Con-Oil

I see the Iran War is kicking off again.

The idiot Trump negotiated a worse deal than the Obama one and then couldn't keep the peace.

This means that fuel prices have already started rising.

Just as they had started to go down from the peak days of Trump's War:

But don't worry!  The White House has a solution for the mess they created.

As long as you live in certain bits of Pennsylvania or New Jersey.

The Freedom Fuel Network will sell fuel at $3.47 per US Gallon.

The 47 cents is a tribute to the 47th POTUS - the moron who caused the prices to skyrocket in the first place.

But the MAGA fans won't understand that.  They will just see the patriotic signage and not realise they have been had again.

Trump watches anyone? Or some Trump crypto perhaps?

It's the same over here will gullible people hanging flags on lampposts because people funded by billionaires would rather we think that immigrants are to blame for UK hardships when tax evasion costs us considerably more.

Don't get me wrong, I'd buy cheap fuel - but it wouldn't alter my views on very obviously corrupt politicians. 

According to Autoguide...

The origins of the network remain highly obscured. Over the course of a single week, 25 independent filling stations across southeastern Pennsylvania (20 locations) and southern New Jersey (5 locations)—which previously operated under branding like Sunoco, Valero, and Shell—abruptly rebranded, hanging patriotic red, white, and blue banners over their existing architecture. Business registries reveal that "Freedom Fuel Network LLC" was quietly incorporated as a private entity in Delaware on June 23, 2026.

A White House official confirmed that the Freedom Fuel Network is a private company and did not receive federal subsidies or government funding. Instead, the administration claims the unnamed, patriotic retailer is lowering prices strictly by drastically reducing its own profit margins to set an example for the rest of the industry.

They are using the word patriotic a lot.  It will be a billionaire friend of Trump and prime for tax write-off.

And what is the significance of Delaware?

This maybe?

Plus, don't forget the Mid-Term Elections coming up this year.

Pennsylvania has a U.S. Senate race with 17 U.S. Representative seats up for grabs.

New Jersey has a U.S. Senate race with 12 U.S. Representative seats up for grabs.

Wonder why they picked those states for the Freedom Fuel?

Is Skywell Skyworth it?

Their importers don't seem to think so.

Although the fact not many people have actually heard of them may have something to do with it.

I certainly hadn't.

They are another Chinese brand and have apparently been trying to sell vehicles in the UK since 2024...

  

...when they sold 6 cars.

Their website looks professional enough - concentrating on their electric SUV, the BE11...

 

...which looks just like most electric (and non-electric) SUVs.

They have other vehicles in the range too - a hatch, a saloon and a van:

which seems to be a "Skyworth"

But they are described as "coming soon..."

 

...so probably won't now.

The Skywell short-lived story is described by Autocar here.  According to that, there will be redundancies as their 16 dealerships shut (none near me) and their spokesman is also being let go.

Sounds like a failure in marketing or investment...

 

...or investment in marketing.

Skywell have skydived.

RTFM

Unfortunately, manual cars are going to die out.

And, according to Auto Express, it may be by the end of the decade.

Although they do have some more positive news for those of us who would like to stick with stick.  Not that I could afford a Ferrari 12 Cilindre.

And I currently own an automatic.

According to the article, "In the first half of 2026, just 7.9 per cent of factory order enquiries submitted to Auto Express’ Buy a Car service concerned a car with a manual gearbox. This marks a significant decrease from a 14 per cent share in the same period in 2025, and 21 per cent in 2024."

Part of this is due to the lack of manual cars available.

I would be driving one if there was such a thing as a manual Volvo S60.

And, obviously, the rise of the electric vehicle is a strong contributor to the manual demise.

But, even if there are no new ones, there will still be millions of them on the road.  And those of us who can still drive them will find them cheaper.

And we'll be the only ones who can drive classics.

And there will be more stories like this one.

Three for the Price of One

Three different articles from the motoring Interwebs caught my eye today and since I can't be bothered making three posts, here they are in one handily sized container.

The first is from the BBC.

It involves a spiteful and presumably very jealous woman who shops as The Asda.  She has been caught on camera kicking and damaging a McLaren 570S.

Stupid cow.

Hopefully the pictures will be good enough to get her charged with criminal damage although I doubt if she will become as infamous and vilified as that cat woman.

Next up, how can you tell that someone is ashamed to admit that they vote Tory or Reform?

Easy, they say that all politicians are the same then go on to slag off The Labour Party

Auto Express's Mike Rutherford is very much in that camp.  In that article, he tries to deflect with a little anti-Trump rant but you would have to be Nigel Farage to say anything complimentary about the orange toddler.

Finally, from Autocar, a bit of nostalgia - remember The Beastie Boys?

They seem to have aged a bit.

They also started the craze of stealing VW badges.

Well it's back! 

Albeit for modern times.

Apparently, the modern badges incorporate the radar unit used by their ADAS systems.

This means that the car’s adaptive cruise control, speed limiter and lane assist will not function.

Maybe it's worth not having the Radar then?

Anyone know where you can buy an old VW badge to replace it?

Maybe the Beastie Boys fans were onto something after all.

Wow! - Unfunny pranks

Shortly after a 3-year old boy was thrown into a crocodile enclosure by a man with learning difficulties, voucher site Wowcher thought it  would be funny to send out a marketing email titled, "Snap up these deals quicker than a croc can catch a kid!"

The boy received critical injuries after being attacked by the reptiles.  He is no longer critical.

Wowcher had no choice but to apologise and stated that they were instigating an urgent review of their processes.

The BBC story is here.

Today's BBC story is more car related and shows the same lack of insight/common sense of two other companies.

Both indoor golf venue Golf Fang Liverpool, and car parking app Parc, decided to use fake parking tickets to advertise themselves.

I don't think that's very funny and neither did the Advertising Standards Authority, the ASA.

The ASA ruled the adverts, which were all wrapped in yellow and black plastic and placed on windscreens in Liverpool and Manchester, risked causing "unjustifiable distress".

I know if someone put one on my windscreen I would be very annoyed.  I'd probably report them to the ASA and also do what I do if I get electioneering letters from Reform and send them back where they came from with no stamp on the envelope.  Did you know Reform Wirral are based in Millbank in London?

Anyway, while looking for a suitable picture of a parking ticket I found this one:

Apparently Diggerland Theme Parks sell them in packs of 5 including the cellophane packaging so that you can prank people.

What lovely people must visit Diggerland.

And no - I have never ever received a parking ticket.