A further fall in wholesale costs for fuel means retailers must cut petrol and diesel prices this week or face losing ‘all credibility’ with motorists.

The warning from the RAC comes as the motoring organisation reveals the average retailer margin for petrol is 19p a litre, with a 15p margin on diesel.

This means unleaded is currently 12p a litre too expensive, while diesel is overpriced by 10p a litre.

“Ten days ago, we highlighted that petrol was 6p too expensive due to a fall in the wholesale price,” said RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams.

“Sadly, the biggest retailers, who lead the market, have stood strong and taken advantage of their customers by collecting bigger profits on every litre than they traditionally do.”

Omicron sees oil prices fall

The discovery of the Omicron Covid variant saw oil prices fall by $10 a barrel, making wholesale fuel prices even cheaper.

Mr. Williams called the 19p a litre margin “shocking when you consider their average margin pre-Covid was 6p”.

Fuel retailers will resent the RAC’s call, said Mr Williams, but if they don’t cut prices, “we feel they will lose credibility with drivers – although it’s very difficult for motorists to vote with their feet because they have nowhere else to go”.

If cuts don’t materialise this week, added the RAC, the government should step in and scrutinise the sector “as there’s no public body monitoring fuel prices to see if they’re fair.

“It seems as though retailers think they can get away with charging more for fuel because of the public’s general acceptance of rising energy prices”.

Retailers, adds Mr Williams, are very quick to raise prices when wholesale prices go up, which is in contrast to what happens when they fall – the worst ‘rocket and feather’ behaviour.

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The pure electric Skoda Enyaq has been named Scottish Car of the Year 2021, one of four gongs picked up by the Czech brand at the latest awards.

The Octavia also collected a hat-trick of awards, being named best family hatchback, best plug-in hybrid and best estate. It is the first time a single car has won three category prizes in the Scottish Car of the Year Awards.

“Skoda had an amazing run,” said Jack McKeown, president of the Association of Scottish Motoring Writers, which runs the awards.

“The Enyaq saw off some tough competition to be crowned Scottish Car of the Year. Its styling, practicality and value were all factors, but it was the way it made switching from petrol to electric feel so easy that most impressed us.”

Speaking at the awards, Skoda UK head of marketing Kirsten Stagg said: “Electrification presents us with an incredible opportunity.

“As a brand, we have become known for delivering a high quality ownership experience without the premium price tag.

“We want to continue that as we transition into electric cars.”

Scotland’s cars of the year 2021

Other victors in the 2021 awards include the Dacia Sandero, which was named best small car, and its crossover-style sibling, the Sandero Stepway, which took the best small SUV prize.

The Hyundai Tucson was best family SUV and the Kia Sorento took large SUV honours – with premium Kia-Hyundai sister brand Genesis winning best luxury SUV with its GV80.

The BMW 4 Series was best executive car, the Mazda MX-30 took best EV for less than £35,000, the Suzuki Swace was the best hybrid and the SsangYong Rexton was voted best 4×4.

The highly-rated Hyundai i20 N, another favourite of Motoring Research received the envied hot hatch of the year award, while the Mazda CX-5 was named best used car.

Ineos claimed its first major car awards gong with the Grenadier winning the design and innovation prize.

“Every one of our category winners is a superb vehicle in its own right,” said Jack McKeown, “and even being shortlisted for a SCOTY award is an impressive accomplishment for any manufacturer.”         

Scottish Car of the Year 2021 winners

• Small Car: Dacia Sandero
• Family hatchback: Skoda Octavia
• Small SUV/Crossover: Dacia Sandero Stepway
• Family SUV: Hyundai Tucson
• Large SUV: Kia Sorento  
• Executive: BMW 4 Series
• Estate: Skoda Octavia iV/vRS
• Sub-£35,000 EVs: Mazda MX-30  
• £35,000+ EVs: Skoda Enyaq iV80
• Plug-in Hybrid: Skoda Octavia iV  
• Hybrid: Suzuki Swace
• Luxury SUV: Genesis GV80
• 4×4: SsangYong Rexton
• Hot Hatch: Hyundai i20 N
• Used Car: Mazda CX-5
• Design and Innovation: Ineos Grenadier

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British motorists are turning to electric vehicles in ever-greater numbers but the rapid growth of EVs is under threat from a below-par charging infrastructure warns the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

Speaking at the organisation’s 104th Annual Dinner, SMMT president Dr George Gillespie said there are already more than 115 zero emission capable vehicles on sale in the UK and the industry “has inspired the public to buy these exciting vehicles in numbers never seen before.

