Motoring Podcast - News Show

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  Two drinks - 15 September 2026 15.09.2026 39min

  FOLLOW UP: SALE OF BUGATTI COMPLETEDPorsche has completed the sale of its shares in Bugatti Rimac and the Rimac Group. This has netted them around €1 billion, destinations for portions of this have already been decided with €250 million going to the pension fund. The rest helps makes the company more financially stable. If you want to learn more, click this Autonext article link here.XPENG TAKES UK DESTINY INTO OWN HANDSXpeng has decided to open its own UK operations, instead of just relying on International Motors. They will begin this by opening a sales company, which will control the “strategic commercial development of the brand”, whilst Internation Motors will supply the “operational services”. This is all happening ahead of the launch of their new model, the L03 SUV. To read more, click this Auotcar article link here.LIDL INVESTS IN EV CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURELidl has cut the price of its rapid EV chargers, if customers use their Plus app. Additionally they are investing £10 million in the charging network. Prices drop from £0.62 to £0.59p per kWh when you use the Lidl Plus app. The £10 million investment will expand their charging network across the UK, as well as trying to install rapid chargers at all new sites. For more on this story, click this electrive article link here.UK BATTERY RECYCLING PATENT FOR ALTILIUMAltilium has been awarded their first patent for recycling batteries. This is tartgeting lithium-ion batteries. Most recycling produces intermediate materials that need to be shipped abroad to be processed further to end up with suitably high quality material that can be used in battery manufacture. Altilium hope to circumvent this step with the process in the patent. If you wish to find out more, click this electrive article link here.FORD IMPORTS CHINESE BUILT ELECTRIC VANS TO EUROPEFord has partnered with Jiangling Motors to built electric vans for them at a lower cost than the American company can manage. The Transit City will first be seen in Europe at the IAA Transportation event in Hannover. The Chinese built van will undercut the one made in Turkey by roughly £15,000. You can read more, by clicking this Autonext article link here.DRIVER MONITORING SYSTEMS IN THE SPOTLIGHTDriver Monitoring Systems have been painted as the cure all for driver inattention. However, as with all ADAS, the reality of what sounds like a great idea on paper compared to the execution is very different. Lexus is the latest to come under scrutiny, as claims online point out in-built flaws because their system uses eye-aspect-ratio and at least one Asian person has claimed it gives false positive warnings because of the shape of their eyes and eyelids. As this podcast has warned many, many times over the years, this leaves the industry open to potential lawsuits for racism. Additionally, these systems will never be able to get this right because they do not have a picture of everyone’s face, their head position when driving, how their eyelids are shaped and so much more. Click this Gadget Review article link here, to read more.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 PODCASTNEW NEW CAR NEWS -Mazda MX-5Mazda is ditching the range-topping 2.0 litre MX-5 from sale in the UK. But as we all wipe tears of sadness from our eyes, they also confirm that there will be some upgrades to the 1.5 litre version remaining. Power is ever so slightly upped to 134bhp and 114lb ft of the torques. New prices are yet to be announced and the car will be available from January 2027. Click this link from Autocar, for more.Range Rover ElectricThe Range Rover Electric details and pricing has been revealed, ahead of being in customer hands in 2027. Starting at £154,070 the car will come with an 120kWh battery pack and a WLTP range of 372 miles, which according to JLR is 330 miles in the real world. The car will weigh in at 2885kgs, therefore drivers either best not have many passengers and luggage or get an HGV license. Click this Autocar link, to find out more.Zeekr 9X Super HybridZeekr has announced that the 9X Super Hybrid, their large premium SUV, will be coming to Europe, although there is no news on the UK yet. It has a 2.0 litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine, with single electric motors up front and at the back linked to a 55.1 kWh battery pack all on 900V architecture. Full range is quoted as 458 miles with electric only being 111 miles. Weight is very similar to the above Range Rover at 2.9 tonnes. Click this Top Gear article link, for more.LUNCHTIME READ: WELCOME TO BINGO SPORTS JAPANLet Top Gear introduce you to possibly your new favourite dealer, BINGO Sports Japan. They work with buyers to find rare and specific cars that once found lead everyone involved to shout BINGO! This is a lovely article that tells all and has some fabulous pictures showing the sort of thing they find. Click here to read more.LIST OF THE WEEK: THE MAZDAS THAT MISSED OUTClassic and Sports Car bring this week’s list, all about Mazdas that didn’t make the cut and ended up not being made into production models for sale. Do you agree with the choices made? Click this link here to check out your options!AND FINALLY: DO CROCODILES DREAM OF TOYOTA LAND CRUISERSThe Autopian rounds out the show with the story of the safari tourist Land Cruiser, in Tanzania, which ended up in crocodile infested river following an error by the driver. No one was reported injured. Click this link to find out what happened.
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  Aspirational number - 8 September 2026 09.09.2026 1h

  FOLLOW UP: VW COST CUTTING MEASURES CONFIRMEDThe board of the Volkswagen Group has agreed to the restructuring plans that will include closing four plants, halving the number of models offered and an additional 50,000 roles to be culled. Additionally the Seat brand is to be retired in 2030. There is also a change in tactic with their Chinese operations, where they plan to build cars and export from the country to other markets. To find out more, click this Autocar article link here.FOLLOW UP: JLR COST CUTTING MEASURES INCLUDE JOBSCatching many by surprise, the cost-cutting measures will include around 4,000 roles going. The company hopes voluntary redundancy will do the trick. They are also leaning heavily on their suppliers to cut costs, but that is difficult for many to do. If you want to read more, click this Autocar article link here.AUGUST 2026 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURESThe SMMT has released the August 2026 new car registration figures. Astonishingly, this is the best August on their chart going back to 2010. BEVs increased their market share again, as did HEVs and PHEVs. Surprisingly, there was a jump in private registrations. Once again Mikes Hawes, SMMT’s Chief Executive, reminded the Government of how unsustainable the industry’s efforts to meet the ZEV mandate are. Click this link here, to read more.STELLANTIS EUROPE MANAGEMENT CHANGESStellantis Europe, once again, is shuffling their senior management. This time starting with Olivier François ending his reign as the head of Fiat. He will be replaced by Arnaud Belloni who moves from the head of marketing for Renault. But Belloni will be also head up Abarth ad Lancia, as well as being the Chief Marketing Officer for Europe for Stellantis. Elsewhere, Xavier Chardon will lead DS Automobiles, as well as continue as CEO of Citroën. Xavier Peugeot will take the new role as Head of Jeep in Europe. There are many others too, which you can read all about by clicking this electrive article link here.GEELY SHUTS A VOLVO OFFICEGeely is shutting the satellite Volvo office in Stockholm, with the loss of an unspecified number of the 450 roles under that roof. The site was a key element of Volvo’s moves in software, AI and digital customer experiences. To read more, click this Auto Igloo article link here.HONDA AND NISSAN DO SHAKE HANDSEarlier in the year the news came out that Honda and Nissan were close to signing a partnership or even merger, however that fell apart after Honda’s valuation of their rival was significantly lower than was expected. But, both companies have now agreed to work together to standardise parts and software so they can share the economic benefits. The hope is that this can help them be more competitive with Chinese brands who are marching into their markets and taking an increasing share. Click this electrive article link here, for more.Additionally, Honda is leaning on its suppliers to reduce costs. There are three key areas, electrical parts, parts for software-defined cars as well as pressed and forged parts. The company is aiming for $9.4 billion in savings with 30% coming from the three areas mentioned, which sounds like a lot. Click this yahoo!finance article link here for more.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 PODCASTNEW NEW CAR NEWS -Suzuki e-SkySuzuki are poised to bring their second EV to UK shores, in the kei car form of the e-Sky. This is a small city car, expected to be priced below £20,000 and in Japan it has a max range of 193 miles. The car is due to go on sale in early spring 2027. Click this Autocar article link for more information.Hyundai Ioniq 3Hyundai has opened their order books for the Ioniq 3, a B-segment hatch with a starting price of £22,245 for the 42.2kWh battery pack version, with a maximum expected range around 213 miles. A 61kWh battery pack option is available from £25,745, which is expected to enable a max range of 308 miles. The final specifications and test results are yet to be confirmed. There are further trim levels which you can read about by clicking this electrive article link here.Mercedes GLAThe new GLA has been revealed, in electric guise, by Mercedes-Benz. Bigger than the previous model, it is now squarely aimed at the likes of the Audi Q4 and Volvo EX40. Whilst the electric model will be available from November, the hybrid will only arrive in 2027. There will be a variety of battery, including different chemical compositions, and motor options. This will translate to a variety of maximum ranges, with the longest being 408 miles. Click this Autocar article link here to read more.LUNCHTIME READ: LE ZOB REVOLUTIONAIRE!Driven to Write and Eóin Doyle are the originators of our recommendation for something longer form for your enjoyment. Eóin talks about how the Citroën AX came to be, what it replaced and how revolutionary this was for the company. To read more, click this link here.LIST OF THE WEEK: THE SUPERCARS YOU (PROBABLY) FORGOT EVER EXISTEDAutocar and Richard Dredge provide the slideshow of supercars you might have forgotten ever existed in the first place, if you knew about them at all. Some wonderfully mad options which go some way to explaining why they did not register in the mind more firmly. Click this link to see what your choices are.AND FINALLY: HOT WHEELS LEGENDS TOUR UK 2026 WINNERDuring the CarFest event, at the end of August, the Hot Wheels Legends Tour UK final was held. Three judges, Dwayne Vance (Hot Wheels designer), Nicola Hume (presenter) and Richard Hammond (classic car restoration company owner) all voted for the winner, a heavily modified 1972 VW Beetle. You have to check out this Motoring Research article link here, to see how epically insane the car is.
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  Sounds Like A Weight Loss Drug - 1 September 2026 02.09.2026 39min

