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The Inflation Reduction Act made big changes to how the federal government incentivizes electric-vehicle purchases when it was enacted last fall, removing overall sales from consideration in favor of monetary limits and domestic production and sourcing.But the IRS hasn’t yet said how it will calculate the sourcing requirements, which means we’re about to enter a strange period for EV buying in which some of the old rules are gone, but not all of the new rules have kicked in.We expect the Chevy Bolt EV and EUV to have a good few months of sales, as GM already reduced prices by around $6000 for 2023, and the electric hatchbacks will now, somewhat surprisingly, qualify for the full $7500 tax credit on top of that until at least March.It’s been more than a little frustrating for those of us covering electric vehicles these past few months. Automaker representatives would not say clearly whether or not their EVs would qualify for the tax credits under the changes introduced in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Turns out it wasn’t their fault. The federal government didn’t make the rules 100 percent clear, and now EV shoppers might be able to take advantage of that confusion for the next few months.We’ve published explainers about how the IRA changed EV tax incentives, but they were necessarily vague about some details. That’s because the U.S. Department of Treasury won’t actually issue some of the proposed rules until March, and that’s the delay that will open up a loophole on January 1. Power ShoppingTo set the stage, remember that the IRA changed the EV rules from the straightforward overall limit of 200,000 qualifying vehicles per manufacturer. Now, for an EV buyer to get the tax credit, there are MSRP and income level limits, and the vehicle needs to be, without getting into the details, made in America with battery components sourced from a country with which the U.S. has a free-trade agreement. The maximum credit is worth $7500, although if the battery minerals aren’t sourced correctly, the maximum value of the credit should be half of that, or $3750. But some of the language in the law wasn’t specific—especially with regard to sourcing—and that means the appropriate federal agencies have to explain what it means.Oh, Good, a Government Explanation The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released three minor clarifications this week. The first was an updated list of which vehicles qualify for which level of credit. Second, the IRS clarified the incremental cost for commercial clean vehicles in the coming year. This will allow tax credits to be claimed on EVs under “commercial” use, which includes leasing or ride sharing, without consideration of where the vehicles are made. Third, the new MSRP limits were explained, and the IRS said that the “placed in service” date mentioned in the tax credit is when you take possession of your new EV, not when you bought it. Check out the Treasury Department’s new FAQ page; somewhere in there, you may find the answers to your questions.So Here’s the LoopholeThis brings us to the loophole. There was no clarification issued for the sourcing provisions in the IRA, and the IRS said it won’t release this proposed guidance until March. The delay creates a window for a subset of vehicles like the Chevy Bolt EV and EUV and any Teslas with a price tag under $55,000. These EVs are not eligible for any federal tax credits at the end of 2022 because GM and Tesla each sold more than 200,000 EVs, but they’re about to qualify again. The rule about 200,000 sales goes away January 1, and new rules about MSRP and income limits and sourcing take effect. Since the IRS isn’t saying what the sourcing rules are, electric vehicles that meet the other requirements can qualify for the full $7500 credit starting January 1. For Tesla, that means a maximum price of $55,000 for the Model 3 and five-seat Model Y, and $80,000 for the seven-seat Model Y EVs. All the Bolt variants will qualify for the full $7500, and since GM lowered the price of the 2023 Bolts by around $6000 compared to the 2022s, the new-model-year Bolts will be a particularly hot deal as long as you can take delivery of your new EV before the new sourcing rules come into effect. “The information released today is an important step to clarify the new requirements for consumers, businesses, and state and local governments planning to buy electric vehicles soon,” said Ben Prochazka, executive director of the Electrification Coalition, a nonprofit organization that promotes the widespread adoption of plug-in vehicles. “While the proposed guidance for sourcing provisions was not released today, a whitepaper on the direction the Treasury Department may take was released. The whitepaper helps clarify as manufacturers identify which vehicles may be eligible for the tax credits and when the new requirements go into effect.”Even now, the IRS isn’t able to provide the full EV tax credit picture. While the agency now offers an updated list of which vehicles qualify, it is not complete and “will be updated over the coming days and weeks so consumers looking to purchase a new clean vehicle in the new year should be sure to check it regularly.” No kidding.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

Change has come to Lotus Cars, as a trip to its longtime home in Hethel—set amid the gentle, rolling farmland of Norfolk, England—soon reveals. New (since 2017) owners, China’s Geely have infused billions, enabling Lotus to commit to an all-electric future, dramatically increasing production, and more than doubling its number of workers in England, while launching an electric SUV, Eletre, to be built at a massive new factory in China’s Wuhan, capable of churning out 150,000 “lifestyle” cars annually, only slightly less than Lotus’s total production over its entire 72-year-history. Company executives can also speak now about future model plans in ways that don’t elicit disbelieving guffaws, such as in 2010 when one briefly tenured Lotus captain, Dany Bahar, rolled out five half-baked “new” future models at a Baldwin brother–festooned Hollywood launch event, not long before departing the cash-strapped company by trap door. New managing director Matt Windle assumed the post in 2021, having worked at Lotus as an engineer and also at Tesla, which orientation and experience, one suspects, bode well for his priorities. He spoke with Jamie Kitman in an airy office in one of the company’s new buildings.MW: Welcome to Lotus. This building we sit in, the Chapman Production Centre, is all brand new. Over the last three years at Lotus, we’ve spent a hundred million (pounds) in facilities investment and on three factories: One that we sit in here is for Emira. One over there [pointing] for Evija, and then we’ve also got a new factory in [nearby] Norwich that’s doing all of our chassis and a lot of our mechanical stuff.More on the U.K. IndustryThe pace of change has been massive. Hopefully you see that from the last time you were at Lotus, the difference around the site and the preparation. But it’s not just what you can see on the surface. It’s IT systems, the high-voltage system—we didn’t have enough power coming into the site. We’ve done all the roadways, we’ve done a new staff restaurant, and all those types of things which have been really important in bringing this business up to date, ready for the challenges that we’ve got going forward.C/D: Can you describe the state of the U.K. car business, of which Lotus is a part—and increasingly a large part?MW: It’s as difficult as it’s ever been. It’s not just COVID, but Brexit as well. Our cost of dealing, cost of invoicing and logistics have gone through the roof, [worsened by fuel] costs because of the war in the Ukraine, and inflation. So, it’s as hard as it gets. But we’re still smiling, we’re still trying to go strong. And I think the element that is positive for us is the strength of the order book—so strong for Emira particularly—that it gives you the confidence that you just need to keep fighting through these issues and keep going, really.You may have heard we have a little bit of political turmoil at the moment. You can kind of come [to Britain] every six weeks and see a different prime minister. So the outlook for us as far as relationships with the government and things is shifting as well. But that’s where I can see that Lotus is blossoming, that we are having those interactions with the government now. They want to know what our strategic plans are because we are going to be the first volume sports car manufacturer in the world that commits fully to go into battery electric vehicles. Emira is our last internal-combustion mass-production car. And that aligns perfectly with what our government policies are around zero emissions and the industrial revolution, if you like, to the green economy.C/D: Electric is Lotus’s future and we’ll get to that, but what about the Emira?MW: Well, we’ve taken over 10,000 orders for the Emira, and a third of those are from the States. We launched the car just before Goodwood last year. And between then and Goodwood this year we sold more cars in one year than we sold in the previous six years combined. So yeah, as far as sales goes, it’s very strong.2023 Lotus Emira.LotusI was out [in the States] there for the Lotus Owners Gathering that was in West Virginia. And a lot of the owners there had their first drive of the car, and they were really, really pleased with it as well. [The U.S.] is an incredibly important market for us. I’ve been out there quite a bit. Know the team over there. We’re expanding the dealer network over there as well. For us, it’s an area of growth, a market that we really want to develop. We need to grow the team.C/D: The Evora was a great car, but didn’t sell especially well in the States. We loved it, but there were many who were convinced that it didn’t warrant a luxury price tag. How is the Emira going to change that equation?MW: We’ve got a lot of work to do, we recognize that. You asked the question about whether the brand can take it to that next level of luxury. And it can. But we realized we were starting from a pretty low base. I agree on Evora as well: It was an amazing car to drive, but it was a bit of a compromise to own, wasn’t it? And we realized if we were going to grow our volume to the ambitions we have for the sports cars, we needed to make something that was more accessible.The Emira’s on the same wheelbase as Evora, so you could say it’s a similar car, but everything’s new on it. And what we’ve looked to doing is ingress/egress, storage, cupholders, which obviously was always a criticism, but we’ve got cupholders now. The interior is brand new, electrical architecture with displays and information that you would expect. It’s a car like people are used to, but then under the skin [it’s a Lotus].Quality was a big, big thing for us that we knew we needed to step up if we were going to go into a volume market. So we’ve invested in fully automated assembly. It’s not a monocoque, but if you want to call it the “monocoque” part of the car, the chassis to the body sides to the bulkheads to the roof, that’s all automated in production. And we’re seeing accuracy of that at about 99.7 percent against where it should be as a target [versus an estimated 85 percent before.] You probably won’t get any better than that. And so we know that core of the car is absolutely spot on. And then from there building out, it’s given us a much better-quality car, with fully automated, cloud-based inspection systems that can spot defects or misalignment.We have new electrical systems, LED lights, all of those comforts that everybody expects is now on the Emira. There is a bit of a price to pay with the weight because of the [new] content we put in there—it’s around a 1400-kilo (3087 pound) car. To compensate for that, we widened the track, we’ve increased the wheel size. So dynamically it’s as good as an Evora. It’s not quite as light, but it’s as good as an Evora, and with those comforts.C/D: With some notable exceptions, dealer support and quality in the U.S. haven’t been anything to write home to mother about, either.MW: I can understand the frustration. Because [our dealers] really haven’t