February 2, 2017
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Taking the Uber penny ALWYN VILJOEN ASKED if running an Uber taxi would be a good business, we were a bit flummoxed for an an swer at Wheels. We warned back in 2014 that ride hailing apps will change the metered and minibus taxi in dustries, and correctly predict ed the business model is better suited at subsiding the cost of a single car than earning income with it. For in taxis as in trucks, transport is all about economies of scale and the transporter with one vehicle is destined for bankruptcy. Since then, metered taxi driv ers have been fighting Uber drivers locally while passengers are complaining they have to pay steep cancellation fees when the Uber driver is at fault. In the U.S. Uber drivers have now twice sued the ride hailing company for its “deceptive ad vertising” (read blatant lies)
and was awarded multi million dollars in recompense. Our main worry about Uber is that the company can and have dropped drivers’ fares without notice, which is why U.S. drivers who once made $40 an hour now makes $12,50, and have to work 18 hour days in the hope of qualifying for Uber’s small carrot, a $500 bonus for doing 120 trips a week. A new study by Oxford Uni versity also shows where Uber appears, new driver jobs are cre ated, forcing the average income of all taxi drivers down by 10%. But passengers who have to get somewhere do not care. In South Africa, an Uber taxi is several times cheaper than a normal metered ride, even in “peak demand” times and for the most part, the clean, safe ve hicles arrive on time, which is to say within a few minutes. So Uber will keep on growing — creating business opportuni
ties for entrepreneurs who want to run a fleet of Uber cars. For daring drivers, Uber has partnered with Wesbank to provide full maintenance leases that will see a driver who travels about 5000km a month pay R1 710 per week or R6 840 per month inclusive of insurance and tyre wear according to Uber. To qualify for the lease, a driv er does not need to meet any of the traditional credit ratings, instead a driver has to get at least a 4.70 rating from the pas sengers and carry 1 000 fares over three months. Uber has also announced that Hertz, Europcar, Pace and Fleet Data Technologies will al so be renting approved vehicles to prospective drivers from R5 600 per month and R0.45 per km travelled on a short term basis. But let the leaser beware, for if the stories from the U.S. show one thing, its that the sands at Uber is always shifting.
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KZN EVENTS ON WHEELS
IN Estcourt, the Las Vagas Club hosts a soundoff, show and shine, and pool and darts competitions on February 4 from 1 pm until late. The Las Vagas Club is known for its fun fundraisers and this will be more of the same. Information from Saresh at 072 658 3155. IMAGE: SUPPLIED
MORE than 20 of KZN’s top and aspiring stunt drivers will travel from all over KZN to show their skills to the fans at Team Alky’s Birthday Spin Bash in Scottsville on February 25. Entry is R60 for adults and R30 for children. Team Alky, (named for the team’s first Alcamino), pride themselves on their family friendly spin bashes and no weapons, glass, braais, skottels or spinning on the grass are allowed. There is strict security to ensure this will again be fun for all ages.
THE second KZN 4x4 Team Challenge will be hosted at Shakaskraal on March 19. Teams compete in four vehicles to win the best in show, a challenging 4x4 course and a time attack. While it is a fun event designed to give 4x4 owners a safe space in which to enjoy their vehicles, it is a tough course that demands brave drivers. Winners get bragging rights in this paper and fame on Facebook. More from andre@kzn4x2.co.za.
