automotive business review september 2009

14 New Suzuki Alto

18 AAMA Appoints ABR

53 Pennies from Heaven

63 Staying Alive

68 Let Them Ride Bicycles

80 Team Timken Back to Form

T h e P h o e n i x

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 92

w w w. a b r b u z z . c o . z a

High AltotudeSeptember 2009 is the first anniversary of ABR, and what better way to celebratethan to welcome to our front cover the Suzuki Alto, just a tad more than one yearafter Suzuki Auto South Africa’s high profile return to South Africa. And there’smore to celebrate; ABR has also been appointed as the official mouthpiece for AAMA(Automotive Aftermarket Manufacturers Association). Two high altitude milestones.

The Suzuki Alto launch (see page14 for the full story) is indeedan appropriate cover story forour first anniversary issue, as itwas the Suzuki SX4 that was the

first vehicle evaluated by Howard Keeg inthe very first issue of ABR (September2008), and the Jimny and Grand Vitaralaunch was the very first vehicle launch thatthe Phoenix attended in early September2008, and the Jimny graced our cover in theOctober 2008 issue. Another coincidence isthat the Alto and ABR both share certaincharacteristics, as appropriately defined inSuzuki’s press release, and I quote with relish; “a dynamic new contender and atrend setter that is set to redefine the com-pact city car concept, and an unprecedentedcombination of superlative design, packag-ing, safety, fuel efficiency and low emissions.” Substitute the vehicle appella-tions with publishing terms, and this couldbe describing ABR when it was launched!Taking this a little further and thinking laterally you can also shoehorn AAMA intothis descriptive mould. The ABR AAMA

link makes sense, as both operations sharetraits and characteristics that make it a goodfit, and both have histories and origins thatwere not exceedingly auspicious, but mimicking the ugly duckling, are becomingstunning swans, and promising futuresbeckon. AAMA can be traced back to 1986,when the Partinform Component Manu-facturers Association was conceived, and inthe words of Paul Williams, who served asChairman from 1994 to 1998, it “was a cre-ation of good comradeship and the mutualsharing of costs for trade evenings”.Malcolm Perrie, the first Chairman ofAAMA, was more forthright when heannounced the formation of AAMA inNovember 2008, stating that they had “formalised the old boy’s tea club known asPartinform into a properly constituted andregistered association”. The roots of ABR area little more tenuous, but November 2002would be a logical starting point, when thePhoenix responded to an SOS from an ailing friend, and selflessly kept AutoEngineering & Spares alive for eightmonths, before handing back the reins to a

reinvigorated and dramatically changed per-sona. The publishing bug had bitten, andthe Phoenix was soon back in the saddle,creating and sustaining AutoInsight fromMarch 2004 to July 2008, before once againhanding over the reins of a healthy publica-tion to some intriguing individuals. It is difficult to find words to adequately describethe unusual ways that the recipients of thislargesse contrived to repay this hard work,suffice to say that they redefined the notionsof gratitude and generosity. The Phoenixresponded in the only way he knew – to upthe ante. ABR set the bar even higher andstarted to redefine the concept of trade pub-lications, and a dynamic new contender anda trend setter in this publishing niche wasborn with an unprecedented combination ofsuperlative design, packaging, and words inaction. Similarly, AAMA is set to redefinethe parameters of the automotive aftermar-ket’s activities in information dissemination,training, lobbying, quality standards, supplychain sustainability, proactive policing of inferior products, etc. You can read moreon page 18.

Publishing Evolution...the survival of the fittest. Publishing Revolution...the Rise of the Phoenix and the Forging of Premium Prose from the Crucible of Fire

C o n t e n t s

5050 5353 5454

4

The publisher and contributors have done their best to ensure the accuracy of the articles and cannot accept responsibility for any loss or inconvenience sus-tained by any reader as a result of information or advice in Automotive Business Review. The information provided and opinions expressed in this publica-tion are provided in good faith and do not necessaraly represent the opinion of the publisher. No article may be reproduced in any form without the prior

written permission from the publisher, except for the quotation of brief passages in reviews.

2 The Phoenix High Altotude

8 What’s the Buzz

12 Personal Profile Dr. George Nyabadza

14 Cover Story New Suzuki Alto

18 AAMA ABR Appointed AAMA Official Mouthpiece

22 Tony’s Take Barack Obama and the 40 traders

24 Frankly Speaking Electric Avenue

26 The Chery Story A Well Respected SUV About Town

28 AIDC AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY CONFERENCE 2009

30 Auto Topical How to Nail Jelly to the Ceiling

32 Weighty Issues The Marriage of MAN and VW Trucks

34 Managing the Risks Keeping It Clean

36 Health Care Managing Your Health

38 Tyre Safety Tyres’ Contribution to Safety in Motoring

40 Road Safety Road Safety and Driver Safety – An Oxymoron?

44 Customer C.A.R.E. Customer Relationship ManagementTrilogy Customer C.A.R.E. Programme

49 Intelli-Driving Defensive Driving Tips

Publishing Editor

Graham Erasmus

083 709 8184

Commercial Vehicle Editor

Alwyn Viljoen

082 458 9332

Intelli-Driving Editor

Eugene Herbert

082 941 3785

Correspondents

Beeton, Frank

Borlz, Baron Claude

Burford, Adrian

Gamble, Austin

Hogg, Gilbert

Keeg, Howard

McCleery, Roger

Twine, Tony

Wilde, Fingal

Published by:

Trilogy Publishing

Advertising Sales:

Stanton Porter Marketing

Werner Kolver

Tel: 012 654 2745

Cell: 082 577 8411

e-mail: [email protected]

C a t e g o r y

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 96

5959 7070 7676

Editorial Office:

81 Alma Road

Wendywood

Tel 27 11 656 2198

Fax 27 11 802 3979


Website: www.abrbuzz.co.za

Subscriptions and Data

Management:

Trilogy Trading & Promotion

P O Box 69

Wendywood

2144

Tel 27 11 802 6020

Fax 27 11 802 3979


Design and Reproduction:

j. Kraft Information Design cc

Tel: 012 997 6946

Fax: 012 997 6987


Printing:

Business Print Centre, Pretoria

50 Robert Bosch Invented for LifeThe Golden Triangle

53 e-CAR Pennies from Heaven

56 Lubrication Update A Blue Chip InvestmentCastrol Launches GTX Anti-Sludge

58 P&A News Floods Hit Katima Mulilo

60 Capricorn Insights Cooperatives- it’s time has come

63 Industry Update Staying Alive

64 Diamond Dialogues The Heroes of the Aftermarket #2

66 AIDC Quiz

68 Wilde Things Let Them Ride Bicycles

69 Burford on Brands The Yin and the Yang of Chevrolet

70 Corporate Conscience I am Me

72 Hogg’s Wash South Africa’s Prime Exports

74 Life Goes On A Reality Check

78 Industry Update Bosch Golf DayGabriel Wings Take Flight

80 From the Cockpit Team Timken Back to Form

82 Fast Wheels Unpredictable Formula 1 in 2009

83 The Last Writes

Official Mouthpiece of

Hino bids fond farewellto industry veteran

Three years ago Piet van Wyk deVries set out to achieve a mam-moth task: the rebranding andrevitalisation of Toyota Trucksinto a dedicated truck businessthat would operate autonomouslyfrom Toyota SA. Having not onlyrealised this goal but done so withunmatched success and accept-ance of the Hino brand, van Wykde Vries has chosen to hand overthe now-established business unitto a younger successor. “I haveachieved what I set out to do,” hetold Hino’s dealer principals, gath-ered for the manufacturer’s annualdealer strategy conference. “TheHino brand has been establishedand it’s time for new blood to takethis brand forward to even greater successes.”Casper Kruger, who has spent ten years with Toyota in various capacities from heading up Lexus to gener-al manager: marketing and planning, will henceforth be at the helm of Hino in the capacity of general manager. Van Wyk de Vries’ departure, whileexpected, does not come without sad farewells and fond memories. “Piet is retiring after a very successful 25 years within the Toyota Group,” said AndrewKirby, senior vice president for sales and marketing, Toyota SA, to a gathered audience of Hino clients and dealer principals at the annual Hino clientappreciation dinner.

W h a t ’ s t h e B u z z ?

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 98

Piet van Wyk de Vries with long-time secretary and personal assistant,Christine Boshoff (left) and Leone van Wyk de Vries (right), his wife and

dedicated support system during his tenure at Toyota.

Casper Kruger

In safe hands: the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Safety on South African roads in general and all aspects closely related to public transportation are currently very topical. Following the valuationsand findings of this year’s FIFA Confederations Cup, which show an immediate necessity to improve all modes of public transport services to ensurea successful 2010 FIFA World Cup, Mercedes-Benz has reiterated that safety is paramount to all its products and that the brand takes all elementsof safety extremely seriously. “The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and the various conversions undertaken by recommended Mercedes-Benz body builders,comply fully with the latest regulations and standards issued by the National Regulator for Compulsory Standards (NRCS/SABS),” says NicolaiBerger, Divisional Manager Vans, Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles. “The latest example is the newly introduced (mandatory) roof escape hatchwhich has to be fitted to all TRP (taxi recapitalisation programme) taxi conversions registered as of 1 July 2009 onwards. The Mercedes-BenzSprinter INKANYEZI taxi conversion comes with this feature as standard,” adds Berger.

Bridgestone supports home fororphaned and abandoned babiesVulnerable children from previously disad-vantaged communities, who have beenabandoned, orphaned or born to HIV-posi-tive parents, will benefit from a donation byBridgestone South Africa. Impilo, a place ofsafety for children in need of care from birthto three years of age, is situated in Fairvale,Johannesburg, where it provides a homelyenvironment in the transitional periodbefore the children are returned to their par-ents or extended family or placed in anadoptive or foster home. Bridgestone’sdonation includes a cheque for R10 000 aswell as a gift of R5 000 worth of nurseryand office necessities. “We have been supporting Impilo for some years,” said Bridgestone’sMandy Lovell. “We have a responsibility to the communities from whom we draw ouremployees and assisting an organisation like Impilo, which provides an essential service to thecommunity, is an integral part of our social investment programme and falls under the umbrel-la of Bridgestone’s global One Team, One Planet initiative.”

HYUNDAI GENESIS RECEIVES J.D. POWER AND ASSOCIATES 2009 APEAL AWARD

J.D. Power and Associates has selected the Hyundai Genesis as its most appealing midsize premium car in the 2009 Automotive Performance,Execution and Layout (APEAL) StudySM. The J.D. Power and Associates APEAL award measures what consumers like and dislike about their newvehicles during the first 90 days of ownership, particularly with regard to the vehicle's design, content, layout and performance. Genesis received highmarks for its exterior design, engine and transmission, interior comfort, and technology and entertainment features totalling 864 points – 26 pointsabove the midsize premium car segment average. In addition, the Hyundai brand showed a 16 point improvement on 2008.

BSM and Fiat inlandmark dealBSM and Italian car giant Fiat have announced theirpartnership which will see Fiat as the new fleetprovider for BSM (the British School of Motoring),the UK’s most popular driving school. Fiat will pro-vide BSM with 14,000 cars over the next four years,most of them the award-winning Fiat 500 – Car ofthe Year 2008 – along with the popular GrandePunto model. The fleet vehicle is the biggest depic-tion of the BSM brand, and the introduction of thestylish Fiat 500 design is intended to appeal to newlearners by echoing the brand’s iconic feel. BSM willstart to take delivery of the new fleet this summerand complete the exchange of all fleet by the end ofthe year. BSM has a network of 94 UK driving cen-tres from Inverness to Truro and teaches more than130,000 learners a year. The agreement will makethe Fiat 500 even more visible on Britain’s roads –and help Fiat with its plan to target the 500 at thekey young drivers market.

W h a t ’ s t h e B u z z ?

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 910

2010 Bus Safety Can BeBoostedUpon the completion of the recent Confederations Cup held in

South Africa as a ‘tester’ for next year’s FIFA World Cup, the

organisation’s president, Sepp Blatter had high praise for the

organisers of the event but had no hesitation in pinpointing his

concerns over the country’s ability to effectively shuttle soccer fans

from game to game. “This is a big, big challenge,” he said. While

Blatter may have focused his criticisms on public transport infra-

structure, one can be sure that he and many other soccer officials,

not to mention politicians, also have serious concerns over the

safety of buses and taxis used to transport the expected 450 000

visitors to the event. “Short of detailing bus and taxi accident sta-

tistics, South Africa ranks in the world’s top ten as far as public

transport-related fatalities are concerned. While time may be

short, every measure needs to be taken to ensure improved road

safety during 2010 and after,” says Louis Swart, managing direc-

tor of Drive Report, a local company specialising in driver behav-

iour improvement. Drive Report is the South African agent for

DriveCam, an in-vehicle video camera that records erratic driving

incidents in the form of 12-second clips which are transmitted to

fleet controllers via WiFi, enabling them to implement corrective

coaching before major accidents occur.

