2021

4 October 2021, Pandora Papers: "He made a $62m fortune keeping his rich clients' secrets. Now they are spilling out ..." — [abc].  #fatcats #filthyrich #dodgybusiness. Also see icij [www] the [bbc].

3 October 2021: Turkish F1 Grand Prix. Delayed to the 10th.

3 October 2021 (Sun.), .vic: Start of daylight saving, 2am→3am.

2-10 October 2021: The Postponed (from June 2021) North American International Auto Show, NAIAS, Detroit (public 2-10, press 28-29/9, industry 29-30/9, ...) [www]. 11/1/'21: Cancelled due to covid-19 (and a smaller event 21-26/9/'21).

1-3 October 2021 (Fri.–Sun.): Concorso d'Elegance, Villa d'Este, Como, .it (postponed from May 2021 due to covid-19) [www]. (The Bugatti 'Centodieci' appeared in the 'Concept Cars & Prototypes' category.)

1-2 October 2021 (Fri., Sat.): Deniliquin Ute Muster [www]. 14/8: Cancelled due to covid-19.

1 October 2021, covid-19: Worldwide total confirmed cases 233,677,353, total deaths 4,781,620;  usa: 43,452,254 cases, 697,695 deaths;  .in: 33,739,980 cases, 448,062 deaths; ...  .uk: 7,843,805 cases, 137,043 deaths; ...  .au: 105,123 cases, 1,291 deaths; ...  .nz: 4,274 cases, 27 deaths  — JHU [www][1/10].
.au: In NSW new daily cases stabilised and began to fall as vaccination rates passed 80% one-dose of the 16+ (65% of total pop.). In Vic., its outbreak and vaccination rate a few weeks behind NSW, new cases exceeded 1000/day. NT, Qld, SA, Tas., and WA still managed to keep cases very low. See [vic] and [nsw] .gov.au.  In Iceland (.is), with 80% of total pop. (95+% of the 16+) fully vaccinated, new cases were 101 per day per million and deaths zero per day — ourworldindata.org.

30 September 2021: 'No Time to Die' was released in the UK. It was the final Bond movie to star Daniel Craig as 007 James Bond. There are many deaths in the movie including Blofeld, most of Spectre, Felix Leiter and even Bond himself (apparently), and nods to the past such as Bond driving a Land-Rover (Thunderball) series 3 while in retirement in Jamaica. No Time to Die was the last Bond movie to be produced by Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson; Jeff Bezos's^* Amazon bought MGM in 2022 and took "creative control" of the franchise in 2025.  ^*surely a Bond villain.

29 September 2021, .uk: There was panic buying of fuel as petrol stations ran out of supplies because of a shortage of truck drivers for tankers, e.g., see the [bbc].

27 September 2021: "... Ford and SK Innovation plan to invest $11.4 billion and create nearly 11,000 new jobs - close to 6,000 in Stanton, Tennessee, and 5,000 in Glendale, Kentucky; production of the new electric vehicles and advanced lithium-ion batteries will begin in 2025 ..." — Ford [www].

27 September 2021: Ferrari "announce a long term, multi-year collaboration with Sir Jony Ive and Marc Newson at the creative collective LoveFrom. ..." — Ferrari [www]. (There was some speculation about an electric Ferrari.) Ive left Apple in 2019.

26 September 2021 (#15): Russian F1 Grand Prix, Sochi.

Results: 1. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]; 2. Max Verstappen [Red Bull]; 3. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari]. Lando Norris (McLaren) led for most of the race and would probably have won but for delaying his switch to intermediate tyres as rain started to fall with seven laps to go. Verstappen would probably have finished 7th if the race had remained dry. It was Hamilton's 100th GP win. (Also see the FIA [www] and the [bbc].)

26 September 2021, .au: Auction of thirteen Mad Max (Fury Road) vehicles (the War Rig, the Gigahorse, the Doof Wagon, ...), Lloyds Classic Car Auctions [www].

23 September - 3 October 2021: The Royal Show, Melbourne [www]. 28/7/'21: Cancelled due to covid-19.

22 September 2021, .au: There was a magnitude 5.9 earthquake, the epicentre situated between Mansfield and Rawson in NE Victoria. The tremor was felt throughout Victoria and also in NSW, SA, and Tasmania. See, e.g., the [abc].

20 September 2021, Chevrolet Bolt batteries: "... The root cause of the rare circumstances that could cause a battery fire is two manufacturing defects known as a torn anode and a folded separator, both of which need to be present in the same battery cell. ..." — GM [www].

17-20 September 2021, .uk: The covid-19 postponed Tankfest, Bovington [www].

20 September 2021: "Electrification and the other 'E' – E-fuels ... renewable synthetic fuels ..." — Ryan Gehm, SAE [www].

17-19 September 2021, .uk: Goodwood Revival [www].

18 September: Bonhams GR Auction [www] including lot 212 a 1955 Bentley R-Type Continental Sports Saloon (2-door), chassis #BC59D, engine #BCD26 (sold £642,200); lot 250 a 1993 Jaguar XJ220 Coupe chassis #SAJJEAEX8AX220778 (sold £460,000); lot 274 a 1971 Jensen FF Mk2 coupe, chassis #127/293 (sold £110,400).

17 September 2021: RM Sotheby's St Moritz auction [www] including lot 111 a 2015 Porsche 918 hybrid 'Weissach' Spyder, 4.6-litre V8 plus front & rear electric motors, 6.8kWh battery, chassis #WP0ZZZ91ZFS800219 (sold CHF 1,411,250); lot 115 a 2002 McLaren MP4 17D F1 race car, Mercedes 3-litre V10 engine, chassis #MP4-17A-06 (sold CHF 1,973,750).   (21/9: CHF 1.0 = au$1.49.)

15 September 2021, vic: "Western Highway reopens after double-fatality crash, truck driver arrested ..." — [abc].

14 September 2021: "Average retail petrol prices in 2020-21 in Australia's five largest cities were the lowest in 22 years in real inflation adjusted terms ..." — 'Report on the Australian petroleum market – June 2021', accc.gov.au [www].

12 September 2021 (#14): Italian F1 Grand Prix, Monza.

Results: 1. Daniel Ricciardo [McLaren]; 2. Lando Norris [McLaren]; 3. Valtteri Bottas [Mercedes]. There was a sprint race on Saturday which Bottas won but a penalty for an engine change put him to the back of the grid on Sunday. Ricciardo took the lead at the start. Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton crashed badly (~Senna and Prost?), the stewards later deciding that Verstappen was at fault and giving him a 3-place grid penalty at the next race. (Also see the FIA [www] and the [bbc].)

8 September 2021, .au: "Car running costs 2021 ... [the] most affordable new car to own and run is the ... MG3 Core [which] will cost owners au$626.50 a month ... [the] most expensive car to own and run is Nissan's hulking Patrol Ti upper-large SUV, which costs au$2337.33/month ..." — RACV [www].

8 September 2021, .au: "Subaru Outback and hydrogen-powered Toyota Mirai add 5 star safety to their list of credentials. ..." — ancap [www]. Failing a breakthrough in energy density and cost for batteries, hydrogen power (fuel-cell) may be a better long-term bet in transport, not that there are many hydrogen refuelling stations yet.

7 September 2021: "75 years of the Unimog were celebrated this weekend in Gaggenau ..." — Daimler [www].

September 2021: "... nearly 60% of oil and fossil methane gas, and 90% of coal must remain unextracted to keep within a 1.5°C carbon budget ..." — 'Unextractable fossil fuels in a 1.5°C world', D. Welsby et al, Nature, 597, pp.230–234 [www].

7 September 2021: Hyundai "to become the first automaker to apply fuel cell systems to all commercial vehicle models by 2028 [and] to achieve a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) price point comparable to a battery electric vehicle (BEV) by 2030 ..." — Hyundai [www].

7 September 2021: "... The amount of investment in the development of a battery supply system and research and development ..., is expected to be approximately 1.5 trillion yen by 2030. ..." — Toyota [www].

6 September 2021: At the IAA 'Mobility' show, Munich, VW showed the 'ID. LIFE' concept small electric car, 172kW, 57kWh, claimed 400km range, about €20K, 2025.

5 September 2021 (#13): Dutch F1 Grand Prix, Zandvoort.

Results: 1. Max Verstappen [Red Bull]; 2. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]; 3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes). (Also see the FIA [www] and the [bbc].)

4-5 September 2021: Bonhams Collectors' Motor Cars & Automobilia auction, Beaulieu, UK [www], including lot 461 a 1934 Bentley 3¹/₂-litre drophead coupe, coachwork by Park Ward, chassis #B115BL, engine # N4BO (sold £81,000); lot 494 a 1960 Chevrolet Corvair, rear-engined, air-cooled, chassis #5690114004, reg #892 UYV (sold £6,750). (The 1960-1963 mk 1 Corvair featured negatively in Ralph Nader's book 'Unsafe at Any Speed' (1965).)

