#BrownCarGuy – News, Views & Reviews!
The British car industry has just issued one of its strongest warnings in years. Not about Chinese competition. Not about Donald Trump’s tariffs. Not even about electric cars themselves. This is about Government policy.
Remember when fixing your car was… well, fixing your car? Let’s say you clipped a wall and cracked a headlight. The dealer quoted you £500 for a replacement. You laughed politely, wandered down to your local scrapyard, picked up a perfectly good used one for fifty quid, fitted it yourself in an hour, and everyone lived happily ever after. Those days are disappearing. On many modern cars, fitting a second-hand headlight, ECU, instrument cluster, infotainment screen or other electronic component can trigger warning messages, disable functions or simply refuse to work altogether.
The car industry has always been cyclical. Sales rise and fall. Models flop. Companies merge, split, collapse and occasionally rise from the ashes. Automotive history is littered with famous names that simply disappeared, particularly here in Britain where once-proud marques have become little more than museum exhibits or nostalgic memories. What’s different in 2026 is that we’re witnessing something arguably more alarming.
You’ve watched my videos, read my articles, followed my rants and reports from the world of motoring… but now, I’ve taken it one step further. I often get asked – how did you start doing what you do, how does one get to do what you do? Well I’ve written THE definitive book on how to break into the world of automotive content creation!
At a recent event, I was chatting to somebody who works within the legacy car industry. It doesn’t matter which manufacturer, because this relates to the industry as a whole – it’s something bigger, broader and potentially catastrophic for the entire car industry. What this person told me was that, in terms of marketing and PR budgets, their focus now is very much on product rather than brand. And I understand why. These companies have cars to sell, EV targets to hit, emissions legislation to satisfy, ZEV mandates to survive, shareholders to soothe and showroom traffic to somehow summon from the ether. But I also think this strategy could be a fundamental, frightening and potentially fatal mistake.
The Ferrari Luce may prove to be one of the most important car designs of recent years, not because it is revolutionary, not because it is beautiful, and certainly not because it has been universally admired. Quite the opposite. The reaction to Ferrari’s first electric car has been so overwhelmingly negative that it may have inadvertently transformed how enthusiasts view every major design reveal that has followed it. That sounds absurd, but bear with me.
Let’s get one thing straight right from the outset. This is not the MG you think it is. Forget bargain hatchbacks. Forget sensible family SUVs. Forget everything you know about MG because the IM5 is operating on an entirely different plane. In fact, if somebody covered the badges and asked you to guess what this was, I suspect very few people would say MG. And to be fair it does look generic Chinese EV. But here’s what you need to know: this thing is utterly bonkers.
If there is one event that perfectly captures the sheer breadth and brilliance of car culture, it is the London Concours. Returning to the beautiful lawns of the Honourable Artillery Company in the heart of the City of London, the 2026 edition celebrated its 10th anniversary in spectacular style, bringing together more than 120 extraordinary vehicles spread across nine curated classes. From cutting-edge hypercars and poster-car dream machines to rally legends, American muscle, tuner specials and exquisitely reimagined classics, this year’s event was an automotive feast unlike any other.
Every now and then a story emerges from the corridors of Westminster that makes you stop, put down your tea, rub your eyes and double-check that you haven’t accidentally wandered onto a parody website. This was one of those moments. According to evidence submitted to the House of Commons Transport Committee by the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, better known as PACTS, one argument for introducing more blanket 20mph speed limits is that doing so could reduce the need for additional signs, consultations, traffic orders and all the associated administrative clutter that accompanies modern transport policy. In other words, if I’ve understood this correctly, one of the reasons millions of motorists could find themselves travelling more slowly is because road signs are apparently becoming a bit expensive.
A funny thing has happened on the road to electrification. Along the way, someone assumed that the future of luxury motoring would be silent, seamless and battery powered, that the world’s wealthiest buyers would lead the charge into a brave new era of zero-emissions indulgence, and that once the millionaires and billionaires embraced electric cars, the rest of us would naturally follow faithfully in their tyre tracks. It sounded plausible enough. After all, if anyone could afford the latest technology, it would be the people who think nothing of dropping the price of a semi-detached house on a weekend toy.