This week, Steve received a speeding fine near our London office riding his BMW electric scooter. But first, he tells us about the Goodwood GRRC's breakfast club and the recent news about Aston Martin's investment plan...
Sunday:
Great motoring morning: took the Alpine A110 to Goodwood for the GRRC’s breakfast club and enjoyed it more than any I’ve attended, mainly because of the variety of cars on hand. You had to register to display a car and someone, somewhere, curated the attending motors for variety.
How often can you see an early Mini Moke parked a few yards away from a late 1940s Triumph Renown saloon, with a slammed Chevy pick-up opposite and a beautiful vintage Invicta a few yards away? Breakfast clubs have become common since the Duke of Richmond had the idea — and these days the smaller ones tend to be best. But this was special.
Monday:
The air is full of Aston talk. They’re borrowing £639million from the Saudis, half of which will pay accumulated debts. I’m a balance-sheet ignoramus, but by my calculation this latest cash poultice equates roughly to the company’s profit margins on 21,000 vehicles — average price £250k — and Aston currently makes 5000-6000 units a year. Under those circumstances, what on earth is the hope?
But hold on: Aston is 109 years old, and has been rescued seven times from worse circumstances. What's more, hard headed Geely lately bid to buy it outright. There’s obviously value there. But I’d love someone to explain what a stable, profitable Aston operation would be like — what models, what volumes, what supporting activities, what management. Aston has chewed up many bosses: can Lawrence Stroll really be the man for the job?
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At the negative comments aimed at this piece, at no point does he make an excuse for his transgression, but he justifiably criticises the change as unnecessary, especially it's reasoning, to reduce noise and pollution, which is all the more frustrating in his case on an EV bike.
What I find most daft about these reduced limits is that during busy times, 20 is probably unachievable due to traffic, only off peak will you be able to achieve the limit at which point the noise and pollution is surely minimal due to the lack of traffic?
Yep, lots of speed traps these Days, and yes, most are revenue makers, always in the same place, same times never vary, but, I've always thought, if you want drivers to slow down, have the speed trap highly visible, paint them a non natural colours like Barbie Pink or Acid Green so they're seen from a distance and you slow down in plenty of time especially accident black spots, and I've read that in future Cars will slow themselves coming into speed zones so you won't in theory speeding.
I did a speed awareness course (did 36mph on an empty dual carriageway at 2am as it just goes from a 30 to 40....). The person running the course suggested we all drive in a lower, noiser gear to prevent speed creeping up. I explained this causes huge extra emissions, fuel use, lower air quality, noise and potentially harder to control vehicles. They had no answer to that!
Now you know, too, that first gear is the slowest.