We are off on Monday, May 30, as it’s a public holiday here in Britain. Therefore, there will be no daily newsletter on Monday, normal service resumed on Tuesday, May 31.

The long late spring weekend also sees the start of a new series of BBC TV’s ‘Top Gear’ (May 29). It is – or has been – a hugely popular TV show in Britain, syndicated throughout the world. The new series is eagerly anticipated, not least because there is a new group of presenters this time around. The last three departed, in rather unhappy circumstances after Jeremy Clarkson punched a producer and was subsequently sacked. The team upped sticks to start a rival show on Amazon Prime.

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I just hope ‘The Grand Tour’ production team over at Prime have got all catering arrangements fully tied down. 

On a related note, I enjoyed a bit of Nissan PR work this week; a press release to reveal the usually anonymous test driver who sorts Nissan Europe’s road cars. Nissan has done a tongue-in-cheek Stig-style unveiling.

“Some say he eats a whole Micra for breakfast every day. Some say his bed is a GT-R chassis and he sleeps sideways. All we know is that he’s called Paul Eames, and he is Nissan’s very own tame racing driver.”

His latest project is developing Nissan’s Autonomous Drive technology for release in 2017. This mission, it seems to me, may well be a tougher gig than driving very fast around a disused airfield while listening to Abba’s Greatest Hits.

Whatever your plans, have a good weekend

Nissan spells out autonomous drive timeline

For full Nissan ‘Stig’ press release, click blue ‘Show Press Release’ button

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