Entering the Traffic Zone - 11 May 2021

APRIL 2021 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURESThere have been some attention grabbing headlines written, which seem to forget that whilst the year-on-year comparison stats are dramatically up on last year, we were all locked in our houses 12 months ago. Against the 10 year average the number of new car registrations are still down. To read more, click the SMMT article here. FORD AND NHS TRIALLING VACCINE TRANSITA specially converted Ford Transit is being trialled by the NHS to take the Covid vaccines out to the community. There are fitted with temperature controlled fridges, folding seats and other equipment to administer the injections. Hopefully this works, as it will help get the vaccine to everyone, especially those who cannot travel to the centres that have been set up to administer them. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here. ROAD AND RAIL INVESTMENT BEING REEVALUATED In a move that should be unexpected to everyone, the Government is reevaluating the transport infrastructure spending plans. The supposedly reduced numbers commuting is one reason given, but mainly this will be because every budget across the Government, whether central or local, will be inspected closely due to a lack of cash. To read more, click the BBC News article here. POLICE FIND OVER A THOUSAND CATALYTIC CONVERTERS In a large operation police over a thousand catalytic converters were recovered with over 50 people being arrested. There has been a rise in thefts from cars due to the increase in price for rare metals. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here. PETROL PRICES KEEP CLIMBINGThe RAC has revealed that we are on a run of six months of continued price rise in fuel prices. This is expected to continue over the summer, where there will be an increase in demand, along with supplying nations capping production. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here. EV CHARGING POINTS HACKEDA Chinese Security research team has demonstrated gaining access to a car, via the CANBus, from an EV charging station. They were able to alter the rate of charge, avoid paying and sending messages. To read more, click The Register article here. FRENCH VILLAGE AIMING TO THWART WAZEIn a bid to stop Waze re-routing congested traffic away from hold ups on the local main roads and through their village, residents added a sign, essentially saying ‘access only’ which was communicated back to the app, which meant the algorithm no longer used that diversion. We applaud that clever way of altering behaviour. To read more, click The Connexion article here. _____________________________________________Announcement: Last week we invited you to join us for a live stream of the recording of our 400th episode on Wednesday 19 May at 8:30pm BST. During the show we will, like an automotive podcasting Ant and Dec, be giving away some great prizes thanks to the support of some generous companies.In order to be in with a shout of grabbing one of the prizes we need you to go to our website, hit the Contact section at the top of the home page enter your name, email address and the phrase "Please Can I Win?" into the Subject line so we can add your name to the draw. You need to have done this by 8pm BST on Wednesday 19th May. Click this link here to go directly there! ——————————————————————————-FORMULA E: MONACOWell isn’t that a relief? We get to discuss racing and not rules or safety cars or penalties, just the racing! To find out what happened, click the link to The Race article here. To read the driver ratings, click The Race article link here. To find out more about the possibility of Monaco becoming an annual event, click here for The Race article. NEW NEW CAR NEWSCitroën My Ami Cargo - We are continually told how there is a ‘last mile’ problem, when it comes to deliveries, Citroën think they have one solution to that, the My Ami Cargo. To find out more about this cute little vehicle, click the Autocar article here. Mercedes-Benz Concept EQT -Whilst the EQT is called a “concept” it looks remarkably close to production ready in the images released by Mercedes. We are big fans of a van-derived passenger vehicle, this one looks great too, much more like a Mercedes than the current Citan. To find our more, click the Autocar article here. DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: JULIAN THOMSON LEAVES JAGUAR The sudden announcement that Julian Thomson is leaving Jaguar, caught all by surprise. There are some guesses as to why, but whatever the reason the pressure is really on the Management Team of JLR to back up all of the words that have recently been said with regards to design. To read more, click the Autocar article here. To read an opinion piece from Steve Cropley, click the Autocar article here. LUNCHTIME READ: THE DEATH OF THE TEST DRIVE? Russel Gowers has written an interesting article about test drives and questions what purpose do they serve, especially for those who aren’t really interested in cars beyond what badge it has. To read that, click the LinkedIn link here. LIST OF THE WEEK: CELEBRATE THE SIZESCar & Classic has a list of six cars that fall under the catchment of six cylinders and six grand. Read Chris Pollitt’s words and enjoy the suggestions he has for the various options. To see more, click the link here. AND FINALLY: METAL ELEMENTSThe car design and coach build company Niels van Roil Design have developed, with Heritage Customs, metal coated accents for the new Defender. There are a number of finishes and types available that open up a host of possibilities. We think this is incredibly clever and an interesting project that hopefully leads to interesting uses in car designs moving forward. To find out...