I write as a great admirer of your journalism, and seemingly encyclopaedic knowledge of automotive matters. So it was with some disappointment and mystification that, turning to same, this Sunday morning, I notice that you have strayed into the perilous waters of pontificating about economics. The expression “jump start the economy” is devoid of meaning. The current situation is the result of 65 years´ of excessive credit creation by central banks, encouraged by politicians, of fiat currency. (That is, paper not backed by any real asset.) This has resulted in decades of malinvestment, not least in the motor industry. The situation cannot be “jump started” (read: “let´s have more of the same fools´ paradise”), but must be unwound by an equal and opposite balancing contraction of credit. It follows that your analogy between driving a reliable older car and keeping money under a mattress is....well, fatuous, frankly. The more successful it is, the greater the prolongation of the malinvestment. Your point about the scrappage scheme not costing taxpayers anything also fails. VAT is...well..a tax, isn´t it? And naturally, the scheme will require the usual armies of bureaucrats, building their unfunded, final salary, index-linked pensions. Obviously I could go on (and on). But could I limit myself to suggesting you stick to what you know?