Wheels 7 April 2016

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April 7, 2016

Dealers in Superfine Exotic and Sports Cars Tel: 033 345 1971, 033 342 4717 Fax: 033 342 2900 - www.ashcarsales.co.za

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L A T I P CA ays Saturd 9­10 am

2014 Mercedes Benz s350 Bluetec AMG Auto, diesel, 29 000 kms, White/blk leather, Panoroof, 20” mags, 360 degree cameras, navigation, reverse camera, bluetooth, front and rear PDC, full electric memory seats with heating/cooling function, massage seats, smash and grab, keyless start.

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KZN’S BEST READ ON ALL THINGS WHEELED, EVEN A FLYING SCOOTER

KZN puts squeeze on car licences Taxi owners want service to match the high fees, truck operators take their business away ALWYN VILJJOEN KZN’s licencing fees went up on April Fools day, and while this means owners of an average two­ to three­ton car will pay between R40 and R60 more, truck and taxi operators are really feeling the squeeze.

On top of the R120 motor­ vehicle registration fee, the licence fee for a typical family se­ dan of about two tons now costs R972, while a smaller hatch will cost just over R800. While steep enough compared to R828 and R492 for similar cars in Gauteng, these figures are petty cash for truck operators.

An eight­ton truck, such as most bakeries use to deliver bread, now costs R12 588, an in­ crease of over R570 on last year and over R3 000 more expen­ sive than licence fees for similar trucks in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the Free State.

This is why national fleet op­ erators whose main depots are in Durban simply use the utility bills from depots in other prov­ inces to register their fleets there, typically saving them­ selves millions in the process.

These millions are forever lost to KZN’s coffers, which is why the transport portfolio commit­ tee in the provincial legislature last September considered ways to attract fleet owners back to their home base.

Wheels reported in October last year that the head of the KZN transport department, Si­ busiso Gumbi, admitted KZN’s vehicle licencing fees are among the highest in South Africa in five out of eight categories, and that the transport portfolio

committee hoped to decrease fees this year.

Instead, in a Gazette Extraor­ dinary published on January 29, the province raised the fees.

The result is that only in the Eastern Cape is it more expen­ sive to be a car owner or fleet operator.

It now costs over R24 000 to licence a 12­ton truck in KZN, plus R2 127 for each half a ton weight over this. In Gauteng, the same truck will cost the op­ erator over R3 000 less, and the half ton fee is also almost R400 less.

KZN’s fleet operators who ex­ pected if not a decrease, at least a freeze on increases, are under­ standably upset.

Ebrahim Joosab, director at Colt Transport, a family­owned transport business based in Piet­ ermaritzburg since 1983, says KZN is losing out and he called for a uniform licence fee system for all provinces to prevent this.

“In the current economic cli­ mate, the focus on managing costs has become increasingly important and as a result of the continued increase in licence fees in KZN — and with KZN al­ ready being one of the most ex­ pensive provinces in the coun­ try — we have been forced to register some of our vehicles in other parts of the country to keep costs in check and remain competitive in the industry.

“KZN is losing out on a reve­ nue stream to other provinces from most transport operators.

We have a uniform road act, and should also have a uniform li­ cence fee system across the country,” said Joosab.

Anton Jacobs, logistics man­

ager at Willowton Logistics, which transports products from Willowton Oils across South Af­ rica, said the licence fee increases could not have come at a worst time.

“Transporters have no choice but to pass these costs on to the client, who pass it on to the con­ sumers. It is a vicious circle that leads to constant increases in the cost of all foods,” said Jacobs.

Taxi operators are also feeling the squeeze. Taxi licences cost between R2 000 and R5 000, depending on the size of the minibus.

Sifiso Shangase, provincial manager for the KZN branch of the SA National Taxi Council, (Santaco), said profit margins in the taxi industry are already pa­ per thin and the new increase of over R200 in most taxi licence fees will just make business hard­ er. To add insult to injury, taxi operators say they are getting slow to no service from the KZN transport department, despite the province charging a premi­ um price.

“Our biggest issue is with the delay in getting operators licen­ ces. There are hundreds of appli­ cations pending, none of which are moving. The taxis of these operators get impounded, and apart from the cost of R200 per day in the pound, the operator then has to pay a few thousand rands in legal fines and fees. We respectfully ask the transport of­ ficials to be efficient and effec­ tive in processing our applica­ tions,” said Shangase.

The department of transport did not respond the queries at the time of going to print.

• alwyn.viljoen@witness.co.za

Mobile clinic for Vulindlela Two Rotarian clubs in Pietermaritzburg and Rotarians from Scotland raised over R1,2 million towards a mobile clinic, which the clubs donated to the KZN Department of Health for use in Vulindlela. Garden City Commercial vehicles arranged for the long­wheel base, high­roof Sprinter to be kitted out with two consulting rooms, both with beds and cupboards, which the Rotarians will now equip. Pictured are Pietermaritzburg Rotary Club members with (in front, from left) Rotary former district governor Hennie de Bruin, senior health official K.G. Mgadi and Keith Bruce, from Rotary in Kirkcudbright in Scotland.

PHOTO: ALWYN VILJOEN

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Ford pumps billions into Pretoria FORD investing R2.5­billion at its Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria to produce the Everest SUV and Ranger bakkie.

This investment will create approximately 1 200 new jobs at Ford South Africa and with­ in the South African supplier network. Jim Farley, Ford exec­ utive vice president and presi­ dent of Europe, Middle East and Africa said the investment

reaffirms the importance of these markets as part of our growth strategy across the Middle East and Africa.

“It further reinforces South Africa’s position as a strategic export base for Ford Motor Company.”

The Silverton facility joins AutoAlliance Thailand in Ray­ ong; Ford’s Chennai plant in India and the JMC Xiaolan

Plant in Nanchang, China, as production hubs for the Ever­ est. Initial production at Silver­ ton of the Everest will com­ mence in the third quarter of 2016, with the first units ex­ pected to come to market in the fourth quarter.

The made­in­SA models will be sold locally and exported to markets across Sub­Saharan Africa. — WR.

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WitnessWheels MOTORING

April 7, 2016

Safety tips site not cool

While the 250 000­plus pre­orders for the Tesla 3 electric car ‘for the masses’ stole the news last weekend, future mass transport is more likely to be shaped by scooters linked to a proven battery swapping system, like this Gogoro scooter and its battery bank from Taiwan.

Competition only for those who like cold calls and spam ALWYN VILJOEN READERS have been asking about the carsafety.co.za com­ petition for drivers to sign up and share the site with four friends for a chance to win R100 000 “cash” and/or other prize draws.

Our short answer is just to delete these e­mails.

If you want to know why, let’s look at that “cash” prize first.

According to the terms and conditions, the grand prize of R100 000 “cash payment” will only be made towards paying an existing car loan of no less than R50 000, or to buy and register a new car no older than a 2005 year model for the win­ ner, or to buy and register a car for the winner’s family member or friend, as long as this person is younger than 55.

Carsafety.co.za will also pay the “cash payment” only to a bank or dealership of the win­ ner’s choosing, and if the win­ ner is not paying off a car debt but buying another car, whatev­ er the R100k does not cover “must be co­financed by the winner”.

Another condition is that at least 20 000 “qualified en­ tries” must be received towards the grand prize draw.

A qualified entry entails “a fully submitted form or Face­ book or Gmail sign­up with phone number submission, as well as all details of a person’s vehicle­related information fol­ lowed by four fully submitted referrals with form or Facebook or Gmail sign­up with phone number submission in all cases, then with a full submission of a person’s vehicle related infor­ mation — all initiated by a per­ son’s own referral link (provid­ ed by carsafety.co.za upon a full registration)”.

