Fan Fiction - 2 November 2021

UK GOVERNMENT CONSULTING ON THE FUTURE OF TRANSPORT

The Government has launched a consultation on the future of transport, looking at vehicles parts and equipment and engines of non-road mobile machinery. They are looking to cover everything from road vehicles, to trailers, to farm machinery etc. The aim is to ensure there is applicable regulatory powers and framework for security, environmental and safety performances. Added to this they wish the outcomes to tackle tampering as well as improving compliance. This is a big task but has caused a ripple of fear due to the unintended consequences that could come out of this. To read more, click the official website here.

GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED AUTUMN BUDGET

The Chancellor of the Exchequer finally announced his budget in Parliament, with some good news for motorists. The freeze on fuel duty remains in place. He also described the monies being allocated to pothole repair, regional public transport and helping the Outer Hebrides host a round of the Extreme E championship. To read more from Autocar, click the link here. To see how much of the pledged money is new for regional public transport, click the BBC News article here.

JLR Q2 LOSS DUE TO CHIP SHORTAGE

Jaguar Land Rover made a loss of £302 million in the quarter from July to September, this year, on the back of the global chip shortage. The news is not all bad though, as they state they have record numbers of orders placed. To read more, click the Autocar article here.

JRL JOINS TESLA EMISSION CREDIT POOL

Jaguar Land Rover announced that it is to join the CO2 pool that Tesla has, to offset the fines that would be imposed for fleet CO2 levels, from the EU. To read more, click the Autocar article here.

UK FUELS PRICES AT RECORD LEVELS

Over half of the UK is forced to pay more for petrol and diesel than in 2012, the previous record year. To read more, click here for the YesAuto article.

PLUG-IN HYBRIDS NO LONGER EXEMPT OF LONDON C-CHARGE

The rules for exemptions of London’s Congestion Charge have changed, with plug-in hybrids now having to pay the same as other non-exempt vehicles. As a reminder, EVs will also be paying the charge from 2025. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here.

BP AND PIAGGIO TO DEVELOP SMALL EVS FOR ASIA AND EUROPE

BP and Piaggio are working together to develop two and three-wheel EVs for European and Asian markets. The vehicles will be focused on urban areas to help reduce congestion and...

UK GOVERNMENT CONSULTING ON THE FUTURE OF TRANSPORT

The Government has launched a consultation on the future of transport, looking at vehicles parts and equipment and engines of non-road mobile machinery. They are looking to cover everything from road vehicles, to trailers, to farm machinery etc. The aim is to ensure there is applicable regulatory powers and framework for security, environmental and safety performances. Added to this they wish the outcomes to tackle tampering as well as improving compliance. This is a big task but has caused a ripple of fear due to the unintended consequences that could come out of this. To read more, click the official website here.

GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED AUTUMN BUDGET

The Chancellor of the Exchequer finally announced his budget in Parliament, with some good news for motorists. The freeze on fuel duty remains in place. He also described the monies being allocated to pothole repair, regional public transport and helping the Outer Hebrides host a round of the Extreme E championship. To read more from Autocar, click the link here. To see how much of the pledged money is new for regional public transport, click the BBC News article here.

JLR Q2 LOSS DUE TO CHIP SHORTAGE

Jaguar Land Rover made a loss of £302 million in the quarter from July to September, this year, on the back of the global chip shortage. The news is not all bad though, as they state they have record numbers of orders placed. To read more, click the Autocar article here.

JRL JOINS TESLA EMISSION CREDIT POOL

Jaguar Land Rover announced that it is to join the CO2 pool that Tesla has, to offset the fines that would be imposed for fleet CO2 levels, from the EU. To read more, click the Autocar article here.

UK FUELS PRICES AT RECORD LEVELS

Over half of the UK is forced to pay more for petrol and diesel than in 2012, the previous record year. To read more, click here for the YesAuto article.

PLUG-IN HYBRIDS NO LONGER EXEMPT OF LONDON C-CHARGE

The rules for exemptions of London’s Congestion Charge have changed, with plug-in hybrids now having to pay the same as other non-exempt vehicles. As a reminder, EVs will also be paying the charge from 2025. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here.

