Will This Product End All Car Mis-fuelling Incidents?! | Dragons' Den

Mike Cotten is asking for a £250,000 investment for 20% in his company DDN Limited
Season 6, Episode 3.
An international sensation, Dragon's Den features entrepreneurs pitching for investment in the Den from our Dragons, five venture capitalists willing to invest their own money in exchange for equity.
#DragonsDen #BusinessPitch #carsafety

[@tibimarin]

Yt generated captions really just said "Theo the fetus" and "Deborah Mean" 💀💀

[@amodelchucrut]

Yeah well... Nothing will ever beat Pizza Jones

[@mukomalavhu]

@@amodelchucrut P.. what?

[@T-qi1mq]

​@@amodelchucrutHaha Papa Jones' distant cousin

[@emmastandley7326]

Seems to happen more with English accents lol

[@tibimarin]

@@emmastandley7326 ees chewsdae innit

[@mosessila4451]

Michael is collected and polite. I enjoyed his presence

[@roywilliams6355]

A masterclass in negotiating in the Den.

[@benstevens2348]

They sold the patent to WV for 3.5 million in 2016

[@erebostd]

Who/what is WV?

[@brohanime]

​@@erebostdWagenvolks

[@erebostd]

@@brohanime and what’s that? Never heard it. Beside a facebook group there’s basically nothing with this name…

[@waldseeschloss6719]

@erebostd it’s Volkswagen… wagonvolks was just a joke after the first typo

[@erebostd]

@@waldseeschloss6719 oh, ok. I asked because i thought maybe there’s a company with this patent I didn’t know of. English isn’t my first language, so I didn’t get the joke. Thanks!

[@FlameFlickers]

His profit figures were excellent and his initial offer of 20% for £250K was actually a pretty good deal. Deborah's offer of £250K for 35% was extremely greedy and then she threw a childish strop when he negotiated with the other dragons without first rejecting her greedy offer. Something he was perfectly entitled to do.

[@vashuchiha117]

To be fair it wasn't a negotiation really, he never offered her a negotiation, Duncan got him to reveal that he had a 25% cap. Most would be annoyed at not getting told something like that up front, she did decrease her offer when it was revealed, he still chose her half offer. She had easily went to a half partner offer with another dragon, greedy would have been holding her ground on the 35% and saying she's out because she had felt offended about not being told about an offer cap up front, a move that the investors on shark tank are known for making.

[@Carl-tc2yb]

The dragon takes all the risk, hence a higher equity. The company has folded now so enough said.

[@Lonewolf_121]

His profit figures were just Fantasies, the company never traded

[@santman3200]

Company has folded. Now apologise clown.

[@DeletedProgramming]

This is from 2008 in case you were wondering...

[@muppet64]

It could be worse these days, you could have an Electric vehicle and attempt to put diesel or petrol in it !!!! :-)

[@MrWizardBeef]

James Calm

[@topshelfcbd8617]

Lol

[@iamsofaking6728]

Pizza Jones

[@brandonvernet]

Theo the fetus

[@marchumphreys3865]

Deborah media

[@garagecellar]

Duncan Ballastrade

[@aaronhurst4379]

Even Evan Davis isn't spared by the excessive zooms in that plague most Den episodes lol

[@BigBrianStormer]

Yeah, that was horrendous

[@andyhowie9339]

Was just waiting for that camera to zoom right into Evan Davis' nostrils at the start there

[@MichaelGarland]

Mike Cotten would make a rather good Dragon.

[@drpeppaerdrpeppaer5434]

He is boring

[@Rossi_x7]

@@drpeppaerdrpeppaer5434nah I think he’s cool

[@Rossi_x7]

He’s a “pleasant man”

[@asadzeethree2726]

What about Nick Cotton from EastEnders 🤔 Lol 😆

[@danfrost3043]

I used to work for a very well known Roadside Rescue company & the number of people who put the wrong fuel into their car is staggering, hundreds every single day all over the country. Unfortunately there is no cure for Human Stupidity. I hope he did well.

[@TheManInBlueFlames]

Those weird environmental anti-diesel laws will absolutely KILL these types of products.

[@markh7756]

The company has folded although there is a sewerage company by the same name! No one asked why he needs £250,000 which is an obvious question.

[@JesseLeePeterson9]

They did not shown on tv, lots doesn’t get aired

[@buttervlies]

They do a lot of questioning during the filming but it gets heavily edited and condensed down to a 15min clip for TV.

