Question: How many vehicles were sold in Australia in the first half of the year? Answer: 567,468. Question: How many electric vehicles were sold in Australia in the first half of the year? Answer: 8688 (or about 1.6 per cent of the total vehicles sold).

So forget the headlines about one million per cent increase in EV sales in Australia. If your base is zero or 354 vehicles then the percentage increases will look super.

Then we have "outspoken Volkswagen Group Australia chief Michael Bartsch" telling the media Australia was becoming an "automotive third world" and a "dumping ground for older and less efficient vehicles." Mr Bartsch is deputy chair of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, "which came up with the voluntary CO2 reduction plan in 2020 in the absence of federal government action".

This is interesting because last month in Braunschweig district court, the VW Dieselgate scandal – that has affected more than 9 million cars under the Volkswagen, Audi, Seat and Skoda brands sold around the world between 2006 and 2015 – came to trial. During those nine years, VW engineers even "improved and refined" the software, charges to be dealt with by the court claim.

Germany's national broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, says: "The charges levelled against the defendants include organised commercial fraud and tax evasion. The grounds for the charges are that thousands of former VW customers were able to claim tax credits in Germany for the vehicles' alleged low emission levels."

Compare that to my new favourite car company, Mercedes-Benz. The bosses at Merc have committed to making the AMG's twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 for another 10 years. Sure it's had a few quality problems, but then again most of us have. And it didn't stop Valtteri Viktor Bottas winning the Turkish GP last Sunday in a V6 Merc.

If you don't want a V8 or a Merc but want a car with a serious history then head over to our friends at Collecting Cars to pick up Pablo Escobar's Sahara Beige (should have been snow white) 1974 Porker 911 Carrera 3.0 RSR IROC. One of 15 built that year, the Porker was first bought by Roger Penske, who raced it and then sold it to Johnny Tunstall, who drove it at the 24 Hours of Daytona and the Sebring 12 Hour. Johnny then sold it to Pablo, who raced it in Colombia for quite a few years. Yes Pablo might have controlled 80 per cent of the cocaine going to the US, might have been the richest criminal ($40bn) in history, had a passion for Porkers and was a classic car collector. Expect to pay $1.5m. Cash will be fine.