  Lotus buys LotusLotus Tech has bought Lotus Advanced Technologies to become one singular Lotus once again. It’s all very complex, but thankfully there’s this story from Top Gear for reference.Hyundai and Genesis aim for massive Range ExpansionTha’s range of cars, not range of vehicles. The Korean manufacturing giant is planning 41 new cars in Europe by 2030 according to Autocar.EVs and SUVs May Or May Not Be To Blame For Potholes, Say ExpertsA report for the Institute of Civil Engineers says SUVs and EVs are being unfairly blamed for causing more wear and tear to Britain’s roads. Other experts disagree. This Autocar article looks at arguments from both sides.New Volvos Can Talk To Each OtherA new software update allows Volvo EX60, EX90 and ES90 to share notifications of large animals and pedestrians on the road among themselves, so they can warn drivers before they can see them. Autocar explains the boundaries and how the system works.Continental e-Cycles TyresContinental is developing a tyre that recycles used tyres into a fresh, low rolling resistance tyre. It’s still a concept, and there are hurdles. Electrive explains.NEW NEW CAR NEWS -Vauxhall Corsa GSEVauxhall has launched an electric hot hatch, and despite the electric powertrain the reviews sound like it’s a very traditional fast Vauxhall - Quick point-to-point, but not as refined as its rivals. It costs from £32,995 and you can find all the detail in this Evo article.Geely MonjaroGeely is bringing a new, larger PHEV SUV to the UK. The Monjaro is bigger than the Starray and about the size of a Skoda Kidiaq or Peugeot 5008. It has a predicted “engine off” range of 81 miles and is predicted to cost int he low £40ks.BYD Ti7Prices have been announced for BYD’s Defender and Land Cruiser-alike. It’s an AWD PHEV with a combined range of 441 miles, 74 of which are “engine off”. There are 7 seats, it’s available in some attractive, if expensive, colours, and it will cost from £47,995 when orders open in November for January delivery.LUNCHTIME READ: PetrospectAndreas Petros’ excellent blog is always worth a read, and this week he’s written about the new iteration of The Grand Tour and previous iterations of Top Gear and how the essence of the latter will be very difficult to ever recapture.LIST OF THE WEEK: Classic Cars With Memorable GraphicsIt appeared in my feed just as Friend of The Show Jim Magill sent me a photo of a near-naked Yaris GRMN, so I couldn’t not include this Classic & Sports Car list of 25 classic cars with memorable graphics. There’s no shortage of awesomeness, and yet I think I may have chosen it…AND FINALLY: Fisker Oceans of New YorkThe Fisker Ocean is dead, long live the Fisker Ocean. Listener Damien Scully (who’s behind the excellent Name That Car daily car identification game) sent us this story about the Fisker Ocean taxis in New York. I also mentioned the Ocenas of NYC website and BlueSky account trying to capture a sighting of every one.
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  I knew that - 24 August 2026 26.08.2026 28min

  FOLLOW UP: CHECK OUT THE AND FINALLYWe have, thanks to listener Farmer Jamie, both Follow Up and the And Finally all wrapped up into one. Wait till the end to find out more…..GEELY LOSES THEIR BOSSLi Shufu, the founder of Geely, has shocked many with his announcement that he is stepping down from his role as chairman of the automotive branch. An Conghui will take over the reigns of the company. Jerry Gan will become the new CEO, as the current, Gui Shengyue, is moving to vice chairman. If you want to read more, click this electrive article link here.GM CAUTIOUS ON UK CADILLAC RELAUNCHA year ago GM announced that they would relaunch the Cadillac brand in the UK. However, they have yet to reveal any details and are “actively reviewing our future Cadillac plans“. To find out more, click this Auotcar article link here.GEELY TO BUILD THEIR CARS IN EUROPEAN VOLVO PLANTSGeely will produce higher-priced cars in Volvo’s European plants. This would include models from the brands Zeekr and Lynk & Co. By being higher priced they can offset some of the disadvantages of building cars in Europe, ie. the costs. The plan is for this to start from 2028. Click this electrive article link here to read more.HORSE BUILDS ENGINE TO RUN ON METHANOLWhilst methanol is not a big fuel for road vehicles in the UK and Europe, it is in China. To tap into this market Horse, the joint-venture between Renault, Geely and Saudi Aramco, has built a 2.0 engine as part of a range extender system which will run on liquid methanol. Currently, methanol is not an e-fuel due to how it is produced but work is underway to try and make it so. If you want to learn more, click this Autocar article link here.JAECOO AND OMODA INCREASE WARRANTY COVERAGEFollowing a backlash after Warrantywise CEO Lawrence Wittaker highlighted how the warranty for Jaecoo and Omoda models had the headline of seven years, much was only covered for three, the brands have improved the number of components that will move from a 3 year or 40,000 miles coverage to 7 years and 100,000. To learn what has changed, click this Motoring Research article link here.DEFENDER EV DELAYEDJLR has delayed bringing out an electric version of the Defender, as the redesign of the model has been put back until 2030. Probable reason for this is the need to cut costs following the cyber security breach, tariffs and increased costs across supply chains. Money seems to be prioritised into the ‘baby Defender’ which is still expected on track and to be launched by the end of this year or early next. Click this electrive article link here, to read more.CHINA ISSUES THEIR BIGGEST RECALLChina has issued their biggest ever recall for motor vehicles, covering 4.3 million cars, with hidden door handles. Of that 2.98 million Teslas are required to add warning stickers and amend software to ensure if power is lost to the car, the doors can easily be opened or occupants escape, in the event of an emergency. China has banned them on new cars from 2027. To read more, click this Carscoops 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 PODCASTNEW NEW CAR NEWS -Aion UTAion is bringing a supermini to the UK, in the form of the UT. Prices will start at £28,950 and the 60kWh battery will give a maximum range of 268 miles. The car has also, apparently, been engineered for our roads. Click this Motor Trader article link here, for more.Denza Bao 5Denza are brining a chunky looking hybrid SUV to the UK. The idea is to take on the likes of the Defender and Toyota Land Cruiser. Prices are not as affordable as we’ve come to expect from Chinese cars, with a starting price of £69,500 for Elegance trim, but if you plump for Ultimate that will cost from £78,880. There is a maximum electric only range of 62 miles. Click this Motor Trader article link, for more.SSCC SC-01The UK will get the SC-01 from the Small Sports Car Company (SSCC), which is ‘inspired’ by the Lancia Stratos and will be a ‘mid-engined’ EV sports car. Prices are expected to start at around £50,000. The car is already for sale in China. Click this Autocar article link, for more.LUNCHTIME READ: LAMBORGHINI MIURAEVO have an excellent article telling the story of how the Lamborghini Miura came to be and how it set the stage for future supercars. Click this article link here to read all about this fabulous car.LIST OF THE WEEK: THE BEST CARS EVER MADE IN AUSTRIAAl Suttie has compiled this week’s suggested slideshow from Autocar, all about the best cars made in Austria. There will be some surprises in here, for you to find. Do you agree with the choice? Click this link to see what your options are.AND FINALLY: WHERE THE LAMBORGHINI LM002 CAME FROMThank you to listener, Farmer Jamie, who sent us the link to this Classic Driver article explaining about the origin story of the Lamborghini LM002, which began as the Cheetah concept for the US military. Click this link here to read all about this fascinating story and the fate of the company. That time.
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  Toujours - 18 August 2026 19.08.2026 52min

