Glass house
I n y ou r 17 Ju l y i s s ue , A s t on Ma r t i n
CEO A nd y Pa l me r s ay s t h at t he
British government’s Brexit strategy
is “laughable” and its EV-focused
policy is “nonsensical”.
Nobody cares about Mr Palmer’s
political opinions, but someone in a
public position who chooses to be so
critical of others ought to apply high
standards to himself.
The company that Palmer leads
was f loated on the stock exchange
last October and within six months
the share price had plunged by 55%
(w h i le t he sh a r e s of c ompa r a ble c a r
companies were unchanged or rose).
Would someone please ta ke t he
stones away from Palmer before
he throws another one through a
window of his glass house?
Gary Williams
Richmond upon Thames
Palmer for PM
What a relief to read the comments
of A nd y Pa l me r. A t l a s t w e h av e
a pragmatist who is not afraid to
challenge the inept politicians who
by their actions illustrate that they
have no idea of the requirements
of the thinking motoring public.
Palmer for prime minister!
John Nicholls
Via email
Hard on soft targets
I really enjoyed reading your report
on A nd y Pa l me r ’s v ie w s a r ou nd t he
most pressing issues in transport
freedom. Great to hear someone
w it h r e a l i n side k now le d ge put t i n g
government stupidity out there
for all to see. The organisational
failure to oversee a competent roll-
out of charging points for electric
vehicles would be laughable if it
w a sn’t s o t r a g ic. T h i s i s a b s olut e l y a
case of pure neglect and ignorance,
when above all some leadership on
comparability was utterly necessary.
To hear yet another senior
industry figure point the finger at the
nonsense of level-five autonomy is not
t h at u nu s u a l , but it ’s b ou nd t o f a l l on
de a f e a r s a s u s u a l , si mpl y s o s ome one
can look progressive. Yet again
LETTER OF THE WEEK
An electric convert writes
After more than 45 years’ driving and having
been fortunate enough to sample V8s, a V10
and V12s, it was time to help save the planet by
installing a Jag I-Pace and electric charger on thedrive. I find it has many of the characteristics from
the Mk 1 GTI Golf I enjoyed in the early 1980s:
little weight transfer when braking and cornering
and a linear power performance similar to the
outstanding high-revving engine in the Golf.
The ace of the I-Pace, however, is the
regen braking set at maximum, as it allows
exceptional control of acceleration/braking on
a single pedal. All enthusiastic drivers should
test the car over their favourite B-road as it allows
remarkable car control, aiding the ability to hit the apex perfectly and then
power down the next straight. This is in addition to staying alongside
BMW M3s and M4s away from the lights where their gearchanges
become quite hesitant compared with the linear acceleration of the I-Pace.
I’m not even missing the V soundtrack... Bring on the I-Pace SVR.
D Williams
Worcestershire
the stupidity of demonising diesel
has been exposed but will almost
certainly be ignored. Sure, get the
polluting old cars off the road, even if
it was government tax policy that putthem there in the first place, but do
accept that the latest diesels are less
CO 2 polluting than the equivalent
p e t r ol mo de l s a nd , w it h t he l at e s t
technology, less NOx producing too!
Oh for a government that has some
understanding and stops just seeing
motorists as a soft target.
David Imrie
Cobham
In favour of autonomy
Regarding the editor’s comment
(17 July) that nobody wants self-
driving cars, when this concept was
introduced I was totally against the
idea of relinquishing responsibility
for controlling the car to a robot.
However, after 54 years of
continuous driving, and in recentyears having suffered various
medical conditions and with the
ever-present possibility of suddenly
not being able to control the car, the
t hou g ht of t r av e l l i n g i n e f fe c t i n y ou r
own personal taxi or bus has become
an increasingly attractive prospect.
I feel that many people of my age
(71) and situation could have their
lives saved, and possibly those of
other innocent people, when this
becomes a reality. More generally,
road-accident fatalities in the UK,
equivalent to a major plane crash
every two months, and many
thousands of serious injuries,
could be drastically reduced.
Brian Smith
Darlington
B e t t e r l a t e t h a n n e v e r
In 1931, The Autocar magazine was
due to road test the new 4.0-litre
B e nt le y. A F R i v e r s F le t c he r s e t out
to deliver the demonstrator from
Cricklewood, but a gearbox malady
forced him back. Bentley Motors
Ltd then went into liquidation and
the test was cancelled. Sixty years
on, an elderly gentleman rang
Autocar’s road test editor, Andrew
Frankel: sorry for the delay, but
would it be convenient if he deliveredthe Bentley? Later that day, the
o c t oge n a r i a n R i v e r s t u r ne d up i n
the 4.0-litre he’d attempted to deliver
a l mo s t a l i fe t i me e a rl ie r. T h i s t i me ,
the test went off without a hitch.
Roderick W Ramage
Coppenhall, Stafford
Down to a T
Mr D Rose from Oxshott makes a
valid point on road manners (Your
Views, 17 July). I think the reason
why fellow motorists often do not
acknowledge the courtesy shown
to them when entering a major road
from a minor road is that many have
‘given themselves licence’ to come
out anyway.
WIN
Letter of the week
wins this ValetPRO
exterior protection
and maintenance kit
worth £48
64 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 3 1 JULY 2019
When Andy Palmer talks, people listen
What does it conjure up in your mind?
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