The month the car world quietly lost its nerve. December wasn’t about mince pies and nostalgia – it was about power, control, and where the future of driving is really heading
December usually winds the year down gently. Not this time. Instead, the car world spent the final weeks of 2025 quietly reshuffling the furniture, double-checking the locks, and pretending everything’s absolutely fine while the walls creaked. Deadlines moved. CEOs disappeared. Regulations softened. Tech firms flexed. Governments hedged. And drivers, once again, were told it was all “for their own good”.
From petrol cars dying earlier than promised, to remote kill switches, AI speed cameras, EV reality checks and a sudden wobble over long-held bans, December felt less like an ending and more like a warning shot. Add in a genuinely good Toyota, a Lotus that refuses to lie down, and some bold predictions for 2026, and it turned into a month that deserved a proper post-mortem.
So here it is – the full December 2025 BrownCarGuy round-up, in the order it unfolded.
3 December – JLR Just Fired Its Design King – What Could This Mean for Jaguar’s Brand Direction?
A quiet exit with very loud implications. When the person shaping your visual identity walks out, it’s rarely “business as usual”.
6 December – Pay-Per-Mile Will Destroy UK Driving – And They Know It
The argument nobody in power wants to have out loud. The sums don’t add up, the public isn’t ready, and yet it keeps creeping closer.
8 December – 2025 Rewired the Car World – These Were the Biggest Shockwaves of the Year
A look back at the moments that genuinely changed the direction of travel — and not all of them involved electrification.
10 December – Porsche Bricked in Russia and the Terrifying Truth About Remote Car Kill Switches
One story, one brand, and a chilling glimpse of how much control modern cars really give up once they’re “connected”.
12 December – 4D AI Speed Cameras on UK Roads – Everything You Need to Know
Not faster, not smarter — just far more observant. The next phase of enforcement arrived quietly, as expected.
17 December – EU Scraps the 2035 Petrol Car Ban – So Where Does That Leave the UK?
A major political back-pedal that raised far more questions than it answered. Certainty just became optional.
When one of the biggest names in the business admits the maths no longer works, people should probably listen.
19 December – The Great CEO Reshuffle – Why Car Bosses Are Quietly Hitting the Brakes
No rock stars. No risk-takers. Just steady hands brought in to survive what’s coming next.
21 December – AI, Cars and What’s Real Anymore? Bond Bots and the Lotus That Refuses to Die
A strange, fascinating end-of-year reflection on authenticity, automation, and why some cars still matter.
27 December – Toyota C-HR PHEV GR Sport Review – Everything You Need to Know Before Buying
Proof that sensible doesn’t have to mean soulless. One of the genuinely pleasant surprises of the year.
29 December – 2026 Is the Real Deadline – Why Cool Petrol Cars Are Dying Now, Not in 2030
The ban dates may be shifting, but the damage is already done. This is where enthusiasm quietly bled out.
31 December – Driverless Chaos, Insurance Nightmares & Car Predictions for 2026
No crystal balls — just patterns, incentives, and a few uncomfortable truths about what’s coming next.
That was December. Less fireworks, more fault lines.
If 2025 was the year the industry lost its confidence, December was the month it stopped pretending otherwise. 2026 is shaping up to be pivotal – not because of one big announcement, but because of all the small, careful retreats happening in plain sight.
Thanks, as ever, for reading, sharing, arguing, and sticking around. If you enjoyed this round-up, feel free to pass it on – and if you need sharp, honest automotive content written with actual context and experience, you know where to find me.
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