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I saw this headline yesterday on the Auto Express site...

Unsafe cars explode in numbers: dangerous UK vehicles up 50% in a year

I've left it in their font - you can click on it to see the story.

I can't be sure whether it is click-bait or just a badly worded headline.

Anyway, I clicked on it and it wasn't about exploding cars - not specifically anyway, although some could potentially explode.

Today's story on there that got me clicking was...

Forget Netflix, Volkswagen locks horsepower behind paid subscription

This, bizarrely enough, is a fairly accurate headline.

As if the lack of physical controls wasn't enough reason not to buy a VW ID3, do they really think people will pay £16.50 A MONTH to get the full bhp out of it!

Trump Tariff on Malaysian Cars

Trump fans haven't quite figured out yet that his tariffs mean that they will be paying more to subsidise tax cuts for the very wealthy - like Donald Trump for example.

And soon they could be paying more for their toy cars as well as their real ones.

Because most of Mattel's toy cars (aka Hot Wheels) are made in Malaysia.

Like this Proton Saga:

Which looks a lot better than the real version.

Which, in turn, looks better than any SUV.

Car+Driver have their take on the story here.

Hot Wheels are currently retailing in Walmart for $1.18 which seems to be very good value.

They'll be nearer $1.50 if Trumps tariffs get passed on.

Which actually still seems like very good value.

But multiply that up by the number they must be selling in the States - and Donald will have a lot to thank American children for.

Dogs Loose on the Highway

Looks like some of them have been run over too.

But don't be too upset.

It's not the canine variety - although there was meat all over the road.

It was Interstate 83 in Pennsylvania.

The BBC have the story together with some (irritating) TikTok footage here.

It happened yesterday when a truckload of hotdogs spilled.

State police said the tractor trailer had an unspecified mechanical problem on Interstate-83 a few miles north of the Maryland line as morning rush hour was wrapping up, causing it to push into a passenger vehicle. When the truck scraped along a concrete divider, its trailer was ripped open and the contents scattered.

For some reason, they made the Fire Department clean it up.  Brad Dauberman, a local fire chief who helped with the clean-up, said: "I can tell you personally, hot dogs are very slippery… I did not know that."

Not sure he quite cuts the mustard.

Pride and Prejudice

Here's a short piece of footage that I filmed at Paris Pride last month:

It was a brilliant atmosphere.

So, if someone told me that there was a car show especially aimed at gay people, I would be interested in going along.

Oh look!

And, of course, they've held it at Gaydon.

Autocar have the details here.  It was called Petrol & Pride.

I particularly like the fact that they had awards for "the gayest car" and the "the butchest car"

The comments section at the bottom of the story was both disappointing and heartening.  The few who chose to disparage the event, or even the existence of the story, were quickly shown up by responses from people with brains.

And no, I'm not LGBQT+

Not that I would feel insulted if someone thought I was.

I'm not even MGBGT

Safety First and Last

Drive.com.au have this story today about car safety features.

Apparently drivers hate them.

I think it's mostly the lane assist and the warnings about exceeding the speed limit.

My car has both.

But it's a 2020 car so I switched off the lane assist when I first got it and the speed warning is just a subtle flashing of the speed limit indicator in the head-up display and speedo centre which is very easy to ignore.

No bonging.

Worldwide legislation has decreed that all newer cars have to have these things mush more annoying, harder to switch off and for them to switch themselves back on when you restart the engine/ignition.

The story is about a survey by AAMI, who seem to be a major Australian Insurer, about safety features drivers are turning off and why.

Although the "why" is obvious.

Apparently, AAMI have a bloke called Steve who is their "Motor Insights and Operations Manager" and he seemed surprised at how many drivers were switching them off.  He seemed to be encouraging people not to do this but his arguments were not exactly convincing:

“We're really encouraging people to understand how these safety systems work and learn how to use these and get the best out of them so it can be safer for you and all other road users.”

“If you're picking up a new car, spend that time to actually get the dealer to show you how these features work.

“They'll spend time with you to help you understand those features, which will then enable you to build trust and confidence in using them.

"These systems are there to help you, not replace you."

Car reviews are now pointing out how annoying these features are and which cars are best for mitigating the annoyance.

Which sort of defeats the whole purpose of the annoyance in the first place.