3-4 September 2021: Birdsville Races [www]. 16/8: Cancelled due to covid-19.

2 September 2021, recall REC-001680: "Porsche Taycan 2019-2021 ... Due to a software fault in the power electronics control unit,p a loss of motive power might occur while driving." — .gov.au [www].

1 September 2021, .uk: Shell plans "to install 50,000 on-street ubitricity [icky] charge points in the UK by 2025. ... " — Shell [www]

1 September 2021, .uk: "... Motorists across the UK are set to shift to ... E10 at petrol stations in September 2021. ..." — .gov.uk [www][25/2/'21]. It seems that E5 remains available.

1 September 2021, covid-19: Worldwide total confirmed cases 217,665,201, total deaths 4,518,658;  usa: 39,198,030 cases, 640,105 deaths;  .in: 32,768,880 cases, 438,560 deaths; ...  .uk: 6,821,356 cases, 132,859 deaths; ...  .au: 55,093 cases, 1,012 deaths; ...  .nz: 3,570 cases, 26 deaths  — JHU [www][1/9].
ourworldindata dot org shows Iceland at 77% fully vaccinated^*, Singapore 75%, UK 63%, Israel 62%, USA 52%, and Australia 27%; new daily cases at Iceland 220 per million, Singapore 21, UK 490, Israel 1013(!), USA 480, and Australia 45; and daily confirmed deaths at Iceland 1.3 per million, Singapore 0.12, UK 1.7, Israel 3, USA 4, and Australia 0.12.  (^*based on total population, 70% of the 16+ is about 55% of total pop., 80% of the 16+ is about 65% of total.)
.au: It seems that it is now a race to get vaccinated with NSW running at 1,100± new cases per day and doubling every 12 days or so. nsw.gov.au [www]. Cases also rose in Victoria, 100+ per day. vic.gov.au [www].

31 August 2021: The US completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan.

31 August 2021, .au: "Truck driver sentenced to 14 years for 2019 fatal highway crash at Pimpinio ... had a 'high level' of methylamphetamine in his system ..." — [abc].

30 August 2021: "... By 2020, Algeria was the last country on earth where drivers could buy leaded petrol. ... In July [2021], the government confirmed that service stations were no longer selling leaded petrol, 99 years and seven months after its invention. ..." — UN Environment Programme [www].

30 August 2021: Hurricane Ida (cat.4) crossed the Louisiana coast bringing back memories of Katrina (2005), e.g., [abc].

3 September 2021: The remains of Ida caused flooding and storm damage along America's east coast.

29 August 2021 (#12): Belgian F1 Grand Prix, Spa-Francorchamps.

Results: 1. Max Verstappen [Red Bull]; 2. George Russell [Williams]; 3. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]. A weird one: The race was delayed because of heavy rain then finally just two laps were run behind the safety car and the result declared – as per the order on the starting grid. Half-points were awarded because the race did not reach 75% distance. Many people were unhappy with there being a race result without any actual racing. (Also see the FIA [www] and the [bbc].)

26 August 2021, .au: "Spring (Sept. to Nov.) rainfall is likely to be above median for the eastern two-thirds of Australia, extending into SE WA. However, below median rainfall is likely for parts of W WA and SW Tasmania. Maximum temperatures for Sept. to Nov. are likely to be above median for the northern tropics and far SE Australia. Below median daytime temperatures are more likely for other areas of S Australia extending up into S Queensland ..." — [bom].

25 August 2021: Europe was really hot in 2020 — 'State of the Climate in 2020', J. Blunden and T. Boyer, Bull. Amer. Met. Soc., 102(8), S1-S475, Aug. 2021 [www].

25 August 2021: "Electrification is forcing the auto industry to swap its Mideast oil addiction for a heavy dependence on lithium. ... Most lithium is sourced from open-pit mines or brine pools in Australia, Chile and Argentina ..." — SAE [www].
"... Lithium sees the fastest growth, with demand growing by over 40 times in the SDS by 2040, followed by graphite, cobalt and nickel (around 20-25 times). ..." — 'The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions', IEA, May 2021 [www].

24 August - 5 September 2021: The Paralympic Games, Tokyo.

22-28 August 2021, .au: The thrice postponed (covid-19) Classic Outback Trial [www]. 7/'21: Postponed to a time to be determined in 2022 due to covid-19 . . .    27 March - 2 April 2022.

21-22 August 2021, .fr: The postponed 24 Hours of Le Mans [www]. Toyota, Alpine and Glickenhaus entered cars in the 'Hypercar' class which replaced LMP1.
Results: 1. Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Jose Maria Lopez (Toyota GR010 hybrid) 371 laps, 5,055.2km, 210.5kph; 2. Sebastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley (Toyota GR010 hybrid); 3. Andre Nagrao, Nicolas Lapierre, Matthieu Vaxiviere (Alpine A480 Gibson). MissionH24's experimental hydrogen fuel-cell car, 'H24', did a demonstration lap before the start of the race. It is planned to introduce a class for electric-hydrogen vehicles at the 2024 24-Hours of Le Mans.

20-29 August 2021: The postponed (from April 2021) New York Auto Show [www]. 4/8/21: Cancelled due to covid-19 (delta strain).

20-22 August 2021, .au: National 4x4 Show Melbourne Showgrounds [www]. 7/21: Postponed to 26-28 Nov. due to covid-19.

19 August 2021, Recall #REC-001667, Toyota Prius 2020-2021: "The pre-collision system (PCS) software programming may cause ap delayed application of the pre-crash brake assist function, resulting in a lower vehicle speed reduction." — .gov.au [www].

18 August 2021: "The world's first fossil-free steel ready for delivery ... In July, SSAB Oxelosund rolled the first steel produced using HYBRIT technology, i.e., reduced by 100% fossil-free hydrogen instead of coal and coke, with good results. The steel is now being delivered to the first customer, the Volvo Group. ..." — Svenskt Stol AB (SSAB) [www].

16 August 2021: The Taliban took control of Afghanistan as the USA and other countries rushed to evacuate local staff from Kabul. Also see 31 August above.

15 August 2021, .au: NSW reported 415 new cases of covid-19 after 466 the day before when the whole state was placed in "lock down" as cases spread out of Sydney. (England is vaccinating 16- and 17-year olds.)

16th: NSW 477 new cases, 7 deaths, see .nsw.gov.au [www]. Victoria introduced tougher rules as human behaviour spread cases; see .vic.gov.au [www].

18th: NSW 633, Vic. 24, NT 0, Qld. 0, SA 0(?) new cases.

26th: NSW 1029 new cases.

15 August 2021: Pebble Beach, Concours d'Elegance [www].

13 August 2021, .usa: "Since January 2018, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has identified eleven crashes in which Tesla models ofp various configurations have encountered first responder scenes and subsequently struck one or more vehicles involved with those scenes. ... ODI has opened a Preliminary Evaluation of the SAE Level 2 ADAS system (Autopilot) in the [Tesla] Model Year 2014-2021 Models Y, X, S, and 3. The investigation will assess the technologies and methods used to monitor, assist, and enforcep the driver's engagement with the dynamic driving task during Autopilot operation. ..." — NHTSA [www].

13 August 2021: "It's official: July was Earth's hottest month on record ..." — NOAA [www].

13 August 2021: Bonhams Quail Lodge Auction [www], including lot 34 a 1928 Mercedes-Benz 26/120/180-S-type supercharged sport tourer chassis #35920, engine #68674 (sold us$5,395,000); lot 49 a 1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Record Sports Cabriolet, coachwork by Figoni at Falaschi, chassis #3179, engine #26179 (sold us$1,875,000); lot 84 a 1965 Aston-Martin DB5, chassis #DB5/2269/L, engine #400/2294 (sold us$874,000).

12-14 August 2021: RM Sotheby's Monterey Auction [www], including lot 113 a 1959 Aston Martin DB4GT Lightweight, chassis #DB4GT/0168/L, engine #370/0168/GT (sold us$3,855,000); lot 120 a 1962 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato chassis #DB4GT/0190/L, engine #370/0190/GT (sold us$9,520,000); lot 328 a 1970 Porsche 917 K, chassis #917-031/026, engine #917-031 (not sold); lot 351 a 1991 Jaguar XJR-15, chassis #028, 6-litre V12 (sold us$1,902,500).

10 August 2021, .au: Census night.

10 August 2021: Truck driver "used methamphetamine, cannabis before double-fatal crash in WA's Wheatbelt, court told ..." — [abc]. (Also see 2 Nov. 2016.)

