This story from Autocar today makes it look like Ford are being a bit cheeky.
It reports on how Ford are planning to get into the electric car segment using the name "Model E" - including a rival to Tesla's Model S.
In fact, according to that article, Ford blocked Tesla’s attempts to trademark the name "Model E" back in 2013 leading to Tesla then choosing the Model 3 name for its forthcoming entry-level car.
But, then again, Ford could have laid a claim to "Model S" too if they had wanted to - after all, they were using it 109 years ago:
This was a precursor to the more famous Model T - which I reported on in 2014 challenging a Tesla Model S to a race from Detroit to New York.
That article included this picture that I really liked:
And now this article gives me an excuse to publish another picture of a model that I really like.
On the day Donald Trump joked about having Hillary Clinton shot (and let's be honest, that is what he was joking about), his favourite TV News Channel was reporting a speed camera design that is allegedly bullet-proof. Here is the Fox News story.
And here is our own Sunday Times article that they nicked it from. (but since they are both owned by Rupert Murdoch I don't suppose it really matters)
And here is the offending device:
It looks a bit like one of those generators you see towed behind trucks that come along to dig up the road:
Especially when you hear that the camera has wheels that are retracted when in situ for security purposes.
And this generator is painted yellow which is what the camera would have to be if used in the UK.
But I can't help thinking that this inconvenience could be easily fixed with a bit of duck-tape.
If you're wondering why, then you probably didn't watch the races from Snetterton weekend before last.
Here's Hunter Abbot in Race 3:
His car got launched into the air from the starting grid, did a couple of sideways somersaults, got hit then flew into a TV camera gantry knocking it over. I watched that live, including the cameraman jumping clear as his perch was toppled.
Fortunately, or miraculously, nobody was injured.
Obviously the race was stopped. So was Race 2 after another mega-crash on the opening lap.
The video goes on to say that it was a good day for the Silverline Subaru BMR Team - and it was - although their boss, Warren Scott received a verbal lashing from Motorbase driver Andrew Jordan via the TV cameras for his driving standards in Race 2 where the two clashed. They were both given verbal warnings from the Stewards for the incident so it'll be interesting to hear what they have to say this coming weekend for the next rounds at Knockhill.
There will be a bit of a shadow over Knockhill (and I'm not talking about the Scottish weather) after the sad death last weekend of the first ever British Touring Car Champion, Jack Sears who won in the inaugural year of 1958 and again five years later. He was 86 and actively involved in the sport right up until the end.
It's a while since I've mentioned the BTCC - which is unusual because it's a damn site more exciting than F1.
And when I say "exciting" - I usually mean for the right reasons - not the crashes.
Pistonheads had this story yesterday about a proposed new Lego model - the Series III Land Rover Defender.
It has been designed by a father and son partnership, Terry & Ben Fisher and looks brilliant. The detail is very impressive.
It looks a lot better than quite a few more famous recent Lego car models such as the Beetle & Porsche 911 but I suspect that that is due to the fact that a Defender is square - like Lego.
It needs 10000 votes to go into production and mine was number 5983.
It is a slight faff to vote for it because you need a Lego ID but it can be done from here where you will also learn a bit more about it.
There have been a few rumours lately that the Defender could be back from the dead and I suspect this isn't what they meant but it'll do for now.
A couple of Mercedes self-driving stories caught my eye today.
Looks like they've been a bit naughty in their advertising Stateside. Autoguide have the story here. Mercedes have been forced to pull a TV ad for the E-Class in which a narrator says,
“Is the world truly ready for a vehicle that can drive itself? Ready or not, the future is here.”
The ad also shows the driver removing his hands from the steering wheel, leading to the argument that people will believe the car is full self-driving.
Meanwhile the small-print caption on the ad states,
“Vehicle cannot drive itself, but has automated driving features. The system will remind the driver frequently to keep hands on the steering wheel. Always observe safe driving practices and obey all road traffic regulations.”
Hmmm. I can see why it was dropped.
This doesn't bode well when the you read the second story, found in Car+Driver here. The headline reads "Mercedes-Benz and Tesla See a Future in Electric Self-Driving Buses" The story goes on to talk about The Mercedes-Benz Future Bus, a semi-automated city bus with a technology suite that can allow it to journey up to 12.4 miles without a need for the driver to touch the steering, accelerator, or brake pedal. The Future Bus can spot obstacles and pedestrians, follow lane markings, and function as part of a new Bus Rapid Transit system.
It looks nice too...
I wonder what the small-print says - this bus won't journey up to 12.4 miles without a need for the driver to touch the steering, accelerator, or brake pedal and it can't spot obstacles and pedestrians, follow lane markings, and function as part of a new Bus Rapid Transit system?
And I bet it can't do what this Chilean bus-driver did:
