FOLLOW UP: WALES 20MPH REVIEW TO BE LED BY ORIGINAL ADVISOR

In what feels like an entry into Private Eye's Rotten Boroughs segment, the Welsh Government has announced the consultant who helped introduce the new 20mph urban speed limit will lead the review of said implementation. They justified this by stating that "he is well-placed to assess whether clarifications in the policy are needed to encourage greater consistency.". To read more, click this link from the BBC News.

RED SEA SHIPPING ISSUES HITTING CAR MAKERS

Tesla and Volvo are pausing car production due to delays in parts after shipping has been disrupted in the Red Sea. Either the ships run the gauntlet of attack or go via the Cape of Good Hope. This is an added pressure to the already difficult shipping environment as there is a lack of container ships available which has pushed costs higher. You can learn more by clicking this link to an article from MarineLink.

BMW TO SWITCH MUNICH FACTORY TO EV PRODUCTION IN 2027

BMW will be producing electric only cars, at their Munich factory, from the end of 2027. They will build the Neue Klasse saloon from 2026, whilst phasing out the combustion engine vehicles. To read more on this, click the Petrolheads article link here.

STUDY CLAIMS LONDON IS THE SLOWEST CITY TO DRIVE IN

A TomTom study claims that London is the slowest city, in the world, to drive in, with Dublin, Toronto, Milan and Lima making up the top five. Transport for London has argued that the study is misleading and that it is nothing to do with a 20mph speed limit. They also go on to claim the methodology is flawed, by only using a very small selection of roads and ones in the city centre too. You can read more, by clicking this BBC News article link here.

CRITIC OF VINFAST DETAINED

VinFast, the Vietnamese EV maker who's first car has been panned for a raft of issues, has pressured local law enforcement, allegedly, to detain a critic who posted on social media the issues with the cars. Vietnamese law apparently forbids harming the interest of others, according to this article, linked here from The Drive.

SAINSBURY'S LAUNCHES OWN EV CHARGING BRAND

Sainsbury's has become the first UK supermarket brand to launch its own EV charging network. Called Smart Charge, the company intends to fit 750 rapid chargers in over 100 stores by the end of 2024. Click this link to read more from Autocar.

FRANCE UNVEILS AFFORDABLE EV SCHEME

Low-income customers in France are able to take advantage of a

FOLLOW UP: CAR MAKERS LOBBIED AGAINST INCENTIVES FOR SMALL EVS

In the consultation over the introduction of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which came into force on 1 January 2024, documents have revealed that some manufacturers fought against rules that encouraged more efficient, smaller and lighter vehicles. Not a great look for the car industry. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar link here.

FOLLOW UP: WALES 20MPH REVIEW TO BE LED BY ORIGINAL ADVISOR

In what feels like an entry into Private Eye's Rotten Boroughs segment, the Welsh Government has announced the consultant who helped introduce the new 20mph urban speed limit will lead the review of said implementation. They justified this by stating that "he is well-placed to assess whether clarifications in the policy are needed to encourage greater consistency.". To read more, click this link from the BBC News.

RED SEA SHIPPING ISSUES HITTING CAR MAKERS

Tesla and Volvo are pausing car production due to delays in parts after shipping has been disrupted in the Red Sea. Either the ships run the gauntlet of attack or go via the Cape of Good Hope. This is an added pressure to the already difficult shipping environment as there is a lack of container ships available which has pushed costs higher. You can learn more by clicking this link to an article from MarineLink.

BMW TO SWITCH MUNICH FACTORY TO EV PRODUCTION IN 2027

BMW will be producing electric only cars, at their Munich factory, from the end of 2027. They will build the Neue Klasse saloon from 2026, whilst phasing out the combustion engine vehicles. To read more on this, click the Petrolheads article link here.

STUDY CLAIMS LONDON IS THE SLOWEST CITY TO DRIVE IN

A TomTom study claims that London is the slowest city, in the world, to drive in, with Dublin, Toronto, Milan and Lima making up the top five. Transport for London has argued that the study is misleading and that it is nothing to do with a 20mph speed limit. They also go on to claim the methodology is flawed, by only using a very small selection of roads and ones in the city centre too. You can read more, by clicking this BBC News article link here.

CRITIC OF VINFAST DETAINED

VinFast, the Vietnamese EV maker who's first car has been panned for a raft of issues, has pressured local law enforcement, allegedly, to detain a critic who posted on social media the issues with the cars. Vietnamese law apparently forbids harming the interest of others, according to this article, linked here from The Drive.

SAINSBURY'S LAUNCHES OWN EV CHARGING BRAND

Sainsbury's has become the first UK supermarket brand to launch its own EV charging network. Called Smart Charge, the company intends to fit 750 rapid chargers in over 100 stores by the end of 2024. Click this link to read more from Autocar.

