Facetious and silly - 25 July 2023

TATA BATTERY FACTORY TO BE BUILT IN THE UK Tata, Jaguar Land Rover owners, have finally confirmed thanks to Government help their battery factory will be built in the UK and not Spain. Production is planned to start from 2026, with the aim being to produce 40GWh of batteries when fully operational. These will be sold to the mobility and energy industries. Click this Autocar article link for more. JLR CONFIRM ADRIAN MARDELL AS PERMANENT CEOAdrian Mardell stepped in to fill the void following the departure of Thierry Bolloré several months ago. This was only a temporary appointment, however, Tata has announced that he will take over the role on a permanent basis. You can find out more by clicking this Autocar Business link here. SUPERMARKET FUEL PROFITS MORE THAN DOUBLE The RAC continues to hound the supermarkets over their fuel pricing. They have established that since the start of the Ukrainian war, supermarket’s profit per litre of fuel has doubled as they have not passed savings onto us consumers. More can be read on this, by clicking the link to the Autocar article here. LOTUS TO CUTS JOBSLotus announced an already planned cull of approximately 200 jobs when releasing their financial results. The company is at pains to stress these were not the result of the increased losses of £145.1 million. A consultation is underway regarding the proposal. Click here to find out more, via an Autocar Business link. ALPINE GET A NEW CEOLaurent Rossi is being moved to a Renault Group position as Philippe Krief, ex-Ferrari engineering boss, takes over as CEO. No real explanation has been given for the change. More can be read on this by clicking this article link from Automotive News Europe. CHROME PLATING TO BE BANNEDChrome plating is set to be banned in Europe and the US, for new cars due to the dangers of the process and chemicals involved. This won’t actually make too much difference as very little actual chrome is used in today’s cars. Click this Autocar article link to read more. ANTI FRAUD SERVICE FOR USED CAR ADVERTS AVAILABLE Brego, a vehicle valuation company, has launched the Brego Advert Check to help second hand car buyers establish if an ad is potentially fraudulent. The price, compared to the market expectations, along with searching for the pictures used online and wording, are all utilised to evaluate the legitimacy of the advert. There is a case study in the article linked to from Autocar which you can read by clicking this link. CLEVER SPEED REGULATION IDEAS FROM FRANCEIn France they are trialling some clever ideas to get motorists to slow down that is not all about enforcement but changing behaviour. One idea is a speed detector synched to traffic lights, which is the vehicle is at or below the speed limit remain green but change to red and stop the car if it exceeds the limit. You can read more on that here via The Sunday Times Driving article. The second trial involves squiggly lines painted on the roads which it is hoped cause drivers to be confused and thus slow down as they approach areas such a junctions and the likes. Click this link here from The Connexion to see more. LAMBETH COUNCIL REMOVING RESIDENTIAL PARKINGLambeth Council has decided to remove residential parking as only 40% of locals own a car. On top of this the council confirms it can make more money from this space by utilising it for other purposes. You can read more by clicking this link to a TransportXtra story. 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 NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Triumph TR25Makkina, which is a British design house that normally works behind closed doors with manufacturers, revealed the Triumph TR25 single seat EV roadster concept. Based on the underpinnings of the BMW i3, this lightweight vehicle shows off what is possible with a small battery and lightweight construction. Click this Motoring Research link to see more. Audi and SAIC Deal Not strictly New New Car News however, it is sort of. Audi has been forced to sign a deal with the Chinese firm SAIC, who will supply the company with the platform for the A3 and A4 saloons. We do not know if that is just for the Chinese market or globally. Huge news in reality, click here to read more from electrive.com. Click this Bloomberg article link to see how patronising and wrong the Western press are about China. DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: ACHIM ANSCHEIDT STEPS DOWNBugatti’s head of design, Achim Anscheidt, is stepping down to be replaced by his deputy Frank Heyl. He will continue to be an advisor for Mate Rimac the CEO. You can read more by clicking this Autocar link here. LUNCHTIME WATCH: PAUL COWLAND’S CAR COLLECTION Friends of the show, TV’s Paul Cowland and Chris “The Pollitt” Pollit take us on a tour of Paul’s fabulous and extensive car collection, via the Car & Classic YouTube channel. Click this link to watch this fabulous video. LIST OF THE WEEK: GREATEST CARS EVER MADE WITH POP-UP HEADLIGHTSWe bring you a huge list of options when it comes to this week’s list. Many cars to click through in order to pick your favourite with pop-up headlights. Don’t forget to tell the chaps if you agree with their choices. Click here to see what you could pick, thanks to Autocar. AND FINALLY: AIXAM MEGA DESERTWe round out the show with a link to the story behind a one-off Dakar racer that you might not have heard of and from a company who you wouldn’t expect to make such a vehicle. Click this link to read all about it, from Treetop Barn.