I asked Google AI about this - it was more helpful than Steve:

Easily Deactivated Systems:

Peugeots, Renaults, and Nissans:

These brands are often highlighted for having systems that can be easily turned off with a single button press or a combination of button presses, allowing drivers to quickly and efficiently disable driver assistance features.

Citroën:

Similar to the above, Citroën is mentioned for placing buttons for these systems conveniently close to each other, allowing for easy, simultaneous deactivation.

Hyundai and Kia:

These manufacturers have also incorporated a press-and-hold function on some steering wheel buttons, achieving a similar result of quick deactivation.

Systems that are Less Intrusive or More Easily Managed:

Volvo:

Volvo's driver assistance systems, particularly the lane keeping system, are often praised for being well-calibrated and only activating when truly necessary, reducing the need for frequent deactivation.

Volkswagen:

Volkswagen is mentioned for having a speed limit warning system that is quiet and unobtrusive, making it less likely to be a nuisance.

Skoda:

Skoda's systems are noted for staying off even after the car is restarted, which is a feature not always offered by other manufacturers.

Audi:

Audi's safety systems are mentioned for being subtle and effective, with features that can be easily curated or turned off. 

It seems to have got this information from an article in the Daily Telegraph but I'm not going to link to it because:

a) It wants your email address before it will let you read it

b) It's The Daily Telegraph

Anyway, the moral of this is, if you want people to be safer, don't make the safety systems that are annoying and therefore unsafe.

Pottering About at High Speed

Saw this story today and thought to myself, "What an excellent opportunity to put a picture of Emma Watson on my Blog."

Basically, she's "Done a Wilman"

She's got a 6 month driving ban by speeding while having 9 Points on her licence.

I don't understand how you can get caught speeding FOUR TIMES.

Surely after the first couple of offences you'd be on your best behaviour.

And yet she wasn't the only Harry Potter star who was banned in the same Court on the same day for the same thing - Zoe Wanamaker was done too.

The BBC used the story to talk about the forthcoming HBO TV version of Harry Potter.  Despite it having John Lithgow and Nick Frost in it, I won't be watching.

It doesn't state what vehicle Wanamaker was driving but Watson was in a blue Audi.

No mention of a blue Anglia.

Underwhelming

What we have here is a van hogging the middle lane being overtaken by another van going about 2mph faster.

I'd have been going at about the speed limit.

The Golf driver was in a hurry.

So who's fault is this dodgy manoeuvre?

Excuse the cheesy music - that's Simon Mayo's fault.

Sizing it up

Remember when Ford Sierra estates were big cars?

They aren't any more...

It looks positively tiny next to that Mazda 6.

And next to my car.

Here's some dimensions for you according to Google's AI thingy:

The 1988 Ford Sierra Estate (station wagon) had a length of 4,531 mm (178.4 in), a width of 1,727 mm (68.0 in), and a height of 1,367 mm (53.8 in). 

The Mazda 6 saloon has a length of 4,870 mm, a width of 1,840 mm, and a height of 1,450 mm. The wheelbase is 2.83 meters.

Meanwhile my car...

The 2020 Volvo S60 has a length of 4761 mm, a width of 1850 mm (excluding mirrors), and a height of 1437 mm.

Perhaps the more relevant ones though are the supposedly smaller Fords of today...

The Ford Focus Estate has a length of approximately 4,668mm (183.8 inches) and a width of 1,979mm with mirrors, or 1,844mm without mirrors. The wheelbase is 2,700mm. In terms of boot space, it offers 575 litres with the rear seats up and 1,650 litres with the rear seats folded down.

You get a lot more info on the Focus and it's bigger than the Sierra - while the Fiesta...

The 2025 Ford Fiesta is approximately 4040mm long, 1735mm wide, and 1476mm high.

Wider - and not a lot shorter.

And Google AI uses American spellings so obviously isn't intelligent enough to realise I'm sat in England.

But a 2025 Fiesta definitely wouldn't stand out on the M53 in 2025 - here's a closer look.

And the driver looked a bit like Dom Chinea.

Child's Destiny to Drive.

 Never liked Destiny's Child.

Their music never did anything for me and that video always reminds me of chicken thighs.