FRANCE UNVEILS AFFORDABLE EV SCHEME

Low-income customers in France are able to take advantage of a scheme that enables EV adoption for those poorest off. The Government has a 'social leasing' initiative, which means a Citroën e-C3 can be had for as little as €54 per month, without a deposit and paid over three years. You can learn more about this excellent sounding idea, by clicking this Car Scoops 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 - Toyota GR Yaris

After being on the market for four years, the GR Yaris gets a refresh. There are slight tweaks to the external design, mainly the rear lights but the dashboard sees a big change as switches and screens point slightly towards the driver. There is much talk about how much stiffer construction has been made. No news on price, but it is expected to be a touch more than the current £29,995. Click here to read more, via Car Throttle. If you wish to see Matt Prior tell you more, click this Autocar video link.

Honda 0 Series saloon

Honda revealed their 0 Series saloon at CES 2024. This appears to be almost identical to the concept they revealed at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2003. But this summed up the general vibe from automotive CES, desperation and misses. If you wish to learn more about this concept click here for the Autocar link.

Yangwang U9 saloon

Yangwang, the luxury arm of the BYD group, has revealed their third vehicle, the U9 saloon. Boasting over 1000bhp, this car is aimed squarely at the BMW i5 and Mercedes-Benz EQE. Likely to cost over £100,000 in China, there is no news on it coming to the UK. Click this Autocar link to read more.

Kia ‘Platform Beyond Vehicle’ vans and more

Once again, at CES, Kia revealed their vision for a full ecosystem which incorporates a variety of light commercial vehicles, bespoke palletisation of goods, robotics, utilisation of AI and smart city technologies. If you wish to get a glimpse at Kia’s version of the future, click this CAR link here.

Volkswagen to add ChatGPT to their operating system

VW announced at, you guessed it, CES, that they will be adding ChatGPT to their operating system to help improve the interactions between occupants and the car. Guess the chap’s reaction to this. If you wish to see what it looks like when a company panics, click this link to read more from The Verge.

Why ChatGPT is a bad idea in cars

To read more on the links between the ‘leaders’ pushing these systems and eugenics, click the following links;

A LinkedIn post summarising and linking to a talk from Timnit Gebru.

Timnit Gebru Mastodon thread with an example of this thinking.

For a quick snapshot of some of the legal issues hitting LLMs, click the following link;

A timeline of the legal cases against companies deploying AI such as OpenAI, Microsoft, DeviantArt and more.

The environmental impact has not really been mentioned much, but the links below explain some of the issues;

The direct impact on Iowa.

More information on the environmental impact.

Behind the curtains, there is a lot of human work going on to make “AI” look like it is all computers, many of these people are being exploited;

An explanation as to what humans are doing that companies are trying to hide.

The results from inputs have been well documented as being anything from poor to dangerous, below are a couple of links explaining this;

The New Zealand store that ‘created’ a cook book with poisonous ingredients.

LLMs false race-based medical information.

Mercedes to add more screens, remove buttons and add ChatGPT to more cars

Mercedes are another German car company seemingly panicking and deciding throwing more tech at the inside of their cars is the way forward. They revealed full width screens, which begs the question, at what point are these labelled a distraction. Not content with that, they have decided to add ChatGPT to more cars, following the testing with some US customers. See above for why that is a bad idea. To read more on what they are proposing, click this Autocar article link here.

DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: MASSIMO FRASCELLA LEAVES JLR

There was shock news from JLR as Design Director, Massimo Frascella suddenly announced he was leaving the company. There is no indication where he is moving to. Click this Car Design News article here.

LUNCHTIME READ: THE CYBERTRUCK ENCAPSULATES A DYSTOPIAN FUTURE WHERE THE US IS SLIDING INTO LAWLESSNESS

This week we bring you a critique of the Cybertruck design and what it says about society. Written by James McLachlan, editor of Car Design News, he makes a strong case for how the ethos behind such a vehicle should worry us all. Click here to read more from Dezeen.

Related and an extra bonus, we link to LookingOut’s last video where they too discuss the Cybertruck and touch on similar themes. Click here for the YouTube link.

LIST OF THE WEEK: THE 60 MOST BEAUTIFUL CARS EVER MADE

Autocar bring us all many options for the most beautiful cars ever made. Some of them even are beautiful too! Click here to run through the slideshow and let us know if you agree with Andrew and Alan.

AND FINALLY: PETROLBLOG IS BACK

We are celebrating the news that PetrolBlog is back. Both the website and YouTube channel have new content. Always brilliant to see when MajorGav manages to produce stuff for his own site. Click here to watch the latest video, then check out what else is there and on the website. Glad you’re back Gav!