The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has dismissed two complaints that an advert for the Outlander PHEV could potentially mislead consumers.

First aired in September 2018, the complainants argued that the advert voice-over placed repeated emphasis on the electric elements of the Outlander PHEV.

The voice-over in question stated: “What is the new Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid? It’s electric and petrol power combined. It’s electric and a practical SUV. It’s electric and 4 wheel drive. It’s electric and delivers up to 159 miles per gallon. New Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. It’s electric and more. Drive your ambition. Mitsubishi Motors.”

According to the two complainants, this could lead viewers to think the popular Mitsubishi SUV was powered mainly by electricity, and not the petrol engine.

Together in electric dreams

However, in considering the complaints, the ASA ruled that the content of the advert was more than sufficient to prevent viewers from being confused.

This meant the ad was found not in breach of rules regarding misleading advertising, substantiation, exaggeration, and environmental claims.

When defending the advertisement, Mitsubishi argued that “the ad did not state that the vehicle was purely electric and highlighted the fact that the vehicle had an electric only mode”.

In addition, the company also pointed out that: “the name of the vehicle included the acronym PHEV (Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle) which informed consumers of the vehicle category”, which should have made it clear.

Hybrid theories and facts

The Outlander PHEV has cemented its position as the UK’s best-selling plug-in hybrid. Revisions made in September 2018, as highlighted by the advert in question, kept the Outlander from being affected by the new WLTP regulations.

Previous rulings from the ASA have treated claims about hybrid cars with particular caution.

A Facebook advert post for the BMW i3 was banned, after the ASA ruled that it could not be called a ‘clean car’ with a range-extending petrol version on offer.

Few cars were as loved, loathed and ridiculed as the Ford Capri. In a production run spanning 18 years, ‘the car you always promised yourself’ amassed sales approaching 1.9 million, upset the establishment on the race tracks of Europe, and appeared in more television shows than Ian McShane.

To mark the car’s 50th anniversary, we take a look at Britain’s love affair with the Ford Capri.

Inspired by the Ford Mustang

As pointed out by Jeremy Walton in his excellent book Capri: The Development and Competition History of Ford’s European GT Car, the success of the Capri was down to two major influences: the Mustang and the wealth of the buying public. Like so many success stories, it was the right car at the right time.

Ford launched the Mustang in 1964, using the relatively mundane Falcon compact car as a platform. It broke the mould, offering American baby boomers an affordable four-seat sporty car that majored on style and personalisation. Could a similar recipe be used to woo European buyers?

Launched in January 1969

To create the Capri, Ford used the humble Cortina as a platform and used a similarly evocative name to deliver some exotic showroom glamour. Project Colt was given the go-ahead in July 1966, with the launch taking place just three years later at the Brussels International Motor Show in January 1969.

The similarities with the Mustang were not surprising, but the Capri offered a better use of space. It might have been shorter and narrower than its American cousin, but it offered more room inside. This was important for Ford, as it wanted to market the coupe as a true four-seater.

The car you always promised yourself

‘The new Ford Capri is the kind of car you’ve probably been hoping someone would make ever since you first put foot to clutch pedal,’ proclaimed the press advert in 1969. ‘A genuine fastback. That doesn’t cost a fortune. Handles like a sports car. And holds 4 people,’ it continued.

It looked a million dollars and offered a taste of glamour for the family man who would have otherwise been faced with driving a common saloon or estate car. And we do mean family man. Ford used the ‘sex sells’ approach to marketing, positioning the Capri alongside attractive women in exotic places. Later ads toned it down a little – the children and mother-in-law made an appearance – but there’s little doubt that Ford saw the Capri as a man’s car.

The best car Ford had produced?

‘Forgetting the racy fastback shape for a moment, it is the best car that Ford [has] ever produced,’ claimed Autocar in February 1969. ‘They will sell a million, and quickly at that,’ it continued.

Autocar wasn’t wrong. It took just four years, six months and five days for the Capri to amass a million sales, with the car proving to be particularly popular in the United Kingdom. Germany was another prime territory for Ford, while the Capri was even sold alongside the Mustang as the ‘Sexy European’ in the US.

