The cost of mobility

Its amazing how owning a set of wheels can liberate you.

Personal transport comes with a freedom that allows you to spread your wings and fly, not quite literaly, but even if it was, the cost of ownership keeps you chained firmly to the ground.
Just the normal wear and tear, from tyres to oil and filters is a continuous drain not to mention the ever escalating fuel price.

Its almost like having another member of the family that you need to feed and house and clothe, then there are those horrific medical bills when things go wrong.

My vehicle insurance on two vehicles combined with the annual vehicle licence fee is almost the equivalent of my medical insurance for a family of four.

Freedom has a price, is it worth it?

The fastest just got faster

Bugatti Veyron with a top speed of 253 mph in 2005 was the fastest production car in the world, it conceded the record in October 2007 by the Aero SSC at 257 mph. The 2011 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport has just regained the title for the Bugatti

2011 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport

During the launch the company flatly denied that the Super Sport was designed to challenge the Aero SSC and was instead built at the request of customers who wanted something a little sportier (The orignal Bugatti was a bit of wet blanket)

 The Company is planning on building between 30 and 40 of the cars, and although this was based on the original the the list of modifications to the Veyron is long and expensive. The car has four fuel pumps,  feeding the larger quad turbochargers compared with the oringinal Veyron's two. A new and louder exhasust system was developed and some engine remapping which has produced a rocket propeling 1,500 Newton-meters (1,103 pound-feet), and peak torque is higher in the rev band. Suspension-wise, the ride height was raised slightly (to accommodate greater high-speed downforce); and the air suspension, half-shafts, links and wheels were lightened, reinforced and laced tighter. The biggest changes were aerodynamic. The Veyron's lovely, roof-mounted air scoops are replaced with so-called NACA ducts. The main grille is larger, and the entire front of the car is more ventilated to provide cooling for brakes and the front Haldex differential. A wild double diffuser has been arranged in the rear.

Price as tested: $2.8 million (est.)

Powertrain: Quad turbocharged and intercooled 8.0-liter, 16-cylinder engine with variable valve timing; seven-speed dual-clutch automated manual transmission; all-wheel drive with limited-slip rear differential.

Horsepower/torque: 1,200 hp at 6,400 rpm/1,106 pound-feet at 3,000-5,000 Length/weight: 175.6 inches/106.7 inches

Curb weight: 4,043.6 pounds

0-62 mph: 2.5 seconds

0-186 mph: 14.6 seconds

Top speed: 268 mph

EPA fuel economy: 9/11 mpg, city/highway (est.)

Cargo space: < 3 cubic feet (est.)

Ford Focus RS

Big Brother has arrived. For months the wicked Ford Focus ST has had to put up with bullying from the likes of the VW Golf, but no more.

The Little Brother

The ST's big brother has arrived in the form of the RS and is going to be handing out a solid thumping all round.
 
 

The New Blue RS logo



The New Ford Focus RS (Rally Sport) has definitely come to the party with its massive 224kW motor (Up from a 166kW on the ST) and a 0-100km time of 5.9 seconds this is one wicked hatchback.

In its Ultimate Green Skin (Strange name for a colour that looks like a throwback to a sixties party bus) this car will definitely be a head turner even when parked at the pavement. Not that you would be doing that very often.

This is the kind of car that you want to be driving and makes you think about leaving the super bike at home when you head up to Sabie for the weekend. With its cat like sure footedness and its fantastic steering response you can't wait to get into the twisties. For those a little more technically inclined the front is fitted with a RevoKnuckle suspension system that reduces torque steer and allows you to lay all that power down thick and fast and still hold your line.

This is a street legal rally car and it feels like it.

I think it will definately have the potential to be a babe magnet, but I am not sure you want to take it for a drive with a babe next to you screaming for you to slow down the whole time.

Now for the bad news. Only 60 will be coming to SA and they have all been sold.

