This week I started my first presentation, which is due to be handed in on the 5th December. I started a few slides, but Martin said that I need to cut the bullet points down for each slide to around 7-8 words on each line. This is to make my presentation short and straight to the point, so that when presenting, my audience look at me for a majority of the time. I have contacted a few of my interviewees and had responses, which is a really positive start.
I decided to contact the interviewees for my first story, which is a local angle on the infrastructure and investment into electric cars in Hampshire i.e. Portsmouth and Southampton. My first interviewee is based in Portsmouth and the motoring magazine I’m writing for (CarDealer) is also based in Portsmouth, so this has great links to the story. I have also had a response from an electric car owner who is a former journalist and publisher, I will be talking to her in the next couple of days about living with an electric car in Hampshire and what are the positives and negatives.
This week I completed near enough my project pitch. I covered everything I wanted to know and investigate whilst finding out enough information for when I come to present my first presentation on the 4th December. Martin, my supervisor and lecturer had a look at my project pitch, he wanted me to look at my syntax, as he was saying that I was writing without knowing the meaning and I could if I was going into the profession be brought down on it, or in some cases liable for misrepresented information. An example in my project pitch was when I said ‘this is contributing to climate change’. This doesn’t make sense and it is very misleading to think that cars are helping the earth’s climate to cool down. It would have been better for me to have said ‘in a bid to reduce the chances of climate change’. I should have read back my work more thoroughly, because if I had, he wouldn’t have picked out this silly mistake.
On the whole though, Martin seemed pretty impressed with my work, which gave me great confidence and made me prepare for my first presentation. This weekend I will start the process of contacting some of my possible interviewees. My first interviewees I will contact will be for my first article which is the local angle towards electric cars and the infrastructure across Hampshire and Dorset. I will be contacting Cllr Steve Leggett, cabinet member for green city in Southampton, Katie Heskett, electric car owner and former journalist and publisher and Ryan Carter, environmentalist in Southampton.
This week I have been focusing on getting my project pitch done, this is primarily due to me wanting to get everything done in enough time for me to plan and structure my project over the coming months. Martin my supervisor told he wants my project pitch done by the end of this week and if so, I can then go through it with him and we and tweak it where necessary, so it can link and I make a good presentation for him in December. He also this week wanted me to go a look for further contacts, I have found people in research for hydrogen fuel cells. They are professor Robert Steinberger at the University of Birmingham and Mike Copson, who is the business development manager for hydrogen at Shell. These are two possible contacts for my hydrogen story who will be targeted towards an AutoExpress audience.
For my first story, I am targeting at a local audience and angle, hence why I’m looking into Hampshire and Dorset’s electric car infrastructure and I have found Councillor Steve Leggett, who is the Cabinet member for green city in Southampton. He would be a great interviewee at a local angle as he would know where all of the charging points and future points are being places and what else cities like Southampton are doing to contribute to the electric revolution. I am writing this story in the style of my work experience magazine, which is CarDealer.
This week I have been writing up my project pitch as I want to start early on my project so I can time, plan and structure my way through my final year of University. I have decided for my three print articles that I would focus mainly on electric and hydrogen cars. The first article would focus on a local angle towards Hampshire and Dorset on what is being done in terms of infrastructure for alternative fuelled cars, I have also found a couple of possible interviewee’s for this article including a councillor for Hampshire dealing with the environment and what is being down to help electric car owners in Hampshire. There is also an Environmentalist I found in Southampton and I know an owner of an electric car, so she would be a great person to talk to about charging times, range anxiety, prices and what her electric car is like to live with.
I am aiming my target audience at an Autoexpress audience and judging by their features and stories they have around 1,000-1,500 words per article and around 2-3 interviewee’s per article. Martin my lecturer said to me this week in a 1-1 tutorial session that I can aim for a first for my major project which gives me great confidence and shows that Martin believes in me, that if I push myself to my best ability I will succeed.
My second article will focus on hydrogen cars, why they haven’t really caught on with private buyers, why there are so few hydrogen filling stations in the UK and what goes into producing them.
I have decided for my final major project that I would research on a topic that really gets me interested, and one topic in particular is emissions with cars, more specific electric and hydrogen cars. We are told that they are the future, but are they? I want to find out more about these cars, they are becoming more popular on Britain’s roads, but with a 1.7% on new car sales going to electric and only two hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on sale today, is there something we don’t know and why they are still not as popular as traditional internal combustion engined cars.
I haven’t quite decided the angle I want to tackle to tell my audience something they don’t know, but I am prepared to find out something that I don’t know myself. I want to clarify with my lecturer Martin first on what route to go down, because I want my final major project to demonstrate my expertise and knowledge in this sector. I am doing a three main print articles as the profession I want to go down is motoring journalism , which focuses on a lot of print base production, and by creating three main print articles with images and interviewee’s will show to my future employer the skills I have to fulfil in my career and they would expect.
