Catch  on e v i l  s u
April 20, 2017
WitnessÂ
WHEELS
4 FM 0 1  L A T I CAP ays Saturd  9Â10 am
KWAZULUÂNATAL’S BEST READ ON ALL THINGS WHEELEDÂ
Become an elite driver
JUNEÂ DRAGSÂ CONFIRMEDÂ FORÂ VIRGINIA
Follow these four tips to improve your odds of arriving alive at your destination
AFTER a long drought for KZN’s drag racing fans, Wheels can confirm KZN Motor Racing will host drag races at the Virginia Airport on Sunday, June 18. Kas Moodley is arranging the event and he confirmed to Wheels that very few spots are left in the various classes. Drivers still hoping to race will find the entry and li cence forms on www.kznmotorracing.co.za. Moodley warned that in complete or illegible forms will be discarded. He said tickets for the longÂawaited drag race will be sold at all Autozone branches in KZN from May 1. Moodley warned that only 5 000 spectators can be accommodated at the air port and advised the fans not to delay getting their tickets. — WR,
ALWYN VILJOEN CONGRATULATIONS if you are reading this — it means you survived the annual road carnage during the Easter Holidays. To make sure you and your loved ones continue to do so, fol low these tips. Do the checklist Before departing, check the brakes, pump the tyres, top up the oil and water and  clean the blades of the wipers. Just don’t speed At Wheels we often here argu ments from boys wearing to much gel in their hair that it is not the speed that kills you, but the stopping.  One can only hope these kami kaze drivers do not breed, as the human gene pool does not need more stupid people. For the fact is that all the active
Three people were killed and approximately 35 others injured when two taxis collided while driving on the N3 near in Mooi River. PHOTO: ER24 and passive safety systems in modern cars are only good for crashes at under 60 km/h. The only way to keep the huÂ
man body from being torn apart by the forces of a high speed crash at 120 km/h is to strap in very tight in a racing harness cosseted inÂ
side a racing roll cage.  Driving sedately also improves your fuel consumption a lot, so that you don’t pay a rand a kilo metre to get there. Travel lightly A vehicle travelling at 112 km/h with four people in it takes over 90 metres to stop, if the driver reacts within a second to brake and the tyres are good. Load up this vehicle and add a trailer and it will cover the length of a soccer pitch before stopping. That is over a dozen car lengths that will flash by in a few breath less seconds.  The tip — again — is to slow down to arrive alive. Avoid the rush Make the journey the destination. Neither the beach nor that hol iday cottage is going anywhere, so stop at all the scenic spots and quaint towns to discover the beauty of South Africa, and sleep
over halfway where possible. That way the crowds will dis perse before you get there. KZN Transport MEC Mxolisi Kaunda summed up the situation when he said road safety is our collective responsibility. Follow ing these basic tips will make you one of SA’s elite and — more im portantly — alive drivers, and not one of the irresponsible drivers who speed, often in overloaded vehicles, to their early deaths. The Road Traffic Management Corporation  confirmed speed and overloading were again the main causes of fatal crashes dur ing the past Easter weekend, with unroadworthy vehicles third on the list of causes of a crash. • Report problems on the N3 by contacting the 24Âhour N3TC Helpline on 0800 63 4357 or tweet to @N3Route.
manageR’s special UD85 Mazda vehicles have always been designed and built to the highest standard of performance and reliability and now for complete peace of mind motoring; Mazda Southern Africa has introduced the Mazda Lifetime Parts Warranty which will be effective on new and existing models from January 2017.
Keep your Mazda in tip top condition by taking advantage of low service costs
Mazda 2 from Mazda 3 from Mazda 6 from 2.2 BT-50 from 3.0 Tdci from
R1727.31* R1800.00* R1800.00* R2370.31* R2050.00*
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15% discount on parts and labour on all additional repairs done in workshop. Offer ends 30/06/2017
Continuing to defy convention, MazdaSA will repair or replace any part that fails to perform its normal function without any charge to the vehicle owner for the lifetime of ownership. Claims under this warranty will exclude repair or replacement of parts required due to an accident, misuse, lack of proper maintenance, improperly performed repairs or environmental conditions damage. Incorrectly installed parts, non-approved parts and YHKLFOH PRGL¿FDWLRQV DV ZHOO DV SDUWV LQVWDOOHG WR YHKLFOHV WKDW DUH XVHG IRU FRPSHWLWLRQ UDFLQJ RU HPHUJHQF\ ZLOO DOVR EH H[FOXGHG Serviceable parts; parts replaced under the provisions of the Manufacturer’s warranty; batteries, additives, oils, seals, gaskets, trim items and glass or any parts replaced at the owners request that were deemed inappropriate or unnecessary by the Mazda dealer will also not be included under this warranty. 7KH 0D]GD /LIHWLPH 3DUWV ZDUUDQW\ DSSOLHV WR WKRVH UHSODFHPHQW SDUWV ¿WWHG E\ D 0D]GD DXWKRULVHG GHDOHU DQG IXOO\ SDLG IRU E\ WKH vehicle owner; so the vehicle owner will be required to produce the original repair invoice when returning to the dealer for repairs under this warranty.