There was a Capri to suit all budgets

Part of the Capri’s success was its ability to offer glamour and sex appeal, regardless of what lay beneath the long and protruding bonnet. At launch, it was available in 1300, 1600 and 2000 flavours – the 3000 arrived in October 1969 – with the 1.3 offering the same level of style as the 3.0, albeit without the performance.

Not that the Zodiac-sourced 3.0-litre unit was necessarily the engine you always promised yourself. It may have offered the grunt and a huge amount of straight-line speed, but it was also heavier, meaning the Capri 3000 was prone to understeer.

Your Capri, your way

The Ford Mustang was successful, in part, thanks to a wide range of personalisation options. Colours, trims, options and accessories meant that it was possible to create a car that felt tailored to you. Ford took a similar approach with the Capri, offering a number of ‘custom packs’ from the outset.

L, XL, R-pack, X-pack, etc. – you could ensure that your Capri didn’t look the same as the Capri owned by Mr and Mrs Jones across the road. The Capri faced many imitators over the years, but none captured the hearts and minds quite like the Ford. By the time it went out of production in 1986, it seemed like everyone had an opinion on the Capri, and not all of these impressions were positive.

The Mk1 Capri makes its mark

Not that the Mk1 Capri had to worry about a potential image crisis. In the early 1970s, it appeared to be riding on a crest of a wave, consistently appearing in the UK top 10 sales chart. The UK was the Capri’s biggest and best market, with 42,000 units sold in 1972. This was 11,000 more than in Germany and 15,000 more than the rest of Europe combined.

It even got off to a good start in the US, with Ford taking $3 million worth of orders following the Capri’s debut at the 1970 New York Auto Show. Not that it remained popular for long. Sales of the German-built Capri declined in North America, with no more cars imported after 1978.

Ford Capri RS2600

The first Capri RS was given the go-ahead in 1969, with the task of bringing the RS2600 to market left to the team at the Ford Advanced Vehicle Operation (FAVO) plant in South Ockendon. The RS2600 first appeared as a partial mock-up at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1970, before going on sale in September of the same year.

Following the construction of three prototypes, a further 50 were developed for homologation purposes, with RS2600 production taking place in Cologne and Saarlouis. In total, 3,532 cars were built, including the prototypes and homologation specials.

Ford Capri RS3100

In 1973, the second Capri RS arrived in the form of the Halewood-built RS3100. By now, the Mk1 Capri was living on borrowed time, while a number of external factors meant that an expensive and specialist performance Capri was a hard sell. Although 250 RS3100s were built, some had to be exported to Australia, while others were driven by Ford area sales managers.

It used the standard 3.0-litre Essex V6 engine, with the bore enlarged to create 3,091cc. Even with a 125mph top speed, a 0-60mph time of 7.3 seconds and a unique ‘Ducktail’ rear spoiler, Ford struggled to shift the RS3100. In the wake of the fuel crisis, a list price of £2,450 seemed like an exorbitant indulgence, resulting in some sizeable discounts.

Enter the Capri II

As Ford struggled to shift the RS3100, the Capri II started to appear in showrooms. The company began working on the second-generation model in 1970 with the project going under the name of ‘Diana’. Ford had a habit of using girls names for its project cars – the restyled Escort was called ‘Brenda’, while the later Mk3 Capri was known as ‘Carla’.

If the RS3100 appeared out of touch, the Capri II seemed perfectly in-tune with the market created by the oil crisis of 1973. The Capri had already seen its best single year in terms of sales volume – 238,913 units found homes in 1970 – and accumulative sales had hit the million mark in 1973. But, after a good year in 1974, when the Mk2 sold 183,706 units, the Capri’s popularity was on the wane.

Practical, not glamorous

Much like its owners, the Capri had grown a little older and, dare we say, a little flabbier. The Capri II could boast 151 modifications, but the most obvious change was the introduction of a third door, or large tailgate. This may have been influenced by the American Ford Pinto, but there were also echoes of the Reliant Scimitar GTE and Volvo 1800ES in the car’s rear end.

Whatever, the third door answered two of the Capri’s key problems – a lack of luggage space and poor rearward visibility. The Capri II was a softer proposition, growing heavier, a little larger and, in the right trim, a touch more luxurious.