  FOLLOW UP: TESLA SWEDISH STRIKE ENDSWe first mentioned how Swedish Tesla workers had gone on strike, back on 21 November 2023. The dispute has come to an end after Tesla paid off all the workers who remained on strike, with severance packages. That’s one way to ‘win’. To read more, click this electrive article link here.UK GOVERNMENT BEGINS ZEV MANDATE CONSULTATIONFollowing months of lobbying, the UK Government has finally started to review the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate. They have opened a consultation that will close on the 23 October 2026. This is a tricky matter for the Government because whilst the targets are only being hit by huge discounts, other parts of the ecosystem have made plans based on these same targets. If you wish to learn more, click this Motor Trader article link here.PORSCHE LEAVES VW GROUP EU CO2 POOLPorsche has left the Volkswagen Group’s CO2 pool, for the EU, and joined Xpeng’s in order to meet the annual requirements of 92g/km. The VW Group is currently sitting at 8% over the target set for it. Click this Autocar article link here to read more.CHINA’S BATTERY HEALTH RULES COME INTO FORCEIn December 2025 China announced new rules for batteries, specifically the health of them as they age. A key component is the State of Available Energy (SOCE), which is judged against that when new. Part of this is also the minimum requirements of what a battery must be at after set ages, for example after five years there must be at least 82% available energy. To read more, click this electrive article link here.WEVC TO BUILD EVS IN QATARWatt Electric Vehicle Company (WEVC), based in Cornwall, has reached an agreement with Qatar based investment company, to build EVs in the Middle East country. The first two models will be a passenger car and a medium sized van. The expectation is for production to begin in early 2028. If you want to find out more, click this Autocar article link here.FRANCE OFFERS FINANCIAL AID FOR USED EVSThe French Government will be introducing a grant for the purchase of used EVs from September 2026. The amount is quite low though, at €337, unless you are a health worker. Critics have complained that the amount is insufficient and needs to be increased. The money is coming from energy and fuel suppliers, thanks to ‘polluter-pays’ rules. Click this electrive article link here, to read more.WORLD RECORD FOR JCBJCB has smashed the world land speed record for a hydrogen powered vehicle as their vehicle, the Hydromax, averaged 406.320mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Andy Green was the driver, making that his third record. To read more, click this Autocar article link here.NATIONAL MOTOR MUSEUM IN FIGHT WITH LANDLORDThe National Motor Museum, which is currently housed at Beaulieu, has stated that it is actively looking for a new home as its lease comes to an end. Beaulieu Enterprises Limited, who run the site, issued a statement to state even if the museum does move they will have their own motor museum on site to replace it. According to reports, there is no new lease on offer and the gate receipts for the site only give a small fraction of the entry fee to the museum. If you want to learn more, click this Autocar 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 PODCASTNEW NEW CAR NEWS -Leapmotor B03Leapmotor will be bringing the B03 to the UK in 2027. This car is aimed at the likes of the Renault 5 and is expected to cost somewhere in the low £20,000s. When launched the car will have a 53kWh battery which WLTP maximum range is expected to be 242 miles. Click this EV Powered article link, to read more.Denza D9Denza are the latest to bring a luxury MPV to the UK, following the likes of Xpeng and Lexus. Prices start at £75,000 which is nearly £23,000 less than the Lexus LM. Click this Autocar article link here, for more.Audi Q9Audi think the Q9 is now the range topping vehicle they make. It is large, very large at 5.3m long and 2.2m wide. Externally there are more than a few wiffs of the last generation Hyundai Santa Fe but inside they have followed the recent trend of making it look as cheap and tacky as possible. There are screens across the width of the dashboard, there is led lighting everywhere. Prices are yet to be announced but do expect them to be beyond £100,000 just for the ‘entry-level’ version. Click this Autocar article link here, to find out more.LUNCHTIME READs: BERLINGO BERLINGO (I’M IN LOVE)The Berlingo will hit 30 years old in October. Ahead of that Driven to Write has a lovely article which covers some of the history of the car plus bristowfuller’s path to owning one. Click this link here to enjoy this week’s read.LIST OF THE WEEK: THESE ARE THE 50 GREATEST ITALIAN CARS OF ALL TIMEWe bring you a Top Gear list, all about Italian cars which never gets old. Do you agree with the choices made? What would you pick? Click this link here to see what your options are.AND FINALLY: STATIONARY MUSEUM CAR GETS SPEEDING TICKETThe Volo Museum, near Chicago, received a speeding ticket and photographic evidence that the Pontiac Trans Am from the TV show Knight Rider was speeding in New York. Thing is, it hasn’t moved in years and quite how the police managed to track down the museum when they have not registered the car for the road, is another mystery. Click this Yahoo!News article link here to read more.
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  Chattering classes - 11 August 2026 12.08.2026 1h 2min

  FOLLOW UP: QUESTION FROM LAST LIVESTREAMWith last week’s livestream round up of Recharging Round Britain, we missed one question out. We fix that now. To listen to the audio version of the livestream, click this link here.To watch the livestream, click this YouTube link here.FOLLOW UP: ASTON MARTIN IN FIGHT WITH CREDITORSMore details have come to light with the plans Aston Martin have to restructure their debt. Part of the deal would involve the company selling the non-automotive intellectual rights to Authentic Brands, which is part owned by HPS Investment Partners who are to provide the funding for the car company. Creditors are unhappy at this and have warned of legal action if this goes through. Click this Reuters article link here to read more.JULY 2026 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURESJuly 2026 was much better than last year, with 156,571 vehicles registered. BEVs continued to do well, with a monthly market share of 27.5%, yet year to date remains at 25.3%, some way off the 33% the mandate demands - although there are ways around that figure. Mike Hawes, SMMT’s Chief Executive, issues a very strong statement aimed at both the industry and the Government about the mandate levels and how some are choosing to tackle the requirements. You can read that and all the details by clicking this SMMT article link here.RIVIAN Q2 FINANCIAL RESULTSRivian’s financial results from the second quarter of the year show a reduction in the loss made, thanks to VW’s custom. However, it should be noted they are the largest shareholder too and have serious financial issues themselves. The US EV company has upgraded expected deliveries for the year, despite their government’s u-turn on EVs. Click this electrive article link here to read more.JLR ANNOUNCE NEW DISCOVERY BOSSJLR have filled in the missing executive piece to their House of Brands, erm, brands. Adam Constable will head up the Discovery brand, as well as the newly formed Freelander brand that is in partnership with Chery. If you wish to find out more, click this Autocar article link here.BMW IN-CAR AD CREATES HUGE BACKLASHThere has been a huge backlash for BMW after it added an advert for the latest Spiderman movie, when it promised just a few years ago it would never do this due to the car being a “private place”. Anyone could have and should have known this was a really bad idea. To read more on this, click this electrive article link here.CAR PARKING RULE ELICITS BIG REACTIONNorth Berwick is a lovely small town in Scotland that is the battlefield for a war between someone or may be some people and the council who have started new parking restrictions and rules following a consultation where they ignored the majority which was negative to the proposals. Since doing so parking meters have been routinely put out of action by the use of expanding spray foam and superglue. To read more, click this link to a Wall Street Journal article that might or might not work (sorry about that, its the best we could find).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 PODCASTNEW NEW CAR NEWS -Renault MeganeRenault are in the process of updating their range with the latest battery and in-car technology they have. The Megane is the latest to be announced. Excepted to have a maximum range up to 310 miles and with the full UK subsidy, cost less than £30,000 it should attract buyers. Click this Autocar article link to read more.BYD Ti7BYD are coming for your large, boxy SUV of choice with the Ti7. Size wise it is larger than the Defender 110 but smaller than the 130. Technical specifications are impressive for the hybrid vehicle. Prices are to start from $47,995. Click this Autocar article link here for more.Donkervort P24 RSDonkervort’s latest sports car, the P24 RS, is coming to the UK and it will be in right-hand drive too. Costing from £302,400 this lightweight car packs a serious punch. Click this Autocar article link to read more.DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: MATT WEAVER IS THE NEW NISSAN DESIGN CHIEFMatt Weaver, who is responsible for the Juke and Qashqai designs, will be leaving his post in Europe of senior design director, to take up the role of global head of design for the Japanese company. If you want to find out more, click this Autocar article link here.LUNCHTIME READs: vamos a la playa parts 7 & 8We are completionists here, and thus we bring you the final two parts to the Driven to Write series on beach cars. Part 7 is all about Japanese takes on the thorny problem of what’s the best way to get to the beach. Whilst Part 8 covers cars that didn’t make any other lists due to being the only option from countries. Click here for Part 7.For Part 8, click this link here.LIST OF THE WEEK: THE BEST CARS FROM COMPANIES THAT NO LONGER EXISTAutocar has compiled a long list of the best cars from companies that we don’t have any more. Do you agree with the choices made? What would you pick? Click this link here to see what your options are.AND FINALLY: MOTORING ART - VELASORClassic & Sports Car provide the link this week to Ramón Cubiró and the astonishingly excellent team he has compiled at Velasor who make slot cars based around 1920s racing cars. The attention to detail and quality of the models needs to be seen to be believed. Click this link here to see more, including at the bottom of the article a link to the Velasor website.
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  Special Edition - Live Recharging Round Britain Roundup and Q&A 5 August 2026 07.08.2026 1h 3min