9 August 2021: Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) [www]. Also see COP26, 31 Oct.–12 Nov. above.  (Major wildfires (forest fires, bushfires) continued to burn in Greece, Russia (Siberia), Turkey and the USA (California), and there were destructive floods in Germany in July.)

5 August 2021, .au: "Spring (Sept. to Nov.) rainfall is likely to be above median for the eastern two-thirds of Australia. Below median rainfall is likely for north-west WA and western Tasmania. Maximum temperatures for Sept. to Nov. are likely to be above median for the northern tropics and Tasmania. For much of the southern mainland, below median daytime temperatures are more likely. ..." — [bom].

1 August 2021 (#11): Hungarian F1 Grand Prix.

Results: 1. Esteban Ocon [Alpine]; 2. Sebastian Vettel [Aston Martin]; 3. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]; 4. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari]. The race started in the wet; Hamilton (P1) got away well but Bottas (P2) was passed and then braked too late at the first corner causing an accident which resulted in a grid restart. However, with the track now dry, all the field bar Hamilton pitted at the end of the formation lap for slick tyres so he was the sole car to start on the grid, pitting at the end of that lap, dropping to last place but eventually recovering to finish 3rd.p After the race Vettel's Aston-Martin could not provide the mandatory 1-litre fuel sample for testing so he was disqualified promoting the following cars. Hamilton was unsteady on the podium and suspects that he has "long-covid". (Also see the FIA [www] and the [bbc].)

1 August 2021, covid-19: Worldwide total confirmed cases 197,825,365, total deaths 4,216,780;  usa: 34,978,276 cases, 613,157 deaths;  .in: 31,613,993 cases, 423,810 deaths; ...  .uk: 5,883,421 cases, 129,949 deaths; ...  .au: 34,383 cases, 924 deaths; ...  .nz: 2,847 cases, 26 deaths  — JHU [www][1/8]. It was reported that Bhutan is 85% vaccinated, e.g., see the [abc].  Only 18.8% of Australians aged 16+ are fully vaccinated, 40.5% have had one dose — abc [29/7/'21]. Cases of the highly infectious and dangerous delta strain continued to run at 200+ new cases per day in NSW;  Tues. 10th: 356.

30 July - 1 August 2021: Silverstone Classic [www].

27-31 July 2021: The War and Peace Revival, Kent, uk [www]. Cancelled due to covid-19; see July 2022.

27 July 2021: SA, Qld and Vic. seemed to be controlling covid-19 outbreaks that leaked from NSW but the situation within NSW continued to deteriorate with 172 new cases there, e.g., see the [abc], and for Vic. restrictions to ease – .vic.gov.au [www].

23 July - 8 August 2021: The postponed (from 24 July 2020) Olympic Games, Tokyo. Also see the 24 August above.  (2024 Paris, 2028 LA, 2032 Brisbane.)

20 July 2021, .uk: "UK's specialist vehicle sector most varied in the world ... from 250mph hypercars to wheelchair accessible taxis ... turned over some £4 billion last year, employing more than 15,000 people ..." — SMMT [www].

19 July 2021, .uk: Even with new daily cases rising steeply, the UK removed most covid-19 restrictions; e.g., see the [bbc] or the [abc].  .uk new cases ~55,000/day, deaths ~50/day — JHU [www][20/7].

18 July 2021 (#10): British F1 Grand Prix, Silverstone.

Results: 1. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]; 2. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari]; 3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes). There was a trial of a 17-lap qualifying race on the Saturday (17th) before race-day. (Also see the FIA [www] and the [bbc].)

16 July 2021: Catastrophic floods killed 80+ in western Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

15 July 2021 .au: The NSW covid-19 outbreak continued at about 80 to 100 new cases per day. Covid-19 continued to leak from NSW into other states – SA, Qld, Vic. – prompting various state-border restrictions and a 5-day lockdown in Vic. where three cases had been in crowds at the MCG; see .vic.gov.au [www].

14 July 2021: "EU unveils sweeping climate change plan ..." — [bbc]. As long predicted, proposals include a "carbon border tariff" (tax) on imported goods manufactured outside the EU by polluters. Also see 14 June below.

11 July 2021: "US heatwave: California and Nevada brace for record-breaking temperatures ..." — [bbc].

11 July 2021, .au: NSW records 77 new covid-19 cases, one death with 33 in community while infectious ..." — [abc].  Victoria closed the NSW border from midnight; see .vic.gov.au [www].

9 July 2021: "EU fines German car makers BMW, VW, Audi and Porsche $1.3 billion over emission collusion ..." — [abc].

8-11 July 2021, .uk: Goodwood Festival of Speed [www].

9 July: Bonhams FoS Auction [www], including lot 211 a 1929 Maserati Tipo 26B 2800 Grand Prix two-seater, chassis #35 (sold £967,000); lot 246 a 1990 Ferrari F40 Berlinetta, chassis #ZFFGJ34B000084104 (sold £883,000).

8 July 2021: Stellantis (Fiat, Chrysler, Peugeot, ...) "Plans to invest more than €30 billion through 2025 in electrification and software ... Global EV battery sourcing strategy of over 260GWh by 2030 ... delivery of hydrogen fuel cell medium vans by the end of 2021. ..." — Stellantis [www].

6-8 July 2021: Birdsville Big Red Bash (music) [www].

6 July 2021, .au: "Petrol prices rise on the back of higher international crude oil prices ... the average retail price [March qtr] for petrol across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth was 133.4 cpl, an increase of 12.0 cpl from the December quarter 2020. ..." — ACCC [www].

6 July 2021, .uk: "Vauxhall to build electric vans at Ellesmere Port ..." — [bbc]. Vauxhall is now part of Stellantis.

4 July 2021 (#9): Austrian F1 Grand Prix, Spielberg.

Results: 1. Max Verstappen [Red Bull]; 2. Valtteri Bottas [Mercedes]; 3. Lando Norris [McLaren]. (Also see the FIA [www] and the [bbc].)

2 July 2021: "Volvo Cars ... sales in the first six months of 2021 [were] 380,757 cars globally ... Volvo Cars' Recharge line-up of chargeable models, ... fully electric or plug-in hybrid ... accounted for 24.6% of all Volvo cars sold globally during the first six months of the year. ..." — Volvo cars [www].

2 July 2021, covid-19: Worldwide total confirmed cases 182,641,440, total deaths 3,955,679;  usa: 33,679,482 cases, 605,019 deaths;  .in: 30,458,251 cases, 400,312 deaths; ...  .uk: 4,844,944 cases, 128,426 deaths; ...  .au: 30,684 cases, 910 deaths; ...  .nz: 2,743 cases, 26 deaths  — JHU [www][2/7].   .uk: About 49% of the UK population is fully vaccinated. .usa: About 47% of the US population is fully vaccinated. .au: About 7% of the Australian population is fully vaccinated. An outbreak in Sydney (20-30 new cases/day) had spread to NT, Qld, SA, and WA, e.g., see the [abc].

1 July 2021: "Nissan unveils EV36Zero - a £1bn Electric Vehicle Hub ... in Sunderland, UK ..." — Nissan [www].

1 July 2021, .au: "July to September rainfall is likely to be above median for most of Australia, though areas in western WA, coastal south-east Australia, and western Tasmania are tending towards a more neutral rainfall outlook. ... Maximum temperatures for July to September are likely to be above median for the northern tropics and parts of south-west and south-east Australia, while below median daytime temperatures are more likely for a broad area extending from SA across western NSW and into southern Queensland. ..." — [bom].

30 June 2021: There were record-breaking temperatures in W. Canada inc. 49.6°C in Lytton on the 29th, and N.W. USA, e.g., see the [abc] and the [bbc].

30 June 2021: "Mercedes-Benz eActros [truck] celebrates its world premiere ... A range of up to 400 km; a battery capacity of up to 420 kWh ..." — Daimler [www].

27 June 2021: 99th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb [www].

27 June 2021: French F1 Grand Prix, Paul Ricard moved forward to 20 June, and ...

27 June 2021 (#8): Styrian F1 Grand Prix (Austria also see 4/7).

Results: 1. Max Verstappen [Red Bull]; 2. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]; 3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes). (Also see the FIA [www] and the [bbc].)

25-27 June 2021, .uk: Tankfest, Bovington [www]. Postponed due to covid-19 to 17-20 Sept. above.

25-27 June 2021: The twice postponed (from 18-21 Feb. & 16-18 Apr.), and moved, London Classic Car Show, Syon Park [www].

21-27 June 2021, .fr: Paris Air Show [www]. 7/12/'20: Cancelled due to covid19. Next show 19-25 June 2023.