made much money out of us over the last 25 years. So why would you get excited if you know can sell some Ferraris and make some margin, you’ve got a Lotus that you’re not going to make much on? But again, we understand where we’re coming from, and I can’t apologize for what’s gone before, I can only look forwards. But we’ve invested a lot in the dealers this year. We had a global dealer conference here so we invited them over, brought them into our confidence, showed them the Type 133 which will launch next year, the E-segment sedan that’s coming, off the Lambda platform [shared with the Eletre] and fully electric.They came here and then from nothing [to sell], they were looking at the Evija, Emira, and Eletre that are being launched in March, and what’s coming next year. The dealers I’ve met traveling around the States seem really good, and we just need to give them the opportunity by giving them the product. You quite rightly said Lotus’s resurgence will be through product, it won’t be through talking about it, and I think, dare I say, that’s been tried a bit in the past and didn’t work. So we just need to get the products that are out there that are right.Lotus Evija.LotusC/D: Some of the wags in the British press corps I’ve been talking to since arriving in the U.K. have suggested that the Evija isn’t selling. I’ve read otherwise. What is the truth?MW: Well, we have sold Evijas. And the [limited edition] Fittipaldi Evijas are pre-sold. But the program I always talk about is the one that got impacted most by COVID, which is where we started. Evija was out testing, we were in America, we were Germany with it in 2020, and we had to bring it back and it kind of sat on the shelf for about a year.So, it’s only now that our customers have driven it. Fittipaldi customers were here at the weekend, they drove the car. The first time we put customers in the car, and I can tell you they got out very happy with their purchases.And yeah, selling cars in that [price] bracket ($2.1 million in the U.S.) is different. It’s not like the Emira where you could pick up hundreds of orders in a week. It’s a slow process, and it’s a lot of money. People want to know that they’re going to keep the value in their money.I think Lotus can go [upscale], and we are going there. We wanted to do it [with the Evija] though more as a halo project. Something to put Lotus back on the map. Particularly in States where our representation was very small, where people are like, “Oh do you know Lotus?” “Oh yeah, yeah. The Formula One team.” “They still make cars.” “Really?” So it was kind of like we needed to do something with the brand to get that back.Our dealers are really excited about the Eletre as well. It’s hard to build a brand back up from what we were. Or even to build a brand up, because it’s never really been where we are trying to go. But we’re getting there.And there’s no pressure. We’ve said with the Evija, we’ll do up to 130 [total units], but if we don’t get there, that’s not an issue for us either, really. It’s not as if we’ve got to sell that number to make the business case work. It was never that type of project. It was more about showing what we could do, innovation, creating a halo product, resetting the design DNA as well. So from Evija, into Emira, into Eletre, you can see where that link is through in those cars as well because that’s what we needed to do.So I’m pretty relaxed about the Evija. I like to call it the best car in the world that nobody really knows anything about. And I would say watch this space in 2023, because we have some interesting things planned for that car. It can’t go racing, but it could do a lot of speed stuff. Some records are out there we’re looking at. Our simulations are looking very good.C/D: Americans are historically suspicious of Chinese investment, business practices, and quality controls, yet Geely seems really sensitive as corporate backers go. Volvo’s experience with them seems far more positive than not, certainly. That they would have the vision to see Lotus as an opportunity that they would want to be involved with, and that they would invest heavily in and let people get on with what they do best is impressive. It’s almost by definition something that’s a long-term project. You can’t turn it around in six months and say everything is where we need it to be. So how have you found them and how much has it made possible? Could you imagine a better benefactor?MW: No, I don’t think I could, to be honest. And I think you reference Volvo there and a lot of people worried about the brand and where it was going to be. And I always say I think Volvo’s more Swedish now than it was when it was taken over 11 years ago. And what they’ve done, you can see with Volvo, you can see with Polestar, it’s a product offensive. They like to take over an undervalued or under-invested brand, invest in building that brand, and do it through products.And quality, for where we want to get to, is the biggest investment you need to make. You can’t do it in a short period. So the Emira is a big jump on for us. And then going further on when we increase our volume as far as the sports cars are concerned, you’re then getting into areas where you can invest in metallic panels and the tooling that comes with metallic panels because you’ve got the volume so the quality starts improving.With Geely, quality is the one thing they talk to me about all the time. It’s our first KPI [key performance indicator] we measure. We don’t measure output, we don’t measure cost, we measure quality first. And again, I’ll show you when we walk through the factory, you’ll see where we’re trying to get to is a no-fault forward. Historically here you’d kind of get a car at the end of the line and it’d be like, “Right, it’s got a few problems with it, you’ve got to work it out.” Now the mentality is it does not come out your station unless you’ve got that quality, and you are responsible for that. I think as a backer Geely is incredibly demanding, yet they’re incredibly supportive as well. The strategy we went to them with, they’ve backed. Obviously since then we’ve had COVID and we’ve had wars and bits and bobs. It’s not just a little bit off course, but they’ve never wavered. They’re just like, “We can see where you’re going.” My CEO was here in September, first time he’d been here for three years, and he actually said, “You can now see the light at the end of the tunnel with this business, where it’s going with the product.” The order book is what that assumption is based on. We had a plan called Vision80, which was the new products moving to battery-electric vehicle production in China, global operation. We’re halfway through that plan, and we’re smack on where we want to be. Some of the cars, the Emira for instance, is a bit late to market but it’s ready to go.As a sports car manufacturer, we will be the biggest in the U.K.