Looking forward to seeing one of them at the lights next to a STi



Professional Drivers

How is it that the one profession that people are allowed to not comply with any regulations are drivers? No I am not referring to racing drivers, I am referring to the paid drivers who shuttle people and goods around our country. Drivers who drive branded vehicles which represent the companies they work for.

I was recently driving behind a shuttle company with a big maximum 100 speed sign on the back and at one point we were doing 160km/h. We drove at an average speed of 140km/h for the 30 odd km that I followed him. Now here comes the crux of the matter. Yes we were both speeding, but he is getting paid to drive and so should be complying with the law as one on a building site would have to comply with health and safety regulations.

A builder would be fined/jailed for failing to comply to safety regulations should someone be injured on a site and yet a professional driver does not face the same when causing an accident and injuring someone.

I believe that paid / professional drivers should be more liable when it comes to failure to comply to regulations i.e. they should be fined 3 times the norm for speeding.

Going back to the fact that I was also speeding (and yes it was wrong), the fundamental difference is I was driving a new, well maintained vehicle which cost twice the price of the bus and had ABS, and all the other acronyms that imply safety as apposed to a bus full of people that has non of the above.

Speeding is against the law no matter what you drive. (Just so we are clear).

Check out one of my earlier blogs on this matter Speed Kills

Beauty v Beast

Spent the weekend with a wide selection of off road vehicles and I think in my mind at least I have resolved the answer to the question of soft roader (SUV) versus full 4x4.

There is a ongoing argument as to what defines a Soft Roader v a full 4x4, but for the purposes of this debate a soft roader is a station wagon type vehicle with all wheel drive and slightly raised ground clearance, a 4x4 is a vehicle with all wheel drive and raised suspension and low range.
The long and the short of it is, in general the soft roader is an incredibly competent vehicle.Well deserving of there reputation but (and yes there is a but) these vehicles are superb on the road and more than capable on dirt roads even jeep tracks. However they are severly compromised by their low ground clearance and if they don't have traction control the smaller tires are not sufficient to give traction over very loose terrain. Also if you do take a Soft roader off road there is a good chance of breaking something as the Subaru did on Saturday when it dragged its towbar on the ground.

There is also the power factor, a twenty five year old Toyota Land Cruiser with low range can put down a ton more torque and can brute force its way through tough situations and since its not dragging it's rear or chassis on the ground you are less likely to tap off on the power when hitting the obstacle.

So all in all if your looking to go anywhere in any kind of weather conditions then a real 4x4 is the vehicle for you. However if your the kind of person who leave the beaten track, but still follow the trail on the map then a soft roader is possibly the vehicle for you.

Can you take a soft roader off road? Yes!

Would you want to? No!

4x4 Community Drivers Training Course

I had the pleasure of riding shotgun in a Land Rover Discovery 3 on a informal training course run by the guys at http://www.4x4community.co.za/

What an awesome way to give back to the community and congrats guys on a superb and informative training course.

With a little bit of everything from hill descents and on angle driving to the basics of vehicle recovery, the course managed to show the various drivers how much they still have to learn.

Was superbly impressed with a number of vehicles on the course although the Land Rover stood out in front.

It was the only vehicle that they allowed to stop on the hill and then continue on from a standing start whereas the rest did a controlled reverse descent and then up and over with no stops.

This was a course aimed at novices so there was quite a bit of tension but a lot fun fun was had by all.

I also saw a very clever design for a fridge slider by one of the instructors. If your in the market for one I seriously recomend that you check out this one. More info can be found at http://www.stofpad4x4.co.za/

All in all a great day.

Oil and the Enviroment

Following on my Green Cars Article and the subsequent catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico I have decided to take a stand and show my support for the project below.

Please take the time to read it. Feel free to comment.