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WitnessWheels MOTORING
February 2, 2017
SA’S FIVE CHEAPEST AUTOMATIC PASSENGER CARS Kia Picanto 1,0 LX R177 995
Celerio 1,0i 2. Suzuki GL R163 900
Picanto 1,2 EX 3. Kia R196 995
i10 1,1 4. Hyundai Motion R179 900
Brio Hatch 1,2 5. Honda Comfort R179 700
Death trap or best bargain? For the price of a months taxi fees, the Renault Kwid offers freedom from the tyranny of public transport. PHOTO: QUICKPIC
It a tight inside and the safety is like a City Golf’s, but SIBONELO MYENI rates the Kwid’s value WITH repayments touted from R1 900 per month and free insur ance, we had many people asking us if the Kwid is really worth con sidering as a buy, so we got one and tested it. Interestingly, people initially found the looks of the Kwid not to their taste until I mentioned the price after which they said they wouldn’t mind owning it at all. Generally though, comments were favourable but we found that the maroon coloured Kwids on the road looked more attract ive. The raised ride height with tiny 13’ wheels give that outdoor lifestyle look to it but the wheels are 3 studs thus making it impos sible to fit the much needed big ger, wider wheels for that pimped
look. Inside, the Kwid offers just enough space for 4 adults with a spacious, deep boot. Access to the rear is good, something that bugs many of its compact com petitors. Cabin quality is as can be expected at this price range and in Dynamique spec it offers electric front windows, air condi tion, Navigation (yes… Naviga tion), USB/Bluetooth/Radio as standard. The coloured cloth seats look durable but are hard. There is no rev counter and the digital speedo tends to be diffi cult to view in daylight. Powering the Kwid is a 1.0litre 3cylinder engine credited with 50kW/91Nm driving the front wheels via a 5speed manual (on ly) gearbox. These figures might
seem minute but take into ac count the 1100kg weight of the whole car and it pulls quite well even with a load. Top speed is claimed at 152km/ h and I felt it pulls strongly to wards the speed, that’s if you can manage cross winds. The on board computer (yep, I said it right) listed our fuel fig ures at 5.3l/100km which was ex cellent even with the puny 28L tank. The long suspension travel doesn’t instill confidence in cor ners which is more a safety point taking into account the Kwid has no ABS. Pedal feel is good though and stopping distances good…if you avoid lock up. It rides bumps well however it is very sensitive
to cross winds, often being unsta ble but that’s more noticeable at high speeds. Drive sedately and it’s a boon. Much has been mentioned about the Kwid’s safety or lack of it however it does come with an airbag and importantly keeps many South Africans away from the death trap taxis. At least in the Kwid you have control of your safety rather than praying for dear life every time you start a journey in a Quantum with 20 other passengers. Honestly if you look at the price of R134 900 thus equating to the R1 900 promotion price, its worth it especially if you con sider your ability to take your kids to school (and save them being
packed like sardines in school vans), you can wake up like nor mal human beings instead of 3 am to get to work at normal times. Add to that the freedom to go anywhere at your own time… and there’s more … (nope, we not sell ing Verimark items) … insurance for the first 12 months is free. We are sold. The Renault Kwid comes stan dard with a 5year or 150 000 km mechanical warranty and a six year anticorrosion warranty. Services take place at 15 000km intervals. — Imotoonline.co.za. Catch Sibonelo Myeni on Ukhozi FM’s Vuka show, Thursday morn ings from 7.
Much has been mentioned about the Kwid’s safety. At least in the Kwid you have control of your safety rather than praying for dear life every time you start a journey in a Quantum with 20 people.
Selfsteering suitcases brings to life Pratchets’ sapient ‘Luggage’ BEN COXWORTH AND ALWYN VILJOEN TECHNOLOGY often follows science fiction stories, but when it comes to two types of moving luggage that is being tested around the world, fantasy author Terry Pratchett must take a bow for thinking of it first in his Lug gage character. British company Starships Technologies’ was first to launch what it calls “sidewalk robots” last year (as reported on in Wheels) and a fleet of them is be ing tested in 59 cities in 16 coun tries. Now Piaggio Fast Forward, the makers of Vespa scooters in the U.S., has launched the Gita, a selfbalancing twowheeled cargo robot. Gita’s name is pronounced “jeeta,” which means “short trip” in Italian. It sits 66 cm tall, has a zero turning radius, and can travel at bicyclelike speeds of up to 35 km/h. That said, it’s also ca pable of matching the walking speed of its human operator, fol lowing them as they mosey handsfree down the sidewalk or along supermarket aisles. By comparison, the Starship
LEFT: This month’s most innovative use of the wheel is Gita, a selfbalancing, selfsteering suitcase that follows a white belt with a camera on its owner. RIGHT: Starship’s Henry HarrisBurland shows the driving skills of his sidewalk robots at the Washington DC auto show. PHOTOS: PIAGGIO AND NEW ATLAS street robot uses sixwheels to for special mail and rapid parcel they travel through it. Gita is able Atlas. “It still knows where it’s balance and can carry up to 10 delivery, as well as Postmates on to ascertain its position and that going, because it optically has kilograms with space for four full demand delivery service in of its user, within that map, with seen the path that you walked.” shopping bags, and the battery Washington DC. help from a forwardfacing stereo Additionally, once it’s followed lasts for roughly 8 km, or two But while the Starship is au camera system that tracks the a user through an environment, hours. tonomous, Gita follows a white belt. it can use the map that was creat Gita can carry up to 18 kg of belt with a camera on the front. “If you go out of the line of ed to go back through that envi groceries or other goods, follow Using an existing technology sight, let’s say if you turn around ronment autonomously. The us ing its owner or even striking out known as SLAM (Simultaneous a corner or you may go through er can create waypoints along the on its own, like the Starship street Localization and Mapping), that an alley, Gita will soon catch up way, which Gita will subsequent robots, which are already being system creates a 3D point cloud with you,” Piaggio Fast Forward ly stop at when it makes the trip tested by the Swiss postal service map of the user’s environment as COO Sasha Hoffman told New again on its own.