But since Beyoncé has become a Country Star my view of her has changed.

Loved Texas Hold-'Em.

Including rhyming Texas with Lexus.

She appears in one of two BBC car stories I've read this week.

Beyoncé had to stop her show in Houston on Saturday night when the Cadillac she was flying over the audience in started to tilt.

Fortunately, they hadn't rigged up a real Cadillac.  She hung on to the flagpole and was safely lowered to the ground - presumably not onto the audience.

But there is some debate as to the speed of the lowering.

The BBC story clearly states that,

"Gasps could be heard from the audience when fans realised what was happening, but then applause as the star was slowly lowered to the ground, smiling and waving to the crowd."

Beyoncé's company, Parkwood Entertainment, said "She was quickly lowered and no one was injured."

Meanwhile, in Scotland, reported in the second BBC story,  a Woman was charged today with allowing a young child to drive a car through a village. The child, presumably her daughter, was barefoot and it was during bad weather.

The stupid woman also videoed the incident - which may well be why she was caught.

But worse than that, as the BBC made a point of reporting, during the drive, she was listening to The Sugababes.

Riderless.

I was at Oulton Park yesterday watching the British Touring Cars.

I saw Lewis Hamilton...

...'s brother Nicolas.

But I didn't see ITV's (formerly BBC's) Steve Rider who retired from broadcasting after the coverage finished.

But then it is very rare to see a member of the ITV Sport team as they are usually in their on-site studio.

Maybe I should have arranged to be around the pit area when this photo was taken:

That is Nic Hamilton behind his right shoulder.

It's incredible to think that he is 75 years old.

Steve - not Nic!

That makes him the same age as Jay Leno who discussed his age with James May in this bit of YouTube from last week.

An entertaining edition with two car blokes having a pleasant and interesting conversation in a Triumph TR6.  Jay looks very good for his age - until you compare him with Steve.

I know which one I'd like to look like when I'm 75.

And it's not the one who's garage I'd like to own when I'm 75.

Stalking

Something I have said on more than one occasion is, "If your Audi starts with a Q, then I'm not interested."

But that's because they are stupid cross-over SUVs.

Like the Q3.

Here's the new one:

It just looks like all of the other ordinary, bog-standard, stupid, cross-over SUVs.

And here is the Auto Express report on it.

Which I normally wouldn't have bothered to read.

Except, their headline involved the phrase, 

New Audi Q3 reinvents the indicator stalk

Another Tesla-type cock-up?

No, this might actually work...

It's basically a thumb-wheel.  It might actually work - and it's different!

And, because it isn't a BMW, it may get used.

You probably have to go into the menus though to find the toggle for tailgating.

Twits

I enjoy a Twix.

And I enjoy driving.

Doubt if I've ever enjoyed both at the same time.

Like the chap in this German advert from a couple of months ago.

Silly but fun.

And I don't have the slightest urge to try that for real (even assuming it was possible - which it isn't)

So Mars decided to show if in the UK.

And it was banned - BBC story here.

Who says the Germans have no sense of humour?

Nearly one less China Girl.

But fortunately not the case.

This looks scary...

The full story is here - make sure you watch it and you will see why it is so scary.

Although the full story doesn't give the full story.  For starters, it isn't a cabin scooter.

If it were a cabin scooter it wouldn't have four seats and four doors.

And what the hell was the driver up to?  There's also someone sat in the back.

I've tried to identify the vehicle involved.

The nearest (and it isn't one of these) seems to be a Lingbao Box - which is, according to this advert, a "Mini Taxi New Energy Vehicle for Ladies."

Can't tell whether or not this example is being driven by a lady.

And if it was being a taxi then I suspect no tip.

Suspended Sentence

 Andy Wilman is going to be slightly inconvenienced for six months.

Some Car+Driver readers think it's the beginning of the end of the world.

They've been commenting on this story about him having his licence suspended for driving at 24 in a 20 zone.

Except that is not why he was banned for driving for six months.

He was banned because he accrued 12 penalty points on his licence.  It's true that the last 3 points were down do him driving at 24 in a 20 zone - but if he didn't already have 9 points, he'd have got away with a speed awareness course.

It is clearly stated in the article what has happened here.

