Episodios

  • Fantasy figures - 14 April 2026
    Apr 15 2026
    NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR MARCH 2026SMMT has revealed the new car registration figures for March 2026. Unsurprisingly, EVs have had their best month yet, in the UK. Unfortunately, the market share is far from the 33% required by the Government. Lots of people and organisations were erroneously using the term “sales” when we only have figures for registrations. The SMMT once again called on the Government to review the ZEV mandate targets, adding the Iran war and it’s knock on effects to the usual, valid, points. Click this link here, from the SMMT, to read more.TATA RECEIVES MORE GOVERNMENT MONEYThe UK Government is investing £380 million in Tata’s battery factory, being built near Bridgewater in Somerset. The company states that once opened it will employ 4,000 staff on site. The money is coming from the Automotive Transformation Fund. Additionally a Devon based battery recycling facility and low-emission brake manufacturer have also been awarded money from the fund. Click this Autocar link to find out more.STELLANTIS EUROPE TO STOP FIGHTING ITSELFGiles Vidal, who is the head of design for Stellantis, gave a frank interview with Autocar after he has spent a few months reacquainting himself with the brand following his time at Renault. His main point was that the group’s brands will be making cars that are distinct from each other, despite the shared underpinnings and restrictions that brings. Music to the ears of us, here at the Motoring Podcast! To read more, click the link here.BYD TO INSTALL CHARGING NETWORKBYD will be installing 300 chargers with a maximum capacity of 1500kW, making them the fastest in the UK. BYD claims that this can enable five minute charging of of 10% to 70% for their new 123kWh battery. These sites will be open to all car brands and will be run under the name ‘Flash’. As ever though, what a charger is capable of and what the grid can provide are often two different things, in the UK. For more on this story, click this Autocar article link here.UK’S LARGEST EHGV CHARGING HUBFleete (no, that’s not a spelling mistake), has opened the largest UK eHGV charging hub. Located at the Port of Tilbury , it has 16 ultra-rapid chargers enabling up to 16 eHGVs to charge at the same time. The company plans to open a 26 bay facility near Birmingham too. Click this EV Powered article link here to read more.On Thursday 23 April at 20:00 BST, we will be going live with a Q&A on our YouTube channel. We need your help though, send us your automotive and motoring related question you would like to hear us answer. To send one in use our Contact Page, linked to here, and put “Q&A” in the Subject Line so it does not get lost in all the spam.NEW NEW CAR NEWS -Honda Super-NHonda has revealed a small EV, with up to 199 miles range and a price starting under £20,000 which will be coming to the UK this summer. Their previous foray into the small EV market was the Honda-E that was expensive for what it offered, although did look great. The Super-N seems to have addressed that, nearly 200 miles range for under £20,000 sounds great, hopefully real world use backs that up. Click this Motoring Research article link here, for more.Cupra RavalCupra has unveiled their Renault 5 rival, the Raval. Starting price for the Core trim, will be just under £23,000, whilst offering around 185 maximum range. Moving up through the specs increases the prices and capabilities as the V1 and V2 levels can be fitted with a 52kWh battery enabling up to 280 miles maximum range. Top of the range aims to take on the Alpine A290, with an approximately £37,000 price tag and a drop in range to around 250 miles. Click this Autocar article link, for more.Mitsubishi Outlander PHEVAs we stated a few weeks ago, Mitsubishi is bringing back the Outlander PHEV when they return to the UK market. The price will start at £46,995, but full technical specs are yet to be released. Information that EV Powered has managed to gleam includes an expected EV-only range around 53 miles, with an overall of about 500 miles. Does it bring anything new enough to the market to attract buyer? Time will tell. Click this EV Powered link, for more.LUNCHTIME READ: ESTATE OF THE MARKETS.V. Robinson, on Driven to Write, discusses affordable estate cars or the lack of them, more to the point. As he owns one himself he explains how he keeps an eye out, essentially for what he might replace his Octavia with. Pickings are thing. Click this link to read through his thoughts on what is out there now and also to become a little sad at the state of the market.LIST OF THE WEEK: PERFORMANCE VS PRACTICALITYTom Ford has compiled another special list for Top Gear, that we are recommending to you. Often we are shown concepts that are either all about the performance or practicality. Very rarely does these cross over. Click the link here to see what your options are.AND FINALLY: THE FUTURE FROM BACK IN 1982Antony Ingram, writing for Hagerty, ...
