This week, our writers have been dispelling Formula One myths, finding out if long-running manufacturers are scared by the progress of Chinese start-up brands, and whether there's demand for vegan interiors at the very top end of the price spectrum.
No foul play over F1 team radio
Rumours that F1 teams swear in pit-to-car radio comms to make sure those messages aren’t broadcast to other teams turn out to be unfounded. Bernie Collins, head of race strategy at Aston Martin F1, said: “Team to team, nothing is filtered. So we’d still get that language and it wouldn’t prevent it [a radio message] going to another team.”
No fear from Nissan as China grows
Slow and steady wins the race – or does it? Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida thinks lengthy vehicle development times are giving Chinese start-ups the edge, because they react to the market far more quickly. “Do we do that as a Japanese enterprise? It’s not the same,” he admitted. “We do lots of testing and experimenting before we hit the road. They do have the speed to market, which we need to learn in the future.”
This time will be different, says Polestar
DRIVING FANS TEND not to be so keen on SUVs, especially electric ones, but Joakim Rydholm, chief test engineer at Polestar, hinted that the upcoming 3 will buck the trend: “A Polestar will always feel connected to the driver. The 3 will breathe and flow a bit more because it’s a different car [from the 2], but a driver will always choose a Polestar.”
Rolls happy to go vegan - once customers ask for it
“Nobody has ever asked us for a vegan interior,” said Rolls-Royce boss Torsten Müller-Ötvös, on whether his firm will ditch leather. “Sustainability is very important to us but it should not compromise luxury.” He called Rolls’ Goodwood factory a leader in sustainable production and said the firm is ready to respond to customer requests if there is a switch away from leather.
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Here we go again with the Vegan religion. I respect their diet choice however I don't like the fact that have to force their diet choice onto everyone else including car manufacturers. Finally, it annoys me when Vegans have to say to everyone that they're Vegans. I don't go around telling people that I love eating meat. So why should they?
By the way, the article says no customer had requested vegan interior.
I bet you didn't even read the text.
you did take the time to show us all you are a bit small-minded
Vegans tell everyone that they don't kill for living and are proud of it. You don't tell everyone that you kill for living because you are not proud of it, you just don't care. Not a small difference, but difficult for you to understand, I understand, do you understand now?
I keep exclusively to a vegan diet. I don't think I'm better than everyone else for it, just more comfortable myself that way. If I'm ever in the market for a Rolls I'm sure they'll be charging me the price of a small flat already for options and the leather is byproduct, so it just isn't sensible to cash out on "bespoke". I would like to see some other interior materials, though, even just for the sake of variety. Everything's leather or plastic leather. A tweed Rolls cabin, for example, would be well and truly dapper.
On a different note, the RR typical customer might be more interested in a vegan coffin than a vegan car.
Isnt the typical RR customer either a Rapper or a Chinese tech startup owner?
Vegans would like to watch you meet a cow