[@Locutus]

You obviously don't know how Dragons' Den works. You think that they ask questions for 10-15 minutes and decide in those 10 minutes. Each pitch is between 45-90 minutes long, edited down to 10-15 minutes, or even less. That question would have been asked in the questioning. You are dealing with dragons....

[@Carl-tc2yb]

They are interrogated for hours before, during and after negotiations.

[@Locutus]

@@Carl-tc2yb Hours is a bit of a stretch. It doesn't last that long. In rare exceptions, it might be 2-3 hours.

[@paulcoates3860]

Communists (china) dont care about patents... The biggest market? Did he say women😂

[@wardosravin]

This entrepeneur played them good with his 'mandate'. Debs soon came down with her offer 😂

[@googleuser8740]

Might have been true

[@hamza361]

Not sure why Peter found this investment too much of an ask. His telecoms company had 250 million turnover in 2004 with 8 figure profits most likely. 250k is spare change to him.

[@BenjaminGoose]

250k definitely wouldn't be "spare change" to anyone experienced with money.

[@andymrkipling]

It's gone on to achieve nothing so he's saved £250k.

[@vibecity5381]

too much for what the seller was generating in revenue, not for what's in buyer's bank acct

[@tomburns5231]

Peter just wants to set a culture of low-ball offers.

[@markcutting6504]

Isn't that the point?spare change or not he makes money because he invests wisely

[@funnycompilations3396]

Will This Product End All Car Mis-fuelling Incidents?! - Here i fixed the title for you

[@vondahe]

I liked Michael’s pitch. It was short, sweet and factual. His calm voice and demeanour was a pleasant change for the traditional candidates.

[@jamiegreenham4140]

Sounds like they would get more money back giving it to the mechanics who have to fix all the cars than these people preventing the car owners from doing it.

[@TheLukasDirector]

Of course not, why would a mechanic be more interested in preventing damage than a fleet owner?

[@metoosmath]

Diesel engines don't mind a bit of petrol But you can't put diesel into petrol engine

[@TomCro73]

"Challenge Accepted!" - the motoring public...

[@MrAvant123]

I think his pitch is a bit sensationalist -- when would you need to replace a diesel ENGINE for mis fuelling, the fuel system will peg out way before ? Also, I'm pretty sure my last 2 BMW's already had a system to make it physically inpossible to put ina petrol nozzle

[@oivaszemog]

Mis-fuelling Incidents ? Just fit a green flow -signal .............. 😁

[@googleuser8740]

Deborah laughed at James she knew he wouldn't get it

[@Interknetz]

There's no solution to this problem realistically, because what should have been done is have the filler neck be a different shape along with the fuel pump so they aren't easily put in the wrong car. Far too late of a problem to solve.

[@OgglyGoogly]

No not the pumps problem its the user so this is to be bought by the user.

[@Interknetz]

@@OgglyGoogly What? My point is literally preceding the fact of even needing such a product in the first place if pumps and cars were designed with different shapes.

[@OgglyGoogly]

@@Interknetz they are already though this is for older vehicles not the new market

[@Interknetz]

​@@OgglyGoogly And yet people still manage to put the wrong fuel in their car.

[@OgglyGoogly]

@@Interknetz 🤣yep

[@789loveislam]

This is not an issue on new cars 2015 onwards

[@sbrader97]

This episode is from 2008 I believe so it made more sense back then but without licensing it to a manufacturer it was always gonna be a short lived business once all new cars came with a similar system

[@Erickhetfield]

Who writes these titles?

[@jdjd9935]

Ford solved this issue years ago

[@sbrader97]

Yes they mentioned ford has that but the idea behind this was to retrofit it to older models that don't have the capless fuel caps fitted but this company has folded now this episode is from years ago

[@Cypher791]

The bigger the fleet the more likely it is that the cost of retrofitting all of these vehicles is higher than repairing the odd one if there’s a mis fuelling incident… ⛽️😳

[@joelgilbert9986]

but the bigger the fleet the more likely there is to be a misfuelling incident the odds of a mishap stay the same no matter how many vehicles there are.

[@Alex-tu9bh]

It's more about down time of vehicle for Big fleet companys no the actual cost of repairs

[@whiskeytango5680]

I've been driving for more than 50 years. Never once have I misfueled. I learned to read in kindergarten.

[@JasperDsp]

Muppet

[@TomCro73]

You've never once made a single mistake? Good heavens... are you deity? Do you claim to be deity? You act like deity... I suspect the reality's rather different!