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WitnessWheels MOTORING
April 20, 2017
From left: Nishay Naidoo (nephew), Tremain Hirrisingh (daughter), Venilla Hirrisingh (wife) and Arveen with the Mitsibishi Prado that they used for their Firestone Roadies Adventure. PHOTO: SUPPLIED The Jaguar FPACE is officially the best and most beautiful car in the world after double success at the 2017 World Car Awards, scooping the prestigious World Car of the Year and World Car Design of the Year titles. The performance SUV is the fastest selling model Jaguar has produced and is only the second vehicle to claim the historic double in the 13year history of the World Car Awards. To win the pair of trophies, the FPACE saw off the competition in a vote of 75 influential motoring journalists from 24 countries. PHOTO: JAGUAR
Selling trucks Enthusiastic response to the Hino learnership programme THERE is an enthusiastic response from the delegates attending the first Hino Learnership programme organised by Hi no South Africa. The yearlong programme has been compiled to provide comprehensive training for sales staff at the dealerships and started in February. Generally, the delegates are new to sell ing Hino trucks, although they may have prior experience as truck sales staff. There are 12 delegates on the first course, including one from Namibia. They undergo a week’s intensive theoretical and practical training each month and will then be required to complete a tutorial on the subjects covered. The rest of each month will be spent working at their deal erships. “The major focus is on sales and mar keting knowledge and skills, although the
course also includes visits to the Hino manufacturing facility in Prospecton, technical workshops, body builders and bus builders, so that they can understand the full scope of the environment in which they are working,” explained Ernie Traut mann, vice president of Hino South Afri ca. “Practical driver training is another as pect of the learnership course. I am a big supporter of driver training not only for the road safety benefits, but also for the fact that it contributes to the durability of the vehicle and the insistence by trained drivers on having a roadworthy truck to drive. “The learnership course is registered with merSeta and the delegates will re ceive a certificate when they graduate at the end of the year. They will then be able to continue their studies with a diploma
course at Unisa,” added Trautmann. The course was developed in conjunc tion with a specialist training consultancy. The lecturer, Philip Brandt, comes from a background of vehicle fleet manage ment so he understands the type of infor mation required by fleet operators from a sales staff. “There is a lot of roleplay in the course with the ultimate objective of training the delegates to be in a position to recom mend the correct truck for a particular op eration while also knowing how to calcu late a finance package that will suit the customer’s business model,” explained Brandt. “One of my other objectives is to have each delegate become an ambassador for the Hino brand and a person being trusted by customers buying trucks from him or her,” he said. — Supplied.
Latest 86 is even more of a cult car TOYOTA has sharpened the driving focus of the 86 sportscar with tweaks that To yota SA’s vice president of marketing Glenn Crompton said will enhance the appeal of this cult car even more. “These updates for the Toyota 86 are focused on improving the responsiveness, balance and handling of a car that is al ready rated in the same league as legend ary sports cars of yesteryear,” Glenn said. Apart from the minor styling changes,
To advertise your company in
Stanger family win Firestone competition SUPA Quick Stanger hosted the win ner of the National Firestone Road ies of a Lifetime competition earlier this month. Arveen Hirrising of Stanger won a weekend away for him and three family members or friends in the Firestone Journeys campaign, which was held toward the end of last year. As part of the Roadies prize, Ar veen could custom make his own road trip to the value of R40 000. He also received the use of a Mit subishi Prado, shod with Firestone tyres of course, to get him there. For his adventure, Arveen chose the secluded Kosi Forest Lodge near the Mozambique border. He added a boat cruise, fishing ad venture and guided forest hike as part of his adventure and he, his wife and two family members ended the weekend break with a round of spa
treatments. Jan Maritz, the promotions and advertising manager at Bridgestone South Africa, said winners were drawn from a very large pool of peo ple who had fitted Firestone tyres to their vehicles in the last quarter of 2016. Firestone, which is part of the Bridgestone Corporation, remains one of South Africa’s favourite tyre brands. As the creator of the Fire stone Tyre Damage Guarantee, Fire stone will replace any passenger or 4x4 tyre that is damaged and the owner will only pay for the tread tyre that he or she has already used. “Peace of mind remains para mount for the Firestone team and that is why we could happily send Ar veen and his family on a road trip, safe in the knowledge that they are backed by our Tyre Damage Guaran tee,” said Maritz. — WR.
