OCTOBER
Steve Cropley had one last spectacular blast in a Lotus Evora
Autocar’s tagline is ‘First for news and reviews’, so naturally we cover any and every vaguely significant new car. However, not all car reveals are equal, some getting a mere mention in a sidebar, while others, like the all-new Range Rover, get a whopping six pages. News editor Felix Page was overheard saying he just couldn’t stop writing about it, so much was there to say. The new one is moving even more upmarket in the hopes of bringing profit and new customers to the JLR fold.
On the other hand, finding more sales was not a priority for any manufacturer in the latter half of the year, since the chip crisis has meant they just haven’t been able to keep up with demand. With a few exceptions, makers are selling every car they can build, and for certain models there’s a yearlong waiting list. The upshot, as we reported in our 16 October issue, was that the SMMT recorded the lowest September new car registrations since 1999.