About 400 jobs are going at the MINI plant, Cowley, Oxford. The company said it’s halving its contracting force following a slump in demand for the models in the coronavirus lockdown. Learners have to contend with another collapse of the DVSA on-line driving test booking system. It failed within hours of being restarted after the lockdown and then again this week when it was restored after … [Read more...]
Cars are growing and some drivers struggle to cope
Cars are getting bigger and it seems UK infrastructure can’t keep up with our ever-growing vehicles, leaving drivers in a spot of bother on the roads. To find out just how much cars are expanding, Zuto analysed 14 of the UK’s most popular cars to see the difference in size in comparison to the original versions. From the 14 models analysed, nine have almost doubled in size, meaning there is … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: MINI Electric Cooper S Level 2
The original Mini designed by Sir Alec Issigonis came about because of the Suez crisis and the subsequent petrol rationing creating a demand for affordable motoring, David Miles reminds us. In an answer to that call the first petrol powered Mini rolled off the production line in Oxford in 1959 and so the global success story of Mini started. Today with a world facing new social and economic … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: On the road & in the news 30 May
Although the lockdown measures are easing it will take time for the wheels of society to return to something like normal life, writes David Miles. But from tomorrow, after the bank holiday week, English schools for certain age groups will open where they can and more employees should be returning to work and that includes the motoring industry. So hopefully it won’t be too long before we get back … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: On the road & in the news 10 May
I’m still keeping calm and carrying on sifting through the latest automotive news items and press releases pinging into my Inbox, writes David Miles. Whilst the COVIC-19 news is not good there are some brighter worthwhile snippets of information worth passing on. New life goes on - Toyota Corolla proves reliant for Robins We motoring journalists during the lockdown period are without test cars … [Read more...]
Sad loss of Welsh ambassador for motor sport
Welsh & UK motorsport lost a great ambassador on Saturday 29 February when Alun Morgan passed away after a long illness, writes Ken Davies. Widely known within the Welsh motorsport community, Alun had spent a remarkable lifetime in the sport. In 1942, David Alun Thomas Morgan was born in Gorslas, Carmarthenshire and after LLandybie Secondary Modern School, went to Ammanford Technical College … [Read more...]
Battery maker calls for greater UK manufacturing
British car production dipped 2.1% in January according to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders yesterday. Reduced demand from car manufacturing plants and additional shutdowns related to the coronavirus pandemic have caused the fifth successive month of decline. A global snowball effect is expected to continue as the industry anticipates the upcoming budget. This … [Read more...]
Newslines 7 February
Production of the three-year-old Mercedes-Benz X-class pickup is ending in June. Based on the Nissan Navara, it has failed to reach anticipated sales figures but it will remain available to order until 11 February, it has told media. Pump prices are falling at last. RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said, “Drivers should be relieved the supermarkets are cutting fuel prices after weeks of … [Read more...]
Death of Welsh & international rallying great
One of the great characters in Welsh and International rallying has died. Despite being fiercely patriotic about all things Welsh, Denis Cardell was quick to point out that his family originated from the Scottish Borders. Born in 1934, Denis started competing in major rallies in the sixties, first co-driving for South Wales car dealer Norman Harvey in a Cooper S on the 1963 RAC Rally and then … [Read more...]
Welsh car buyers most loyal in disappointing 2019
UK car sales last year hit a six-year low and the industry does not expect an early recovery but Welsh buyers were most loyal, writes Robin Roberts. The SMMT said today that overall sales in 2019 were 2.4% below the previous year at 2.31M new models. Consumer confidence, confusion over clean air legislation which is tightening each year and challenging car makers, and the Brexit debate with a … [Read more...]