—that’s my aspiration—and they’re backing us all the way. It’s demanding and yeah, I do feel like I’ve worked about 15 years in the last five, but it’s also rewarding and I think the love is there for this brand. I’ve worked in some startups where you’re trying to establish a brand and it’s really, really hard work. The love for the Lotus brand is so big that it deserves to work and it deserves to have the right products. We’re keeping that link to the past and respecting the past, and Geely is all about that as well. They love the history. C/D: Let’s talk for a second about selling Lotuses in China, where you’re expected to sell a lot. And with the huge capacity at the new factory there, it seems like much of Lotus’s fate is in the hands of that relatively young automobile marketplace.MW: Yeah, there’s a massive dealer network being set up there: 51 new dealers between now [and next October]. It’s huge. The pace of change there is incredible. And here as well, where we are building a new brand experience center in London, going in on the corner of Piccadilly and Berkeley [in Mayfair]. Open March time. They’ve done something similar in Shanghai. China will be a huge part of the Lotus market.Because of the investment model, under Group Lotus, there sits two companies, Lotus Cars, which I manage, which is the sports cars bits. And then there’s Lotus Technology. Lotus Technology is working on the lifestyle cars as we call them in China. C/D: Oh really? A different engineering team?MW: Yeah. In some areas like attribute setting, dynamics, they use our services and then for software, IT, and more importantly autonomous driving, we use their services, so we kind of cross over.The Eletre for instance has gone autonomous driving Level Four. [It has a] smart, intelligent cabin, all of those things that we haven’t quite got in the sports cars yet. We haven’t got that experience in our engineering, but that technology, as is needed for sports cars, will come across as well. This is what I was saying about the quality and content of the sports cars as we go forward will just be improved because we’ve got this other area of the business as well.From the C/D ArchiveC/D: What about the sports cars going forward? MW: Next up is the Type 135, our next-generation sports car, which will be all electric, in 2024–25. We will be building that here in Hethel, and we will need to put in significantly increased production capability for that. The Emira will be produced and sold alongside of it, though we expect it to outsell [the gasoline-powered car].C/D: Is there hope for something smaller, cheaper, and electric? MW: It’s not in the plan at the moment. If you’re talking about an Elise [replacement], which we’ve been asked about before, I hope it’s an area somebody else will pick up. If I’m totally honest, there just isn’t the margin in those cars for what we are investing in product development.C/D: Yeah. It seems to me that there would be a way to make money selling a stripped-down simple car that was as light as it could be, and yet electric.MW: That may be in the future, [but] the problem at the moment is internal combustion engines have got to a point where they’re quite cheap because there’s millions of them, and they’re developed, and battery-electric systems are still quite a new technology, and the numbers of them are quite low. So as demand grows and investment in R&D in those systems, yeah, the prices will probably come down. We’ll probably end up in 10 or 15 years’ time with something that’s the size of a laptop that can go 300, 400 miles, and then we’re laughing. This content is imported from OpenWeb. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

The eyes of retro enthusiasts, Great Britain division, bugged out when a prototype electric van inspired by England’s classic Morris J-Type (introduced in 1948 and built through 1961) broke cover in 2017. It’s outwardly a faithful tribute to the iconic original—a common sight in postwar Britain and the Commonwealth nations. The re-creation’s maker, Morris Commercial, claimed the reimagined machine would boast not just its inspirer’s adorable, bug-eyed looks and same world-beating volume-to-footprint ratio, but also electric power and a body made from scrap carbon fiber. As with all automotive startups, however, the devil has been going from prototype to production, and the road getting there is long and rocky.Charlie Magee|Car and DriverThough it has but two prototypes to show for itself five years on, one of which we would drive, the story of Morris Commercial spans close to a century. With an international cast of characters, it’s a stemwinder of a tale, albeit one whose last chapter has yet to be written.Brace Yourself for a Bumpy RideMorris Commercial Cars was the world’s largest commercial-vehicle manufacturer in the 1950s. In 1968, the one-time BMC brand was folded into the nationalized conglomerate British Leyland and saw its name retired. From there, it became a winding path: its parent company was renamed, merged, bought out by management, and sold to a private equity firm and then to Russian owners. In 2009, now called LDV and again headed for bankruptcy, the company had its assets acquired by Qu Li’s Eco Concepts, a purchase that generated much tabloid interest. Charlie Magee|Car and DriverMuch More on the U.K. TodayA China-born engineer with family ties to Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), Li, who