Like The Big Boys - 6 September 2022

FOLLOW UP: RIVIAN NOT INTERESTED IN UK

According to filings in August, Rivian made it clear that it would not consider the UK as the base for a factory due to the data laws, existing and proposed changes. On the surface, it would appear that Rivian wants to do what it likes with owner’s data and also it naively insists on housing all data in the US, which is not how countries are approaching data creating in their boarders. For more, click this Twitter thread from Vincent Manancourt.

NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES AUGUST 2022

An increase of 1.2% on last year’s figures is a welcome sight, but it must also be remembered that 2021 was the worst August since 2013. EVs continued to increase their market share, even with constrained supply chains. SMMT has, though, warned of the energy price increases adding to the struggles for the industry. To read more, click the SMMT article here.

BMW BEGINS HYDROGEN FUEL CELL VEHICLE PRODUCTION

BMW are building a small fleet of iX5 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for testing and denonstration, at their Munich plant. BMW has been working with Toyota over this technology. BMW seem to think it has a place for personal mobility, whilst many believe it is best suited to commercial vehicles. To read more, click the AMOnline article link here.

RENAULT HARVESTS USED PARTS FROM OLDER LORRIES

Renault is disassembling old lorries to collect the parts that are still usable. This is all part of the ‘Renaulution’ plan to bring recycling in-house and reduce costs on parts and materials. You can find out more, by clicking this link for the Jalopnik article.

FIRST BUS ORDERS 193 EV BUSES

First Bus has placed a large EV order with Wrightbus, to be fulfilled within the next two years. York, Portsmouth, Leicester, Leeds and Norwich will all be getting these buses. Just under half the money is coming from from the Department for Transport’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Area grant. More can be learned by clicking this Move Electric link here.

POLESTAR AND CITROËN SETTLE LOGO DISPUTE

In France, Citroën objected to Polestar selling as they claimed the Swedish company’s logo was too similar to the famous double chevrons and would confuse buyers. Following a lengthy legal battle the two companies settled out of court, with the exact agreement still not known. All very silly. Only the lawyers won, as is usually the case. To read about this, click the CarScoops article link here.

POLICE GAME WAZE TO CONTROL TRAFFIC

Police in Surrey have admitted that they ‘game’ Waze, pretending there are more of them around that is the reality to get people to slow down. Whilst on patrol they...

FOLLOW UP: RIVIAN NOT INTERESTED IN UK

According to filings in August, Rivian made it clear that it would not consider the UK as the base for a factory due to the data laws, existing and proposed changes. On the surface, it would appear that Rivian wants to do what it likes with owner’s data and also it naively insists on housing all data in the US, which is not how countries are approaching data creating in their boarders. For more, click this Twitter thread from Vincent Manancourt.

NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES AUGUST 2022

An increase of 1.2% on last year’s figures is a welcome sight, but it must also be remembered that 2021 was the worst August since 2013. EVs continued to increase their market share, even with constrained supply chains. SMMT has, though, warned of the energy price increases adding to the struggles for the industry. To read more, click the SMMT article here.

BMW BEGINS HYDROGEN FUEL CELL VEHICLE PRODUCTION

BMW are building a small fleet of iX5 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for testing and denonstration, at their Munich plant. BMW has been working with Toyota over this technology. BMW seem to think it has a place for personal mobility, whilst many believe it is best suited to commercial vehicles. To read more, click the AMOnline article link here.

RENAULT HARVESTS USED PARTS FROM OLDER LORRIES

Renault is disassembling old lorries to collect the parts that are still usable. This is all part of the ‘Renaulution’ plan to bring recycling in-house and reduce costs on parts and materials. You can find out more, by clicking this link for the Jalopnik article.

FIRST BUS ORDERS 193 EV BUSES

First Bus has placed a large EV order with Wrightbus, to be fulfilled within the next two years. York, Portsmouth, Leicester, Leeds and Norwich will all be getting these buses. Just under half the money is coming from from the Department for Transport’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Area grant. More can be learned by clicking this Move Electric link here.

POLESTAR AND CITROËN SETTLE LOGO DISPUTE

In France, Citroën objected to Polestar selling as they claimed the Swedish company’s logo was too similar to the famous double chevrons and would confuse buyers. Following a lengthy legal battle the two companies settled out of court, with the exact agreement still not known. All very silly. Only the lawyers won, as is usually the case. To read about this, click the CarScoops article link here.

POLICE GAME WAZE TO CONTROL TRAFFIC

Police in Surrey have admitted that they ‘game’ Waze, pretending there are more of them around that is the reality to get people to slow down. Whilst on patrol they indicate a location they are at, for a very specific time, but that users of the app will think are still there. This does not directly break any of Waze’s rules. More can be found about this by clicking The Register’s link here.

AURORA AV COMPANY LEAKS CONCERNING MEMO

Aurora, who are seen by the media as one of the more likely autonomous vehicle developers to succeed has accidentally leaked a memo due only for the board of directors. This lays out options for reducing the expenditure of the company, as well as hopes for who could buy them out.

CRUISE RECALLS AV FLEET FROM PUBLIC ROADS

Following an incident that injured two people in June, Cruise has recalled all of its 80 vehicle fleet. In defence of the collision, that was not just the AVs fault, Cruise stated their software “predicted” the other vehicle would turn, but it did not. To read more, click this link to the WIRED article.

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NEW NEW CAR NEWS

Ariel Hipercar -

Ariel has revealed their carbon fibre bodies EV car. With looks along the lines of a shrunken bat mobile, this is all about form following function. Question marks remain about some of the exterior, such as the front wing vertical fins and what do they do in the event of a collision. Weighing 1445kgs, with one 295hp motor per wheel and a range of 150 miles, as well as a range extender in the form of a micro -turbine, two and four wheel options and 20 minutes of hard track driving, this seems to offer a lot. For more, click this EVO link here.

DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: JULIAN THOMSON TO HEAD UP GM ADVANCED DESIGN STUDIO

Julian Thomson has been revealed as the head of the UK-based advanced design studio, for GM. He and his team will work on GM products for all their markets. This has led to speculation that GM will be returning to Europe. To learn more, click this Auto&Design link here.

LUNCHTIME READ: THE END OF THE MANUAL TRANSMISSION

This article circulated on social media, before the summer, proclaiming the death of manual transmissions. Obviously this caused some “discussion” on social media. If nothing else it is thought provoking and Alan gives us some insight into why the US is so auto centric. To enjoy the article, click here for The Atlantic link.

LIST OF THE WEEK: 11 GROOVY CONCEPT CARS FROM THE SWINGING SIXTIES

Hagerty provides this week’s list, all about concepts from the 60s. This wonderful collection runs the breadth of styles and charts how thinking changed over the decade. Have a run through and see if you agree with Alan and Andrew’s choices. Don’t forget to tell them too! Click here to see what is on offer.

AND FINALLY: HOW TO START A MODEL COLLECTION

For our And Finally, Marian Gradus shares with Giles Chapman how he has created such a fabulous collection of model cars. He also had advice on how to fashion your own collection or not. Click here for the article link.