The tweaks to the new Toyota 86 are mostly under the skin. PHOTO: TOYOTA the changes that matter include: • suspension adjusted for improved han dling, stability, ride comfort and turning performance; • new track mode for sports driving with minimum Vehicle Stability Control and traction control intervention; • strategic changes to achieve higher body rigidity and durability; • design details to enhance aerodynamic performance, including new wingtype
rear spoiler. The SA model range now comprises three models — 86 Std, 86 High and 86 High auto. All models come with a threeyear or 100 000 km warranty and a fouryear or 60 000 km service plan. — WR. Prices: 86 STD — R449 600 86 High — R494 400 86 High A/T — R519 400
Call Avir Thulsiram on 084 278 3447 OR 033 355 1152 email: Avir@witness.co.za
The Ford Cot simulates a ride in a car to put a baby to sleep, with a rocking motion, engine drone and moving lights. PHOTO: FORD
NEW CRADLE WORKS LIKE A CAR COLOGNE — For many new par ents, there is only one guaranteed solution to get their baby to sleep — a nighttime drive around and around the block. To help these parents, Ford has challenged designers to develop a cot that could simulate — at home in a child’s room — the rocking motion, engine noise, and even the passing street lights of those nighttime drives. The winning design by Max Mo tor Dreams comes to life using a smartphone app. This enables it to record and then reproduce the comforting movement, passing lights and sounds of a particular journey. “After many years of talking to mums and dads, we know that
parents of newborns are often desperate for just one good night’s sleep. But while a quick drive in the family car can work wonders in getting baby off to sleep, the poor old parents still have to be awake and alert at the wheel,” said Max Motor Dreams designer Alejandro López Bravo, of Spanish creative studio Espada y Santa Cruz. “The Max Motor Dreams could make the everyday lives of a lot of people a little bit better.” For now, the Max Motor Dreams is a oneoff pilot. But following numerous enquir ies, Ford said in a statement the company is considering putting the unique cot into fullscale produc tion. — Wheels Reporter.
MOTORING WitnessWheels TRENDS
April 20, 2017
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Hybrid flying car
The waterproof, airdriven PneuChair does 4 km on a tank. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Slovakian company shows Aeromobil at Top Marques Monaco ALWYN VILJOEN SLOVAKIAN flying car compa ny Aeromobil will demonstrate its third model flying car at the Top Marques Monaco — the world’s most exclusive supercar show — tonight. First launched at the Vienna Pioneers Festival in October 2014, the new model of Aero Mobil features hundreds of im provements, both in design and in engineering, compared to the prototype unveiled twoand half years ago in Vienna, Austria, and also reported on in Wheels. The team behind the newest AeroMobil, led by Juraj Vaculik, CEO, and Douglas MacAndrew, CTO, built the vehicle in com pliance with the existing regula tory frameworks for both cars and airplanes, and are looking forward to demonstrating it to the first potential customers and future investors in Monaco. AeroMobil is completely inte grated aircraft as well as a fully functioning fourwheeled car, powered by hybrid propulsion. By combining aero and car functionality in perfect harmo ny, it heralds a new era in effi cient and exciting travel, offer ing users an unparalleled choice of transport on the road or in the air. AeroMobil aims to make personal transportation vastly more efficient and environmen
WHEELCHAIR RUNS 4KM ON AIR PITTSBURGH — A new water proof motorised wheelchair that runs entirely on compressed air was launched last week at Mor gan’s Wonderland, a 25acre theme park in San Antonio, Tex as built specifically for individu als with disabilities. Designed, developed and con structed at the University of Pittsburgh Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL), the patentpending PneuChair pneumatic wheelchair uses high
BOOK WINNER
AeroMobil is an aircraft and with the wings folded, a fourwheeled car powered by hybrid propulsion. As the complex cockpit shows, drivers will need at least a private pilot’s licence to drive the AeroMobil. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED tally friendly by allowing signifi cantly faster doortodoor travel for medium distance trips and in areas with limited or missing road infrastructure. The price tag is rumoured to
be in the “several hundred thou sand Euro” range, and drivers will also have to have at least a private pilot’s licence. This will put the AeroMobil beyond the range of even mining magnate
Patrice Motsepe, South Africa’s first black billionaire, but all the pilots Wheels spoke to agreed that South Africa’s weather and long distances make ours an ide al country for a flying car.
