From the Chair: March 2022
Whither Geneva? The first week of March has since time immemorial been the date of the Geneva Show, the event which always seemed to herald the new motoring year. But once again and for the third year in succession, the Show has been cancelled. The organisers blamed...
From the Chair: January 2022
Last month, Daimler Benz announced that it had received authorisation from the federal traffic office to equip its car with level-three automation, effectively hands-free driving. The first appearance of this will be on the new S Class Mercedes due for launch during...
From the Chair: November 2021
If it has struck you that there seem to be more and more Teslas about, it is not an illusion. According to analysts Jato Dynamics, in September the Tesla Model 3 was Europe’s best-selling car, with 24,571 cars sold. In second place was the Renault Clio at 18,268 and...
From the Chair: September 2021
Electric cars are slowly improving, a development that some members of the WG recently were able to ascertain for themselves driving Honda’s new battery entry to the European market, the E. But while their manufacturers energetically promote them, electric cars remain...
From the Chair: July 2021
While the pandemic with its daily statistics and intermittent lockdowns has naturally dominated the news for a year-and-a-half, other matters of interest, not to say concern, have often been overlooked. A case in point is the rise and rise of urban clean air zones,...
Robert Opron: Designer of the DS and the Citroën Maserati
Robert Opron whose memorable designs included the Citroën Maserati and the Alfa Romeo SZ has died aged 89. Born in Amiens, he was unable to complete his ambition to become an architect because of a bout of tuberculosis which confined him in a sanatorium for two years....
From the Chair: April 2021
The recent Evergreen affair underlines just how much the motor industry is at the mercy of supply chains over which it has little control. The Suez Canal bottleneck will probably result in some shipments arriving three-to four-weeks late and for car manufacturers it...
Electric Future?
JLR figured large in the UK business pages last month with the announcement that from 2025 the company would build only EVs. The man delivering this news was JLR’s new CEO Thierry Bolloré, who until October 2019 was CEO at Renault, no stranger to electric cars. Also...
The first car I fell in love with
I learned to drive, or at least did most of my practicing in my mother’s HA Viva, but the car that, fifty years on, really stays with me is the Triumph Herald. A light blue 1966 saloon was the car I did my six instructor lessons in and in which I passed my test. I...
BMW announces electric SUV (at last)
The big surprise about BMW’s press announcement last month was not its new iX, but that a battery-powered SUV had taken so long to emerge from Munich. It is easy to forget, but with the i3 launched in 2013, BMW was one of the first major manufacturers to produce an...
From the chair: August 2020
Whither the UK motor industry? SMMT car registration data shows that for January to June 2020, new car registrations were half the corresponding figure for the first half of 2019, and if June 2020 improved to 65% of the 2019 level, this is certainly the very best hope...
From the Chair: March 2020
The motor industry has been dealing with exhaust waste since the 1970s but another issue is now rolling into view. The catalytic converter which largely took care of hydrocarbon emissions also obliged refineries to remove lead, a known toxin, from petrol. Used as an...
From the chair: September 2019
Electric cars are a subject on which most people have an opinion, but not always founded on facts so it was interesting recently to hear the views of a specialist: Jon Hunt is manager of Alternative Fuels at Toyota. Toyota is the world’s sixth largest manufacturer by...From the chair: July 2019
As we pass mid 2019, the car manufacturing scene in Europe presents mixed messages. Ford announced the closure of its Bridgend plant, grim news, but not entirely unexpected. The contract to make petrol engines for JLR is running out and on the continent other...From the chair: April 2019
For some time the car industry has been focused on electric traction. This is particularly so with European manufacturers who have long been under political pressure to reduce levels of CO2. European makes have also had to contend in short order with the demands of...Our Social Wall from Members
The number of vehicles on our roads reached a record 41.4 million in 2023, according to the latest SMMT figures
https://automotiveblog.co.uk/2024/04/record-number-of-vehicles-on-uk-roads/
Awesome classics on display at the Drive It Day event (Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs) at my local pub, in aid of the NSPCC’s Childline
Ferrari 412GT sells at auction
My official souvenir picture from this week's Mazda Epic Drive in Morocco, courtesy of photographer Dave Smith
My official souvenir picture from this week's Mazda Epic Drive in Morocco, courtesy of photographer Dave Smith
Hispano Suiza teases design of new Carmen Sagrera #hypercar https://tinyurl.com/yrfek7cn #Spain #supercar #luxury @HispanoSuizaCar
The new CX-80 - the biggest ever #Mazda to be brought to the UK by the company - will arrive in the autumn https://tinyurl.com/yrfek7cn
#Hyundai reveals pricing & specs of new Santa Fe https://tinyurl.com/yrfek7cn @Hyundai_UK