The Capri Ghia, Rodney

The introduction of the Ghia was a sure sign that the Capri was getting softer. In many ways, this highlighted the importance of the UK market, where buyers preferred a more family-oriented Capri, as opposed to the audience in Germany, who fancied a more sporting flavour.

The German-built Capri Ghia – available with 2.0-litre and 3.0-litre engines – played on Ford’s ownership of the Turin coachbuilders and offered a range of extras, such as deep-pile carpet, tinted glass, metallic paint and alloy wheels. In Mk3 guise, the Capri Ghia had a starring role in Only Fools and Horses.

S’Express

But the Ford Capri wasn’t quite ready to slip into full ‘pipe and slippers’ mode. With the oil crisis over, Ford was able to give the Capri a more sporting flavour with the launch of the new S model.

Unveiled at the 1975 Geneva Motor Show under the codename of ‘Midnight’, the S featured all-black coachwork and, when combined with gold striping, it had more than a hint of John Player Special (JPS) about it. Announced as a limited production special, the Capri S proved to be so popular, it became a regular model by the end of the year. And while 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre versions were available, the 3.0S was the range sweet spot, and arguably one of the Capri’s finest variants.

Germany goes it alone

The final year in which Capri sales hit the six-figure mark was 1976 and, aside from a positive blip in 1979, registrations declined year-on-year until the car’s death in 1986. UK production at the Halewood plant ceased in October 1976, with 337,491 units built since production began in 1968.

This left Cologne as the only factory producing the Capri, with the German factory ceasing production of the ‘Federal’ Capri in August 1977. Did this signal the end for the Ford Capri?

The beginning of the end

In 1978, Capri production had slumped to 69,112 – around a third of the total in 1969. There are many factors contributing to the decline and it would be unfair to suggest that the Capri II was the primary reason for the car’s downfall. Yes, it was heavier, arguably less attractive and less sporting than the original, but there were other forces at play.

Buying a Capri was driven by desire and by 1978 there were other cars competing for the buying public’s pound and deutschmark. The Opel Manta, for the example, along with the Volkswagen Scirocco and Toyota Celica, to name but three. We were also witnessing the birth of the hot hatch, a body style that would eventually stick a stake through the Capri’s heart.

Project Carla

But there was still time for the Capri to enjoy a few more years in the limelight. Officially, the Mk3 was little more than a facelifted Capri II – Ford called it a ‘freshened’ Mk2 – but it must have struck a chord with the buying public. In its first full year of production, the Capri Mk3 achieved sales totalling 85,420, an increase of around 15,000 from 1978.

Sure, it was little more than a momentary blip – sales dropped to 41,755 in 1980 – but the initial enthusiasm showed a genuine desire for a refreshed Capri, even if the car was all but forgotten beyond the shores of Britain.

The Mk3 Capri

The Mk3 Capri was the best-resolved model since the RS2600, offering a terrific blend of sporting intent, lower running costs and better all-round performance, including improved fuel economy.

It also looked the part, helped by the four headlights, which harked back to the RS models and the Federalised car sold on the other side of the Atlantic. The Mk3 also featured the corporate grille, as seen on the Fiesta and Granada, along with Mercedes-like rear lights: ribbed for your pleasure.

The 2.8 injection

In 1980, Ford established a new Special Vehicle Engineering (SVE) division. Its first brief was to develop a fuel-injected V6 Capri. A new flagship was required, as the 3.0-litre engine was essentially dead, save for its use in the Ford Transit, and the Capri needed a performance version to survive.

The result was the 2.8 injection, initially with a four-speed gearbox and later with a five-speed. It was an immediate success, even earning the Capri a place in the sales top 10 in August 1981. The SVE department went on to develop many fast Fords, including the Fiesta XR2 and XR2i, the Escort XR3 and XR3i, and the Escort RS1600i.

On borrowed time

The 2.8i – and later 2.8i Special – may have been a welcome addition to the range, but by the mid-1980s, the Capri was on borrowed time. Sales in Europe were on the floor, while even in the UK, where the Capri remained popular, the car was beginning to suffer from an image crisis.

Ford did its best to keep the Capri on a life support machine, unveiling a succession of special editions to maintain interest and keep dealers happy. First came the 1.6 Calypso and 1.3 Cameo, followed by the 1.6 Cabaret, before the Laser of 1984 became the final throw of the dice for the four-cylinder models. In November 1984, only right-hand-drive production remained.

