Auto Express 1600

WE’VE kind of been here before (insert Renault where you see PSA), but the news that FCA (think Fiat, Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Maserati, Abarth, Dodge and others) is joining forces with PSA (Peugeot, Citroen, Vauxhall/Opel, DS) fills me with huge excitement. Sadly that’s not the case everywhere, with Unite union boss and doom-monger-in-chief Des Quinn saying: “Merger talks combined with Brexit uncertainty is deeply unsettling for Vauxhall’s UK workforce, which is one of the most efficient in Europe. “The fact remains, merger or not, if PSA wants to use a great British brand like Vauxhall to sell cars and vans in the UK, then it has to make them here in the UK.” I totally agree that Vauxhall’s UK workforce is super-efficient, but Mr Quinn clearly doesn’t realise the majority of today’s…

Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk ● Mild-hybrid, plug-in and diesel options ● Pure EV could have bespoke styling LAND Rover is in the midst of the largest product overhaul in its history, which will involve the firm launching a fully electric Range Rover and an all-new crossover model for the very first time. The fifth-generation Range Rover, due in 2021, will be the most radical and technically advanced there has been in the SUV’s 50-year history. It will be a completely new model, based on Land Rover’s new Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA) that can accommodate mild-hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fully electric powertrains. Engineers have been testing prototypes around the firm’s HQ in Gaydon for a year. The development mules are a combination of new running gear and existing Range Rover bodyshells, which don’t give much away in terms of…

Hugo_Griffiths@dennis.co.uk More than 1.7 million UK vehicles subject to airbag recall 4.5 per cent of all vehicles in the UK have the defective airbags Dealers selling unrepaired cars risk prosecution MORE than 1.7 million UK vehicles are still subject to an outstanding safety recall because of defective airbags that could deploy incorrectly, firing shards of metal at occupants’ necks and faces, Auto Express can exclusively reveal. The issue relates to vehicles fitted with airbags manufactured by Japanese firm Takata, which supplied the defective bags to around 20 manufacturers globally, who fitted them to as many as 60 million cars. Takata airbags were first recalled in 2008 by Honda, with several other firms following suit over the years. Auto Express uncovered data from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) in December 2018 that revealed 2.9 million…

WE’VE kind of been here before (insert Renault where you see PSA), but the news that FCA (think Fiat, Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Maserati, Abarth, Dodge and others) is joining forces with PSA (Peugeot, Citroen, Vauxhall/Opel, DS) fills me with huge excitement. Sadly that’s not the case everywhere, with Unite union boss and doom-monger-in-chief Des Quinn saying: “Merger talks combined with Brexit uncertainty is deeply unsettling for Vauxhall’s UK workforce, which is one of the most efficient in Europe. “The fact remains, merger or not, if PSA wants to use a great British brand like Vauxhall to sell cars and vans in the UK, then it has to make them here in the UK.” I totally agree that Vauxhall’s UK workforce is super-efficient, but Mr Quinn clearly doesn’t realise the…

ARMANDO Ortega from Yuma, Arizona, died in June last year after the Takata airbag in his 2002 Honda Civic malfunctioned in an accident. Ortega was struck by metallic shrapnel from the airbag, dying three days later. Honda confirmed the Civic’s airbag deployed defectively, and that 12 recall letters had been sent to previous owners of the car, which Ortega purchased less than three months prior to the accident. An estimated 24 people have been killed worldwide by Takata airbags. “An estimated 24 people have been killed worldwide by defective Takata airbags.”…

Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk ● Mild-hybrid, plug-in and diesel options ● Pure EV could have bespoke styling LAND Rover is in the midst of the largest product overhaul in its history, which will involve the firm launching a fully electric Range Rover and an all-new crossover model for the very first time. The fifth-generation Range Rover, due in 2021, will be the most radical and technically advanced there has been in the SUV’s 50-year history. It will be a completely new model, based on Land Rover’s new Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA) that can accommodate mild-hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fully electric powertrains. Engineers have been testing prototypes around the firm’s HQ in Gaydon for a year. The development mules are a combination of new running gear and existing Range Rover bodyshells, which don’t give…