Although it does go on to say, "Speeding fines in the U.K. are calculated based on income" - this includes a link to this UK Government site which clearly states the exact opposite.

Anyway, there is much shit lost by the American commenters about all aspects of this including the existence of speed cameras.

And one adds, "And if Wilman posts a mean tweet about the fiasco he'll likely get six months in jail."

No he won't pal, this isn't America.

Old Favorits

This year's Festival of the Unexceptional is being held on July 26th.

If it was a bit nearer to me geographically, I'd have quite fancied going along.

But it isn't.

It celebrates cars that used to be all over the place in the '70s, '80s and '90s - not special - just quite common.

They aren't interested in vintage cars either.

So it is cars that people a bit older than me and people a bit younger than me will remember - sometimes fondly.

And Renault in particular have been tapping in to this - and doing a very good job with the new electric Renaults 5 and 4.

Mini have been at it for a quarter of a century now.

So now it looks like Skoda might want a piece of the action.

The story is here of a reimagination of the Favorit:

Only there's no indication that they would actually put this in to production.

So maybe Vauxhall should take note:

Daily Fail

 The Mail is up to it's usual nonsense again.

The top half of the front page, on a day when:

• Israel launches another major offensive in Gaza
• Russia kills 9 civilians in a bus in Ukraine
• A new deal for cooperation between the UK and the EU is on the cards
• 3 Iranians have been arrested under counter-terrorism legislation
• Tributes are being paid to two firefighters who lost their lives yesterday

...is dedicated to some nonsense about buying a book to get "a scientifically proven biological age of 20 at 61."

Can't help but think that there won't have been much peer-checking done on that "scientific" proof.

The bottom half of the front page claims that parking fines could rocket by 75%.

COULD - it says COULD.

Apparently, it would be a "major blow" for millions of "hard-pressed" motorists.

No it wouldn't.

Even if it did happen - IF - it would still only affect those that parked where they shouldn't.

Maybe, their chief political correspondent, David Churchill has a sense of entitlement that he should be able to park where he likes.

Or maybe he was short on Labour-bashing stories.

Or maybe he's just not a very good journalist.

Tempo

My favourite driving home DJ Johnny Vaughn was talking today about how a recent survey had pointed out that fast music while you are driving causes fast driving.

He quite correctly pointed out that this is a regularly occurring story and is stating the bleeding obvious.

There was then much debate about AC/DC and he asked his listeners to suggest their most speed-inducing tunes - funniest of which was The Benny Hill Theme.

He also mused about whether this applied to someone riding a donkey and, if it did, would the rider or the donkey have the headphones on.

Personally, anything written by Jim Steinman or anything Rave-ish from the '90s will do it for me.

I decided to find the latest findings and one article I found was this one from The Driving Instructor's Association.

Basically, insurers Allianz have teamed up with Spotify to curate safer playlists for driving to.

It actually seems like a very good idea.

The only thing is, I also sometimes like to listen to my Chilled Ibiza CDs.

What will they do about drivers falling asleep at the wheel?

I could teach the U.S. Secret Service a thing or two.

Specifically how to drive a manual car.

The U.S. Secret Service have been gifted 10 high performance cars by GM (story here) including two equipped with manual transmissions.

One of their driving instructors has stated that, "Not everyone is able to operate a manual shift,"

And, "Having that platform here will enable us to give instruction on how to drive manual vehicles for overseas trips."

At least until electric cars take over.

Although I'm not convinced that a V8 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing is the ideal choice for learning to drive a manual in.

Buzzin' Back

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over in The States says that the ID.Buzz's third-row bench seat is too wide and three people could sit on it.

I wouldn't describe it as a "bench" and I wouldn't want to be the third person if they were sat in the middle:

Car+Driver have the story here.

It has led to a recall with the rear seat being made narrower.  They say they will add unpadded trim to limit the seating surface width of the third-row bench.

Haven't a clue what they mean by that AND IT ISN'T A BENCH!

Seems a bit over the top to me - if someone sits in the middle then gets thrust forward to their death in a collision because they haven't got a seatbelt on - then that is misadventure and not Volkswagen's fault.

Things were much simpler in the olden days!

Miles off

In the olden days, dodgy car dealers would turn back the odometers on vehicles to make them appear to have had less usage - and hence increase their value.