“If you walked all around your house, you could set up the kitch en, the dining room, the front door and the back entrance as different points on the map,” ex plained Hoffman. “If you were at your front door and you needed to send Gita with a package to your kitchen, there’s a touchscreen interface and you could literally touch it and tell it within two buttons to head for the kitchen.” Its cameras, along with an ul trasonic rangefinding system, constitute an obstacleavoidance system that keeps it from run ning into things. One threehour charge of the robot’s battery should be good for about eight hours of use at walking speed. Plans call for Gita to initially be trialled in a businesstobusi ness model. After about a year, a consumer version is likely to fol low. “Piaggio has a huge history of selling directly to the consum er, so there’s definitely an end game of producing a product at a price point that’s manageable for the consumer,” said Hoffman. Gita will be officially launched at event taking place in Boston on February 2. — New Atlas.
MOTORING WitnessWheels
February 2, 2017
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SA’S FIVE CHEAPEST DOUBLE CAB 4X2 BAKKIES GWM Steed5 2,2 L Lux R189 900
Bolero 2. Mahindra 2,5TD R197 995
Xenon 3,0 DLE Boarding 2,8TD Genio 2,2 3. Tata 4. JMC 5. Mahindra R199 995 R209 880 CRDe R230 995
Old Isuzus never say die Tankwa Karoo farmer relies on his ‘KB collection’ VREDENDAL — Some things you just can’t kill — and that includes your aver age Isuzu KB bakkie. Proof of this is to be found in the West Coast hamlet of Vanrynsdorp, in turn a stone’s throw from Vredendal, some 270 kilometres up the N7 from Cape Town. Here, diesel mechanic Daniël Kotze lives with his young brood and a fleet of old Isuzus: three kids and seven of the toughasnails KBs. Oh, and a single Chevrolet LUV, which is what the Isuzu onetonner was badged as from its local introduction in 1973, until 1978. This one is a 1973 vintage, so in essence it repre sents the very beginning of the Isuzu name locally. The newest is a 2008 KB250, which has well over 400 000km on it. But the prized possession is a (some what faded) metallic blue 1979 model, which came to him via his grandfather and then his father. It joined the Kotze family fleet in 1983, and covered over halfamillion kilometres with its origi nal engine, much of that mileage as a
Daniël Kotze son walks past a 1979 Isuzu KB bakkie that is still on use on the farm with 400 000 km on the odo, alongside the 2008 KB250. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
hardworking ‘plaas’ bakkie, explains Daniël. Another KB was found derelict under a tree in Springbok in the Northern Cape, and belonged to an old Oom, whose son was glad to get shot of it. The dry inland climate means that, despite standing under said tree for more than a decade, it’ll ‘clean up nicely’ as they
say in the trade. Daniël has a great love for motor vehi cles in general and it turns out that he is a walking KB encyclopaedia; authori tatively rattling off generation codes, en gine sizes, nomenclature and dates when specific derivatives and models were in troduced. For example, the model that replaced
the LUV was the KB20, available in both petrol and diesel, with launch prices of R3 485 and R4 295, respectively he says. “The first double cab version arrived in 1994 but long before that there were people locally who converted the KB25 ‘langbak’ into a four door,” he points out. Daniel’s collection is made up largely of dieselpowered single cabs, which is
GM, Honda to make fuel cells together DETROIT — General Motors and Honda today announced establishment of the auto industry’s first manufacturing joint venture to mass produce an advanced hy drogen fuel cell system that will be used in future products from each company. Fuel Cell System Manufacturing, LLC will operate within GM’s existing battery pack manufacturing facility site in Brown stown, Michigan, south of Detroit. Mass production of fuel cell systems is expected to begin around 2020 and create nearly 100 new jobs. The companies are making equal investments totaling $85 million in the joint venture. Honda and GM have been working to gether through a master collaboration agreement announced in July 2013. It established the codevelopment ar rangement for a nextgeneration fuel cell system and hydrogen storage technolo gies. The companies integrated their de velopment teams and shared hydrogen
