More Exercise Than Being Dead - 6 October 2020

NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES - SEPTEMBER 2020

As we all know, September is a ‘new-plate’ month which traditionally is a higher registration month. There are some surprises, including who is Number 1 of the Top 10! Another interesting point was how close the number was to last year, even though there is the current global situation. To read more, click the SMMT article here.

UK EU DEAL BLOW TO MANUFACTURERS

Following the latest round of negotiations between the UK and the European Union, manufacturers discovered rules about car parts country of origin means those from Turkey and Japan will not be considered British. This matter will also hit electric cars, which were part of a separate request to be considered British even with most parts coming from outside of Britain and the EU. To read more on this, click the BBC News article here. Following this news, Nissan, Toyota and other manufacturers have announced that they will seek compensation for tariffs imposed following conclusion of negotiations. To read more, click the Twitter thread from Pernille Rudlin here.

REVIEW INTO ROAD SAFETY AROUND NORTHAMPTONSHIRE US BASE

Following the tragic death of Harry Dunn, Grant Shapps has announced a review into road safety around 10 US bases in the UK, including RAF Croughton the scene of the collision. The review will start this month. To read more, click the Northamptonshire Times here.

DVLA LAUNCHES ONLINE V5C LOG BOOK SERVICE

Back in June the DVLA launched an online service to update the V5C logbook, which was such a success that they are introducing a new service that will allow owners to apply for a duplicate logbook online. Again, this should cut waiting times from six weeks to five days. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here.

E-SCOOTERS SHOULD BE LEGALISED IN UK

Parliament’s Transport Committee has called on the Government to legalise the use of scooters on UK roads, within the next 18 months. This would mean private individuals would be able to use a scooter, in the same way they can a bicycle. To read more, click the Sky News article here.

EURO NCAP INTRODUCES DRIVER ASSISTANCE TECHNOLOGY SAFETY RATING

As more technology is legislated for and introduced by manufacturers, assisting drivers, the need has arisen to review the systems and score them. NCAP has introduced the first such grading in Europe for technology such as lane keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, braking and driver monitoring. To read more about the ratings, click the Motoring Research article here.

FORD OF BRITAIN BOSS TAKES TEMPORARY LEAVE OF ABSENCE.

Andy Barratt, the MD of Ford of Britain, is taking a temporary leave of absence with Lisa Brankin, sales director, stepping into his shoes. To read more, click the Car Dealer article...

NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES - SEPTEMBER 2020

As we all know, September is a ‘new-plate’ month which traditionally is a higher registration month. There are some surprises, including who is Number 1 of the Top 10! Another interesting point was how close the number was to last year, even though there is the current global situation. To read more, click the SMMT article here.

UK EU DEAL BLOW TO MANUFACTURERS

Following the latest round of negotiations between the UK and the European Union, manufacturers discovered rules about car parts country of origin means those from Turkey and Japan will not be considered British. This matter will also hit electric cars, which were part of a separate request to be considered British even with most parts coming from outside of Britain and the EU. To read more on this, click the BBC News article here. Following this news, Nissan, Toyota and other manufacturers have announced that they will seek compensation for tariffs imposed following conclusion of negotiations. To read more, click the Twitter thread from Pernille Rudlin here.

REVIEW INTO ROAD SAFETY AROUND NORTHAMPTONSHIRE US BASE

Following the tragic death of Harry Dunn, Grant Shapps has announced a review into road safety around 10 US bases in the UK, including RAF Croughton the scene of the collision. The review will start this month. To read more, click the Northamptonshire Times here.

DVLA LAUNCHES ONLINE V5C LOG BOOK SERVICE

Back in June the DVLA launched an online service to update the V5C logbook, which was such a success that they are introducing a new service that will allow owners to apply for a duplicate logbook online. Again, this should cut waiting times from six weeks to five days. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here.

E-SCOOTERS SHOULD BE LEGALISED IN UK

Parliament’s Transport Committee has called on the Government to legalise the use of scooters on UK roads, within the next 18 months. This would mean private individuals would be able to use a scooter, in the same way they can a bicycle. To read more, click the Sky News article here.