Hyundai BecomesWorld’s 4th BiggestAutomakerRecent sales results from Reuters in the UK haveconfirmed that Hyundai Motor Company is the4th biggest automaker in the world with 2,153million units sold in the first half of 2009.Hyundai Motor also reached 5 percent of the glob-al market share in the first half of the year for thefirst time ever, amid a 15 percent decline in globalautomobile demand compared to a year earlier.This result was achieved by expanded share indeveloped countries including U.S., China and inEurope as the automaker boosted efforts to raise itsbrand image and continued to expand marketingactivities in local markets. In China, Hyundai sold257,000 units in the first half, a 56% rise from ayear earlier, mainly helped by its China-exclusivemodels. Hyundai’s total exports to Africa alsoreached one million units recently, of whichHyundai Automotive South Africa has contributed20% to this impressive milestone.

Bridgestone South Africa has warnedmotorists that under-inflated tyres placethem at a higher risk of having a blowoutRomano Daniels, BridgestoneGeneral Manager Marketingand Communications, says thattyre under-inflation is one of themost serious risk factors forcrashes. “An under-inflated tyreruns at higher temperatures thanit is designed for,” he explains.“The excess heat and frictioncan cause the tyre to disinte-grate, leading to a blowout.”Daniels says that under-inflatedtyres also cause fuel consump-tion to increase because of the extra rolling resistance that results. “Another concern is tyre life,”he says. “An under-inflated tyre wears down much faster. This means that motorists may onlyget 50 to 60 per cent of the tyre life they would expect from a correctly-inflated tyre.”

SKF AND ATLASCOPCO UP THE ANTE-FOR LOCAL SKILLSDEVELOPMENT WITHNEW TRAINING CENTRESKF South Africa and Atlas Copco South Africarecently entered into a joint venture to establish anew ultra-modern training facility. SKF’sReliability Maintenance Institute (RMI) is anextension of the SKF Group vision, ‘Equipping theworld with SKF knowledge’ and serves as a globalvehicle to place knowledge into the hands of cus-tomers and employees. “The RMI affirms SKF’sphilosophy of continued investment in peoplethrough training, irrespective of economic climate”,says SKF South Africa Managing Director, Gavin

Garland. “Companies that use and create opportunities to train and develop employees and pro-vide skill sets during the current global economic crisis will not only retain their position andmarket share but will reap the benefits when the economy recovers”. According to Garland, skillsdevelopment is a hot topic in the current negative global financial climate and he cites twoexamples: “The UK is increasing apprenticeship opportunities while India has approved a skillsdevelopment policy to enhance capabilities and empower their workforce to work better,smarter, and safer”.

Show NewsCelebrating its fifth anniversary, AutomechanikaShanghai will take place 9 – 11 December 2009 atShanghai New International Expo Centre, China. Todate, the show has already attracted over 1,800exhibitors from 15 countries and regions – China,Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan,Korea, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan,Turkey, UK and USA. The exhibition area will bealmost 100,000 sqm to accommodate the expectedrecord number of 2,000 plus exhibitors.Automechanika Shanghai, Asia’s number one tradeshow for automotive parts, equipment and servicesuppliers, continues to receive strong support frominternational trade associations as well as local andoverseas companies. Seven pavilions from around the-globe – Germany, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore,Taiwan, UK and USA are already confirmed for theshow.

GREEN TRAINEES REPORT SAVINGS, SAFETYEmployees of SA tyre manufacturer Bridgestone are already reporting positive results after they hit the road with new driving skills as part of the MakeCars Green campaign. The campaign, which was devised by the FIA, is sponsored internationally by Bridgestone Japan, and consists of ten ‘greenermotoring’ tips, five of which relate directly to driving style. More than 120 Bridgestone employees across South Africa have attended the first twoparts of a three-part driving improvement course presented by driving skills company driving.co.za. An initial seminar on defensive and economicaldriving was followed up by a 50-minute practical on-road training session for each trainee, showing how to put the new skills into practice in prepa-ration for the practical test in a few weeks’ time. Romano Daniels, Bridgestone General Manager of Group Communications and Marketing, said thetraining had been well-received so far. “A number of our trainees have said that they are saving more than one litre per 100km over their usual con-sumption, and one has already credited the course with saving him from a serious crash,” he said. “Even Makoto Ota, our Marketing and Sales VP,has commented that he is no longer perturbed by taxis and vehicles dashing in ahead of him,” Daniels added.

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 912

Q & A INTERVIEW WITH DR. GEORGE NYABADZA

WesBank, the ‘Wheels Bank’, is thebiggest and longest standing sponsorin motor sport in South Africa.Besides this they have been sponsoringthe South African Guild of MotoringJournalists Car of the Year Compe-tition for 25 years, the NationalAutomobile Dealer Association meet-ings, Motor Rallies and over the lasttwo years, the WesBank Street Race inSoweto. WesBank has also been behindthe V8 Supercars which are the fastestmost powerful racing cars on SouthAfrican circuits for the last 26 years.The man who heads up the team sponsoring these high profile events is Dr. George Nyabadza, the GeneralManager of Marketing.

Q: Sponsorships like these give you anexciting platform on which to promotewhat WesBank stands for?

A: Over the last four years we have sought to

make sure that all our sponsorships are aligned

to our overall brand strategy which itself is

derived from our corporate strategy. After care-

ful consideration, as core to our business model,

we create partnerships and are always there for

the long haul as we have been with every other

sponsorship we have had. Our partnerships

involve wearing our hearts on our sleeves and

getting involved on a day to day basis with the

companies and properties we sponsor. For

example in motor sport, we know everybody on

first name terms and what they do. In addition

to this our personal and individual efforts tend

to become recognised by our partners. I have

been appointed Director on the Board of

Motorsport South Africa. Our motorsport co-

ordinator at WesBank, Tom Kubeka, has also

become the first black Clerk of the Course in

South African Motorsport, after passing the

exams with distinctions.

At the WesBank Street Race Launch, Jan-Louis

Pretorius spent time in Soweto getting to acti-

vate the sponsorship in the township where he

actually went and lived. Michelle Cowburn is

also hands-on to motorsport and knows all the

key role players by name; all three of these man-

agers are empowered by me to make decisions

on our behalf. In order to deliver on WesBank’s

brand and strategic position as “experts in asset

finance” we have developed eight brand imper-

atives that govern how we utilise our brand

communication tools to reach our target mar-

kets. We deeply understand WesBank’s target

markets, both current and future, and our spon-

sorships meet the needs of our customers, across

all races, gender and age. For example motor-

sport, the WesBank Super Series, predominant-

ly caters for our white customers at the tradi-

tional circuits while the WesBank Street Race

predominantly caters for the growing black

market. Soweto is a case where we know the

growth of the market is going to come from as

more and more Blacks are becoming economi-

cally active and financing more and more cus-

tomers. Interesting enough surveys at the event,

have shown that even Northern Suburbs people,

across all races, came to see the Soweto Street

Race for themselves.

Q: Has all this been good for WesBank?

A: Myself and my team do all this for the

WesBank brand because of what WesBank is – a

culture of empowerment from an owner-man-

agement philosophy where every business case is

thoroughly debated honestly for the best result

for both WesBank and for the new partners we

are sponsoring. If we as a marketing team were

involved or worked for another company we

would never have been able to have the

WesBank Street Race: Soweto. This event is also

a classic demonstration of our partnership phi-

losophy as we now have new partners within the

City of Johannesburg with the full backing of

the Mayor.

Q: How did this all start for you?

A: I was born in Zimbabwe in 1967. I was one

of seven kids. My Dad, who started as a truck

driver and eventually became the Fleet Manager

of his Company, and my mother a hard-work-

ing home based entrepreneur, put everything

into the education and well being of the kids.

My father always told us that we had our inher-

itance through the education they

provided us. A wonderful start to life.

Q: Schooling?

A: I went to a private school called PeterHouse

in Marondera, Zimbabwe. Besides education I

had a great love of rugby and played for the first

team as well as the Mashonaland schools 2nd

team.

Q: After school?

A: I qualified as a Chartered Accountant at 22

working for Ernst and Young. Armed with my

CA I joined a Construction Company first as

Group Accountant and then moved over to

Amtec Motors in Harare as the Group Finance

Manager of six dealerships that handled Mazda,

Nissan and Hino Trucks. This was a great chal-

lenge for me and my entry into the retail indus-

try. After spending a year or so at Head Office I

wanted to get into operations for some of the

action and was given a great opportunity to run

the 100 vehicles a month dealership in

Bulawayo, which I did for four years before

going back to Harare.

Q: In the motor business you normallyneed a mentor.

A: Whilst all this was happening I met Paddy

O’Brien who was the MD of Sewells of which

was at that time part of WesBank. My CEO at

that stage, Brian Stevenson, was part of Paddy’s

performance groups; he allowed us to attend

performance groups at home and here in South

P e r s o n a l p r o f i l e by Roger McCleery

Continued on p49

C o v e r S t o r y

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 914

New Suzuki Alto –A dynamic new contender

The Suzuki Alto was first introduced in Japan in 1979 as a small car (kei car in Japanese),and has since gone on to hit the 10 million sales mark worldwide, with 4.8 million soldin Japan and 5.2 million sold in other countries. Thus it has been a long time coming toSouth Africa, in its seventh generation guise, but the wait has been worth it. 2009 is alsoan auspicious year for the introduction, with Suzuki celebrating its 100th anniversary.

Suzuki has been both circumspect and active since its high

profile launch in South Africa in mid 2008, initially intro-

ducing the sporty Swift and SX4, followed closely by the

more family orientated Jimny and Grand Vitara, and now

the compact Alto city car, bringing the Suzuki range to five attrac-

tive vehicles. And at the Alto media launch in Bloemfontein, the

City of Roses, we were promised the status Kisashi in 2010, which

will make the range reasonably comprehensive, and will give the

current Suzuki network of 23 dealers something to offer to most

of the aspiring Suzuki owners visiting their showrooms.

The Alto has attributes linked to sporty and involving dynamics,

as well as high levels of comfort and convenience – and, of course,

outstanding affordability and value for money, which according to

Kazuyuki Yamashita, Managing Director of Suzuki Auto SA, "as

the newest model in Suzuki's world-car strategy, the Alto is per-

fectly in tune with the needs of the modern motorist. The Alto

offers economical and environmentally friendly, yet thoroughly

entertaining driving characteristics, top-notch features and excep-

tional value. It is also an exciting and important addition to our

growing product portfolio in SA. The Alto will undoubtedly

appeal to both environmentally and budget-conscious motorists,

as well as young, sophisticated urbanites who demand eye-catch-

ing style, easy-going practicality and involving dynamics."

Suzuki tells ABR in its press release that the Alto is the product of

an extensive Japanese and European market research, design and

development programme. The programme focussed on producing

a stylish and modern compact car that perfectly matches demand-

ing European tastes and standards – aspects which are equally per-

tinent in the exceptionally competitive Eurocentric SA market.

Suzuki adds that the result is an undeniably sporty five-door shape

that exudes vibrant urban energy, despite the car's compact

dimensions: it has an overall length of just 3,5 metres. At the same

time, the Alto is sophisticated and elegant, while boasting an

exceptional drag coefficient of just 0,30, enhancing overall fuel

efficiency. Two versions of the sprightly Alto are available, com-

prising the entry-level GL – which is ideally placed to satisfy the

requirements of the price-sensitive end of the market – and the

top-spec GLS, tailored to more discerning buyers demanding an

uncompromising level of standard features in this segment. Both

models are powered by a highly efficient , all-aluminium 1,0-litre

three-cylinder engine boasting multi-point fuel-injection, four

valves per cylinder and Euro 3 emissions compliance. Although

the European versions of the Alto feature the latest Euro 5-spec

engines, the Euro 3 unit was selected for the SA market due to its

greater compatibility with the quality of local fuel.

The engine is also better suited to the demanding high-altitude

operating conditions experienced at the Reef, making it the pre-

ferred choice for the largest proportion of SA drivers. The power

unit delivers superior driveability and cruising ability, while its

output characteristics have been complemented by the fitment of

a shorter final drive that further benefits all-round performance.

Economical and eco-friendly, the engine is credited with a power

output of 50 kW at 6 000 r/min and a torque peak of 87 Nm at

4 500 r/min. It boasts an uncharacteristically sprightly character

for its segment, matched to a low kerb weight of just 895 kg.

by Howard Keeg

Alto GL

Alto GLS

This is sufficient to propel the Alto from 0-100 km in 16 seconds,

and attain a more than respectable 145 km/h top speed. More

notably, however, the Alto is credited with a convincing combined

cycle fuel consumption figure of just 5,7 litres/100 km, and a very

competitive CO2 emissions rating of only 133 g/km. Despite its

budget-friendly status, the GL incorporates an impressive level of

standard equipment, including power steering that enhances the

Alto's exceptional in-town manoeuvrability. Air-conditioning

with a pollen filter, and dual front airbags, also count amongst its

headline features. These are complemented by an integrated

immobiliser, front seatbelts with pretensioners and force limiters,

dual rear ISOFIX child seat anchorage points, a remote fuel lid

opener, and a 12-volt accessory socket.

