Leap of Faith

 Those bloody Chinese ripping off western cars...

I mean just look at that uglified Fiat 500 clone - Fiat must be furious.

Actually it is Fiat that is going to be importing it into Europe!

It's called the Leapmotor T03 and Autocar have the story here.

They seem to think that it could leapfrog the competition to become the cheapest electric "proper" car on sale here.

One of the YouTube Channels I subscribe to is The Fully Charged Show.  I'm a bit in two minds about it because I really like Robert Llewelyn but I was really put off by this video. The woman presenting it may or may not have been correct but her attitude and arrogance made me feel like she was going out of her way to prove that synthetic fuels would never be viable so the whole piece felt too biased to be useful.  Then the chap on this piece just seemed to be trying too hard - he's talking about the forthcoming Citroen e-C3 which is another contender for the cheapest electric "proper" car on sale here.

Which is why I suddenly starting talking about YouTube subscriptions.

It wasn't a leap into the dark.

No More Electroclash Grey

Autocar claim that Fiat are going to stop making grey cars.

I've just been on their configurator so it looks like there will be no more of these:

So you will now be left with a choice of Pastel Sicilia Orange (which looks quite good), Epic Blue, Dew Green, Bossanova White, Pasodoble Red or Metallic Crossover Black.  I was going to make a comment about how they should stop making crossovers rather stop making grey cars - especially as they've named one of their colours after them...

...but FIAT only make the one - the 500X - and that started out as an MPV.

I do think that there are far too many grey cars on the UK roads though.

There should be a lot less.

Then my grey car would stand out a bit more.

A Little Nissan Qashqai

They don't have Nissan Qashqais in America.

Is it because they can't pronounce it?

That can't be it - they manage well enough with their own pronunciations of Jaguar and Hyundai.

Although their version of the Qashqai is a lot easier to pronounce - I give you the Nissan Kicks:

Which looks remarkably like a Qashqai and is about the same size.

WHICH ISN'T SMALL!

It seems to be 85mm shorter than a Qashqai though - which is probably why it has made it in to Autoguide's list of the Smallest Cars on Sale Today 

- in America.

Their smallest car is the Chevrolet Spark.  That used to be on sale here in the UK.  It was bland.

I suppose it is small - albeit not as small as a Fiat 500.

Drive.com.au have a story about one of those that is antibacterial.  It has a UV lamp in the glovebox to zap Covid too.

And a link to U2.

You can only drive it where the streets have no name.

It is part of a partnership between Stellantis and Red.  Red is a company co-founded by Bono which seems to be linked to fighting health emergencies around the World.

Like Covid.

But, if a Fiat 500 is still too big for you, you may be interested in this Swiss, electric, Isetta:

It has two seats.

So it can be driven with or without you.

Fiat is Coining it in.

A seemingly counter-intuitive idea from Fiat in this Autocar story today.

Drivers of the New 500, will get to "earn" digital coins by driving in an economical manner.  Unfortunately, we are not talking Bitcoins here - we are talking KiriCoins - the invention of UK Start-Up Kiri Technologies who, being a start-up, nobody will have heard of yet - especially not people who you may want to spend their new coins with.

Now I thought that the new 500 was meant to be electric only so you couldn't help but to drive economically but, according to their Website, there are also hybrids in the range.

And, talking of their range, are they including the larger 500X and 500L models?

The idea is, according to the story, "By driving efficiently, owners will earn an ‘Eco:Score’ for each journey, with one kilometre of city driving roughly equal to two euro cents."

So, basically, the more you drive, the more you earn - see the problem here?

And, is the technology clever enough to give extra coins to people car-sharing in a Fiat 500L?

A Crushing Blow

If you happen to use the underground car-park in a certain block of flats in S.E.London, you'll have had a shock when you came to get to your car today.

I say "today"- I read this BBC report from today but it doesn't actually say when the event happened.