A similarly convoluted para­ graph, which should warn all hopeful entrants to heed our advice, reads: “Should fewer than 20 000 qualified entries have been submitted by when campaign closes, then pro­rata applies to the amount of cash payment: 10 000 qualified en­ tries = R50 000 cash award for grand prize, etc”.

Why those who are willing to suffer spam for a chance to win should be penalised thus is not made clear by the carsafe ty.co.za domain, which pur­ ports to bring you “tips and car safety information, offerings for various car­related prod­ ucts, such as vehicle finance, car assist, motor warranty, car in­ surance, tyre specials, test drives, etc.” The site claims to be the product of WDC Group Pte Ltd, in Singapore, and is promoted locally by its South African representatives: 3Way

Marketing (Pty) Ltd and One Hub, trading as onehub.co.za So why does a company in Singapore care so much about our road safety? In short, to get your personal details and then spam and cold­call you.

Or, as the company website admits: “We will use your per­ sonal information to call you and to send you marketing e­mails and SMSes in order to bring you tips and car­safety in­ formation, offerings for various car­related products, such as vehicle finance, car assist, mo­ tor warranty, car insurance, tyre specials, test drives, etc.”

That is not all. Your entry means you “further consent to your personal information be­ ing transferred to a third party in a foreign country for the pur­ pose of storing the informa­ tion”. The personal informa­ tion will be stored in UK. Consenting adults, etc So, if you are okay with receiv­ ing “periodic information re­ garding products, services, competitions, special offers and other marketing initia­ tives”, hurry, because the com­ petition ends on May 1 with the lucky draw by May 17, using a random­number generator sys­ tem.

But note: “no entry may win any prize, should person or his/ her immediate relative own no vehicles registered in his/her personal possession”.

Also, don’t bother if you have unpaid traffic fines, which car safety.co.za deems criminal, or other restrictions related to driving in South Africa.

Carsafety.co.za also reserves the right to conduct an internal audit that may “involve check­ ing of information supplied and other car­safety and fi­ nance­related matters”, as well as refuse winner selection if it feels “that mandate of car safe­ ty with a particular winner could be compromised”.

You have been warned.

• alwyn.viljoen@witness.co.za

V WDC GROUP:

‘We will use your personal information to call you and to send you marketing e­mail’

PHOTO: END GADGET

Three countries plan to sell only electric cars ALWYN VILJOEN NORWAY, the Netherlands and India have all announced steps to stop sales of cars powered by in­ ternal combustion engines (ICE) within their borders.

The leader of the pack, Nor­ way, has already made all munici­ pal vehicles electric last year.

Norway next aims to make all public transit fossil­fuel­free by 2020; followed by private taxis in 2022 and close to all cars by 2025.

Norway’s Labour Party leader Jonas Gahr Støre said that Nor­ way did not intend to ban petrol or diesel engines, but would in­ stead give tax breaks to vehicles with low or no greenhouse gases.

If these tax breaks were to be applied in South Africa, it would mean electric car owners would pay no tolls, no licence fees, no

sales tax (which makes up over a third of the price); no 14% VAT; and the corporate­car tax bene­ fits would be better.

In Norway, public parking and charging will also be free and best of all, electric cars may travel in restricted bus lanes.

“We have seen how such taxa­ tion methods have improved the sale of electric cars,” Støre told the media.

The Netherlands Following Norway’s announce­ ment to limit ICE engines al­ ready by 2025, the lower house of the Dutch parliament last week supported a motion to do the same.

The action was brought by the Jan Vos of the Dutch labour party PvdA (for Partij van de Arbeid) and is opposed by the People’s

Party (VVD) — the largest in the country and head of the current governing coalition. The VVD said it finds the Dutch plan “un­ realistic”. But as Renewables In­ ternational reports: “the Dutch Energy Act expires in 2023, so a ban on diesel and gasoline vehi­ cles afterwards would not require the act to be revised”.

In India From New Delhi, the Economic Times reported the India minis­ ter of electricity, Piyush Goyal, said the Indian government is working on a scheme to provide electric cars on zero down pay­ ment for which people can pay out of their savings on expensive fossil fuels, to have India a “100% electric vehicle nation by 2030”.

“India can become the first

country of its size which will run 100% of electric vehicles. We are trying to make this programme self financing,” Goyal said.

“We don’t need one rupee support from the government.

We don’t need one rupee invest­ ment from the people of India.”

He added the ministries of En­ vironment, Roads and Oil have created a small working group that already met this week to work on realising this dream in India.

“Innovation is possible, it just needs an open mind. You need to think of scale and be honest.

“We are thinking of leading the world rather than following the world.

“India will be first largest country in the world to think of that scale,” Goyal told the Eco­ nomic Times.

Toyota Japan confirm bosses in SA TOYOTA Motor Corporation (Japan) recently announced that Dr Johan van Zyl, previously pres­ ident and CEO of TSAM, is now appointed as chairperson of To­ yota South Africa Motors (TSAM).

He will continue to function as the CEO of the Europe Region based in Brussels. van Zyl’s role within TSAM will be of a more strategic nature, and he will con­ tinue to guide and support the TSAM management into the fu­ ture.

Takeshi Isogaya is appointed as CEO of Africa Region based in Tokyo Japan.

Andrew Kirby, currently serv­ ing as executive vice president and chief operating officer of TSAM, is appointed as the presi­ dent and chief executive officer of TSAM, based in Durban.

“Andrew is a very experienced, multi­talented motoring man and I am confident he will do an outstanding job as the new presi­ dent and CEO of TSAM,” Van Zyl said.

“The road ahead economically will not always be an easy one to travel, but I believe that, with An­ drew and the executive team, we will meet every challenge suc­ cessfully and continue to build on its proud leadership heritage to remain an integral part of South African life for many years to come.

“I feel very privileged to have personally shared in this rich To­ yota legacy and for the ongoing role that I have been asked to play.” — Supplied.

Andre Kirby.

PHOTO: QUICKPIC

Chemical process to recycle tyres back to tyres AARON TURPEN RESEARCHERS at Durham Uni­ versity in the United Kingdom have developed an approach to breaking down rubber in materi­ als at room temperature.

The chemical process uses cat­ alytic disassembly, eliminating the energy­intensive methods of currently­used tyre recycling processes.

In a paper published in the journal Green Chemistry, the Durham researchers explain how the process works and how it could be used to recycle vehicle tyres, latex gloves and other poly­ mer­based items that are manu­ factured in the millions of tons every year.

The long­chain hydrocarbon

molecules and unsaturated car­ bons in these rubbery materials are traditionally very difficult to recycle or reprocess easily, espe­ cially vehicle tyres.

The traditional method for re­ processing rubber is to change drastically the temperature of the rubber compounds to break them down, either by heating them for milling or freezing them to fracture them.

These are energy­intense and leave a crumb product which is then mixed with new elastomers to produce new material, often with a loss in hardness or mallea­ bility.

These losses mean that most recycled rubbers are not reused for the purpose they were origi­ nally formed, but are instead re­

cycled into other products lower down the use chain.

This often means that the cost benefit for recycling is dimin­ ished.

The Durham researchers be­ lieve that their chemical process may be used to allow the materi­ als to be recycled back into their original use, so a recycled tyre could be made into a new tyre.

Their cross metathesis reac­ tion breaks down rubbery poly­ mers into viscous liquids that can then be reformed without degra­ dation.

The process could also be used to create the crumb now com­ monly produced, but at much lower cost.

The process discovered uses Grubbs’s catalysts to break down

polybutadiene (PBd) networks at their double bonds via cross­ metathesis (CM) reactions to produce readily soluble molecu­ les. As the chains fragment, the material disintegrates into rub­ ber crumb at room temperature.

