I have this aubergine - 17 December 2024

FOLLOW UP: ANOTHER ROUGH WEEK FOR VW

Volkswagen are continuing to endure more challenges. Workers were on strike last week, with the threat of more in the new year as unions and management continue to talk but appear no closer to agreement. You can click this HTAutos article link to learn more.

Meanwhile, VW’s CFO Arno Antilitz, stated that factories must get more efficient. Which is code for cut costs. Unless they haven’t bothered to optimise efficiency up to now. Click this MSM article link here, to read further.

To round out the Volkswagen news, they are being sued in Brazil for treating farm workers, on a farm they owned, like slaves. This is a historical claim, which it is claimed took place between 1974 and 1986. If you want to find out more, click this MSM article link here.

CRUISE AV PROJECT CANCELLED BY GM

General Motors has announced that it is ceasing to fund Cruise and will fold elements of the company, including technology, into GM. The news has shocked some, including staff, but that is not surprising considering how poor reporting has been and how the industry has used PR and legal moves to obfuscate reality. You can read more on this, by clicking this link from TechCrunch here.

Honda will be saving roughly $100 million per year, as they will no longer need to pay a licensing fee for the Origin vehicles that never made it to service. Click this Nikkei Asia article link here, for more.

For some extra context, click these two links to John Berry posts on Bluesky. Link one can be found here. For the second, click here.

CYVN HOLDINGS AGREES TO BUY MCLAREN AUTOMOTIVE

The Abu Dhabi based investment group, CYVN Holdings, has agreed with Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat, to purchase McLaren Automotive. They already have invested in Gordon Murray Technologies, Forseven and NIO. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar link here.

MUSK TRIES TO INFLUENCE UK GOVERNMENT POLICY

The BBC has see attempts by Musk and Tesla to change the UK’s zero emission vehicle mandate by pushing for ICE drivers to be charged more, if they buy a petrol or diesel car. If you wish for your blood pressure to be raised, click this BBC News article link here.

AMAZON AUTOS ROLLS OUT TO 48 CITIES IN THE US

Amazon Autos is now rolling out to 48 cities, in the US, where you can use their platform to view, order, pay and arrange to collect your Hyundai. More locations are expected to added as time goes on. Key element to this, is knowing exactly what you’ll be paying without low moves by a dealer suddenly adding a cost, out of the blue. Click this Amazon article link to learn more.

If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST This week we talked about how to add Apple Podcasts service, to your Android homescreen, following a revised article from James Cridland and Podnews. If you use Android or know someone who does and are struggling to find a likeable player you can try it. Click this link here to see more. NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Renault 5 Turbo 3E

Renault has announced that they will be reviving another back catalogue car, just after telling us they would only be looking to the future with their vehicles. They will be bringing to production an electric 5 Turbo, with 500bhp and promises of breathtaking performance. Makes us wonder what the point of Alpine is. What was that? The price? Apparently in excess of £100,000. Click this Autocar article for more.

Aston Martin Valhalla

Aston Martin has confirmed the plug in hybrid, Valhalla, will be in production, finally, next year. With a starting price of only £850,000, this 1064bhp will take on the likes of the Ferrari SF90. There will be a maximum of 999 vehicle built and the company expects most of them to go through their personalisation program which will make the price jump significantly. Click this Autocar article to read more.

Farizon Supervan

Geely will be bringing a competitor to the EV van market, in the form of the Farizon SV (for Supervan). Price is expected to be less than that for the Ford E-Transit and Vivaro Electric. Range, from the largest battery that will initially be available, is a maximum of 225 miles. Click this Autocar link to learn more.

Toyota Urban Cruiser

Toyota are bringing back the Urban Cruiser name. This time it will adorn the Japanese car maker’s version of the Suzuki e-Vitara that was jointly developed by the two companies, although the project was led by Suzuki. For more information on the car, click this Autocar article link here.

LUNCHTIME READ: THE BRIXMIS OPEL SENATOR WAS THE RIDE OF REAL SECRET AGENTS DURING THE COLD WAR

During the Cold War, British agents would go and poke around areas of East Germany in modified Opel Senators. This Hagerty article tells you all about it, click here to read a fascinating story.

CONFIGURATOR OF THE WEEK: BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GT MULLINER

This week we have chosen to play with Bentley’s configurator and specifically the one for the Continental GT Mulliner. Unfortunately, we cannot establish just how eye-wateringly expensive our vehicles would be but we do have the links below to play along at home to, as well as check out Alan and Andrew’s choices.

Click here to go to the blank configurator.

For Alan’s choices, click this link here.

For Andrew’s choices, click this link here.

AND FINALLY: VW HONOURS DECADES OLD IMPORT PROGRAM

Volkswagen US had a program where people could order a US spec car, have it delivered to Europe, drive it around and then have it shipped back to the United States for the owner. One such participant never made it home, until very nearly forty years later, where VW honoured their part of the deal even though it has been shut for decades. Click here to see more, from Volkswagen’s own press release. Well done all involved.

AND FINALLY FINALLY: SUMMER IN THE TETONS

YouTuber Jonny Roams, has a short two minute video that is a beautifully shot teaser to longer film, about his time in the Teton mountains over the summer in his overland 944. Have a couple of minutes of calm and peace, whilst thinking about the adventures you’ll have next year in your car. It is nearly time again. Click here to watch the video.