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  • Stay angry - 7 April 2026
    Apr 8 2026
    FOLLOW UP: NTSB REPORTS ON FATAL BLUECRUISE INCIDENTSThe National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has published their report on two fatal incidents that involved Ford’s BlueCruise semi-automated driving system, that allows for ‘hands off eyes on’ driving. Some blame is being put on the driver’s “over-reliance” in the systems, but also it is made clear the company and regulations played a part. if you wish to read more on the findings, click this CNN article link here.However, the findings fail to discuss the inherent flaw in the system that has been documented from as far back as April 1948, when it comes to humans supervising automated systems. Click this Sage Journals link to N H Mackworth’s research examining this issue.MOTABILITY DRIVERS SINGLED OUT AGAINThanks to the victimisation of those using the Motability scheme, originating from a far-right ‘think-tank’, all drivers under 30 and those newly entering the scheme will have to have black boxes fitted. These boxes will record their journeys and from the binary inputs of those drivers they will be ‘judged’ on how well they drive. This is despicable because the technology cannot judge because it is only using the binary inputs on braking, accelerating and steering with absolutely no knowledge of the environment or anything occurring around the vehicle. For more on this story, click this article link here from The Canary.NEW MOT RULES FOR 2026There are new MOT rules, for the UK, in 2026. Most of the onus is on the garages themselves, but you should be aware of them. The Government is asking for the centres to do more but is keeping the price cap where it is. To find out what the changes are, click this link to a MotorCheck article link here.LUCID COMING TO THE UK IN 2027Lucid is bringing their next to be revealed car, the Cosmos, to the UK in 2027. This will be an electric SUV which is aiming at the likes of the BMW iX3 and Volvo EX60. There are no images yet, nor any technical details. Click this Autocar article link here to find out more.SCOUT LAUNCH IN THE US PUT BACK TO 2028The launch of Scout, in the US, by Volkswagen is being delayed until 2028. Thanks to the change in Governmental policy the company is reportedly re-engineering the cars to take range extender technology when they were to be EV only. For more on this story, click this electrive article link here.STELLANTIS RECALLS 44,000 UK CARSAround 44,000 Stellantis cars, fitted with the 1.2 litre petrol engined mild hybrid, are being recalled in the UK due to a potential fire risk. The vehicles were built between 2023 and 2026. To find out if you car or the car of friends and family is covered, click this Autocar article link, which breaks down how many from the individual brands.On Thursday 23 April at 20:00 BST, we will be going live with a Q&A on our YouTube channel. We need your help though, send us your automotive and motoring related question you would like to hear us answer. To send one in use our Contact Page, linked to here, and put “Q&A” in the Subject Line so it does not get lost in all the spam.NEW NEW CAR NEWS -Kia EV2Kia has announced the EV2 prices, ahead of them going on sale later this year. There is some complication to all this as there is a First Edition option, which will be, yes you guessed it, the launch edition but that starts at £26,995 and has a 42kWh battery and 198 miles range. However, the entry to the range, available later, is the Air trim which will get a 61kWh battery and 281maximum range. Click this Motoring Research article link here, to run through the trim levels and see if one meets your needs.For the link to the Special Edition about Kia at Milan Design week, click here.Leapmotor A05Leapmotor is expected to be bringing the A05 to the UK later this year. The car is aimed at the VW ID.3 and is expected to be priced around £25,000. Unfortunately, the external looks leave a lot to be desired. Click this Autocar article link for more.Seat and Cupra Ateca sales endSeat and Cupra are ending the sale of the Ateca. Originally launched a decade ago, this SUV is now not seen as worth updating in its current guise. Click this Auotcar link here to read more.LUNCHTIME READ: THE ISUZUS JUST GET US THEREHagerty and John Voelcker are our recommendations to you this week. John explains why he and friends take their old Isuzus on a long road trip and how the car is just the ‘vehicle’ (pun intended, for a change) for friends to get together in a shared joy. Click this link here to read more and maybe you too will be inspired to do something similar.LIST OF THE WEEK: 20 ALFA ROMEO CARS NEVER MADEClassic & Sports Car has a list of 20 Alfa Romeos that were never made, for you to peruse and chose from. Do you agree with Alan and Andrew’s choices? Click this link here to see your options.AND FINALLY: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE RENAULT 21We refused to believe that the Citroën Saxo is 30 years old, recently. As did some of you. Another car that ...