20 June 2021 (#7): French F1 Grand Prix, Paul Ricard (moved forward from 27/6).

Results: 1. Max Verstappen [Red Bull]; 2. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]; 3. Sergio Perez [Red Bull]; It came down to the use of tyres. (Also see the FIA [www] and the [bbc].)

19-26 June 2021: North American International Auto Show, NAIAS, Detroit (public 19-26, press 15-16, industry 16-17, ...) 11/20: Postponed to 2-10 October 2021.

18 June 2021, .au: "ACCC welcomes new law on motor vehicle service and repair information ... The Competition and Consumer Amendment (Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Information Sharing Scheme) Bill 2021 ... 'Under the scheme, independent Australian motor vehicle repairers will have fair access to the information needed to service and repair cars, such as software updates to connect a new spare part with a car, or information and codes for computerised systems from the car manufacturer,' ACCC Chair Rod Sims said. ..." — ACCC (release #88/21) [www].

18 June 2021: There were 82.4 million displaced persons in the world at the end of 2020. This is more than double the number in 2010. It includes 26.4 million refugees. See the UNHCR 'Global Trends' report [www].

17 June 2021: Alauda Airspeeder made "the first [remote controlled] flights of a full-scale electric flying racing car, the remotely-piloted Alauda Mk3 ... at undisclosed test locations in the deserts of South Australia ... uncrewed electric flying car Grand Prixs [EXA] will take place in 2021 ..." — Airspeeder [www]. Eventually crewed.

17 June 2021: "Rolls-Royce launches pathway to power net zero economy ... By 2023, all in-production civil aero engines to be proven compatible with 100% sustainable aviation fuels ..." — Rolls Royce [www].

16 June Wed Melb ULP avg au$1.34/l; min $1.24 ([Perth] avg $1.59/l, min $1.23); oil us$72/b; au$1.00=us$0.77, £0.55, €0.63, ¥85

16 June 2022, .vic: 15,000 to 20,000 homes mostly in and around the Dandenongs remained without power after last Wednesday's storm.

15 June 2021: "Jaguar Land Rover [JLR] is developing a prototype hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) based on the new Land Rover Defender, with testing scheduled to begin this year. ... [the] advanced engineering project, known as Project Zeus ..." — JLR [www].

14 June 2021: "G7 pledge cooperation on 'carbon leakage' as EU border tariff looms ..." — Reuters [www]. Beware, Scott this-is-coal Morrison. Also see 15 July above.

14 June 2021, .vic: Queen's Birthday holiday (Monday).

13 June 2021: Turkish F1 Grand Prix. 15/5: Cancelled due to rise in covid-19 cases – FIA.  6/'21: Race rescheduled to 3 Oct..

12-13 June 2021, .fr: The 24 Hours of Le Mans [www]. 9/3: Postponed to 21-22 August above.

11-14 June 2021 .au: Finke Desert Race [www]. A spectator was killed in a crash and the race halted.

11-13 June 2021, .uk: The postponed Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show, NEC, Birmingham [www]. Cancelled due to covid-19; see 18-20 March 2022.

11 June Fri Melb ULP avg au$1.35/l; min $1.25 ([Perth] avg $1.42/l, min $1.23); oil us$70/b; au$1.00=us$0.78, £0.55, €0.64, ¥85

10 June 2021, .au: Snow in the Alps, flooding in S.E. Victoria, esp. Traralgon, many trees down. 241mm of rain fell at Thomson-Yarra divide station, 170mm at Licola — [bom]. Also see, "Where is it snowing? South-east Australia wakes from a wild winter's night ..." — [abc].

8 June 2021: "Independent petrol retail chains Speedway, Metro Petroleum, United, Vibe and FuelXpress had the cheapest petrol in Australia's eight capital cities in 2020, a new ACCC petrol industry report reveals. ..." — ACCC [www].

7 June 2021, .au: "Cold with potential rain - NSW and ACT weather update ... It is possible there will be snow falls across a number of locations in NSW, beyond the Alpine regions, beginning in southern areas on Tuesday night and extending north. ..." — [bom].  8/6: "Snow levels are likely to drop to 800m and could even fall as low as 500m. This could include locations such as Oberon, Orange, Barrington Tops, the Blue Mountains, Guyra, Armidale and Glen Innes."

6 June Sun Melb ULP avg au$1.37/l; min $1.27 ([Perth] avg $1.31/l, min $1.22); oil us$70/b

4 June Fri au$1.00=us$0.77, £0.54, €0.63, ¥84

6 June 2021 (#6): Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix, Baku.

Results: 1. Sergio Perez [Red Bull]; 2. Sebastian Vettel [Aston Martin]; 3. Pierre Gasly [Alpha Tauri]. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) held a comfortable lead with four laps to go when a tyre failed and he crashed (Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) had a similar tyre failure mid race). Shortly, the race was halted and there was a grid restart with just two laps to go. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), in P2, made a mistake with the brake settings and took to the first corner escape road, falling the the back of the field. (Also see the FIA [www] and the [bbc].)

6 June 2021: "G7 nations agree to set a 15% global tax rate on multinational companies ..." — [abc]. On the likes of amazon, apple, facebook, google and many more that avoid taxes.

4 June 2021, .au: "Poor state of Tanami Road costing trucking companies 'several thousand dollars a week' ..." — [abc].

2-6 June 2021 (Wed.-Sun.): The covid-19-postponed (from 3 Feb.) Retromobile, Porte de Versailles Exhibition Centre, Paris [www]. See 2-6 Feb. 2022.

2 June 2021, recall PRA #2021/18972: "Subaru Impreza Model Years 2017-2019, Subaru XV Model Years 2018-2019 ... Due to improper Engine Control Module (ECM) programming, the ignition coil may overheat, creating a short circuit whichp may blow the ignition coil fuse. ..." (and stop the car) — .gov.au [www].

1 June Tue Melb ULP avg au$1.38/l; min $1.28 ([Perth] avg $1.27/l, min $1.22); oil us$66/b; au$1.00=us$0.77, £0.54, €0.63, ¥85

1 June 2021, covid-19: Worldwide total confirmed cases 170,721,894, total deaths 3,550,007;  usa: 33,264,396 cases, 594,568 deaths;  .in: 28,175,044 cases, 331,895 deaths;  .uk: 4,503,231 cases, 128,045 deaths;  .au: 30,118 cases, 910 deaths;  .nz: 2,673 cases, 26 deaths  — JHU [www][1/6].  .uk: About 25 million have had two doses of a covid-19 vaccine.  .au: The .vic outbreak, that started with a hotel quarantine breach in South Australia, grew to 54 cases. See .vic.gov.au [www].  Only about 2% of the .au population is fully vaccinated against covid-19.  "Victoria announces fast-tracking of COVID vaccinations for aged care and disability workers ..." — [abc].

 

31 May 2021: Audi gave more details of its entry in the Dakar (Jan. 2022) with a range-extender (series hybrid) rally car — Audi [www].

30 May - 11 June 2021 (Sun.-Fri.), .uk: Isle of Man TT Races [www]. 4/12/'20: Cancelled for 2021 due to covid-19; see 28 May-11 June 2022.

30 May 2021: 105th Indianapolis 500 [www].

28 May Fri Melb ULP avg au$1.40/l; min $1.28 ([Perth] avg $1.43/l, min $1.22); oil us$67/b; au$1.00=us$0.77, £0.54, €0.63, ¥85

28 May 2021: Oil company Total will "change the company's name from Total to TotalEnergies ... to contribute to the sustainable development of the planet facing the climate challenge ..." — TotalEnergies [www]. On the 26th the company also announced it had bought a stake in "Hysetco, a French company dedicated to the development of hydrogen mobility in cities."

27 May 2021:p "Climate change activists win against Exxon Mobil and Chevron, Shell loses Dutch court case ..." — [abc].

27 May 2021, .au: "513 ... the applicants have established that the [Environment] Minister [Susan Ley] has a duty to take reasonable care to avoid causing personal injury to the Children when deciding, under s 130 and s 133 of the EPBC Act, to approve or not approve the Extension Project[*]."  however  "I have also concluded that an injunction restraining the Minister from exercising her power under s 130 and s 133 of the EPBC Act in a manner that would permit the extraction of coal from the Extension Project should not be granted. ..." — file VID 607 of 2020, J. Bromberg, Federal Court of Australia [www].

15 March 2022: The Federal Court overturned the ruling. (There might be an appeal to the High Court.)

[*] The Whitehaven coal mine extension project, Gunnedah, NSW.

27 May 2021: "Winter (June to August) rainfall likely to be above average for much of northern, central, and eastern Australia extending into SA. Parts of western WA are likely to have below average winter rainfall. ... Maximum temperatures for winter are likely to be above average for northern, south-western, and south-eastern Australia. ..." — [bom].

