Motoring Podcast - News Show

Andrew had a Hyundai i20N, for a week, to see if it could be as good as so many are saying. Listen in as he chats to a jealous Alan about what he found out whilst battling his local mud strewn roads.To listen to Alan’s review of the i20 Premium, click this link here. To listen to Alan chat to Andrew about his driving day with Hyundai, that included a quick run in an i20N, click here for the link.

FOLLOW UP: PROPOSED MANCHESTER CAZ TO BE REVIEWEDGreater Manchester’s Mayor has announced that the proposed Clean Air Zone will be reviewed, ahead of the implementation on 30 May. There are concerns that it will impact businesses heavily. Andy Burnham has called on the Government to do more to support those trying to transition to cleaner vehicles. The CAZ will only charge commercial and private hire vehicles, not private cars. For more on this story, click here for the BBC News article. FOLLOW UP: OXFORD ZEZ GOES LIVE FEBRUARY 2022Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council have announced they will be opening the city’s first Zero Emission Zone (ZEZ) in February this year. Initially it will be a very small number of streets in the city centre that will charge petrol and diesel vehicles to enter. The second phase will be larger but has yet to be confirmed in size and when it will come into force. To learn more, click the Motoring Research article here. To find out more about clean air zones and if you

FOLLOW UP: CHANGES TO CHARGER RULES ROLLED BACKOver the festive period, the Government quietly rolled back some of the changes they had outlined would have to happen when it comes to installing charging points at non residential properties with a large car park. Now only new or refurbished commercial properties will be required to install at least one charging point. To read more, click The Guardian link here. FOLLOW UP: NEW GREG KELLY EVIDENCE EMERGESInformation disclosed to Asia Times seems to show that Greg Kelly is innocent of the charges brought against him, yet is still facing trial. In a damming report, outlining the tale of what happened, how both he and Ghosn were tricked and how those inside Nissan have behaved has to be read to be believed. For more information, click here for the Asia Times article. FCA RULES SHOULD REMOVE NEED TO HAGGLE INSURANCE EACH YEARNew rules from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) should mean that when it comes to renewal time we will not have to haggle to get the bes

FOLLOW UP: CHANGES TO TOWING RESTRICTIONS NOW IN FORCEAfter recently confirming that the changes to the towing rules had not, in fact, changed, we were informed by one eagle-eyed listener that as of 16 December 2021, they have changed. To find out who is allowed to do what, compared to who was allowed to what previously, click the Government’s own guidance link here. PLUG-IN CAR GRANT ALLOWANCE CHANGED AGAINOnce again , the Government has changed the eligibility of the plug-in grant with no notice at all. The criteria is that if you select a car that has a book price of less than £32,000 new, you will receive £1,500 grant, down from £35,000 and £2,500 respectively. To learn more, click here for the Motoring Research article. Some manufacturers have reduced their prices so that certain models are still capable of collecting the grant, to find out which no longer qualify at the time of recording, click the YesAuto link here. CONGESTION CHARGE TIMING ADJUSTED OVER CHRISTMASBetween Christmas Day and 3 January 2

FOLLOW UP: VW RESHUFFLE COMPLETEDVolkswagen Group announced a host of senior management changes, which didn’t occur in quite the way some reports suggested, in the previous week. The main one is that Thomas Schäfer is moving from Skoda to head up VW. Brandstätter, who was tipped to take on more responsibility from Diess is sent to head up their China operations. Added to which Diess will take control of Cariad, their software division. For more information, click here to read the Autocar article. RENAULT ZOE GETS ZERO STARS FROM EURO NCAPThe latest Renault Zoe is the third car in history to receive zero stars from Euro NCAP, but it is not just a case of safety moving on, Renault has removed part of the safety capability from the previous model, by reducing the protection to occupants with airbags. But this does bring up the worry that people may think they are buying a safe car, particularly second hand, but are in fact not. To learn more, click the Autocar article here. PEUGEOT LATEST TO ANNOUNCE ALL ELECT

The Swiss company, Bcomp produce lightweight, natural fibre composite materials and panels which are beginning to find their way into the automotive sector. Listen in as Andrew talks to Per Mårtenson about how Bcomp started, what they do and how these clever products can be used. Thank you to Per for chatting with Andrew and giving us this fascinating insight into a different material.