fuel cell intellectual property to create a more affordable commercial solution for fuel cell and hydrogen storage systems. “Over the past three years, engineers from Honda and GM have been working as one team with each company providing knowhow from its unique expertise to create a compact and lowcost nextgen fuel cell system,” said Toshiaki Mikoshiba, chief operating officer of the North Amer ican Region for Honda. “This foundation of outstanding team work will now take us to the stage of joint mass production of a fuel cell system that will help each company create new value for our customers in fuel cell vehicles of the future.” GM and Honda are acknowledged leaders in fuel cell technology with more than 2 220 patents between them, ac cording to the Clean Energy Patent Growth Index. “The combination of two leaders in fuel cell innovation is an excit
GM Executive Vice President Global Product Development Mark Reuss (left) and President Honda North America Toshiaki Mikoshiba announce a manufacturing joint venture to mass produce an advanced hydrogen fuel cell system. PHOTO: GM
ing development in bringing fuel cells closer to the mainstream of propulsion applications,” said Mark Reuss, GM exec utive vice president, Global Product De velopment, Purchasing and Supply Chain. “The eventual deployment of this technology in passenger vehicles will cre ate more differentiated and environmen tally friendly transportation options for consumers.” Better than batteries and petrol Fuel cell technology addresses many of the major challenges facing automobiles today: petroleum dependency, emissions, efficiency, range and refueling times. Fuel cell vehicles can operate on hydro gen made from renewable sources such as wind and biomass. Water vapour is the only emission from fuel cell vehicles. In addition to advancing the perform ance of the fuel cell system, GM and Hon da are working together to reduce the cost of development and manufacturing through economies of scale and common sourcing. The two companies also continue to work with governments and other stake holders to further advance the refueling infrastructure that is critical for the long term viability and consumer acceptance of fuel cell vehicles. GM is currently demonstrating the ca pability of fuel cells across a range of land, sea and air applications. The company has accumulated millions of miles of real world driving in fuel cell vehicles. “With the nextgeneration fuel cell sys tem, GM and Honda are making a dra matic step toward lower cost, highervol ume fuel cell systems. “Precious metals have been reduced dramatically and a fully crossfunctional team is developing advanced manufactur ing processes simultaneously with advan ces in the design,” said Charlie Freese, GM executive director of Global Fuel Cell Business. “The result is a lowercost system that is a fraction of the size and mass.” — Supplied.
somewhat appropriate for a man whose business revolves around fixing work horses of various kinds. “Most of my collection will start and run, but ja, they do need some work!” admits Daniël. “I’ll get around to restor ing them one day when there’s time, probably starting with one that be longed to my Oupa.” — Supplied.
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WitnessWheels MOTORING
February 2, 2017
SA’S FIVE PRICIEST SPORTSCARS Ferrari 488 Spider R5,6 mln
Mulsanne 2. Bentley R6,1 mln
Mulsanne 3. Bentley Speed R6,7 mln
F12 F2 tdf 4. Ferrari 5. Ferrari Berlinetta R7 mln R9,9 mln
Dave Peterson gets his 180 horsepower Proton KR3 to perform in track testing. The priceless bike raced Motor GP in 2002 with Kenny Roberts junior on board. PHOTO: IAN GROAT
Rare ‘big banger’ restored IAN GROAT LOCAL motor cycling legend Dave Pe terson rode a forgotten era Moto GP twostroke machine at the Zwartkops Day of Champions last weekend. The Proton KR3 was part of a grand prix attack with these bigbang, three cylinder, twostroke machines back in the 2002 title chase. KZN’s Rory Nesbitt worked for over a year to get the factory bike which was ridden by Nobuatsu Aoki. The bike is among a handful of Protons, all with a top speed recorded in Australia’s GP
at 320 km/h and weighing just 110 kg. The featured threecylinder, two stroke motor works on the big bang principle of all three cylinders firing be fore 180 degrees. Kenny Roberts spared no expense on making the machinery with over 50 personnel working on every single area of the unique GP racer. Nesbitt, who has pioneered the bike rebuild, says that it was a day to re member when former Moto GP rider Dave Peterson took the bike on parade with other “Team Incomplete” leg ends.