Grubbs’s catalysts are easily syn­ thesised and are readily available commercially.

The researchers also discov­ ered that increasing temperature and reaction time improved the breakdown process, also offering a faster way to facilitate rubber compound breakdowns when producing crumb.

The resulting oil is low in mo­ lecular weight and non­polymers (oligomers), both conducive to easy reuse of the polymers being recycled. — Gizmag.

MOTORING WitnessWheels

April 7, 2016

3

A Volksie for all seasons Wheels accepts the challenge to match the factory’s claimed consumption in the 1,4 Passat.

I HAVE friends in both Secunda and the former Witbank, both towns with atmospheres so pol­ luted that residents can suck on the so­called dirty air from a Volkswagen’s tail pipe when they want to get some fresh air.

I say “so­called dirty” because the current Volkswagen dirty air scandal really is a tiny first world problem not even on par with having slow broadband.

Its only when you consider the sheer hubris of the executives who did not hesitate to cheat the Americans that the VW imbro­ glio becomes more sizeable. And considering how America con­ stantly refuses to sign any indus­ trial protocols that will help re­ duce emissions to slow down global climate change, even their hubris remains relative in size — about as big, for example, as spending millions of taxpayers money to fix up your palace and then pleading ignorance.

Which is why, when the Wit­ bank mates asked advice on a good car, I did not hesitate to rec­ ommend a Volksie.

Of course the best Volksie you can buy right now is the Bugatti Veyron. The Guinness World Records lists the Super Sport Veyron as the fastest street­legal production car in the world, with a top speed of 430,9 km/h, while

Wikipedia has the roadster Vey­ ron Grand Sport Vitesse model as the fastest roadster in the world, reaching an averaged top speed of 408,84 km/h in a test on April 6 2013.

But as the Pointer Sister sang, speed is not everything. Enter the VW Phaeton, arguably the sec­ ond best Volksie out there.

This understated sedan has all the mod cons you could wish for, shares a platform with the Bent­ ley and a drivetrain as used by the Audi A8, and has enough sump­ tuous power to drive as buttery smooth as any new Rolls. But the only ones on sale in SA are used, and the mates’ eyes watered a bit at the R304k price for a 2004 model.

Which brings us to the new VW Passat. It ticks all the boxes a rising exec can want, with just enough flash to show you are now standing at the urinal with the big boys, but also just conserva­ tive enough to reassure the cli­ ents they are not paying for your premium car habit. Now dealer principle at VW Pietermaritz­ burg, Keith Abrahams has chal­ lenged Wheels to match the fac­ tory consumption from the 1,4.

Hear how it rates against the Audi A4 on our sister pro­ gramme, on Capital 104 on Sat­ urday from 9­10, when Brian Bas­ sett will tune you straight.

Do stay dailed in.

The design of the VW Passat has come a long way from the 70s wedge (top right) and those 90s curves (top left) to the edgy modernism of today (left), but it is under the hood where the best changes were made.

A tiny 1,4 engine makes bakkie­loads of power — 110 kW and 250 Nm — but with a claimed fuel consumption of only 5.3 l/100km, which we are trying to match this week.

Watch the space.

PHOTO: QUICPIC

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Visit us on www.baronsvw.co.za

An optional cost of R2200 incl. VAT will be charged for metallic paint. Note: Linked to FNB prime rate, currently 10.25%. Offers calculated on the New Passat TSI 110kW Comfortline model in standard specification. Interest rate is used for illustrative purposes only. Instalment excludes optional extras, but includes bank initiation fee of R1140. Offers may not be used in conjunction with any other specials service or offering. **Total retail price of R390 200 at a Guaranteed Future Value of R232 949 based on 20 000km p.a. Subject to bank approval. Information subject to change without prior notification. All finance offers are subject to credit approval from Volkswagen Financial Services. Offers only available through Volkswagen Financial services South Africa Proprietary Limited trading as Volkswagen Financial Services an Authorised Financial Services and Credit Provider. NCRCP6635. Terms and conditions apply. All the above is subject to price increase and valid until 16 April 2016 or while stocks last.

An optional cost of R1600 incl. VAT will be charged for metallic paint. Note: Linked to FNB prime rate, currently 10.5%. Offers calculated on models in standard specification. Offer excludes the Amarok Double Cab Ultimate model. Interest rate is used for illustrative purposes only. Instalment excludes optional extras, but includes bank initiation fee. Offers may not be used in conjunction with any other specials service or offering. **Total retail price as above at a Guaranteed Future Value on 20 000km p.a. Subject to bank approval.

Information subject to change without prior notification. All finance offers are subject to credit approval from Volkswagen Financial Services. Offers only available through Volkswagen Financial services South Africa Proprietary Limited trading as Volkswagen Financial Services an Authorised Financial Services and Credit Provider. NCRCP6635. Terms and conditions apply. All the above is subject to price increase and valid until 16 April 2016 or while stocks last.

Barons

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ALWYN VILJOEN

4

WitnessWheels MOTORING

April 7, 2016

The Borgward is back … but now it’s Chinese and it promises to be electrifying, as well as connected BORGWARD Group AG — a German brand that is being re­ vived with Foton’s backing — has formed a long­term strategic partnership with the SAP, LG Electronics and Bosch to sup­ port its plan to launch sales in Europe with plug­in hybrids and electric vehicles.

Borgward was one of Germa­ ny’s largest and most successful vehicle builders between 1919 and 1961, making internal com­ bustion and electric cars, trucks and even the KKolibri — a three­ seat helicopter designed by Heinrich Focke.

The new agreements govern the development and delivery of various parts and components, particularly those related to electric mobility. All three of the agreements are long term in na­ ture.

“The partnership that was agreed with SAP, LG and Bosch is an important milestone for Borgward Group AG,” said Ul­ rich Walker, CEO of Borgward Group AG, at the signing of the agreements in Stuttgart on Thursday. “Together with our partners, we are forming a strong alliance for a networked future.”

The leading IT company SAP will supply the software for the effective networking of the R&D, production, value chain, sales, services, global business operations and other areas of the young yet time­honoured automaker.

The software from SAP will enable Borgward to perfectly in­ tegrate the areas of Industry 4.0

Older readers will remember the Borgward Isabella (right).

The famous German brand is now back on sale with Foton backing from China. PHOTO: SUPPLIED and Internet Plus in order to break through the traditional business and production proc­ esses and pave the way for a new era of smart manufacturing.

The strategic partnership with LG Electronics encom­ passes the joint development and delivery of high­perform­ ance batteries for plug­in hy­ brids and electric vehicles.

Moreover, Borgward and LG will jointly develop electric vehi­

cle components such as electric air­conditioning compressors.

In the co­operation with Bosch, the two companies will work to­ gether on the further develop­ ment of the electric drive train.

In addition, the partnership will encompass the develop­ ment and supply of components and systems for motor control units, dynamic handling sys­ tems, starter generators, elec­ tronic steering systems and mul­

timedia systems.

Borgward plans to launch plug­in hybrid and full electric cars in German­speaking coun­ tries at the end of 2017. The EVs will have a range of over 250 km and will be attractively priced,

Walker said last month.

Borgward is based in Stutt­ gart and backed by Chinese commercial­vehicle maker Beiqi Foton Motor. It targets annual global sales of 500 000 vehicles in the midterm. — Gizmag­WR.

Car chassis from bike frames A TRIO of British companies has produced the world’s first car chassis using butted tubing technology taken from bicycle production.

Famous bicycle tube makers Reynolds Technology, high­qual­ ity Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) consultancy Simpact and sports car maker Caterham Cars, shaved more than 10% off the weight of the already lightweight chassis of the icon­ ic Caterham Seven.

