Rapturous Joy - 7 April 2020

FOLLOW UP: VW TO FACE CLASS-ACTION IN UK

Following the ruling, this week, Volkswagen does have a case to answer in the UK class-action case over #Dieselgate. Whilst the judge has ruled, in line with several other countries, that the software and technology in certain engines is a defeat device, there is no confirmation that VW is liable in the compensation claim. To read more, but not the comments, click on the Autocar article here.

WEBSITE HELPS KEY WORKERS FIND LOCAL CAR SERVICES

A new website, called KeyworkerGarages.co.uk, has been set up by a company called Cazana to help key workers who need help with their vehicles find a local garage that is open. To read more, click here on the Motoring Research link.

240 MILES FOR LOAF OF BREAD DRIVER FINED

A driver from Nottingham has been fined under new Coronavirus rules, as well as existing road laws, after being pulled over for doing 110mph in the M1. When asked why he was on the road, he stated that he’d gone to London for bread, as it was £1.00 cheaper there. To read more, click the BBC News article here.

GIVE PEAS A CHANCE BRIDGE HAS A NEW MESSAGE

The famous bridge, which spans over the M25, that used to have ‘Give Peas A Chance’ painted on it, has now been changed to ‘Thank You NHS’. This has been met positively, unlike when ‘Heck’ was put over ‘Peas’. To read more, click the BBC News article here.

MARCH 2020 NEW CAR REGISTRATIONS

Obviously, we are not in normal times, which has been partly reflected in the new car registration figures released by SMMT, for March. Overall figures are down 44.4%, with electrified vehicles bucking the trend and showing an increase on last year, which can be aligned to new BIK rules expected from April. Andrew and Alan run through the ‘Spreadsheet of Doom’ in mercifully quick time as they only talk about the positives. To read more, click the SMMT article here.

DECARBONISING TRANSPORT IN THE UK REPORT

The Transport Secretary released a report into the plan to decarbonise UK transportation recently, which Andrew has looked at. To his, frankly, astonishment, it is well written and very interesting. Within the document, there are graphs that go to show how much passenger cars contribute to the UK’s overall emissions. The news is startling. However, it does help to explain why a large number of initiatives and ideas are focused on cars. To read it and also gain a better understanding of where we currently are and where we need to move to, click the link here.

EXTENT OF TYRE POLLUTION INVESTIGATED

As the focus of vehicle emission has been on power plants, now that they are cleaning up other elements that pollute are becoming known. Tyres have been investigated by Emissions Analytics, who has found great variations depending on the actual tyre, road...

FOLLOW UP: VW TO FACE CLASS-ACTION IN UK

Following the ruling, this week, Volkswagen does have a case to answer in the UK class-action case over #Dieselgate. Whilst the judge has ruled, in line with several other countries, that the software and technology in certain engines is a defeat device, there is no confirmation that VW is liable in the compensation claim. To read more, but not the comments, click on the Autocar article here.

WEBSITE HELPS KEY WORKERS FIND LOCAL CAR SERVICES

A new website, called KeyworkerGarages.co.uk, has been set up by a company called Cazana to help key workers who need help with their vehicles find a local garage that is open. To read more, click here on the Motoring Research link.

240 MILES FOR LOAF OF BREAD DRIVER FINED

A driver from Nottingham has been fined under new Coronavirus rules, as well as existing road laws, after being pulled over for doing 110mph in the M1. When asked why he was on the road, he stated that he’d gone to London for bread, as it was £1.00 cheaper there. To read more, click the BBC News article here.

GIVE PEAS A CHANCE BRIDGE HAS A NEW MESSAGE

The famous bridge, which spans over the M25, that used to have ‘Give Peas A Chance’ painted on it, has now been changed to ‘Thank You NHS’. This has been met positively, unlike when ‘Heck’ was put over ‘Peas’. To read more, click the BBC News article here.