It's a strange one.  A water pipe has burst causing polystyrene insulation under the floor to expand, raising the cars until they were damaged by the car-park roof:

You wouldn't think polystyrene would be that strong.

I spent ages trying to work out what this car actually is.  It's obvious from the badge that it's a Ford and I've finally decided that it's an Explorer.  It was particularly unfortunate that it was a tall car parked under some pipework - the Fiat 500 next to it looks like it might have got away with it.

The article goes on to say that if any of the cars were removed too hastily it could result in a gas explosion.

An interesting engineering problem.

I wonder who will be paying for this damage - I bet there's no wording in motor insurance policies about vehicles being crushed by rising polystyrene.

Meanwhile, this chart shows rising polystyrene prices:

It is the bit at the end - and it is just Chinese polystyrene prices.  Following plant closures in April, production of polystyrene has been reduced, tightening supply and causing prices to rise. Increased demand for high impact polystyrene (HIPS) and expandable polystyrene (EPS) in particular further supported the price rise. However, despite lower production rates and rising production costs, coupled with high demand, prices still remained down 20% year-on-year.

It's amazing what you learn when you put "rising polystrene" into Google.

Fake Photos

I've seen this picture several times on various car news sites.

 

It irritates me.

It shouldn't - it's just Cadillac revealing their new XT5 cross-over that they excitedly declare is their "first-ever Cadillac XT5".  First-ever?  Well yes, as soon as you rename a car it becomes the first-ever unless you reuse an old name - I'm not sure where they're going with that.  But never mind, it's the picture that annoys me - it's all too perfect - no litter - a little graffiti but nothing offensive - a couple of beautiful passers-by (both ignoring the car however) and the strangely positioned car itself - about a foot out from the wrong side of the road.  It sort of reminds me of the selfies that young girls like to post on Facebook of themselves looking up and pouting awaiting comments of adoration.  Incidentally, the beautiful woman in this picture is carrying a couple of rolls of material which I guess is meant to indicate that she is a trendy young fashion designer crossing the road.  But they've overdone the pose so it looks like she is desperately trying to find a toilet.

Now here is a much better fake picture of a Fiat 500 in front of Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster:

  

It is from this BBC item.  It is about photographer Kim Leuenberger who is covering the Goodwood Revival, which starts this Friday but who also likes to photograph toy cars in various locations around the World in a series she calls "Traveling Cars Adventures".  She is Swiss but chooses to spell "travelling" the American way.

Anyway, enough fake pictures, here a photo I recently took of a horrific accident involving a Toyota Supra and a Porsche 928:

Had too much to drink and fancy an Italian?

This woman did.

Her name is Rhian Jeremiah and several news sites have the story today of her conviction for criminal damage to a car and for assaulting two police officers who came out to arrest her.

And what was her criminal damage?

Biting into a Fiat 500.

Here is the Mirror account of the story.

Magistrates heard Jeremiah had been drinking at a memorial night for her late boyfriend Simon Jones who drowned off the coast of Aberystwyth, west Wales.

What a fine tribute.

I Want That Car

The second episode of I Want That Car was broadcast on ITV4 last night. 

 

It is ITV's new "Daisybeck Productions give you a male motoring journo & female racer presenting a show giving punters a choice of 3 cars to buy and after test-driving 2 of them they have to select one to purchase while telling you a bit about them and trying to get a good deal off the unseen seller while the car's number plate is covered with the initials of the programme" show.

 

I watched the first one last week and found it irritating but decided to give it another go.

 

This week, I still found it irritating.

 

It could be the music.

 

It could be the fact they go to a racing circuit to do the show while racing is going on but just show little clips of the same racing cars over and over again in the middle of the main element of the show.

 

But I think it's probably the presenters. 

Rebecca Jackson makes big deal of how she is a used car expert (a saleswoman perhaps? - after I suggested they may not exist - no, an "expert" - although judging by her own website, she's only sold one car) and how she races Porsche Boxsters - but she only looks 15 - and she and the cameraman refuse to stand still when she is doing her pieces to camera.  And she's overly enthusiastic.