had emigrated to the U.K. years earlier but traveled extensively between the two countries, quickly sold many of the assets of LDV to SAIC. Li was an outlier in the British industry for being a woman and Chinese, and she faced harsh criticism for having worked closely with the “Phoenix Four.” That was the briefly celebrated quartet of British businessmen who rescued MG Rover from extinction for minimal personal investment in 2000 after BMW pulled the plug, only to drive the firm into bankruptcy while walking away with large piles of cash. Their actions led to the British government’s disqualifying them from holding any corporate directorships. Heightening the Phoenix story’s tabloid appeal, consultant Li was reported to have had a romantic relationship with one of the disgraced quartet, Nick Stephenson. Thanks to her, many of the British firm’s assets were sold in bankruptcy to China, where both her parents worked in the auto industry and where her connections clearly helped. Charlie Magee|Car and DriverBut Li, who has lived in Britain for more than 30 years and holds Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering and materials, claims her goal is to help restore Britain’s vehicle industry. With this in mind, she kept the Morris Commercial name and intellectual property for what she hopes will be her big play. It Looks Sincere from Here While public enthusiasm for the cute EV van known as JE has been enormous, the British popular press has expressed considerable skepticism about the venture. But if Li’s goal was merely to make some quick cash, our recent visit to the company’s headquarters in the sleepy Cotswolds village of Hinton-on-Green, suggest she’s chosen a funny way to do it. Charlie Magee|Car and DriverFor instance, unusually in these days of electric-car fever, Li said the company will not be taking customer deposits until the siting of its small-production factory is confirmed. Before then, it’s “irresponsible to take their money. We also agreed that money will be put aside in an escrow account. We will not touch that money until we come to the point when we can say [choose your vehicle].” Nor will there be an IPO before then. Wise choices, both, we’d say.Charlie Magee|Car and DriverCharlie Magee|Car and DriverWe met with her at the company’s property, on the bucolic site of an old train station, where a series of cleverly conjoined shipping containers provide office space for a skeleton staff of 15. “The facility is quite small moment, but we are in the process of finding a manufacturing location,” she said, suggesting that a pilot production line might be running by the third quarter or fourth quarter of 2023. Limited production is the goal. “We are going for small-volume production, a bit like a Morgan.”We’re working really hard on a shoestring, with very small core team, because when you’re growing too fast, you’ve lost control. You just spend money for no reason. We didn’t do that. We are quite small still, but we are expanding now—[it’s] a little bit scary really, trying to get people and expanding.Charlie Magee|Car and Driver”For me, I think we will have succeeded when we start to deliver to the customer with a reasonable order book and deliver vehicles that people are happy with. A reliable product. But all products need further development. From that point, it really needs bank investment to get to volume production.” From there, Li and Morris Commercial executive John Killick explained, the goal will be to take on substantial outside investment, even possibly selling the company on to others with deeper pockets.With her background in light trucks and vans, Li said, she became convinced that a purpose-built EV was the best strategy. But why use the form of the J-type? “It’s a classic design. I’ve been involved in van production quite a bit, but I don’t really believe vans have to be ugly or have to be white, because I like pretty things.”Picture This Van with a Red Bull Logo Proof of the wisdom of Morris Commercial’s retro strategy, Li said, has come in visits from Red Bull and the Royal Post Office (which bought one-third of the original J-type van’s production), both of which have expressed interest in the van with the old-school looks and modern purpose-built electric architecture.”The gross weight of our vehicle is 2.5 tons, which is lighter than the smallest van in the sector currently. But ours has a one-ton payload, which usually you get from vans weighing 3.5 tons. None of them have this combination with one ton payload with 200-plus miles of range,” courtesy of a skateboard chassis and structure that bears no relation to an internal-combustion-engined van.Boxes That Deliver”We have quite a wide spectrum of industry very interested in our vehicle,” she added. “A lot of them want to be different. Food and drink, coffee shops, et cetera. And we have lots of retail shops interested. Also sports—we have huge following by racing teams, and motorbike racing teams because you can put a motorbike on the back. Florists, bicycle shops, auto parts dealers. Interior designers, who also like something different. It gives them credibility as well as advertising their business. We also have musicians, who could put their drums and the equipment in the back.” A minibus version for transport of passengers is also in their plans.”It’s really interesting, though, [that] tradesmen, actually, are our largest group of pre-orders. Electricians, plumbers, property services, laundry collections, carpet fitters. Particularly if they’re working in London, in the cities [with emissions-free zones].”When asked if she felt her path in Britain’s auto industry had been hindered by the fact of her being a woman, Li said, “Many years ago, I did tooling designs. I had an appointment to visit LDV Vans. That was a few years before I bought it. I went into the factory, and the guy who was seeing me, a senior engineer was like in shock. Because of my name, he didn’t really know it would be a woman he’s meeting. He said, ‘I don’t know how to start this conversation. This is not a fashion factory, this is a manufacturer, metals manufacturer.’ I said, ‘Just start anywhere. I’m an engineer, I should be okay.’ ‘No, no,’ he said, ‘This is not something you would understand.'”I said, ‘Well, maybe you could show me around the factory.’ So, he walked me around the factory. I said, ‘This is a clearing press and a furnace, you don’t need this and that. It’s quite old now, isn’t it? You need electronics to change it for some automation.’ He looked at me. ‘How do you know this?’ I’ve bought a lot of presses, set up presses. After, we walked back and he said, ‘You know everything.’ I said, ‘Well, I’ve been in this industry for quite a while,’ so now he could start to have a conversation with me.””A few years later, I bought the company.” This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