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  • Very Daisy Duke - 31 March 2026
    Apr 1 2026
    FOLLOW UP: FCA CONFIRM FINANCE MIS-SELLING REDRESSThe Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed the details for the redress scheme, following finance mis-selling to car buyers. Less people will be eligible to claim, as somehow they have deemed that dealer direct to manufacturer finance was not liable to the same issues as was found to be open to abuse. However, the average payout will be higher than expected, at £829. For more on this, click the Autocar article link here.JLR FIND A NEW STRATEGY CHIEFTata exec, Balaje Rajan, has become the chief strategy officer for JLR. This move indicates a tighter alignment with between the companies. We can expect more platform sharing plus electrification and software development being closer aligned. You can read more about this, by click the Autocar India article link here.JLR HALTS PRODUCTION AT SOLIHULLJLR has halted production at the Solihull plant, due to a problem with their supply chain, specifically one supplier. We do not know who the supplier is, nor what the part is. This pausing of production dovetails into a planned shutdown over the Easter period. Click this Business Maters article link here, to read more.£1B FROM THE GOVERNMENT TO HELP E-LORRIES AND E-VANSThe UK Government rolled out two initiatives to help the transition to zero emission lorries and vans. First is the Zero Emissions Truck and Van Grant, with the second being the Depot Charging Scheme. The aim is to assist with two of the major blocks for companies switching, costs to buy and lack of infrastructure. For more details, click this EV Powered article link here.AFEELA CANCELLED BY HONDA AND SONYThe joint-venture between Honda and Sony, called Afeela, has been cancelled following Honda’s decision to can their 0 Series EVs. This is no real surprise as the project was going to use a lot of the 0 Series technology and platform. If you wish to read more, click this Top Gear article link here.VW TO RECALL NEARLY 100,000 EVS WORLD WIDEThe German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) has stated that the VW Group must recall 94,031 ID.3, ID.4, ID.5, ID.Buzz and ID.Buzz Cargo, plus Cupra Born vehicles, globally, built between 7 February 2022 and 23 August 2024. The vehicle batteries do not meet the agreed specification and might produce reduced driving range as well as there being a risk of fire. Click this electrive article link for more information.BRING A TRAILER COMING TO THE UKThe US auction site, Bring a Trailer, is coming to the UK. Last year the company $1.7 billion in sales and now sees this as the right time to bring their way of doing things to the UK classics market. For more on this story, click this link to a Motoring Research article.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 -Dacia StrikerDacia has revealed what we are told is an estate, but it is not, its a crossover. Going up against the likes of the Skoda Octavia, it is aligned with the Bigster. Details are very thin on the ground, including what the interior looks like. Click this Autocar article to see more about this handsome looking car.Jeep Easter Safari ConceptsThat time of year has rolled around again where Jeep go off on an Easter Safari, in Moab Desert, with their tricked out cars. Always a treat to see what they have come up with, this year is no different. Click this Carscoops article to see more.Mika MinoThe Miko Mino is designed with the core philosophy of small and light. A collaboration between friend of the show Nir Kahn and Robin Hall, they are pursuing this core axiom with lazer focus. To find out more about this idea, click here for an EV Powered exclusive article.LUNCHTIME READ: THE AUTOMOBILE AS AN APPLIANCEDriven to Write provide the article we are recommending you read whilst enjoying your lunch this week. Often it is said, on this show, how cars are becoming appliances to most, but what if that idea was the basis for a concept that was explored? Find out more, by clicking this link here.LIST OF THE WEEK: THE 20 GREATEST WEDGESWe all like concept cars, but one way to make them much cooler is for one to be wedge shaped. Well, Top Gear are not content with that, how about 20 wedge shaped concept cars? Click this link to check out your options.AND FINALLY: HOW DIRTY IS THE A1?Listener’s discretion is needed with this week’s recommendation. Auto Shenanigins is asking the question many of us have wondered, why are there so many adult stores on the A1? Click this YouTube link to find out.