Currently in my research, I have looked into the infrastructure and market for alternative fuelled cars. Even though we have more electric chargering points than petrol stations, the problem is that they are inconvieniently placed, making journeys more anxious for electric car driver’s. Hydrogen on the other hand is lacking in filling stations with only 17 in operation in the UK. In Germany, there are currently 60 hydrogen filling stations, so is the UK just not up to speed with the rest of Europe tackling the rise in low-emission cars?
Another problem alternative fuelled cars are having to face are their running costs, or shall I say, lacking in running costs. Petrol and diesel car owners pay road tax and fuel tax, but electric and hydrogen cars, they don’t produce any emissions, meaning no road tax and no fuel is needed apart from hydrogen which doesn’t comply with tax yet. This shows that the government are receiving no money from these eco-conscious car owner’s, so instead the government have suggested a pay-per-mile scheme in which you will pay tax on how far your journey is. The longer the journey, the more tax you’ll pay. This complies to all car owner’s electric, hydrogen, petrol, diesel and hybrid.
The simple answer is both. Range anxiety, long charging, expensive to buy, scrapped government grant and no noise are the downsides with the electric car. But, cheaper running costs, cheaper energy rates, your own charging point and cheap electricity are the upsides. So where do we stand? Are they generating a new world for the automotive industry or are they just a complete waste of time?
I spoke to Katie Heskett who bought a Nissan Leaf in September 2o18, and after covering 5500 miles and 6 and half months of ownership, she told me about her experience with living with an electric car.
The biggest problem with electric cars and especially the Nissan Leaf is the range and whether range anxiety has become a problem, Katie’s experience shows that her driving has changed , ”You always are becoming much more aware of your driving. You have to plan your journey, but there are a lot of apps to help you track down the nearest charging points. The car will help you do that.”
The second generation Nissan Leaf was launched last year, however there are plenty of the older mark 1 Nissan Leafs on the used car market which have a lot more problems in terms of charging times. The Leaf when launched in 2011 had a charging time of around 11-13 hours until the introduction of fast charging.
Nissan Leaf on charge
So, how does the new Leaf compare for charging times? There are many places to charge up, but Katie’s dilemma is the fact that there is charging points around, but the timing is still a problem,
”Any charging points that are public i.e. service stations which take a lot less time, but from home it’a about 7 hours to charge or 45 minutes when coming from the national grid. But they are trying to improve and reduce the charging times. They want to shorten it to the equivalent to filling up at a petrol station.”
An electric car may have different driving characteristics due to having no engine, gearbox or noise, but Katie had a similar opinion when I asked.
”It’s different because there is no noise. You have to be very aware of pedestrians. I don’t always know when the car is on or off. But, it’s a really lovely car to drive, it’s light, nimble, quick and cheap to run. Other than the noise, it’s not much different to a normal car.”
The biggest plus point for owning an electric car are the running costs, but are they cheaper than a normal conventional diesel or petrol, Katie agreed that her Leaf is cheaper and there are multiple benefits because of that.
”The electricity companies are coming up with packages such as green tariffs, they give you cheaper rates between certain hours. Normally between 12am-6am and to charge the car fully only costs £4.”
On charge
Most importantly though, have there been any downsides in the near 7 months of ownership with an electric car like the Nissan Leaf.
”It is the frustrating range element. Everything else about the car is great! It’s just the range anxiety, companies such as BP are introducing new charging points meaning more people with electric cars will have a process and infrastructure, and people need to understand that more and more people are buying electric cars and somewhere like Rownhams service station only has two charging points which is not enough.”
the Nissan Leaf’s unique selling point
What have we learned then? We now know there are more positives with electric cars (energy packages and faster charging), they are a lot cheaper to run than normal cars and they are a lot cleaner than any other type of vehicle. However, there is still a problem with range and charging times. In order for them to bring any appeal at all is to have those two bases covered in years to come, because otherwise relating back to the title, electric cars are still a long way away from being as practical as a traditional petrol or diesel car.
Rare, interesting and beautiful. That is the three main goals for a car to reach for it to become a classic. A crock is a car that is none of the above and will not be worth any sentimental value in years to come.
Back in 2003, BBC’s Top Gear did a similar feature with a ‘Classic wall’. Identifying the cars that they think will become classics and those which won’t.
Nearly every motoring manufacturer has made a car which has led to become a classic, some examples are, the Jaguar E-type, Mercedes-Benz 300SL, Honda S800 and the Volkswagen Golf GTi. All these cars had at least two of the three star qualities to become classics. Being either, beautiful and interesting or rare and interesting or rare and beautiful.