There is a backlit digital clock, dual-speed front wipers with inter-

mittent function, a rear window wash/wipe facility, and a wide

array of practical storage compartments front and rear. A full-size

spare wheel is standard, while a roof-mounted antenna is pre-

installed to ease the aftermarket fitment of a CD receiver on GL

models.

In keeping with its more upmarket positioning, the Alto GLS

model gains alloy wheels, fitted with 155/65 R14 tyres that have

been specifically designed to enhance fuel economy while still

offering impressive grip. Further distinguishing features include

colour-coded door handles and mirrors, front fog lamps and

remote central locking.

Additionally, the interior specification extends to tilt adjustment

for the three-spoke steering wheel, a rev counter, front electric

windows, a six-speaker sound system with MP3-compatible CD

tuner, 50:50 split folding rear seats, a remote tailgate release, and

a luggage compartment cover. The safety equipment is also bol-

stered to include ABS with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution

(EBD) and Brake Assist (EBA) functions, ensuring optimum

emergency stopping performance. "The Alto encapsulates

Suzuki's decades of unrivalled small car expertise, resulting in an

affordable, efficient, safe and stylish compact newcomer that is

delightful to drive and own. It’s a superior city runabout, and

expresses all of the core values of the Suzuki 'Way of Life!',"

Yamashita concludes.

The Alto GL and GLS models are launched at a recommended

retail price of R104 900 and R119 900 respectively. A three-

year/100 000 km warranty is included as standard.

C o v e r S t o r y

15S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 9

An eco-friendly heritageThe Alto was introduced in 1979 in Japan as a very small car, with its main attractions being a low price and good fueleconomy. The first Altos had two engine options; a 593cc two-stroke and a 543cc four-stroke, delivering 21kW and23kW respectively. In 1990, 657cc and 658cc engines were introduced, and these are still available because of the stricttaxation regime on high performance engines – a truly eco-friendly heritage which continues to this day.

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 918

ABR Appointed as OfficialMouthpiece of AAMA2008 was an auspicious year for the South African automotive aftermarket, with fourimportant milestones. Firstly, the industry came back from their year end holidays inJanuary 2008 to discover that the cabinet had approved the Consumer ProtectionBill. A hiatus followed until a frenzied second half of the year. September 2008 wasparticularly significant, with the establishment of South Africa’s premier automotiveaftermarket publication, Automotive Business Review (ABR), and then the announce-ment by the Minister of Trade & Industry of the Automotive Production & DevelopmentProgramme (APDP). Then, in November 2008, the year was closed out and the circlecompleted with the formation of the Automotive Aftermarket ManufacturersAssociation (AAMA). Apart from being acronym and initialising heaven, these fourevents will, as the years unfold, all prove to be glorious high points for the auto-motive aftermarket in South Africa.

The Consumer Protection Bill, when it takes effect, and more

importantly, when it is enforced, will prove a boon to those who

play the game fairly and squarely, and it will become an albatross

around the neck for those who dabble in shoddy product and

shady practices. ABR has already established itself as the most

influential automotive aftermarket publication in South Africa

and without a peer in sight is slated to become the dominant pur-

veyor of news for the industry for the foreseeable future. The

APDP will only come into effect in 2012, but it already has had

an influence on long term investment decisions, and time will

show, as South Africa takes enormous strides in attaining the goal

of one million units of vehicle production, that the component

industry’s long term viability was saved by this particular piece of

government assistance. AAMA came about because specific needs

of the automotive aftermarket were not been met by bodies such

as NAACAM and the RMI, and the Partinform platform was

there to be built upon, and AAMA brought South Africa more

into line with international trends and practices. An example of

this is the AAIW (Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week) which

is held annually in Las Vegas, where three aftermarket bodies

combine to deliver to the automotive world an extravaganza of

parts, accessories and services. The AAIA (Automotive

Aftermarket Industry Association) and AASA (Automotive

Aftermarket Suppliers Association) join forces to run the AAPEX

show (Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo) at the Sands

Convention Centre, whilst three kilometres away at the Las Vegas

Convention Centre, SEMA (Specialty Equipment Manufacturers

Association) unveils their own show, encompassing ten specialised

councils. All under the banner of the all encompassing term

“aftermarket”. NACE (International Autobody Congress &

Exposition) and CARS (Congress of Automotive Repair &

Service) have also joined the bandwagon, leveraging off AAIW,

and putting on their own show at the cavernous Mandalay Bay

Exhibition Centre, at the southern end of the famous Las Vegas

Strip, to deliver comprehensive education and training by indus-

try experts. Together, NACE and CARS represent the cornerstone

of the Automotive Service & Repair Week (ASRW) and are spon-

sored by the Automotive Service Association (ASA). ABR is com-

mitted to playing a role in promoting something similar to AAIW

and ASRW in South Africa, and the sooner the better.

The Consumer Protection Bill, ABR, the APDP and AAMA all

exist because of South Africa’s unique and vibrant automotive

aftermarket and they are all influenced by each other, to different

extents. Therefore, it is not surprising that ABR and AAMA took

their relationship one step further with AAMA appointing ABR

as its official mouthpiece. In a flash of prescience on the 21st

January 2009, ABR interviewed Malcolm Perrie, Managing

Director of Federal-Mogul Aftermarket, the first Chairman of

AAMA, after AAMA’s inaugural meeting, and with the appoint-

ment of ABR as the official mouthpiece, we revisited this inter-

view and chatted to Malcolm again to get an update, which

unsurprisingly has very little deviation from the original inter-

view. Malcolm explained the reasons for the formalisation of

Partinform into a far more powerful institution, saying that whilst

all the founding members of AAMA are also members of NAA-

CAM and/or the RMI, in many cases it was a situation of being a

square peg in a round hole. “NAACAM is primarily an OEM

focused body, whereas the RMI is a retailed focused organisation.

Both do a good job in their respective areas of expertise and focus,

and the AAMA members intend to continue to leverage off the

strengths of these important bodies, but in many cases the specif-

ic interests of aftermarket manufacturers are nor being catered

for.” To this end, he adds, AAMA does not intend to duplicate

what NAACAM and the RMI do, but rather to focus on what

they do not do, or do not do well. Thus AAMA intends to com-

plement the offerings of these bodies, and to service the unique

interests of the aftermarket manufacturers in four specific areas:

1. Strategic Input: A focus on government lobbying and the pre-

senting of a united front, for the good of the local aftermarket

industry, and for the good of the country. AAMA’s voice must

be heard at the legislative level, and standards, test procedures,

and very importantly, enforcement, must be of the highest

priority. Good enforcement with no legislation, and vice

versa, good legislation with no enforcement, means very little.