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  • Bemoan and complain - 17 March 2026
    Mar 18 2026
    SMMT URGES GOVERNMENT TO REVIEW ZEV MANDATEDuring the SMMT Electrified event, held last week, the call went out for an urgent review of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate, as the reality is far below the assumptions that went into the amount of registrations demanded each year. Government representative immediately poured cold water on that hope, though. A review will not begin until 2027. For more on this story, click this EV Powered article link here.NEW RENAULT STRATEGY ANNOUNCEDRenault Group’s new strategy will be called Futuready. Using the previous as the basis they will now launch 36 new models by 2030. These will be split across European and global markets. The three brands will continue to exploit what they do well and what customers expect from them. Additionally, a lot of talk is about technology and their partnership with Google. Click this Autocar article here, for more.SEAT AND CUPRA 2025 SALES ARE IMPRESSIVESeat and Cupra had very impressive sales figures for 2025, but that did not translate to much of a profit thanks to tariffs and capex investment costs. Tariffs were imposed by the EU on Chinese made EVs, this hit the Tavascan as the company chose to not pass the costs onto customers. They are also investing in a new battery factory, developing new models and updating existing. To read more, click this Autocar article link here.VW GROUP ANNOUNCE MORE HUGE COST CUTSAfter a very rough 2025, the Volkswagen Group has posted an operating profit of 2.8%, which equates to €8.9 billion in revenue. The company announced there would be a new (or is it?) cost cutting drive, which will include up to 50,000 job loses. The aim is for cost savings around €6 billion per year by 2030. If you wish to find out more, click this Autocar article link here.HONDA SCRAPS NEW EV MODELSHonda has cancelled the launch of the 0 Series Saloon and SUV. They make it explicitly clear they are blaming the United States change in policy when it comes to EVs. They expect the write-down will cost them between £1.6 and £2.7 billion, this year, with more to come in 2026-27. Additionally, their products in other markets are not meeting customer requirements. You can find out further information by clicking this Autocar article link here.STELLANTIS TO ADD MORE ELECTRIC VANS TO ELLESMERE PORTStellantis are to add more electric van production to their Ellesmere Port. The company is investing £50 million to add a new assembly line to the factory. The electric variant of the Vauxhall/Opel Vivaro will take up the newly created capacity. For more, click this electrive 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 -Jaecoo 8In May Jaecoo will be selling the 8, their range topping SUV, in the UK. Prices will start at £45,500 for the PHEV. That is a £10,000 jump over the 7 PHEV, but it does not offer a third row of seats. Click this Autocar article to find out all the details.Caterham Seven HWM EditionHWM is the dealership that Caterham is tied closely to but also was a racing team with their own car that Sir Sterling Moss won his first F1 race in. The latest Seven plays homage to them for this, with cars painted in the HWM Green, also the grille in the nose cone harks back to team. Click this EVO article link to learn all the details.Mercedes-Benz VLEMercedes has revealed the VLE, an electric V-Class sized vehicle that is hoped will bring it new customers. Externally it has the very prominent grille and the rear looks like its been taken from a Hyundai Inonq 9. Inside the press pics show an interior that is festooned with more light strips than a Twitch streamers setup. Click this Autocar article link to find out all the details, including an impressive claimed range.LUNCHTIME READ: TOWER OF POWERTop Gear are where we are pointing your attention this week. Ollie Marriage brings to life his adventure with Mark Riccioni as they drove in Georgia. The writing is wonderful and the pictures are stunning, hopefully this encourages you to plan a trip, but maybe one less “tricky”. Click the link here to read more.LIST OF THE WEEK: SEVEN BRILLIANT AND PERFECTLY FORMED TINY CONCEPT CARSWe stick with Top Gear as the outlet to visit, this time for seven tiny but wonderful concept cars. Do you agree with Andrew’s choice? Click this link here to see what your options are.AND FINALLY: CARS AND FILMSJesús Predencio is a graphic designer who has created some wonderful, striking art involving cars, with his most famous project probably being Cars and Films. Click this Classic & Sports Car article to find out more. Additionally, at the bottom of the piece are several links to Jesús’s work which you must check out.