From the January 2023 issue of Car and Driver.Curse globalization all you like, but it’s a safe bet that what remains of England’s automobile industry wouldn’t be here today without investments from around the world. Over the course of a week driving around Britain, we visited several enterprises that are not so much surviving as thriving, all thanks to foreign connections willing to open their wallets. There’ll Always Be an EnglandOur journey begins with a trip to West Sussex, where Rolls-Royce launched the Spectre, the 116-year-old company’s first electric production car, a plus-size coupe of undeniable presence. Erected with parent BMW’s money, its showpiece Goodwood factory is now configured to build internal-combustion and electric cars on the same line. The airy, low-lying corporate home on lush country grounds is a most British of settings and can only help as the company attempts to upsell returning customers and visiting prospects bespoke hides, paint schemes, and more from its steamship-size list of pricey custom options. That body shells, engines (for now), and many other critical parts come from Germany for assembly in England isn’t something they talk much about here, where Britishness is an essential part of the appeal. View PhotosMini’s modern assembly line.Charlie Magee|Car and DriverThe following morning, we head to the Mini plant in Oxford, built out with the unstinting assistance of the same German benefactor. Tours commence in a small museum that occupies part of the factory that turned out the first Morris Oxford, which in the 1920s made William Morris’s firm Britain’s biggest car producer. It merged with Austin in the 1950s to form BMC, then combined with other ailing firms in the 1960s to form British Leyland, and in ensuing decades found itself involved with a host of similarly troubled successor entities that had different names. One of the few things to survive it all was the Mini brand, the only marque BMW kept when it discarded the rest of what had become the Rover Group. Two decades after its relaunch for 2002 as a stand-alone brand, Mini is here building zippy electric models on the same line as gas and diesel cars, thanks to extensive use of modern robotics. The plant is notably quiet in operation, and the mood appears upbeat.This is in spite of Mini’s announced plans to shift production of EVs to China, a potentially ominous development for a brand that plans to be all electric. At present, 40,000 electric Minis leave Plant Oxford each year. “Mini Plant Oxford is the heart of the brand,” says Stefanie Wurst, global head of Mini. “Our commitment to production in the United Kingdom has not lost any strength whatsoever.” A new Chinese plant is being built to grow share there, where, she explains, imported Minis currently cost as much as locally produced BMW 3-series. While a second production site in Leipzig will build one Mini model, the U.K. plant will supply three models. “In other words,” Wurst says, “no other plant will be building as many models as Oxford.” Charlie Magee|Car and DriverWe again witness foreign inroads into the British market when we arrive at Malvern Link in Worcestershire to visit the 113-year-old Morgan Motor Company. The charmingly dinky factory buildings date to the early 20th century, with little to give away all that is new within, thanks once again to investment from abroad.Yet change has come to the cars and the processes used to build them. Expanding the list of Anglophile saviors from afar, Italian businessman Andrea Bonomi and his family’s private equity firm, Investindustrial, bought a controlling interest in the business in 2019 from the Morgan family (who retain a minority holding and role as “brand stewards”), giving the hidebound company a new lease on life. Its heavily revised “volume” Plus Four roadster, powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter four from—guess who—BMW, is again slated to be offered for sale in America in 2023, bolstered by a new world of contemporary features [read our first drive of the Morgan Plus Four]. The car’s charismatic good looks still trace to the 1930s, but its platform and suspension at last are now modern, ridding the Morgan of its infernal and near-eternal nod to antiquity.Just as impressive to drive and also headed to the States once again is a new Morgan three-wheeler. Not the stillborn electric concept scuttled in 2018, the new Super 3 replaces its predecessor’s spindly ladder frame and wood-frame body with a full aluminum chassis. Meanwhile, a turbocharged Ford 118-hp 1.5-liter inline-three steps in for the Harley-inspired V-twin that had become one of Morgan’s worst-ever warranty nightmares. The pint-size three-pot makes the slightly less adorable-looking Super 3 faster and, more important, far more bearable on the noise, vibration, and harshness front. Still, there’s nothing cushy about the experience of driving the new car. Windscreens are minimalist afterthoughts. With a nonexistent top, the wind, rain, and bugs are yours to enjoy. But who cares? A wider front track improves handling, and the Mazda Miata–sourced five-speed gearbox remains impressive. They help make the Super 3—all 1500 pounds of it—an exhilarating small-bore blaster that we found completely nuts and didn’t want to return. Charlie Magee|Car and DriverNext stop is Jaguar Land Rover’s Classic Works in Coventry, once a bustling car-building city—England’s