2. Training Support: The establishment of a training academy to

serve the interests of the local aftermarket industry, spreading

the training net as wide as possible, whilst pooling resources

to create training teams that deliver cost effectively. Important

issues such as product training and the full understanding of

MERSETA requirements will get attention. However, train-

ing will be product specific, which may not necessarily com-

ply with MERSETA requirements

3. Partinform: The venerable Partinform format continues, pro-

moting local brands and passing on the vital message of qual-

ity and safety to all corners of the country via the tried and

tested mini-trade show formula – getting face to face with the

end users and retail shop employees in the rural areas and

emerging markets. A focus on educating the industry on the

different quality levels of life and limb parts, and the how,

why and what behind parts availability and technical support,

will play an increasingly important part of Partinform. And,

of course, the Consumer Protection Bill will have an enor-

mous impact on the industry.

4. Supply Chain Sustainability: A huge opportunity exists in the

area of supply chain management and improvement, via a

combined approach to areas of common interest. There is

tremendous wastage in supply chain costs in many areas:

inward and outward logistics; customs management, and the

need to lobby strongly on commodity prices.

At its formative stage, AAMA consisted of thirteen founding

members, all who had been accepted on their credentials as

being existing Partinform members. For future members, the

process is more structured, with an application form to be com-

pleted by aspiring members. The entry requirements stipulate

that members must be local manufacturers whose route to mar-

ket is through the traditional channels, and not via vertically

integrated distribution.

Agents need not apply, as equity in the brand will be a prereq-

uisite. AAMA now stands at sixteen members, with three new

members having joined early in 2009.

ABR humbly accepts its mandate to be the voice of AAMA. The

Editorial Advisory Board has been nominated and once the

Board has been constituted, it will be announced in the October

issue of ABR.

19S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 9

The inaugural AAMA

Executive: Malcolm

Perrie, chairman;

Murray Long; Norman

Bull; Colin Murphy,

Partinform chairman.

AAMA held its

first meeting on

21st January 2009.

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 920

The Objecives of the Automotive AftermarketManufacturers Association are:

(i) promote, protect and encourage the general and collective

interests and image of the members engaged mainly or

substantially as brand owners in the manufacturing sector

supplying the Automotive Aftermarket;

(ii) protect the brand value of members operating within the

South African Automotive Industry aftermarket;

(iii) provide a forum for members to meet with a view to pro-

moting and protecting the interests of the members of the

association;

(iv) promote employee training and training accreditation

within the automotive aftermarket and to facilitate the

establishment and administration of a joint training facil-

ity in the automobile aftermarket parts industry;

(v) promote and protect the interests of members, customers

and the public by ensuring that proper standards of quali-

ty, service and ethical trading conditions are maintained by

its members;

(vi) jointly promote members’ brands and products in the

Southern African market by facilitating trade shows and

similar marketing activities;

(vii) engage the relevant Industry Bodies in trade, labour, leg-

islative and other matters affecting members and, as desir-

able, to promote, support or oppose any proposed legisla-

tive or other measures affecting thee interests of members

collectively;

(viii) promote and disseminate to members and the authorities

any information of value and use to them;

(xi) print, publish or advertise in any news media, periodical,

book or leaflet that the Association may think desirable;

(xii) do all such other things as are incidental or conducive to

the attainment of the objects above specified.

What’s the Buzz?

CONTROL INSTRUMENTS AUTOMOTIVEANNOUNCES THE INTRODUCTION OF

THREE NEW CATALOGUES

ECHLIN SWITCH CATALOGUE - AN 88 PAGE CATALOGUE CON-SISTING OF AN EXTENSIVE APPLICATION GUIDE FOR CARS ANDLDVS COVERING: FAN, OIL PRESSURE, REVERSE LIGHT, STOPLIGHT AND TEMPERATURE SWITCHES. IT ALSO INCLUDES ACOMPREHENSIVE ILLUSTRATED BUYERS GUIDE SECTIONSHOWING PIN CONFIGURATION, OHMS RESISTANCES ANDTEMPERATURE VALUES WHERE APPLICABLE. AUTOEXCELAUTO- ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS GUIDE - AN ILLUSTRATED140 PAGE BUYERS GUIDE CATALOGUE COVERING ALTERNA-TORS/STARTERS AND THEIR ROTATIONAL PARTS. COMPLETEUNITS SHOW MOUNTING POSITIONS, PIN CONFIGURATIONS,AND APPLICATION DETAILS ALONG WITH THEIR RESPECTIVEOE REPLACEMENT NUMBER. A 20 PAGE OE CROSS REFERENCEPART NUMBER GUIDE CAN BE FOUND AT THE BACK OF THECATALOGUE. ECHLIN STEERING SEAL KITS AND SEALS - A 14 PAGE REFERENCE GUIDE WITH AN 8 PAGE APPLICATIONSECTION COVERING RACK SEAL AND PUMP SEAL KITS FORCARS AND LDVS FOLLOWED BY A LISTING OF SEALS FROMSMALLEST TO LARGEST I.D. FOR QUICK IDENTIFICATION. FORFURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE E-mail: [email protected] PHONE 011 627 2500

Cannes InternationalAdvertising Week 21-27 June 2009Samantha Podmore, who until the 31st August 2009was the Marketing & Communications Manager ofFederal-Mogul Aftermarket, recently attended theCannes International Advertising Week, and cameback all revved up with creativity. This is what shehad to say about the event, “What an unbelievableexperience to go to Cannes and see the best of the

best compete for the prestigious Grand Prix of Advertising. The standard ofwork on presentation was incredible and it was great to see a South African AdAgency among the top entries. From registration to award ceremonies theevent was a well oiled machine and even though attendance was down, due tothe economic world recession, the standard of the event was still top class.Each category on offer - PR/Promotion/Direct, etc. - held a different but wellthought out concept, some held shock value, some pulled at the heart stringsand others just made you smile, but each one targeted and achieve its message.It also gave great opportunity to network and attend seminars on the differentadvertising mediums. Each speaker was a class act and encouraged you toexpand your every day thought process. Although not every speaker targetedmy particular area of experience, it was awesome to hear and learn about theirfield and what is happening internationally. At times I did feel like a pre-schooler, as there is so much creativity to absorb in such a short time span andyou are bombarded with intense imagery and sounds from all sides. But froma professional point of view, I certainly benefited from the event and havecome back to SA, with my creative juices flowing and more educated in thenew trend of the times. I was also lucky enough to be given a guided tour ofthe wineries in Provence and to see some of France most beautiful landscapesand beaches. Cannes is truly a place of beauty and charm, from her side streetbistros to her crystal clear topaz waves, Cannes is a place everyone should takethe opportunity to visit and enjoy.”

