WIN with HELLA
Published: 29 April, 2022
HELLA is offering Aftermarket readers the opportunity to win one of the Fast Fords photographically captured and featured in iconic Escort form, in a historic series of posters.
Although it’s easy to think of vehicle lighting as just headlights and replacement bulbs, lighting is a far broader and varied subject, of which HELLA, the global lighting and electronics specialist has been at the heart of since 1889. This fact is demonstrated by its many long-term relationships with vehicle manufacturers around the world and the pioneering concepts it has brought to market through these collaborations.
The company also has a long-standing motorsport heritage, particularly with rallying and to celebrate those many alliances, it commissioned the series of posters featuring some of the classic vehicles that have relied on HELLA to compete, and win, in events all over the globe.
To win one of these fantastic posters, all that’s required is to answer this simple question:
How long has HELLA been supplying lighting to the automotive industry?
a) 100 years
b) 130 years
c) 133 years
Winner will be chosen at random from the correct answers when the competition closes on 25 May 2022, and the winner will be notified by 28 May 2022. By entering, you consent to your information being shared with a third party. The Editor’s decision is final. No cash alternative offered.
- WIN with HELLA-Hengst
HELLA Hengst has recently added antibacterial carbon activated cabin filters to the HELLA-Hengst range of OE quality filters. To celebrate, the company wants to readers of Aftermarket filter out the cold during the winter by giving you the chance to win one of a set of stylish and comfortable HELLA-Hengst branded beanie hats.
- The safe operation of vehicle liftS
In the first in a new series from the GEA, the focus is on vehicle lifts and what types are available
- UFI Filters strengthens anti-counterfeit measures
UFI Filters has increased its anti-counterfeit online surveillance activity worldwide.
- Plug-in charging points not keeping up with surging vehicle sales study finds
The ratio of vehicle chargepoints to plug-in cars dropped by 31% during 2020, according to a new study from the SMMT, and the organisation is calling for charging infrastructure targets to match the growth in the sales of these vehicles, which now account for one in six new cars sold.
- Days of future past?
Some of us remember the 1970s, where the prevailing feeling was that automotive sophistication usually came from abroad unless one spent a huge amount of cash, that our industry was led mainly by endlessly upset activists, and that our biggest vehicle manufacturer – ‘British Leyland‘ at some point – represented what the UK was all about. This was for the most part utter rubbish.
Of course, much of the above does not stand close scrutiny, but it is true that British Leyland kept giving Fleet Street a continuous supply of headlines which money simply could not buy. Red Robbo, for example was an odd man, who sincerely believed in his cause and did not apparently connect that disruptive work patterns simply made poor manufacturing processes (the cause of the dispute) much, much worse. Who could forget the geniuses who placed a brand-new manufacturing line at Cowley (now called ‘Oxford’ by the present occupiers) where the established time for people to work underneath vehicles was gloriously exceeded? Or the star who invested in the Rover 800 based on volumes of 400,000 units, yet failed to sell a fraction of that even with a facelift? Or that the very same star would later arrive to drive the rump of British Leyland (MG Rover) into the ground?
It has taken decades to shake off the implosion of UK automotive manufacturing, even though in reality the companies that needed to shape up or fail were mostly shaping up. Our national preoccupation with failure seemed to eclipse the success of the UK building 1.6 million vehicles and more than 2.7 million powertrains in 2018, even though it did take quite a few years to build those volumes back up.
Behind vehicle manufacturing is a series of suppliers, and suppliers to those suppliers. When vehicle manufacturing disappears from a country – or in the case of many – was never present, the aftermarket becomes 100% reliant on imported components, as well as vital expertise. We need to be aware of what is happening in vehicle manufacturing even though the changes in manufacturing take place over several years.
Brexit and deals
Much is made of the uncertainty around Brexit. Some of that is very real, but as Her Majesty’s Government knows full well the impact may be mostly concentrated on taxation. Those who remember past events will recall, the government can impose new tax levels or even new forms of tax at lightning speed. Effectively ‘such is life’.
The Brexit ‘negotiations’ have taken against a backdrop of significant international financial instability, namely the USA’s insane debt bubble and the combination of China’s vast debt bubble combined with significant over extended state investment. You can add to this potent mix long-standing internal company issues. Nissan, for example, really do not like to be reminded that they exist today thanks to the investment and technology from Renault.
Anarchy in the UK
For fans of anarchy, we seem to have apparent utter anarchy. There were three important developments.
