As fans prepare to bid a bittersweet farewell to one of the UK’s most beloved sitcoms, the final film-length episode of Gavin & Stacey airing this Christmas promises more than just laughs, tears, and reunions - it’s also a celebration of the miles travelled, memories made, and bridges crossed. With the anticipation building, the team at GAP Insurance provider, ALA Insurance worked out just … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: GWM Funky Cat 1st Edition
The UK’s electric car revolution is becoming a bloody affair. From initially resisting the new technology on cost grounds including writing off established investments in petrol and diesel engine technology and having to develop hybrid or pure electric powertrains, along with making tens of thousands of workers redundant, manufacturers have struggled to convince buyers into showrooms or on-line … [Read more...]
Electric avenue is not music to the ears
Britain’s electric charging network is shorting and slowing sales of the low emission vehicles and the Government’s drive to a greener future. That’s my opinion after testing one of the best new electric cars, the Genesis GV60, over two long trips in a few days. With a range of over 230 miles approximately on a full charge that should be enough for most users, but this new car and others are … [Read more...]
Stellantis stuck in shipments row
Stellantis appears to be manipulating the new car market and making buyers pay for it. The trade press has reported the massive PSA/ Fiat/ Vauxhall conglomerate has been making dealers register cars still on their way or in logistics hubs but not on the road in the hands of their buyers. Motorists have also been made to pay for the cars in advance or lose the order and racked up finance … [Read more...]
The party’s over for the Ford Fiesta
It's the end of the road for the Ford Fiesta, the car maker announced this week. The highly popular baby Ford created in the wake of the early 1970s oil crisis to get Britons moving again will roll off the Cologne, Germany productions line for the last time next June, after 46 years of sales. But before then, the axe will also fall on the sibling Ford S-Max and Galaxy SUV and MPV models in … [Read more...]
Weeds need removing from our green drive
There are a few weeds to be taken care of as the motor industry, energy providers, related suppliers and authorities take us down the green road towards 2030 and onwards, writes Robin Roberts. The haste and race to have low emission cars and other vehicles on our roads is tripping over some serious issues, notably cost, and not just for vehicles and infrastructure but the expense of losing … [Read more...]
Behind the Wheel: Driving towards a cliff
Tens of thousands of more jobs are likely to disappear from the UK automotive sector before the end of the year, writes Robin Roberts. Some 11,349 jobs so far axed following lockdown will grow and despite this week’s 11% rise in new car registrations the outlook is bleak. That’s because the first upturn in showroom sales came at the end of three months when all showrooms were in … [Read more...]
Virus spreads change through dealerships & buying
The lasting effects of how Coronavirus-19 will spread its impact through the motor industry and selling cars cannot be known, but for many it has merely sped up the changes we have witnessed over a decade, writes Robin Roberts. In a social media post this week, Lamborghini said it was never going to display at a motor show again but would instead concentrate on more personal and exclusive events … [Read more...]
Cars are an escape from Coronavirus
Cars, councils and the country make strange bedfellows, but they now depend on one another to fight Coronavirus-19. After decades of being squeezed out, criticised and taxed as a milk-cow it now seems that councils and the country cannot survive without cars. All the investment pushed into public transport at the expense of improving roads and parking seems to be wasted as the country is told to … [Read more...]
Car trade is idling on lockdown road
Car buyers and sellers will be operating in a new world and new order when they are again allowed to go out and into showrooms as early as monday 1 June in England but at dates to be decided in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, writes Robin Roberts. One of the biggest changes in doing business post-Covid-19 will be seen in Suzuki dealerships where the UK importer is introducing a seven-day … [Read more...]