Mat Watson, meanwhile, works for Auto Express.

He comes over as too chummy and his Brummie accent keeps slipping in and out.  He likes the punters to "floor it" on the test drives and then states that they didn't go over the speed limits.  I wonder if the producer was involved in making that statement.

 

At this point, I suppose, I'd have to admit that I'd be crap at presenting a motoring show, especially if I was an unknown - I'd feel awkward pretending that everyone should just accept me straight off and at least these two do have the right professional backgrounds.

 

But I'm not presenting a motoring show and they are.

 

The show doesn't even have its own Website.  The nearest is this which is really looking for people to take part in it.  They do have a Facebook page which doesn't have many contributions apart from themselves looking for people to take part.  The couple of people who have commented are mixed on the show but one person thinks it is better than Top Gear - idiot!

 

They also have a Twitter feed which doesn't have many contributions apart from themselves looking for people to take part. The couple of people who have commented are a bit pro the show but one person thinks it is better than Top Gear - idiot!

 

The first show consisted of a bloke who used to own a Lotus (we don't know what happened to it) looking for a suitable sporty replacement - he is offered a TT, an Abarth (sporty Fiat 500) and a Porsche Boxster - he chooses the Porsche.

 

The second show consisted of a bloke after a classic.  He is offered a Mini, an MGB and a Porsche 911 Carrera Targa - he chooses the Porsche.

 

Actually, I think I've worked out what irritates me the most, and why I probably won't bother watching the rest of the series - it is because it isn't Used Car Roadshow.  If you aren't sure what Used Car Roadshow was, it was ITV's "Daisybeck Productions give you a male motoring journo & female racer presenting a show giving punters a choice of 3 cars to buy and after test-driving 2 of them they have to select one to purchase while telling you a bit about them and trying to get a good deal off the unseen seller while the car's number plate is covered with the initials of the programme" show.

Holiday Photos

I've been on my holidays!

 

Did anyone notice that I hadn't posted anything for over two weeks?

 

Why not?

 

Anyway, I went to Gran Canaria.

 

Whilst there I read two books and the September issue of Top Gear Magazine.

 

The two books were "Me Of Little Faith" by Lewis Black which had nothing to do with cars whatsoever and "Back Story" by David Mitchell (the comedy actor/writer not the author).  This had almost nothing to do with cars apart from the revelation that when he tried to learn to drive at the age of 17, his instructor stopped the car and told the young Mitchell how he had seen an alien spacecraft land.

 

David Mitchell never went on to get a licence.

 

I've been meaning to mention Top Gear Magazine for a while now - they "refreshed" it again a couple of months ago.

 

This is a term used by marketing people and Tesco Store managers for moving stuff around.

 

In Tescos this means you can't find anything so I stop going there. The Top Gear Magazine refresh wasn't too bad and they've introduced a couple of new features like "Ask Uncle TopGear" and "James May's Almanac" that are quite amusing.

 

Now for the photos I took while I was there:

A fine example of an elderly Fiat 500 - the original one.  You can really see just how small it is when parked in a car park amongst ordinary vehicles. 

Talking of small, here is a Renault Twizy.  I saw one here in Britain once but it was covered in the car-dealer's logos and travelling in the opposite direction to me so it was a fleeting glimpse.  I actually got to take a peek inside this one.  When I posted on this car a while back I implied that I didn't like it.  Now, having seen one close up, I still think it's horrible. 

Talking of horrible, that is a word I would never use to describe this Volkswagen Kharmann Ghia. 

I might use it to describe the Dacia Logan (or budget brand Renault - I think it's based on an earlier shape Clio but don't hold me to that).  This car is probably quite common-place if you are in Southern or Eastern Europe but they don't sell them here so I took a photo of it. 

Talking of "they don't sell them here so I took a photo of it" - here's a Mark 2 (I think) Ford Mustang.

 

 

...and the weather was nice and I got a bit of a tan.