“But here is the twist. It is so frustrating to find broken chargers, blocked chargers, multiple apps, confusing payment schemes.

“This is quickly going to turn a lot of people off electric vehicles and all our work in developing these fantastic vehicles will be wasted.”

The warning was delivered to a guest list that included automotive industry executives, media, and other stakeholder representatives – including government.

Plans – and mandates?

The SMMT is calling for long-term strategies to address the challenges faced by the UK automotive industry, with a particularly focus on upping the pace of EV charging infrastructure.

“As electric vehicle sales race ahead,” said SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes, “on-street charging infrastructure is increasing slowly.

“We look to government to create the conditions – maybe mandate the conditions – to accelerate the infrastructure across the country, as we need others to match our speed.”

The SMMT says more plug-in electric cars will be sold in 2021 than in the entire previous decade, and a third of British-built cars are now electrified.

Automotive manufacturing, it adds, is Britain’s most valuable export, with around 155,000 people employed in “highly skilled, well-paid jobs across the country.

“Manufacturers are firmly committed to decarbonise cars and vans by 2035.”

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A man aims to raise more than £5,000 for charity by taking a Mini Electric wrapped in 2,000 Christmas lights on a five-week tour of the UK.

Nicholas ‘Nico’ Martin will reveal his festive Mini in Bracknell, Berkshire later this week, ahead of starting his nationwide tour.

He wants to raise both awareness and cash for the MS Trust, Duchenne UK and the Alzheimer’s Society.

It’s the latest step in a project that began three years ago, when Nico wrapped his own Mini in fairy lights and showed it off in Bracknell.

When Covid stopped many Christmas displays in 2020, Nico decided to step up his efforts – which have continued, now with the support of Mini UK, in 2021.

“I just knew last year I had an opportunity to cheer people up and also to raise funds for the MS Trust and Duchenne UK,” said Nico.

“In 2019, I was asked to take the Festive Mini to surprise an incredible young boy, Marcus Rooks, who was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

“When I saw his face light up, I realised that I had created something truly special.”

By switching to a Mini Electric, Nico says all his trips are now environmentally friendly, and special app-controlled twinkly lights “with their amazing customisable animations really give the car a bit of extra magic”.

Mini UK director David George said the firm was “humbled to be a part of Nico’s fundraising project.

“It’s a wonderful idea that will bring people together, make them smile, and also raise funds for some amazing charities.”

A Festive Mini 2021 tour website is now live for those who want to visit one of Nico’s stops.

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Remember coupe cabriolets? After decades of being little more than a footnote in the big book of automotive history, the open-or-shut car enjoyed 20 years of relative success after the start of the millennium.

Now, without so much of a farewell note left on the table in the hallway, the coupe cabriolet – or CC, if we’re being familiar – has all but disappeared, rendered obsolete by the buying public.

For the CC, this is the way the world ends, this is the way the world ends, this is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but the sound of a failed roof mechanism and the unmistakable stench of a damp footwell. When it comes to taking your top off, soft beats hard.

Despite the likes of the Mercedes-AMG SL and BMW 4 Series returning to soft-tops, the hard-top convertible isn’t entirely dead. The Mazda MX-5 RF, for example, is the closest you can get to a factory-built MX-5 coupe, while the Ferrari F8 Spider caters for those with a bigger budget.

But the boom years are most certainly over, with the pages of Auto Trader littered with examples of cars that promised endless hours of sunshine, bragging rights over your next-door neighbour and the theatre of roof origami. Like the hideous rump required to house a complicated roof, the coupe cabriolet’s glory days are behind it.

Georges Paulin: pulling teeth, raising the roof

It all started in 1934 when Parisian dentist Georges Paulin designed and patented the world’s first automatic retractable hard-top. Using Peugeot platforms, Paulin worked with coachbuilder Marcel Pourtout to create the 301, 401 and 601 Eclipse. Following initial disinterest in the technology, Peugeot used Paulin’s invention to build the 402 Eclipse.

Factors then conspired against the coupe cabriolet. The technology was too expensive, while the breakout of war meant car manufacturers were preoccupied with more important matters. Aside from the Chrysler Thunderbolt of 1941, the technology remained dormant until 1957, when Ford had another stab at popularising the concept.

Recognising that Peugeot had got there first, Ford marketed the Fairlane 500 Skyliner as the ‘world’s only hide-away hard-top’.

‘Here’s the car the motoring public has dreamed of for years… the car many automotive experts said would never be mass-produced. Now, Ford has made this “miracle” a reality. It’s another first from Ford, the company that brought you low-cost V8 power and created such automotive classics as the Thunderbird,’ proclaimed the brochure.