FOLLOW UP: MORGAN HINTS AT FUTURE DESIGNSRecently the chaps discussed the new appointment of Matthew Hole as CTO and idly wondered what that would mean for future designs. Seems Morgan heard, well, okay, they probably didn’t, but let’s not dwell on that as they have teased out some sketch designs of how future Morgan’s could look. To find out more, click the Morgan article here. NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES NOVEMBER 2021 The SMMT has published their monthly new car registration figures, for November, which shows a continued issue due to supply. To read more, click the SMMT link here. SHARP RISE IN CYCLIST DEATHS ON RURAL ROADS89 people lost their life on English rural roads, whilst cycling, in 2020, Department for Transport figures confirm. A campaign from NFU Mutual, British Cycling and British Horse Society has begun to raise awareness in driving to the conditions and dangers of rural roads. For more information, click here for the BBC News article. 1 IN 50 CARS UNINSURED ON UK ROADSThe Government has revea

ALISON JONES NAMED PRESIDENT OF SMMTAlison Jones, Stellantis VP and Country Manager for the UK, has been announced as the first female President of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. She will take up her position on 1 January 2022. Dr George Gillespie OBE, steps down after a three year tenure as President. To find out more, click the SMMT article here. UK CAR PRODUCTION WORST SINCE 1956 The continued pressures on the supply chain constrained the UK’s car production in October to on 64, 729 vehicles, the lowest since 1956. Whilst the chip shortage was a major factor, Honda permanently shutting the Swindon factory in July also impacted the figures. For more information, click here to read the Autocar article. EV CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE OPENSMilton Keynes is the preferred location for Intertek to open their electric vehicle centre of excellence, where they will test and develop EV powertrains. Costing £12 million, the centre will also develop powertrain components. To read more about this, click the Au

Alan went to Oxford for a day to try some of the new sporting and electric offerings from BMW. With the keys to everything fromt he new M3 Competition xDrive to an electric MINI, how did he get on and what new and novel insights did he gain?

FOLLOW UP: VW SHOULD’VE PUBLISHED ENGINE PLANIn a test case brought by investors in Germany, Volkswagen is accused of failing to disclose the problem from back in 2008. The judge has stated that it is on the investors to prove VW or any of their staff withheld information, but it is up to VW to prove the board not telling investors from 2012 was not grossly negligent nor deliberate. To read more, click here for the Reuters article. FOLLOW UP: CONTINENTAL EX-CEO AND EX-CFO INVESTIGATED The ex-CEO, Dagenhart, and just sacked CFO, Wolfgang Schaefer, who held their roles for Continental, are being investigated by German prosecutors over their involvement in dieselgate, specifically regarding the 1.6 litre diesel engines. To read more on this story, click the Yahoo News article here. HAND HELD DEVICES TO BE ILLEGAL BEHIND THE WHEELThe Highway Code will be updated with changes to interacting with your mobile phone, whilst driving. The loopholes that allow playing games, filming or scrolling through playlists whilst

FOLLOW UP: VW LOSES APPEAL IN SUPREME COURTVolkswagen 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 SHOWNThe 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 a

Alan had a Honda HR-V for 48 hours to find out how this 3rd generation of Honda’s left-field compact SUV coped on the roads of Northamptonshire. It’s divisive in many ways, but was it a Joy Machine?

FOLLOW UP: ENVISION SCALES BACK OUTPUT PREDICTIONEnvision, the Chinese company partnering with Renault on their battery factory, in Northern France, has lowered the predicted production output due to a change in the site’s layout. The wooded area, previously marked for demolition will now not be destroyed because it is a wildlife habitat and building there would be “complicated”. Output is now predicted to be 30 gigawatts per hour against 43 previously expected. To find out more, click the Today News Post here. OCTOBER 2021 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURESAnother month means more grim reading, with figures down 24.6% on last year, and that was hardly spectacular. Chip shortages are the main reason why. Electrified vehicles, though, helped reduce the pain. To find out more, click here for the SMMT article. TESLA RECALLS ON BACK OF SOFTWARE GLITCH A communication error, for nearly 12,000 cars sold in the US since 2017, could result in false forward collision warning and application of the automated emergency brakin

