Whees 14Dec2017

December 14, 2017

Are these the sleek new lines of the next Toyota Land Cruiser?

Witness

WHEELS

ADVERTISING: AVIR THULSIRAM ON 084 278 3447

More concept cars from the LA Show on page 2.

… NOW YOU’RE MOTORING

Airbnb for cars Rent my Ride offers way to make vehicles pay ALWYN VILJOEN WHAT do you get when a South African and two Hollanders walk into a pub? If that South African is called Peter Puren, and the Dutch guys are Sebastian Brok­ mann and Frank van Driel, you get a Cape Town start­up that bills itself as the Airbnb for cars.

While a first in SA, the busi­ ness model has already been proven by Snappcar in Europe and Turo in the U.S. Puren, the CEO of Rent My Ride, cut his teeth in the rental business while working for car rental agencies in the United Kingdom and started Rent My Ride (RMR) in 2016.

Brokmann is the MD of the company who brings his experi­ ence with a start­up Fruitful Of­ fice to RMR. Brokmann helped grow Fruitful to a market­leading

company that delivers fresh fruit to over 100 000 residents weekly in the Netherlands.

Van Driel is the Internet boss and was co­founder of Budget Energie, which is a renewable en­ ergy company with a turnover of over R6,6 billion.

Puren said he started his own small car rental business from his apartment with only four cars and progressed by renting out other people’s cars for them.

Since the humble start, Puren said thousands of vehicle owners have hired out their rides to total strangers, who get to rate the car owner, while the car owners also get to rate the renters.

The renters pay over 40% less than conventional car rental agencies charge, with a wider va­ riety of cars.

In Cape Town, for example, the cheapest rental is a Tazz at

R100 a day. In Durban, the cheapest ride at the time of print was a Fiat 500 at R168 per day, while an Isuzu single cab was list­ ed for R468 a day.

Puren said in a media state­ ment owners make from a few hundred to over R40 000 a month, depending on the model they rent out and their price.

The renter pays a deposit that covers any damage under R5 000 while RMR has a R10 million in­ surance policy underwritten by Renasa Insurance for damage over R5 000. The cover includes 24/7 roadside assistance.

Puren said in a statement Rent My Ride enables any car owner to make their vehicle earn its keep by renting it out to people who have passed RMR’s strict screen­ ing process.

He said traditional car hire firms are likely to have limited

Rent My Ride CEO Peter Puren (front), with MD Sebastian Brokmann and Frank van Driel at the rear. PHOTO: RMR supply in December and January, which creates a chance for people listed on RMR to earn extra mon­ ey over the festive season.

Brokmann said the goal for 2018 is to enlist thousands of South Africans on the Rent My Ride website.

Would you rent your car to a stranger?

If so, there may be many clients waiting at rentmyride.co.za. If not, tell me why, at alwyn.viljoen@witness.co.za.

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Dezzi Raceway near Port Shepstone will host the last drags of the season on Saturday.

PHOTO: FACEBOOK

Last drags for KZN’s top racers DRAG racing is a big divider in motor sports. For rally and drift­ ing fans, drags are, well, a drag, what with all that “just holding on to the steering wheel”.

For transport authorities, the drag racers are perpetual rebels who endanger lives by breaking bylaws with illegal races.

But for the 13 312 people who avidly follow the Facebook post­

ings of the drag racers in KwaZu­ lu­Natal, drags are the best spec­ tacle on any road, combining the brutal power of super­tuned en­ gines with the intricacies (and betting) of horse racing.

These fans are already plan­ ning a family day out at Dezzi Raceway, a venue that also at­ tracts Midlands racers, who de­ scribe it as the world’s most sce­

nic race track. The track now also boasts a skid­pad, for hire by the public and companies, such as Jaguar and Land Rover, who on Tuesday send owners sideways on the new pan.

The fans will pay R60 to enter on Saturday, while kids U12 go in free. To keep these popular family events safe, no alcohol or guns will be allowed. — WR,

Chance to ‘Ride Like a Pro’ in joBerg2c AVIS Van Rental is running its “Ride Like A Pro” competition in the Old Mutual joBerg2c race for the second consecu­ tive year.