  We completed the Recharging Round Britain road-trip on the 18 July 2026, after six days trying to, sort of, replicate the EV trip we undertook a decade ago. This is the audio from our livestream where we summarised what we got up to this time.Hear why we did this in the first place, the route, the charging, the car, the calculated costs and how we got on with our I-Spy book!CHARGING SPONSORThanks to our charging sponsor, GRIDSERVE, They have an EV charging network that spans almost the whole of the UK.While you can just turn up and pay with a debit card or their app, you can also get 25% off charging rates at all 200 of their locations with GRIDSERVE Plus.GRIDSERVE Plus costs just £7.99/month and can be cancelled at any time, much like many gym memberships, and as well as the discounted charging, there are many other seasonal membership benefits such as EV heathchecks while you charge, pet portraits, and similar.Many people take out Gridserve Plus for a month at a time to cover a holiday or seasonal travel.There's more information at gridserve.com/membership/VEHICLE SPONSORThank you to Hyundai, who once again have loaned us an electric vehicle enabling us to travel around as much of Britain as we can in six days. This time, we are using an Inster 02. To find out more on the Inster, you can listen to Alan’s time with one during the UK launch of the car, by clicking this link here.To see more about the car, from Hyundai themselves, click this 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
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  Lovely powerpoint - 4 August 2026 05.08.2026 45min

  FOLLOW UP: VW RESULTS FOR H1 OF 2026 ARE BADThe headline figures for Volkswagen Group’s first half of 2026 financial results make for grim reading. There is a 11.6% drop in profits, despite revenue almost matching 2025. China was a big disappointment, but should not have been a surprise. Company claims cost savings are working already and the plans, which we are yet to know the full details, will accelerate the benefits to the company. Click this Autocar article link here, for more.Part of the plans to reduce costs, that we have heard about, include shedding jobs. Anything between 100,000 and 140,000 has been rumoured, but they are only rumours to date. Additionally, a cull of their car line ups, plus reducing the model variants which will reduce the crossover, between brands, and complexity. Click this Autocar article link, to find out more.However, the job cuts, in particular, are going to be a difficult thing to sell to workers. Already there have been protests at some plants, against any reduction in the workforce. To get an idea of what the management board are up against, click this electrive article link here.To understand how big an issue, just the employee numbers side of things is, click this Carscoops article link here and begin to understand the scale of the problem.PORSCHE APPEAR TO TURN AROUND FINANCIAL RESULTS IN H1Considering where Porsche were last year, their financial results for the first half of 2026 are remarkably good. In explaining the turn around, a lot is made of how they have prioritised less volume but more profit per vehicle. The sales of 911s is held up as a very good thing. CEO Michael Leiters will unveil the full plan in October. You can read more, by clicking this Autocar article link here.BMW SEEKS MORE JOB CUTSBMW are another company that has announced their first half yearly results for 2026. Profits fell by 29.4%, with margins being squeezed down two percentage points to 6.5%. Reports suggest the company is seeking to cut the workforce by around 8,000, hopefully through severance packages. Most of the jobs will go in Germany and be office based roles. If you wish to find out more, click this electrive article link here.STELLANTIS RESULTS IMPROVE BUT NOT IN EUROPEStellantis announced improved financial results, thanks to the US market that enabled a profit of £37.3bn. Europe, results were flat, which was part of the reason this was the only region to post a negative income margin of - 0.6%. For more on this, click this link here to read a Motor Trader article.JLR UK GETS A NEW BOSSJLR has announced that Cian O’Brien will become the managing director of JLR UK, as Patrick McGillycuddy will move to the head of the Defender brand. O’Brien is stepping up from the market and business operations director role he took on towards the beginning of the year. To read more, click this Autocar article link here.MARIA GRAZIA DAVINO JOINS FORD EUROPEMario Grazio Davino, former managing director for BYD Europe, will be joining Ford Europe on 1 October 2026 to become vice president of sales. She will be responsible for all commercial operations, which includes retail, the dealer network and distribution. Click this Motor Trader article link here, for more.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 PODCASTNEW NEW CAR NEWS -Bentley TorcalBentley has revealed some of the details about their first EV SUV, the Torcal, which will be shown off fully at the end of September. One of the issues their engineers have been tackling is how to match the emotion the sound of a V8 gives the driver and passengers, they think they have the solution. To find out more, click this Autocar article link here and find the video, plus more details about the car.Xpeng X9The X9 is a luxury MPV, aimed at moving the wealthy around in supreme comfort. Targeting the likes of the Lexus LM, the X9 undercuts the Japanese offering by twenty odd thousand pounds. To learn more, click this EV Powered article link here.Amble OneFrom the pen of the designer who brought us the Audi R8 and the Apple Watch, Julian Hoenig in collaboration with Michael Tropper, the One is a quadracycle that will have a range of 62 miles and be capable of a top speed of 40 mph. The looks are similar but much improved on the Mini Moke and think of it doing a similar job but with off-road capability too. We like this a lot. Click this Autocar article link here for more.LUNCHTIME READ: HIGH FIDELITYHagerty are the supplier of the recommended read this week, as Brendan McAleer tells us all about the fascinating history of Yamaha. How they came about and then moved from making musical instruments, to motorbikes and things such as the Lexus LFA engine. Click this link here to find out more.LIST OF THE WEEK: 15 QUIRKY JAPANESE CARS OF THE 1990SClassic & Sports Car provide the list we are running through, this week. All about interesting Japanese cars from the 90s. Do you agree with the choices made by Alan and Andrew? Click this link to see what your options are.AND FINALLY: GO BACK TO THE FUTUREWe are pointing you towards a new Auto Diktak video, as this time he has the BMW i8 under the microscope. This podcast is a huge fan of the i8 and this video does not disappoint. Click this link to see the YouTube film and enjoy.
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  Goes swimmingly - 27 July 2026 28.07.2026 32min