The research and develop­ ment project unveiled a proto­ type Seven using the new technology and processes at the Niche Vehicle Network Symposium, held in March.

Reynolds, which first patent­ ed the process for making but­ ted tubes in 1897, provided the tubing technology for the initi­ ative and had to develop new tooling and processes.

Meanwhile, Simpact Engi­ neering conducted the virtual analysis and testing to derive the specification and position­ ing of butted tubing and Cater­ ham built the first prototype car. Butted tubes are thicker at the ends than in the middle, meaning that the frames can be both strong and lightweight.

By using low­cost mild steel rather than more “exotic” al­ loys, the project made large mass reductions of up to 50% on some parts without losing any of the chassis’ torsional stiffness or strength. The tubes will sell from about R20 100, or £1 000, as an option. — WR.

Whatever happened to making cars with the engine in the boot?

SIMON HAW A FIFTIES’ advertisement show­ ing a puzzled man peering under the bonnet of a car with the cap­ tion “Where have they put the engine?” reminded me that in the 1950s and ’60s, cars with their engines in the rear were quite common and this led me to wonder why this layout has disappeared from all but large passenger coaches.

Because the last one rolled off a Mexican assembly line as late as 2005, most people think im­ mediately of the VW Beetle and its various offshoots, such as the Kombi, when asked to recall vehi­ cles with a rear engine.

And well they should, as Ferdi­ nand Porsche’s thirties’ design was the first mass­produced car with this engine layout.

But South Africans got their first taste of cars with “the engine in the boot” from Renault.

The dinky little 4CV was de­ signed under the noses of the Na­ zis during the war and was re­ leased to a car­starved public in 1947.

By the early fifties, 4CVs were a fairly common sight in a South African vehicle park still domi­ nated by American and British models.

I have a particular memory of the little Renault as it nearly led to my six­year­old self having a long toddle to school, not be­ cause it broke down, but because I was unwise enough to repeat my Studebaker­President­cos­ setted mother’s opinion that it

The cute Renault 4CV (left) was fitted with an in­line four of 750 cc. Hillman’s Imp was well­named as it certainly showed its mischievous side to its frustrated owners.

PHOTOS: WIKIPEDIA.ORG was the most uncomfortable car she had ever travelled in.

Renault continued to favour a rear­engine layout with subse­ quent models.

The 4CV was succeeded by the gutless and troublesome, but im­ mensely popular, Dauphine, and then by the sweet­handling, boxy Renault 8. The hot Gordini ver­ sion rapidly became a common sight on South African race­ tracks. The only other French rear­engined car to reach our roads was the Simca 1000.

Across the border in Italy, Fiat also produced rear­engine cars at the budget end of its range.

First to appear was the iconic Fiat Cinquecento Nuovo, fitted with an air­cooled twin of 500 cc capacity — one of the most con­ vincing retro­cars of the 21st cen­ tury, the Fiat 500, is a modern

reinterpretation.

For those with a bit more cash, Fiat offered the Fiat 600 and its Multipla derivative, both fitted with the same water­cooled four.

And for the even more pluto­ cratic, there was the 850. Like Renault, Fiat switched to front­ wheel drive and the now ubiqui­ tous transverse layout with the gearbox in line with the engine is a Fiat development.

The British contribution was the Hillman Imp — a cutely styled mini­car fitted with an adapted version of the all­alu­ minium Coventry Climax, single OHC, stationary engine often encountered on fire­fighting equipment.

The Imp was rather too cun­ ning for its own good as its pneu­ matic accelerator actuator was a lot more troublesome than a ca­

ble would have been.

In fact, Rootes Group’s new baby is often cited as an example of how not to build a motor car.

Probably the worst decision of many that the company made was to site the factory in the de­ pressed Clydeside ship­building area of Scotland as it now had to deal with incredibly militant strike­prone workers who had no experience of building cars — a fact that showed in the shoddy build quality and unreliability of the new mini­car.

A much better built and sur­ prisingly innovative car was the U.S. contribution to the genre.

This was the Chevrolet Corvair, which was powered by an air­ cooled flat six mounted in the rear. Everything should have been in the new Chev’s favour ex­ cept that it ran counter to Ameri­

ca’s love affair with vast ship­like automotive confections which sailed rather than drove across the prairies. Even more damag­ ing, however, was the condemna­ tion of one of the world’s first consumer crusaders, Ralph Nader, whose publica­ tion Unsafe at Any Speed has an entire chapter on Chevrolet’s revolutionary baby.

Nader’s concerns speak to at least one of the reasons why the design has disappeared from our roads. I remember that, during my teenage years, jokes about Beetles rolling over in the veld abounded. The general consen­ sus seemed to be that cars with rear engines were a crash waiting for a place to happen.

While hugely exaggerated, there is a smidgeon of truth in this.

Most rear­engine cars tend to oversteer — that is, the heavy tail end breaks away, leading to inex­ perienced drivers finding them­ selves taking a much sharper line through corners than they in­ tended.

For the motoring public, the sort of understeer built into front­wheel­drive cars is general­ ly considered safer and further­ more there is no need to travel around with a sack of mielies in the “boot” to weigh down the free­floating front end.

Add to this problems with en­ gine cooling, long cables and gear linkages, and it is perhaps not surprising that it was Citro­ ën’s Traction Avant rather than VW’s Beetle that represented the wave of the future.

V SIMON HAW

The general consensus seemed to be that cars with rear engines were a crash waiting for a place to happen.

In the market for a seamless motoring experience?

By Pieter from Maritzburg Quality, reliability, fuel efficiency and economy are the key principles that drive the Das Auto Engineers at Volkswagen. All of their innovations, such as BlueMotion Technology, are the product of strict processes that ensure every facet of every Volkswagen seamlessly and flawlessly integrates all four of these principles – right down to the last bearing.

The result is a seamless motoring experience from the moment you open your car door to the moment you close it behind you at your destination. Barons Pietermaritzburg strive to ensure that seamless experience starts the moment you walk in to their dealership. Every facet of their business is run in line with the Volkswagen brand you know and trust.

SA’s #1 selling passenger vehicle under R2000.

Buy a Polo Vivo 63kW Trendline from R169,400* incl. VAT and we will upgrade you to a 63kW Eclipse.

The Polo Vivo 55kW Conceptline standard features include:

Model

Vehicle Price

Polo Vivo 55kW Conceptline

R155,700

-

Multi-Point-Injection (MPI) Driver and passenger airbags 14” Steel wheels

Monthly No. of Interest Rate Instalments Instalments Linked / Variable

R1,988*

72

10,5%*

The Polo Vivo 63kW Eclipse standard features include:

Deposit

Balloon Payment

Total Cost Incl fees & VAT

16% (R24,912)

35% (R54,495)

R197,627

-

Low Profile 16” Mistral alloys Chromed strip on sides and boot-lid Lowered suspension Silver painted side mirrors

- Centre console - Anthracite hood-lining - Sport seats

Exclusive to Barons Pietermaritzburg.

Exclusive to Barons Pietermaritzburg: Receive free alloys and factory fitted radio.

Available in only Pure White or Deep Black.

Visit us on www.baronsvw.co.za

An optional cost of R950 incl. VAT will be charged for metallic paint. Note: Linked to FNB prime rate, currently 10.5%. Offers calculated on the Polo Vivo 55kW Conceptline model in standard specification. Interest rate is used for illustrative purposes only. Instalment excludes optional extras, delivery, licensing and registration, but includes initiation fee of R1140. Offers may not be used in conjunction with any other specials service or offering. Subject to bank approval. Information subject to change without prior notification. All finance offers are subject to credit approval from Volkswagen Financial Services. Offers only available through Volkswagen Financial services South Africa Proprietary Limited trading as Volkswagen Financial Services an Authorised Financial Services and Credit Provider. NCRCP6635. Terms and conditions apply. All the above is subject to price increase and valid until 16 April 2016 or while stocks last.