Detroit, if you will. Things have tapered off if not petered out entirely in Coventry, but heritage is one of Britain’s chief exports these days. In fact, the country increasingly resembles a theme park whose theme is the past. The monarchy is one example, but nothing in the world of consumer goods has more heritage appeal than classic cars.Given the rising values of older Jaguar and Land Rover models, it only made sense for JLR to cater to the buoyant classic-car market. So, with a little help from Indian parent Tata, it opened the Classic Works enterprise in 2017. Today, in a ginormous workshop adjacent to a large showroom filled with sparkling machines from its past, skilled technicians and craftsmen restore old cars and service others, even recreating classic models such as Jaguar’s D-type, XKSS, and Lightweight E-type in continuation series. It started with the Land Rover Reborn program, which has cranked out more than 50 refurbished original-formula Landies from the late ’40s and ’50s. More profitable still are the 150 70th Anniversary Edition Defender Works V8s it has sold, along with 25 Works V8 Trophy tributes and another 25 Works V8 Trophy Twos, all with six-figure price tags. The newest program has started delivering reborn Range Rovers, the early ones purists are falling for in a big way. Mike Bishop oversees the Range Rover Reborn program. “The vehicles sell themselves, effectively,” he says. “You’re just here to help enjoy the journey. You’re not really selling them an everyday car, are you? You’re selling them that dream.”Down by the Cotswolds, in tiny Hinton-on-the-Green, Morris Commercial’s controlling shareholder, Qu Li, has a dream of her own. A Chinese mechanical engineer who’s spent 30 years in the U.K., for 2023 she hopes to put into limited production an electric van inspired by the beloved postwar Morris J-type van, once a ubiquitous postal and delivery vehicle highly regarded for its excellent space-to-footprint ratio and jolly visage. Looking possibly better than ever, the updated van Morris Commercial hopes to build will feature a body made of recycled carbon fiber.Though it has but two prototypes to show for itself so far, the story of Morris Commercial already sounds like fodder for a gripping tome. Li and her China Ventures consultancy worked closely with the “Phoenix Four,” the briefly celebrated quartet of British businessmen who rescued MG Rover from extinction in 2000 after BMW pulled the plug, only to put the enterprise into the ditch in 2009 (while still managing to walk away with large piles of cash).Charlie Magee|Car and DriverFrom the wreckage of MG Rover, Li bought out of bankruptcy van maker LDV, which was formed in 1993 by the merger of two ailing firms, Britain’s Leyland and Holland’s DAF. Li quickly sold the rights to LDV’s vehicles, using the proceeds of the sale to develop Morris Commercial. Shrewdly, she identified the old J-type—which was introduced alongside the Morris Minor in 1948—as her ticket to ride.We drove a running blue and white prototype of the electric Morris van. Bodied in aluminum, it is more of a proof of concept, where a pink and white model with the recycled-carbon-fiber body is closer to the hoped-for final product and spec. Though neither really represents what the finished van might actually be like, the blue truck was perfectly pleasant and, with its skateboard chassis, usefully large inside. We can confirm that passersby go mad for its retro good looks. It’s that cute. From hopeful startup to ambitious old hands: Our last stop is at Hethel, Norfolk, where the fruits of Chinese juggernaut Geely’s multibillion-dollar investment in Lotus Cars are everywhere to see. From the 1973-hp Evija EV to the company’s excellent new volume machine, the Emira, and the newly outfitted factory that will build it, Lotus’s current situation underscores what a lot of good money can do. View PhotosLotus plant in Hethel.Charlie Magee|Car and DriverAs Lotus approaches its 75th anniversary, the roller-coaster ride it has been on for its entire existence has entered a new phase. With its new foreign owners, Lotus plans to increase volume exponentially—not just here at its ancestral and spiritual home base, but in China, where its first SUV, the Eletre, is already in production. But while the Eletre, a two-motor electric SUV claimed to be the fastest of its species in the world, is expected to help Lotus achieve an unheard-of annual sales volume of 100,000 before decade’s end, the 5000 Emiras it hopes to build here annually mark a different roll of the dice. The last purely internal-combustion car the company says it will ever build, the Emira caps a long line of lightweight sports cars that prioritize roadholding and an intimate connection between driver and machine. Even though it is heavier than all Lotuses that have preceded it, the Emira is still meant to follow that path. It also lays the groundwork for a new generation of Lotus sports cars, whose content and construction will be effected here in the Norfolk countryside. They will all be electrified, with the weight penalty that implies, as truly lightweight electric cars are a ways off, awaiting as yet undiscovered battery technologies.Charlie Magee|Car and DriverLotus’s prospects have improved immeasurably thanks to the largesse of Geely, an operation that has demonstrated a surprisingly delicate touch with its foreign holdings, as exemplified by its purchase of Volvo. (In October 2022, Geely acquired a minority stake in Aston Martin.) The Chinese firm seems less vulnerable than Western companies to the impatience of jittery shareholders and the short-sighted broader market. It is therefore seemingly able to operate with a longer timeframe in mind. Which is a good thing. For as any Briton could tell you, the creation of a heritage worth remembering takes time. And money. Wherever it comes from. This content is imported from OpenWeb. 