Why do Elephants Have Big Ears?

...Because Noddy wouldn't pay the ransom.

I was never really a fan of Noddy, pictured here with his cruelly-named friend Big Ears and his little yellow taxi-cab.  I'm assuming it's a private hire vehicle although I've never spotted any taxi-plates on it.  In fact, it is probably illegal because a two-seater with bugger-all luggage space is going to struggle to get the appropriate licencing - unless the laws in Toytown are particularly lax.  I'm guessing Noddy must also be bribing P.C.Plod as he always turns a blind eye when he sees Noddy working.

 

Maybe Noddy's had enough now anyway because his car appears to be up for sale.  the Telegraph have the story today.  I think the author may be getting Noddy mixed up with Pinocchio though - I didn't think Noddy was made of wood.

Apparently, this is worth £25000.

 

It is actually a 1969 Fiat Gamine Vignale - a car I'd never heard of that is based on a Fiat 500 - the original one.  If you see the rear of the car it is quite obvious it is based on a Fiat 500 - the original one.

 

If you put that registration number into mycarcheck.com, though, it says it is a Fiat Coupe.

 

No it isn't, mycarcheck - THIS is a Fiat Coupe...

A much more attractive proposition than the Noddy Car and a lot cheaper too.

 

Now, with £25000 to play with, Noddy should be able to afford something a bit nicer to take Big Ears out into the woods in - not that there's anything dodgy about their relationship - just ask Noddy himself.

Uncle Buick

I was going to call this post "Would you Adam & Eve it!?" but since it is about Vauxhall's posh, American uncle and since the largest group of people who read my posts are American and don't speak Cockney, I went with "Uncle Buick."

Autoguide reported this story yesterday about how GM CEO Dan Akerson expressed his desire to add the Vauxhall/Opel Adam and Cascada to the Buick model lineup.

Buick is not a brand I know too much about - my only real memories of a Buick involve the brown Buick Century that Kojak used to drive in the 1970s:

I don't believe that Buicks were ever sold here in the UK but I do know that it is meant to be the upmarket badge for GM in The States.

Which surprises me a bit that they would want to re-badge the Adam as a Buick.  I can sort of understand the Cascada - it was seriously mooted in my earlier story on the Cascada, but the Adam is meant to be a Mini/Fiat 500 worrier.  In fact, why not sell it to the Americans as a small, funky, European car and give it a Vauxhall or Opel badge there too?

This story did prompt me to look up Buick on Wikipedia (yes, I know other, more reliable, websites are available) where I learned that Buick himself was Scottish and the cars gained "Ventiports" in 1949 which are ventilation holes in the front wings representing the engine cylinders that have little flashing lights in them to indicate the sparks - I'd like to see that on a modern car - don't know what they would do for a diesel though.


Now, if they do insist on calling a small Buick the Buick Adam, here's a tip for the marketing people:

Get a clip of Telly Savalas saying,

"Who Loves Ya, Baby?"

Guess it's the new Twingo

I haven't been on the Auto Express site in quite a while.

They're still up to their old tricks though.

They have this picture...

...under the headline, "New Renaultsport Twingo" but then go on to say, "it is how it could look."  So, it's just a guess really - maybe an educated guess - but still a guess.

 

Others are at it too, French site ABCMoteur have this for the standard Twingo... 

 While our own Autocar have this today...

Autocar's story is headlined, "Renault Twingo 'reinvents small car'" because it is a small car with a rear engine and rear drive.  Only thing is, it has been done before...

 

...in Scotland: 

and, even more successfully, in Italy: 

 

The new Twingo, judging by these guesses (and Renault's own concepts), will be available as a five-door so that is a bit of a departure from the past and at least this does look a bit more funky like the original Twingo:

Although, maybe I thought it was quite funky then because it was never sold in Britain so it meant I was always on holiday when I saw one. 

 

The Mark II version, which is sold in Britain, is quite bland in comparison:

Guess they thought it was time for a re-think.