Bye-bye, Capri

Two years later, in December 1986, the final Capri left the factory in Cologne, bringing to an end 18 years of production. Sales actually increased from 9,262 in 1985 to 10,710 in 1986, as customers grabbed the final opportunity to buy a new Capri. Some took the plunge on the Capri 280, although the final edition was nowhere near as successful as Ford would have hoped.

The original plan was to build 500 last-of-the-line Capri 2.8i Specials, under the project banner of Capri 500 SVP. All would be sold in the UK and all would command a sizeable premium over the standard 2.8i Special.

Capri 280

Ultimately, Ford decided to ship 1,038 Capri 280s to the UK – the 500 badge was hastily redrawn to take account of the change – but history shows that sticking to the original plan might have been a better option.

Too few people were willing to stump up the £11,999 required for what was chiefly a cosmetic upgrade over the standard 2.8i – 15-inch wheels, ‘Brooklands’ green metallic paint, grey leather with red piping and 280 decals. Some cars remained unsold well into 1988, even with a discounted price of £9,995.

An image problem

It didn’t take long for the Capri to lose its lustre. Almost overnight, the car you always promised yourself seemed to fall out of favour; its image steadily declining in the late 80s and throughout the 90s. Values plummeted, particularly of the four-cylinder models, and it became increasingly hard to sell all but the most legendary models. But more on this in a moment.

In the meantime, the Capri was becoming an object of ridicule. Appearances in The Professionals and Minder, while cool today, only served to cement a reputation of being past it – a car driven by wideboys, ‘Jack the lads’ and men with open shirts who found it hard to resist ploughing through stacked boxes left by the side of the road. When Del Boy needed a car to boost his image, it had to be a Capri Ghia, Rodney.

Crayford convertible

We’ll come back to the rise, fall and rise again of the Ford Capri, but before we do, it’s worth remembering some of the rather special variants built during the car’s lifetime. There were a few Capri convertible conversions, but the Crayford was perhaps the most famous.

It arrived in 1969, and with a price tag of £2,421 for the 3000E, it wasn’t exactly a cheap – this was more money than an E-Type. According to the Crayford Convertible Club, 37 Capris were sold, each one built in Germany. Abbotts of Farnham received 50 orders for its own Capri Convertible Drophead Coupe, but the company built and sold seven cars before the business collapsed.

Perana V8

Arguably the best Capri not to be officially sold in the UK, the Perana was the only Capri V8 to be sanctioned by Ford. Between 500 and 550 were built, each one sold via South African Ford dealers and with a full Ford warranty.

The Perana was based on the Mk1 3000 XL and powered by an uprated 5.0-litre V8 from the Mustang. Top speed was a smidgen over 142mph, while the 0-60mph time was eclipsed in just 6.1 seconds.

Four-wheel-drive Capri

Long before the Audi Quattro was changing the face of world rallying, Ford toyed with the idea of building a four-wheel-drive Capri. A total of 17 prototype Ferguson four-wheel-drive Capris were built, with at least five used in competition.

“I suppose it really was the wrong image for Capri. In most potential customers’ minds, 4WD was just something you put in for off-road use. There would be few who would pay the premium for the extra safety such a system gives on the road,” said FAVO supervisory engineer, Rod Mansfield.

Zakspeed Capri

The Capri proved to be a formidable force in motorsport, with the car securing race victories as early as February 1969 and then continuing to be successful throughout the 70s and 80s. This gallery doesn’t focus on the Capri in motorsport, but it’s worth mentioning one particular legendary race car: the Zakspeed Capri.

Built for Group 5 racing in Germany, the Zakspeed Capri caught the eye thanks to its low and imposing Kevlar 49 plastic bodywork, deep front spoiler and rear wing. And if that wasn’t enough, the Zakspeed Capri would often be seen with fire coming out of the side-mounted exhaust. Magic stuff.

Tickford Capri

The Tickford Capri made its debut at the 1982 Birmingham Motor Show, with an initial price of £14,985, some £6,000 more than the standard 2.8i. In fairness, Tickford carried out a comprehensive makeover – including mounting a Japanese IHI turbocharger to the V6 engine – but this was an awful lot of money for a blue-collar hero.