With just a touch of a button, the Skyliner could be transformed from a large American coupe into a sizeable American convertible, with the process taking less than a minute. If the rear deck looks enormous, that’s because it was. The Skyliner was a full three inches longer than the standard Fairlane 500, which was hardly lacking in length.

It was complicated, yes – 610 feet of wiring, three electric motors, eight circuit breakers, 10 relays and 10 limit switches – but it was also highly desirable. Ford sold around 20,000 in the first year, with production continuing until 1959.

Winter-proof in 25 seconds

Invented by the French and developed by the Americans, it was left to the Germans to take the folding hard-top to the masses. The Mercedes-Benz SLK of 1996 laid the foundations for a swathe of coupe cabriolets to hit the market in the new millennium.

Parent company Daimler’s attempts at claim a world-first were dashed, with the official line reading: ‘Mercedes-Benz was the first manufacturer to revive this type of roof, which harked back to an earlier era. When the SLK appeared as a production model in 1996 (R170), its roof was such a hit that several competitors subsequently brought out versions of their own.’

The SLK stemmed from two 1994 concepts: the SLK I and SLK II. The latter, unveiled at the Paris motor show, featured an electro-hydraulic ‘Vario roof’, transforming the oh-so-pretty SLK ‘from a convertible into a winter-proof – or vice versa – in just 25 seconds’.

By the time it was replaced by the R171 in early 2004, 308,000 had been produced, but its legacy was more far-reaching. Put simply, Mercedes-Benz, Ford and Georges Paulin have a lot to answer for.

In 2000, the SLK had one direct rival: the new Peugeot 206 CC. But while the SLK would set you back at least £28,000, the topless Pug was available for about half that price. It also looked pert and pretty, which isn’t something you can say about the majority of coupe cabriolets.

Its replacement, the 207 CC was about aesthetically pleasing as a cold sore, while the larger 308 CC is a definite ‘swipe left’ affair. For cars supposedly majoring on kerb appeal and style, the likes of the Mitsubishi Colt CZC, Nissan Micra CC and Renault Megane CC look about as glamorous as a fresher student after a ‘pound a pint’ night in Newcastle.

There are exceptions to the rule. The Volkswagen Eos, for example, looks like a bespoke build, rather than something based on an existing hatchback. Dare we suggest that it looks more desirable than the equivalent Golf, which was sold alongside the Eos for a while?

Then there’s the Pininfarina-designed and built Ford Focus CC. At the front, the Focus ST styling gives it a sense of purpose, although the rear end makes the Focus saloon look like a pin-up model. It’s that roof mechanism, you see. It needs somewhere to go.

Which brings us on to the inherent problems with the coupe cabriolet: some sacrifices are required. Taking styling out of the equation – beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all – life with a CC often means living with cramped rear seats, a small boot, stodgy dynamics, lacklustre performance and the feeling that one day, just maybe, the roof mechanism might leave you high and dry. Or, worse still, low and wet.

Ford will point to the fact that the Focus CC offered 248 litres of space with the roof down and a massive 534 litres with the roof up, but given the fact that 50 percent of CC buyers were families, 248 litres wouldn’t the swallow the requirements for a weekend away, let alone the annual holiday.

The ultimate mating ritual?

It’s not all bad news. There’s no denying that these transformers are high on theatre. Only a peacock loitering in a National Trust car park is able to put on a display to rival a CC. Shrinking violets need not apply.

Then there’s an issue of security. It must be nice to return from a night at the opera without the prospect of a screwdriver through your soft top. And, away from bragging about meaningless 0-60mph times, how joyous to be able to compare the time it takes to raise or lower the roof.

But theatrics and security simply weren’t enough for the buying public, who were unable to look beyond the Kardashian-rivalling rears. The older they get, the less desirable they will become (much like Kim?), with buyers and dealers deterred by the complexity roof mechanisms. Did somebody mention French electrics and warranty claims?

There are also the concerns about getting wet. Consult a used car guide for a coupe cabriolet, and you’ll be greeted with more tales of unwanted leaks than an emergency plumbers hotline.

When the current obsession with SUVs and crossovers is finally consigned to the history books, maybe we’ll see the second coming of the CC. Until that day, we’ll have to watch as they spiral into banger territory, teetering on the edge of oblivion.

Georges Paulin was a very talented man but had he foreseen the horrors of the Colt CZC, the Micra CC and the back of the Focus CC, he might have stuck to pulling teeth. Pass the forceps.

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