Everybody speculates, but nobody loves a speculator. The lack ofenmity usually arises when speculation turns into a professionallymanaged drive that pushes prices of commodities, currencies or equi-ties in a direction that is disadvantageous to the majority of minorspeculators in any of those items, who consider themselves power-less to either counter or take advantage of major speculativethrusts by well healed market players.

T o n y ’ s T a k e

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 922

Take the performance of the crudeoil price during 2008 as an exam-ple. Market players produced a

speculative bubble in the price of crude oilwhich was clear to see, but repeatedlydressed it up with cock-and-bull storiesabout impending shortages, cuts in pro-duction from minor oil fields and a grow-ing demand vs supply gap. It was easy todetect the source of the inflation goinginto the bubble, because each successivestatement that drove the price upwardscame from an oil analyst for a financialcorporation, not an oil analyst for an oilproducer. O, there was a Sheikh or two inthe mix, but we can guess which side of theprice trajectory they favoured.

Of course, the speculators probably neveractually owned a barrel of oil betweenthem. What they did own were futurecontracts to buy or sell crude oil at a spe-cific price at a specific date in the future, oroption contracts to do the same. Each andevery one of us can buy similar contracts ata fraction of the underlying value of thestrike price, for any range of commodities,currencies, government and Eskom bonds,single equities or even the entireJohannesburg Stock Exchange listing. It ismore than a little ironical that financialinstruments that were originally developedto safeguard investors have become princi-pal tools in the hands of market specula-tors who use them to drive perceptions offuture prices. Suppose then an investor

buys a commodity at a given price, say$100 per unit, in the belief that he can sellit at a price of more than $100 at somedate in the future. Thus, even the truest oftrue blue investors is speculating on at leasttwo levels when he purchases an asset,firstly that the future price of the asset willmove in his favour, and secondly that thecarrying costs of owning the asset will notexceed the growth in value of the asset.

In order to contain what is really an openended risk (the asset may turn out to beeither valueless or valued by the marketinto which it is to be sold at a price lowerthan $100 at a point in the future), theasset holder or a financial intermediarymay sell a contract that will allow the hold-er to sell the asset at, say, $105 at a date inthe future. Such a contract represents asfirm a commitment as a spot purchaseacross the counter for the asset. A varia-tion of such a future contract is one thatgives the holder of the contract an option,but not an obligation, to buy (a calloption) or sell (a put option) a given quan-tity of the asset at a given price on a givendate in the future.

Known as derivatives, these future andoption contracts were intended to limit therisk to the owners and potential owners ofthe assets which underlie the existence ofthe derivative instruments. But, the deriv-atives have taken on a life of their own,being traded at a fraction of the value that

the rights attached to each instrument rep-resent in terms of the asset. In this way,they can, if they exist in sufficient volume,end up driving the market price of theunderlying asset, rather than simply actingas an insurance policy against suddenunexpected price movements.

So, oil prices rose on the driving force ofderivative trading, not because of funda-mental supply and demand references.Consumers of oil products grumbled away,but themselves immediately switched intospeculative mode, filling their tanks aheadof suspected or announced price increases.From July 2008, they speculated in theopposite direction, waiting for prices todrop on the back of falling crude oil prices.On the way up, they bought SASOLshares, as the price fell, they ditched them.

What can be done to prevent the knock-ondamages that occur when speculativeintensity rises to fever pitch? Unfortunat-ely, the answer appears to be “very little!”Market mechanisms only work if partici-pants who buy and sell perceive differentvalues in what they have vs what they canget by adjusting their asset and liabilityportfolios. Consumers do the same thing.The Obama campaign promised con-straint of speculators, but the only govern-ments which really got this right operatedin Moscow and Beijing, and he might havetrouble taking the American ethos toeither of those destinations.

by Tony Twine,Senior Economist,Director –Econometrix (Pty)Ltd

Barack Obama and the 40 derivative traders…

Ken Ken 5 x 5How to Play:

Like Sudoku, even though difficulty may vary from puzzle to puzzle, the rules for

playing KenKen are fairly simple:

For a 5x5 puzzle, fill in with the numbers 1-5.

• Do not repeat a number in any row or column.

• The numbers in each heavily outlined set of squares, called cages, must combine (in any

order) to produce the target number in the top corner of the cage using the mathe-

matical operation indicated.

• Cages with just one box should be filled in with the target number in the top corner.

• A number can be repeated within a cage as long as it is not in the same row or

column. Answer on page 33

F r a n k l y S p e a k i n g

For the record, the “new GM” will initially be a pri-

vately held company, with its common stock owned

by the US treasury (60,8%), the United Automobile

Workers union’s retiree health-care trust (17,5%),

the Canadian and Ontario governments (11,7%)

and “old GM” bondholders (10%), until an Initial

Public Offering is launched, possibly in early 2010. The US deal-

er network is planned to reduce from the previous level of 6 000

outlets to around 3 600 by the end of 2010, domestic manufactur-

ing facilities will be cut from 47 to 34, and employment will

reduce from around 91 000 to 64 000 over the same

timeframe. One opinion put forward by industry

observers was that very little has really changed

at GM apart from the strengthening of its

balance sheet. This view had possibly been

reinforced by the surprise return of 76-

year-old former “Car Czar” Bob Lutz, as

vice chairman responsible for “creative

elements of products and customer rela-

tions”. Last February, the enigmatic Lutz

had announced his retirement, and some

felt, at that time, that his departure would

open up avenues for GM to completely

rethink its product strategy. GM’s portfolio

has come in for a great deal of criticism, and its

reliance on large cars, pickups and Sports Utilities

for much of its profitability input has been identified as

a major contributory factor to cumulative losses approaching a

staggering $US 100 billion that were chalked up over the past

three years, as well as the former Corporation progressively giving

up more and more of its North American market share, which has

reduced from well over 40% in the 1950’s to a current level of less

than 20%.

Clearly, GM’s problems have gone a lot deeper than just product

strategy, and the depth of the cuts that have recently been made

into corporate structures and iconic nameplates clearly indicate

this. It is also true that most of the company’s problems have been

lodged geographically in its North American operations, and no

amount of offshore success has been able to compensate for this

fact. However, to dealers, customers and the outside world, the

product is the most visible and tangible manifestation of what the

company is doing, and provides the most important basis for judg-

ing its success or failure. This is the motivation behind so much

time, energy and money being expended on building product

image. It is precisely for this reason that GM, now concentrating

on its Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick & GMC brands, badly needs to

get its product mix right. It is easy to say that it should just adapt

European or Korean product for the North American market, but

past experience has shown that this direction is not an automatic

panacea. However, it could be that the Opels that were

recently badged as Saturns were not adequately pro-

moted or merchandised, hence their failure to

even rescue that minority brand. The

Korean-sourced General Motors Daewoo

products have done well on a global

scale, with production running at

around 1,5 million units per annum,

but they have been hidden in the US

behind Chevrolet and other domestic

GM nameplates. Optimum research,

strategy, planning and execution will

be needed by the new company if it is

to succeed.

