Chuckle of Despair - 14 December 2021

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 ELECTRIC FUTUREFrom 2030, Peugeot will be an all-electric car company, in Europe. They are the latest to declare an electric only future from a specific date. This is later than those confirmed by other Stellantis brands, so far. For further reading, click the Autocar article here. STELLANTIS SOFTWARE DRIVE Stellantis, to much fanfare, announced they anticipate €20 billion revenue from software products and subscriptions in 2030. Included in all this is over the air updating, without the need for hardware to be installed, automated driving capabilities, data and fleet services. To learn more, click here for the Autocar article. BENTLEY OPENS NEW TEST FACILITYBentley has opened a new test facility, in Crewe, that will enable them to test emission and electrification aspects of their designs. The £12.5 million facility, will start being used straight away after receiving approval from the Vehicle Certification Agency. This should speed up and eventually save costs compared to sending their vehicles to a third-party testing site. If you would like to read more, click the Autocar article here. VW DRIVES FURTHER INTO ELECTRIFICATIONVolkswagen announced that they will be investing £76 billion in electrification and digital technologies. This is an increase on their previous investment. The plans were declared in September but have taken until now to be confirmed by the Board. For more information, click the Autocar article here. GRIDSERVE CONSTRUCTING TWO NEW EV FORECOURTSGridserve is building two new electric charging forecourts, one in Norwich with the other at Gatwick Airport. Added to this they will be opening 11 new EV hubs across the country. To read more about this, click here for the Autocar story. VOLVO SUFFERS CYBER ATTACKVolvo has confirmed that they were subjected to a cyber attack recently, that affected their R&D information but does not appear to have compromised anything connected with customer facing elements of their business. For more information, click the Automotive News article here. DVLA WARNS OF SCAMDVLA are warning motorists to avoid those impersonating the organisation and those who charge for services the DVLA perform for free or at an admin only cost. Make sure you tell friends and family of this. To read more about this, click here for the Bournemouth Echo article. ——————————————————————————-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——————————————————————————-LUNCHTIME READ: F***D IT AGAIN TONY Nir Kahn has written an interesting article regarding car design and when individuality is lost. Obviously, the Multiple comes up and it is the poster child for such discussions but Nir’s points are well made and worth your time. Click through on the LinkedIn article here. LIST OF THE WEEK: BEST SANTA-COMPLIANT CLASSICSGreat Driving Days has compiled a list of cars that would be suitable for Father Christmas to use on that special night of the year as he undertakes a campaign of breaking and entering across the globe. Click through on this link here, then let us know if you agree with Alan’s choice or not. AND FINALLY: WE BRITS ARE RUBBISH AT NAMING OUR CARS The DVLA has published a survey of theirs, where they asked if people named their cars and if so what did they call them. The results were a little tame, it has to be said. Have a read of The Register’s article here.