  FOLLOW UP: COURT MAINLY RULES IN FAVOUR OF OEMS IN UK DIESELGATE TRIALA UK judge has found mostly in favour of car manufacturers in the claims against them regarding defeat devices being fitted to cars between 2012 and 2017. The judge’s decision is based on her decision that a defeat device needs to be deliberately installed to create a different driving operation if it senses it is in test conditions, but this has not been proven to be the case. If you wish to learn more, click this article link here, from The Law Society Gazette.UK GOVERNMENT CONFIRMS PAY-PER-MILE FOR EVS AND PHEVSFollowing the public consultation, the Government has announced that it will introduce a pay-per mile scheme, named eVED, for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, from April 2028. As a result of feedback they have tweaked how the proposal will work. Vehicles under three years old will not have to undertake an additional check to the mileage prior to their age requiring an MOT. A picture of the odometer and an estimation of next years mileage will be sent by the driver. Drivers can opt-in to send the Government the vehicle’s mileage data directly via the connected systems on-board, if they wish. This is not mandatory. To learn more, click this electrive article link here.PORSCHE FINDS A NEW PRODUCTION CHIEFPorsche has announced that Christian Friedl will take over as Production Chief, from Albrecht Reimold. Reimold is stepping down at the end of August. If you wish to read more, click this electrive article link here.ASTON MARTIN SHAREHOLDERS FORM CO-OPMore than 50% of the largest shareholders in Aston Martin have formed a cooperative to insure themselves against any new debt deal that would leave them taking disproportionate losses. During this time, the company has restructured its debt financing, with the revolving credit facility and some of the Yew Tree financing being paid off. Financial results are due to be announced on 29 July 2026. For more on this click this link from Zetik, here. To read about the debt restructuring, click this Morning Start link here.FORD AND GEELY SIGN EUROPEAN DEALFord and Geely has agreed to a new joint-venture that will run the Blue Oval’s Valencia facility, eventually producing two Ford SUVs and two Geely SUVs. Ford will bring a European Bronco inspired car and develop another C-Segment SUV with Geely. The Chinese company will be building two electric SUVs in the same facilities. To read more, click this Autocar article link here.CARWOW RUNS AD CAMPAIGN USING ANPR TO TRACK YOUCarwow is using ANPR in a UK-wide advertising campaign, encouraging owners of cars the company is targeting to sell to them through their system. Does that step over the line into tracking far too much? Does it contravene the ICO’s rules on using ANPR? Click this Motor Trade News article link to read about the plan from Carwow.Click this link to the ICO’s own page on fair use of ANPR data and camera systems.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 PODCASTNEW NEW CAR NEWS -Range Rover GTJLR has revealed a new model line for the Range Rover brand, the GT. The claim is it sits between a grand tourer and an SUV. The images issued appear to show the typical bluff Range Rover range front end, with a coupe style rear. Either this is a brilliant move to capture buyers who’ve lost out due to Porsche leaving or many years too late. The interior is really leaning into ‘minamilist’, with a very thin screen directly on top of the dash in front of the driver and a huge screen slapped in the middle, quite low down. Prices and specifications are yet to be revealed. Click this Autocar article link, for more.Dacia StrikerDacia has revealed their latest model, the Striker. The overall design concept, jacked-up estate, is reminiscent of the Subaru Outback. Prices will start at a smidgen under £25,000, when launched in the UK, but the full price and specifications are yet to be released. Click this Motoring Research article link, for more.VW ID CrossVolkswagen has shown off images of their latest ID model, the Cross. Using the same MEB+ platform as the ID Polo, this will go up against the Ford Puma and Renault 4. There will be a variety of motors and battery packs offered, which will give ranges varying from 196 to 271 miles. Prices are expected to start around £25,000. Click this Autocar article link, for more.LUNCHTIME WATCHES: FOTU 2026Last weekend was the 2026 Festival of the Unexceptional, from Hagerty. A much loved car gathering, where the common cars from yesteryear gather and everyone enjoys their trip down memory lane. For those of us who couldn’t attend, thankfully YouTube has many videos showing off the wonderful event. We have but a tiny fraction of what is out there, do go search for more and spread some love to all those who make content for us to enjoy.To watch I Drive a Classic, click on this link to see what caught Steph’s eye.To watch Furious Driving, click on this link to see what caught his eye.To watch Jon Coupland Cars, click on this link as he watched the cars enter the show.LIST OF THE WEEK: 23 COLOURS WITH GREAT NAMESClassic & Sports Car have a list about some of the best named colours that you could have specified for your car. Do you agree with Andrew’s choice? What would you like to have, adorning your car just so you could tell people the name of it? Click this link to check out your options.AND FINALLY: TECH BROS MAKE A BUS. AGAIN.In an ever increasing number times the tech bros design a transport ‘solution’ it turns out we already have that solution, but perhaps it hasn’t been maximised to exploit the customers enough. This time, Uber have designed ‘the bus’, albeit named the ‘Uber Shuttle’ that runs from Logan Airport, in the US, on a fixed route with dedicated stops. Click this YouTube link to then join in pointing and laughing and the ridiculousness of these companies.
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  Recharging Round Britain Day 6 - 18 July 2026 19.07.2026 19min

  DAY 6Today, Saturday 18 July 2026, we continued with Day 6 of Recharging Round Britain the final leg, where we are trying to, as closely as we can, recreate the route we undertook nearly a decade ago. Hear how we got on yesterday to the final destination of Fort William and today as we travelled from Fort William, via Bothwell services, Tebay services, Killington Lakes services, Blackpool and the end of the road near Preston.CHARGING SPONSORThanks to our charging sponsor, GRIDSERVE, They have an EV charging network that spans almost the whole of the UK.While you can just turn up and pay with a debit card or their app, you can also get 25% off charging rates at all 200 of their locations with GRIDSERVE Plus.GRIDSERVE Plus costs just £7.99/month and can be cancelled at any time, much like many gym memberships, and as well as the discounted charging, there are many other seasonal membership benefits such as EV heathchecks while you charge, pet portraits, and similar.Many people take out Gridserve Plus for a month at a time to cover a holiday or seasonal travel.There's more information at gridserve.com/membership/VEHICLE SPONSORThank you to Hyundai, who once again have loaned us an electric vehicle enabling us to travel around as much of Britain as we can in six days. This time, we are using an Inster 02. To find out more on the Inster, you can listen to Alan’s time with one during the UK launch of the car, by clicking this link here.To see more about the car, from Hyundai themselves, click this 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
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  Recharging Round Britain Day 5 - 17 July 2026 18.07.2026 13min

  DAY 5Today, Friday 17 July 2026, we continued with Day 5 of Recharging Round Britain, where we are trying to, as closely as we can, recreate the route we undertook nearly a decade ago. Hear how we got on today as we travelled from Inverness, via Wick, John o’Groats, Tongue, Lairg, Ullapool and hopefully ending up at Fort William.CHARGING SPONSORThanks to our charging sponsor, GRIDSERVE, They have an EV charging network that spans almost the whole of the UK.While you can just turn up and pay with a debit card or their app, you can also get 25% off charging rates at all 200 of their locations with GRIDSERVE Plus.GRIDSERVE Plus costs just £7.99/month and can be cancelled at any time, much like many gym memberships, and as well as the discounted charging, there are many other seasonal membership benefits such as EV heathchecks while you charge, pet portraits, and similar.Many people take out Gridserve Plus for a month at a time to cover a holiday or seasonal travel.There's more information at gridserve.com/membership/VEHICLE SPONSORThank you to Hyundai, who once again have loaned us an electric vehicle enabling us to travel around as much of Britain as we can in six days. This time, we are using an Inster 02. To find out more on the Inster, you can listen to Alan’s time with one during the UK launch of the car, by clicking this link here.To see more about the car, from Hyundai themselves, click this 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
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  Recharging Round Britain Day 4 - 16 July 2026 17.07.2026 15min

  DAY 4Today, Thursday 16 July 2026, we continued with Day 4 of Recharging Round Britain, and we returned to trying to, as closely as we can, recreate the route we undertook nearly a decade ago. Hear how we got on today as we travelled from Washington, via Kinross, Perth, Aberdeen to eventually arrive at Inverness.CHARGING SPONSORThanks to our charging sponsor, GRIDSERVE, They have an EV charging network that spans almost the whole of the UK.While you can just turn up and pay with a debit card or their app, you can also get 25% off charging rates at all 200 of their locations with GRIDSERVE Plus.GRIDSERVE Plus costs just £7.99/month and can be cancelled at any time, much like many gym memberships, and as well as the discounted charging, there are many other seasonal membership benefits such as EV heathchecks while you charge, pet portraits, and similar.Many people take out Gridserve Plus for a month at a time to cover a holiday or seasonal travel.There's more information at gridserve.com/membership/VEHICLE SPONSORThank you to Hyundai, who once again have loaned us an electric vehicle enabling us to travel around as much of Britain as we can in six days. This time, we are using an Inster 02. To find out more on the Inster, you can listen to Alan’s time with one during the UK launch of the car, by clicking this link here.To see more about the car, from Hyundai themselves, click this 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
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  Recharging Round Britain Day 3 - 15 July 2026 16.07.2026 17min

