The latest newsletter from proActive has hit the stands (metaphorical, screens really). There’s the second half of an interview I did with Richard Parry-Jones in which he talks about the UK auto industry and the role of government support. I also interviewed Dr Robert Hentschel, the recently appointed Director of Lotus Engineering. And there’s some interesting stuff about achieving vehicle mass reduction, as well as some insight into hybrid and electric vehicle testing at Lotus. Follow the link below for a reet rivetin’ read.
Posts Tagged ‘Richard Parry-’
Lotus proActive
March 1st, 2010 |
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The latest Lotus proActive e-magazine is out and available for perusal. It includes the first half of an interview I did with Richard Parry-Jones, as well as some informative articles on emissions rules and two-stroke engines. The latter article poses the intriguing question: could upsizing be the new downsizing? And the interview with RP-J reveals who it was who inspired his ’50-metre test’…
Richard Parry-Jones
January 26th, 2010 |
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I interviewed ex-Ford engineering supremo Richard Parry-Jones yesterday – the interview will first appear in the next edition of the Lotus Engineering publication proActive. If you know your Ford history, he was a key figure in the development of the 1998 Ford Focus and it was certainly interesting to hear his views on product development generally, as well as matters such as the challenges facing the auto industry, the ’50-metre test’ and what Jackie Stewart taught him, and the UK government initiative that is the ‘Automotive Council’. His time management in ‘semi-retirement’ (he left Ford at the end of ’07) sounded pretty good – I won’t go through the lengthy list of outdoor sports he participates in.
We did the interview down the telephone as he drove from his home in Wales to London. Fair play, he could have been sat in an office with a cup of tea – very composed and clear. In what was near perfect timing, we finished the interview as he reached a tube station in London to park. Was he taking the tube? No, he was transferring to a Brompton fold-away bicycle, which he maintains is the best way to get around central London. Fascinating bloke.