The nine­day, 900­km mountain bike stage race cov­ ers four provinces and will run until January 19, 2018. The winner will be announced on February 2.

The prize is a one­team en­ try for joBerg2c 2018, a team kit, which consists of four shirts and four bibs, the use of an Avis Safari Rental with your own driver for the dura­ tion of the event and one night’s accommodation at Courtyard Hotel Rosebank the night before the race starts.

To enter, upload a two­min­

ute video motivating why your team deserves to win the prize. To be eligible for the prize, participants must qualify per the terms and conditions and joBerg2c race criteria.

Upload your video and view the terms and conditions from https://www.avis.co.za/drive­ avis/promotions/van­rental­ ride­like­a­pro­2018.html

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2

WitnessWheels MOTORING

December 14, 2017

A bubble for 2 Little composite Swedish car goes big on safety ALWYN VILJOEN SWEDISH startup company Uni­ ti on Tuesday unveiled the Uniti One, a friendly little tandem­seat bubble car that it says “complete­ ly reinvents the modern city car”.

Lewis Horne is the CEO over 45 staff members at Uniti. He de­ scribes the Uniti One as “a high end electric city car designed for high performance in an urban en­ vironment with a focus on sus­ tainability and a futuristic user experience”.

He said safety, sustainability, and scalability are the group’s pri­ mary focus areas.Their unique selling point is the Uniti car’s re­ cyclable carbon fibre body and or­ ganic composite interior.

While pioneering, Uniti is not the first to use composite materi­ als. That honour goes to Henry Ford, whose chemists combined 50% pine, 30% straw, 10% hemp and 10% ramie — a plant in the nettle family — to create body parts that did not even dent when Ford enthusiatically hit it with an axe to show the strength of composites over steel.

Ford said his agricultural plas­ tic aimed to help U.S. farmers by

The Uniti tandem two­seater from Sweden offers five star safety and no parking worries on top of grin­inducing acceleration, with an interior that moves from press and pull to touch and swipe, enabling people to drive as if they are controlling a car in a video game. PHOTO: UNITI buying their produce during the depression in the 1920s.

Horn said the Uniti One aims to use composite plastics to save the Earth.

“It is a huge challenge and a very very large ambition, but ev­ erybody here is highly motivated because we know the planet needs this change so we are giv­ ing it our best shot,” said Horn.

Despite its Noddy Car looks,

Horn said the Uniti One is opti­ mised for high performance and agility in urban environments, with a user experience that repla­ ces “press and pull” with “touch and swipe”.

“High performance” means 0­80 km/h in 3,5 seconds. and a class­leading 300 km of range from the 22 kWh battery pack, which can be recharged via induc­ tion or from a household socket.

The little car can stay ahead of trucks on the highway too, with a top speed of 130 km/h.

“By combining new safety in­ novations with automotive fun­ damentals, we aim to uphold the tradition of world­class Swedish safety with a five­star NCAP rat­ ing,” said Horn.

Buyers can choose between two steering options. The first is a familiar­looking steering wheel

configuration for those with a hankering for some traditional functionality, and the other is a centre pivot joystick control sys­ tem with a tablet­like touch­ screen display in the middle.

Horn said Uniti will start deliv­ ering the first one­seater bubble cars by 2019.

The bubble car project is being crowdfunded at the moment, with discounts for early bids,

New Toyota: not rugged but goofy AT last week’s LA Show, Toyota unveiled its Adventure Concept (FT­AC) alongside the TJ Cruis­ er and FT­4X concepts from ear­ lier this year to show what a tough, next­generation Toyota utility vehicle might look like.

Compared to the real rugged­ ness of the 1233­Nm GMC All Mountain track­runner or the Star Wars cannon platform from Nissan, the newest concept from Toyota looks a little too much like a crossover fitted with some odd­ ly matched components meant to evince some semblance of rug­ gedness.

The “adventure concept” is al­ so loaded with all kinds of goofy concept accessories, like fog lights and drive cameras that re­ move for use on bikes and other gear — something to help push millennials out of the city and in­ to the wild, where they can up­ date their Instagrams with na­ ture selfies.