EURO NCAP INTRODUCES DRIVER ASSISTANCE TECHNOLOGY SAFETY RATING

As more technology is legislated for and introduced by manufacturers, assisting drivers, the need has arisen to review the systems and score them. NCAP has introduced the first such grading in Europe for technology such as lane keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, braking and driver monitoring. To read more about the ratings, click the Motoring Research article here.

FORD OF BRITAIN BOSS TAKES TEMPORARY LEAVE OF ABSENCE.

Andy Barratt, the MD of Ford of Britain, is taking a temporary leave of absence with Lisa Brankin, sales director, stepping into his shoes. To read more, click the Car Dealer article here.

LOTUS GAINS GOVERNMENT BACKED FUNDING TO DEVELOP NEW EV PLATFORM

Lotus has won funding from the Advanced Propulsion Centre, backed by Government funding, after they submitted the winning application for the Advanced Route to Market Demonstrator competition. They will work with their partners to further develop their lightweight electric vehicle architecture, with the help of this funding. To read more, click the Autocar article here.

EX-VW BOSS NEW CEO OF PIËCH AUTOMOTIVE

Matthias Müller, the ex-boss of Volkswagen, has been named as Chairman of Pïech Automotive, an EV start-up founded by Toni Piëch son of the late Ferdinand Piëch. To read more, click the Autocar article 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

——————————————————————————-

FORMULA E: NISSAN STARTING NEXT SEASON WITH OLD POWER-TRAIN

In order to help teams with costs in transitioning to the new rules for the 2020/21 Season, they can start the new season with the old power-train as long as they introduce it before the first European round. Nissan are not expected to be alone in this approach, thanks to the pandemic hampering testing and development. To read more, click The Race article here.

FORMULA E: CALENDAR STRUGGLES ONGOING

Sam Smith has written a very interesting piece for The Race, about the struggles that are ongoing for Formula E to run their first World Championship season. The coronavirus pandemic has meant contingency plans have to be put in place if the ratified locations cannot host the rounds, as hoped. The article gives is all a little peak at the herculean efforts that are underway to make sure the series takes place, is viable to all participating and attractive to fans and sponsors alike. To read through the struggles, click the link here.

WRC HYBRID DEADLINES PASSES WITHOUT HYUNDAI SIGNATURE

The FIA imposed deadline, of the end of September, for all parties to be signed up to the new hybrid technology agreement has been and gone, without full agreement from all the teams. Hyundai are still discussing various matters with WRC and the provider Compact Dynamics. Whilst Toyota and Ford have agreed, there is real fear Hyundai could just walk away. To read more about this incredibly complicated matter, click the DirtFish article here.

A reminder, WRC Sardinia is taking place this week. Always an exciting event, it will be interesting to see what difference an October date makes.

MISSION MOTORSPORT RACE OF REMEMBRANCE - #YOURROR CAMPAIGN

Mission Motorsport, an organisation founded on the back of overcoming challenges, has decided they will not let the cancellation of this year’s event mean that it passes without marking the weekend. They are asking all supporters of the event to do something to help raise funds and commemorate the weekend. To find out more, click the Mission Motorsport article here. To see James Cameron’s video announcing the campaign, click the Tweet here.

LUNCHTIME READ: LONE RIDER REVIEW

The Lunchtime Read is a book review, from Jalopnik’s Elizabeth Blackstock, talking about the solo adventures of Elspeth Beard who decided to ride a BMW motorbike around the world, starting in 1982. The story is so amazing that the chaps will be adding it to their buying list immediately. To read more, click the link here.

LIST OF THE WEEK: MOST EXTRAVAGANT OPTIONAL EXTRAS YOU CAN BUY

During these times we need some ridiculousness, well look no further than what you can spec for a car, if you so wish and have the oodles of cash required. To run through the list, click the Autocar article here. Don’t forget to tweet the chaps what choice you would make!

AND FINALLY: LEGO CRASH TESTING

Becky Miller, a Senior Research Engineer at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) organisation, decided to fill some of the tedious lockdown hours with a return to her childhood studies, crash testing Lego cars. Watch the video of this wonderful work by clicking the Tweet here.

AND FINALLY FINALLY: ZOOM ZOOMERS CALL

Alan takes part in a gathering of folks from the motoring world, on a Monday night, run by Damien Cross. If you would like to see last Monday’s meet up please click the YouTube link here.