SUVs Rammed Down our Throats

Another horror story for Halloween...

RAM are going to launch an SUV.

Here's the Car+Driver story.

RAM make trucks and big things.  Unusually for a Brit, I have driven one.  It looked like this one:

Only wasn't missing a hubcap.

I suppose if Ferrari can do an SUV and Rolls Royce can do an SUV then everyone will want to cash in.

This will just be a rebadged other Stellantis model.

And it won't be infesting our shores.

I hope.

It'll just be America.

And they've already got their own horror story.

Cyclepathology

A psychopath is a person with a personality disorder characterized by a lack of empathy, remorse, and conscience.

A cycle path is a narrow road for the use of cyclists.

So what is the word for a lack of empathy with cycle paths?

Here you can enjoy my son and myself finding two individuals with this condition.  the first is a cyclist using the pavement rather than the designated cycle lane.  The second?

Well see for yourself - it's a good job the cyclist didn't know how to use a cycle lane.

If you don't like swear words, pause the video just before the end!

Double Vision

All of the Internet car news sites I frequent are covering this weird black concept car called the Mercedes Vision Iconic.

Here is the Auto Express version of the story.

The Concept is described by the chief design officer as combining "the firm’s Art Deco-inspired models of the 1930s" incorporating "elements of the 1954 Mercedes 300 SL". The result, he says, “embodies the pure essence of Mercedes” and is the “ultimate expression of value, prestige, and grace”.

Ew.

And what's with the interior?

What on earth is that cylinder thing where the glovebox ought to be?

Is it for storing Pringles?

Meanwhile, Mazda supposedly have a "wild new concept" which will "preview the brand’s next-gen design language, and possibly a new range-topping model."

It's name?

The Mazda Vision.

That Auto Express story is here.

Look familiar?

Wonder if it will have a Pringles holder?

You can't buy taste.

Only in the land of Donald Trump would you get a Rolls Royce commissioned to honour a dog.

Auto-Express have the story under the brilliant headline,

"Sit, stay, Rolls over: One-off Rolls-Royce Spectre pays tribute to beloved dog."

I can't tell if the dog is deceased or not - don't think it is but it is a "Labrador-Golden Retriever mix" - two breeds that seem to be so similar that I can't see the point of mixing them.

The dog is called Bailey and they've rather sycophantically named the car colour "Beautiful Bailey"

The inside is worse.

What really surprises me though is that there are no comments under the story - at least not right now - early Friday evening.

Would it have made more sense if it was a Rover?

No - it's just stupid.

Now if it had been a cat...

12345726

I was going to call this post "The Number's Up!" but I've already used that.

But I missed out the apostrophe which is unlike me and somewhat irritating.

Anyway, that particular post was about 18 months ago and berating the daft naming convention of Polestar.

It still seems to be a problem for them and they are trying to deny it - as reported by drive.co.au here.

And they have changed the rules a bit too.

18 months ago they said that the Polestar 2 would not be replaced by a Polestar 2.  Now they are saying that the Polestar 2 WILL be replaced by a Polestar 2.  Which will probably come after the Polestar 7 and before the Polestar 6.

Confusion reigns supreme.

I feel sorry for the new CEO, Michael Lohscheller, who didn't come up with the idea but seems to be spending lots of time defending it.

He likens it to Apple.  Which is wrong.  He should be likening it to the company I alluded to back in April last year - Renault.

When I also asked the question, "I wonder how many years it will be before they realise the error of this strategy and change to a better system."

Renault gradually and quietly replaced numbers with names and would never speak of them again.

Until they had a big hit with the new 4 and 5.

If they follow the Polestar numbering system, the next retro electric car will be a cute version of the Renault 7:

Oh dear - I think the number's up.

Warburtons Coining it in.

 

Saw this BBC story this morning about a proposed bridge toll increase.

It is the Warburton bridge which crosses the Manchester ship canal. The story has been updated since I read it this morning - at that point they were only telling us the old price - not the new one.

Had me wondering what the horrific increase was going to be.

Turns out it was an increase of 733.33%!

So the plan was to increase it from 12p to £1.

Locals will get a 50% discount.  I presume they don't currently pay 6p to cross.

I'm guessing it is a well used bridge - it will have to be to recoup the cost of changing the signage and installing payment cameras and software.

Anyway, lot's of people have got very upset.  Although the ones doing the commenting are more concerned with the old price than the new one.

For whom the bridge tolls.

Car Horne

I am a fan of The Horne Section.  I have seen then twice and Alex spoke to me once when I was on the second row.

I had this advert by them recommended to me:

Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with cars - although there is a van in there.

So here's an advert I'm recommending to you:

Unregistered

After yesterdays rather depressing post, this is another one.

Today is September 7th - the UK new car registrations came out last Monday on September 1st.

That's not the depressing bit.

I still haven't seen one.

That's also not the depressing bit - I haven't always remembered to look out for them so they are probably out there.  But when I have remembered to look this week, I'm seeing lots of 25s and 74s but no 75s.

Maybe everyone who buys a car in September usually buys a Land Rover vehicle.

The depressing bit is that nobody cares any more.