An optional cost of R950 incl. VAT will be charged for metallic paint. Note: Linked to FNB prime rate, currently 10.5%. Rate is dependent on customer credit scoring. Offers calculated on the Polo Vivo 63kW Trendline and the Polo Vivo 63kW Eclipse models in standard specification. Interest rate is used for illustrative purposes only. Price excludes optional extras, delivery, licensing and registration. Offers may not be used in conjunction with any other specials service or offering. Subject to bank approval. Information subject to change without prior notification. All finance offers are subject to credit approval from Volkswagen Financial Services. Offers only available through Volkswagen Financial services South Africa Proprietary Limited trading as Volkswagen Financial Services an Authorised Financial Services and Credit Provider. NCRCP6635. Terms and conditions apply. All the above is subject to price increase and valid until 16 April 2016 or while stocks last.

e&oe

Visit us on www.baronsvw.co.za

e&oe

Power steering Anti-lock brake system (ABS) Air-conditioning

Barons VW Pietermaritzburg can be found at 9 Armitage Road. They are committed to bringing you quality cars and excellent service at the best possible prices ALL year round!

To start hunting for your dream vehicle, visit www.baronsvwpmb.co.za. And to book a test drive or service call (033) 845 3100. Open Monday – Friday 8am – 5pm, and Saturdays 8am – 1pm.

Have you seen the Eclipse?

Polo Vivo 55kW Conceptline from R1,988* per month.

-

Long story short, if you are in the market for a seamless motoring experience that offers quality, reliability, efficiency and economy from the moment you enter the showroom, then I recommend you visit The Bespoke Volkswagen dealers at Barons Pietermaritzburg – they will tailor a deal to suit your budget and needs.

Guaranteed Future Value.

R132 900 R144 900 R144 900 R163 900 R159 900

45 000 29 500 30 000 6 000 15 000

White White Silver

R189 900 R199 900 R225 000

104 000 km 9 000 km 8 000 km

White White Silver

R549 000 R249 900 R275 900

3 500 km 35 000 km 15 000 km

White Blue

R122 900 R159 900

8 000 5 100

km km

Silver White White Grey

R229 900 R174 900 R369 000 R375 000

75 000 97 500 12 000 3 000

km km km km

White Blue White Red

R189 900 R148 900 R69 900 R89 900

65 000 90 000 69 000 89 000

*The advised price exclude the 2 year Mastercars Warranty. The Mastercars Warranty is available as an option and is a contract between the customer, an insurer and administrator. This extended Warranty is not available for all Amarok and Light Commercial Vehicle models. Terms & conditions apply. While stocks last.

Mastercars Sales Consultants: Laurie - 082 783 8040 • Rajen - 072 228 9834 • Sanjay - 083 639 0989 Barry - 072 235 4244 • Phumlani - 073 017 1294 Visit us on www.baronsvwpmb.co.za and find us on facebook.com/BaronsPietermaritzburg

Barons

Pietermaritzburg

9 Armitage Road, Pietermaritzburg, 3201 • Tel: 033 845 3100

km km km km km

km km km km

Passat TSI 110kW Comfortline from R5,299* per month.

- Guaranteed buyback** - Short term: 36 months Model

Vehicle Price

Passat TSI 110kW Comfortline

R390,200

Monthly No. of Interest Rate Instalments Instalments Linked / Variable

R5,299*

36

7.56%*

Deposit

Guaranteed Future Value

10% 59.7% (R39,020) (R232,949)

Total Cost Incl fees & VAT

R423,906

Visit us on www.baronsvw.co.za An optional cost of R2200 incl. VAT will be charged for metallic paint. Note: Linked to FNB prime rate, currently 10.5%. Offers calculated on the New Passat TSI 110kW Comfortline model in standard specification.

Interest rate is used for illustrative purposes only. Instalment excludes optional extras, but includes bank initiation fee of R1140. Offers may not be used in conjunction with any other specials service or offering. **Total retail price of R390 200 at a Guaranteed Future Value of R232 949 based on 20 000km p.a. Subject to bank approval. Information subject to change without prior notification. All finance offers are subject to credit approval from Volkswagen Financial Services. Offers only available through Volkswagen Financial services South Africa Proprietary Limited trading as Volkswagen Financial Services an Authorised Financial Services and Credit Provider. NCRCP6635. Terms and conditions apply. All the above is subject to price increase and valid until 16 April 2016 or while stocks last.

New Sales Consultants

John Brown • Merglin Rama • Menzi Ngubane • Bahle Bhengu Erica Neff • Keshnee Pillay

Sales Enquiries: 033 940 1445

BP Advertising

Silver White Beige White Red

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Polo Vivo 2013 Polo Vivo Sedan 1.4 2015 Polo Vivo GP 1.4 Trendline 5 Door 2015 Polo Vivo GP 1.4 Trendline 5 Door 2015 Polo Vivo GP 1.6 Comfortline 2015 Polo Vivo GP 1.6 Comfortline Polo 2012 Polo GTI DSG 2015 Polo GP 1.2 TSI Comfortline 2015 Polo GP 1.2 TSI Highline Golf 2015 Golf 7 R TSI DSG 2015 Golf 7 TSI Trendline 77kW 2015 Golf 7 1.4 TSI Comfortline up!

2015 Take up! 1.0 55kW 2016 Move up! 1.0 55kW Other VW 2012 Tiguan 1.4 TSI BlueMotion 2012 Jetta 1.4 TSI Comfortline 2015 Amarok Double Cab 2.0 TDI 103kW 2016 Passat 1.4 TSI Comfortline DSG Other 2011 Hyundai IX35 2.0 Premium 2012 Toyota Corolla 1.6 Professional 2012 Fiat Punto 1.2 Active 2013 Toyota Aygo 1.0 5 Door

WitnessWheels INNOVATION MOTORING

6

Two wheels in the sky Flying electric scooter set to solve both congestion and pollution problems

April 7, 2016

Wear a piston skirt for less wear

A passenger car steel piston with the new Federal­Mogul Powertrain EcoTough­D skirt coating for diesel applications.

PHOTO: FEDRAL MOGUL

Thomas Senkel flies Skyrider One on its maiden test flight at La Palma in the Canary Islands.

PHOTOS: SKYRIDER ONE LOZ BLAIN THE German physicist behind the Evolo manned multicopter and the Volocopter 2­seater has just taken his first flight aboard another remarkable aircraft: a flying electric scooter.

Thomas Senkel flew his Skyrider One prototype for some 46 minutes in the idyllic surroundings of the Canary Is­ lands, marking what he believes is the first electric, road­registerable two­ wheeler to take to the sky.

If flying car proponent Dezso Molnar is on the money, we should be thinking less about flying cars, and more about roadable aircraft. Simple, single­seat de­ signs that can straddle the gap between the road and the sky to achieve multi­ mode transport in the most efficient way possible.

On that axis, Thomas Senkel’s Skyrid­ er One scores very highly as a practical, simple and elegant design. It’s a simple two­wheel electric scooter, with a 6­kW hub motor to drive the rear wheel, and a 13­kW motor driving a large rear­ mounted propeller. A regular tandem paraglider canopy can be unfurled when you want to fly, and then it’s a matter of gaining enough speed in scooter mode to fill up the ’chute, lifting off, then engaging the propeller drive to give you power in the air.