Some examples of cars that have become crocks over the years are, the Morris Marina, Austin Allegro, Nissan Sunny, Mitsubishi Mirage and the Chrysler PT Cruiser. As none of these were particularly interesting, beautiful or rare!
(Crock) Mitsubishi Mirage: A car with no charisma, style, flair, driving enjoyment or residuals.
Rarity is one of the most important aspects of classic cars, the less of them; whether little production or they are at the age where none are left on the road, the better. It will keep residuals values up (how much a car losses money when it gets older) and will be more appreciative to car enthusiasts. This particular with special editions or certain cars produced in limited numbers i.e. Toyota Yaris GRMN, Honda S2000 GT Edition 100 and the Ford Focus RS.
These two cars are examples of future classics. Even the Honda S2000 was on sale from 1999-2009 in the UK, it wasn’t sold in huge numbers, plus this Edition 100 made it extremely rare! When new this car was £28,995, now ten years later, a low mileage example can be had from £25,000 showing little in depreciation and considering this car was worth around £20,000 a couple of years ago, shows there is potential for value to increase further. It’s rare, interesting as it had a clever VTEC Honda engine and it was quite a pretty car, meaning all the boxes are ticked for it to become a classic.
First iterations (or generations) of cars are also a habit of becoming classics. Basically, the first chapter of a model from a manufacturer and if the car was good and class-leading it definitely would have a higher chance of becoming a future classic. Examples would be the first generation of Ford Focus (1998-2005), Ford KA (1996-2008), Toyota Yaris (1999-2005) and even the Mercedes-Benz A-Class (1998-2005).
These cars, are going to become classics because they were game changers in their segments. They developed a different approach and image to their manufacturers and sales even though they weren’t rare, they were popular in fact, being interesting and good looking which all of them were means two out of three, making them classics.
If you have a car, which is rare in particular, the advice would be to hang on to it. Car enthusiasts love rarity and it makes a car feel very special. Rare cars as mentioned are definitely one of the most important attributes for it to become a classic, which will over time keep its value up or stay at the same level rather than a car which is a crock to loose a lot of its value and plummet in depreciation.
They come in all shapes and sizes. Quality or budget. Expensive or cheap. There is always a model diecast car to suit any petrol head.
Whether you’re into Fords, Lamborghinis, Aston Martins or even Mazdas, there is a vast variety of models to choose out there. But why are they so collectable? And why is it the case of leaving them in the box and just admiring them?
Well, first of all some are rarer than others and you wouldn’t want to take them out of the box just in case they got damaged. Instead they are to be admired. Some of my favourite diecast makers are Minichamps, Ebbro and Kyosho as they have a blend of detail, quality, value and choice. And when I say choice I mean, cars that you may never of heard of. Daihatsu Naked by any chance?
As a collector I look for rarity and quality as this is a recipe for making money as well as fully appreciating an impressive model collection. For example the picture below represents a model that you may not see in Europe.
They may all be Toyotas and the interior quality may not be the best, but for sheer rarity and detailed exteriors, I rate these highly because from some angles they look like real cars.
What makes them so special and rare is that they are actually made by Toyota to put into their Japanese showrooms, which then buyers can purchase.
Toyota Vitz: Size 1/30Toyota Land Cruiser: Size 1/30Toyota 86: Size 1/30
Sizes of models can vary, the biggest can be 1/8 scale, which basically means that the model is 8 times smaller than the real thing, 1/12, 1/18, 1/24, 1/30, the most common being 1/43 and very small is 1/64 size as this is 64 times smaller than the real thing.
Prices normally range higher the bigger the scale. Model cars can range in price, with Minichamps and Ebbro normally selling their diecast for around £30-£40. But, depending on production and rarity, those prices can escalate to £100-£500.
The 1/30 Toyota models on the screen can start from around £25 if you buy direct from Japan. But models that have higher potential in terms of rarity and limited production runs can reach a truly eye watering £500, even £750. Mad!
Being a car enthusiast and especially a Japanese car enthusiast, is that model diecast cars can become a collection. One can turn into a small town of model cars. This is not necessarily a bad thing as looking back at a collection of diecast cars makes people fully appreciate your commitment and passion for being into and liking cars, it is the same with train, bus and plane enthusiasts. They collect diecast models the same as a car nut would.
Different model makes such as Minichamps also like to include a lot of Rally and Motorsport vehicles as by having a wide selection of all different types of cars attracts buyers on a wider prospect.
When I said that size 1/43 is the most common, I mean that it is the most prominent among makers and buyers as they are just the right size. 1/64 can often be too small and 1/12 can mainly become too big, whereas 1/43 scale models often have a great blend of value, quality and size.