24 May 2021, .au: A 274kWh, au$200K community battery, 'YAK1', has been installed in Yackandandah, NE Victoria, as part of a trial by 'Indigo Power' and 'Totally Renewable Yackandandah'. A sign of things to come. See, e.g., [abc].

23 May 2021 (#5): Monaco F1 Grand Prix.

Results: 1. Max Verstappen [Red Bull]; 2. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari]; 3. Lando Norris [McLaren]. (Also see the FIA [www] and the [bbc].)

22-23 May 2021, .au: 44th Historic Winton, Vic., [www].

22 May 2021: RM Sotheby's Amelia Island Auction [www], including lot 136 a 1968 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 by Scaglietti, chassis #10987, engine #10987 (sold us$2,810,000).

21-31 May 2021: LA Auto Show, Los Angeles [www]. (As postponed from Nov. 2020 and again to 19 Nov. 2021, due to covid-19.)

20 May 2021: Bonhams Amelia Island Auction [www], including lot 160 a 1934 Mercedes-Benz 500/540K Spezial roadster, supercharged 5,400cc I8, chassis #105136, engine #105136 (sold for us$4,900,000).

19 May 2021: "... All Electric Ford F-150 Lightning ... dual in-board motors ... 4x4 ... will roll off the line next year ... 563 horsepower, 775 lb.-ft torque ..." — Ford [www]. From us$53K to us$90K.

18 May 2021: "Pre-tax profits of £534 million in Q4 and £662 million for the full year before exceptional charges ..." but "... In February 2021 the company announced its new global strategy ... As previously communicated, this will entail £1.5 billion of exceptional charges ..." — JLR [www].

18 May 2021: "... the new 'Direzione Cor Tauri', the environmental sustainability route that will lead Lamborghini to the decarbonization of its future models. ... Hybrid transition (by the end of 2024) ... First Full Electric Lamborghini (second half of the decade) ..." — Lamborghini [www].

17 May 2021: "Last remaining oil refineries urged to stay in Australia with $2 billion fuel security package ..." — [abc].  Just two remain – Ampol in Qld and Viva Energy in Geelong, Vic.. (9 Feb. below, ExxonMobil announced that it would close its Altona refinery, and BP closed is Kwinana, WA, refinery in 2020.)

16 May 2021, recall PRA #2021/18925: "Kia QL Sportage MY2016-2021 and CK Stinger MY2017-2019 ... The Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU), responsible for the Anti-lock Braking System, Electronic Stability Control System and Traction Control System, can remain live even when the vehicle is switched off. If moisture enters the HECU, an electrical short circuit can occur. ..." — .gov.au [www].

15 May 2021: Cold weather brought snow to the highlands of Victoria, NSW and Tasmania.

14 May 2021: "Building's hard problem - making concrete green ... [concrete] accounts for about 8% of the carbon dioxide (CO2) we emit into the atmosphere. That is substantially more than the aviation industry, which makes up about 2.5% of emissions. ... But China made more concrete between 2011 and 2013 than the US did in the whole 20th Century." — [bbc].

9 May 2021 (#4): Spanish F1 Grand Prix, Catalunya.

Results: 1. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]; 2. Max Verstappen [Red Bull]; 3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes). (Also see the FIA [www] and the [bbc].)

6 May 2021: "China's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Exceeded the Developed World [OECD+EU] for the first time in 2019 ... China 27%, USA 11%, ..." — Rhodium Group [www]. It must also be admitted that the "west" has outsourced quite a lot of manufacturing, and with it pollution, to China.

6 May 2021: "Man arrested after truck hits five pedestrians in Melbourne's Southbank, leaving two critically injured ..." — [abc]. (It was a B-double tanker at City Rd / Power St.)

6 May 2021: In January – March, "... Wholesales more than doubled as delivered to meet demand, DBX represented 55% of units ..." — Aston Martin Lagonda [www]. So, like Lamborghini, Aston Martin is now principally an SUV [DBX] maker.

5 May 2021, .au: "... New vehicle sales were 92,347 in April 2021 compared with ... 38,926 in the corresponding [covid lockdown] month in 2020. ... [SUVs] up by 31,154 vehicle sales (172.9%); [LCVs] up by 12,278 vehicle sales (130.1%). ... Toyota was the market leader (20,208) followed by Mazda (10,052), Mitsubishi (7,513), Ford (7,146) and Hyundai (5,772). Ford Ranger was the top selling individual model (5,021) followed by the Toyota RAV4 (4506), Toyota Hi-Lux (4222), Toyota Landcruiser (3,177) and Mitsubishi Triton (2,458). ..." — FCAI [www].

3 May 2021: "La Nina delivers best wet season in four years for Kimberley cattle stations and native wildlife ..." — [abc].

2 May 2021 (#3): Portugese F1 Grand Prix.

Results: 1. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]; 2. Max Verstappen [Red Bull]; 3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes). (Also see the FIA [www] and the [bbc].)

1 May 2021, .au: Tasmanian state election. The Libs called an early election to cash-in on the covid-19 effect but it was not clear that it had paid off.  As of the 3rd, Lib. 12, ALP 8, Greens 2, undecided 3.  Finally, Lib. 13, ALP 9, Green 2, independent 1.

1 May 2021, covid-19: Worldwide total confirmed cases 150,972,476, total deaths 3,176,054;  usa: 32,345,038 cases, 575,921 deaths;  .in: 18,762,976 cases, 208,330 deaths;  .uk: 4,432,246 cases, 127,775 deaths;  .au: 29,810 cases, 910 deaths;  .nz: 2,613 cases, 26 deaths  — JHU [www][1/5].

27 April 2021, .au" "Losses to car ad scams climbing ... In a vehicle scam, scammers post fake online listings offering to sell in-demand cars at well below market value to lure potential buyers looking for a second hand vehicle. Scammers seek payment to secure the car for the buyer but never deliver the vehicle. Vehicle scams are commonly hosted on sites such as Facebook Marketplace, Autotrader, Car Sales, Cars Guide and Gumtree. ..." — scamwatch [www][27/4].

2 May, .uk: "Don't trust caller ID on phones, says Ofcom ... Fraudsters are increasingly changing their caller ID to disguise their identity, known as number spoofing. ..." — [bbc].

26 April 2021: 35th anniversary of the explosion and meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear power station, Pripyat, Ukraine (then in the USSR). An exclusion zone with a radius of 30km remains in place. See wikip [www].

25 April 2021: Anzac Day.

25 April 2021: The film 'Nomadland' won Oscars for best picture, best director (Chloe Zhao), and best actress (Frances McDormand). One for nomads, grey or otherwise?

23 April 2021, .nsw: "Floodwater reaches Menindee Lakes for the first time in five years ..." — [abc].

23 April 2021: Bonhams 'Les Grandes Marques a Monaco' auction [www], including lot 111 a 1934 Bugatti type 57 Ventoux coupe, chassis #57119, engine #34 (sold €385,250); lot 117 a 1936 Delahaye 135 S Competition Court, chassis #46810, engine #46810 (sold).

23 April 2021: "... Honda is targeting sales of 100% zero emission electrified vehicles in North America by 2040 ..." — Honda [www].

22 April 2021, Earth Day: Opening of entries for ... "$100M Prize for Carbon removal [from the atmosphere] ... four-year global competition ... pull carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere or oceans, and sequester it durably and sustainably. To win the grand prize [$50M], teams must demonstrate a working solution at a scale of at least 1000 tonnes removed per year; model their costs at a scale of 1 million tonnes per year; and show a pathway to achieving a scale of gigatonnes per year in future. ..." — Xprize [www].

22 April 2021: '... believes the market for green hydrogen in the EU will be worth almost 40 billion euros by 2030 ... Denner [CEO] does not believe that the EU's initial plans for the Euro 7 emissions standard make sense; however, he expressed his satisfaction that the debate was now showing signs of movement and becoming more objective. He explained why: "Climate action is not about the end of the internal-combustion engine. It's about the end of fossil fuels. And while electromobility and green charging power make road transport carbon neutral, so do renewable fuels." ...' — Bosch [www].

22 April 2021: Toyota is "developing a hydrogen engine. It has installed the engine on a racing vehicle based on Toyota's Corolla Sport, which it will enter in competition ..." — Toyota [www].  That is a 1,618cc hydrogen internal combustion engine.

21 April 2021:"The FIA has announced the creation of all-new technical regulations for electric-powered GT cars ... Depending on the base model, the minimum weight of the cars will vary from 1490 to 1530kg, with maximum power reaching 430kW ... will limit the use of expensive materials. ... The [battery] cells were designed to allow for 700kW peak regen and 700kW fast recharging that will enable them to replenish to 60% of their capacity within a few minutes during a mid-race pit stop. ... two or four electric motors, with both two- and four-wheel-drive configurations allowed. ..." — FIA [www].

