Abstract whatboutery - 21 May 2024

Motoring Podcast - News Show

FOLLOW UP: EU TO IMPOSE TARIFFS

EU politicians have indicated that they will impose tariffs between 25-30% on Chinese EVs imported to the European Union. This comes after the US raised their tariff level to 105% for Chinese EVs. The move has been expected but the amount was not known. This has brought out divisions within the EU as France and Germany have very different home industries. If you wish to learn more, click this electrive article link here.

FOLLOW UP: CRUISE AGREE PAYOUT TO PEDESTRIAN VICTIM

Cruise, the self-driving development company, has agreed to pay the victim of the road incident that involved her being dragged and severely injured by the car, between $8 and $12 million as compensation. Exact details have not been confirmed. Click this Market Watch article link for more.

FOLLOW UP: TESLA BEING SUED OVER SELF-DRIVING CLAIMS

A US judge has stated that the class-action against Tesla, with regards to pursuing over negligence and fraud based claims. The original claim is, apparently, due to the 2016 video which the actions states falsely advertised what Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) can do. To learn more about this matter, click here for the link to the Jalopnik article.

DEATH BY DANGEROUS CYCLING TO BECOME LAW

The UK Government has announced that “causing death or serious injury by dangerous or careless cycling is set to become an offence”, as reported by the BBC News site. This change in the law will also come with a potential punishment of up to 14 years in prison. Click this link to read more.

FTC WARNS CAR MAKERS OVER DATA COLLECTION

In the US the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has warned car manufacturers on their practices over collecting data on their vehicles and occupants. They explain how serious they are by citing several recent cases where they have fined companies for “the illegal collection, use, and disclosure of their personal data." Good. To read more, click this announcement link from the FTC.

MINI CEO STEPS DOWN

Stefanie Wurst, the CEO of Mini, is stepping down and will be replaced by Stefan Richmann, head of BMW Group corporate strategy, on 1 August 2024. There have been no reasons given for this change. Click this Autocar article link for more.

NHTSA INVESTIGATES WAYMO

Once more in the US, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) is finally investigating Waymo about its vehicles not obeying traffic laws. The countless videos on social media showing examples of this, must have made them wake up. Waymo have tried to suggest the incidents are statistically insignificant. Zoox is also under investigation. Cruise has announced it will resume testing in Arizona with a safety driver in attendance. To read about Waymo, click this article link from The Register.

For further context, click this link to a piece from Appercetive by Sam, which gives some insider information on how badly these vehicles and systems are actually doing. However, we would stress that we do not agree with the author’s take on how AVs will be ‘a thing’ as he does.

More context, is an article from The Verge. Do read this as this highlights several important issues the industry has tried to gloss over or hope would go away or that no one would notice, but the public has and it has recorded it. Click here to read more.

And final link to extra context is a research paper into those who believe that autonomous vehicles should and will be on our roads. Now we have a new term, ‘Pod Man’. Click here for the link to the paper on Taylor & Francis Online.

RENAULT ABANDONS AV CARS FOR BUSES

Renault has announced it is not pursuing autonomous cars, for the time being, but instead will develop autonomous buses. We are not sure how they have come to the conclusion that it will be different considering they need to work in the same domains. Whilst raising your eyebrow, click this link to read more from Autocar.

EU BRINGS IN STRICTER CO2 RULES FOR LORRIES

The European Council has agreed to stricter CO2 rules for lorries, following consensus by EU countries recently. All city buses must be emission free from 2035 and nearly all new lorries will need to be by 2040. If you wish to learn more, click this link to the electrive article here.

TEVVA APPLIES FOR ADMINISTRATORS

Tevva Motors is a UK-based electric lorry company. They have a 7.5t model which Royal Mail and Travis Perkins have expressed interest in buying. Tevva failed to merge six months ago, with a Canadian company, and have called in administrators to give them protection whilst they seek more investment. Click this electrive link for more.

KONECT COULD HERALD MORE EV CHARGERS AT FORECOURTS

Konect, from Gilbarco Veeder-Root, is a turn-key EV charging solution aimed at fuel forecourts. They will handle all of the payments, maintenance and customer service for the charge points, whilst the site focuses on selling sandwiches and more, which is where the profit lies for them already. If you wish to learn more, click this article link from Forecourt Trader.

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NEW NEW CAR NEWS -

Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio Quadrifoglio Super Sport

Alfa Romeo is building 450 Super Sport versions of the Giulia and Stelvio Quadrifoglio. These will all black versions, with areas either darkened or actually black to give it a unique look. Prices are £82,815 for the Giulia and £91,835 for the Stelvio. Click this EVO article link for more.

Seat Leon

The car company, who we thought up until recently was being quietly shuttered by the VW Group is now back and needs to update their models. Here the Leon is getting a spruce up. New power trains, including a PHEV, as well as tech being thrown at the interior to bring it up to date. You can learn more, by clicking this Autocar link here.

Morgan Midsummer

Morgan and Pininfarina have collaborated to bring us a roadster called the Midsummer. This made the internet go weak at the knees when revealed. What a gorgeous car. Only 50 models will be made and they’re already sold. Unfortunately, not to us. To gaze on longingly, click this Autocar article link here.

Stellantis to launch Leapmotor vehicles in Europe

Leapmotor, a Chinese EV maker that Stellantis recently invested heavily in, will bring a 165 mile supermini, a mid-sized SUV and a new vehicle out each year up to 2028.The supermini will be available from September in Europe and the UK. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar article link here.

Eight year warranties from Peugeot

Peugeot are extending their Allure Care warranty scheme to all their EVs and with that bring an eight year/100,000 mile guarantee. Remember that all EV batteries are legally obliged to have an eight year warranty in the UK already, but Peugeot are now covering the rest of the car - although check the small print! Click this electrive article link for more.

DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: T. JON MAYER JOINS BENTLEY

T. Jon Mayer is leaving Volvo, where he was the head of exterior design, to become the head of design operations at Bentley. He will be joining his former colleague, Robin Page who is the Design Director at the Crewe based company. You can learn more, by clicking this Car Design News article link here.

LUNCHTIME READ: TRIBUTE TO LA FERTÉ-VIDAME

Drew Smith and Joe Simpson shared a piece, via their Looking Out newsletter, about the Stellantis design studio, La Ferté-Vidame, which the company has put up for sale. You can read about the history of the site and what has occurred as well as some of the other assets that the car group has decided to ditch. To read this, click this link to the LINGES/Auto article here.

To see more from Looking Out as well as how to sign up for their excellent newsletter, click this link here.

LIST OF THE WEEK: RETRO RIDES AT GOODWOOD

Autocar attended the Retro Rides event at Goodwood, a couple of weeks ago, and bring us a selection of cars from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s to tickle our collective fancies. Do you agree with Alan’s choice? What would you like to take home? Do let us know. To check out the options, click this link here.

AND FINALLY: DIPLOMATIC CONGESTION CHARGE BILL

Transport for London (TfL) and the UK Government consider London’s congestion charge a service. Diplomats from across the globe consider it a tax. Those that do think it is a tax refuse to pay. The amounts owed, since 2003, are becoming really rather large. Click this link to open a PDF to see why TfL are taking many to the International Court of Justice and how much who owes!