What we need is an "are we sure we know what we are doing before we rush into this" catalogue or guide.

The EV story might turn out to be one of the world's, and certainly the transportation industry's, biggest headaches as company after company admit they leapt in way too quick to electric, bought into all the Government-led madness on climate and invested, God-knows how much to transfer to a mode of movement the world wasn’t ready for, or wanted.

EVs were sold as way more than they ever were.

Now even the scientists are waking up. There's a good piece of reading from Dr Caroline Shaw published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, whereby they do what we really should have done at the start and look at the EV in totality.

It said don’t get all hyped and hooked up on emissions. Yes, emissions in an EV vs petrol debate do drop. But what about the rest of it? They looked at all sorts of things like the extra weight, therefore the extra wear and tear, the weight and therefore the potential for injury, the cheapness of driving, therefore you drive more, therefore our fitness drops as we drive and don’t walk.

They looked at a myriad of things that should have been thought about and scoped out on day one and weighed up.

Because here is the end result: when you add all that stuff up, the good, the bad and the ugly, electrifying cars would lie somewhere between harmful and neutral.

Are you serious?

Going electric could be harmful? Would it have not been useful to crunch a few of those ideas to understand this at the start of the obsession that drove the thinking?

Or, like so much ideology, do the details not matter as long as we can leap on the old bandwagon, take a small piece of the bigger picture and then milk it for all its worth, knowing that we can leave the reality and the clean-up for another day?

This by the way is not anti-EV.

It’s the realisation that like most things, what was the answer, and the obsession, and the next new thing, actually turns out to be just another piece in a way bigger, more complex, picture than the obsessives ever care to learn about.

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At the end of each week, Mike Hosking takes you through the big-ticket items and lets you know what he makes of it all.

July 1st: 7/10

A lot of cool stuff started, including higher speed limits on roads where higher speed limits make sense and increase efficiency.

Helipads: 8/10

Amazing for so many reasons; well-known rich people, a ridiculous number of submissions, a massive waste of energy and, finally, they won.

Offensive to girls: 3/10

The fuss over the Warehouse and the backpack is pathetic. It was a joke. It was light-hearted.

The All Blacks: 7/10

A new season, new hope, new excitement and an easy opener.

Wegovy: 7/10

That was a lot of publicity in the news for a product next to no one can afford.

School lunches: 7/10

Because with the new stats, the new meals, and the new feedback, that is a good example of a problem solved. Now, are the media going to give the same amount of coverage to the answer as they did to the problem?

LISTEN ABOVE FOR MIKE HOSKING'S FULL WEEK IN REVIEW

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Republicans are celebrating after US President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful" bill crossed the line.

Trump is expected to sign his sweeping domestic policy bill tomorrow as he celebrates the Fourth of July at the White House.

House Speaker Mike Johnson claims everything was a disaster under the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris administration.

US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking there was a lot of drama throughout the entire process, but eventually, Trump bullied the vast majority of House Republicans into signing onto the bill.

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There was a survey out last week that broadly supported the Government’s moves around KiwiSaver, as in the 3% and 3% going to 4% and 4%.

But they wanted the Government to do something about the cut in contribution from the state.

Small hint – if you rely on the Government for any consistency around long term projects, forget it.

From the very beginning of KiwiSaver, the Government were always going to be the weak link.

When it comes to big picture stuff, dedication and focus from a government is a casualty of the three year political cycle. They were never going to be our friend on retirement savings.

The best advice I offer anyone, including our kids, is do it yourself. It's your life, your decision and your future, so do it yourself.

To show you how hopeless we are at saving in this country, figures released last week in America showed their KiwiSaver, what they call their 401k, hit a record high at 14.3%.

So while we are mucking around on 3-4% they are up to over 14%.

Here is the kicker – the industry says it really should 15% if you want to be comfortable.

A psychological step change is required and I'm not sure we will ever get there.

Whether its employer contributions that get offered instead of more pay, or whether it’s the Australian style compulsion, a lot of countries do it a lot of different ways and most of them have dealt with the age of retirement as well.

We basically are stuck with 65-years-old, and angst around even a debate about changing it, and far too many people who get to retirement and are stuck with a state-funded payout that has never been good and will not serve you well, if it's all you have to live off.

There is of course no reason for this to even be a problem. Lee Kuan Yew many years ago in Singapore took a third world country, told them to save, forced them to save, and now they are rich.

The answers are all there. Australia has it sorted, the Norway fund is famous, and even the Americans at 14.3% seem to have it solved.

We need to look and learn and then get our act together and apply a bit of basic discipline to our long-term futures that don’t rely on a government.

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Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson are back with Mike Hosking to Wrap the Week that was.

The historic Cardrona Hotel has been put up for sale – is Mike personable enough to run a hotel?

Tim and Kate offer up some programming advice, and the three delve into various athletics and racquet sports.

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Central Otago's iconic Cardrona Hotel is up for sale through private negotiation.

The 162-year-old building sits between Wanaka and Queenstown.

It's on the market for the first time in more than a decade.

Co-owner Cade Thornton told Mike Hosking they'll be selling privately, with no real estate agents involved.

He says there's been expressions of interest throughout their ownership, from overseas parties and nationwide.

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On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Friday 4th of July, we cap off a week of crime announcements with some new trespass laws.

Codie Taylor joins the show ahead of the first All Blacks test of the year against France.

Tim and Katie give some programming advice and debate whether Mike would be any good as a police recruit wing patron as they Wrap the Week.

Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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The first All Blacks test of 2025 is upon us.

Saturday night will see a new team tackle an understrength French side in Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium.

There were plenty of surprises in the team announcement, with four debutants in the 23 and some unexpected faces in the reserve line up.

Codie Taylor is playing hooker, and told Mike Hosking that although the French side is understrength, they have to respect and acknowledge their opposition.

However, he said, their main focus is on making sure they get things right, since this is their first crack playing as a team.

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