Turned Into A Camel - 13 September 2022

FOLLOW UP: RIVIAN PARTNERING WITH MERCEDES Rivian are partnering with Mercedes to build large EV vans, at an existing facility somewhere in Central and Eastern Europe. They will base the vehicles on two platforms, one from each company. You can read more about this, by clicking the link to the The Verge article here. Additionally, Andrew needed to clarify the issues Rivian has with the proposed UK data law changes, from last week’s item. If the new laws come into force, then the UK loses the current data ‘adequacy’ with the EU, meaning the businesses need to deal differently with UK and EU data. This will cause expenses and extra hassle for businesses. QUESTIONS RAISED OVER PORSCHE IPOThe proposed IPO of Porsche, by Volkswagen, is not as straightforward as some are making out. There is the timing of it, which when one looks at the current global financial projections, seems 'unwise. On top of that, VW’s own internal structures and connections in and out of Porsche could make investors very wary. Of particular note is that no voting rights will be granted any investors. To find out about how complicated this all is, click here for the AMOnline article. CAZOO EXPANSION U-TURNCazoo, the online car retail organisation, is retreating from mainland Europe, to concentrate on it’s UK operations and being at a breakeven point with cash flow, by the end of 2023. The company claims it will save £100 million by closing down its operations in Europe, by the end of 2023. Amazingly that is exactly the amount it claims it will still have in the bank by the end of 2023. For more, click the AMOnline article link here. TOBIAS MOERS JOINS PIECH AUTOMOTIVEFollowing his departure from Aston Martin, Tobias Moers has moved to Pitch Automotive as Chief Technical Officer. He will, apparently, run the company alongside Manfred Fitzgerald, the ex head of Genesis. Click here for the Top Gear article link, to learn more. BMW PUTS ROUND PEG IN SQUARE HOLESBMW has unveiled a new battery design, moving away from square ones currently used, to cylinder ones. The company claims these will offer an improvement of range up to 30 percent and potentially a 50 percent saving. Click this Move Electric link here, to find out more. EV CHARGING SOLAR TREES UNVEILEDWhilst called “solar trees”, they are large umbrella shaped canopies, that have solar panels on them to allow for charging of vehicles and properties. They can also be linked together to create a ‘mini-grid’. To learn more, click this link to the Renewables Now article. GOOGLE MAPS UPDATES CYCLING ROUTE INFOGoogle Maps has updated the information it displays and considers if you use the service for cycling. The cycle route details include areas of heavy traffic, suitable infrastructure, as well as elevation changes across your proposed trip. To note, Apple Maps has also updated in a similar manner. To read more about what Google has done, click here for the road.cc article link. ——————————————————————————-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: ACROPOLIS RALLYHyundai had their first ever 1-2-3 and locked out the podium in Greece after their competitors had rallies to forget. M-Sport’s started so well, with Loeb leading and Loubet in second, although he did lead for a couple of stages. But mechanical problems suppered and hopes for the entire M-Sport team. Toyota had a stinker too, with Rovenperra hitting a tree and ending up outside the points. Remarkably, it took a call from the President of Hyundai to ensure team orders were maintained for the final positions. To read more, click the link to the DirtFish article here. The DirtFish What We Learned article can be found by clicking this link. Colin Clark’s Driver Ratings can be read by clicking this DirtFish link. NEW NEW CAR NEWSFord E-Transit Custom -Ford has now unveiled their electric mid-sized Transit, the Custom. This has a lot of the neat touches and uses that US F150 Lightening owners enjoy, in that they can utilise the power built into the vehicle to keep tools running and the likes. Range is in the region of 236 miles and the interior is as customisable as the ICE version. There are no prices for us to discuss yet. To see more about the innovation and cleverness of the E-Transit Custom, click the Move Electric link here. Nissan X_Trail - Nissan has revealed the new X-Trail looks and pricing. Starting at £32,030, all vehicles in the range come in hybrid form, mating a variety of electric motors, depending on spec, to a 1.5 litre petrol engine. Top of the range Tekna+ with added e-force (all wheel drive system) and the seven seat option is priced from £48,155. The interior looks a leap on the previous generation, in terms of tech, quality and sophistication. You can find out more by clicking this Autocar link. LUNCHTIME READ: HOW A FAKE BILLIONAIRE SCAMMED RICH BUYERS FOR MILLIONS WITH BOGUS FERRARI BUILD SLOTSThis week we bring you a story from The Drive by Steph Schrader about Daniel Lesin, who it is alleged, has conned people out of a lot of money by pretending to be one of the super rich and flogging off fake build slots to those who wanted a Ferrari Monza. Click here to read this amazing tale. LIST OF THE WEEK: ARBARTH’S GREATEST HITSEVO provides us with the List of the Week and their suggestions for the greatest Arbarth cars of all time. They came to their conclusions after being on the FCA Heritage Hub tour. Click the link here to see the options and do read the wonderful accompanying text. Don’t forget to let the chap’s know if you agree with their choices or not! AND FINALLY: SEE THROUGH CYLINDERThe And Finally this week is provided by Hagerty, this time all about the 3-D printed see through cylinder that shows just how combustion works. There is a great explanatory article and an embedded YouTube video so you can see it in action. Click here to enjoy!