Standard features included a walnut dashboard, an alarm and electric windows, but extras such as full leather, Wilton carpets and a stainless steel exhaust were optional.

Turbo Technics Capri

The Tickford wasn’t the only turbocharged Capri. In Germany, Ford teamed up with Zakspeed to offer the Capri Turbo, complete with flared arches, rear wing and front spoiler. Oh, and the small matter of a 200hp 2.8-litre turbocharged engine.

Meanwhile, UK buyers were offered a turbocharged Capri thanks to a Ford-backed Turbo Technics conversion. The Northamptonshire firm offered braking upgrades to cope with the extra power, which ranged from 200hp to 230hp. This photo shows a Capri 280 with a Turbo Technics conversion.

You could barely give them away

It took a while for the Ford Capri to recover from its image problem. I remember a time when it seemed almost impossible to sell a Capri, especially if it had a four-cylinder engine. I owned a succession of Capris – a brace of 1.6 Lasers, a 2.0 Ghia, a pair of 2.8s and a 280 ‘Brooklands’ – and on each occasion my purchases were greeted with ridicule.

Today, I could take a year off work and enjoy a few trips around the world if I owned that little lot. Heck, the Capri 280 is almost a passport to print money. In March 2016, a Ford Capri 280 sold at auction for a world record price of £54,000. One thing’s for sure: the days of Capris appearing in the ‘bargain basement’ section of the classifieds are long gone – it’s now a gilt-edged classic car. And rightly so. After all, the Ford Capri really did keep its promise.

Read more:

• 10 overrated fast Fords
• Ford Capri 280 ‘Brooklands’: Retro Road Test
• Road and race cars at Autosport International 2019

Tesla boss Elon Musk says one of the options available for the next-generation Roadster will be a ‘SpaceX package’. And that means – in theory – the car will be able to fly.

Meet the 840hp Tesla-powered Mustang

The new Roadster will actually do something like this https://t.co/fIsTAYa4x8

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 9, 2019

He’s serious, too. Musk commented on how cold-air thrusters could be used to aid braking, acceleration, top speed and cornering. He also adds that such a system would “maybe even allow a Tesla to fly”.

The thing is I feel like you’re not joking

— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) January 9, 2019

As standard, the new Roadster is claimed to hit 60mph in 1.9 seconds, plus a top speed of more than 250mph. It’s also said to have 620 miles of range.

Acclaimed tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee, a known friend of Musk’s and avid Tesla supporter, echoed the suspended disbelief of us all, saying: “The thing is I feel like you’re not joking”.

• Elon Musk says the UK Tesla Model 3 is due in mid-2019

I’m not. Will use SpaceX cold gas thruster system with ultra high pressure air in a composite over-wrapped pressure vessel in place of the 2 rear seats.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 9, 2019

Musk naturally responds with detailed jargon on how he’d get a Tesla to fly. How does a “SpaceX cold gas thruster system with ultra high-pressure air in a composite over-wrapped pressure vessel in place of the two rear seats” sound?

In response to another reply depicting a certain famous DeLorean with its wheels sideways and rocket power, he said: “the new Roadster will actually do something like this”.

Plus, you can basically accelerate at the limit of human endurance

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 9, 2019

It’s not been established whether Musk was consuming herbal refreshments – similar to those he famously enjoyed on Joe Rogan’s podcast – when he claimed the next Roadster could go vertical.

Love him or lump him, the automotive and technological worlds are undoubtedly more interesting thanks to Musk. He certainly makes a change from the grey-suited, PR-hardened automotive execs we’ve become used to.

Read more:

• Volkswagen Tiguan expands with money-saving Match edition
• Air pollution in London tube stations up to 30 times worse than a busy road
• Subaru goes retro with its new motorsports livery

The best-selling Dacia in Britain is the crossover-infused, value-priced supermini Sandero Stepway. And now the jacked-up five-door hatch has become even better value with the launch of a new entry-level engine.

The 1.2-litre SCe 75 is certainly no ball of fire. 0-62mph takes a yawning 16.7 seconds and it can’t even crack 100mph flat-out. The TCe 90 that it sits below is a full 5.6 seconds faster from 0-62mph, and has half as much pulling power again.

