The Carchat

More from David Richards' visit to Coventry University following his honorary doctorate - this time on the car industry and Aston Martin:

He didn't rule out hybrid cars from Aston Martin - "hybrid cars should be of concern for all of us", he said that Aston Martin aren't going to lead on the issue, but they are in a position to develop parts and technologies that others might not consider "because our cars are less price sensitive".

On the iQ tie-up with Toyota, he said he wanted to "try and see how far our brand would go", asking whether peer pressure might eventually "drive people out of Aston Martin sports cars". He further said that "the iQ is an iconic product and the Cygnet is still in the gestation period - we might not go ahead with it, but on balance it'll probably happen."

On Lagonda, he said that Aston Martin had been inspired by what Porsche had done with the Cayenne and although the recession had put a halt to the funding for the big 4x4 for now, we can "expect to see it in a few years". He gave his opinion that "the only differentiation between most products these days is design" - the reasoning behind the stretching of the Aston Martin brand.

On the effect such cars as the Cygnet might have on the AM brand he said that "our perceptions are changing all the time, it'll have a place. Perhaps we're a bit ahead of ourselves at the moment." He said that Porsches, Lamborghinis and Ferraris have a very set brand, but that Aston Martin is "neutral, understated and stylish. We'll play on those attributes and stay true to them without overselling the product. You have to be careful not to stretch things too far."

On the British car industry, he said that "we make more cars in this country than twenty years ago - does foreign ownership mean anything?"

On electric cars he said they are "just window dressing, you're moving things around", making the point that electricity generation itself is still harmful for the environment, there are no obvious solutions at the moment. He went on to say; "do I think flicking off a light switch is going to save the planet? No. Investing money in young people is, they're going to find the step change we need."

David Richards, chairman of Aston Martin and Prodrive, was given an honorary doctorate at Coventry University today and came to speak to students. Here's a flavour of what he had to say on motorsports:

On rallying, he said that he had "sought out an unknown Japanese brand to make iconic", expressed his sadness that Subaru has "gone back to a commodity producer, they've lost their performance edge".

On the FIA election, he said that "Jean is a great manager and organiser, but Ari is a presidential figure, he works with politicians".

I asked him if he was 'in the market for an F1 team, Renault perhaps' - he said that F1 is "not a very healthy place to be right now", and that conditions would have to be right for Prodrive to be involved in F1, not the current situation where the team with the most money wins. He also wants to reduce downforce "dramatically" and thinks "manufacturers will demand more relevance to their product".

On WRC, he said that Prodrive will be back "in 2011 with a new manufacturer which we'll be announcing in the coming weeks before Christmas". Interesting news there. Who might it be?