UK GOVERNMENT CONSULTING ON THE FUTURE OF TRANSPORTThe Government has launched a consultation on the future of transport, looking at vehicles parts and equipment and engines of non-road mobile machinery. They are looking to cover everything from road vehicles, to trailers, to farm machinery etc. The aim is to ensure there is applicable regulatory powers and framework for security, environmental and safety performances. Added to this they wish the outcomes to tackle tampering as well as improving compliance. This is a big task but has caused a ripple of fear due to the unintended consequences that could come out of this. To read more, click the official website here. GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED AUTUMN BUDGETThe Chancellor of the Exchequer finally announced his budget in Parliament, with some good news for motorists. The freeze on fuel duty remains in place. He also described the monies being allocated to pothole repair, regional public transport and helping the Outer Hebrides host a round of the Extreme E championsh

Andrew tried out the Suzuki Ignis 1.2 Hybrid SZ5 4WD, for a week. Find out if the chaps need to change their reviews to include small canine quantifiers, can a family of five use a four seat car and does Andrew’s lead footedness hinder the efficiency of the engine.

FOLLOW UP: VOLVO P1800 GASSER IS UK’S HOT WHEELSThe judging of the UK’s Hot Wheels candidate took place last weekend. A Volvo P1800 gasser was chosen to represent the UK in the Hot Wheels Legends Tour. To watch the Car Throttle stream of the event, click the link here. To read more about the result, click the Elan PR article here. FORD INVESTS IN HALEWOOD PLANTFord is investing £200 million in converting their Halewood transmission plant to an EV focused production line. This will safeguard 500 jobs at the plant and is a real boost to UK car manufacturing. The Government is part funding the investment. To find out more, click The Telegraph article here. TOYOTA SUED BY STEEL SUPPLIER In an incredibly rare more a Japanese supplier has sued Toyota and Chinese supplier over their use of steel technology, which Nippon Steel argues is their patent. The claim is for $177 million and for a ban on Toyota selling any cars that use the disputed technology from any other supplier buy Nippon Steel. To read more, click he

Alan spent a little while talking to mindfulness coach Christoph Spiessens about mindfulness at the wheel, how it can help and how you can start to achieve it. They also discussed four tracks that Lexus have released, created using the sounds created by Lexus cars.To listen to the tracks and read more about Lexus’ mindfulness music click this link.To listen and download the tracks from Spotify click this link.To find out more about Christoph and his work click this link.

FOLLOW UP: HYPER-MILING A MIRAI AGAINIn the United States a Toyota Mirai has driven 845 miles, on a single tank, to break the official record. The journey, which took two days, was carried out by Wayne Gerdes and Bob Winger in California at the end of August. TO find out more, click here for the Top Gear article. GENEVA MOTOR SHOW POSTPONED AGAINGeneva Motor Show has again been postponed, this time due to “industry wide issues”. To find out more, click the Autocar article here. FUNDING DROPS FOR ROAD MAINTENANCE The Local Government Association has stated that the Department of Transport (DoT) has reduced the funding for local road maintenance by about £400 million in the last year. The calculations for making the roads truly fit for purpose is an eye-water 10 billion, so to lose this amount is a huge dent in keeping the infrastructure of Britain fit for purpose. To read more, click here for the YesAuto article. BMW M DIVISION GETS A NEW OLD BOSSThe previous head of the M division, Frank van Meel, returns to

FOLLOW UP: ROLLS ROYCE 102EX CONCEPT CARIn response to Alan’s query about the wireless charging for the 2011 102EX concept car, from Rolls Royce, Dave Monks has got in touch. He confirmed that the wireless charging did work and in fact he designed it to deal with a wide range of voltages, grid frequencies and types of charging interface. There was only one model and they drove it around the world to show it working. Thank you Dave, for putting us straight! NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES SEPTEMBER 2021SMMT has released the UK’s September New Car Registration figures and they are the lowest since September 1998. On the upside, it is the best month for battery electric vehicles. Tesla is the most registered, so a boat must have docked, with the Vauxhall Corsa being the top registered car year to date. The Spreadsheet of Doom is predictably doomy. To find out more, click here for the SMMT article. FISKER APPOINTS ASTON MARTIN ENGINEER David King, the former Aston Martin engineer who was head of their Special V

Alan spent a day with Hyundai driving some of the newest additions to their range.This Special Edition includes short drive opinions of:-Tucson PHEVi20 N-Linei20NKona N-LineIONIQ 5To listen to the recent Hyundai Tucson Hybrid Twin Test Review, click this link here. To listen to the recent Hyundai i20 Premium Review, click this link here.To listen to Alan’s conversation with Albert Biermann, click this link here.