Park assist, keyless entry, push-button start, Bluetooth etc. Do we really need all of this technology in our cars?
Yes and no is the answer in my opinion. Car manufacturers these days focus on three things, economy, safety and technology. But, technology has become so advanced over the last 20 years that you almost wouldn’t believe what modern cars can do.
In the early 90s if you said to someone that you could air-conditioning on a budget city car, you would of thought they were barking mad. But today even the cheapest cars on sale can offer, satellite navigation, cruise control and more.
These creature comforts have become a standard feature in today’s car world, but I do think that some features are pure gimmicks and are a complete waste of time, for example, gesture control? It means that if you wave your arm around in the cabin you can control the car stereo stations and volume, but what’s the matter with the volume control on the steering wheel. Pointless! Then you have voice activation- ‘phone mum, did you say radio 1, NO!’ you get the picture. Voice activation is a very lazy way of using a vehicle, if you can’t wait to phone someone, pull over and speak to them.
Then we have park assist, also known as parking sensors, which are little sensors that beep to tell the driver how close you are to any obstacles or cars behind you. Why? What is the matter with your spatial awareness and actually turning your head when parking. Also you become reliant on them, say they have broken and your waiting for that beep- you are reversing straight into the wall without any warning.
Bluetooth, even though it has been around for along time now, still creates controversy among car owners. Some cars are a doddle to hook up your phone to the car, but others you need a BA honours degree in digital technology to fathom out how to connect a mobile phone to your car’s dashboard. Technology for economy also is a pointless investment into a car’s development, such as ‘shift indicators’. Basically, a little light will illuminate to tell the driver when the best possible time is to change gear. But, I’m the driver, I know when to change gear? I don’t need a little light to think it knows best, we are the drivers, we know when an engine needs to change gear.
Shift indicatorBluetooth device
On a brighter note though, there are some pieces of tech that can be quite useful. Firstly, reversing cameras. I prefer these to park assist because it gives you actual eyes in the back of your head (technically). A check surrounds for safety message allows the driver to look first before parking as well as guide lines to tell you where about you should be parking.
The next item is power folding door mirrors. I love them! From a simple press of a button your mirrors will fold away to make parking in tight gaps a whole lot easier, as well it protects them from any damage they may occur if they were folded out, these are one of the best and simplest inventions that the car maker’s have to offer. It will always be the same, some technology will work and others won’t. Gimmick or genius invention, there will always be new technology. That is technological advancement! So it’s not all bad news!
The Toyota Parallel Pomeroy Trophy was designed for all aspiring Toyota owners and enthusiasts to gather and compete in a series of events at the racing circuit Silverstone.
The question is now, why don’t other car manufacturers do these events for their customers?
You can see why Toyota are one of the best companies, when it comes to customer relations.
Toyota GB stand at the Parallel trophy 2019
With roughly 35 Toyota’s competing, and owners coming from across the country it was certainly a day to remember. A range of different Toyota models competed, ranging from the tiny IQ up to the sporty rally influenced Celica GT4.
The event was very professional, everyone was treated with respect and all the cars had full appreciation. The day began with having to sign in along with gathering all the information of what to expect from the day.
Toyota Yaris T Sport Phase 2 and 1, Toyota Yaris GRMN
Every car was given a number and all cars went through scrutineering to make sure that they were road worthy. Leading onto a competitors briefing just to go through all of the rules to make sure no one cheats or fails.
Three auto tests were set to see how each car performed. Test A involved a slalom test to see how agile the cars were, and then having to brake between the final two cones. Test B was an acceleration and braking test and Test C was a braking and reversing test involving straddles and astride between lines to test the skills of the driver themselves.
The auto tests consisted of one section in the morning and then one again in the afternoon, alongside the owners being timed and scored to receive the pomeroy trophy.
One opportunity that you can’t turn down is a parade of the full circuit at Silverstone. This is what happened half way through the day with no drivers allowed to overtake but enjoyed a warm up lap, a pedal to the metal lap and then a cool down lap. This leads us back to the question of why other car manufacturers aren’t offering this to their customers?
Cars lined up ready to go out on track
I certainly would recommend to other manufacturers, because it makes customers appreciate the company more which in return leads the customer back to that showroom to buy again in the future. Toyota as a brand have just boosted their image even higher on the customer satisfaction survey, because of this customer involvement and enjoyment. Simply giving something back to the customer on days like this is what all manufactures should be doing. Excellent work Toyota.
Cars lined up ready to go out on track
Rounding off the day, the event concluded with the results with everyone receiving a vintage sports car club pomeroy tankard with the competitors names engraved in the cup. With the winner receiving a large tankard.
The event finished around 4pm, competitors decided to make a move, but be sure that Toyota will be doing another event like this in the near future.
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