No more dangerous drilling


I've just signed an urgent petition at Avaaz.org urging U.S. law-makers to overturn plans to expand offshore drilling. As the latest massive oil spill shows, offshore drilling isn't safe or clean. The world needs clean energy investment to tackle climate, not expansion of dangerous and dirty energy sources. Read more below, or click this link to join me in signing:



http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_offshore_drilling/98.php?CLICKTF



Dear friends,


We've all seen the outrageous images: a monstrous oil spill is gushing as much as 2,500,000 gallons of crude a day into the Gulf of Mexico.


Before the spill, U.S. President Obama and Congressional leaders were planning to ramp up offshore drilling. Now, with the spill, the politics have shifted -- and an opportunity has opened for the world's biggest historical climate polluter to shift away from oil and towards climate-safe energy sources.


At a moment like this, when leaders are making up their minds, the world's voices can help tip the balance. Sign the petition urging the U.S. to stop offshore drilling and invest instead in clean renewable energy -- the signatures will be delivered to the White House in Washington DC when we reach 500,000! Click to sign on now and spread the word:


http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_offshore_drilling/98.php?CLICKTF


This needless disaster is bringing catastrophe to the land, water, animals, and people in the gulf. The oil has already reached land, contaminating wildlife sanctuaries. Authorities are so concerned about the impacts of more oil reaching land that they are prefer to set the gulf on fire, burning as much of the oil as possible.

Meanwhile, the fossil fuel industry is raking in windfall profits. BP, which operated the sunken rig, more than doubled its first quarter profits in 2010 to $5.65 billion.

For years, the world has waited for the U.S. to step up on climate. But with the carbon lobby's strangle-hold on Washington, we’ve had more drilling in place of stronger investment in cleaner, safer energy sources. It’s time to for a change -- Senator Bill Nelson of Florida has already introduced legislation to repeal plans to expand offshore drilling. Let's back him up with an outpouring of global public outrage. Sign the petition calling on President Obama and Congress to end offshore drilling, and take the US and the world to clean energy future:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_offshore_drilling/98.php?CLICKTF


With Hope,


Ben, Iain, Alice, David, and the Avaaz team





SOURCES:


"Gulf Oil Spill Presents Political Challenges," Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/29/AR2010042902290.html?hpid=topnews


"Gulf oil spill washes up on political shores," BBC:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8665312.stm


"Black storm rising," The Economist:

http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=16059982


"Recovery still incomplete after Exxon Valdez," NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/us/06alaska.html


"Fly your sea turtle flag high: a slippery stew of shrimp, oil, and sea turtles," Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wallace-j-nichols/fly-your-sea-turtle-flag_b_563773.html


"How much oil has leaked into the Gulf of Mexico?," PBS (source of 2.5m gallons per day figure):

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/05/how-much-oil-has-spilled-in-the-gulf-of-mexico.html

Green Cars

With the world finally starting to wake up to the fact that our planet is changing and whether or not you believe that mankind is causing global warming you have to accept the fact that we are not contributing to the health of the planet.

What with all the toxic chemicals and exhaust fumes we spew into the atmosphere even the most ardent non believer has to admit that we cant be doing the world any good.

With that in mind how does our vehicles contribute to the demise of the world?

When you look at vehicles like the Lamborghini Murcielago which gets a horrific world polluting 29 liters / 100 km to the still frightenening 15.68 liters / 100 km from the Jeep Commander and you start to get the impression that we have no real desire to save the world.

Then again with the fuel companies not making any effort to look for an alternative soloution who can blame the automotive industry for not being too excited about spending billions on sourcing an alternative fuel source when their primary business is to build cars.

Still at least there are those trying from the Toyota Prius at an awesome 4.6 liters / 100km to the Honda Civic Hybrid  at 5.8 liters /100 km.

Although even these cars come with a dubiuos "Green" rating as what is not taken into account is how many carbo credits are spent in the manufacturing process of these cars.

For now I think the best solution is to buy a bicycle, get fit stay healthy and save the enviroment, I know, not very practical in this high paced global world we live in.