Latest Zev microcar also glows in the dark ALWYN VILJOEN SOUTH African rap group Die Antwoord is teaching the U.S. about being “zef”, but they are not the first in the ’States. U.S.based Zev started building highway capable scooters in 2006, which makes Zev the oldest highway scooter company in the U.S. Zev has now launched the Zev T31 microcar. Intended to provide the lowest possible transporta tion cost, maximum hauling ability, and treated as a motor scooter for the lowest registra tion cost, the tiny vehicle nev ertheless has room and power to carry three adults, although like in most two doors, the rear bench is tiny — 35 inches wide. Zev boasts it is the only company in the world to use oilcooled hub motors inside the rear wheel. This extra lu brication radically increases motor life and cooling for the longest possible life.
pressured air as an energy source instead of heavy batter ies and electronics. The chair weighs about 36 kg and the air tanks takes 10 minutes to fill up for a range of over four kilome tres. Brandon Daveler, the lead mechanical design engineer on the project, said the PneuChair does not contain a lot of elec tronics and software. The robust chair can be fixed using parts off the shelf from a hardware store. — WR.
The Zev T31 microcar seats three people, although the two in the rear must be petite. PHOTO: ZEV Hub motors (also called wheel motors) eliminate belts or chain drives for more effi ciency yielding higher range. This design gives us the lowest total or moving part count for maximum reliability and low est maintenance.
All of the 13, 14, 16, 17 inch hub motors have an extra set of hall sensors already built in to the motor and prewired as a redundant standby set. The T31 has a four kilowatt transaxle electric, three kilo watt continuous motor, pow
ered by either a Base 72 volt nominal, 4,1 kwh silicate bat tery or a 72 volt, 6 kwh, lithium battery for a range of 100 km at 45 km/h or 145 km at 45 km/ h. Unlike similar attempts at low cost micro cars, Zev uses glass windshields with roll up windows, a radio, a 12Volt charge socket, even a sunroof. The front seat slides forward and tilts forward to make it easy to enter to the rear seat. Best of all, yellow under glow lighting for night time visibility floats the Micro on a pool of yellow light coming from under the vehicle and ex tending around it. All this comes at a cost though, the introductory price with the base silicate bat tery system is $5 490 (R74 840), for which price one can buy a very nice used car down at Grassy Park, near where Die Antwoord learned how to make tattoo using Bic pens.
CONGRATULATIONS to Fanyana Ntuli, who won the book Blacks Do Caravan by Fikile Hlatshwayo. Ntuli answered correctly that a night in KZN’s first AirBnB caravan at the Hla lanathi Resort in the northern Berg costs R200 per person. Hlatshwayo’s aim is to get all South Africans to spend time with their families and discover South Africa, breaking bounda ries and stereotypes along the way. — WR.
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UNIMOG SHUNTER IMPRESSES GERMAN RAILWAY EXPERTS STUTTGART — Every two years the Privatbahn Magazin, a leading business paper in Germany, rewards ground breaking new products and features in the rail sector with a prize for innovation. This year’s winner from 20 contenders at the trade fair In notrans 2016 in Berlin was the MercedesBenz roadrailer Unimog U 423 with railway equipment. The expert jury, comprised of specialists from rail compa nies, scientists and advisory board members, were particu
Able to go on road or rail, the Unimog U 423 beats any other shunter’s diesel consumption. PHOTO: SUPPLIED larly impressed by the Unimog and its environmental com
patibility and economy. The focus was on the drive system
with the 5,1litre diesel four cylinder OM 934 LA Euro VI engine rated at 170 kW (231 hp). In its roadrailer version the Unimog is fitted as standard with special tyres and rims for operation on standard gauge and broad gauge lines. Other advantages of this Unimog variant include fast rerailing and rail/road changeover pos sible with a hydraulic lifting and pivoting system and speeds of up to 50 km/h, going either forwards or backwards. — Wheels Reporter.
