PG Carz World

They rule the roads and, in their wake, even old-style saloons have been supersized. It’s an illusion of consumer choice Recently, while traipsing from showroom to showroom in search of a used car for my growing clan, the iconic line from Christopher Nolan’s seminal Batman movie The Dark Knight came to mind : “You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” And by villain, of course, I mean an SUV driver. Because, if you haven’t shopped for a secondhand family car recently, I’ll save you the shock: wherever you look, it’s SUVs. Continue reading...

Possible cut from 80% down to as little as 50% could add millions of tonnes of CO2 to emissions and comes amid UK heatwaves Andy Burnham’s government has said it will look at cutting electric vehicle sales targets, in proposals that could add millions of tonnes a year to the UK’s future carbon dioxide emissions. The government launched a consultation on Friday on cutting the target for new EVs to as little as 50% of all new cars in 2030, down from 80% under existing rules. The consultation will include several options, including leaving the headline target unchanged, or cutting it to 70%, 60% or 50%. Continue reading...

Fifa presidency | Humanist funeral | AI cab confusion | Clacton byelection | Standing up for pubs Calls for Gianni Infantino to resign as president of Fifa ( Editorial, 7 August ) raise the question of who is available and suitable to replace him. This calls for a figure who is passionate about football, has international stature with a network of major political players, and a reputation for decency and integrity. Step forward Sir Keir Starmer. David Cronin Stockport, Greater Manchester • As my beautiful wife’s final wish to have a Viking-style burial aboard a flaming boat has been denied permission by the Canal and Rivers Trust, I am now looking at a range of humanist celebrations of life ( Letters, 5 August ) which will allow myself and our little dogs to howl our way through a collection of Neil Young’s Harvest LP and Nick Cave’s Into Your Arms to give thanks for her life. Ian Grieve Gordon Bennett, Llangollen canal Continue reading...

Imports this year now account for 14% of the market amid claims vehicles are being dumped in the EU and UK Chinese electric car sales have risen across Europe to a record high driven by strong demand and low tariffs in the UK and a surge in buyers in Italy. Against a backdrop of claims that Chinese carmakers are “dumping” state-subsidised vehicles in the EU and UK to gain market share, the figures will give impetus to calls for quotas and higher tariffs to protect European manufacturers. Continue reading...

‘Can’t you just plug it in?’ asks our garage mechanic neighbour. If only it were that simple On a Wednesday morning the doorbell rings while I’m working in the kitchen. My wife, who is expecting a delivery, opens the door. “No, I don’t want brake pads,” she says. I don’t hear the reply. “Because I’m not a garage,” my wife says. “Do I look like a garage?” There actually is a small garage just beyond the end of our back garden. Only a brick wall separates it from my office shed – my working days are punctuated by the bright ring of dropped wrenches and the grating whine of power tools. Continue reading...

Manning crisis | Having a laugh | Kemi’s conundrum | Vertical drinking | Ann Droid and self-driving taxis As someone working in human resources who has spent years encouraging colleagues to use the word “staffing” rather than “manning”, I find it ironic that in reviewing the TV series Furious, which is “powered [by] female rage” ( 27 July ), Lucy Mangan wrote that its lead character Alice Black “is manning the FBI tip line”. Kathy Ashton York • Mark Lawson states that Jimmy Cricket’s “retained native accent allowed him to rhyme ‘faffing’ with ‘laughing’” ( No smut, no swearing, wrong-feet wellies and a silly hat: the gentle comedy world of Jimmy Cricket, 4 August ). As most of the UK’s English speakers would say, these words do rhyme. It is only some from southern England and a few other areas who pronounce laughing incorrectly. Gordon Glassford Corby, Northamptonshire Continue reading...