Leasedrive Velo Blog

Roddy Graham, Commercial Director

Motor sport has always been a ‘nice to have’ rather than a ‘must have’ for most vehicle manufacturers so it comes as no surprise in these dire economic times to hear news this week that BMW is following Honda in pulling out of Formula 1.

In both instances, the decision came on the back of a dismal season.

Honda, now Brawn, must be ruing the day it ever pulled the plug. Its environmental livery was always somewhat tenuous given the excesses of Formula 1 and its low mpg returns. I always felt Honda had taken its eye off the ball somewhat but when it hired Ross Brawn you knew it was finally taking things very seriously indeed. To pull out, when the technical guru had dropped all the jigsaw pieces into position was nigh on foolhardy and Brawn and Mercedes are now reaping the rewards. Indeed, the drivers are happier being propelled by Mercedes power than Honda power as they can feel more oomph in their backsides.

BMW had a tremendous season last year with Robert Kubica scoring its maiden Formula 1 victory in Canada, scene of his horror crash the previous year. That the Polish driver walked away from his 170 mph accident was testament to the safety measures that have been put in place in recent decades and to the integrity of the BMW Sauber chassis.

If BMW had concentrated on 2008, it could perhaps have won the Driver’s World Championship but having realised its objective of winning it preferred to concentrate on the next season with the goal of definitely being a top Championship contender and winner.

How the mighty have fallen.

BMW has stated it wishes to concentrate on its priority goals of sustainability and the environment, both commendable objectives.

However, I do feel like with Honda it’s unfinished business and, having marvelled at its technology over the Silverstone weekend, I am sad to see the Munich marque withdraw.

Will Toyota follow suit despite strong denials?

I referred to Kubica’s lucky escape and I guess in many ways Felipe Massa can consider himself lucky to have avoided death after being struck by an errant two-kilogram spring off fellow Brazilian Barrichello’s car.

Unlucky however to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Given the sad demise of Henry Surtees in a Formula 2 race at Brands Hatch, when he was struck by an errant wheel, freak accidents have been a major talking point in recent weeks. More work for the safety commission is called for.

So not a great week or two for motor sport overall.

They say it improves the breed but only that stalwart of Formula 1, Ferrari appears to walk the talk. Nice to also hear Ferrari say that Massa is not just part of the team but part of the family.

Roddy Graham, Commercial Director

I’m not a great fan of Jeremy Paxman and find his style of interviewing downright rude at times. Take the time he kept on and on at Michael Howard to answer the question. However, if you read the front page of last week’s BusinessCar you can see where he’s coming from at times.

The lead story is all about Government licence checking hypocrisy. Only one out of 21 Government departments follows best practice on driver licence checking and only 40% follow its own advice and check all ‘at work’ drivers’ licences.

When confronted with the findings, road safety minister Paul Clark responded via Department for Transport officials with the following: “Every death on the roads is a terrible tragedy but figures released last month show…” (answer the question). “While this news is encouraging, seven people are still dying on the roads every day…” (answer the question please). “We know that those who drive for work are over-represented in road accidents…” (answer the bloody question please!). “The Department also publishes good practice guidance…” (will you or will you not answer the bloody question please?). “…it is up to each employer to adopt those policies and practices which will best match the risks faced by their own employees.” (obviously you are not going to answer the question).

With no straight answer forthcoming and a declaration of a plan of action to turn around an appalling state of affairs, I now have far more sympathy with Mr Paxman.

BusinessCar has highlighted a very valid concern involving Government departments. The fact is that driver licence checking is very important if organisations are to meet their duty of care responsibilities. It is a key check all organisations should undertake to meet their obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act and avoid potential prosecution under the UK Corporate Manslaughter (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) and Corporate Homicide (Scotland) Act.

Only last week we had a businessman imprisoned for 22 months for killing a pedestrian while driving without a valid driving licence or insurance.

It beggars belief that this Government rams legislation down our throats like there is no tomorrow and yet fails to keep its own backyard in order. At the very least, it owes BusinessCar the courtesy of a proper answer to an important question and the will to get its own house in order. It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that the next person facing sentence for a similar offence to the one just mentioned is a public servant of some sort. Then how will the Government react to yet further public outrage and anger? Duty of Care and Corporate and Social Responsibility needs to rise up the Whitehall agenda, and fast.

Roddy Graham, Commercial Director

Might we have a genuine contender in the shape of Lord Adonis as Secretary of State for Transport? Certainly, he has made quite a few good moves since his appointment from education in last October’s reshuffle. The former hack spent a week travelling as an ordinary passenger on our rail network. So disgusted was he with the condition of certain railway stations, he immediately appointed a ‘Toilet Tsar’! Then he nationalised the East Coast mainline. Not a self-confessed ‘petrol head’ like his predecessor, Geoff Hoon, he nevertheless seems to be grasping his new role with unexpected enthusiasm. He declares himself to be passionate about transport, declaring his current post to be his “dream job”, which makes for a pleasant change

Apparently, he’s a stickler for detail, claiming it’s only through a thorough understanding of a subject that you can come up with the “big ideas”, and is known for getting the job done. He declares himself to be a “man on a mission.”