Apparently it involved a drill and the speedo cable.

You can't do that with modern cars.

Now, in the first of two Tesla stories from Reuters this week, they are accused of tampering in the opposite direction.  There is an allegation and matching lawsuit claiming that Teslas over-record their mileage so that the warranties run out quicker.

Another reason not to buy a second-hand Tesla if it's true.

The second story is about investor nervousness about brand damage done by Elon Musk.

They seem relieved that he will be reducing his Trump duties and spending more time with Tesla.

And the share price is going up despite a massive drop in profits.

I guess I don't understand finance.

I would have thought having a Nazi tosser spending MORE TIME running the company would be a bad thing.

Sounds Wrong

BMW have introduced HypersonX - Auto Express report here.

It is a way of changing the noises your electric BMW makes.

BMW says that the system will “embody the pleasure of driving for which BMW is renowned”.

Shouldn't that be “embody the pleasure of driving for which BMW was renowned in the past”.

How can anyone renown driving something like this?:

Or just about anything else in their recent offerings that isn't a 3 or 5 series saloon, coupe or estate?

And how are you supposed to say "HypersonX"?

They will probably go with "Hypersonics"

And yet I keep reading it as, "Hi, person X!"

Really OMG

Last time, I said that this... 

...wasn't an MG.

And I stand by that.

But was still shocked by the following Auto Express piece:

Not that one, although I shouldn't be shocked that Mike Rutherford is praising Trump - what's the betting he's a member of Reform?

No, this one.

Now MG are teasing a boxy, mid-sized SUV which, according to them, “echoes the spirit of young people to explore.”

The teaser pictures make it look like lots of other boxy SUVs while the remit reminds me of the boxy and now-deceased Scion xB.

The brand became defunct in 2016 after a short life.

I predict a similar fate for the MG SUV - especially as they are naming it after Elon Musk stuff.

Who will buy an MG Cyber X?

They are hoping lots of young Chinese people - they may be right.

But I hope not.

BECAUSE IT IS NOT AN MG!

OMG

This is NOT an MG.

It's an LDV.

But it is badged as an MG - an MG U9.

Not to be confused with a Yangwang U9. The story is here.  William Morris must be spinning in his grave.  It's not even a two-seater.

The case for the defence.

I may have mentioned once or twice that I can't be doing with SUVs.

And people who like cars and driving tend to agree with me.

So what is Steve Walker, Head of Digital Content, at Auto Express, doing defending the stupid things?

Is he a website geek rather than a car geek?

His bio states that he has "been a motoring journalist, road tester and editor for over 20 years" so maybe not.

He gives several reasons why SUVs are extremely popular with the buying public, specifically:

• tough looks
• higher seating position that makes it easier to get in and see out
• outdoorsy image

His words not mine.

I get the easy access angle for those of an arthritic nature.

But I certainly wouldn't call a Ford Puma "tough-looking."

In fact, don't get me started on Ford prostituting their former glories by naming SUVs after them:

• Puma
• Capri
• Mustang
• Kuga/Cougar

Back to Steve though, and for all his words, at no point does he say that HE likes SUVs.

Despite this, his article does have a pro-SUV feeling and imply a preference for them so I expected a backlash in the comments.

It is now 7pm British Summer Time and there are only 10 comments.

Three of them are from either a Chinese bot or a Chinese moron using AI.  There is a comment about the Ford Fiesta and a reply stating that they don't make them any more and the final 5 comments are a pointless argument that doesn't really go anywhere.

Meanwhile, I think SUVs don't handle properly and they all look  alike:

So there.

Flattened

 Like the Tesla battery.

This Yahoo story is worth reading just for the line, "I should really have sued him back, but I feared he’d call me a paedo."

I've changed the spelling of "paedo" on the grounds that Jeremy Clarkson and I are both British.

Was a bit surprised that British cave expert Vernon Unsworth who Musk labelled a “pedo guy” online after Unsworth helped rescue 12 boys trapped in a Thai cave in 2018 was unsuccessful in suing for defamation though - guess he wasn't powerful enough to put up a strong enough case.

Shame.

But a comment under the Yahoo story is pretty good too...

"99% of all Teslas made are still on the road.  The other 1% made it home."

I've put that in quotes in case Elon thinks I came up with it.