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As exciting as the wider bodywork and refined aerodynamics of the new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 are, the 5.5-liter flat-plane LT6 V-8 engine sitting behind the driver is the star of the show. Unfortunately for new Z06 owner Marco Garcia, the motorsport-derived engine in his Corvette Z06 failed after traveling just 52 miles on the initial delivery drive. Much More on the Z06Garcia purchased the black-over-red Corvette Z06 1LZ on December 23 from Covina Hills Chevrolet in Covina, California, according to his YouTube videos. The in-demand sports car carried a sticker price of $113,975, but documentation fees and dealer charges saw the final sales price reach $182,457.38. Garcia has owned two Stingrays at this point, and he arrived to purchase the Z06 in his modified C8. With the purchase process complete, one of the salesmen at the dealer offered to follow Garcia back to his construction yard with said Stingray. Garcia took them up on this offer and agreed to drop the salesman back at the dealership following the exchange.This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.After dropping the Stingray at the yard, the salesman jumped into the Z06 for the relatively short trek back to the dealership. Garcia noted in his follow-up video that the two enjoyed a few gentle pulls on the ride but didn’t push the car too hard. Garcia further noted that he is already quite familiar with the break-in procedure for the C8 platform due to his previous ownership experiences. Shortly after he returned the salesman to the dealership, things went horribly wrong. Garcia noticed a lack of power coming from the engine and opted to pull off the highway to investigate. A check-engine light and some aggressive rattling noises accompanied the issue, which began with just 52 miles on the odometer, Garcia says. After walking into town to charge his phone, Garcia was told by the dealer that he couldn’t tow the car back there that evening. Furthermore, OnStar struggled to help as they didn’t have the proper warranty information yet for such a new car. Garcia was forced to tow the Z06 back to his construction yard that night.Things didn’t improve much the following day. OnStar sent a tow truck for the car on the 24th, but that truck wasn’t authorized to return the car to the selling dealer. That created a new issue, apparently requiring Garcia to spend hours going through the OnStar service for assistance yet again. Once the car actually arrived at the proper dealership, a ton of error codes began popping up in Garcia’s email inbox, sent via OnStar services. The most notable of these issues was listed as an engine and transmission system error, which you’d expect based on the audio found in the clip alone. Garcia says he’s had it with the situation, and that he is not interested in continuing his Z06 ownership experience. Once the car is repaired, he’s planning to move it on to the next owner. “Dead Z06 for sale pretty soon,” said Garcia in the follow-up post. “I guess I’ll probably try and fix it and sell it to someone else. It’s a shame.”This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Since the moment the Z06 debuted, General Motors has been adamant that the LT6 V-8 is a bombproof engine. The LT6.R V-8 has been utilized by the Corvette Racing C8.R for a few years at this point, with the street motor featuring an almost identical top-end design. That said, large-displacement flat-plane V-8s are known to be tricky, as was previously highlighted by Ford’s Voodoo V-8 and its vibration concerns. A GM spokesperson confirmed to R&T that the company is aware of the incident involving this Z06 and is actively looking into the situation. As is common practice with this kind of failure, GM will likely tear down this motor to figure out what went wrong with this specific example. Hopefully this particular LT6 was just a bad egg. As of right now, this problematic example appears to just be a small drop in the bucket as owners continue to take their new Z06s home.ChevroletThis content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

Starting with the 2024 Polestar 3 SUV, the company will introduce seat labels promoting its sustainability goals.The Polestar 3 will offer three seat materials, each with labels detailing their carbon footprint, percentage of recycled and renewable content, and source.Polestar says the labels are meant to improve transparency about its climate impact and better inform customers.Labels are important. They tell people about the content of things they otherwise wouldn’t know. But did you know some cars now come with labels, too? Polestar, the expanding all-electric subsidiary of Volvo, has been putting sustainability labels on models since 2021. Now, the company has revealed it will introduce seat labels that further promote its sustainability goals. When the 2024 Polestar 3 finally enters production in the latter half of 2023, a section on its front seats below the headrests will list details about the climate impact of the materials used. Customers will have the choice between an alternative to leather called MicroTech (a.k.a. vinyl) as well as wool and nappa leather options which are both certified as being sourced from farms that responsibly raise animals.The seat labels include information about the carbon footprint, the percentage of recycled and renewable content, and the source of the materials used for the upholstery. Currently, Polestar says it only knows the carbon footprint of the nappa leather, so until the company can confirm the rest of the figures once production starts, images of the seat labels will contain some placeholders.Polestar Priority ReadingPolestar believes its labels not only better inform customers about what they’re buying so they can make educated decisions, but the markers also increase transparency about the company’s promises and progress regarding sustainability. An example of the latter can be seen with the Polestar 2 hatchback, which has seen its CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) reduced by 1.7 metric tons between its first two model years.As with the Polestar 2, and upcoming models such as the 3, the company’s labels allow their climate impact to be tracked and also tell you how sustainable they are. This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More