When I was a child, albeit a car-mad child, there was much excitement on August 1st when the new registration letter came out.

Wish I could claim the credit for finding that but it was in this other Blog talking about the same thing.  He does it a lot more eloquently than me and garners quite a few comments from like-minded people.

Now we have a system that you have to be a registration plate nerd to understand - at least for the September registrations.  The March ones are not too bad as nowadays, instead of a letter, the new registrations are the actual year - so people could get excited about that, especially if it was the ONLY new registration in the year.  There hasn't been an exciting September one since 2019 - and even then not everyone got the joke.

And, given that September car sales are always lower than March ones, maybe it is time to go back to once a year only - March 1st.

It might put a Spring back into car sales.

The Emperor's new Clothes

Rather depressing news this week.

Autocar have it here.

The Ford Puma, which isn't a real Ford Puma like this one:

...remains top of the UK's top selling cars list.

Like 8 out of the top 10, it is a crossover SUV.  

Obviously being bought in large numbers by people who are not particularly interested in cars or driving.  Only the Corsa and Golf remain in the list representing proper cars.

You can't really blame them, they will be looking for decent value cars that meet their requirements and if the dealerships only have crossovers in the showrooms then people will buy those.  And the dealers only tend to be showing crossovers because manufacturers are concentrating on producing them.  And manufacturers are only producing them because they are selling in big numbers.

And now we're stuck in a depressing spiral.

Interestingly, (slightly) none of the top ten are specifically electric cars - although some are available as electric variants.

Meanwhile, in the Driven section of the latest Top Gear Magazine, where they review new cars to market, 9 out of 12 of the cars reviewed are electric (including an electric Puma) but only 6 are definitely cross-overs (including an electric Puma).  A couple it's difficult to tell...

What about this?

Yes that is a cross-over but is it much taller than this?

I've decided that that one is not a cross-over.

I think cross-overs are getting shorter in height so maybe manufacturers have noticed that, although profitable, they are not very good.

So, based on what's coming - there is a glimmer of hope - but it depends on your idea of what a cross-over actually is.

On the Spectre, Um.

Car+Driver are telling us about the new trio of Rolls Royce Spectre special editions.

Rather confusingly for late August, it's called the Primavera, or "Springtime" collection. It's not like the Chinese don't have Spring at the same time as us - I see them as a bigger market than the Australasians.

It comes in three pastel colours including pink:

It reminds me of something...

No, not that.

Maybe this?

Yes, that's what it reminds me of.

The universally loved Jaguar Type 00.  I'm being sarcastic.

Still it could be worse:

Car Parking Karma

Back in June, the BBC reported about a scam whereby fake QR Code stickers were being placed over real ones in carparks to con motorists into giving away bank details when they thought they were paying for parking.

That sounds like a cheaper way than using genuine parking payments when those payments are operated by Excel Parking.

Here is why.

Basically, they have been widely criticised for charging drivers if they took more than five minutes to pay and demanded thousands of pounds from an 18 year old after she was repeatedly caught out by this rule in Darlington.

It was one of many Excel car parks to stipulate that drivers must pay for their parking within five minutes of entering, as part of its terms and conditions.

But, as she pointed out, it sometimes took longer than five minutes due to poor phone signal and problems with the payment app.  Not her fault.

She initially paid the parking charge notices (PCNs) - which were reduced from £100 to £60 if paid within 14 days - and continued using the car park because she felt it was the safest one as a young woman on her own at night.

She decided to start appealing against the PCNs towards the end of 2022, but Excel still insisted she should pay.

She eventually received a letter, in February 2024, asking her to pay 67 unpaid charges.

Each one was £100, plus a £70 debt collection fee, so the total was £11,390.

Law firm Keidan Harrison later offered to help Miss Robinson free of charge - good on them, glad they got a good mention in the BBC News story.

In March, a hearing was held at Middlesbrough County Court, where she was defended by barrister Seth Kitson.

Mr Kitson argued the £100 penalties were unenforceable as Excel had "no legitimate interest in forcing its users to pay within five minutes".

He also said the five-minute payment rule was "inherently preposterous" - and an unfair contract term under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 - due to the lack of phone signal in the car park and the time taken to pay by phone.

District judge Janine Richards dismissed Excel Parking's original claim for two PCNs, and also its application to amend the claim so it could pursue 11 PCNs.

She found Excel's "conduct in relation to this litigation was both unreasonable and out of the norm", and therefore ordered the firm to pay the winning party's legal costs of £10,240.10.

Sorry, I've basically just cut-and-pasted from the BBC story there for those who didn't click on the link above.

As she had had free legal representation, the judge made a pro bono costs order, meaning Excel Parking had to pay the money to a charity called the Access to Justice Foundation who presumably help out others in similar situations - maybe against Excel Parking - that would be nice.

But Excel Parking decided to appeal.  That was rejected by another judge.

Excel claimed,

"We stand by our position that the terms of parking are lawful, reasonable, and unambiguous. Persistent breaches of this nature cannot be justified."

That was clearly shown IN COURT not to be the case!

They have now paid. Good. Serves them right.  See how they like it!

They also need to change their name - they do not excel.

Unsubscribe

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!"