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  • Ecstatic partying - 24 March 2026
    Mar 25 2026
    FOLLOW UP: MCGOVERN OFFICIALLY LEAVING JLRFollowing an ‘is he/isn’t he’ saga which started back at the beginning of December 2025, Gerry McGovern is officially leaving JLR at the end of March 2026. He will be starting his own consultancy. Details are almost non-existent outside of that. Click this Autocar article for the story.AUDI MAKES £2.9 BILLION PROFITAs expected, more brands from within the Volkswagen Group have been announcing their financial results for 2025. Audi, despite it being a difficult year, managed to make a £2.9 billion profit, from a revenue of £56.6 billion. This was all done whilst fewer overall vehicles were delivered. To read more, click this Autocar article.BENTLEY TO CUT JOBSBentley had a difficult 2026 and as a result are going to shed 150 jobs. Some are open positions they won't fill but the rest will come from office based roles. Additionally they have had to tweak their product plans partly due to Porsche postponing their platform development. If you want to learn more, click this Autocar article link here.ROLLS ROYCE NOT GOING 100% EV FROM 2030Rolls Royce has announced that it will no longer be producing EVs exclusively, from 2030. They state that customer wishes mean that they will still offer internal combustion engine options. For more on this, click this link here to take you an EV Powered article.THATCHAM SPLITS FROM EURONCAPThatcham, after 22 years in partnership, are splitting from EuroNCAP and developing their own systems for testing car safety systems. They mention real world safety quite a bit and also how they believe the technology should not be intrusive and annoying. Time will tell if they can deliver on this. Click this link here to read more from Autocar.EU RELAXES CO2 RULES FOR LORRIESThe EU has listened to lorry manufacturers and softened the requirements of their fleets, in terms of CO2 emissions. Whilst the fixed jumps, from the interim targets at 2025, 2030 and 2040 still stand, the intervening years will not have moving requirements. This means, if a brand manages to exceed the target they can carry over that extra to the next year, thus companies are rewarded for pushing. If you want to find out more, click this electrive article link here.LYTEN BUYS MORE OF NORTHVOLTLyten, a US based company, has continued to purchase operations from the collapsed Northvolt electric car battery and recycling company, this time they have bought the Swedish battery recycling facility at Skellefteå. For more about this story, click this electrive article link here.FRESH ZEBRA FUNDING MADE AVAILABLEThe Government has announced a new raft of funding for the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) to a total of £73.2 million. There are 10 areas across England that will receive money to help pay for infrastructure and electric buses. To read more, click this electrive article link here.FIRST YEAR ZEV MANADATE REPORTThe UK Government has finally published their report on compliance with the car and van zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate for 2024. No brand has been fined as all reached the required minimums through a combination of registration numbers and purchasing credits from others who had exceeded the requirements. Click this electrive 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 -BMW i3After much teasing BMW has finally taken the wraps off their i3 electric saloon. Boasting an astonishing range of up to 559 miles, with looks, both inside and out, that have divided opinion but cannot be trusted as we have only been given heavily rendered images so far. Further details are to be announced later, including the price. Click this Motoring Research article link here for more.DS No7The latest Stellantis brand to utilise the mid sized SUV platform is DS, being the premium one of the group they will be charging a suitable price, above their sister brands. Click this Autocar article link here to read more.KGM Musso EVKGM are bringing their first electric pickup to the UK from May 2026. With four wheel drive and payload capacity of 690kgs, the vehicle will have a maximum range of 240 miles. This is the fourth four wheel drive pickup for the UK market and it will be competitively priced at £42, 495 (inclusive of VAT and £2,500 Plug0In Van Grant). Click this Autocar article link here to read more.LUNCHTIME READ: INSIDE GM’S DECISION TO HELP RESTORE A RARE EV1 FOR THE FIRST TIME EVERGM have seemed like a company embaressed by their pioneering EV1 which was available to the public on a strict leasing deal for two years in the later 1990s, with many examples having been destroyed and recycled. However, one person has managed to legally get hold of a damaged EV1 and is in the process of restoring it. GM heard and instead of deploying a fleet of lawyers to stop this their President heard and has ...
