Year of unintended consequences - 19 December 2023

Follow Up: CRUISE FIRE NINE EXECS IN ACCIDENT AFTERMATHFollowing the internal investigation by GM, into the incident where a pedestrian was dragged by a Cruise driverless vehicle, nine executives from the company have been sacked. Departments affected include Legal, Government Affairs, Commercial Operations and Safety and Systems. On top of that General Motors has stated that it is cutting 900 staff from the offshoot. Click here to read more, from The Register. Follow-Up: FRANCE EV SUBSIDY ELIGIBILITY LIST PUBLISHEDFrance has published a list of electric vehicles that will be eligible for governmental subsidy, following the inclusion of production environmental calculations. Surprising no one, but Chinese made vehicles will not get financial help. This will come into force from 1 January 2024. You can read more, by clicking this link here to an electrive article. FOLLOW UP: CLEVEDON WIGGLY LINES ROAD CHANGES AGAINAn independent investigation into the controversial changes to Clevedon’s sea front has recommended reinstating some diagonal parking spaces. Many are still unhappy with this, wanting a return to the original layout before any changes were made. Additionally the council is investigating if they need to return the funding, if they make these changes, and how to pay for it. This link here, will explain more thanks to the BBC News article. EU VOTES FOR CRITICAL RAW MATERIALS SECURITY LAWWith the push to electric vehicles the risk that the region could be held to ransom by other countries has pushed the EU Parliament to vote on bringing a law regarding critical raw materials. This will require up to 45% of recycling, as well as increasing the amount extracted in Europe. Click here to read more in an electrive article. TESLA RECALL DUE TO AUTOPILOT FLAWSTesla has been forced to announce a recall for their Autopilot system in the US, which is the name for their driver assistance technology such as adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist and the likes. They are delivering it by an over-the-air update. The results are more frequent reminders for the driver to pay attention. To find out why this has happened, click this link to an electrive article. For a bit of background to all of this, click this link to a Rolling Stone article written by Ed Niedermeyer. CARIAD TO CUT COSTS INSTEAD OF JOBSCARIAD, the software division of the Volkswagen Group, has agreed with unions to cut costs to prevent job losses. By 2028 there must be a reduction of costs of 20%. You can learn more by clicking this link to an Investing article.GENERAL SAFETY REGULATIONS MANDATE MORE TECHThe new General Safety Regulations (GSR2) have been published. These tie together a few different regulations, into the one but also add more technology that must be fitted as standard on vehicles. This will obviously lead to a rise in costs. To find out more and exactly what must be fitted, click this article link from Autocar. SCOTLAND TO INTRODUCE 20MPH URBAN LIMITFollowing in the footsteps of Wales, Scotland will be introducing a 20mph limit to “suitable” urban roads by 2025. More can learned by clicking this link to a TransportXtra article.GREATER MANCHESTER CLEAN AIR ZONE INVESTMENT PLANIn a move that will shock many, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has announced a plan to invest in technology and road schemes to ensure the region hits the air quality targets it needs to by 2026. He has stated this will not happen if they introduce a charge, which is the only tool so many other cities and regions use. To understand more, click this BBC News article link here. SODIUM BATTERIES FAVOURABLE ALTERNATIVE STUDY FINDSChalmers University in Sweden has reported on their research that suggests sodium-ion batteries are a viable and better alternative to lithium-ion ones. The material is “abundant” according to them and thus is vastly better for the environment and from a cost perspective. This does not mention their durability or capabilities but it is encouraging, nonetheless. Click this electrive article link to learn more. NEW ON-STREET CHARGING OPTIONS COMING TO ESSEXQwello, a German EV charging company, has won the bid to install 70 on-street chargers in Essex. Their chargers can also double as street lights. You can find out more by clicking this electrive article link here. CABLE THIEVES HIT EV CHARGE POINTSThree Osprey rapid charge points have been hit by cable thieves who have removed the charging cables thus rendering the units inoperable. They aren’t the only ones to be hit. One person has been arrested. Click this article link from Harborough FM to learn more. GLOUCESTERSHIRE CAR PARKS HIT BY QR CODE SCAMCotswold Council is warning that no one should scan any QR codes on their car park payment machines due to a spate of illicit codes being fixed to the regions machines. You can learn 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 - Citroën e-BerlingoCitroën has revised the e-Berlingo, with changes to the front end look, bringing it in line with the recently revealed e-C3. Also, the battery and motor technology has been improved, providing a range of up to 199 miles over the current 175. Click this Autocar article link to learn more about the car. LEVC L380 EVAnother entry into the luxury MPV sector has arrived, this time thanks to the London Electric Vehicle Company - the latest black cab maker. There will be a choice of configurations, from eight seats to a more luxurious six. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar article link here. Old Car Dead News - Renault ZoeAfter 11 years on sale, the Renault Zoe is being removed from the lineup. The company are citing that it is to make room for the Renault 5 EV but others within the company also confirm trying to make it comply with the latest GSR2 regulations would be prohibitively expensive. You can read more by clicking this Autocar link here. LUNCHTIME READ: IF THE MIATA LOOKS HALF AS GOOD AS THIS CONCEPT I CAN’T WAITThis week we return to the Japan Mobility Show, as Matteo Licata talks us through the gorgeous Mazda Iconic SP concept. One of the few bright sparks this year, in terms of car design, he explains a lot of the finer details and joins us in hoping this is very close to production ready. Click here to read the article from Hagerty. LIST OF THE WEEK: 42 OF THE WORLD’S BEST POLICE CARSA huge selection of fabulous looking police cars, from across the globe. Do not forget to tell the chaps your selection from the many, many options. Click here to see what they are, thanks to Top Gear. AND FINALLY: FIRST POLE TO POLE DRIVE COMPLETEDCongratulations to Julie and Chris Ramsey for completing the first ever pole-to-pole drive and for doing it in a Nissan...