This is NOT an MG.
Friday, 4 April 2025
OMG
Thursday, 3 April 2025
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
- Puma
- Capri
- Mustang
- Kuga/Cougar
Thursday, 27 March 2025
Flattened
Like the Tesla battery.
Saturday, 22 March 2025
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)Wednesday, 19 March 2025
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?
Tuesday, 11 March 2025
Thursday, 6 March 2025
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:
Saturday, 22 February 2025
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...
Sunday, 16 February 2025
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:
Saturday, 8 February 2025
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.
- It was essential to the storyline - and it is a VERY FUNNY sitcom.
- It makes Teslas look bad.
Wednesday, 29 January 2025
Manchester - Top of the League.
Many years ago, when computer printers were quite large and you only had one or two in a large area shared by many users, we had one sat outside a manager's office.
That manager didn't like large amounts of paper building up out there.
So he started to keep track of how much it was used and who was using it the most.
He would send out emails with the top users listed on them.
The main outcome of this was that everyone wanted to be top of the table so printed more.
This story reminded me of that.
Here are the Police Force areas with the fastest speeders in 2019:
Sunday, 26 January 2025
Take a Seat
Or a Cupra - same thing really.
So, if you've got a new boring electric cross-over SUV that needs marketing, how do you make it stand out from all of the other new boring electric cross-over SUVs?
Well, to start with, give it a memorable name - like Tavascan.
Hmm - makes me think Gaviscon - or maybe some Computed Tomography you may require if the Gaviscon isn't doing the trick.
So once you've chosen the name, you need some sort of pretentious TV ad to try to make people believe that they actually need this particular boring electric cross-over SUV. I guess there must be enough gullible people out there to make it work - the perfume industry has been doing this for longer than I care to remember.
Here is the Cupra one:
Vomit inducing. They've also mangled "Everybody wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears.
It is so mangled that at first I decided it was "Walls Come Tumbling Down" by The Style Council (that lyric is included in the bit of the Tears for Fears song that they are mangling)
Shame it wasn't the Style Council one really because then it would make more sense if I said...
You don't have to take this crap.
You don't have to sit back and relax.
Just go out and buy a non-pretentious, non-boring saloon or estate car.
Sunday, 19 January 2025
Cybercrime
Back in 2019 I got a bit obsessed with the Cybertruck - here is a post from around then.
At the time I said I didn't like it - I think that is still true although I may be more biased by my dislike of Elon Musk - or "President" Musk as he will soon become.
The Dubai Police seem to like it though. That posting of mine included a link to this story wherein they were claiming that they would have one on their fleet in 2020.
Presumably Covid and Tesla got in the way but they did eventually get one last year.
It might work in Dubai - and indeed in The States.
But not on UK roads.
Pedestrian safety is laughable - and if one hit another vehicle? - well here's one example.
Although fortunately in that example it looks like there were no injuries.
This is why they are not allowed on UK roads - and Greater Manchester Police are not fans of people driving illegal vehicles on their roads.
Good.
Imagine if an uninsured driver of an uninsured vehicle had killed someone.
Just awaiting a Musk tweet now condemning laws actually being enforced in the UK.
Monday, 13 January 2025
Inferior Design
Remember when BMW introduced their iDrive knob?
Saturday, 4 January 2025
Cool Grannies