Our friendly sales team is equipped to deal with all enquiries and have a wealth of knowledge in the motoring field. We pride ourselves in delivering exceptional service and products to our clients and therefore have a stringent quality check process in place to make sure that every product complies with our requirements and is in top order. Tel: Cell:
035 789 0464 53 Bullion Boulevard 035 789 0754 Richards Bay CBD 084 357 1082 Richards Bay eastcoastengines@gmail.com
4
WitnessWheels MOTORING
April 20, 2017
A Mini only in looks Mini Remastered gives a modern interpretation of a world classic car COVENTRY — Mini Remas tered by David Brown Automo tive is the eagerlyawaited second model to be made by the lowvol ume Britishbased coachbuilder. Based on a classic Mini and re born into a city car for modern living, Mini Remastered by David Brown Automotive combines the iconic Sixties car’s looks with Speedback GT design cues, unique coachbuilding construc tion, modern technology and luxury handfinished materials — all handbuilt during 1 000 man hours at the company’s new Silverstone HQ in Great Britain. Designed to be the ultimate in modern and classic town and city driving, Mini Remastered is pow ered by a fully reconditioned 1 275 cc engine and reengineered gearbox, giving the Mini Remas tered all of the style and feel of a classic with modern dynamics. Its makers claim 50% more power from the rebuilt and tuned engines linked to a fully recondi tioned fourspeed gearbox, up graded suspension and brakes. The exterior shape has been refined, visually softened and “cleaned” by deseaming the sil houette and welding in bespoke
Superficially, its a Mini yes. But this is one of very few modern Minis handbuilt by David Brown Automotive and if you have to ask what this one costs, you cannot afford it. PHOTO: DMA structural beams, with addition al support struts added for rigidi ty. Each car also undergoes a la borious soundproofing process to ensure passenger comfort in the cabin.
Each car will have handcrafted enamel David Brown Automo tive badges and modern detail touches such as puddle lights fit ted to each classic bulletstyle wing mirror.
The car, which is offered as standard with an inbuilt info tainment and navigation system, has a host of modern connectivi ty, including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a fourspeaker
sound system, keylessgo, USB connectivity and charging, as well as pushbutton start and re mote central locking. The seats are sculpted to the driver with a handtrimmed inte rior swathed in Britishsourced hides and a combination of paint, leather and fabric finishes to the dash. Also bespoke built for each car is a leatherlined luggage space and a petrol tank painted in each car’s contrasting roof colour. Each paint finish is exceptional, with a full fourweek paint proc ess applied to every car to give it a flawless finish. Customers can further per sonalise their car’s exterior fin ish, contrasting roof, full interior trim and wheels. Prices are still to be an nounced, but the company main tains Mini Remastered by David Brown Automotive will be highly exclusive and built in strictly lim ited numbers. Mini Remastered by David Brown Automotive will be launched to the public at to night’s Top Marques Monaco show in Monte Carlo. — WR.
Koenigsegg heading to China with Qoros Welcome back: The XRider is the 19th model in the Isuzu range. PHOTO: QUICKPIC
XRIDER NOW PART OF ISUZU MODEL RANGE PORT ELIZABETH — The XRid er was originally introduced a year ago as a limited run of just over 700 units and sold out while we were still test driving it. Isuzu has listened to this market demand and the KB XRider returns as a permanent fixture in the lineup, offering enhanced value and standout styling for customers. This brings the total number of bakkies in the KB range to 19 models in three body types, the newest addition to the range officially badged as the KB 250 XRider 4x2 Double Cab. The starting point is — as before — the highoutput 2.5litre power plant, which has done sterling service in the KB range since its September 2015 introduction as part of a wider facelift. With 100 kW and 320 Nm, this common rail di rect injection turbodiesel gives performance in keeping with the XRider’s sporty and recrea tional positioning. At R388 400, the newcomer represents a unique blend of versatility and comfort — plus a soupçon of standoutfrom thecrowd attitude. As always, Key Group in Piet ermaritzburg has a proud record of best tradein values and discounts. — WR.
