I think it's time we all stood up and were counted. We need to march against the electric tyranny being forced on us. On Thursday The Daily Telegraph's Anna Caldwell told us that not only is the humble fireplace in danger of being snuffed out, the NSW government will legislate to allow only emission-free (read electric or nuclear) cars.

Eighteen readers, including Arthur Fahy the cylinder-machining king, one friend but not family, can we exclusively reveal hybrid and electric car makers have been fibbing to you, governments around the world, their shareholders, their families and whatever life there is on Mars or Uranus. Our favourite consumer organisation, Which? in the UK (they actually buy the cars they test) reports that: "Our own fuel economy tests which are more demanding than those conducted for official consumption figures show that real-world costs are on average an astronomical 252 per cent more expensive than manufacturer claims." For example, the annual running costs of a BMW X5 plug-in hybrid tubby off roader is 429 per cent more expensive than the Beemer factory says.

And The Wall Street Journal's Nora Naughton tells us: "Electric vehicles are the US auto industry's future — if dealers can figure out how to sell them. As auto executives and investors buzz about the coming age of the electric car, many dealers say they are struggling to square that enthusiasm with the reality today on new-car sales lots, where last year battery-powered vehicles made up fewer than 2 per cent of US auto sales."

This year Lotus will roll out the Evija, an all-wheel drive, $3m, carbon fibre 1500kW hypercar. Yup. It's all electric. So, you pay the price of a semi near Fountain Gate and get something that doesn't shout: "I'm richer than you, faster than you, don't have to wear a tie to work and drink my lattes with almond milk."

Just before we leave Which? to discuss the crash of the century can I mention their cars-built-to-last list. Most reliable include Mazda MX-5 (2005 to 2015) and Honda Jazz. Most reliable brands are Lexus, Toyota and Suzuki. Least reliable cars are Citroen C4 Picasso, VW Golf estate 2007-13 and the wonderfully named Nissan Qashqai (2007 to 2013). Least reliable brands are Land Rover, SEAT, Subaru and Alfa (the newer the worse they are).

In equally bad news, F1 testing gets under way this weekend in Bahrain, while the real thing starts in two weeks without champagne! Yes, demonstrating Ferrari's absolute off-track dominance of the Lewis Hamilton benefit races, the F1 bosses have given the French nectar the flick for an upmarket spumante called, wait for it, Ferrari Trento.