Flying prototype aircraft — especially hybrid designs like this one — must be a nerve­wracking experience. Indeed, as Senkel told us, “I was very nervous in the beginning and at the landing. I have some experience with powered paraglid­ ers,” said Senkel, “but the behaviour of

the Skyrider One was unknown. After landing, I was relieved that everything went really fine. The next flight would be a lot easier.”

Senkel sees simple designs like the Skyrider One, as the quickest and easiest way to achieve flying car­like capabilities.

“You can drive to your airstrip, fly to somewhere, and drive home after land­ ing,” he says. “With all­electric drive, it’s

quiet and doesn’t make any pollution.

It can be used in areas where combustion engines are not allowed. And two wheels are enough, no need for more. Take off and landing is easy with some help from your feet.”

Skyrider One can take off on any flat terrain or airstrip. The rider needs to face into a slight headwind; crosswinds aren’t suitable. Once in the air, it’s possible to

Thomas Senkel is a picture of relief after safely landing his Skyrider One prototype.

switch the motor off altogether and ride thermals to keep yourself aloft for poten­ tially hours at a time without draining the battery.

The prototype has just two small 3 kWh lithium polymer batteries, giving it a total range up to 120 km on the road with a maximum speed around 60 km/h, or 30 minutes of powered flight if you run the propeller constantly.

Senkel believes it’s the world’s first fly­ ing electric two­wheeler: “All other pow­ ered paragliders I know come with three or four wheels and a combustion en­ gine,” he tells us. It’s also extremely light, weighing in at just 108 kg.

Senkel is now looking for production and marketing partners to take Skyrider One to the market.

The production version will use a fold­ ing prop with no surrounding cage in order to make it easier to ride on the road, and Senkel’s already thinking about what other improvements can be made between now and then.

Even though we’re just at the dawn of the electric aviation age, Thomas Sen­ kel has already built himself a pretty as­ tounding CV. He’s on the bleeding edge of the manned multirotor movement with the Evolo and Volocopter projects, and now with this small, practical elec­ tric flying scooter he’s broken new ground in the multi­mode transport segment. Not to mention his work on the Hendo hoverboard and anti­gravity devices. We’re officially putting him on our list of inventors to watch out for!

Senkel’s maiden flight on the Skyrider One can be seen on YouTube.

— Gizmag.

Is a recession a good time to buy a car?

BRIAN BASSETT considers whether a recession is a good time to buy a car.

IN England and continental Europe a car is a luxury because public trans­ port is superb.

In fact the Europeans get angry if public transport is more than five minutes late.

It is safe for children to use public transport to schools and, if they have to walk to school from the station it is usually quite safe, provided of course no one has planted a bomb in the area.

In the United States much the same applies in the big cities, but there a car is essential because of the huge area of the country, as well as because of the fact that cars and fuel are cheap in relation to family in­ comes and motoring is still an enjoya­ ble pastime with many families own­ ing three vehicles or more.

In South Africa the situation is very different. Except in two or three of the larger cities we have no reliable public transport and what we have is both expensive and sometimes unsafe and unreliable.

Not surprisingly then a family’s first purchase, as soon as they can afford it, is a car.

Most middle­class families would like two cars for the sake of conve­ nience, but the fact that our rand has lost 50% of its value over the last five years has made this a pipe dream for many middle class South Africans.

Sadly the story of our county’s eco­ nomic woes continues with factors like a crippling drought driving up food prices. The problems in the economy have been complicated by rising inter­ est rates and there are those econo­ mists who predict an overall rise of around 1,5% this year. There are also the “running costs” of living in cities,

which continually rise, like service and utility charges, while the cost of edu­ cation at all levels is crippling, espe­ cially for the poor.

The only apparent light at the end of the tunnel is the oil price, which has dropped by 60% since 2004 to around $30 a barrel and is likely to stay there for some while, but this is offset by the weak rand.

Recently we saw a round of price increases on new cars, ranging from 10 to 15%. Some manufacturers, like Hyundai, have tried to sweeten the deal with long warranties, while others have allowed extended payment plans.

The point is however that whatever the special offer, you will have to pay for the car and the monthly repay­ ment is less than half the cost of ve­ hicle ownership.

Many people put their faith in the used car market and motor vehicle auctions, while yet others look to

leasing. The problem with all of these options is that the more the car you choose costs new, the more it will cost you whether it is new or used, owned or leased. One would expect that cars made in the RSA would be able to avoid major price increases, unfortunately these vehicles are much dependent on imported parts, al­ though some manufacturers like Volks­ wagen, run a used spares service for clients, where good quality used spares are made available.

Everyone in the motor trade to whom I have spoken in recent weeks, has indicated that there are likely to be more price increases this year and no one is willing to predict what those will be.

If the rand does decline further they can potentially be very large in­ deed. So our advice to you is, if you are planning to buy a car, the sooner the better.

NUREMBERG — Federal­Mogul Powertrain, a division of Federal­Mo­ gul Holdings Corporation, has intro­ duced piston skirt coatings that de­ liver less friction in both petrol and diesel turbo­charged engines.

Building on the proven perform­ ance of previous EcoTough coatings, the new formulations further reduce engine friction, wear and noise, while dealing with the challenging loads and temperatures that exist in the lat­ est downsized, turbocharged en­ gines. “Reducing frictional losses by applying materials expertise is a criti­ cal element of Federal­Mogul Power­ train’s work with engine manufactur­ ers,” said Gian Maria Olivetti, chief technology officer, Federal­Mogul Powertrain.

“Our new EcoTough piston skirt coatings have the increased durabili­ ty necessary to perform for the life of the piston under the greater ther­ mal and mechanical loads created by the latest generation of highly effi­ cient engines.”

He said petrol and diesel engines require alternative solutions because of important differences in their rela­ tive combustion loads, piston geom­ etry and the lubricity of their respec­ tive fuels. Federal­Mogul Powertrain has accommodated these differences by formulating specific coatings, each optimised for either petrol or diesel application.

EcoTough­New Generation coat­ ing is a metal oxide­reinforced resin with additional embedded solid lu­ bricant particles.

The coating, which is applied in a thickness of 15 microns, reduces skirt wear in gasoline engines by up to 40% compared to the market stan­ dard and offers significantly im­ proved fatigue strength under ex­ tremely harsh conditions.

It also delivers piston friction re­ duction gains of up to 15% compared to standard coatings, directly im­ proving the efficiency of the base en­ gine. The new coatings are currently completing validation programmes with vehicle manufacturers.

Diesel engines EcoTough­D has been developed for aluminium and steel diesel pistons, in passenger cars and commercial ve­ hicles.

Taking advantage of the greater structural stiffness of diesel pistons and the superior lubricity of diesel fuel, Federal­Mogul Powertrain was able to specify a different formula­ tion and deliver greater improve­ ment in friction levels. A polymer­ based coating reinforced with short carbon fibres and containing graph­ ite embedded as a solid lubricant, EcoTough­D reduces piston friction by as much as 35% compared to con­ ventional coatings. Wear resistance is improved by up to 30%. “The pis­ ton skirt and piston pin alone ac­ count for around 17% of the friction­ al losses,” said Dr Frank T.H. Dörnen­ burg of Federal­Mogul. — Supplied.

MOTORING WitnessWheels

April 7, 2016

7

For family­friendly racing Volvo’s go­faster team have turned the S60 into a champion without losing sight of safety ALWYN VILJOEN WHEN you ask most petrol­ heads to name the first car they can think of that is all speed and power, few of them will answer “Volvo”.

They will instead say Volvo is all about seat belts and clever head rests that are designed to stop all those whiplash injuries from a rear­end collision caused by the Volvo soccer mum’s sud­ den braking.