Build Your Dreams - like swimming or flying cars.

Autocar this week had this story.

It is titled, "BYD's bold plan to take on Mercedes, Ferrari and more"

To which my gut reaction was, "Then why does it look like a Mclaren?"

Not that I could read the article because it is hidden behind Autocar's paywall and I'm not paying £19.99 a month or £199 a year just to read some articles that would only be of interest to some people in the automotive industries.

That car is a Yangwang U9 and Yangwang is the posh arm of BYD - my only previous mention of whom I was grudgingly impressed by.

So I looked further into the Yangwang U9 and found this Australian article basically saying it can actually jump over potholes.

And it looks like it can!

There is footage.

And then I found Robert Llewelyn talking about it and its sibling the Yangwang U8.

The U8 is a Land-Rover lookalike that can swim.

There is footage.

He even forgives the U8 for being a hybrid.

There doesn't seem to be a Yangwang U2 though.

So it won't be trying to save the World (or "byd" in Welsh)

The Return Trip

Quite enjoyed this video from James May's YouTube Channel last week.

In it, James and Richard Hammond returned to Dunsfold to the abandoned portakabin complex that used to be the Top Gear production offices.

The abandonment does highlight what has happened to Top Gear since October 2018.

Now it looks like they will be doing something a bit similar for Prime with The Not Very Grand Tour.

Part of me doesn't want to watch it for the same reason I tend not to watch the "Best bits" or "Unseen footage" episodes of shows like Would I Lie to You?

And these usually contain both "best bits" and unseen footage.

But I've already seen the best bits.

And yet, I don't mind repeats.

Jeremy will only be appearing in the shown footage whereas James and Richard will be talking about it.

And taking the mickey.

So will I watch it?

Let's face it, I'd watch a knitting programme if those two were fronting it - so yes - and I'm not lying to you.

Trump says he will buy a Tesla after stock slump

Well, I suppose somebody has to.

 

Don't go Changan

Just watched Robert Llewelyn reviewing another boring SUV.

A very big boring Chinese SUV.

And it's electric - at least in Australia and the UK it will be - they have a hybrid version in China which gives Robert an excuse to be snidey about fossil fuel burners.

Anyway, here's the video:

It's going to be a Deepal in Oz and a Changan over here - doesn't seem to be any logic in the naming. But it won't be anything in the US because they aren't getting it.

The video title is, "Why Is This Super Cheap Luxury SUV coming to OZ & UK but NOT USA?!?"

Despite the capitals and exclamation marks, they don't go on to answer the question.

But it's probably something to do with Elon not wanting the competition.

The stand-out bit of the video for me though was about four minutes in when Robert casually dropped in to the story that the car was recording and filming everything that was said in it and around it!

What!?

Someone in China is listening in to everything.

I'm hoping that this is just because it is a press car for the Australian launch and they are trying to gather as much insight and opinion as possible - and they must have been up front about it or he wouldn't have known about it.

But what if the Chinese government have this installed in all Chinese cars?  Robert wasn't sure where the recording devices were.  Do I need to take a closer look at my 5 year old Volvo?  Although that was built in The US so hopefully not.

Well just to be on the safe side, that President Xi seems like a really decent chap.

A Blue Mercedes

 Not sure why, but this picture...

...from this Car+Driver story, reminds me of this...

Another End of The World

And yet another Tesla story and also another Tom Ford car review story.

This time he is reviewing the new Tesla Model Y - the one with a real indicator stalk.

He looks a bit menacing actually...

And yet he seems to be a really nice bloke - I'd like to go for a pint with him and talk cars.

Similarly Lars Moravy.

Who?

Vice president, vehicle engineering at Tesla - Tom interviews him about the new Y in the latest video on the Top Gear Magazine YouTube channel.

But some of the things he says are bit menacing.

Early on we get, "When you sell 1.2 million cars worldwide" casually slipped in to the conversation and "You don't want to break the recipe"  Which is more show-offy than menacing and, to be fair, he was also talking about how the replacement Y had a lot more to live up to than, for example, the Cybertruck.

