Week Nineteen: In Which I Shall Be Crossing The River.

You want to know something really bloody ODD? In these depths of difficult times economically, the ICE industry has been reporting literal record sales and business in all sorts of places just recently. High end fabrication-based installers raving about busy months. Even one of the big companies creaming it. It’s all good news for what is an increasingly specialised trade.
Meanwhile, the continuing love of tech drives the owners of new cars to demand more and more toys and so the OEM or Original Equipment by Manufacturer stuff you get in cars keeps on getting better and some of it is coming from the traditional routes of known makers of mobile electronics. Kenwood have a branded head unit for the VAG guys that has been made to match their dashes. And I know who is working on audio equipment for the new baby Aston Cygnet. It’s based on a Toyota IQ and exists just to allow Aston Martin to get a better average score across their ‘˜range’ for the EU fleet average emissions standards in 2012.
(Although that could all be utter piffle as it was from Wikipedia.) Thing is, the guys in the R&D install bay have to get the whole set under six kilos or the car has to go for re-homologation at huge cost and that ain’t gonna happen.
I’m off to Doon Street in the Sarf to see the Pioneer Smart car that’s in the news tomorrow and today I am off to the office of another big manufacturer to take part in a meeting with a major TV production company and that’s al I am allowed to say! Sounds dead exciting (well, it is, actually) but like all TV stuff, getting to the Green Light ‘˜GO!’ moment can be hellish. I will let you know the second there is any actual exciting news to relate on that front.
Sharp deadlines for B&W 800 Diamond Series and a Fishing story alike to chase and said ‘˜glam’ meetings eating my day, so as everI hafta get along.
Adam Rayner – Online Editor