BP AND PIAGGIO TO DEVELOP SMALL EVS FOR ASIA AND EUROPE

BP and Piaggio are working together to develop two and three-wheel EVs for European and Asian markets. The vehicles will be focused on urban areas to help reduce congestion and pollution, initially in India where already ICE two and three-wheeled vehicles account for a lot of traffic. To find out more, click here for the Auto Futures article.

TESLA PULLS FSD

Tesla pulled it’s ‘Full Self Driving’ software from customer cars after the company decided it was not suitable for the roads. What also transpired is that AEB and Forward Collision Warning was turned off, but owners were not informed. To read more, click the Automotive News Europe article here and the Tweet from Mahmood Hikmet here.

DUTCH FORENSIC LAB CRACKS TESLA DRIVING CODE

A lab working for the Dutch Government has announced that they have reverse engineered Tesla’s driving code and found out the company records a lot more info than had been previously declared. To find out more, click the Reuters article here.

MCLAREN CEO SUDDENLY DEPARTS

Mike Flewitt made the surprise announcement that he is stepping down as McLaren CEO. As interim boss, new Board member Michael Macht will take over some of the responsibilities, with Paul Walsh adding marketing, sales and PR operations to his role as executive chairman. To read more, click the Autocar article here.

WIRRAL TO TRIAL ‘SCHOOL STREETS’

Wirral Council will trial the introduction of ‘School Streets’ in some areas, which closes the roads to most vehicle traffic at drop off and pick up times. The hope is that air quality improves, confidence to use more active travel options and improve safety around school gates by reducing the congestion. To read more, click the Birkenhead News article here.

JLR WIN A CASE AGAINST INEOS AT LAST

Jaguar Land Rover has won their fight to have the Defender 110 and 90 registered as 3D trademarks. To read more, click the Tweet from Ed Callow here.

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NEW NEW CAR NEWS

Follow Up: MG ZS EV

Recently the chaps discussed the updating of the MG ZS EV, but at the time there was no indication as to the price. That has now been confirmed, with the range starting at £28,495 with the £2,500 Government plug-in grant. To refresh your memory on the changes to the car, click here for the Autocar article.

Toyota bZ4X

The first full EV from Toyota, on their new dedicated platform, has been revealed, the bZ4X, which is a RAV4 sized SUV with a 280 mile range and lots of guarantees on battery quality and lifespan. This is the first of many EVs to come from the Japanese manufacturer. To find out more, click the Autocar article here.

Range Rover

The next generation Range Rover has been revealed, with very much an evolution of the design. The car will be packed with technology and the LWB version will have a huge amount of space for passengers. The range will have ICE engine, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and full EV options. To read more about this very important vehicle for JLR, click here for the Autocar article.

WRC: 2022 CALENDAR

To see the nearly complete 2022 calendar for WRC, click the official WRC tweet here.

WRC: HYUNDAI TESTING RALLY1 CAR

Hyundai have cleverly held a controlled three day test of next season’s Rally1 cars, in simulated rally event conditions. They have gone through all of the aspects of being at an event and what they need to consider and plan for with the new cars. To find out more, click the DirtFish article here.

LUNCHTIME READ: THE INTERSECTION OF CARS AND ARCHITECTURE

This article is about a book, called Carchitecture Houses with Horsepower, which celebrates stunning architecture celebrating owner’s cars. The photographs are gorgeous, as you would imagine, and has us scrambling to our favourite local book store to get a copy. To find out more, click the Hagerty article here.

LIST OF THE WEEK: THE CARS THAT ARE CULTS

Amazingly, this does not include Tesla, but more expected cars and one you won’t! An excellent list that the chaps could’ve picked a number of cars from. Run through the slide show and let them know what would be your No.1 choice. To see the options, click the Autocar article here.

AND FINALLY: AUTOCAR ARTICLE

Congratulations to the team at Autocar for digitising over 6000 issues for their archive project. You can access this resource for a fee too. To find out more click the link here.