But never mind the performance, just look at the prices. The Sandero Stepway SCe 75, in base-level Essential trim, costs just £8,995, making it one of the most affordable new cars in Britain. AND you get a car with plenty of style-conscious SUV body cladding to boot. 

It’s 40mm higher than the regular Sandero hatch, and the roof bars plus satin finish chrome front and rear skid plates are standard. 

Mind you, if its limp performance really is an issue, the TCe 90 isn’t exactly budget-busting: it costs from £9,995, just £1,000 more. It’s the diesel variant that makes little sense these days: it may well do 58.8mpg, but it also costs from £11,595, £1,600 more than the TCe 90 (which does 42.2mpg). 

The diesel has by far the highest insurance group, too – 13E, compared to 6E for the SCe 75 and 8E for the TCe 90. 

The new Essential trim line has been introduced to give everything the budget-conscious new car buyer needs for a competitive price. It has the all-important air con as standard, plus DAB radio, Bluetooth connectivity, electric front windows, body coloured bumpers and ‘alloy-look’ wheels. 

Comfort is new, too: priced from £10,995, it has touchscreen MediaNav sat nav with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, cruise control, rear parking sensors, electric rear windows and electric door mirrors. 

2019 Dacia Sandero Stepway: prices

Essential

• 1.2 SCe 75: £8,995
• 0.9 TCe 90: £9,995
• 1.5 dCi 95 Blue: £11,595

Comfort

• 0.9 TCe 90: £10,995
• 1.5 dCi 95 Blue: £12,595

The Volkswagen Tiguan was Britain’s 14th best-selling car in 2018. The firm is now looking to double down on this popularity in 2019 with the launch of an added-value Match edition. 

Match is Volkswagen-speak for extra features and cash savings. The Tiguan Match thus replaces two models, SE and SE Nav, and brings in more equipment than either of them. 

It’s added a rear view camera, park assist, keyless entry and big 19-inch ‘Victoria’ alloys onto the standard spec of SE Nav (which, as its name suggests, also includes sat nav). 

Volkswagen’s calculated that the total customer saving totals £1,130, even when the “small price revision” (i.e. £200 price increase) over the old SE Nav is factored in.

Prices for the Tiguan Match start from £26,750 for a 1.5 TSI Evo 130, in front-wheel drive manual guise. DSG autos and 4Motion all-wheel drive can be added, and buyers can also pick from 1.5 TSI Evo 130, 2.0 TSI 230, 2.0 TDI 150 and 2.0 TDI 190 engines. It’s offered in regular Tiguan and Tiguan Allspace, too.

It’s not only at the value end of the range that Volkswagen is revising trims, though. At the top of the line, R-Line has been replaced by R-Line Tech, which comes wtih £1,485 of options. 

The extras? ‘Area view’ (a fancy rear-view camera), park assist, keyless entry and full electric tailgate operation. Again, it has a price hike of £200, making the total saving £1,285. Prices for the R-Line Tech start from £33,150.

The petrol range now stretches right up to £38,335, for an new range-topping 230hp 2.0-litre TSI 4Motion. Why would you want it? For a combination of 36.7mpg and 0-62mph in 6.3 seconds, that’s why. 

Remember, it’s basically the engine that’s already used in the Volkswagen Golf GTI. 

“The Tiguan is already a favourite with UK car buyers,” said product manager Brian Luckie, “being our third best-selling model behind the Golf and Polo.

“This addition of over £1,000 of extra equipment and extra value only strengthens its case. With this equipment included, not only is the Tiguan better value, but even more convenient.”

Ordering for both new Tiguans is open now with deliveries due later in the month. 

London drivers have been vilified for contributing to air pollution, but a new report suggests a bigger danger is lurking underground.

Whilst much attention has been paid to airborne particulates emitted by combustion engines, commuters risk being exposed to more of them when using the London Underground. This could see greater importance placed on ensuring the health of those travelling below the streets.

The incredible findings have been published by the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution (COMEAP) in a new report. Research has found that concentrations of particulate matter were up to 30 times higher on the platform at Hampstead tube station, than standing beside a road in urban London.