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  • Its talcum powder - 10 March 2026
    Mar 11 2026
    FOLLOW UP: EU INDUSTRIAL ACCELERATOR ACT REVEALEDThe EU Commission has unveiled the draft Industrial Accelerator Act, which is aimed at making Europe a powerhouse and self contained when it comes to green energy related industries, including automotive. To read more about the proposals, click this electrive article link here.By the fact that so much of the act is pointed inwards to EU countries, this has caused fear in the UK automotive industry that they will be penalised thanks to the idiocy of Brexit. Nissan has declared if there is not agreement on UK built cars then it will close Sunderland. Click this Autocar article for more.FEBRUARY 2026 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURESSMMT released the new car registration figures for February 2026 and there was a surprising number of vehicles registered, with this being the best February since 2004. BEV market share is no where near where it needs to be as it sits at 22%, lower than last year, with the mandate requirement of 33%. SMMT called on the Government to urgently look at the mandate in the face of market reality. You can learn more, by clicking this SMMT article link here.TRIBUNAL SHOWS PUBLIC CHARGING VAT SHOULD BE 5%In a tax tribunal, Deloitte proved how the public charging VAT rate should only be 5%, using HMRC’s own rules. The use, by an individual, of no more than 1000kWh over a month is classified as “personal use”. To go over this, using public charging, would be very difficult in a EV. To find out more, click this EV Powered article link here.TESLA EU CO2 POOL USERS DECLINEThe EU allows car companies to buy and sell CO2 credits so that companies can avoid hefty fines for not meeting average fleet levels. Tesla has benefited hugely from this, however that is now changing as Toyota and Stellantis leave their pool. If you wish to read more, click this electrive article link here.SUZUKI BUYS SOLID-STATE BATTERY FIRMSuzuki has bought Kanadevia, a company that has been developing solid-state batteries for 20 years. This is a great move by one of the smaller Japanese brands and if batteries can be made affordable at scale, this will help them be competitive or even steal a march on others. Click this electrive article link here, to read more.WRIGHTBUS SELLS 31 EBUSES TO THE ISLE OF WHITEWrightbus is providing 31 double decker electric buses for use on the Isle of White. Using funding from a combination of local and central government schemes, they will help move the islands public transport to being a cleaner service. You can read more by clicking this electrive article link here.ELECQ HIT BY CYBER ATTACKELECQ, a Chinese home and business smart charger company, has been hacked with customer details being accessed. They operate in the UK and Europe and have informed data protection organisations. The company state that their chargers and systems are working and are protected. For more on this story, click the link here from The Register.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 -Genesis GV60 MagmaGenesis has revealed their first performance car that we can buy, with the very orange GV60 Magma. Sharing a lot of the underpinnings with the Hyundai Ioniq 5N expect similar levels of go and stop. Click this EV Powered article link to read more.GM Specialty Vehicles UK launchedGM Specialty Vehicles UK will be importing the large and “luxury” models from the General Motors stables. Think along the lines of the Suburban, Cadillac Escalade and Chevrolet Silverado. The cars will be left hand drive but all requirements to be UK legal will be undertaken by dealership Clive Sutton. Click this Motoring Research article link for more.Lamborghini Lanzador killed offBefore the Lanzandor even made it to market, it has been killed off. The official statement is that it is due to a lack of customer demand for such a vehicle. But it was to share the underpinnings from Porsche but they canned their development meaning Lamborghini would not have anything to make the car from. Click this Motoring Research article to learn more.LUNCHTIME READ: THE GREAT DISGRACEHagerty supply the article we are recommending that you read this week, thanks to Jim Magill for suggesting it! The piece discusses the shocking state of our roads and how that has impacted people’s desire to drive. Click the link here to read it for yourself.LIST OF THE WEEK: 25 OF THE COOLEST MID-ENGINED CONCEPT CARS THAT NEVER MADE PRODUCTIONTop Gear is where we are pointing you to for the List of the Week. And boy, is it a CRACKER! Check out 25 concept cars and try to pick on from this wonderful list. Click here to get overwhelmed by the options!AND FINALLY: CAR SONGSaturday Night Live has produced a song that shows the wider population have had enough with silly and dangerous door handles. Click this YouTube link to see for yourself.
