Wine Cooler and Drinks Tray - 8 December 2020

FOLLOW UP: ASTON MARTIN ANNOUNCE INTERNAL INVESTIGATION

Tobias Moers, the CEO of Aston Martin, has announced that there will be an internal investigation into the involvement of the company in the report that has been so thoroughly debunked, in terms of the information supplied, after questions were raised over the connection between the PR company that produced the report and individuals within or close to the company. To read more, click The Guardian article here.

NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR NOVEMBER 2020

The SMMT has released the November New Car Registration figures, which are predictably down on last year, due to the lockdown that England went into. Of note is that electric cars, in some shape or form, exceeded the amount of diesel cars registered for the first time. To read more, click the SMMT article here.

COMPETITION WATCHDOG TURNS EYES ON CHARGING NETWORK

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is investigating the electric vehicle charging industry to see that a competitive and fair market develops. There is an ‘invitation to comment’ open on the CMA website, until 5 January 2021. To read more, click the Autocar article here.

VOLKSWAGEN R BOSS LEAVES THE BRAND

For the second time, in five years, Jost Capito, has left the VW R performance division, with lots of talk of ‘differences of opinion’ in the future direction after the announcement that VW was walking away from motorsport. To read more, click the Autocar article here.

THE SPEED RECORD THAT NEVER WAS

Thomas Davies, claimed via PistonHeads, that he made the John O’Groats to Lands End journey in a record nine hours and 36 minutes, which would’ve meant an average speed of 89mph. He was taken to court in Truro, charged with dangerous driving and two counts of perverting the course of justice. He was cleared of these charges as there was no actual proof that what he said was what he really did. To read more, click the BBC News article here.

UBER ‘SELLS’ AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE DIVISION TO AURORA

Uber has moved their autonomous vehicle division to Aurora, a self-driving start-up. In order for this to happen, Uber is investing $400 million in Aurora. To read more, click the Reuters article here. To view a more acerbic dive into what the deal means, click Cory Docterow’s thread from Twitter here.

HAYNES ANNOUNCES THE END OF PUBLISHED NEW VEHICLE MANUALS

Haynes, the publisher of repair manuals since 1966, has announced that new vehicle manuals will no longer be published, however,...

FOLLOW UP: ASTON MARTIN ANNOUNCE INTERNAL INVESTIGATION

Tobias Moers, the CEO of Aston Martin, has announced that there will be an internal investigation into the involvement of the company in the report that has been so thoroughly debunked, in terms of the information supplied, after questions were raised over the connection between the PR company that produced the report and individuals within or close to the company. To read more, click The Guardian article here.

NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR NOVEMBER 2020

The SMMT has released the November New Car Registration figures, which are predictably down on last year, due to the lockdown that England went into. Of note is that electric cars, in some shape or form, exceeded the amount of diesel cars registered for the first time. To read more, click the SMMT article here.

COMPETITION WATCHDOG TURNS EYES ON CHARGING NETWORK

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is investigating the electric vehicle charging industry to see that a competitive and fair market develops. There is an ‘invitation to comment’ open on the CMA website, until 5 January 2021. To read more, click the Autocar article here.

VOLKSWAGEN R BOSS LEAVES THE BRAND

For the second time, in five years, Jost Capito, has left the VW R performance division, with lots of talk of ‘differences of opinion’ in the future direction after the announcement that VW was walking away from motorsport. To read more, click the Autocar article here.

THE SPEED RECORD THAT NEVER WAS

Thomas Davies, claimed via PistonHeads, that he made the John O’Groats to Lands End journey in a record nine hours and 36 minutes, which would’ve meant an average speed of 89mph. He was taken to court in Truro, charged with dangerous driving and two counts of perverting the course of justice. He was cleared of these charges as there was no actual proof that what he said was what he really did. To read more, click the BBC News article here.

UBER ‘SELLS’ AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE DIVISION TO AURORA

Uber has moved their autonomous vehicle division to Aurora, a self-driving start-up. In order for this to happen, Uber is investing $400 million in Aurora. To read more, click the Reuters article here. To view a more acerbic dive into what the deal means, click Cory Docterow’s thread from Twitter here.

HAYNES ANNOUNCES THE END OF PUBLISHED NEW VEHICLE MANUALS

Haynes, the publisher of repair manuals since 1966, has announced that new vehicle manuals will no longer be published, however, they will continue to print existing manuals. For new cars, they will go digital only. To read more, click the Autocar article here.

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FORMULA E: BMW ANNOUNCE DEPARTURE FROM SERIES

Almost before we managed to publish last week’s show, with Andrew fearing that this may be the start of an exodus from the series, BMW announced they would be following Audi and leaving Formula E at the same time. BMW say they are now focused on launching new EV models and have got what they can from Formula E. To read more, click The Race article here.

Sam Smith has written an interesting article regarding the recent news that both Audi and BMW are leaving. He is fearful that the management team, of the series, has become complacent with where they are, what value they give and their communications strategy. There is also the fear that both Porsche and Mercedes are questioning their commitment to the Gen3 rules. To read more, click The Race article here.

WRC: MONZA DELIVERS THRILLS AND SPILLS

We wondered if there would be anything unexpected happening at Monza this weekend, as it is WRC, and that was certainly the case. Coming into the event Evans was top of the standings, with team mate Ogier his only real competition. With tricky, slippery conditions in the mud and wet on Day 1 Evans kept his nose clean whilst Sordo and Lappi swapped positions for the lead. However, Day 2 saw snow in the mountains, with tragedy for Evans as he slid wide and off the road, his race and championship was shot. Credit to him for standing there the entire stage and warning approaching drivers of the treacherous conditions. Ogier went on to wrap up a seventh World Championship and the win at Monza. Hyundai won the manufacturers title. To read more about the event and results, click the DirtFish article here.

To read Colin Clark’s Driver Ratings, click the DirtFish article here.

To read the DirtFish What We Learned article, click here.

LUNCHTIME READ: 2021 - IT’S GOING TO BE OUTSTANDING

Chris Pollitt, writing for Car & Classic, has written an uplifting piece about how 2021 is looking really good, for the classic car scene. To read more, click the link here.

LIST OF THE WEEK: 2020’s WORST AUTOMOTIVE CHRISTMAS GIFTS

Every year we look forward to the overpriced tat that manufacturers think they can get away with selling, for that special someone who needs a toasting ford with a Ford logo on it - we have just made that up, but if we see it being sold they’ll hear from our lawyers! So, click through the YesAuto article here, listing some wonderfully dreadful merchandise car makers have decided deserves their badge.

AND FINALLY: 2CV DRAG RACING FOR CHARITY

The video we have all been waiting for has finally been published, Andrew Frankel taking on Chris Harris in a drag race, in their own 2CVs, in a field. To watch that, click the link here and don’t forget, they’re doing this for Mission Motorsport, so if you can add a few pounds to their coffers please do so!