Toyota said in a statement plans for the FT­AC include a petrol engine with an advanced torque­vectoring all­wheel­drive system, which will send torque as required to each of the four wheels for maximum traction

Once in production, Uniti will be sold directly online and deliv­ ered to buyers’ doors.

Horner said the company plans to also offer two­, four­ and five­seat premium electric vehi­ cles, and the One is now up for pre­order, with prices starting at €14 900, which translates to some R238 470 before import taxes.

• alwyn.viljoen@witness.co.za

What the Yanks call real rugged — the GMC All Mountain packs 331 kW and a truck’s 1 233 Nm, and is built on the platform of the GWC Sierra 2500HD Denali 4WD Crew Cab.

and control around corners.

The FT­AC can also use a hy­ brid electric­fuel powertrain, or just hydrogen.

Pundits expect Toyota will soon drop the FT­AC’s stream­ lined looks to offer American buyers more rugged 4x4 looks.

CC Weiss of New Atlas, who took the photos, suggested the designers should take the FT­ AC’s wheelbase and track, add in a blend of the TJ and 4X’s boxier styling and the TJ’s versatile fold­ ing seats/load floor, which might just give buyers something very special. — New Atlas, WR.

Just having fun: Nissan showed the Titan AT­M6 among a fleet of Star Wars­ themed vehicles.

Toyota’s FT­AC has a bit of an exaggerated design that feels like it tries too hard to compensate for the fact that it’s not an FJ Cruiser or 4Runner ... but we guess experimenting with different styling is part of what concepts are for.

Staff at most U.S. dealers unprepared for electric vehicle tsunami ALWYN VILJOEN WITH BYD, Chanje, Daimler Group, Nikola, Komatsu, Tesla and Geely­Volvo just a few of the giant vehicle makers that are test­ ing full­electric or electrified trucks and buses in the U.S., one would think the dealers there are taking note of the rise of the elec­ tric vehicle (EV).

Especially when BMW this week showed five EVs at the Los

Angeles Auto Show, including one new production vehicle, the BMW i3s.

But mystery shoppers de­ ployed to dealerships in a pio­ neering Ipsos RDA Study found most vehicle dealerships in the U.S. woefully unprepared for the EV invasion. The shoppers cov­ ered 11 EV brands across the 10 largest EV markets in the U.S. Mike van Nieuwkuyk, senior vice president at Ipsos RDA, said

the results of this study can assist OEMs and dealerships to estab­ lish sales processes focused on the unique elements of electric vehicle ownership. Admittedly, such ownership is very low, so low that dealers may not bother.

BMW for example, said EVs and hybrids together only ac­ count for 5,5% of total sales in the U.S. But BMW predict these sales figures will look a lot differ­ ent as more people prefer charg­

ing to refilling. Hence, in the next eight years, BMW plans to offer 25 electrified models, 12 of them pure EVs. Van Nieuwkuyk said with the exception of Tesla sales staff, tra­ ditional brand dealers who sell EVs alongside other vehicles are not trained in the new products.

Furthermore, the sales process experience at traditional brand dealerships is largely inconsist­ ent. Consumers shopping for a

specific EV model may have dif­ ferent experiences from one deal­ ership to another in the same brand family — one well in­ formed, educational and suppor­ tive, the other completely lack­ ing. One key issue revealed in these findings was the belief by some dealers that the consumer must be prepared to compromise on their EV shopping experience expectations. This included ex­ pecting limited or no inventory

to physically evaluate or select from. Rather than search for, or order, the desired vehicle, many shoppers are pressed to accept what is available — including hy­ brids or even petrol engine alter­ natives.“Attempting to switch a shopper away from their EV in­ terest is not only damaging the likelihood of a potential sale, but it can damage the trust a con­ sumer has with the dealership” said Van Nieuwkuyk.

MOTORING WitnessWheels

December 14, 2017

3

Not all pirate parts are bad Motorists can save by buying independent parts instead of paying for a logo on the box DON’T be duped by the logo on “original” car parts.

This is the message from the director of Right to Repair SA (R2RSA), Les Mc Master, who said nine in 10 parts are made by sub­contracted companies that are also used by Original Equip­ ment Manufacturers (OEMs).

