Is It Cause I’m Old - 25 January 2022

Motoring Podcast - News Show

FOLLOW UP: MYTHS ABOUT HIGHWAY CODE CHANGES

Last week the chaps had an article on the changes to the Highway Code as the Lunchtime Read as they are significant and we all need to understand them. Apparently some did not listen to us, with reports from mainstream media outlets not correctly explaining the issues. In case you didn’t read last week’s recommendation then click this article from The Guardian, so you are well informed.

FOLLOW UP: MORE DETAIL ON POSSIBLE LONDON ROAD TRAVEL CHANGES

As Andrew and Alan stated during the article, as they were confused with the change in price, they have found some more detail which helps to explain the possible new rules better. Click here for the Move Electric article.

POLICING LEVELS BLAMED FOR STATIC ROAD DEATH FIGURES

Between 2010 and 2019 the level of road deaths, on British roads, has remained stable, after three decades of reduction. The main blame for this is the level of visible police on our roads. Added to this, Panorama found that roughly 50% of static speed cameras do not work. For more about this story, click the YesAuto article here.

WILLIAMS ADVANCED ENGINEERING BOUGHT

The Australian mining group, Fortescue Metals, has bought Williams Advanced Engineering, the engineering, design and technology offshoot of Williams F1. Fortescue are aiming to become a major company in the industrial transport sector. To learn more, click here for the Autocar article.

BRITISHVOLT SECURES MAJOR FUNDING FOR BATTERY FACTORY

BritishVolt announced that through a combination of private and Government funding they had secured around £1.7 billion for their battery factory planned in the North East, due to open in 2024. For more information, click the article from Autocar here.

LEICESTER LATEST COUNCIL TO TAX COMPANY CAR PARKS

Leicester City Council are set to introduce a parking levy on companies that provide ten or more spaces. The charge is £550 per space, with the money being reinvested into zero emission public transport and active travel schemes for the city. More on this story can be found by clicking here for The Guardian link.

CHRIS BOARDMAN LEADS ACTIVE TRAVEL PUSH

Chris Boardman, the former Olympic cycling hero, is to lead a push to get more people to switch to active travel options, when making journeys. Active Travel England will be evaluating schemes that encourage walking or cycling, including the infrastructure. To learn about this, click the BBC News article here.

INSURANCE PREMIUMS ALREADY RISING AFTER CHANGE

As predicted by many, including this show only a couple of weeks ago, premiums for car insurance have risen. We were all told that we would save money, now that insurers were not allowed to offer lower rates to new customers therefore putting existing ones at a disadvantage. For details of what has happened, click the YesAuto article here.

EX ASTON CHASIS BOSS JOINS JLR

Matt Becker, who was expected to join McLaren for that only to fall through, has joined Jaguar Land Rover, as Mike Cross announces his retirement. Becker will not replace Cross though. Meanwhile JLR are still to announce a new engineering boss following Nick Rogers departure. In order to learn more about this, click here for the Autocar article.

LAND CRUISERS A FOUR YEAR WAIT IN JAPAN

Toyota has announced that there is a four year wait for Land Cruisers in Japan. They state that this is not due to the chip shortage or Covid. To find out more, click the BBC News article here.——————————————————————————-

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WRC: MONTE CARLO

The first round of the 2022 WRC calendar did not disappoint! As you would expect from Monte there were thrills and spills, some of them spectacular! The new Rally1 cars were generally very reliable and did not lack in pace, noise or helping the action. Hyundai struggled, really struggled, especially without a figurehead, such as Adamo.
Loeb rolled back the years to pip Ogier and give M-Sport a win, with Green rounding out the podium. We were reminded, though, of the words from the FIA President, that the sport needs superstars, not just winners.

To find out how the rally went, click the DirtFish article here.

For the DirtFish, What We Learned, click here.

To find out how Colin Clark rated the drivers, click here for the DirtFish article.

LUNCHTIME READ: MY LIFE & CARS - SHAMI KALRA

The founder of Omologato, the watch making company that takes inspiration for their designs from motorsport, discusses his life and his cars in this EVO Magazine article. To read our recommendation, click the link here.

To listen to Shami’s Rear View Part 1 interview, click here.

For the Part 2 episode of Rear View, with Shami, click here.

LIST OF THE WEEK: THE CARS THAT HELPED SAVE THE COMPANY

Autocar has compiled a slideshow of cars they suggest saved a car company. Click through and see if you agree with Alan and Andrew’s choices. Don’t forget to let them know! Click here for the list.

AND FINALLY: ONE-OFF BLUEBIRD

Nissan has converted a Mk1 Bluebird, from the Sunderland plant, to EV as a celebration of that site’s 35 years of production. To find out more about this, click the Autocar article here.