  DAY 3Today, Wednesday 15 July 2026, we continued with Day 3 of Recharging Round Britain, and this is where we do not try as closely as we can to recreate the route we undertook nearly a decade ago. Hear how we got on today as we travelled from Folkestone, via Toddington, Tibshelf services, Markham Vale, Wetherby to our hotel in Washington.CHARGING SPONSORThanks to our charging sponsor, GRIDSERVE, They have an EV charging network that spans almost the whole of the UK.While you can just turn up and pay with a debit card or their app, you can also get 25% off charging rates at all 200 of their locations with GRIDSERVE Plus.GRIDSERVE Plus costs just £7.99/month and can be cancelled at any time, much like many gym memberships, and as well as the discounted charging, there are many other seasonal membership benefits such as EV heathchecks while you charge, pet portraits, and similar.Many people take out Gridserve Plus for a month at a time to cover a holiday or seasonal travel.There's more information at gridserve.com/membership/VEHICLE SPONSORThank you to Hyundai, who once again have loaned us an electric vehicle enabling us to travel around as much of Britain as we can in six days. This time, we are using an Inster 02. To find out more on the Inster, you can listen to Alan’s time with one during the UK launch of the car, by clicking this link here.To see more about the car, from Hyundai themselves, click this 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
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  Recharging Round Britain Day 2 - 14 July 2026 15.07.2026 11min

  DAY 2Today, Tuesday July 2026, we continued with Day 2 of Recharging Round Britain, where we try as closely as we can to recreate the route we undertook nearly a decade ago. Hear how we got on today as we travelled from Bodmin, via Falmouth, Exeter, Southampton, Cobham Services eventually to our hotel in Folkestone.CHARGING SPONSORThanks to our charging sponsor, GRIDSERVE, They have an EV charging network that spans almost the whole of the UK.While you can just turn up and pay with a debit card or their app, you can also get 25% off charging rates at all 200 of their locations with GRIDSERVE Plus.GRIDSERVE Plus costs just £7.99/month and can be cancelled at any time, much like many gym memberships, and as well as the discounted charging, there are many other seasonal membership benefits such as EV heathchecks while you charge, pet portraits, and similar.Many people take out Gridserve Plus for a month at a time to cover a holiday or seasonal travel.There's more information at gridserve.com/membership/VEHICLE SPONSORThank you to Hyundai, who once again have loaned us an electric vehicle enabling us to travel around as much of Britain as we can in six days. This time, we are using an Inster 02. To find out more on the Inster, you can listen to Alan’s time with one during the UK launch of the car, by clicking this link here.To see more about the car, from Hyundai themselves, click this 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
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  Recharging Round Britain Day 1 - 13 July 2026 14.07.2026 20min

  DAY 1Today, Monday 13 July 2026, we began Recharging Round Britain, where we try as closely as we can to recreate the route we undertook nearly a decade ago. Hear our daily updates as we find out what has changed, if anything, to the infrastructure, electric car technology and if its easier or not to do this harebrained adventure.CHARGING SPONSORThanks to our charging sponsor, GRIDSERVE, They have an EV charging network that spans almost the whole of the UK.While you can just turn up and pay with a debit card or their app, you can also get 25% off charging rates at all 200 of their locations with GRIDSERVE Plus.GRIDSERVE Plus costs just £7.99/month and can be cancelled at any time, much like many gym memberships, and as well as the discounted charging, there are many other seasonal membership benefits such as EV heathchecks while you charge, pet portraits, and similar.Many people take out Gridserve Plus for a month at a time to cover a holiday or seasonal travel.There's more information at gridserve.com/membership/VEHICLE SPONSORThank you to Hyundai, who once again have loaned us an electric vehicle enabling us to travel around as much of Britain as we can in six days. This time, we are using an Inster 02. To find out more on the Inster, you can listen to Alan’s time with one during the UK launch of the car, by clicking this link here.To see more about the car, from Hyundai themselves, click this 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
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  Bit like snow - 7 July 2026 08.07.2026 56min

  FOLLOW UP: MOTOR FINANCE COMPENSATION SCHEME PAUSEDIn what should be a surprise to no one following the story, thanks to the legal challenges of the Financial Conduct Authority’s proposed compensation scheme for customers who were impacted by illegal practices by those who arranged their finance, that this has now been partially paused. Companies are to proceed with claims as far as they can before hitting the areas under review, as well as tell those where their claim has failed. If you wish to learn more, click this Motor Trader article link here.JUNE 2026 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURESJune 2026 recorded the most registrations since the pandemic hit. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) rose to a market share of 30% for the month, but still only 25% year to date. There was also a jump in private registrations. The Top 10 most registered models has some surprising cars, especially with the claimed number of Tesla’s. The SMMT took the opportunity to highlight the difference between the mandate level and what the market is currently sitting at, for zero emission vehicles. For more on this, click the SMMT article link here.SKYWELL IMPORTER SHUTS DOORSThe UK importer for the Chinese brand Skywell, has suddenly closed their doors Innovation Automotive told all staff they were redundant on 30 June. This leaves a lot of unanswered questions regarding warranties, the future of the brand in the UK and repairs. Click this Autocar article link here, for more.Additionally, this also hits vans from DFSK as Innovation Automotive have failed to find a company to take over the warranty cover, parts ordering and repairs. To learn more about that, click this article link from Professional Van.BMW UK & IRELAND FIND A NEW BOSSBMW UK and Ireland has announced their new CEO, Neil Fiorentinos. He will take over the position 1 September 2026, following David George’s departure in January. To read more on this, click this Motor Trader article link here.TESLA BATTERY TRAILERS KEEP GETTING STOLENThere has been 11 recorded incidents where trailers filled with Tesla batteries have been stolen from their Nevada battery factory. Some of the stolen Powerwalls have been recovered and all disabled by the company, remotely. More can be found out about this, by clicking this InsideEVs article link here.INSTAVOLT BUYS GENIEPOINTIn buying GeniePoint, Instavolt is the first public EV charging network to have over 1,000 UK sites. The company intends to upgrade the acquired locations and hardware. You can read more, by clicking this article link from Instavolt here.VW AND BOSCH AUTOMATED DRIVING DEVELOPMENT ENDSVolkswagen, CARIAD and Bosch have reached the end of their project that was to develop SAE Level 2 and Level 3 automated driving systems. VW had to issue a press release to make it clear the project finished as expected and it wasn’t anything else. For more on this, click this electrive article link here.To read about the project from Volkswagen, click this 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 PODCASTNEW NEW CAR NEWS -BMW X5The fifth generation BMW X5 has been revealed, leaning into the Neue Klasse design language. There will eventually be a petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid, electric and hydrogen version of this model. Initially the ICE versions will be built, starting this year, with a price around the £80,000 mark, whilst the electrified versions will cost more. Click this Autocar article link for more.Geely EX2Geely is bringing their third model to the UK, later this summer, with the EX2. This car is aimed squarely at the likes of the Renault 5. Depending on battery pack selected you will get, according to Chinese testing which is different from WLTP, 193 or 255 miles - expect these to be less under WLTP testing. No further details are available regarding the specifications or prices, at this time. Click this Autocar article link for more.SGT Automobili 5S-SGTSGT Automobili has created a tribute to the DTM styled Alfa Romeo 155, using the underpinnings of an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio. The Alfa engine has been tuned to provide, in normal Stradale trim, 612bhp, but if you want the track focused Trofeo model there is 740bhp. Weight has been stripped out too, with the Stradale coming in at 1590kg and the Trofeo ending up at 1490kg. The company is at pains to say this is not a restomod or replica, but how such a car could look today. Click this Autocar article link for more.LUNCHTIME READS: VAMOS A LA PLAYA PARTS 5 & 6Once again you need to grab your towels and wind breakers as we look at the cars best suited to rushing to the beach in, from Brazil and North America, thanks to Driven to Write. And once again there is an eclectic mix of solutions to the problem of how to get to the beach. Click this link here for Part Five. To see Part Six, click this link here.LIST OF THE WEEK: 20 WEIRD AND WONDERFUL FIAT CONCEPTSFiat have a long history of fabulous concepts, Classic & Sports Car has compiled a list of their favourite 20 of them. Click this link here to see your options and thus if you agree with the choices made by the chaps.AND FINALLY: TINY BUT ENDURINGDiecast Endurance ran a MkII Ford GT40 for as long as it could go before breaking, continuously. They livestreamed the five days, one hour, 10 minutes, and 42 seconds endurance effort, utilising a belt sander to enable propulsion. Click this article from The Drive to see more, including a link to the video showing what happened.
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  Midsummer murder - 30 June 2026 01.07.2026 50min