Spain’s Acciona proved itself to be the most powerful electric car in the world by finishing the 2017 Dakar. PHOTO: REDBULL.COM
Dakar’s two real winners An electric car and small Fiat impressed most in the race ALWYN VILJOEN
Jonathan Aberdein scored a double win at the Dubai Autodrome last Saturday. PHOTO: MOTORSPORT MEDIA
Aberdein set to wrap up UAE title SOUTH Africa’s Jonathan Aberdein tightened his grip of the 201617 For mula 4 UAE title with a double win at the Dubai Autodrome last Saturday. Capetonian Aberdein had been un beaten in United Arab Emirates Formu la 4 so far this year, but a scrappy re versegrid caught Aberdein out as he fought back to third. “Two more race wins — I’ll take them!” he told Motorsport Media. “It’s a pity our winning streak came to an end at eleven in a row, but that now makes it a little easier I suppose.” The weekend started well, with Aber dein taking pole position by three tenths of a second over series newcom er, Venezuelan Sebastian Wahbeh, reg ular Motopark teammate Logan Sargeant and Belgian newcomer Charles Weerts. Aberdein romped home to an easy threesecond win over Wahbeh, a win ner in Italian F4 last year, and Sargeant. That earned him a sixth on the re versegrid Race 2 grid, but he was up
to second by lap three when an accident brought the safety car out for five laps. Aberdein opted for the outside at the restart, but the race leader then out braked himself, pushing Aberdein wide as he slipped back down to fifth. He fought back to third but there were not enough laps left, although the position consolidated his iron grip on the championship, as closest rival Sar geant crashed out, leaving Wahbeh to win on debut from series regular Malu kah and Aberdein. “You can’t win them all,” Aberdein said. “But I was quickest in that race so I’m on pole for the last one.” Race 3 saw Aberdein take his 12th win in 13 races started in the UAE series this season, but he had to beat teammate Sargeant off. He returns to action in the penulti mate round of the Formula 4 UAE championship at the Yas Marina Grand Prix Circuit in Abu Dhabi on Februa ry 1011, with a fair chance of wrapping up the title. — Motorsport Media.
THE Dakar has come and gone, and as the dust settles, two manufacturers are studying the effect the endurance race had on the new Fiat Panda Climbing and the allelectric Acciona. I have been a fan of Fiat’s superbly er gonomic but quite slow Panda Climbing ever since I took the little allwheeldrive out for a spin in Pretoria on a Thursday afternoon and, somehow, ended up in Port St Johns on the Wild Coast after traversing the 2 587metre high Naude’s Neck Pass. It’s that much fun in the rough. The 2017 Fiat Panda 4x4 Cross, Fiat South Africa was sad to tell me, is not coming to SA unless the rand does mi raculous things against the Euro, which means we can only salivate at how this little climber made level ground of the Dakar route in the model dubbed the PanDakar. Fitted with its standard 132 kW, 2.0 Multijet engine, with only a few changes made to enable the little utility vehicle to withstand the race’s extreme de mands, the PanDakar was driven by the Orobica Raid team, formed in 2008 and led by Giulio Verzeletti, which specialis es in 9 000km long raids like the Dakar. The PanDakar was the first utility car closely derived from a production vehi cle to complete the race. The car handled in its stride the short age of oxygen due to the altitude, which never fell below 3 500 metres as they drove for 2 200 km over five days. It stayed cool when the temperatures rose over 40° Celsius and over hill and dale it showed why it’s Europe’s best selling small 4x4. In South Africa, we only get the 4x2 Panda models, but there is a reason why it was Europe’s bestselling city car in 2016, with over 190 000 sold, so it is well worth a wheel kick at the local Fiat dealer.
The Fiat PanDakar (Panda plus Dakar … get it?) showed why it’s Europe’s best selling small 4x4 in the 2017 edition of the 9 000 kmlong Dakar Raid. PHOTO: ACCIONA ACCIONA SAYS HAIKONA TO FUEL The second race car to have caught the eye in the Dakar was Spain’s allelectric “EcoPowered” Acciona. After failing to complete in the 2016 Dakar, the Acciona tram this year became the first zero emissions electric vehicle to complete the Dakar Rally, now in its 39th year. By meeting this sustainability chal lenge, Acciona, the Spanish infrastruc ture and renewable energy company, proved green cars are competitive even in the toughest race. The vehicle, crewed by Ariel Jatón and Tito Rolón, completed the world’s most arduous motor event to reach the finish line in Buenos Aires — the only one of over 18 000 vehicles in the history of the Dakar Rally to complete the event with out consuming a drop of fuel or emitting a single molecule of CO2. They did so despite the 39th edition of the Dakar Rally on record as having
the most extreme weather yet, causing over a quarter of the field to withdraw in the Cars class, including many of the favourites. The car is the result of five years’ re search and development led by Accio na’s R&D and Innovation Department. Made entirely in Spain — in the Barce lona town of Vilanova del Vallés — Eco Powered is the most powerful electric car in the world thanks to its 250 kW synchronous electric motor, equivalent to 340 horsepower. The car has six ultra fast charg ing lithi um bat CV Joint tery speCialists modules for CV joints, ball joints, as well as a tie rod ends, wheel bearings. 100 W so lar panel 341 GReYlinG stReet on the Pmb. 033 342 9174/75 roof.