So a more practical solution is to plant a tree for every 20 000km you drive. Greening the planet and reducing your carbon footprint while retaining your ability to drive your favourite automobile.

For more info on Green Cars check out the following www.greencars.org

2010

Wow I can't believe that a new year has come and almost gone. Been a long 3 month sabbatical for me. Needed to focus my talents in other areas.


This is the year of the Soccer World Cup or Football as some of you foreign blokes call it.

Its also a new year for Cars and more cars and lots of stupid idiots driving cars. With 28 tragic and unnecessary road related deaths this Easter weekend including that of our Deputy Health Minister it seems that we are a long way from improving our road safety record.

Sadly it also appears that increased vehicle safety features are not improving our statistics as even a car as advanced as the Lexus was unable to save our Deputy Health Minister.

It goes back to the beginning where we learn to propel an automobile, but are never taught nor learn the skills required to drive safely from A to B.

Got a lot lined up for this month including some awesome feedback reports.

Take care and drive like the other guy is an idiot.

FJ Cruisers

After months of looking for a new car, this is it. Unfortunately it is not available here yet. Anybody any ideas why?

The Toyota FJ Cruiser is a retro-style compact SUV produced by Toyota.

First introduced as a concept car in Chicago at the 2003 Chicago Auto  The FJ Cruiser was originally not intended for production, but due to enormous consumer response about the car following the North American International Auto Show held in Detroit, manufacturing began in early 2006.

 It went on sale in early 2006 as a 2007 model and features styling reminiscent of the original Toyota FJ40 Land Cruisers from the 1960s (particularly the front fascia and wrap around rear windows) and is based on the Land Cruiser Prado platform.

This is a classic of a car and really keeps true to the early days of off roading and yet would look good parked next to an M series in your garage.

Definately going to keep my eye out for this one when it finally hits our shores.

The Future is an FJ

2010 Toyota FJ Cruiser

Vehicle Recalls

Life is taking me in all sorts of directions at the moment,I am currently involved with a Land Rover Discovery 3 that has a safety recall, just not this particular one.

Yet this vehicle has the same symptoms and physical evidence of a fault as the recalled vehicles.
"It has been identified that, some vehicles may experience a reduction in braking preformance leading to an increased stopping distance, due to the possiblity of oil entering the brake booster or the brake non-return valve sticking in the closed postion after cold start." That is to say the brakes don't work.

So the dealer says they cannot assist as its not part of the recall, LRSA says if its not on the recall list it is not covered.

On further investigation I have found two other vehicles not on the list that have been repaired via the recall while outside of warranty.

So where do I go from here?

It is a problem, a potentally fatal one and yet I have to bear the cost of what is obviously a vehicle flaw.

As another LRD3 driver pointed out, "why not drive through the showroom window and then argue as to who is responsible now the brakes have failed."

Its the descrepancies in all of this that i find most disturbing. Some are fixed some aren't.

Is it about who shouts the loudest?

The Cost of it All

Who pays for the damages when some idiot (there's that word again, its almost as if I think everyone is an idiot)
drives into a traffic light.

Then again it doesn't matter what he drives into, the question still remains the same.

Who pays?

I have mentioned previously what a sterling job Joburg roads is doing with repairing the lights at the top of the street.
usually their turn around time is 3 days. Exceptional by our government departments standards.

Now in the last year I have noticed three occasions where the same traffic light has been completely replaced (On one occasion two lights where destroyed)
All those repairs have to come at a considerable cost, so who pays and why? Surely the driver responsible for the action should pay, why not he pays for the damages to the other car.

Does the City sue the insurance companies or the driver for the damages? Somehow I don't think so. So what is the solution?

I don't know, but I think I will have to start my first bit of investigative journalism, instead of just an opinion piece and find some of the answers to this.

Watch this space for more news.

Tires - A Minefield of Rubber

Last weekend I had a puncture, not a big problem in itself. The vehicle was parked when my collegue (Rather Gleefully) pointed it out.