  FOLLOW UP: UK GOVERNMENT CANS CAR PARK SOLAR CANOPIESAfter reviewing a consultation on new outdoor large car parks should be required to fit solar panel canopies the Government has decided to shelve the idea. Costs and differing site conditions were used as excuses, in the responses, to the concept. To read more, click this East Anglia Bylines article link here.VW NOW CONSIDERING 100,000 JOB LOSSESAccording to reports, Volkswagen Group is now considering doubling the job losses to around 100,000 and the shutting down of four German plants. Additionally they are considering spinning off the Volkswagen brand and the components division. If you wish to read more, click this Yahoo!News article link here.PORSCHE’S NEW STRATEGY EXPLAINEDThe CEO of Porsche, Michael Leiters has outlined the company’s new strategy to investors, whilst asking for patience. Called Strategy 2035 it is hoped it will dramatically improve their fortunes as right now their profit margin is 1.1 percent. The strategy is targeting customers, cars to be offered and costs. For more on this story, click this CarScoops article link here.POLESTAR BANNED FROM SELLING CARS IN THE USPolestar has been banned from selling cars in the US, despite having a factory in country, due to the Connected Vehicle Rule which restricts Chinese (and Russian) linked hardware and software. It must be remembered that recently Volvo, their sister company, was granted a waiver of this rule. To read more, click this Auotcar article link here.FERRARI LOSE AND FIND NEW HEAD OF MARKETINGChief Marketing and Commercial Officer, Enrico Galliera, has left Ferrari after 16 years. He is to be replaced by Massimiliano Di Silvestre. This has occurred a few weeks after the launch of the Luce, which cause quite the stir. Click this Yahoo!Finance article link here for more.FORD REHIRING SOME ENGINEERS FIRED FOR AI THAT HAS FAILEDFord have had to eat some humble pie as it has rehired some 350 engineers it made redundant and replaced with AI. This has not worked out as the company has found the software failed. The company isn’t retreating from its use, but instead is getting the engineers to train it. You can read more, by clicking this Futurism article link here.BMW OTA UPDATE BATTERY WARNINGBMW has told owners that they do not need to worry about a 12v battery warning, which has occurred to i3 and i4s following an over the air (OTA) update. The company stated that there is nothing wrong with the battery. To find out more, click this CarScoops 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 PODCASTNEW NEW CAR NEWS -Morgan Midsummer CoupeThe collaboration between Morgan and Pininafarina has produced more lovely work, this time in the form of the Midsummer Coupe. There is now a hard top version to compliment the roadster which we covered previously. Only nine will be built. Click this Motoring Research article link here, for more.Skoda PeaqSkoda has released the specifications for their second largest vehicle, the Peaq. An electric SUV, with the capability of seating seven, there are a couple of battery options and drive configurations, as we have come to expect from the VW Group. Prices start at £51,980 and as you move up through the trim levels, tops out at initially £58,280. Click this Top Gear article link here for the full details.Shell Triple 10 ChallengeShell has revealed a proof of concept, called the Triple 10 Challenge. They are aiming for 10km/kWh, a total lifecycle CO2 footprint of 10 tonnes and a maximum 10 minute recharge time. Click this CarScoops article link here to learn more.LUNCHTIME READS: AUDI 80 AT 60We are recommending a Nathan Chadwick article, on Hagerty, for your reading pleasure this week. He dives into the history of the 80 and how important the model was through a variety of iterations. Click this link here to read more.LIST OF THE WEEK: 116 YEARS OF ALFA ROMEOIt started as an art project, where Juanma Tastzien drew 31 Alfa Romeo models from their 116 year history. You can see five by clicking this link here, but we strongly recommend you sign up to his Creating Lightly newsletter because a) it is very good and enjoyable and b) you see the other 26 cars.AND FINALLY: LAP OF LE MANS IN 1956For the And Finally, we are pointing you towards a YouTube video that is the film of Mike Hawthorn taking a D-Type Jaguar around Le Mans in 1956, with a camera strapped to the car and he is commentating as he is driving it. Utterly wonderful. Click this link here to see how it was, back then.
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  Mullet Rammstein - 23 June 2026 24.06.2026 48min

  UK GOVERNMENT IN TALKS WITH NISSAN OVER SUNDERLANDOnce again the UK Government is in talks with Nissan about helping the company to secure the future of the Sunderland plant. At least they are demanding commitments to future production at the site in return for financial aide. Negotiations are still ongoing. If you wish to read more, click this Yahoo!Finance article link here.STELLANTIS TO BUILD FOR JLR IN THE USStellantis has reached an agreement with JLR to build their vehicles in the US. These will be from the Defender brand. Additionally both companies plan to share technology and car development with each other. To learn more, click this Autocar article link here.JLR EXPLAINS NEXT ‘REIMAGINE’ PHASECombined with the Stellantis announcement, JLR also explained the next stage of their Reimagine strategy. They are aiming for £1.7 billion in savings, which they are calling Enterprise Missions, targeting material costs, warranty expenses and fixed costs. For more on this story, click this Autocar Professional article link here.EU NOTICES PHEV TARIFFS LOOPHOLEWhilst the EU has imposed tariffs on Chinese built EVs it seemed to forget they also sell plug-in hybrids. That is set to change as the European Commission intends to slap tariffs on PHEVs akin to the various levels imposed on individual Chinese brands for EVs, albeit at lower levels. Click this electrive article link here, to read more.UK GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES NEW AV CONSULTATIONThe Department for Transport has launched a new consultation about safety principles for automated vehicles. The draft principles in themselves are good and should be implemented. This will mean no AV will be on our roads as none can satisfy them all. Additionally, there were three principles that they chose to exclude, be able to drive without human monitoring, cyber resilience and explainability. These have to be included. Click this link to see the statement from the Transport Minister, Simon Lightwood MP announcing this matter.YET ANOTHER WAYMO RECALL FOR BASIC DRIVING ISSUEWaymo has recalled nearly 4,000 vehicles as it tries to update their software to stop them driving into freeway construction zones. To prevent any further issues until they can find and deploy a solution, freeway driving is being restricted. To read more, click this link from The Register 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 PODCASTNEW NEW CAR NEWS -BMW i3BMW has revealed the details and specifications of the ‘First Edition’ and 50 xDrive i3s and they are impressive. Prices start at £53,005, with the ‘First Edition’ starting at £57,905. The car has a range of 563 miles, thanks to 108.7kW battery, front and rear electric motors which provide 463bhp, 476lb ft of torques enabling a 0-62mph time of 4.7 seconds. The design is based on the Neue Klasse design language. Click this Top Gear article link for more.Rolls Royce SpectreRolls Royce has upgraded the Spectre as it comes out in its ‘Series II’ form, with an extended range and a cut to charging times. There is also more power, especially if you have a Black Badge edition and activate ‘Spirited’ mode. Prices start from £300,000 but in reality, after personalisation, the costs are usually much, much higher. Click this Autocar article link here, for more.Peugeot E-208 GTIPeugeot are brining back the GTI, but this time it is electric. Leaning on their history, there will be plenty of visual reminders of their past glories, whilst underneath much engineering is taking place to move this apart from the standard E-208. Prices start at £34,995 and it will have a maximum range of 217 miles but expect closer to 160-170 in the real world. Click this EV Powered article link here, for more.LUNCHTIME READS: VAMOS A LA PLAYA PARTS 3 & 4Parts 3 and 4 are now out, from Driven To Write, on the theme of beach cars. You will learn about Italian offerings in the first link, which you can get to by clicking here. Then you will find out what Germany used to get their towels to the beach first, by clicking this link here.LIST OF THE WEEK: 1996 - A GOLDEN YEAR FOR NEW SPORTS CARSAntony Ingram once again has produced another cracking list for Hagerty. He selects a few of the more choice sports cars that you could’ve bought new in 1996. Click this link to view your options and see if you agree with Alan’s choice.AND FINALLY: MOTORING ART BY VAL BIROVal Biro was prompted to start writing about his adventures in a 1926 Austin Heavy 12-4 Clifton tourer by those who heard him recount his stories. He did so, as children’s books that many of you listeners have probably read when you were younger. But the art work is what we are focusing on as that helped make the words more vivid. Click this Classic & Sports Car article link here, to learn more.
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  Usual spiel - 16 June 2026 16.06.2026 42min