MARCH 2020 NEW CAR REGISTRATIONS

Obviously, we are not in normal times, which has been partly reflected in the new car registration figures released by SMMT, for March. Overall figures are down 44.4%, with electrified vehicles bucking the trend and showing an increase on last year, which can be aligned to new BIK rules expected from April. Andrew and Alan run through the ‘Spreadsheet of Doom’ in mercifully quick time as they only talk about the positives. To read more, click the SMMT article here.

DECARBONISING TRANSPORT IN THE UK REPORT

The Transport Secretary released a report into the plan to decarbonise UK transportation recently, which Andrew has looked at. To his, frankly, astonishment, it is well written and very interesting. Within the document, there are graphs that go to show how much passenger cars contribute to the UK’s overall emissions. The news is startling. However, it does help to explain why a large number of initiatives and ideas are focused on cars. To read it and also gain a better understanding of where we currently are and where we need to move to, click the link here.

EXTENT OF TYRE POLLUTION INVESTIGATED

As the focus of vehicle emission has been on power plants, now that they are cleaning up other elements that pollute are becoming known. Tyres have been investigated by Emissions Analytics, who has found great variations depending on the actual tyre, road surface, road layouts and driving styles. Vehicles that are heavier and develop more torque increase the wear of tyres, which is potentially bad news for EVs and SUVs. However, more research is required which could possibly result in new tyre labels or even the banning of some. To read more click here for the Motoring Research article and for a more in-depth article, click here to read about it from Tire Technology.

OLD FASHIONED TOYS MAKING A COMEBACK

As a result of lockdown in the UK, there has been an increase in toys such as slot cars and model railways being purchased. Anyone who follows the podcast will know Alan has bought a remote control car that he is in the middle of constructing, now surprises that he selected a Toyota Yaris WRC. To read more about how people are trying to amuse themselves, click the Telegraph article here.

We are pausing our Patreon for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing crisis, however, if you are still able to help someone, we recommend supporting Mission Motorsport’s COVID-19 Response Fund. To find out more click this link here.

MISSED YOUTUBE RECOMMENDATIONS

In the list of online racing being suggested, Andrew forgot to add anything about WRC games, which is very remiss of him. However, we now have a link to DiRT Rally 2.0’s own official channel to their World Championship which all rally fans can access by clicking the link here.

For those who prefer to watch real-world rallying, we forgot to add the wonderful VHS Rallies YouTube channel, showing classic Group B rallies from the '80s, to wallow in crazy, ear-splitting nostalgia, click the link here.

IMSA iRACING PRO SERIES SCHEDULE

For those who love the commentary of LeMans Radio and the Team, they are still working hard even though racing has gone online. They are broadcasting the IMSA iRacing Pro Series, racing league. To find out when they are on the air, helping us to follow some excellent racing, click the link here.

HOW TO SPEND A LOT ON A SIM RACING RIG

Professional racing driver Robb Holland walks us through his dive into sim racing gear, as he explains how much he spent on setting up his own rig. This is a cautionary tale, in more ways than one, for example, you can get set up without spending anywhere near as much as he did, also maybe don’t explain to your partner how much you’ve spent! To read more, click The Drive article here.

LUNCHTIME READ: RACE AGAINST TIME

This week’s Lunchtime Read is about motorsport photographer Drew Gibson and how he took THAT fabulous shot of the Ford GTs at Spa. Some say constraints bring out the best in creatives, well that is put to the test in this story. To read more, click the Canon article here.

LIST OF THE WEEK: 14 CARS THAT ARE 50 YEARS OLD IN 2020

Just in case being cooped up wasn’t bad enough, we thought we would add to that by sharing this list of cars that are now 50 years old, which has aged us all! To run through the list of some glorious and some, erm, not so much, click the Goodwood Road & Racing article here.

AND FINALLY: KEEPING YOUR CAR IN TOP CONDITION DURING STORAGE

Harry Metcalfe has created a video to help all of us take care of our cars whilst we are off the road. To be fair, he knows a thing or two about keeping a car in top-notch condition whilst it is in storage. To have a watch, click the link here.