Sucking Through My Teeth - 4 October 2022

FOLLOW UP: PORSCHE TAKEOVER CASE DISMISSED

A court in Germany has dismissed the claims for compensation by hedge funds, relating to the failed attempt by Porsche to takeover VW, which resulted in them then being taken over by Porsche. The judge decided there was no merit, whatsoever, whilst the plaintiffs have already appealed and asked for certain judges to be excluded. More information can be found, by clicking this Automotive News Europe link here.

PATIENT GEELY BUYS STAKE IN ASTON MARTIN

Geely are not a company to be denied, it would seem. After a couple of failed attempts in buying out or taking a stake in Aston Martin, they finally managed it by purchasing 7.6% shares in the UK firm. To read more, click here for the AM Online article link.

GOVERNMENT ROAD INCIDENT STATS OUT

The 2021 road incident statistics have been released by the UK Government and in some places make grim reading. A positive is that cycling fatalities has dropped 21%, which we guess is due to a combination of people remembering how to drive again and cyclists getting used to the roads. The bad news is that road fatalities has risen 7%, with an astonishing 30% relating to not wearing a seatbelt. Click this Autocar link here for more information.

NEW CITROËN LOGO

Citroën has updated their logo, harking back to the original, with the font an evolution on the previous version. As with all the current updates to logos, this is aimed at making their use and options of what you can do with them, much easier in this digital age. To have a look at the smart makeover, click the CAR link here.

FCA WARNS INSURANCE INDUSTRY TO PROTECT CONSUMERS

The Financial Conduct Authority has warned the insurance industry to help consumers, in the current cost of living crisis, and not foist unnecessary products on them. The FCA also reminded them it expects them to help those struggling to pay, so that they do not expose themselves by not having adequate protection. Click here for the AM Online link to learn more.

CHINESE EV SALES RISE SHARPLY ACROSS EUROPE

Tying back to last week’s Lunchtime Read which mentioned how the Chinese Government effectively subsidises their EV companies so they can sell their vehicles cheaper than other companies can, figures were released showing how well that tactic is doing. Just behind and catching rapidly, the German produced percentage is the Chinese. This link, to the AM Online article, will tell you more.

WESTMINSTER COUNCIL INSTALLING LAMPPOST EV CHARGERS

Westminster Council has engaged Siemens to

FOLLOW UP: PORSCHE TAKEOVER CASE DISMISSED

A court in Germany has dismissed the claims for compensation by hedge funds, relating to the failed attempt by Porsche to takeover VW, which resulted in them then being taken over by Porsche. The judge decided there was no merit, whatsoever, whilst the plaintiffs have already appealed and asked for certain judges to be excluded. More information can be found, by clicking this Automotive News Europe link here.

PATIENT GEELY BUYS STAKE IN ASTON MARTIN

Geely are not a company to be denied, it would seem. After a couple of failed attempts in buying out or taking a stake in Aston Martin, they finally managed it by purchasing 7.6% shares in the UK firm. To read more, click here for the AM Online article link.

GOVERNMENT ROAD INCIDENT STATS OUT

The 2021 road incident statistics have been released by the UK Government and in some places make grim reading. A positive is that cycling fatalities has dropped 21%, which we guess is due to a combination of people remembering how to drive again and cyclists getting used to the roads. The bad news is that road fatalities has risen 7%, with an astonishing 30% relating to not wearing a seatbelt. Click this Autocar link here for more information.

NEW CITROËN LOGO

Citroën has updated their logo, harking back to the original, with the font an evolution on the previous version. As with all the current updates to logos, this is aimed at making their use and options of what you can do with them, much easier in this digital age. To have a look at the smart makeover, click the CAR link here.

FCA WARNS INSURANCE INDUSTRY TO PROTECT CONSUMERS

The Financial Conduct Authority has warned the insurance industry to help consumers, in the current cost of living crisis, and not foist unnecessary products on them. The FCA also reminded them it expects them to help those struggling to pay, so that they do not expose themselves by not having adequate protection. Click here for the AM Online link to learn more.

CHINESE EV SALES RISE SHARPLY ACROSS EUROPE

Tying back to last week’s Lunchtime Read which mentioned how the Chinese Government effectively subsidises their EV companies so they can sell their vehicles cheaper than other companies can, figures were released showing how well that tactic is doing. Just behind and catching rapidly, the German produced percentage is the Chinese. This link, to the AM Online article, will tell you more.

