Are batteries getting any better??

Electric vehicles are gaining traction amongst consumers, no doubt, but before we see mass adoption there is one concern I have that hasn’t been properly addressed. Beyond high prices, limited range and poor charging infrastructure, a critical reason that I see why the shift to electric vehicles (EVs) will take longer is that people want bigger and therefore heavier cars. And crazily, it’s not just SUVs I’m…

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Greener petrol coming to a garage near you… hopefully!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51731757 The above link from the BBC homepage announces the proposal for petrol stations across the UK to adopt more environmentally friendly E10 petrol to replace the current E5. This is good news indeed and will be interesting to see if Boris discusses this proposal specifically while chairing his first cabinet meeting on climate change today. The "E" in E10 stands for ethanol - in this case…

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Getting insurance for young drivers remains… a challenge!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51612880 I'm all for black box devices being fitted in cars to monitor the driving habits of new drivers to help them become better drivers. The idea being that if you demonstrate that you are a good driver, you will be rewarded with lower insurance premiums. While I do recognise that this does have an air of "Big Brother watching you", in my opinion new drivers should…

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Is congestion in London any better with fewer private cars on the roads?

This is a very interesting article in the Guardian written by Gwyn Topham because, rather unfortunately, it flags what I've often been worried about. Namely, the decrease in private cars being offset by the increase in both Uber (drivers) and Amazon delivery vans. The article provides interesting points regarding congestion in London streets and how it hasn't improved at all since Uber first hit our streets back…

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New Car Sales down 7.3% in Jan, year on year… Should we care?

January figures for new car sales came out this past Tuesday and surprise, surprise, they’ve dropped year on year (149k vehicles sold in Jan this year, versus 160k in Jan 2019). Why isn’t this a surprise? For starters, consumer confidence here in the UK has trickled steadily lower as the uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the ramifications of a Britain not part of the EU made consumers wary…

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The Hyundai Kona EV

In response to the growing demand for an all-electric SUV, Hyundai launched their compact Kona crossover in EV form in mid-2018, arriving to UK shores in the middle of last year. This is certainly a feather in the cap for the surging South Korean brand, and I’m happy to report that the vehicle is very well put together. It should come as no surprise that the Kona…

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Current State of EVs – a thought:

While everyone has the noblest of intentions when it comes to the environment, the reality is that here in the UK the automotive industry – both manufacturers and policy makers - have not done a good enough job to convince us to switch to pure EV cars. Even though car manufacturers will be soon flooding the market with new model EVs, the big unknown is whether consumers…

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James Cameron hooks up with Mercedes-Benz to create an Avatar car…

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/james-cameron-teams-mercedes-benz-avatar-inspired-vehicle-1267592 This is kinda fun... Hollywood mega-filmmaker James Cameron - an avid environmentalist to boot - has collaborated with Mercedes-Benz to create an eco-friendly concept car that dovetails into his Avatar-based worlds of production and design. The car was first seen on Monday in Las Vegas at CES under the moniker Vision AVTR, which stands for Advanced Vehicle Transformation. Mercedes-Benz is keen to highlight that this car…

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