Facial Gymnastics - 16 November 2021

Motoring Podcast - News Show

FOLLOW UP: VW LOSES APPEAL IN SUPREME COURT

Volkswagen has lost their appeal, in the US Supreme Court, to have claims for damages brought by individual states thrown out. VW felt that the rules only allowed the federal government to make claims for damages under the Clean Air Act. This means the potential for further financial penalties is very real, with Ohio along with counties in Florida and Utah prosecuting Volkswagen and Bosch. To read more, click the Reuters article here.

FOLLOW UP: TOWING RULES CHANGE POSTPONED

The change in rules, to allow more people to tow larger trailers, has been quietly postponed, with no date yet given as when they will come into force. To see more, click the tweet from @thelorryist who shared the screenshot of the official site amendment, by clicking the link here.

FOLLOW UP: “WINNER” OF UK EV CHARGER COMPETITION SHOWN

The Government has revealed the “iconic” charger, for the UK, following work from Royal School of Art and PA Consulting. The design is meant to put ‘ease of use and accessibility’ at the heart of the final product. To read more, about this underwhelming concept, click here for the Autocar article.

STRIKE ACTION NOT VOTED THROUGH AT DVLA

Strike action will not be taking place at DVLA’s headquarters, in Swansea, as there wasn’t enough votes registered. There has been a long running dispute over the safety of staff, from Covid issues, which prompted this latest move by the unions. To read more, click here for the YesAuto article.

COP 26 SOME OEMS SIGN SOME DO NOT

At the recent COP 26 global gathering, to discuss and plan our way out of the climate crisis we have, some manufacturers pledged to aim for deadlines well in the future to stop selling internal combustion engined vehicles, in some markets. On the surface it looks like hitting the targets already stated by many Governments. Not every company agreed to this but as Alan argues, does it matter if a piece of paper is signed if they are actually doing it? To find out more, click the Autocar article here.

UK BATTERY INDUSTRY LOSES CHEMICAL FIRMS INVOLVEMENT

Johnson Matthey, who were partners for a number of battery production firms, in the UK, has announced they are pulling out of the market and will now focus on decarbonising chemicals in the supply chain and hydrogen technologies. This is a blow to the UK industry. For more information, click here to read the Autocar article.

TVR IN JOINT VENTURE WITH MINING COMPANY

TVR has announced a joint venture with Ensorcia Metals, a lithium mining company, who will bring cash to help develop the V8 Griffiths and EV technology for future models. To read more and make up your own mind on whether we will actually see any Griffiths on the road, click the Auotcar article here.

BRITISH BUILT EV BUSES IN TRIAL

Electric double deckers buses, with a range in the region of 300 miles, will begin trials next year. Norfolk based Equipmake, Spanish coachbuilder Beulas and London’s largest bus operator are partnering up to investigate the viability of such vehicles. To find out more, click here for the Autocar article. ——————————————————————————-

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NEW NEW CAR NEWS

Volkswagen Tiago

The VW Tiago, is known as the Nivus in South America, has been tweaked and brought to Europe next year. Starting at £21,960 and based on the same platform as the Polo and T-Cross, it is a B segment coupe SUV. For more information, click here for the Autocar article.

Subaru Solterra

Subaru will be revealing their new EV SUV, the Solterra, at the LA Motor Show. You will be unsurprised to hear that due to co-developing this with Toyota (who call their version the bZ4X, if you remember) that it looks almost identical to Toyota’s version. More details are due when they pull the covers off at LA. To find out more now though, click the Autocar article here.

LUNCHTIME WATCH: NEC CLASSIC CAR SHOW 2021

Alan went to an event last weekend, the NEC Classic Car Show. He met lots of lovely people, some of whom he even remembers their name (as well as actually meeting them!). You can hear him tell Andrew what a fab time he had and also, watch Ian Seabrook’s two ace videos from the show here. For Video 1, click this link. After that has whetted your appetite, click here for Video 2.

LIST OF THE WEEK: GOOD, BAD OR UGLY? THE BIGGEST AUTOMOTIVE FADS

You can run through the Autocar sideshow of some of the more memorable fads to have struck the motoring world. Once you’ve been through, don’t forget to tell the chaps which is your favourite one and why. To have a look, click this link here.

AND FINALLY: UK P1800 GASSER WINS HOT WHEELS LEGEND STATUS

The UK based Volvo P1800 gasser that was the UK’s entry into the global finals for the next Hot Wheels Legend car has been picked as the overall winner! The car screams Hot Wheels and we are delighted for Lee Johnstone. To find out more, click the Elan PR post here.