WESTMINSTER COUNCIL INSTALLING LAMPPOST EV CHARGERS

Westminster Council has engaged Siemens to install 500 lamppost EV chargers by March 2023, this will take the number of chargers in the area up to 2000. They are 5kW chargers, but do help to deal with the issue of on-street charging .Click here to read the wonderful headline and then the article explaining the story, by Move Electric.

NEW FOUR-WHEELED ESCOOTER

The Dragonfly Hyperscooter, is a four-wheeled escooter that comes in two guises, urban and more rugged off-road versions. They are great looking things, but obviously until escooters are legalised, we won’t see them in public. However, such a design should open up the market to those who are reticent to go on two-wheels or are unable to for whatever reason. Click this Move Electric link to learn more.

ARRIVAL’S FIRST BICESTER PRODUCTION MODEL IS BUILT

Arrival has built their first model on the Bicester production line. This will be used to find out what needs to be done for the full testing. Hopefully, this means that they can secure more funding as they are demonstrating that their production facilities are viable. To learn more, click this Oxford Mail link.

HOW ANYONE CAN TRACK YOUR CAR

In a rare moment of consumer reporting, we being you a Twitter thread that shows how easy and cheaply any car can be tracked, in the UK and across Europe. Do read this and see how it is done and also what limited steps you can take to protect yourself. Click for the thread. ——————————————————————————-

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

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WRC: RALLY NEW ZEALAND

Rovanperä won Rally New Zealand and in doing so became the youngest ever WRC Driver Champion. He was 22 years old and one day when he achieved this. He has been incredibly good this year, only with a wobble in the two previous events in Belgium and Greece. This has bene year to forget for M-Sport and one Hyundai will wish to put behind themselves too, after all the unedifying infighting.

To read about the rally and Rovanperä’s victory, click the DirtFish link here.

To find out what we learned, again click the DirtFish link here.

And for Colin Clark’s Driver Ratings, click the DirtFish link here.

NEW NEW CAR NEWS

Citroën Oli -

Citroën has revealed their design concept, the Oli, which is an investigation into sustainability and affordability. One of the key criteria is lightness, which has driven most of the design choices. The relatively small electric motor is good for around 247 miles, thanks to decisions on constraining the acceleration and top speed. We are big fans of clever stuff and this is very much in that bracket. Click the Autocar link here to read more.

The Zem -

A team of students from TU Eindhoven has produced a concept coupe that not only is sustainable but actually deploys technology that helps to clean up the air, by removing CO2. Admittedly, this one car removes two kilos of CO2 per 20,000 miles, but as an idea it is very clever. As with the Oli, we like this due to thinking around a problem and trying to produce a solution. To read the Autocar story, click this link.

Maserati Granturismo Folgore -

Maserati has announced details of the new Granturismo, which includes an EV to go alongside the V6 in their range. This is aiming squarely at the Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron GT. Fitted with a 93kWh battery, delivering 560kW and 997 lb ft of torque. Obviously this equates a stupidly quick 0-62mph speed and also a range up to 280 miles. Prices are yet to be released. For more, click the Move Electric story here.

LUNCHTIME WATCH: WHY THE ORIGINAL PANDA IS A DESIGN MASTERPIECE

Matteo Licata has produced two videos explaining why the original Fiat Panda is such a design masterpiece. As ever, these are wonderful videos which we know you will enjoy. For Part 1, click this YouTube link. And to see Part 2, click the YouTube link here.

LIST OF THE WEEK: 14 MULTI-SEAT FAMILY ESTATES WITH RETRO APPEAL

We are delighted to bring you a MajorGav List of the Week, thanks to Hagerty. This time he delves into the options for a family vehicle that do not involve the letters S, U and V. Click the link here and see some delightful options for you to choose. Don’t forget to tell the chaps which you’d have from the list.

AND FINALLY: HUGE ECLECTIC PRIVATE COLLECTION

Studio 434 is the focus this week. Top Gear were lucky enough to have access to the collection and tell us all about the cars and why the collection exists. There are some wonderful photos too showing a small selection of their motors. Click here to view the article.