20 April 2021: Heavy rain in far north Queensland closed roads. See Qld roads [www]. (21/4: Cairns had more than 500mm of rain over three days.)

19 April 2021: "Two men killed in Tesla car crash 'without driver' in seat ..." — [bbc].

18 April 2021 (#2): Emilia Romagna F1 Grand Prix, Imola, Italy.

Results: 1. Max Verstappen [Red Bull]; 2. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]; 3. Lando Norris [McLaren]. The race started with a wet track which caught out several drivers including Lewis Hamilton who recovered to second. (Also see the FIA [www] and the [bbc].)

18 April 2021, covid-19: Global deaths reached 3,009,025, global cases 140,448,459. See JHU [www][18/4].

17 April 2021, .uk: The funeral of Prince Philip (10/6/1921-9/4/2021), Duke of Edinburgh, was held at Windsor Castle. His coffin was carried to St George's Chapel by a modified Land-Rover Defender 130 Td5.

16-18 April 2021: The postponed (from 18-21 Feb.), and moved, London Classic Car Show, Syon Park. Postponed again, to 25-27 June above.

16 April 2021, .au: "The Federal Court has found that Google LLC and Google Australia Pty Ltd (together, Google) misled consumers about personal location data collected through Android mobile devices between January 2017 and December 2018 ..." — ACCC [www].

15 April 2021: Mercedes announced the all-electric 'EQ'. "... [initially] the EQS 450+ with 245kW (electrical consumption NEDC combined: 19.1-16.0 kWh/100km; ...) and the EQS 580 4MATIC with 385kW (elec. consumption NEDC combined: 20.0-16.9 kWh/100km ..." — Daimler [www]. On sale late 2021? Other variants to follow.

15 April 2021, .au: "Climate outlook for May to August ... Rainfall for May to July is likely to be below average for large areas of N and SE Australia ... May to July maximum temperatures are likely to be warmer than average Australia wide. ..." — [bom].

15 April 2021: "Penalties of $1.223m against Australian 4WD Hire and ex-directors Vitali Roesch and Maryna Kosukhina ..." — ACCC [www].

14 April 2021, .vic: "Victorian police start searching Mount Hotham for two campers missing for more than a year ..." — [abc]. (Also see 8 November, 19 October above, and Wonnangatta Valley, 6 April 2020).

14 April 2021, .vic: "Truck driver who killed four police officers in Eastern Freeway crash jailed for 22 years ..." — [abc]. (Also see trucks and drug tests, 2 Nov. 2016.)

14 April 2021: "Ford will begin offering its new BlueCruise hands-free highway driving system to customers later this year ... BlueCruise will be offered later this year on 2021 F-150 and 2021 Mustang Mach-E models equipped with the available Ford Co-Pilot360(tm) Active 2.0 Prep Package. ... [only] on prequalified sections of divided highways called Hands-Free Blue Zones ..." — Ford [www]. Also see the SAE [www].

April 2021: "... The wealthiest citizens – the 'Polluter elite' – must make the most dramatic changes to their lifestyles to keep the 1.5°C target alive. ..." — "'Changing our ways? Behaviour change and the climate crisis', The report of the Cambridge Sustainability Commission on Scaling Behaviour Change, pdf@[www].

13 April 2021: "France moves to ban short-haul domestic flights ..." — [bbc]. (That is, where a train takes less than 2.5 hours.)

11 April 2021, .wa: "People on the coast between Coral Bay and Lancelin should prepare now for a period of destructive winds ... Tropical Cyclone Seroja is expected to cross the coast as a Category 2 system late on Sunday or early Monday. ..." — [bom].  Seroja (cat.3) crossed the coast near Kalbarri (i.e., unusually far south) causing much damage. Also see WA roads [www].
.vic: And in the east, cold weather brought early snow to the Victorian Alps.

11 April 2021: Chinese F1 Grand Prix, Shangai. (12 Jan: Postponed(?) due to covid-19.)

9 April 2021, .au: "Full Court dismisses Volkswagen $125m penalty appeal ..." — ACCC [www]. It's dieselgate.

9 April 2021, .wa: Two tropical cyclones, Odette and Seroja, formed off the NW coast of WA. Odette later weakened to a tropical low. (See 11 Apr. above.)

7-11 April 2021: TechnoClassica, Essen [www]. 3/21: Cancelled due to covid19; see 23-27 March 2022.

5 April 2021: Easter Monday.

4 April 2021: Easter Sunday.

.vic: End of daylight saving, 3am→2am (once).

2 April 2021: Good Friday.

2-11 April 2021: New York Auto Show [www]. Postponed to 20-29 August 2021 due to covid-19.

1 April 2021, recall PRA #2021/18937: "Subaru Outback MY2021 ... The stereo camera may mis-recognise roadside objects and/or miscalculate the travelling direction of an oncoming vehicle, resulting in the system unexpectedly activating the pre-collision braking feature. ..." — .gov.au [www].

1 April 2021, covid-19: Worldwide total confirmed cases 128,791,500, total deaths 2,814,899;  usa: 30,459,483 cases, 552,038 deaths;  .in: 12,149,335 cases, 162,468 deaths;  .uk: 4,359,982 cases, 126,955 deaths;  .au: 29,320 cases, 909 deaths;  .nz: 2,501 cases, 26 deaths  — JHU [www][1/4].

31 March 2021: Stellantis (Fiat, Chrysler, Peugeot, ...) revealed its plans for automotive hydrogen fuel-cells starting with light commercial vehicles (LCV) — Stellantis [www].

30 March 2021, .au: "The Bureau of Meteorology has announced the end of the 2020-21 La Nina. ..." — [bom]. Also see 25 March below.

March 2021, .wa: "In August 2020 the Minister for Environment requested the EPA provide strategic advice under [the] (EP Act) on the potential cumulative impacts of the proposed activities and developments on the environmental, social and cultural values of Exmouth Gulf. ... [the] study is [due] by the end of June 2021 ... received 321 submissions ..." — epa.wa.gov.au [www]. That affects Ningaloo reef too.

28 March 2021, recall PRA #2021/18894: "Subaru Outback MY2021 ... The electronic brake booster (EBB) may be incorrectly set up, and may not operate correctly. ..." — .gov.au [www].

28 March 2021 (#1): Bahrain F1 Grand Prix, Sakhir.

Results: 1. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]; 2. Max Verstappen [Red Bull]; 3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes). It was an exciting tussle between Hamilton and Verstappen who started on pole. (Also see the FIA [www] and the [bbc].)

The Teams: Kimi Raikkonen, Antonio Giovinazzi [Alfa Romeo]; Pierre Gasly, Yuki Tsunoda [Alpha Tauri]; Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon [Alpine]; Sebastian Vettel, Lance Stroll [Aston Martin]; Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz [Ferrari]; Mick Schumacher, Nikita Mazepin [Haas]; Daniel Ricciardo, Lando Norris [McLaren]; Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas [Mercedes]; Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez [Red Bull]; George Russell, Nicholas Latifi [Williams].

27 March 2021, .uk: Silverstone Auctions Race Retro sale online [www], including lot 205 a 1950 HWM Alta Jaguar race car by John Heath and George Abecassis (sold £517,000).

26-28 March 2021, .uk: The postponed Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show, NEC, Birmingham. (2/'21: postponed to 11-13 June. Later cancelled for 2021)

25 March 2021, .uk: "... 4.6% of car registrations by private buyers in 2020 were for battery electric vehicles (BEVs), compared to 8.7% for fleets and businesses ... consumers registered 34,324 BEVs in 2020, compared to 73,881 corporate registrations. ..." — SMMT [www].

25 March 2021, .au: "April to June rainfall is likely to be above average for the tropical north of Australia. However, this signal is mostly from April which also indicates a wetter than average month is likely for parts of south-east Australia. May shows a mostly neutral signal, with some areas of the south-west and north likely to be drier than average. ..." — [bom].

24 March 2021, .au: Flooding spread from NSW, NT, SA and Qld into parts of S. and E. Victoria. Check the [bom], NSW [roads], NT [roads], SA [roads], Vic. [roads] and Qld [roads].

Parks Victoria later closed the southern section of Wilsons Promontory National Park "until 14 April" due to flood damage to walking tracks; see Vic. [Parks].

22 March 2021, .sa: Rain closed the Birdsville, Oodnadatta and Strezlecki tracks in South Australia.

21 March 2021: Australian F1 Grand Prix, Melbourne, first race of the 2021 season. (12 Jan.: Postponed to 21 Nov. due to covid-19 — FIA)

20 March 2021, and on, .nsw:

There was heavy rain and flooding along the NSW north coast and into the Blue Mountains. Check the [bom] and NSW [roads].