But say “S60” or V60 and all informed petrolheads will go “aaaah, THOSE Volvos”. I have fond memories of especially the S60R, which had so much torque steer one almost had to sit on the front passenger’s lap to hold it straight on a pull off. (Which, in­ cidentally, was also my excuse with the girlfriend at the time.)

Then came the Volvo T6 AWD, a car so strong Wheels lik­ ened its ability to induce fear and fun to that of the world’s most insane roller coaster — the Tower of Terror II in Queensland Aus­ tralia. Now Volvo has wrung those Newtons some more to produce the quickest cars yet from the forges at its perform­ ance brand, Polestar. This latest version makes 270 kW and 470 Nm — but is still one of the world’s safest family cars.

The best news is a few of the 1 500 built annually will again be exported to South Africa as well.

This safe family sedan goes from idling at the starting line to 100 km/h in just 4,7 seconds and is limited to a top speed of 250 km/h, powered by a special­ ly­enhanced version of Volvo’s award­winning four cylinder Drive­E powertrain.

Polestar said in a statement it had taken the original S60 with

include new 20­inch lightweight wheels, Polestar­calibrated elec­ tro­assisted power steering and new slotted front brake discs, measuring 371 mm in diameter.

This Volvo S60 is still safe enough for the whole family, but has proven to be blisteringly fast in the FIA World Touring Car Championship race over the weekend. PHOTO: QUICKPIC a highly­advanced 2,0­litre four cylinder Drive­E engine and add­ ed a bigger turbo, a supercharger, new conrods, new camshafts, a larger air intake and a higher ca­ pacity fuel pump to augment the engine, and matched it with a BorgWarner four­wheel drive system and the new Polestar­op­ timised eight­speed Geartronic automatic gearbox.

Polestar also reduced the car’s weight by 24 kg over the front ax­ le alone. “These cars are properly quick,” says Niels Möller, chief operating officer, Polestar. “But they are more than that. They combine Polestar’s 20 years of racing pedigree with Volvo’s in­ herent pragmatism and engi­ neering heritage. These are very fast cars that you can use every

day of the year.”

But before you rush to order yours, consider adding the man­ datory roll cage that makes the new Volvo V60 Polestar the world’s safest safety car.

These V60s run in front and behind the pack in the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), and is equipped with a roll cage as well as rescue and communication equipment in order to meet the rigorous tech­ nical and safety requirements set by the FIA and WTCC promoter, Eurosport Events Wheels has confirmed with Brent Ellis from Volvo SA that these V60 pace cars still have their full complement of airbags apart from the sturdy protection offered by the steel pipes of the

roll cage, which makes this sedan not just properly quick, but also properly safe.

Racing is in their genes The two S60 Polestar traces its heritage to the Volvo S60 Pole­ star TC1, the all­new FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) race car from Polestar Cyan Racing.

The new road cars use the same base chassis, engine and philosophy of the team behind their development. While used in vastly different areas, these cars share more than just technology.

The race and road cars feature a further­developed four­cylin­ der Drive­E engine, with the two­ litre, twin charged engine of the Volvo S60 and V60 Polestar pro­

ducing 270 kW and 470 Nm. Despite the increased per­ formance, fuel consumption and emissions are at a class­leading level of 7,8­litres per 100 km and 179 g/km CO2, further proving the efficiency of the Volvo’s Drive­E powertrain.

Henrik Fries, vice president R&D, Polestar, concludes: “All changes made to the car are about improving drivability and efficiency. The base of the new engine carries motorsport tech­ nology with solutions like the combination of turbo and super­ charger, lightweight materials and more. This works hand­in­ hand with our core philosophy and has enabled us to evolve the Volvo S60 and V60 Polestar.”

Other new features on the cars

It all seems to be working This weekend, Thed Björk and Fredrik Ekblom scored world championship points in the FIA World Touring Car Champion­ ship race weekend, held at Circuit Paul Ricard in France.

Björk provided the best show of the weekend in the first race where he climbed from last posi­ tion on the grid to finish seventh, passing nine cars.

“I am really pleased with the weekend. We have proof that we are on pace. We had some issues but that is to be expected and the team has done an amazing work with the car. I can’t wait to get to the next race in Slovakia,” said Björk.

Team­mate Ekblom was next to score world championship points in the second race, cross­ ing the line in 10th position after a tough fight with, among others, former world champion Rob Huff.

“We had a good first race and I am delighted to leave Paul Ri­ card with points. The car is quick and I am longing for us to sink our teeth in all the data we have gathered in order to sharpen our knives even further ahead of the rest of the season,” said Ekblom.

A few technical issues arose at the debut weekend, with a broken rear suspension for Ekblom in race one after an incident and an electrical problem for Björk in race two. But both showed com­ petitive pace with an all­new car and programme for Polestar Cy­ an Racing.

Hilux once again SA’s best­selling vehicle

BMW in the U.S. has launched an app that learns as it seamlessly links the car to the Internet of things. PHOTO: SUPPLIED

Apps turn cars into diary and map extensions BMW North America boasted it has turned the car into a persona­ lised digital device.

The company announced a new personal mobility companion app at this week’s Microsoft’s Build conference in San Francisco.

Built around a flexible infrastruc­ ture called the Open Mobility Cloud, the system is designed to learn about a driver’s route and use traffic information to estimate arrival times. The app also learns patterns and can send the driver reminders of appointments and automatically pick the least con­ gested route to the destination.

The app is only available in the

U.S, but it is not unique to BMW, as that group of clever students at the Eindhoven University of Tech­ nology in the Netherlands have al­ ready equipped the world’s first family car to be powered entirely by sunlight, the Stella Lux, with a tablet that uses Google maps and Google calendar to render the same basic reminder and destina­ tion matching services.

What the students’ apps don’t have is the BMW’s ability to learn and adapt, but Google’s DeepMind has already beaten the world’s best Go player, hence it’s only a matter of time before all smart­ phones can help you drive. — WR.

WHILE there are well over 2 000 different models of cars on sale in South Africa, it seems South Africans only buy three makes — Toyota, Ford and VW. Looking at the March sale figures, Ford said it is still a brand on the move, “consist­ ently growing its local sales and export volumes” despite an overall sales slump.

Industry new vehicle ex­ ports during March, 2016 had registered a fairly substantial decline of 18,5%, in volume terms, compared to the corre­ sponding month last year.

Ford sold a total of 6 807 vehicles and exported a record 5 086 Rangers in March 2016, its highest figures yet for the year.

This is in stark contrast to the prevailing market trends

which, according to the fig­ ures released by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Afri­ ca (Naamsa), saw the aggre­ gate new vehicle sales in March 2016 fall by 14% to 47 631 units compared to March last year. Similarly, to­ tal export volumes dropped by 18,5% to 27 714 units for the month.

Ford’s local director of mar­ keting, sales and service, Neale Hill, said Ford secured its highest overall sales for the year. The new Ranger again topped the 3 000 local sales mark once, while 5 086 units were exported.

“We’re also delighted that Ford was once again the sec­ ond best­selling brand overall and through the dealer chan­ nel, signalling strong consum­

er confidence and the sustain­ ability of our dealer network.”

SA’s best selling brand, To­ yota, is as proud of especially the all­new Hilux, which is back to being SA’s best­selling vehicle, note, not bakkie, but vehicle.

The “tougher­er” Hilux topped the sales chart with 3 273 deliveries in March, ena­ bling Toyota to retain its title as best­selling brand for the month with an overall retail tally of 8 740 units. What this means is that Toyota has been the market leader for every month in the first quarter, with Hilux crowned as the most popular LCV year­to­ date.

Calvyn Hamman, Senior vice president of sales and marketing for Toyota SA Mo­ tors, is particularly encour­

aged by this early performance of the new Hilux. “What makes this achievement ex­ ceptional is that more than 60% of Hilux sales — an as­ tounding 2 000 units — came from the double cab variant due to the staggered model in­ troduction,” Hamman said.