What lurks beneath

Hampstead is notable for being one of the deepest stations on the London Underground network. The number of deep tunnels, along with the overall age of London’s tube system, make it worse for particulate matter.

Average commuters spend one hour per day travelling on the London Underground. However, the data found by COMEAP shows that just a single hour on the tube creates the same particulate exposure as an entire day spent above ground.

The only good news for users of public transport comes for those using the bus. Exposure to particulate matter on a 2.5 hour bus journey – estimated to be the same distance as an hour on the tube – would mean only a third of the particulate exposure from going underground.

ULEZ for the London Underground?

On average, the air breathed in walking around London is likely to contain 18 times less particulate matter that using the London Underground. Such a dramatic difference suggests that focussing so much attention on drivers may be missing a greater health risk.

A centrepiece in the drive to reduce air pollution in the capital is the planned expansion of London’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone. The changes, planned to take effect from 2021, have been built on the promise to protect the health of Londoners from poor air quality by charging non-compliant cars £12.50 per day.

Despite the attention paid to air quality above ground, COMEAP notes that much more research into the health effects of breathing the air found in the tube network is needed.

The new report also recommends that Transport for London (TfL) invests further in developing new ways of cleaning air in the London Underground. Transport for London has previously cleaned stations and tunnels with “magnetic wands” to try to reduce the volume of particulates.

Jaguar Land Rover is today cutting another 4,500 people from its global workforce, on top of the 1,500 who left the company in 2018. It’s part of a plan to cut costs by £2.5 billion in 18 months.

The headlines focus on the painful job losses, and rightly so. Lives and careers will be affected and that’s never good news.

However, JLR also announced some investment today, and it’s this that has taken industry watchers by surprise – in a good way.

Its massive new Wolverhampton engine plant, which was built primarily to focus on the diesel engines that power nine in 10 JLR cars (and which are now decidedly out of favour), is to be readied for the future. From later in 2019, it will start producing electric drive units (EDUs), as well as petrol and diesel engines.

What’s more, the EDUs will be powered by batteries assembled at a brand new Jaguar Land Rover Battery Assembly Centre in Hams Hall, North Warwickshire.

In other words, JLR will this year become future-ready, building its own electric motors AND assembling its own batteries – both in the heart of the British Midlands.

It’s no small operation, either. The Battery Assembly Centre will be among the largest of its kind in the UK, probably on a par with Nissan’s facility in Sunderland that produces battery packs for the Leaf electric car.

And because JLR is making motors and batteries in Britain, we can assume new British-built electric cars are on the horizon, too. New electric and electrified Jaguars and Land Rovers could be here as soon as early 2020, to build upon the success of the critically-acclaimed Jaguar I-Pace. 

CEO Dr Ralf Speth says “the next chapter in the story of the Jaguar and Land Rover brands will be the most exciting – and challenging – in our history”.

The company is “investing in cleaner, smarter, more desirable cars and electrifying our facilities to manufacture a future range of British-built electric vehicles [which] form part of building a globally competitive and flourishing company.

Fully-electric Jaguars and Land Rovers, as well as plug-in hybrids and mild hybrids, are coming. Today’s news is painful on the jobs front, but the company is already preparing itself to put right the problems – and with British manufacturing central to the solution.

Will it involve turning Jaguar into a fully electric car brand? Will we see an all-electric Range Rover to take on Tesla? The swift changeover from diesel models to plug-in hybrids?

Goodness, could it even involve Jaguar bringing production of the Austrian-assembled I-Pace into Britain and turn the Castle Bromwich factory into an EV centre of excellence? 

Time to start speculating, because JLR knows it doesn’t have time to waste, and it’s getting ready to roll the necessary new cars out sooner rather than later…

Read more:

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Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has confirmed it is reducing its global workforce by around 4,500, with the majority of the job cuts likely to affect employees in the UK.

In a statement issued this lunchtime, JLR said the process will begin with a voluntary redundancy programme in the UK, as it seeks to ‘create a leaner, more resilient organisation with a flatter management structure’.

As part of its ‘Charge and Accelerate’ programme, JLR must reduce costs by £2.5 billion, while improving cash flow and managing long-term strategic operating efficiencies.

Professor Dr Ralf Speth, JLR chief executive officer, said: “We are taking decisive action to help deliver long-term growth, in the face of multiple geopolitical and regulatory disruptions as well as technology challenges facing the automotive industry.