28th: The clean-up got underway in many areas.

19-21 March 2021, .au: National 4x4 Outdoors Show, Brisbane Showgrounds [www].

19 March 2021, .uk: "Dounreay bid suggested for fusion power plant ..." — [bbc]. (The Dounreay fast-breeder fission reactor is in the process of being decommissioned.)

18 March 2021, .au: The Victorian Government introduced legislation to Parliament to tax electric vehicles at 2.5c/km, 2.0c/km for hybrids. By comparison, fuel "excise" (tax) on ULP is 42.3c/l, say 3c/km±.

17 March 2021: Team New Zealand beat Italian challenger Luna Rossa to retain the America's Cup (7-3).

16 March 2021: "... we demonstrate SAF [sustainable aviation fuels] production from food waste-derived volatile fatty acids (VFA) ... Life cycle analysis determined that if food waste is diverted from landfills to avoid methane emissions, VFA-SAF could enable up to 165% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions relative to fossil jet." — 'Toward net-zero sustainable aviation fuel with wet waste-derived volatile fatty acids', N. A. Huq et al, PNAS, 118(13), e2023008118 [www]. (Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, more so than CO2.)

16 March 2021: Volkswagen (VW) predicted the "Delivery of 1 million electric vehicles planned for the current year ..." — VW [www].

16 March 2021: Sabine Schmitz (1969-2021), the Queen of the Nurburgring, died of cancer.

16 March 2021, covid-19: Worldwide total confirmed cases 120,180,592, total deaths 2,659,578;  usa: 29,492,614 cases, 535,597 deaths;  .in: 11,385,339 cases, 158,725 deaths;  .uk: 4,276,839 cases, 125,817 deaths;  .au: 29,134 cases, 909 deaths;  .nz: 2,430 cases, 26 deaths  — JHU [www][16/3].

13 March 2021, .au: WA state election. Labor was re-elected in a landslide.

13 March 2021: Murray Walker (1923-2021), long time F1 commentator, died aged 97.

12-14 March 2021: F1 pre-season testing, Bahrain. Red Bull looked fast.

11 March 2021, .jp: The tenth anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that killed nearly 13,000 people in Japan and led to multiple explosions and meltdowns at the Fukushima I nuclear power station. The Fukushima clean up operation plods along and will take decades more. Stored radioactive water may have to be released into the sea. See, e.g., the [abc].

10-11 March 2021, .uk: The postponed (from 14 Jan., due to covid-19) and online Autosport International [www].

8-14 March 2021 (Mon.-Sun.): Corowa Swim in, the Year of the Jeep and of the RAAF [www]. 11/'20: Postponed to 14-20 March 2022 due to uncertainty over covid-19.

8 March 2021 (Mon.): Labour Day (Vic.) [www].

6-8 March 2021: Steamfest, Melbourne Steam Traction Engine Club, National Steam Centre [www].

5-8 March 2021 (Fri.-Mon.): Port Fairy Folk Festival [www]. 14/8/'20: Cancelled due to uncertainty over covid-19; see March 2022.

7-13 March 2021, .au: The twice postponed (covid-19) Classic Outback Trial, [www]. Postponed again, to 22-28 Aug. above.

5-6 March 2021: RM Sotheby's Amelia Island Auction.

4-14 March 2021: 89th Geneva International Motor Show [www].  29/6/2020: The committee decided not to organise the event in 2021 due to covid-19 and its consequences [www].

4 March 2021: "... In the December quarter 2020, average petrol prices in regional Australia remained lower than average prices in the five largest cities. ... The Queensland Government announced in December 2020 that its real-time fuel price reporting scheme would be made permanent. ... 'Motorists in New South Wales, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Tasmania can also access real-time petrol prices through transparency schemes, and a scheme in South Australia is scheduled to start next month.' ..." — ACCC [www].  For example, see Qld [www], NSW [www], WA [www].

4 March 2021: Bonhams Amelia Island Auction. (20 May.)

3 March 2021: Bonhams Les Grandes Marques du Monde a Paris auction [www].

2 March 2021: "Volvo Cars is committed to becoming a leader in the fast-growing premium electric car market and plans to become a fully electric car company by 2030. ..." — Volvo Cars [www].

1 March 2021: Tropical Cyclone Niran (cat.3) approached the Queensland off Cairns. Check the [bom]. (3/3: Niran moved further off-shore.)

26-27 February 2021, .au: Ballarat Swap Meet [www]. 11/'20: Cancelled for 2021 due to covid-19. Next one February 2022.

21 February 2021: Vaccination against covid-19 started in Australia using the Pfizer mRNA vaccine.
Worldwide total confirmed cases 111,073,990, total deaths 2,460,483;  usa: 28,076,756 cases, 497,597 deaths;  .in: 10,991,651 cases, 156,302 deaths;  .uk: 4,117,739 cases, 120,593 deaths;  .au: 28,926 cases, 909 deaths;  .nz: 2,350 cases, 26 deaths  — JHU [www][21/2]. (The USA passed 500,000 deaths on the 23rd.)

19-21 February 2021, .uk: Race Retro historic motorsport show, Stoneleigh Park, Coventry [www]. 11/'20: Postponed due to covid-19. TBA.

18-21 February 2021: The London Classic Car Show, Olympia (was thelondonclassiccarshow.co.uk) 11/'20: Postponed to 16-18 April above due to covid-19, and moved.

18 February 2021: A severe storm brought snow to Texas and power cuts to millions of people.

18 February 2021: "Ford says by mid-2026, 100% of its passenger vehicle range in Europe will be zero-emissions capable, all-electric or plug-in hybrid; moving to all-electric by 2030 ..." — Ford [www]. (See Volvo 2/3 above, Jaguar 15/2, GM 28/1 below.)

15 February 2021: JLR announced that Jaguar would be "an all-electric luxury brand from 2025 ... [and] Land Rover will welcome six pure electric variants as it continues to be the world leader of luxury SUVs. All Jaguar and Land Rover nameplates to be available in pure electric form by end of the decade; first all-electric Land Rover model in 2024. Clean-hydrogen fuel-cell power being developed in preparation for future demand. ..." — JLR [www]. (See Ford 18/2 above, GM 28/1 below.)

14 February 2021: "... Chevrolet expanded its electric vehicle portfolio with the introduction of the new, all-electric 2022 Bolt EUV, alongside the redesigned 2022 Bolt EV. ... Bolt EUV is priced from us$33,995 ... Bolt EV starts at us$31,995 ..." — GM [www].

14 February 2021, .au: Victorian 4WD Show, Lardner Park, Vic. [www]. 10/'20: Cancelled due to uncertainty over covid-19. (Turned out to be a good move as there was a 5-day "lockdown" in Victoria at this time.)

13 February 2021: RM Sotheby's Paris auction [www], including lot 121 the 1993 Isdera Commendatore 112i, chassis #W09112218PWJ02001 (sold €1,113,125); lot 126 a 1971 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV, chassis #4840, engine #30628 (sold €2,423,750); lot 136 a 1931 Bentley 4¹/₂-litre Supercharged Tourer, chassis #MS3938, engine #MS3940 (not sold).

9 February 2021: Then there were two ... "Australia loses another oil refinery, leaving our fuel supply vulnerable ..." — [abc]. (ExxonMobil's Altona refinery, leaving just Ampol Brisbane and Viva Energy Geelong, for now.) Also see 17 May above.

7 February 2021, .wa: There was flooding in the Gascoyne region of WA, closing the NW Coastal highway; see WA roads [www].
Coincidentally in Qld, "Peninsula Development Road Laura to Coen 5 Tonne load limit local access only. No through traffic. Road closed to through traffic ..." — Qld roads [www].

7 February 2021, .uk: Snow fell in parts of England, Scotland and Wales; see the metoffice [www]

4 February 2021, recall PRA #2021/18794: "Hyundai Tucson MY2015-2021 ... Due to a manufacturing error, an electronic control circuit board in the Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) module will short circuit when the components are exposed to moisture. There is a risk of an engine compartment fire, even when the vehicle is turned off ..." — .gov.au [www].

4 February 2021: Bonhams Les Grandes Marques du Monde a Paris auction (3 March)

3-7 February 2021 (Wed.-Sun.): Retromobile, Porte de Versailles Exhibition Centre, Paris [www]. 19/11/'20: Postponed to 2-6 June 2-6 Feb. 2022 due to covid-19.