  FOLLOW UP: MOTOR FINANCE PAYOUTS DELAYED UNTIL 2027As suspected, following appeals against the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) ruling and redress scheme, the FCA has announced that payouts will be delayed until 2027, if it goes ahead at all. The appeals have argued for the scheme to be quashed due to the claim that the rules governing it are illegal. For more in this, click the link here for a MotorTrader article.FOLLOW UP: INDUSTRY CALLS ON THE EU AND UK TO REACH NEW BREXIT DEALIndustry bodies for both the UK and European car manufacturers have called on both governments to reach a new ‘Rules of Origin’ deal that will allow for tariff free importing and exporting of cars and parts made in either area. This runs out at the end of this year. If you want to find out more, click this electrive article link here.REPORTS THAT GOVERNMENT TO REDUCE MANDATE LEVELSOver the weekend news broke on the rumour that the Government is set to reduce the required zero emission vehicle mandate level to 50% for 2030, instead of the 80% it is currently at. This is just a couple of weeks after the latest Carbon Budget claimed it would be at 95% and recently that they would not begin a review into levels until next year. To learn more, click this Autocar article link here.GOVERNMENT BEGINS REVIEW OF PUBLIC CHARGING COSTSAfter promising to do so, in the 2025 Budget, the Government has finally commenced the review into public EV charging costs. All are aware of the disparity between home and public charging prices and with more buying EVs who have no access to home charging the penalties can make the financial case for sticking with ICE. The review is looking at why the costs are what they are, how they might move between now and 2030 and what can be done to reduce them. The report into all this is expected in the autumn of this year. Click this EV Powered article link here to read more.AION LATEST CHINESE BRAND TO OPEN SHOWROOMS IN THE UKAion has opened a number of UK showrooms, in a first for the Chinese GAC Group. This brand is positioned as ‘upper-mainstream’ by GAC and will be selling the Aion V, an electric SUV, initially. This will be followed by the Aion UT hatchback, later in the year. To see where they are now based, click this EV Powered article link here.NEW DATA PRIVACY SERVICE LAUNCHEDEngenius has launched their Engineius DataClear service, with the help of Privacy4Cars. This will delete in-car personal data from the vehicle, with a report to providing a paper trail to confirm it has taken place. Not only does this help customers but also complies with GDPR requirements. For more on this, click this MotorTrader 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 PODCASTNEW NEW CAR NEWS -Audi Q7Audi has revealed the third generation of their large SUV, the Q7. This will come with either five, six or seven seats and has a fresh new look both outside and in. There will be only one engine available, a new 3.0 litre V6 diesel, but in two flavours. Full details on the performance and power capabilities is yet to be confirmed. The interior is brought in line with other recently released models. Prices and full specifications are expected in the next month. Click this Autocar article link for more.Boreham Ford Escort RSBoreham Motorworks has revealed what they are calling a ‘continumod’ in the form of a Ford Escort RS. Costing from £345,000 (in the UK) this is a completely new car that takes inspiration from the Mk1 Escort. Their Ten-K engine is a 2.2 litre petrol, which produces 326bhp and 155lb ft of the torques. There will also be the option to have a re-engineered Twin Cam that the original used in period. Only 150 will be built. Click this Autocar article link for more.BYD Dolphin G DM-iBYD has revealed the first plug-in hybrid supermini, with their Dophin G DM-i. With a maximum range of 649 miles and an electric only range of an impressive 65 miles, this car puts to shame many which cost more and are bigger. It will come with a 1.5 litre petrol engine and a 120kW electric motor. Prices are yet to be revealed and deliveries expected to start in the autumn. Click this EV Powered article link for more.LUNCHTIME READ: BUSSO V6We are recommending a Hagerty article for your reading pleasure this week. Nathan Chadwick writes all about the fabulous Alfa Romeo Busso V6. You’ll find out about the history of this evocative engine. Click this link to read all about it.LIST OF THE WEEK: 2001 STARS NOW ELIGIBLE FOR THE FOTUAntony Ingram highlights just some of the 2001 cars that are now eligible to be entered into the Festival of the Unexceptional. Do you agree with Alan’s choice? Click the link here to check out your options.AND FINALLY: SWEDISH HITMAN KILLED IN LIMERICK ROAD INCIDENTA Swedish contract killer was killed in a road collision after his driver accomplice was attempting to turn the car around after going the wrong way. This sounds like the plot from a low budget thriller, but is what happened last week. Click this Irish Times article link to read more.
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  Just made up - 9 June 2026 10.06.2026 39min

  MAY 2026 NEW CAR REGISTRATIONSMay’s registrations were the highest, for the month, since 2019. BEVs also were up, as is to be expected, with a monthly market share of 27.3%. The UK Government released the seventh Carbon Budget with an expectation that zero emission vans and cars will be 95% of all new registrations by 2030 - which bears no reflection with reality. For more, click this link to the SMMT article, here.FORD OUTLINE EUROPEAN PLANFord Europe has revealed their plan to turn around their fortunes, with five new models in the next four years thanks to collaborations with Renault and Geely. The Bronco name will be used to create a global sub brand for the company, with one SUV being inspired by the US based version. You can read more, by clicking this Autocar article link here.MUNRO LOOKS TO EXPAND PRODUCTIONMunro’s new CEO, Avinash Rugoobur, and CFO, Tim Holbrow, has announced very ambitious targets for the company. Rugoobur previously worked as head of strategy at Cruise and also for Arrival, where Holbrow also worked. The plan is for a new manufacturing facility in the UK enabling them to up the production numbers, whilst providing vehicles their commercial customers specifically need and want. If you want to find out more, click this Autocar article link here.WESTFIELD SPORTSCARS COMPANY BOUGHTWestfield entered liquidation back in April, but has now been bought by a Driving-Fun.com, who is a European trackday company and owner of Circuit Meppen, in Germany. A new production facility will be built at Meppen, with plans for a series of new models, for both the road and track. Click this EVO article link here, for more.CHERY TO BUILD CARS AT NISSan’S SUNDERLAND PLANTNissan and Chery have agreed a deal that will mean the Chinese company is building their vehicles at Sunderland from 2027. This is a non-binding agreement but few other details have been revealed. To read more, click this Autocar article link here.SAIC TO BUILD MGS IN SPAINSAIC has decided that their European production facility will be in built in Spain. Costing around €200 million the factory will have a capacity of up to 120,000 vehicles. For more information on this story, click this MotorTrader 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 PODCASTNEW NEW CAR NEWS -Audi NuvolariAudi has revealed the Nuvolari, their fastest ever production car, with a design language that we first saw on the Concept C. This is the Germany company’s version of the Lamborghini Temerario. Powered by a hybrid V8, producing 987bhp, getting from 0-62mph in 2.6 seconds and up to 124mph in 6.8 seconds, finally topping out at 217mph. Click this Autocar article link here, for much more.Bentley Flying SpurBentley has face lifted the Flying Spur. For the first time since 1962 their four door saloon comes with only single main lights either side of the grille and not twin. Production starts in September this year. Click this Top Gear article link to read more.Fiat GrizzlyFiat has shown off the design of the Grizzly, which tops out the Panda range, using the same platform as the Citroën C3 Aircross and Vauxhall Frontera. There are two body styles, a boxy SUV and a coupe-style SUV. The idea is to expand the Fiat brand into segments it has not had any vehicles in recently. Click this Autocar article link here, for more.LUNCHTIME READ: VAMOS A LA PLAYA - PARTS ONE AND TWODriven to Write provides our recommendations for more long form pieces, this week. Bruno V dives into the history of the beach car and the various fabulous options and versions from a variety of manufacturers.To read Part One, click this link here.Click here to read Part Two.LIST OF THE WEEK: THE BEST EVER SHOOTING BRAKESAutocar provide the slideshow we are pointing you towards, this week, all about shooting brakes (and some estates). Lots of very good choices for you to check out, which you can do by clicking this link here.AND FINALLY: HOT WHEELS LEGENDS TOUR RETURNS FOR 2026The Hot Wheels Legends Tour returns for 2026 and entries are now open. The UK part of the World Tour will be at CarFest, held at Silverstone on 29 August 2026. Entries must be in by 3 July 2026. Click this Motoring Research article link to see all about it and what’s happened in past tours.