The new car market contin­ ued to experience pressure and, at 30 702 units, registered a fall of 13,4% compared to the 35 468 new cars sold in March last year. Domestic sales of new light commercial vehi­ cles, pick­ups and minibuses, at 14 507 units, dropped by 14%.

The consumer demand­ driven new car market was ex­ pected to remain under pres­ sure declining by around 10% in volume terms.

— WR.

For more information on Witness Wheels advertising Contact Avir on 033 355 1152 or 084 278 3447 Avir@witness.co.za

WitnessWheels MOTORING

RACING

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April 7, 2016

Another Cox Invitational already on the books After a strong start (top) at the inaugural Alfie Cox Invitational held at Henderson’s Farm in uMzumbe on the KwaZulu­Natal South Coast on Saturday, Scott Bouverie (right) proved too fast for the rest of the quality field as he claimed the overall title. Cox said he was thrilled with the results of the first event. “Today was spectacular! Usually at Enduro events the spectators don’t get the opportunity to watch the action, but here they could watch from various spots and cheer the boys along the way. Seeing these guys giving it their all and enjoying the course is what it’s all about. The idea is to invite the best of the best to ride the event and it has the opportunity to grow in years to come.” PHOTO: GAMEPLAN MEDIA

Privateers on the podium CHARMAINE FORTUNE THE iron grip the Toyota Gazoo Racing SA factory team has on the production vehicle category showed no sign of slacking when Leeroy Poulter/Rob Howie led home team­mates Anthony Tay­ lor/Dennis Murphy on the RFS Endurance Race, opening round of the Donaldson Cross Country Championship, in Vryburg to­ day.

Reigning champions Poulter and Howie finished three min­ utes and 17 seconds clear of former champions Taylor and Murphy to take the overall and FIA Class honours. Toyota went through last season unbeaten, with the new FIA Class allowing teams to run cars to FIA Group T1 specifications that apply to the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup and the Dakar Rally.

“It was a near perfect weekend for us,” said Poulter. “It was a very fast route but we did not pick up any problems, and it was a good start to the season for the whole team.”

The race was run over two laps of 245 km, and behind the two Toyota Hilux big guns there was a terrific result for young priva­ teers Jason Venter and Vincent van Allemann in the 4x4 Mega World Toyota Hilux. The pair has worked their way through the production vehicle ranks, and the final place on the podium also

gave them overall honours in Class T where cars must now run with solid axle rear suspension and commercially available tyres.

The young North West crew were followed home by the con­ sistent Johan van Staden and Mike Lawrenson (Red­Lined Motorsport Nissan Navara), with former champion Chris Visser and Ward Huxtable com­ pleting the top five in the Neil Woolridge Motorsport/Ford Performance Ranger.

Both crews profited from the demise of Pretoria crew Christi­ aan du Plooy and Henk Janse van Vuuren, in the RFS Amarok, who started the day in third place after a strong showing in the qualify­ ing race.

Behind the Class T cars Brazil­ ian crew Cristian Baumgart and Beco Andreotti (NWM/Rally X Ford Ranger) again produced a solid performance. The pair started and finished the day in sixth overall and did enough to make sure of third place in the FIA Class.

The Brazilians were followed home by two more Class T cars with another steady perform­ ance lifting Hennie de Klerk and Adriaan Roets into seventh place in the Treasury One BMW X3.

De Klerk and Roets were just over a minute clear of Mpumalanga brothers Johan and Werner Horn (Malalane Toyota Hilux), who had a good day in moving from

Pmb’s Gareth Woolridge and co­ driver Boyd Dreyer led the NWM Ford Performance Rangers and were amongst the fastest runners in Vryburg.

PHOTO: QUICKPIC

15th at the start to eighth.

Ninth place went to a second Brazilian crew in Marcos Baum­ gart and Kleber Cincea in anoth­ er NWM/Rally X Ford Ranger who lost a little ground during the course of the day. Both the Ford Rangers were built in Pieter­ maritzburg by Neil Woolridge Motorsport, with the two Brazil­ ian crews taking advantage of the introduction of the FIA Class.

It was also a good day for Luke Botha and Andre Vermeulen, in another of the Red­Lined Motor­ sport Nissan Navaras. After a dis­ appointing qualifying race they worked their way into the top 10 finishing ahead of the likes of Malcolm Kock/Johan Burger (Kock and Sons Toyota Hilux), Gareth Woolridge/Boyd Dreyer (NMW/Ford Performance Ran­ ger) and Gary Bertholdt and

former national rally champion Pierre Arries in the new Atlas Copco VW Amarok.

Apart from du Plooy and Janse van Vuuren the other big losers on the day were Terence Marsh and TV personality Marius Rob­ erts (Red­Lined Motorsport Nis­ san Navara) and Kimberley based newcomers Otto Graven and Bobby Brewis in a Graven Motor­ sport Toyota Hilux. Marsh/Rob­

erts were handily placed when they hit a rock and rearranged the Navara’s front suspension while Graven/Brewis, who started the day leading Class S for cars under four litres, also fell by the wayside.

• The next event on the Donald­ son calendar is a new innovation, a one day Super Sprint Race, on 7 May in Vredefort in the Free State.

Young biker killed in crash at offroad enduro

Brian Baragwanath (centre) topped the quad riders’ podium, followed by André Park (left) and Stefan Swanepoel.

PHOTO: JUSTIN AUGUSTINE

THE first results for the 2016 SA Cross Country Championship (SACC) for motorcycles and quad competitors are on the scoreboard after the opening round, the Vryburg Race, this weekend.

The second of the two 150 km loops had to be can­ celled on Saturday after a seri­ ous accident involving Gislain van der Merwe, who died from massive head trauma in Milpark hospital. His family switched off the life support machines on Monday.

It was the first national race with in many years that saw the bikes run the same routes as the cars and Louwrens Ma­ honey, director for the SACC motorcycle and quad champion­

ship and former multiple race winner at Vryburg, was satisfied with the outcome of the event.

Michael Pentecost (Proudly Bidvest Yamaha) took the over­ all victory as well as the OR1 (Open) Championship. The rid­ ers behind him had to eat some dust on the 150 km loop and he was followed by Bot­ swana’s desert fox, Ross Branch (Brother Leader Tread KTM) with Kenny Gilbert (Kargo Rac­ ing Husqvarna) third overall and third in OR1.

Former SA National Off­road Champion, Altus de Wet (BCR Arrow Yamaha) made a return to off­road racing to claim fourth place in OR1 with Ruan Smith (Sherco Racing SA) fifth.

The quad riders started Sat­

urday’s race behind the last two­wheeler with Dakar Rally hero and defending champion, Brian Baragwanath (Proudly Bidvest Yamaha) off first. He had to settle for third place after he lost time due to two rear flat tyres.

André Park (Yamaha) won the race, with Stefan Swane­ poel (Yamaha) less than a min­ ute behind in second place.

This was also the Open Quad Class podium. Russell Ferreira (Yamaha) finished fourth with Johan Oosthuizen (VANS Racing Division Yamaha) rounding off the top five. In the Open Quads the top ten were Yamaha rid­ ers, Ruan Stander (sixth); Dew­ ald Theron (seventh); Paul dos Santos (eighth) and Wiaan van

Wyk with Lourens van Rensburg finishing ninth on his Suzuki.

• The second round of the SACC for motorcycle and quad competitors will take place on May 6 and 7. This will be a standalone event in Dundee in KwaZulu­Natal, with the next combined event the Toyota Desert Race 1 000 in June in Botswana.

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