He said OEMs have for years created the impression that the box with their logo on contains superior parts, while the box without the logo contains inferi­ or pirate parts.

“The reality is that probably 99% of the parts required for re­ pairs (excluding accident repairs) and maintenance are manufac­ tured by a great number of Origi­ nal Equipment Suppliers (OES) like Bosch, Mahle, GUD, etc.

“Consumers need to know that OEMs buy these same parts

off the assembly line, by commis­ sion, and sell them to the after­ market repackaged with their lo­ go on them,” said Mc Master.

He said these same parts from the OESs and the same produc­ tion lines are available to the in­ dependent repair workshops.

These manufacturers produce according to the same quality standards, and the parts are re­ ferred to as “parts of matching quality”.

He said motorists should edu­ cate themselves about car parts as these can end up costing a for­ tune if you don’t know of better­ value alternatives to OEM or original parts.

“Aftermarket parts are a good option, especially if your car is three to four years old.

“Of course there are inferior parts out there but by sticking

The Right to Repair campaign advises owners of older cars to shop around for car parts. PHOTO: SUPPLIED with brands you know, and those recommended by a reputable, ac­ credited workshop that knows

The I­Pace Concept car showed it can travel 322 km on a single charge, which is a third of what a diesel Jaguar can do, but a lot better than battery ranges of a year ago.

PHOTO: MOTORPRESS

SA buyers keen on eJag ONE year on from showing the I­Pace Concept at the LA Auto Show, Jaguar is back in Los Angeles with a produc­ tion prototype for final range and du­ rability tests ahead of its official glob­ al reveal in 2018.

Potential customers have pressed the “I want one” button on www.jag uar.co.za to place a deposit or register a strong interest in the hotly antici­ pated electric SUV. Ann Voyer, a potential customer from Pasadena, California, asked Jag­ uar if the I­Pace would have enough range to complete her favourite road trip along California’s West Coast.

To answer her question, Jaguar en­ gineers took her on a long­distance range test — on one charge only.

The I­Pace production prototype drove 322 kilometres from Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, to Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo, on a single charge of its advanced Lithium­Ion battery.

Ian Hoban, Jaguar vehicle line di­ rector, said: “After 1,5 million global test miles, the I­Pace is ready for pro­ duction and is proven to deliver long distances on a single charge.

“Jaguar’s first battery electric vehi­ cle will also be fast to charge; our tar­ get is a zero to 80% charge being achievable in a short break.”

Full specification and pricing for Jaguar’s electric performance SUV will be announced late in 2018, when order books will officially open in South Africa. — WR.

Hub motors empower pilots Our most innovative use of the wheel this week goes to WheelTug’s new nose wheel built for Boeing’s 737NG jet airliner. Electric hub motors in the wheel, powered by the aircraft’s auxiliary power unit, enable the pilot to reverse away from an airport gate without having to wait for a ground tug vehicle, which on average takes 13 minutes, said Stirling’s Aerospace business manager Bandula Pathinayake. PHOTO: WHEELTUG

your vehicle and uses the right products and parts, you can get the same performance out of aft­

ermarket parts versus OEM and original parts, at a lower cost,” said Mc Master.

He added that the aftermarket also has the advantage of access to parts with an improved design.

“A quality parts producer will redesign the part, correcting the fault that only becomes apparent after the part is used in real life conditions, thereby providing a part that will perform to the ex­ act or better standard than the original part.

“Another plus for motorists is that there are many companies that produce aftermarket; more variety means a better price range for the independent work­ shop owner when sourcing parts.

“And, with such a big supplier pool, the parts are readily availa­ ble.”

Mc Master said the new­car

market in South Africa unfortu­ nately still burdens consumers with warranties which dictate the use of original parts.

“In many First World coun­ tries, this is a thing of the past and consumers are free to use aft­ ermarket parts in their vehicles without affecting the warranty.

“This is the kind of change we desperately need in South Africa and which is why R2RSA is at the forefront of lobbying for change and legislating the Right to Re­ pair initiative in South Africa.

“Right to Repair has been ad­ vocated and legislated in First World countries around the world since the early eighties,” said Mc Master.