SWEDISH high perfomance car builder Koenigsegg and China’s Qoros Auto will partner to sell the hybrid Qoros KElectric in China. The Qoros features a strong blend of forwardlooking design and cuttingedge technologies. Like the threedoor 2012 Hyundai Veloster, the Qoros features asymmetric doors, which the designers say “create a unique and distinctive experi ence for the driver and passen gers”, starting with the large sized gullwing door on the driv er’s side, which automatically opens when activated. The front passenger’s door with a twohinged system opens outward as a conventional door or slides horizontally alongside if needed. The door on the rear passen ger side features a sliding system to maximise convenience and ease of use for passengers enter ing and exiting the car. Additionally, the car’s interior has been purposefully designed to create two distinct cabin spa ces in the front and rear, provid ing backseat passengers with a more comfortable and enjoyable riding experience. Clever carbon cabin Qoros Model KEV is built with “Clever Carbon Cabin” (CCC) technology, a seamlesslyinte grated cabin made primarily from carbon fibre. The use of this durable mate
Asymmetric gullwing and sliding doors make the Koenigsegg Qoros a quirky vehicle for China. PHOTO: KOENIGSEGG rial significantly reduces the mass of the vehicle which con tributes to an increase in the ve hicle’s energy efficiency to pro vide a high mileage that helps reduce “range anxiety”. CCC’s use of carbon fibre al so maintains vehicle body strength and durability, with significant design freedom, while maintaining occupant safety over longterm use. The seamless construction of CCC lends Model KEV its re fined and simplified appear ance, while aerodynamic design features and sleek body lines help to enhance its performance and increase energy efficiency by significantly reducing wind drag.
Allwheel drive The Qoros Model KEV will fea ture individually powered, high performance, allwheel drive system, using the same high per formance electric driveline technology also found in Koe nigsegg’s legendary Regera, the limited production plugin hy brid supercar designed by Swed ish supercar manufacturer. Such proven technology puts Model KEV ahead of “concept car” category and opens the possibility for mass production in the near future. Qoros’ coop eration with Koenigsegg starts with the QamFree engine, the innovative engine technology developed by Koenigsegg’s sis ter company FreeValve, has re
ceived widespread recognition and praise as it significantly boost the performance of a con ventional gas engine while re ducing its fuel consumption. This revolutionary technolo gy will be introduced to Qoros’ future internal combustion car models to sharpen their com petitiveness in the market. Dr Leon Liu, chief executive officer of Qoros Auto, stated that Model KEV represents a crucial milestone to further the company’s new energy strategy. Following the debut of Model KEV at Shanghai Auto, plans are being drawn to put Model KEV into mass production in 2019, with the aim to sell to Chi na’s many millionaires. — WR.
Merc SClass now even better at selfdriving AFTER experiencing the joys of letting the MercedesBenz SClass drive itself, the Wheels team are happy to report the latest generation of Mercedes Benz Intelligent Drive makes driving even easier. The SClass now comes with Distronic Active Proximity Control and Active Steer As
sist, which support the driver to keep a safe distance and steer. The speed is now ad justed automatically ahead of curves or junctions. This is complemented by a considera bly improved Active Lane Change Assist and additional functions of the Active Emer gency Stop Assist.
Thanks to enhanced camera and radar systems, the new SClass has a better view of the surrounding traffic: in ad dition, for the first time it makes use of map and naviga tion data to calculate driving behaviour. The Active Lane Change Assist has been con siderably upgraded. Now tap
ping the indicator stalk is all it takes to initiate a lane change. This lane change is execut ed within the next 10 seconds and indicated in the instru ment cluster, if the vehicle sensor system does not detect any vehicles in the relevant safety zone the driver might have missed. — WR.
MercedesBenz vans has invested in Starship little robotic delivery vehicles, which will next deliver pizzas in selected German and Dutch cities. PHOTO: STARSHIP
Robotic hot boxes to deliver pizza STARSHIP Technologies, the company building a fleet of autonomous robots designed to deliver goods locally, launched robotic pizza deliv eries for Domino’s Pizza En terprises. Starship said in a statement its robotic trolleys will start delivering pizzas within a two kilometre radius around Domino’s stores in selected German and Dutch cities. Don Meij, Domino’s group CEO and managing director, said the partnership between the company and Starship Technologies was an impor tant next step in bringing ro bot pizza deliveries to reality. “Robotic delivery units will complement our existing de livery methods, including cars, scooters and ebikes, en suring our customers can get the hottest, freshestmade pizza delivered directly to them, wherever they are. “With our growth plans over the next five to 10 years, we simply won’t have enough delivery drivers if we do not look to add to our fleet through initiatives such as this.” Starship recently an nounced $17,2 million (over R230 million) in seed fund ing, led by MercedesBenz Vans. The funding accelerates the development of pilot pro grams in Europe and the U.S. This announcement fol lows the launch of more part nerships in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland and Estonia with Postmates, DoorDash, Just Eat, Hermes Parcel Delivery, Swiss Post and Wolt. — WR.
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