Lars may end up in trouble if it doesn't emulate its predecessor's success so he must be at least a little concerned about falling Tesla sales which must be at least partly down to his boss - a common new nickname for their vehicles, at least on the socials, is Swastikar.  Also Wankpanzer but I don't understand the pun there - especially as "wank" isn't a generally used US term.

Which is why they didn't find "Wang Care" funny.

Lars described the Y as a "world car" - I suppose it is - it is the top selling car in the World and sold all over the World - I doubt if the previous "World Car" ever managed that.

He said that he felt "so separated from everyone around me when I'm driving" which is also not menacing but but just rather disappointing.

But then he is driving an SUV cross-over.

The bit that menaced me was, "Automony in the US is huge - it's coming here in a few months." - it sounded like the sort of thing that Trump makes up on the spot.  Except, unlike Trump, Morovy is a clever man.  With connections.  What does he know?

He also said, "as we get closer and closer to unsupervised in the US..."

I presume he was talking about self-driving technologies rather than general life.

Wasn't he?

Is he an Igor to Musk's Dr.Frankenstein?

Or maybe just a minion to Musks Gru?

Brexit Bonus - Not!

It's been a while since I've had a rant about Brexit.  Steph was keeping schtum on her views which tend to veer to the right of centre so are more likely to be pro-Brexit.

But, as ever, a very interesting video from one of my favourite YouTubers:

What we have here is a Morris 1100 estate that was bought for £2200 from Sweden and that eventually cost more than twice that due to a combination of transport costs (unavoidable) and British and Swedish bureaucracy and taxes which wouldn't have existed before Brexit.

A couple of the comments seem to agree with me.  One twerp though claimed that one of the reasons he voted for Brexit was because EU laws were making it more difficult to keep classic cars.  I'd like to ask him to name one law that the EU actually forced on us but it looks like he deleted it when he found out that nobody was agreeing with him.

Ed, the purchaser of said vehicle, is an experienced mechanic working in a classic car restoration shop so will have little worries about getting the car fit to use as his daily driver.  He also has the confidence to convert it to right-hand-drive.

Which brings me to my most favourite comment, from @GrandadTinkerer, which has nothing to do with Brexit,

"Many years ago, my friend was asked to convert a mini from right-hand drive, to left-hand drive, as it was going to be used in France.  Pretty easy job he thought. No changes to the dash, just new pedal box and 'flip' the steering to the other side.  Conversion completed, he set off down the road and was immediately terrified as the car turned left, when he steered right!

He had failed to realise that by 'flipping' the steering rack, the pinion was now on the bottom, and effectively reversed the steering action!"

Is clockwork better than electric?

Saw the first episode of a new sitcom last night.

Although it's really a spin-off from an older sitcom.

Motherland has spawned Amandaland.

According to the Guardian, it is aimed at "strung out middle-aged mums" so shouldn't be of any interest to me.

And it perpetuates two tropes about electric cars - one real, one bunkum.

The real one is that you don't have off-road parking, they are a bugger to charge up locally and cheaply.

The bunkum one is that they keep running out of charge.

Here is Amanda in her Tesla.

As it is, the bunkum one doesn't bother me in the slightest.

For two reasons...

• It was essential to the storyline - and it is a VERY FUNNY sitcom.
• It makes Teslas look bad.

I don't like Teslas partly because of their lack of switchgear but mostly because of their odious CEO who I seem to be obsessed with - old Elon.

And it looks like I am not alone.  Here are a couple of very interesting stories about sales plummeting in Europe and the States:

• The Independent
• Motor 1.com

And one about how the Chinese brands are taking sales from Tesla over there.

• CNBC

The Chinese angle is interesting because Musk's current pal Donald is imposing tariffs on Chinese goods coming in to America (maybe he's found someone in America now who can make his MAGA hats) so that will probably include Tesla Model Ys.  And China is putting on reciprocal tariffs which will affect sales of the US built Teslas.

The American angle is also interesting though because the Americans who are not fans of Trump will not want to buy Teslas now. And Trump is very pro-oil and anti-electric so I suspect the bromance won't last too long.

Apparently, only Toyota owners are more likely than Tesla owners to say they will buy the same brand when they come to change their vehicle.  Wonder how long Tesla will hang on to that Number 2 spot?

Now go and watch episode 1 of Amandaland and you may realise that this post should have been called "Is clockwork better than chocolate?"