[@abacus7087]

Did James Khan really think he was going to accept the "I get the money first" condition

[@grahamjohnson4702]

I think he did or would not have said it.

[@DylanMcist]

One of the strangest offers I've ever heard. Especially with the other offer already there lol

[@andymrkipling]

Caan*

[@tomburns5231]

Possibly didn't really want it but wanted to look like he could put up that amount of cash.

[@abacus7087]

@@tomburns5231 Yh I've noticed he always offers half the cash lmao I don't think I've ever seen him offer the full amount, he always seems to want to split the risk with another Dragon

[@thechurchofsupersampling]

Pay attention muppets, it is that simple

[@86XFA]

My design is free, pay attention to what you're doing!!

[@marchumphreys3865]

Nice one James , well said

[@A380_Flyer]

I wonder if James caan and touker soulehman would have got on well in the den?

[@BobbyTMF]

james caan apparently isn’t a great guy ethics wise from being on the den with investments.

[@samthemoron2]

They'd have to, sharing one chair. I reckon Touker would be the one sitting on James' lap. What are your thoughts?

[@geoffs3310]

​@@BobbyTMFor to be married to. He fathered a love child with a woman 27 years his junior while still married to his wife

[@randomeyes]

What was James thinking lol? Pretty obvious he would pick Theo and Deborah.. James should have at least dropped to 20% on getting his money back then he might have got the deal.

[@TwD1998]

I heard Mike Hawk lmao

[@mrjoneseastend]

The diesel pump is always oily when handled, this is a good indicator that you have the correct pump plus the hose is black.

[@joemengler1666]

How am I still finding episodes I haven’t seen

[@ya00007]

the main issue is every city is moving towards EV or carbon free. petrol and diesel are slowly being phased out. just look at London and Sadiq khan

[@jnwms]

That's pie in the sky talk

[@baron5747]

This product would've never worked anyway. What with modern diesels being equipped with DPF additives, most of the filler caps are electromagnetic to engage additive delivery into the fuel tank, when the driver refuels.

[@dobrien757]

Volkswagen AG bought the patent in 2016

[@rageeth]

Eh a sticker near the tank would work 🤷‍♂️

[@anthosm]

You haven't met the average person it seems

[@TheScritchyGremlin]

I agree that a sticker helps, but it still doesn't physically stop misfueling. I think this invention is brilliant!

[@asdasd-ni8eg]

Most the time the mistake is from rushing.

[@Katie-ff7dn]

Or having bad eyesight like me 😢

[@hoki0624]

Maybe a flow signal would be better?

[@GregoryHill-h4q]

This guy plays tennis at the club I work at and he is the nicest of chaps!

[@doctorsocrates4413]

Different sized nozzles now so this mistake is pretty much impossible now.

[@FlameFlickers]

It's pretty much impossible to put diesel into a petrol engine because of the different sized nozzles. People still accidentally put petrol into a diesel engine and those are the people this product is targetted at.

[@ExclusiveLi]

No, it's still possible. Diesel is the largest one.

[@sparky4878]

Doesn’t stop the smaller nozzle going in.

[@lightningthechick6262]

I once put petrol into my diesel car, was stranded by the roadside after driving off with the whole family, had to arrange for a tow truck to the mechanic, after repairing, sold the car and got a petrol one. No I'm not thick.

[@TehButterflyEffect]

Of course you put petroleum in your diesel car. All cars require petroleum to function. Now if you accidentally put gasoline (a petroleum product) into a diesel car, that would indeed be a problem. I would think that accidentally putting diesel into a gas car would be much more likely though.

[@j1g2w3]

@@TehButterflyEffect Different countries have different words for the same thing.

[@whiskeytango5680]

I do think you're thick. Next time you should ask an old lady to help you cross the road.

[@mastermind.det313]

I wonder what was his mother's name

[@grzesiekmichalskii]

Does the deal and the company succeded?

[@drnureini7538]

No and no

[@beeble2003]

Deal didn't go through, because the company decided 25% was too much. I guess the other three directors couldn't cope with having "only" 18.75% of the company each, rather than 20%.

[@RaymondLugo]

I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I could NOT see myself putting gasoline on a diesel car or vice-versa. I may get the point if we're talking about a fleet whose employees refuel the cars, maybe they could misfuel the cars here and there, but nonetheless I see only a "niche" market for that product. But hey, I could be wrong and maybe the company made millions, who knows? Right? 🤔

[@mullah4638]

Folk do it when not using own vehicle and fuel up.

