The 39 Steps - 23 March 2021

PLUG-IN GRANT REDUCED OVERNIGHT BY GOVERNMENTThe Government announced, with immediate effect, the reduction in the plug-in grant they were making available for cars with a price up to £50,000. Not only has the grant amount been reduced from £3,000 to £2,500 but also the eligibility price is cut to a maximum of £35,000. There was much howling at the timing, immediacy and depth of cut. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here. As a counter to this FleetWorld has an opinion piece giving some explainers as to why the Government has made some of the decisions it has. To read that, click the link here. To find out which cars are affected, click the Autocar article here. To read about Citroën tackling the issue with their e-C4, click the ZapMap article here. COMPUTER CHIP SHORTAGE HURTING CAR INDUSTRYThe global shortage of computer chips was already impacting the global car industry, however this situation has been made worse by a fire at one of the main production plants, in Japan. But this points to a concern for manufacturers, as this could be a dry run for battery issues as Europe and the UK build up their local production capability. Secure supply chains are vital. To read more, click the Autocar article here. _____________________________________________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——————————————————————————-SABINE SCHMITZ PASSES AWAY AFTER ILLNESSWe, along with most of the motoring world, were stunned at the news of Sabine Schmitz’s death last week. She passed away after a long battle with cancer. The Motoring Podcast would like to offer their condolences to all her family and friends. To read more about Sabine click the BBC article here. Chris Harris has also written about his friend, which you can read by clicking here. LUNCHTIME READ: THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERYFriend of the Show, Nir Kahn, wrote about plagiarism in the design world. This is a fascinating subject that is more nuanced than you may expect. Whilst it is an older article the points remain valid as does the battle. To read more, click the LinkedIn article here. LIST OF THE WEEK: FIVE MISUNDERSTOOD MOTORSNot2Grand has compiled a short list of cars they feel have been misunderstood. Expect controversial opinions as some of these fly in the face of conventional wisdom. To see more, click the link here. AND FINALLY: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MULTIPLAThe modern Multipla, a favourite of designers for its clever packaging, never took off with the public like it should’ve. However, it is 21 years since it was first on sale and we feel that is worth celebrating, especially when legislation is making it harder for cars to stand out in the market. To read more about the car, click the Autocar link here. As an added bonus there is a link to see one of the weirdest press shots for a car, which you can get to by clicking the TopGear article here. AND FINALLY FINALLY: NEW VIDEO FROM ALANAlan has filmed and published a video, giving everyone a glimpse inside his garage, a note or two about some of the cars on his drive and an update on one of his cars that doesn’t fit on his drive. Very much worth your time to watch that, so click here for the YouTube link.