Overwhelming positivity - 5 August 2025

FOLLOW UP: CAR FINANCE CLAIMSThe Supreme Court has ruled on car finance claims follow last years shock appeal decision that could have meant that lenders were liable for billions in compensation for mis-selling car finance schemes. The court has ruled that dealers do not have to work solely for the benefit of customers, which covers most claims, however if the commission rate is excessive then there is a possibility of a claim. What wasn’t covered in this is claims where the dealer and lender could increase the interest on their PCP or HP deal without telling the customer. Anyone who signed up to this is still able to claim. To read all about this complicated matter, click this link here from MoneySavingExpert. FOLLOW UP: RENAULT GROUP ANNOUNCE NEW CEOJust over a week after the interim CEO was announced, Renault Group have found their new permanent CEO, Francois Provost. He has been at the company for 23 years, with his latest position being head of procurement, partnerships and public affairs. Click this Autocar article link to learn more. JLR LOSE ONE CEO AND FIND ANOTHERAdrian Mardell is to retire from JLR, after 35 years at the company. The surprise news came out last week and by Monday the company announced his replacement, PB Balaji, who is the chief financial officer of Tata Motors. If you want to read more, click this Autocar link here. STELLANTIS MAKE A BIG LOSSFirst half year results are in for Stellantis and it is brutal. They have made a loss of £2 billion pre-tax. Tariffs are being blamed for a lot of it, but also a slow uptake on their B-segment offerings. The new CEO, Antonio Filosa, has said he will make tough decisions to help turn results around. To find out more, click this Autocar link here. PORSCHE TAKES PROFITS HITPorsche’s operating profits dropped €2 billion in the first half of 2025. Once again tariffs are being blamed, but also they continue to lose market share in China. The company is looking at ways to save money, on top of the job cuts it has previously announced. You can read more on this, by clicking an Autocar article link here. HELSINKI REPORTS NO FATALITIES ON ITS ROAD NETWORK IN A YEARHelsinki has not had a road traffic fatality, for over a year. Reasons for this excellent news are a combination of improved infrastructure, all road users working together, reduced speed limits, improved public transport and targeted police efforts. To find out more, click this yle article link here. TESLA FOUND PARTIALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR FATAL CRASHA jury has found Tesla partially liable for a fatal accident that also caused life changing injuries to a passenger of a struck vehicle, after Autopilot was engaged. The driver of the Tesla vehicle claims he thought the driver assistance system would handle things whilst he retrieved his dropped phone. Tesla is to appeal the ruling. You can read more by clicking this article link from The Register. 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 - Vauxhall Mokka GSEVauxhall has upgraded the performance and handling of the Mokka, with a hot-ish GSE version of their small SUV. This should be quick, not just in a straight line, but in the bends too. Click this EVO article link to learn more. Jaecoo 5Jaecoo is bringing the 5 to the UK very soon. This is the smaller sibling to the popular 7, with the same design cues, ie. takes a lot of ‘inspiration’ from Range Rover models. Prices will start at £24,505. Click this Autocar article link to read more. Cadillac to return to the UKCadillac is to return to the UK soon, with two models. The first will be the Lyric SUV and most likely the Optiq SUV, both being electric. Other models were being discussed at GM head office. Click this Autocar article for more details. LUNCHTIME READ: PEUGEOT’S BRILLIANT TORSION BAR REAR AXLEWe return to recommending articles after two weeks of videos, with a wonderful piece from Hagerty about Peugeot’s torsion bar rear axle. You get to learn the history of development and where it ended up. Superb nerdery abounds! Do enjoy. Click here to read all about it. LIST OF THE WEEK: THE STRANGEST CAR PUBLICITY PHOTOS EVER PUBLISHEDAutocar provides a slide show of some classics of the genre “what on earth was marketing thinking?”, when it comes to cars and promotional pics. You must click this link here, as some of these have to be seen to be believed. Do you agree with the chap’s choices or do you have a favourite, let them know. AND FINALLY: PETROL & PRIDE MEETINGThe first Petrol & Pride meeting took place at the British Motor Museum recently, where LGBTQ+ petrolheads and their allies, gathered to celebrate their love of cars. This is a brilliant idea and we hope it continues for many year. Click this Autocar article link here to read more.