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  • Key skill - 3 March 2026
    Mar 4 2026
    FOLLOW UP: FIRST FLEXIS MODELS CONFIRMATIONThanks to Phil Huff, from Professional Van, who heard our plea for facts about the Flexis electric van models we can bring you a link from one of his sites that confirms which vans Renault will be bringing. The first three will be the Trafic, Estafette and Geolette E-Tech. Click this link to read more from Professional Van.HUGE LOSS FOR STELLANTIS IN 2025Stellantis making a loss should not surprise anyone but maybe the scale of it might. The company posted their first loss since forming in 2021, of $26.3 billion. Much of this is due to the write-down they undertook in changing product plans. The new leadership team say that steps they have taken are positive showing signs, with cash being freed up. If you want to find our more, click this Yahoo!Finance article link here.ASTON MARTIN TO REDUCE WORKFORCE2025 was another tough year for Aston Martin, with profits falling by 36%. Tariffs are taking much of the blame for the drop. To counter this, the company has said it is looking to reduce the workforce by 20%, similar to the cut of 170 jobs this time last year. For more on this story, click this Autocar article link here.TESLA SUES CALIFORNIA OVER RULINGTesla has removed all mention of “Autopilot” from advertising material, following a ruling by the California Department of Motor Vehicles that it was deceptive marketing. This prevented them being banned from selling cars for 30 days, however, they have now sued the DMV to get this overturned. To read more, click this Yahoo!Finance article link here.UK GOV TRACKED PHONE USERS TO SEE IF THEY HAD AN EVThe Department for Transport (DfT) asked O2 to monitor their network users to try and establish if they were EV users and if so what were their habits and routines. O2 also supplies the network for Tesco Mobile and Sky Mobile. After two years the study was ended with the conclusion being this type of data was not sufficient to conclude if someone was an EV owner or not. For more on this, click this Yahoo!News article link here.HOME EV CHARGER GRANT EXTENDEDThe UK Government has extended the Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant another year and increased the amount to £500. Those without driveways, including renters and businesses can apply for the grant to help with the installation of charge points. This amount apparently covers nearly half the average cost of installation. Click this Autocar article 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 -UK Car of the Year 2026 WinnerCongratulations to Renault as the 5 E-Tech wins the overall prize of UK Car of the Year 2026. 20 of the 33 judges chose the car as their pick. You can read all about it by clicking this UK Driver link and going to pages 22-23. Once you’ve finished do check out the rest of the digital magazine, which is the official UK Car of the Year publication!Lepas L8New to the UK, Lepas has confirmed their first model here will be the L8. Expected to rival the likes of the Mazda CX-5 and Toyota RAV4 with the expectation being they will beat them on price. Details are thin on the ground as the company will announce them “in the coming weeks”. Click this Autocar article to learn more.Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio QuadrifoglioIn a new segment titled Old Cars Undead News, we have to talk about the Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio Quadrifoglio that the brand are bringing back to the UK. The successors were supposed to be full EVs but Stellantis, like many, is finding that customer uptake is not at the pace anticipated, or in the case of the US the Government has flipped it’s requirements. Whilst re-engineering takes place to allow for hybrid powertrains to be fitted to the upcoming models the pure combustion engined versions will go back on sale into 2027. Click this Autocar article for more.Honda Civic recallHonda Civics built between 2017 an 2022 are being recalled in the UK due to an issue that could lead to a wheel falling off the vehicle whilst being driven. 46, 152 cars are covered in the UK, with more being affected abroad. Click this Autocar article for more.LUNCHTIME READ: JELLY MOULD THEORYOur recommendation is from Hagerty and Alex Wakefield, discussing the idea that all cars look the same. Whilst its easy to say that they do, is that true? Click this link to read more.LIST OF THE WEEK: THESE ARE THE 50 GREATEST CARS OF THE 1980SGet yourself a huge hit of nostalgia, if you are of a certain age, as Top Gear bring what they think are the greatest 50 cars from the 80s. Do you agree with Andrew and Alan’s choices? Click this link to see what you could select.AND FINALLY: TOUR OF JLR CLASSICSThe Goodwood & Racing YouTube channel visit the JLR Classic division to find out their ethos, what they do and have a peak at some of the vehicles they have. Click this link to enjoy.
