Written in crayon - 12 February 2025

FOLLOW UP: NISSAN HONDA DEAL OVER ALREADYBefore it even really got going, it appears Nissan are to walk away from the deal as Honda are accused of changing the agreement, with a proposal that made Nissan a subsidiary and not equal partner. When you look at the market evaluations of them, you can see why Honda may suggest they are the bigger company. Click this Autocar article link here to read more. FOLLOW UP: VAUXHALL LUTON TO SHUT BY JUNE 2025Stellantis has confirmed that the Vauxhall Luton plant will close by June this year. The announcement of the closure came in November 2024, with this one now being the specific date. Ellesmere Port will continue to operate. For more on this story, click this Autocar article link here. JANUARY 2025 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURESThe Society of Motor Manufacturer and Traders has revealed the new car registration figures for January 2025. They are down over all, but BEVs are at 21% market share. Unfortunately, Private is still down with Fleet doing all the heavy lifting. Many “commentators” have tried to tie in Tesla’s drop to the CEO’s actions in the US, but this is not the case due to the length of time it takes to get a delivery from order, especially if specific options are wanted. Click this SMMT article link to read more on the state of the market. STELLANTIS RESHUFFLE CONTINUESLinda Jackson, the CEO of Peugeot, will retire as the reshuffling of Stellantis management continues, following the departure of the previous CEO. To read more, including other moves, click this Autocar article link here. MOT CHANGES WORRY INDUSTRYA new change expected to MOTs, where any recalls that have not been completed must be noted as either an advisory or fail, is worrying the industry. The fear is this could overwhelm workshops as there is an estimated 5 million vehicles on the road with recall work to be performed on. If you wish to find out more, click this AMOnline article link here. BID TO STOP GHOST MOTSThe DVSA is taking the next step in using photographic evidence, in a bid to prevent ghost MOTs. These are where a workshop gives an MOT without even seeing the car. Following an initial trial they are now working on honing the process of confirming the car is in the garage and being inspected. Click this article link from the UK Government. ELECTRIC VAN MOT PROBLEMFleet operators are asking for an approved deferral for electric van MOTs as they need to be handled at a commercial vehicle testing station due to their weight. As they fall into the heavy goods vehicle category, they must be tested at one year. However, the Association of Fleet Operators seems to think that the rules need not apply because they’re electric, as somehow physics doesn’t apply when its an EV. Click this Motoring Research article link for more. UK GOVERNMENT FINDS CARS SEND LOTS OF DATAAccording to reports in the media, the UK Government has warned some employees to be careful when inside their or Government issued cars as what is said could be sent to a foreign Government. Of particular concern are Chinese vehicles. They will be really shocked when they learn what all modern cars can do. To read more, click this electrive article link here. SNAKE PASS UNDER THREATDerbyshire County Council has called on the Government for help in maintaining the Snake Pass. The threat is that they will not be able to afford to repair the route, which is seeing an increasing number of landslides and damage. You can find out more, by clicking this BBC News article link 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 NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Arctic Trucks’s Land Cruiser 250Arctic Truck has sprinkled their magic on the new Land Cruiser. They have raised and widened the vehicle, added chunky tyres and a wide body kit. These will be available later in 2025. To see more, click this Hagerty article link here. Audi naming change. Again. Audi has, once again, changed how it will name its models. No longer will the the odd numbers for ICE and hybrid versions and the even numbers for EVs. This is as a result of “feedback” from customers and dealers. Click this Autocar article link here for more information. LUNCHTIME READ: SEATTLE TO SARATOGA SPRINGSFor our recommendation this week we are going on a road trip across America. In some 2CVs. Yep. Really. Follow this amazing journey via this link to the article on Citroënvie. LIST OF THE WEEK: BELLISIMA! FIVE FABULOUS FIATS OF THE 1990SHagerty supplies this week’s list to select from. It may be small but it is mighty, as someone once almost wrote. The best Fiat’s of the 1990s. Do you agree with the choice? What would you pick? Do let the chaps know. Click here to check out the options. AND FINALLY: FINES, THE FINAL FRONTIERA lady from Long Island, USA, used to have a license plate with the same alphanumeric ID as the Enterprise from Star Trek. That sounds quite cool, except people are buying novelty plates from online stores and fitting them. Even though she handed back the plates four years ago, she is getting fines and citations for driving offences. To find out more, click this Gizmodo article link here.