by Robin Roberts | Jul 6, 2020 | From the Chair
There’s a new normal shaping the motoring world and how journalists and PRs react to it and one another. Motor shows seem to be dying faster than the fashions of the human models used to adorn the stands as the traditional calendar is not just screwed up and thrown...
by Robin Roberts | Jun 2, 2020 | From the Chair
This week we should have been enjoying the famous Western Group PR Driving Day, but instead we are all suffering to various degrees from the lingering effects of the Coronavirus-19 pandemic. In just over two- months our motoring world has ground to standstill....
by Robin Roberts | May 4, 2020 | From the Chair
A few months ago, no-one could have accurately predicted the volcanic social upheaval now shaking itself through Britain, the rest of the world and our particular automotive industry. Vehicle production stopped, roads emptied, showrooms closed and motorsport become...
by Robin Roberts | Mar 30, 2020 | Driving Day, From the Chair
The annual Western Group of Motoring Writers PR Driving Day has been cancelled for 2020, writes Robin Roberts. This tough decision to cancel the event scheduled for 3 June 2020 has been taken only after a lot of heart-searching in light of the very latest...
by Kieron Fennelly | Mar 2, 2020 | From the Chair
The motor industry has been dealing with exhaust waste since the 1970s but another issue is now rolling into view. The catalytic converter which largely took care of hydrocarbon emissions also obliged refineries to remove lead, a known toxin, from petrol. Used as an...
by Robin Roberts | Feb 3, 2020 | From the Chair
The quickening approach of pure battery and plug-in hybrid vehicles is providing a further challenge to PRs and agencies. We simply don’t have the infrastructure to support a big ev-car or van launch with most hotels running to just a couple of recharging points which...
by Robin Roberts | Jan 1, 2020 | From the Chair
The Christmas “post” always includes one piece of mail with a shorter life-span than a turkey – the annual SMMT yearbook for the coming 12 months. It is only a matter of hours or days before this hardy annual goes soft and become outdated. In fact it has been...
by Robin Roberts | Dec 2, 2019 | From the Chair
Concern about the diminishing levels of investment in UK car manufacturing has, together with other Brexit uncertainties, made 2019 a particularly introspective year. It is perhaps constructive then to look at France which has a car market of similar size to the UK’s....
by Robin Roberts | Nov 19, 2019 | From the Chair
The annual Western Group of Motoring Writers PR Driving Day is scheduled for 3 June 2020. This internationally unique event was given the go-ahead by members of the 36-years-old group when attending their ordinary and annual general meeting hosted by Mitsubishi Motors...
by Robin Roberts | Oct 1, 2019 | From the Chair
The motor industry is facing doom and gloom or opportunity and expansion, depending on your viewpoint. Whatever happens with Brexit at the end of this month and its implications for Britain, a bigger sea change for the industry has been underway for some time....
by Kieron Fennelly | Sep 3, 2019 | From the Chair
Electric cars are a subject on which most people have an opinion, but not always founded on facts so it was interesting recently to hear the views of a specialist: Jon Hunt is manager of Alternative Fuels at Toyota. Toyota is the world’s sixth largest manufacturer by...
by Robin Roberts | Aug 5, 2019 | From the Chair
Our writing world is facing another crisis, and it’s not Brexit. While Governments, interest groups and manufacturers talk up and talk down the possibilities, probabilities, likely or unlikely events surrounding 31 October, I’m looking further ahead. What are we going...
by Kieron Fennelly | Jul 1, 2019 | From the Chair
As we pass mid 2019, the car manufacturing scene in Europe presents mixed messages. Ford announced the closure of its Bridgend plant, grim news, but not entirely unexpected. The contract to make petrol engines for JLR is running out and on the continent other...
by Robin Roberts | Jun 3, 2019 | From the Chair
In a few days we will be holding our immensely popular and unique PR Driving Day. A lot has happened since the first one was held over three decades ago and while most of the changes we have witnessed each June usually mean new faces and some old ones missing, I...
by Robin Roberts | May 1, 2019 | From the Chair
The motor writing world seems to be constantly in turmoil with changes to staff, contracts and commissions, new projects and publications, and the whirlwind of social media blows across the industry. But it has been very satisfying to see a rise in applications for...
by Kieron Fennelly | Apr 2, 2019 | From the Chair
For some time the car industry has been focused on electric traction. This is particularly so with European manufacturers who have long been under political pressure to reduce levels of CO2. European makes have also had to contend in short order with the demands of...