[@BobbyTMF]

can’t find them anywhere - not a great sign unless they were bought and trade under a different name. He said DDN ltd right?

[@DaveC2729]

This is how we came up with "spill-proof" gas cans. When using said cans, I have to put so much force into the unreliable, incompetently-designed gizmos that I wind up slipping and sloshing gas everywhere, making "spillproof" containers completely backwards on stopping spillage. I would never buy something like this because I would expect the same incompetence in the design and wouldn't take a chance on it.

[@cu99460]

Cars are going electric - so I wouldn’t want to invest if I was a dragon.

[@AndyK.1]

This was a number of years ago before the electric anti climax.

[@MrDutto]

electric car sales are tanking... still even if they got a few orders, such a simple product would be going for £4 on aliexpress in a few months time

[@ChrisPatrick-q6k]

Mike ain't no Snake 🐍

[@Rehanaahmad970]

Started to watch this thanks to my business teacher. Love dragons den!

[@SHINBET666]

Theopus 😂

[@AngryBoozer]

Theo the Fetus was the best caption after Pizza Jones

[@Sarcastic-weirdo2043]

Easy. Put petrol in a petrol car. Put diesel in a diesel car. Nuff said!

[@vannustube]

how did this investment do in the real world? did the dragons make their money back?

[@Falzeee]

James is no a priest

[@flaminglechoo]

Paying attention is much cheaper though... 🤔

[@P.G.Wodelouse]

seen loads of these devices they are all rubbish, break easy, cause slow filling and overflowing, increase spilling.

[@bigscrounger]

James Khan is quite a posh guy ..

[@stephonlong6036]

A bit pointless now we're merging to electric! What's nexts, making sure we're universal on plugs😂

[@sbrader97]

This episode is from 2008 I believe so way before electric cars became popular

[@leedsgeek2681]

Ford actually did way before 2008

[@johnjames4834]

not one of them had drag on

[@shawnfoogle920]

the world has gone insane. Far too quickly

[@johnjames4834]

@@shawnfoogle920 that is very modest of you

[@Barberdon2022]

Be better marketing it at new drivers

[@39zack]

KZbin captions: Theopus 😂😂

[@asmazak]

How could anyone misfuel their vehicle? You would need to be completely absent-minded.

[@rjmunt]

Why would a new car manufacturing run licence a restricting input instead of making a smaller input?

[@TheRocco96]

This gadget doesn't protect you when it's the gasstation itself that made a mistake and is selling petrol thru the diesel pump (or vice versa).

[@Ghajahha]

But at that point you can just sue them

[@jessicaregina1956]

If its the gas station that made the mistake, guess who's liable

[@Jonathan-rc6kw]

Thank you James...

[@tomekk.1889]

What in the world is misfueling??

[@xxgn]

Putting regular gas into a vehicle that takes diesel. I imagine operators of vehicle fleets who've dealt with the consequences of such an error by their staff would be the primary audience for this product.

[@sitinrighthere]

Replace the engine 😂 ffs

[@notpoliticallycorrect1303]

In about 40 years in the motor trade I have repaired hundreds of misfuelled cars very,very,very rarely does it result in more than a tank flush,filter and fresh fuel. Also he is mistaken, many manufacturers have already implimented systems into their filler necks.There is no mention of wether they comply with c+u regulations or the fact that their use would now be deeemed a modification and failing to notify insurers could see you uninsured and/or liable in the event anything occurring while it was fitted,especially so without DOT approval.

[@shauncorless8965]

Done it 3x ,,😢 Duncan I'm ooot Bannatyne 😅

[@Lonely_Goat]

if you cant figure out and pay attention whilst you are doing the job in hand, refuelling, then you actually deserve to be punished

[@larry365]

What a ridiculous, harsh and childish comment.

[@Lonely_Goat]

@@larry365 lads, we found the Karen mothership

[@OgglyGoogly]

Sorry im blind how am i suppose to be able to see and prevent this problem. Well how you drive then my dog barks once for brake twice for left and three times for right

[@Lonely_Goat]

@@OgglyGoogly I don't get these people. Maybe it's me and I am a genius and I don't even realize. I pull up, ignore the black nozzle, now I have two choices. Expensive petrol or cheaper version. I pick one up and start. It's not that difficult

[@OgglyGoogly]

@@Lonely_Goat so true

[@aidankelly840]

Why don't petrol station s Have recorded Message When you're about to put your fuel in the car It should state you are now Putting petrol or diesel In your vehicle 90% + Of people would get it rite

[@fnk101]

Road safety issues.. lol

[@chrissilvester5663]

Just use a simple sticker then anyone that's dumb enough to get confused over using wrong fuel for their vehicle in thrme first place won't get confused. Besides I've never heard of anyone misfueling

[@aleddavies770]

Surely that device would only fit a handful of used vehicles

[@asdasd-ni8eg]

This is the part i was thinking, it happens on actual trucks, wholesize need to be large for high flow pumps, so you cant use this in most applications.