No surprise then to learn at the beginning of this week he was digging his heels in firmly over potential budget cuts that might de-rail his implementation of a high speed rail network. Although this could cost the nation £8bn, as far as he is concerned, that money is ring-fenced. And, in any case, he claims that being such a long-term project, the big sums will not be spent in the first five years.

I like the fact that he recognises that “the neglect on the part of successive governments” had left Britain’s transport infrastructure lagging behind that of other countries. He believes we can only truly claim to be a modern economy with a modern transport system. Developing a high-speed rail network is one of the biggest transport projects to be undertaken and is a required link between major cities. After all, France has enjoyed a TGV network for decades now.

Now he has announced major cuts in transport CO2 emissions. Between 2018 and 2022, he wants to cut emissions by a further 85m tonnes. Encouraging cycling, increasing high speed rail and lower emitting vehicles are all part of his plan. Lord Adonis wants to change our habits, declaring that 60 per cent of the nation lives a 15-minute bike ride from a railway station. Opting for the low-cost option is his declared aim.

With transport the natural battleground for budget cuts, it remains to be seen if he is able to save planned road building/improvement projects as well. He may be a declared transport enthusiast but that encompasses all forms of transport including road vehicles.

Roddy Graham, Commercial Director

‘Danger – Electric Vehicles’. Is this a sign of things to come? Not a warning sign in the immediate sense. After all, I wouldn’t for one minute think that an electric vehicle is any more dangerous than an ordinary vehicle, apart from perhaps to pedestrians who may not hear one coming.

No, I’m thinking long-term. Remember what the Japanese did to our motorcycle industry. Perhaps they may do so with electric vehicles. For the second month running the hybrid Toyota Prius was the best-selling model in Japan! Makes you think doesn’t it?

While VW maintained this week that electric vehicles will remain on the margins for the foreseeable future, especially in Europe, we are witnessing an increase in demand in the East, not to mention take up in the West, notably California. Sales of hybrids rose in the USA by more than 5% in June, accounting for 3% of new car sales.

As always, a lot will depend on infrastructure. How many public recharging points will become available to ‘fuel’ widespread take-up? We are starting to witness green shoots here and there. Quite likely, those companies and public authorities providing recharging points are doing so for publicity as well as for altruistic or corporate and social responsibility reasons.

However, it seems the Japanese are definitely ahead of the curve when it comes to development of battery electric-powered and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Will our Western European manufacturers take note or rely solely on extracting further efficiencies out of the traditional petrol or diesel-powered engine? We are living in a period of considerable change. I do hope that they are not missing a trick when it comes to the research and development of future personal transportation systems.

Even McLaren Automotive is advertising for a senior engineer with hybrid powertrain expertise.

Roddy Graham, Commercial Director

Imagine the scenario. It’s 28degC and climbing. The well-meaning passenger on the train alights from the air-conditioned train to tackle the burning inferno of the Capital’s Underground. By the time, he returns home later that evening, the temperature has fallen slightly, only 26degC.

Having survived the return journey on the tube, he looks forward to the air-conditioned splendour of a fast Inter City train only to be faced with a grinding journey on an airless baby brother. To cap it all, the connection has been cancelled and replaced with a bus service, which stops at every local rail station on route. Our exhausted, dishevelled traveller returns home an hour late and spends half an hour in the shower cooling down. Okay, the last part was an exaggeration but the rest was what happed yesterday to a colleague of mine.

For the privilege of foregoing the climate-controlled environment of his company car to become a public-spirited citizen and go green by using mainly public transport to get in to London, he paid £4.60 car parking at the rail station and £46.50 for an all-day travel card.

Had he driven in, and his appointment was south London, it would have cost him in direct up-front round terms £15 in petrol plus £6 in parking. £21 as opposed to more than £53 plus the convenience of getting directly from A to B in much greater personal comfort and, as it turns out, much quicker too, even allowing for inevitable traffic delays. Had he been travelling with a colleague it would simply be a no-brainer.

Alright, I haven’t taken into account running costs for the above illustration but it clearly illustrates that much needs to be done to change the mindset of the average driver to consider swapping his four wheels for something greener when the opportunity arises.

Indeed even taking total standing and running costs per mile, based on the AA’s calculations, a car costing up to £12,000 covering 10,000 miles per year would have cost my colleague on the journey above £44.57 in total had he been using a petrol-driven car (cost 37.14 pence per mile) or £43.91 had he been using a diesel-driven car (cost 36.59 pence per mile). In either case, the car proved the cheaper option.

The above typical scenario is against the backdrop of the East Coast mainline being nationalised and a looming £30bn shortfall in transport investment. Likely victims of cutbacks include the £16bn Crossrail scheme between London Heathrow and the Capital’s Canary Wharf, the delay of a high speed rail network and £6bn worth of road building, including the widening of hard shoulders on motorways.

As always, transport is the first to ever get hit by Government when budgets have to be cut. The trouble is that the demand for rail and road transport has never been greater and as we all know these are the arterial routes to keeping our economy pumping. If the Obama administration in the USA considers the current economic woes to be a good time to be investing in transport infrastructure, why can’t our Government see the light?