Such A Cop Out - 9 May 2022

APRIL 2022 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURESApril 2022 figures are down 15.8% on even last year’s poor results, due mainly to supply issues with continued effects of the chip shortage, the Ukraine War and China’s zero Covid policy that has shut down large amounts of the economic centres of the country. For more information, click here for the SMMT article. To get a bit more detail on the figures, click here for Auto Retail Network’s Tristan Young’s Twitter thread. TOBIAS MOERS LEAVES ASTON MARTINAston Martin’s CEO, Tobias Moers, is set to leave the company, being replaced by the ex-CEO of Ferrari Amedeo Felisa. This comes not long after Stroll, the owner of Aston, said he wouldn’t be going anywhere. However, rumours had grown increasingly loud that changes were coming. For more on the departure, click the EVO article here. To learn more about his replacement, click this link to the Top Gear article. LOTUS OPENS NEW MANUFACTURING FACILITY AT HETHELLotus has officially opened their new manufacturing facility at Hethel. Called the Chapman Production Centre, this is the latest moves in the £100 million investment in UK Lotus, to equip them for the aims they have as a company. You can read more, by clicking the link here to their own article. MINI HALTS MANUAL CAR PRODUCTIONDue to the impact of supply chain restraints, MINI has been forced to stop the production of manual cars, for the foreseeable future. Recently, they had to stop all production due to the effects of the war in Ukraine. For more, click here to read the Autocar story. DEFENDER ADVERTS BANNEDDue to the two viewers complaining about Land Rover adverts, that give the impression that reversing sensors would inform the occupants that a cliff edge was approaching, when they do not warn of an open space, the ads have been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). To read more and wonder why you don’t have that much time on your hands as some, click here for the Car Dealer Magazine article. ——————————————————————————-We are at the MOVE 2022 Conference at ExCel, London. Alan will be moderating a panel titled "All these EV targets, where's the charging infrastructure?" with Katie Black, head of the UK's Office for Zero-Emission Vehicles; Daniel Tibble, Director of Data Science and Analytics of the connected vehicle data company, Wejo; and Hui Zhang, the Vice President for Europe of EV company, NIO. More details on the conference can be found by clicking this link here. We have some complimentary tickets, which you can apply for, if you wish to attend the conference yourself. To do so, click this link here and fill out the details required. ——————————————————————————-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 NEWSMercedes-Benz T Class -Mercedes has revealed their replacement for the Citan, which was competent but jolly expensive. Again, using a shared platform, with the Renault Kangoo, they will look to tap into the increasing van-derived car market, that offers oodles of practicalities for the footprint. Prices have yet to be announced in the UK, but equivalent for those stated for Germany equate to starting at £24, 565. A variety of petrol and diesel engines will be offered, with a full EV option following. For more, click the Autocar link here. Isuzu D-Max Arctic Trucks AT35 - Order books have opened for the new Actic Trucks AT35 D-Max. Think expedition pick up and you’ll be moving in the right direction when trying to imagine the AT35. Uprated suspension and tyres are very obvious indicators this is no normal D-Max. Prices start at £47, 999 (ex. VAT) for the manual, with you needing to add about £1500 for an auto. To find out more, click the link here to WhatVan?’s article. LUNCHTIME READ: INTERIOR EVOLUTION - JAGUAR MK2 XFDesign Field Trip has run down the history of the XF interior, running through what made it good, not so good and how it could’ve been executed. A fascinating view at someone who is not just knocking things for the sake of it, but because they want and know they can do better. To read, click the article link here. LIST OF THE WEEK: THE COOLEST CARS OF THE 1990SThis week we are recommending running through the Retro Motor’s list of the coolest 1990s cars. You can see if you agree with the chaps, by clicking this link here. Don’t forget to tell Alan and Andrew what you’d choose. AND FINALLY: DELIGHTS OF RUN-DOWN FRENCH CAR LOTPicking our jealousy baton once again, for Antony Ingram and his recent road trip through France, we are recommending that you read his account of going through a run-down car lot he spotted, as he was passing. Just the sort of place we could all loose hours in, poking around the parked up classics. To see some of what he did find, click here for the Hagerty article.