[@bluceree7312]

150,000 confuse their petrol every year?! FFS we need a better education system that's for sure.

[@asdasd-ni8eg]

Know 130000 are run of their feet and make a mistake. Rushing is the biggest issue not education.

[@PharmacyAve]

99% of those are women

[@mauharley]

I'd imagine that a large percentage of the mis-fuelling would occur with hire cars. It would be well worth these companies installing his product.

[@edwardchristensen414]

This guy should team up with the flowsign guy.

[@markcutting6504]

Or the council bins guy that didn't own any bins & had no sponsorship at all

[@Yo-Two]

With? Sort it out

[@kinglionbearali2447]

We need a FLOW SIGNAL! DERRICK COME OUT!

[@davkrod]

Many years ago I had a driveway attendant try to put diesel in my petrol Toyota Landcruiser because in his mind, all Landcruisers ran on diesel. I was very lucky I caught him in time.

[@russnunn2456]

What is a driveway attendant

[@DaveTexas]

Umm, diesel nozzles are larger than gasoline nozzles, specifically for the purpose of not being able to fit into the opening on a gasoline engine’s fuel filler neck. That’s the entire point of the product here, to prevent the smaller gasoline nozzle from being put into the opening on a diesel fuel tank. Smaller fits into larger, hence the mistaken filling of a diesel engine with gasoline. Larger does not fit into smaller, which is why people with gasoline engines do not need such a product. So please explain how your engine was going to be mistakenly fueled by a professional fueling attendant.

[@AlphaCentauri24]

I have literally seen cars with Diesel/Petrol sticker near the fuel tank. Simple inexpensive Solution.

[@anthosm]

I knew a person with such car.. still managed to misfuel

[@shabedali3214]

Don't underestimate people's stupidity. I own a fleet company. This happens twice a week. Even when I've specifically told them what fuel to put in and the sign is on the flap.

[@thechurchofsupersampling]

All cars have rhis

[@piggybackshiggy]

Cool a thing that no one will ever use or need. The hose are a different size for a reason already lmao.

[@sparky4878]

Yes diesel is bigger. So can’t put diesel in a petrol. Which of course means the smaller petrol nozzle will fit in a diesel filler.

[@NB_NB_NB]

We all know there's no shortage of idiots on the roads who would misfuel!

[@paper_gem]

Yes, but would idiots buy such a product? Probably not.

[@BenjaminGoose]

I'm sure you've never made a single mistake in your life.

[@Ryanjoned163]

I just had a massive dump 😳

[@lj9497]

Lol

[@PaulWelsh]

The dragons are such vampires!

[@barenker489]

I don't get it. Even if it was such a common mistake. You could just write somewhere in the car which fuel you need and check when fueling

[@grahamjohnson4702]

It's when they get to the pump and choose the wrong nozzle that it happens, some pumps now ask whether you want petrol or diesel and will only let that type of nozzle deliver.

[@UnknownUnrecognized]

people don't read , no point in writing anything anywhere

[@anthosm]

Yeah and if car crashes were common we could just put a sticker on the windscreen that reads "don't crash"... obv the issue is people not paying attention...

[@shaunpowelluk]

Lease and rentals. Just takes someone not familiar with the car to make that mistake.

[@superx8299]

The 150 - 200k incidents that the AA have logged in there database tells you it IS a common

[@VicYo-en3wm]

I put diesel in my petrol car once and !! NIGHTMARE 😢

[@rf159a]

They shouldn't be driving at all if they don't know what kind of fuel their car uses!!

[@UnknownUnrecognized]

in ideal world yes..

[@gazzasoloman2562]

A common mistake when driving a work vehicle !

[@kusz2704]

Petrol in a diesel is fine

[@keithhodgson6489]

No its not. The diesel pump relies on the diesel fuel for its lubrication. Diesel in a petrol tank isn't good but not fatal.

[@Andy-x3e4z]

They unfortunately couldn’t see the diesel bans that were coming.

[@JONACAN]

Strange investment