• Find out more about the Right to Repair campaign on www.right2repair.org.za.

4

WitnessWheels MOTORING

December 14, 2017

Mjondolos done USA style ALWYN VILJOEN argues South Africa’s millenials will do well to invest in a tiny trailer home IF I could go back 30 years to give my youthful self some good ad­ vice, the first thing I would tell myself is not to sign that lease for my first grimy, 35­square me­ tre bachelor pad.

“Build a tiny trailer home in­ stead,” I’d tell myself. “And oh, buy Bitcoin,” I would add.

Tiny homes, as the movement is known in the U.S., Canada and parts of Europe where young people can’t afford to leave their parents’ homes, are increasingly popular.

To my mind, our enterprising young artisans could start an en­ tire new housing niche that ca­ ters for millennials’ gig­hopping needs. Instead of building mjon­ dolos in the veld, we should fit

shacks on double­axle trailers, which will give informal settlers an asset they can call their own.

And it need not be a draughty mjondolo held down with tie­ straps and bailing twine either.

Craftsmen overseas are design­ ing marvels of compact architec­ ture on trailers measuring only seven metres long, with efficient use of space that would make yacht builders jealous.

Of course young people could buy a used caravan, but the rea­ son why they never have — nor ever will — is because “caravan­ ing is for balies — like you”, as my young self would tell me.

The best thing about tiny homes? Everything is always al­ ready packed for the next gig.

Chevrolet’s tongue­in­cheek series showed how the Trailblazer SUV is strong enough to tow a house. It also shows millenials they can start to think of homes as moving assets instead of bricks and mortar anchors. PHOTO: YOUTUBE

The Escape Vintage LX sells for over R100 000 in the U.S. The tiny home has a main bedroom on the ground floor with a queen­size bed, while the large loft can sleep four more and two can crash on the couches. PHOTO: ESCAPE American tiny house crafter Zyl Vardos makes unique mjondolos, and his latest hut on wheels. This is his Damselfly House, which features a sculpted roofline and a whimsical window box, plus can sleep six.

PHOTO: ZYL VARDOS American company Escape’s Vintage XL can sleep eight people in its nine­metre long, 32­sq m floorspace.

EAST COAST

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Key Pietermaritzburg staff together with Msunduzi fire fighters and church members during a cheque handover.

PHOTO: LETHIWE MAKHANYA

• Pre-Wired Lexus V8 1UZ VVTI complete with automatic gearbox • Pre-Wired Lexus V8 3UZ VVTI complete with automatic gearbox • Brand new and second hand original spares and service parts • Our pre-wired original OEM mnagement is ready for installation with only 6 wires to connect • All units are bench tested

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Key help to feed local children each day LETHIWE MAKHANYA CHRISTMAS came early for children in Ward 34 and sur­ rounding area last weekend.

The Key Foundation PMB, which falls under Key PMB, and River of Life Christian Ministries gave the children a Christmas party at Cinderella Park on Saturday.

Three hundred children at­ tended and each one received a Christmas present.

The foundation also donat­ ed R25 000 to the church, which will assist them to pro­ vide breakfast and lunch to the little ones each day.

Key Pietermaritzburg parts director Vish Padayachee said they’ve hosted the event for the children of Ward 34 for 10 years. “Last year we took 20 children to uShaka Marine World in Durban as part of the Christmas party.

“This year we decided to

partner with the church as their Christmas party coincid­ ed with ours. We are commit­ ted to hosting this party be­ cause we want to see the chil­ dren happy. It makes it all worthwhile,” he said.

Padayachee said they have also built two crèches to assist the needy PMB community and children who come from disadvantaged families.

River of Life Christian Min­ istries Pastor, Celvan Pakkari

“The object is to spread and share love in the community. We feed 130 to 150 Ward 34 children every day up to 18 years of age — they are orphans and vulnerable.”

said the church also runs a dai­ ly feeding scheme.

“The object is to spread and share love in the community.

We feed 130 to 150 Ward 34 children every day up to 18 years of age — they are or­ phans and vulnerable. We also distribute food parcels to fam­ ilies in need. It is a great joy to see them happy — it warms our heart,” he said.

• lethiwe.makhanya@ media24.com

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