Feb 18 2025 25 mins 3
FOLLOW UP: COURTS REFUSE GOVERNMENT REQUEST
The UK’s Supreme Court has blocked the Government’s attempt to reduce the compensation due to those sold finance for their car purchase. The fear was it would stop or reduce car loan availability. We now wait until April to find out the final ruling. Click this BBC News article to read more.
ASTON MARTIN GIVEN DEADLINE TO BE FIXED
Adrian Hallmark, the new CEO of Aston Martin, has outlined that the company must be “going in the right direction’, in terms of towards profitability in the next 12-18 months. Aston will not be following a volume model, but one where they maximise the profitability from each vehicle. If you wish to learn more, click this CarScoops link here.
For the more bizarre ideas from Aston Martin, you can click this Top Gear article link to read further.
NISSAN CANNOT GUARANTEE SUNDERLAND FUTURE
As the fall out of the collapsed merger continues to rain down, one step Nissan is taking is to continue it’s global cost saving exercise. Unfortunately, that means the Sunderland facility is under threat as three international plants are earmarked for closure. This is a step up on November’s original announcement, where only job losses were thought to be enough. If you want to learn more, click this Autocar article link here.
PORSCHE TO REDUCE WORKFORCE
Another car company not immune from the issues of the industry, Porsche has announced that it will be reducing the workforce by around 1900 staff. The expectation is this will be achieved by natural retirement and turnover. Some reports suggest 1500 positions will also go for temporary staff. This is the latest in a number of announcements from Porsche that show just how badly hit they are. Click this electrive article link to learn more.
NEW UK CAR PARK GUIDANCE ANNOUNCED
On Monday 17 February new guidance came into affect, from the new organisation, the Private Parking Scrutiny and Advice Panel (PPSAP). They have brought in a rule that offers greater protection to those struggling to pay upon arrival at a car park, if they are privately run and use ANPR or CCTV to enforce and monitor parking. To read more on this, click here for an article link from Motoring Research.
CONIGITAL GOES INTO LIQUIDATION
Conigital, once heralded as beacon in the UK autonomous vehicle world has called in a liquidator as it voluntarily folds. This is after the company claimed to have raised £500 million from a private equity group. However, the UK Tech News outlet was suspicious of this and published an article back in June 2024 questioning the validity of this claim. Click this article link to read about that. Then, click here, to read about the latest situation.
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NEW NEW CAR NEWS -
Subaru Forester
Subaru has released the details of the new Forester which is coming to the UK, from late Spring 2025. Revised looks, both inside and out, with power coming from a mild hybrid powertrain combined with their 2.0 litre boxer four petrol engine. Prices start at £38,995 for the entry level Limited model, rising, for the range-topping Touring version to£42,995. Click this link to read more from PistonHeads.
Modena MA-01
A restomod that isn’t a butchers 911, well knock us down with a feather. Instead, Modena has decided to bring their interpretation of the Maserati Biturbo and Shamal. This is a very good thing. Okay then, so it is a touch pricey at around £500,000 but that does include the donor car! Click this Evo link here to see these lovely looking cars.
Renault 5 GTL
A classic Renault 5 GTL has been converted to electric power, giving a range of 50 miles, and updating of some aspects of the vehicle. There is a retro styled digital dash, which came from a company using ‘software code-free approach’ and no, we don’t know what that means either. Not that we care, in this case, as it looks very cool. Click this Top Gear article link to see more.
LUNCHTIME READ: SKYLINE OR SIMILAR
Antony Ingram went to Japan recently-ish and he chose to hire cars to help him get around. What a brilliant idea! He has written up his experience for Hagerty and click this link to read more. Fabulous.
LIST OF THE WEEK: CARS THAT ENDED PRODUCTION IN 2024
As there has been too much nice stuff in the second half of the show, here is a list thanks to Evo, which has all the cars that went out of production in 2024. Do you agree with the choice of what will be missed the most? Click the link here to see what options there are.
AND FINALLY: YOU WILL NEED YOUR BIG COAT
Top Gear went to the wonderful F.A.T. Ice Race, at Zell am See and they took a lot of gorgeous photos. Click this link, which will bring a smile to your face, which is the whole point of the And Finally section.