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  • Massively positive note - 24 February 2026
    Feb 25 2026
    FOLLOW UP: JUDGE UPHOLDS HUGE AWARD AGAINST TESLAIn August 2025 a jury awarded a payout against Tesla of $243 million, for their partial responsibility in a fatal crash where Autopilot was in use. Tesla appealed this but that has been rejected. The expectation is they will appeal again. To read more, click this article link from TechCrunch.EU TO BRING IN RULES BENEFITTING EUROPEAN BUILT EVSThe European Union (EU) is working on legislation that would push for any state subsidies or incentives to be tied to EVs being made in Europe. The likelihood is that a vehicle will have to contain parts, excepting the battery, that have been 70% made in the EU. If you wish to learn more, click this electrive article link here.The news has caused concern in the UK, as this would mean cars made here would not meet the criteria for state incentives. You can read about this by clicking the link here from Modern Diplomacy.RENAULT TAKES FULL CONTROL OF FLEXISRenault has now taken full control of the electric light commercial vehicle company it created a joint-venture with Volvo Group and CMA CGM to form. Renault has agreed to buy out the 55% that the two other partners held, but the Volvo Group will remain a ‘strategic partner’. For more on this story, click this electrive link here.AUDI GETS A NEW CTOGeoffrey Bouquot is leaving Audi and his role as Chief Technology Officer, after only a year. He will be replaced by Rouven Mohr, who is Lamborghini’s CTO, to become Head of Technical Development. The wording of the electrive article is quite interesting, you can see more for yourself by clicking this link here.STAGECOACH BRINGS MORE EBUSES TO DEVONStagecoach is bringing 110 electric buses to Devon, working on routes from Tobay, Barnstable and Exeter. Let’s hope they have measured the road widths and checked this time! To read more, click this electrive article link here.TFL AWARD RAPID CHARGER CONTRACTTotalEnergies has been awarded the contract for installing 43 rapid charge points across London. These will be a mix of 100 and 200kW power. You can find out more by clicking this electrive 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 -Omoda 5 SHS-SOmoda are bringing a hybrid version of the 5 model to the UK, from March 2026. Called the 5 SHS-S, which stands for “Super Hybrid System - Hybrid”. Priced at £25,740 this undercuts the Nissan Qasqai by around £5,000. The company makes it clear the electric capability of this is to aid economy and efficiency. Click this Autocar article link here to read more.Audi RS5The old RS4 is now the RS5 due to the change in naming conventions from Audi. That’s not the only new thing, the car is a plug-in hybrid too, bringing 630bhp to help propel the 2,370kg vehicle from 0-62 in 3.6 seconds. All this can be yours, starting from £89,400. Click this Autocar article to find out more about the technical details, including the size of the exhausts.Bertone RunaboutFive decades after the Runabout concept was first shown off Bertone are finally making this a real car. Prices start at £400,000 and underneath is a Lotus Exige, which is an impressive base to mount the utterly gorgeous body on top. Click this Autocar article link here to read more.DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: ANDREAS MINDT TAKES VW GROUP ROLEAndreas Mindt has been promoted from leading the Volkswagen brand design team to overseeing the Group’s design future. To read more, click this Autocar article link here.LUNCHTIME WATCH: RENAULT 5 - THEN AND NOWSiôn Hudson, of the Morsels and Motors You Tube channel, has a video running through the history of the Renault 5, from the original to the new EV version of today. Fabulous video with great insight into the design cue that have made it through or that we thought were always there! Click the link here to watch.LIST OF THE WEEK: THE BEST MOTORING EVENTS FOR CAR ENTHUSIASTS IN 2026Motoring Research has compiled a list of the high profile motoring related events you can attend during 2026. With the weather and everything else being so grim and unrelenting, we all need something to look forward to. Click this link here and work out which one you are going to attend later in the year.AND FINALLY: IDEAS FOR PLANNING A ROAD TRIPContinuing on the theme of looking forward to escaping from reality for a little while, we are suggesting you read a Hagerty article with five ways in which you could plan a road trip. Click this link here and once again, get planning!
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