How War in the Middle East Could Crash the Global Car Industry

The war in the Middle East may feel like a distant geopolitical crisis – but it could have huge consequences for the global car industry

War, as history repeatedly reminds us, rarely stays confined to the battlefield. Its shockwaves travel outward through trade routes, energy markets, financial systems and, inevitably, everyday life. The latest escalation in tensions involving Iran may appear geographically distant to most motorists, but in reality the conflict is unfolding in one of the most strategically critical arteries of the global economy. And if events continue to escalate, the repercussions could ripple straight through the global automotive industry.

The reason lies in a narrow stretch of water that most people have never heard of, but which quietly underpins the entire modern economy. It’s called the Strait of Hormuz.

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10/03/2026 0

Are Chinese EVs Becoming Uninsurable in the UK?

Reports indicate insurers refusing to cover Chinese cars or quoting high premiums – we check in with the Motor Claims Guru

Chinese electric cars are arriving in Britain faster than you can say “range anxiety”. From sleek executive saloons to well-priced family SUVs, brands like BYD, MG, XPeng and GWM Ora are rapidly becoming familiar sights on UK roads. And frankly, it’s not hard to see why. These cars often deliver impressive technology, strong performance and generous equipment for significantly less money than many established rivals. I’ve driven quite a few of them recently and in many cases I’ve been pleasantly surprised. But there’s a growing issue that some buyers are only discovering after they’ve signed on the dotted line. Insurance.

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04/03/2026 0

Euro 7 EXPOSED: The 2026 Rules That Could End Petrol Cars

After years of rumours and regulatory drama, Euro 7 is finally confirmed – but is this really the death knell for petrol and diesel?

For what feels like a decade, Euro 7 has existed in that strange automotive limbo between prophecy and panic. Depending on which headline you read, it was either the final nail in the coffin of the internal combustion engine or a bureaucratic overreach that would make new cars unaffordable and wipe diesel off the map overnight. Now, however, the speculation phase is over. The final Euro 7 emissions regulations are confirmed, the implementation dates are set, and November 2026 is no longer some distant abstraction. It is eight months away.

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25/02/2026 1

Geely Starray EM-i UK Launch & First Drive Review

Big Tech, Big Range, Surprisingly Cheap

Geely has launched its second model into the UK market, and this time it is not electric. The Starray EM-i arrives as a plug-in hybrid SUV with up to 84 miles of electric range, 618 miles combined range, and prices starting from £29,990. I attended the UK launch, filmed the full presentation, and took it for a quick first drive. Here is everything you need to know.

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13/02/2026 1

UK VED Road Tax Changes for 2026 Explained

The £5,690 VED Shock, Modern Classics Trap & Why No Car Is Safe Anymore

From April 2026, the cost of owning a car in the UK shifts again. Not with a single dramatic ban or headline-grabbing announcement, but with a carefully calibrated set of Vehicle Excise Duty changes that, taken together, tell a very clear story. A story about who is being nudged. Who is being punished. And who, increasingly, is being priced out. In this piece, I’m going to walk you through every major UK road tax (VED) change coming in April 2026, using the actual Treasury tables, not speculation, not press-release gloss, and not the usual “this only affects rich people” dismissal. Because it doesn’t.

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07/02/2026 2

The Shocking Reason Cheap New Cars Have Vanished

Once upon a time, you could walk into a showroom and buy a brand-new, small, petrol car without taking out a second mortgage. That era is quietly being legislated out of existence

Not that long ago, buying a brand-new small car felt like a perfectly sensible, attainable thing to do. You walked into a dealership, pointed at a modest little hatchback, signed a few forms, and drove away knowing you hadn’t just committed yourself to years of financial regret. Cars like the Ford Fiesta became staples of British life for a reason. They were affordable, simple, easy to live with, and perfectly suited to everyday motoring. They weren’t glamorous, but they were democratic. They worked. And then, almost without ceremony, they disappeared.

The Fiesta is gone. The price of cars like the Fiat Panda has crept towards £20,000. The entry-level petrol car, once the backbone of the market, is becoming an endangered species. So what happened?

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25/01/2026 1

AI Vs Authenticity and the True Cost of “Good Enough”

Progress brings efficiency, but it risks quietly erasing the value of craft unless we choose to defend it – and if we’re around long enough to do so

AI is not going to take your job. It already has.

This is not a rant against AI. Those of you who follow me know that I use the absolute heck out of it! It’s my illustrator, animator, assistant, researcher, sub-editor… hell, AI is my bitch. It helps boost my workflow and up my pace – it’s the VTEC that lets this one-man content engine rev harder, faster, longer.

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13/01/2026 1

RoboCop Is Already Policing Our Roads – How AI Judges Drivers

AI traffic cameras were just the beginning. Around the world, machines are now judging how you drive – and once the system decides, there’s no arguing back

Remember when getting pulled over went a bit like this… You’d clock the flashing lights, feel your stomach drop, rehearse your apology, and then hope – just hope – that the officer was having a good day. Maybe you’d get a telling-off. Maybe a warning. Maybe, if the stars aligned and Mercury was in retrograde, you’d get sent on your way with a “take it easy, mate”. Yeah, about that…

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10/01/2026 1

Driverless Chaos, Insurance Mortgages & Other Car Predictions for 2026

Cars that drive themselves, insurance that costs more than the car, and progress that appears to have misplaced the steering wheel – welcome to 2026

The future has arrived. Not with a heroic fanfare or a cinematic fly-through of a gleaming metropolis, but more like a confused relative turning up late to Christmas dinner wearing mismatched socks and asking if anyone’s got the Wi-Fi password. Because the trouble with the future is this: it never arrives the way the sci-fi promised. There are no flying cars. No elegant solutions. No perfectly optimised utopia. Instead, we’ve been handed a series of half-finished ideas, each more complicated than the last, and told they’re all part of a journey.

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31/12/2025 1

2026 Is the Real Deadline: Why Cool Petrol Cars Are Dying Now (Not in 2030)

Everyone’s watching 2030, but it’s Euro 7, GSR2 and new rules that are quietly killing off cool petrol cars years earlier

For years now, motorists have been told the same soothing bedtime story: “Don’t worry. You’ve got until 2030.”

Plenty of time, apparently. Time to save. Time to decide. Time to enjoy one last glorious petrol-powered hurrah before the lights go out and the chargers take over. Except… that story is nonsense.

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29/12/2025 1