2 February 2021, wa: A large bushfire burned in the Perth Hills; see WA [www] fire.

1 February 2021, covid-19: total cases : new cases : total deaths; Worldwide 102,584,351 : 444,580,046 : 2,222,647; usa 25,817,939 : 141,327 : 436,051;  .in 10,757,610 : 11,427 : 154,392;  .uk 3,817,180 : 21,088 : 106,158;  .se 566,957 : ? : 11,591;  .kr 78,508 : 305 : 1,425;  .au 28,811 : 5 : 909;  .nz 1,947 : 0 : 25;  — WHO [www][1/2].
Worldwide total confirmed cases 102,922,990, total deaths 2,226,035;  usa: 26,178,803 cases, 441,282 deaths;  .in: 10,746,183 cases, 154,274 deaths;  .uk: 3,828,183 cases, 106,367 deaths;  .au: 28,812 cases, 909 deaths;  .nz: 2,304 cases, 25 deaths  — JHU [www][1/2].

30 January 2021, wa: "West Kimberley and coastal Pilbara communities prepare for heavy rain and possible severe winds as developing tropical low moves down the coast. ..." — [bom]. Also check WA roads [www], esp. Broome to Port Hedland, to Onslow, to Exmouth, to Coral Bay, to Carnarvon(4/2) ... .

28 January 2021, recall PRA #2020/18735, Hyundai Kona EV MY2018-2020 and Nexo MY2019-2020: "A software fault in the Integrated Electronic Brake (IEB) may significantly reduce braking performance. ..." — .gov.au [www].

28 January 2021: "... all-electric future and an aspiration to eliminate tailpipe emissions from new light-duty vehicles by 2035. ..." — GM [www]. (Note "aspiration" and "new". See Ford 18/2 and Jaguar 15/2 above.)

28 January 2021, .uk: "UK car manufacturing output falls -29.3% in 2020 to 920,928 units, the lowest total since 1984. ..." — SMMT [www].

25 January 2021: "... End of production planned for Evora, Exige and Elise in 2021 ... production of the Lotus Type 131 to commence this year ..." — Lotus [www].  (3.5 L supercharged V6, later named as the 'Emira'.)

25 January 2021: "The Inequality Virus ... The coronavirus pandemic has the potential to lead to an increase in inequality in almost every country at once, the first time this has happened since records began. ... Billionaire fortunes returned to their pre-pandemic highs in just nine months, while recovery for the world's poorest people could take over a decade. ..." — Oxfam [www]. (Also see the [abc].)

25 January 2021: There was a major bushfire in the Adelaide hills and high fire danger across parts of Vic. and NSW. Check SA [www], Vic. [www] and NSW [www] fire.
(And cold weather and snow across much of the UK, e.g., see the [bbc].)

January 2021: "... the cost of green hydrogen could readily be at or below A$3/kg in the near future, and that the 'stretch goal' of A$2/kg ... is likely to come into reach ..." — T. Longden et al, 'Green hydrogen production costs in Australia: implications of renewable energy and electrolyser costs', Zero-Carbon Energy for the Asia-Pacific ZCEAP Working Paper ZCWP03-20, CCEP Working Paper 20-07 Aug. 2020, ANU [www].

22 January 2021 wa: "Tropical low (08U) is slowly intensifying as it moves in a southerly direction towards the Eighty Mile Beach area, bringing heavy rain across the eastern Pilbara and SW Kimberley. The tropical low may intensify into a tropical cyclone later today as it nears the coast. ..." — [bom]. Also see WA roads [www].

22 January 2021: RM Sotheby's Arizona Auction [www], including lot 139 a 1993 Cizeta V16T, yes a V16, chassis #ZA9V16T00MMD38101 (sold us$665,000); lot 141 a 1955 Jaguar D-Type, chassis #XKD 518, engine #E 2028-9 (sold us$6,000,000); lot 155 a 1938 SS 100 Jaguar 3¹/₂-litre Roadster, chassis #39032, engine #M 499 E (sold us$415,000).

21 January 2021: Bonhams Scottsdale Auction [www] including lot 102 a 1993 Land-Rover Defender 110 NAS, vin #SALDH1288PA917784 (sold for us$123,200).

20 January 2021: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were sworn in as President and Vice President of the USA in a ceremony held under covid-19 lock-down conditions.

The Trump adminstration left with the usa having 24,037,236 total covid-19 cases, 398,435 total deaths — WHO [www][21/1].
24,610,051 total covid-19 cases, 409,641 total deaths, 4K+ new deaths per day in the usa — JHU [www][22/1].
(There were 405,399 US military deaths in World War II — wikip [www].)

19 January 2021: Stellantis = Fiat Chrysler + PSA (Peugeot) "launched" — Stellantis [www].

18 January 2021: "Neste targets hard-to-electrify vehicles for renewable diesel ... sourced raw materials with approved pathways under California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard and the EPA. ... waste and residue materials, such as used cooking oil, beef tallow, fish fat and distillers corn oil. ..." — SAE [www].

17 January 2021: Tropical Cyclone 'Kimi' (cat.1) off the Queensland coast, east of Cooktown. (7am 18/1: East of Cairns.) See the [bom] and Qld roads [www].

16 January 2021, covid-19: Worldwide total cases 93,819,952, total deaths 2,008,273 — JHU.

15 January 2021: Finish of the Dakar 2021, Saudi Arabia (started 3 Jan.) Winners: bikes: Kevin Benavides (Honda); cars: Stephane Peterhansel & Edouard Boulanger (Mini buggy); trucks: Dmitry Sotnikov, Ruslan Akhmadeev & Ilgiz Akhmetzianov (Kamaz); quad: Manuel Andujar (7240 Team); ... [www].

14-17 January 2021, .uk: Autosport International, NEC Birmingham (14-15th trade) [www]. 12/'20: Postponed to 10-11 March, and moved online, due to covid-19.

13 January 2021, .uk: "Cattle grid sends cars off the road in Somerset after their emergency brake sensors mistake it for a wall ..." — RAC [www].

12 January 2021, wa: "Truckie ... jailed ... drug-affected truck driver ... killing another motorist ..." — [abc].

11 January 2021: "Ford Brazil will cease production at Camacari, Taubate and Troller plants during 2021 ..." — Ford [www]. (That is all of Ford's manufacturing in Brazil.)

8 January 2021: "Annual climate statement 2020 ... Australia's fourth-warmest year on record, with the annual national mean temperature 1.15°C above average ..." — [bom]. That despite La Nina since September 2020.
And more widely, "2020 warmest year on record for Europe; globally, 2020 ties with 2016 for warmest year recorded ..." — Copernicus.eu [www].

7-10 January 2021 (Thu-Sun): Summernats, Canberra [www].  1/10/20: Postponed due to covid-19.

7 January 2021: 'Connections of climate change and variability to large and extreme forest fires in southeast Australia', N. J. Abram et al, Commun. Earth & Environment, 2 #8, Jan. 2021 [www].

5 January 2021, wa: A bushfire that started at Red Gully 130km north of Perth threatened homes. 7/1: Still burning. Check WA [www].

4 January 2021: Shareholders in Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group (Peugeot, .fr) voted in favour of their merger (the merged entity to be called 'Stellantis') — [www]. See 19 Jan. above.

4 January 2021: Tropical Cyclone Imogen (cat.1) brought flooding to far north Queensland. See the [bom] and Qld roads [www]. (Note, in 2016 UNSW engineers demonstrated that a Toyota Yaris can be moved by just 15cm of water flowing at 1m/sec and will float away in 60cm of water, a Nissan Patrol 4WD can be moved by 45cm of water flowing at 1m/sec and will float away in 95cm of water — UNSW [www].)

3-15 January 2021: Dakar 2021, Saudi Arabia [www].

January 2021, just checking a #prediction: On 16 August 2016, "Ford announce[d] intention to deliver high-volume, fully autonomous vehicle for ride sharing in 2021". And 1 July 2016, "BMW Group, Intel and Mobileye team up to bring fully autonomous driving to streets by 2021." (See Ford 14 April above).

January 2021, ,au: National road deaths in 2020:1106 (2019:1186) — .gov.au [www].  Victorian road deaths in 2020:213 (2019:266) — TAC [www].

1 January 2021, covid-19: total cases : new cases : total deaths; Worldwide 81,947,503 : 470,046 : 1,808,014; usa 19,346,790 : ? : 335,789;  .in 10,286,709 : 20,035 : 148,994;  .uk 2,488,784 : 55,892 : 73,512;  .se 437,379 : ? : 8,727;  .kr 61,769 : 1,029 : 917;  .au 28,408 : 27 : 909;  .nz 1,806 : 0 : 25;  — WHO [www][1/1].
Worldwide total confirmed cases 83,316,999, total deaths 1,815,557;  usa: 19,923,169 cases, 345,015 deaths;  .in: 10,266,674 cases, 148,738 deaths;  .uk: 2,496,214 cases, 73,622 deaths;  .au: 28,416 cases, 909 deaths;  .nz: 2,162 cases, 25 deaths  — JHU [www][1/1].

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