I had a spare and all the required tools and so changed the tire quite easily and was on my way.

The trouble started when I attempted to have the puncture repaired.

My local tire dealership informed me that the tire had a sidewall puncture which could not be repaired. I found that harsh especially since the tire had done less than 10 000km's and was no longer available so I would have to buy 2. So in an attempt to avoid forking out a ton of cash on new tires, I asked for alternatives. "You could always put in a tube" was the reply.

Great idea not expensive and problem solved, except on further research I learnt that "Tubeless" tires running tubes are prone to blow out's at high speed. That's something thats not in the owners manual.


So then I start looking at alternative tires, "No problem we have tires in stock, just not the same size, but if you put them in front you will be ok"

More research and I find that miss matching tyres on a 4 x 4 results in mechanical failure as the unbalanced load puts massive strain on the drive train.

The Tire market is an absolute minefield with a myraid of poducts and quality to choose from. Size,Speed,Load,Traction,Noise,Wear all play a factor in your choice of tire.

So the moral of the story is RTFM (Read The ******* Manual) and if its not in the manual ask as many questions as possible (from as many people as possible) before making any changes to your vehicle that requires a deviation from your current system.

If I hadn't I could have become another statistic or at the very worst been sitting with a very damaged vehicle for the sake of saving a few Rand.

The Future is here.

Today cars, and just about everything else including cell phones have more computing power than Apollo 11 spacecraft that landed on the moon.
The question to ask though is, is this a good thing?

Sure it makes for a much better and safer ride, more comfort, less taxing physicaly and mentally on the driver, and yet what happens when it goes wrong?
With 105 fuses it seems that there is a lot that can go wrong.

Recently I took a Land Cruiser Discovery 3 for a drive, and what a drive. The vehicle is superb in everyway, the kind of comfort that would have you driving to Cape Town instead of flying.
The electronics in the vehicle are first class and make driving easy, comfortable and a pleasure.

Then the problems start, a warning appears on the dashboard indicating a Transmission Fault - Traction reduced.
You haul out the 356 page owners manual and look it up. No problem the fault is listed, but under the "Meaning" heading is a blank space and under the "What to do?" heading is another blank space. Very helpfull.
So off to Land Rover I go and they plug in the computer, no faults found, yet it still indicates a fault on the display.
"It because the battery voltage is low, drive the vehicle and the fault should clear itself." is the response I get to my query.

A week later the fault is still there. So where to go from here? Further questions and queries leads to the response that the traction control has not been activated and when it is activated the self diagnostics will reset.

It all sounds a bit like the cars technology have exceeded the ability of the mechanics to repair.

I think that some of today's cars are more intelligent than some humans.

Speed Kills (Speed + Idiots = Death)

I told a story last week about a taxi taking flight and mentioned that I would follow up more on that.

Well that taxi in question took flight as it sped past me not entirely due to speed. I witnessed a mechanical failure on the left rear wheel moments before the vehicle turned sideways and became airborne.

This is my point behind the statement Speed Kills + Idiots = Death I am not a firm believer in the "Speed Kills" school of thought. The way I see it speed is just a minor component in the catastrophe that follows.

There is a saying "Guns don't kill people, people do!" and so to use the concept in this context "Speed doesn't kill people, People kill people"

I have read and heard all the arguments and statistics about the number of road users killed by speeding. Dream on people, are we honestly trying to say that a well maintained modern car with the right tyres and a skilled driver (Having a drivers licence is no indication of skill or even competence) will result in an accident and death, because of speed. Not going to happen.

Accidents happen because some wannabe Schumacher drives his poorly maintained vehicle with a space saver tire (rated to 80km/hour) at 120km (He is not even speeding) but the results will be a possible fatal accident due to the failure of the tire running at speeds above its rating and then the driver not having the skills or knowledge to control the situation safely.

I believe that too many people driving without sufficient skills and with poorly maintained vehicles are the cause of most of our accidents.

