Some Blue Whales Wide - 29 June 2021

FOLLOW UP: GREATER MANCHESTER CAZ STARTS IN MAY 2022The Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone has been confirmed as starting from May 2022. To find out more, including a reminder of the vehicle classes covered, click the Motoring Research article here. DVLA STRUGGLING TO DEAL WITH CUSTOMERSAn ever increasing volume in the complaints about the lack of service from the DVLA is occurring. Added to the pressures, staff are taking industrial action over unsafe working conditions. To read more about the problems customers are facing, click The Guardian article here. FRESH JAGUAR STRATEGY SIGNED OFFThierry Bolloré has signed of the new strategy for Jaguar, with the aim being to position it similar to Range Rover in the SUV market, but with cars. This is an ambitious plan, to get people to pay more than they do for their BMW, Audi or Mercedes, as well as be seen as above them but not quite at Porsche and Aston Martin levels. To read more, click here for the article from Autocar. POTHOLES COST COUNCILS £8 MILLION A YEARFollowing a FOI request, we have learned that councils spent £8 million in costs associated with potholes in 2020, when most of the country was not allowed to drive for vast amounts of time. The cost of repairing a pothole varies across the country and so does the compensation to rivers who have been injured as a result and had their vehicles damaged. To read more, click the YesAuto article here. WELSH GOVERNMENT STOPS ALL NEW ROAD BUILDINGThe Welsh Government announced that it will be halting all plans to build new roads, due to the environmental impact their construction and use will cause. Instead money will be spent on improving existing roads and being used for active travel and public transport projects. To read more about this, click here for the Motoring Research article. HYUNDAI TRIALLING HYDROGEN BUSES IN GERMANYIn Germany Hyundai will be using their hydrogen buses as part of a pilot to test out the viability of such transport in an urban environment. To read more, click here for the YesAuto article. STELLANTIS SIGNS ARMED FORCES COVENANTStellantis have signed the Armed Forces Covenant, where they agree to train, assist armed forces members and their families as they transition to civilian life. Another cracking effort by Mission Motorsport to help companies become aware of the valuble asset ex-armed forces personnel are. To read more, click this link for the CarDealer 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——————————————————————————-WRC: SAFARI RALLY KENYAAfter a wait of 19 years, some Teams may be hoping it is another 19 years before they return to this beautiful but brutal rally. From way back in the pack Ogier won, through consistent driving and the misfortune of others, including team mate Evan who was out on Day 1, along with Sordo. Neuville was leading into Sunday but broke a rear damper, which put him out. Katsuta took his maiden senior WRC podium with second and Tanak being the Hyundai driver who was in third this time. To read more, click the DirtFish article here. For Colin Clark’s Driver Ratings, click the link here. To find out What We Learned, click this link here. NEW NEW CAR NEWSHonda Civic Honda has revealed the next Civic, which looks like a slightly rounded off version of the current one. However, the interior looks a big step forward, which is good. The chaps don’t think it will massively help Honda garner new sales and is the first non Swindon built model of the Civic. To Read more, click the Motoring Research article here. LEVC Camper VanThe London Electric Vehicle Company has revealed plans to create a camper van based on their van, which is based on their taxi cab model. The chaps are very interested in this and recommend that LEVC slap some plastic cladding on the side, jack the ride height up a touch and it’ll be perfect. To read more, including about the range extender nature of it, click the Autocar article here. Dacia DusterDacia has revealed the upgrades to the popular Duster. This honest SUV is going slightly more upmarket and has been handsomely modified exterior looks. This prompts a bit of a discussion about a fear that Dacia may step too far away from it’s current market positioning. To read more, click the Autocar article here. DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: NÜRNBERGER MOVES TO DACIAFollowing a 13 year stint at Aston Martin, Miles Nürnberger is moving to Dacia. No reason has been given as to why he has left Aston Martin, but it will be interesting to see the design direction the company goes in, under his leadership. To read more, click here for the Autocar article. LUNCHTIME READ: PEDANT’S CORNER - WHY THE TERM ‘GIGAFACTORY’ GRATES On the day of recording there was a lot of talk about ‘gigafactories’ but then the chaps saw this article from Autocar trying to pop the hype-bubble around factories that make batteries. Do go read this and rest assured we will only refer to them as “factories” because that is what they are. Click here for the link. LIST OF THE WEEK: NINE ALTERNATIVES TO ‘LIFESTYLE’ VEHICLESTop Gear has a list of nine alternatives to the usual suspects, providing an excellent set of options. To run through the list click the link here. AND FINALLY: HYUNDAI BUYS BOSTON DYNAMICSHyundai has increased their investment in Boston Dynamics to full ownership. To help celebrate this, they have released a bunch of really creepy, dystopian videos. We cannot suffer alone, so we are sharing them with you too. Click here for the link to the announcement video. To watch a ‘headless-dog-robot’ dance with a K-Pop band, click the link here. Please Hyundai, don’t make any more of these.