“The ‘Charge and Accelerate’ programme combines efficiency measures with targeted investment, safeguarding our future and ensuring that we maximise the opportunities created by growing demand for Autonomous, Connected, Electric and Shared technologies.”

Cuts will affect around 10 percent of UK workforce

The news strikes a further blow for the UK car industry and follows a turbulent year for new car sales, with overall registrations down just under seven percent in 2018.

JLR employs 44,000 workers at sites in the West Midlands and Merseyside, with management, marketing and administration roles expected to be the hardest hit by the cuts. The luxury carmaker shed 1,500 jobs in 2018 and is operating a three-day week at its Castle Bromwich facility.

In October 2018, JLR revealed a 13.2 percent decline in quarterly sales, reporting a pre-tax loss of £90 million. At the time, the firm blamed a slowdown in China as the primary cause, but slow sales in North America, a WLTP-affected European market and Brexit were contributing factors.

JLR retail sales in 2018 totalled 592,708 vehicles, down 4.6 percent compared to 2017. There were contrasting fortunes for the two brands, with Jaguar sales up 1.2 percent and Land Rover down 6.9 percent.

China crisis

But in China, JLR’s biggest market, the car industry recorded its first sales slump in more than two decades, with registrations falling six percent to 22.7 million units in 2018.

In a statement, JLR said it would continue to ‘work closely with retailers in China to respond to the present market conditions’.

As a manufacturer of saloons and SUVs, JLR has been left exposed to the slowdown in diesel sales, with 90 percent of its vehicles powered by a diesel engine.

To counter the effects of ‘dieselgate’, the firm has invested heavily in hybrid and electric technology, with the Jaguar I-Pace set to become one of the most sought-after EVs of 2019.

Later this year, next-generation Electric Drive Units (EDU) will be produced at the company’s facility in Wolverhampton, while batteries will be assembled at a new centre in Warwickshire, said to be one of the largest of its kind in the UK.

An ‘exciting and challenging’ future

Dr Ralf Speth said: “The next chapter in the story of the Jaguar and Land Rover brands will be the most exciting – and challenging – in our history.

“Revealing the iconic Defender, investing in cleaner, smarter, more desirable cars and electrifying our facilities to manufacture a future range of British-built electric vehicles will all form part of building a globally competitive and flourishing company.

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Anglo-Australian supercar manufacturer Brabham Automotive has confirmed plans to take the illustrious name racing again.

Fresh from the announcement that the BT62 will be offered with a road legal package, the £1 million supercar will now lend itself to being a GTE racer, too.

Sights are firmly set on tackling international sportscar racing, with a trip to Le Mans the ultimate aim. The plan is to enter the 2021-22 sportscar racing season, giving the new company some time to prepare.

The return of a famous name

Le Mans holds particular significance for Brabham Automotive managing director, and lead test driver, David Brabham. The Australian driver was part of the Peugeot Sport LMP1 team which took outright victory at the French 24 hours race in 2009.

David’s older brother, Geoff, also enjoyed Le Mans success in 1993. At the same event David took first place in the GT class, but was later disqualified. As David notes: “returning the Brabham name to Le Mans is something I have been working on for years.”

However, the legacy stretches even further back in time. Motor racing legend Sir Jack Brabham won the only ever Grand Prix race held on the Le Mans Bugatti circuit in 1967. Targeting Le Mans certainly gives the BT62 plenty of success to try to emulate.

Comprehensive racing programme

Whilst entering the Le Mans 24 hours endurance race is the jewel in the crown, Brabham Automotive has additional racing plans.

Competing in lower rungs of sportscar racing forms part of the strategy. Whilst the main assault on Le Mans will be funded by Brabham Automotive and its principle backers, customer racing will also become a possibility.

Early investors in the Brabham BT62 Driver Development Programme will also have the opportunity to help test drive the Le Mans racer. Pro-Am competition potential will also be offered to the first buyers of the BT62 track car.  

For now, the aim is to further the development of the BT62, preparing it for endurance racing.  More details will be announced as the sportscar project evolves, with the company now focussed on creating a Le Mans racer alongside the existing BT62 supercar.