I believe we should have two types of licences, one for the average old lady who pops down to the shops once in a while and the other for drivers with advanced training and both they and thier vehicles are tested on a regular basis

Emergency 911

I recently had an experience whereby I saw a Taxi defy the laws of physics (for a brief moment) as it took flight shortly after passing me on the freeway. The accident appeared to be mechanical failure compounded by speed. (See next weeks article)

Due to the number of injuries, the fact the I had my family on board and the poor location of the accident (from a safety perspective) I decided to contact the emergency services and not get personally involved. (A very tough decision to make)

So dialing 112 from my cellular phone I experienced 3 dropped calls while listening to an automotive voice telling me that it was an offence to report an emergency if there wasn't one. On the fourth try I got through to an operator when my call got dropped again. I then asked my wife to call them while I called the toll road operations office.

Meanwhile my wife got through on the 112 number got through to an operator, told them the details and then without letting her know what was happening she was transferred to someone else who upon hearing what the call was about started a diatribe about how this is the wrong number and we should dial 112.

I on the other hand was having a huge success as my call was answered by a person, who upon hearing my story asked several intelligent questions, thanked me for the call and said he would get on to it.

I then asked my wife to call ER24 on 084 124 where she also encountered first class professional service and was also left feeling that the incident would be resolved asap.

The bottom line is that the 112 number is about as efficient as phoning 10111 as you can't get through and when you do its normally to somebody ill equipped, and without sufficient training to deal with the problem.

The moral of the story. When chaos erupts - phone everybody, but start with the professionals first.

My compliments to the Toll operators and ER24 and thier first class personnel for thier professional service.

Everest - The Making of Mountains by Ford

I happened to come across the new offering from Ford today. Not sure I like it. Escpecially since this latest offering is coming from the guys who brought us the Focus ST.

I spent most of my early driving years in Bakkies (LDV's) of one kind or another and I can't escape the feeling that this is just another Bakkie.

On paper it looks quite impressive with a 3 liter Turbo Diesel across the range although at 115kW it seems a bit flat compared to the 2.7 liter 140kW in the likes of the Land Rover Discovery 3 or the massive 3 liter 180kW in the new Discovery 4.

Still the pricing looks good, so its should sell rather well, but then again so should have the Mondeo.
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Loyalty - An Affection or a Necessity?

“A feeling or attitude of devoted attachment and affection”


Loyalty to ones friends and Family is totally understandable, but Loyalty to a Brand is an interesting concept especially when you apply it to cars.
I am in the process of changing vehicles and found myself looking at the same brand almost exclusively.

I currently drive a Toyota Land Cruiser, great vehicle and have had some awesome times in the vehicle. “So why are you getting rid of it?” I ask myself continuously and keep coming back to the same answer. This is a car built to go off-road, unfortunately there is a lot of road between me and where I want to go off the road and the cruiser doesn’t do the tar section to well.

So there I am looking at Land Cruisers with blinkers on vaguely aware of the fact that there are other vehicles out there. So after much looking I begin to realize that the Cruisers are much sought after and very scarce and the pricing seems out of touch with the rest of the world.
So after months of searching I finally take my blinkers off. Now I am really confused, so much choice, so many variables.

This made me think, loyalty is a necessity as it reduces the choices you have in life to more manageable levels. So Loyalty even blind is a survival skill that keeps us sane.

Red Bull Air Race

I must admit that I am aware that this has nothing to do with motoring, but since these aircraft have been described as race cars with wings I thought I would use a little bit of poetic licence.

I watched the latest leg of the Red Bull Air Race and was blown away by the skill and expertise these world class sportsman exhibit.

Its amazing to think that these guys do all this in 3 dimensions without a bumper bashing to show for it and they do it all at speeds faster than the average idiot on our roads. (Hows that for bringing it back to being about cars?)

My two year old son (Who is car mad) stood in front of the TV the whole show making airplane noises and going wow. Echoing my sentiments.