Of course, we now have the headlong rush

towards plug-in rechargable electric vehicles.

GM is at the forefront of this movement, and Bob

Lutz has positioned himself as the champion of the Chevy

Volt, the company’s first PHEV. There is much debate over how

successful this product direction will turn out, given that pricing

levels are estimated to be even higher than already expensive

hybrids, and it will probably take another upward rush by the oil

price before PHEV’s really take off. GM is also progressing with

development of Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition

(HCCI) technology for petrol-fueled engines, but no production

plans have been revealed, as yet. There is no doubt that GM is as

technologically strong as any other vehicle manufacturer on Planet

Earth, but radical departures along inappropriate technology paths

have the potential to eat money very rapidly, and could easily undo

all the good that has been done with the rescue operation in 2009.

by Frank BeetonElectric Avenue

After a mere 40 days of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, General Motors walked

away from its “bad assets”, including the Saab, Hummer and Saturn brands, a num-

ber of factories and numerous labour agreements and supply contracts, and emerged

as the “new” General Motors Company. With US government aid estimated to total

around $US 50 billion, the sanitized GM was put back into a viable operating condi-

tion, to compete for its share of sales in the still depressed global markets with

adversaries who have not had the opportunity to call on anything approaching this

level of support. The rescue process was not universally popular, even in the United

States, and many people were left asking: “will they make it?”

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 924

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 926

A series of articles on the rise of the Chery automobile

Chery, scored two podiumpositions in their respectiveclasses on the recent TotalEconomy Run 2009. Chery isdistributed in South Africa byAmalgamated Automotive

Distributors, a joint venture betweenImperial Motor Holdings and McCarthyLimited. Competing in Class A (petrol-engined cars with engine capacities between750 and 1 150cm3) the Chery QQ3 wascrewed by Francois van Rensburg and Thinusvan Rensburg. They achieved a figure of6.57ℓ/100km on a very demanding event,with lots of inclines and even some rainensuring that the going was quite toughthroughout, certainly not suiting the smaller

capacity vehicles like the Chery QQ3. Theclass was won by a Daihatsu Charade.Competing in Class D the Chery J5 of SydBrett and Joe Smith performed equally well inthe class for 1800cc - 2000cc vehicles.Achieving a figure of only 7.1ℓ/100km withtheir 2-litre J5. They even ended up a veryrespectable 8th overall on the EfficiencyIndex. The class was won by Willie Nel in aFord Focus 1.8Si. This year’s Total EconomyRun was run over three days, with the startand finish at the Badplaas resort. The eventattracted a strong field of 28 vehicles, repre-senting 14 different brands, thus competitionin the various classes was very keen, withmany of the crews having competed innumerous Total Economy Runs. The route

took competitors over a variety of roads inMpumalanga, covering stretches of road fromErmelo to Hazyview.“We are delighted withthe good consumption achieved by the CheryQQ3 1.1 and J5 in the Total Economy Run,as this event is acknowledged as an excellentway of comparing the potential fuel economyof various makes and models of vehiclesunder identical conditions,” commented themanaging director of Chery SA, Brett Soso.“As the route was especially tough on thesmaller capacity vehicle’s the QQ3 still didthe brand proud, but we are especially proudon the achievements of the 2-litre Chery J5for ending up as high as 8th overall in such astrong field.”

CHERY VEHICLES PERFORM WELL IN 2009 TOTAL ECONOMY RUN

When I took delivery of the Chery Tiggo 1,6 Compact SUV for a vehicleevaluation, I had to lay down the law – to myself. The law revolvedaround my accepting that I was to drive down to Durban, and drive backto Johannesburg, in a budget SUV, and that this SUV was not an expen-sive latest generation mortgage consuming Sandton zooming past theJoneses chariot. A corollary to this law was that I had to shelve myJeremy Clarkson alter ego and bring to the fore my humbler side, thepart of me that correlates to the common man, i.e. the vast majority ofour country’s population. I was, for a week, as the Kinks would say,“going to be a well respected man about town” driving a well respectedSUV around said town. Once this law was in place, I was in a position,both emotionally and intellectually, to give an honest evaluation.Mission accomplished, and here is my evaluation, sans motoring jour-nalist sense of self.

The Chery Tiggo 1,6 Tiggo TX is a 4x2 front wheel

drive SUV that would not have elicited a lifted or

batted eyelid ten years ago, with rather pleasing

external lines and a modern and spacious interior

layout, with satisfactory appointments. It has a

willing 1600 engine (output 80kW @ 5800 rpm;

torque 147Nm @ 4 300 rpm) that does the job without much

fuss. First and second gear and a slightly notchy gear change take

a little getting used to, primarily because we have been so spoiled

by the latest and greatest transmissions in heftier priced models,

and I have a strong feeling that this would not have solicited much

comment a decade ago. The return trip to Durban was surprising-

ly pleasant, with this compact SUV doing all that was expected of

it and cruising happily up hill and dale at 120/130 km/h in fifth

gear, with fourth gear only required up such obstacles as van

Reenen’s Pass, which was not an issue, as the speed limit of

80 km/h presented absolutely no problems for this eager little war-

rior. I am afraid that there is precious little else that I can say, as

there was no drama of any sorts, and the small amount of town

driving that I did was also negotiated with ease and aplomb. For

the price of R164 900 you get a 3yr/100 000km warranty and a 3

year 75 000km service plan that is backed up by the reputable

McCarthy organisation, which in any language translates into a

perfectly acceptable package. So there it is. If you want to hear

quibbles and criticisms, you’ll need to speak to the Jeremy

Clarkson clones, of which there are many I’m afraid.

A Well Respected SUV About Town

Modern and well pleasing lines This could be one of many SUVs

The Tiggo 1,6 delivered a commend-able 6,9 litres per 100 km fuel con-

sumption on the round trip

by Howard Keeg

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 928

SA AUTOMOTIVE WEEK BOOST

FOR REGIONAL ECONOMYAutomotive manufacturing hubs throughout South Africa stand to benefit from potential new investors who will beattending the second South African Automotive Week in October, according to National Association of Component andAllied Manufacturers of South Africa (NAACAM) Executive Roger Pitot. He says companies such as “Chana, Tata,Mahindra, Goodrich Tyres and others,” are looking at investing in South Africa to take advantage of the emerging Africanmarket and to gain access to the European and US markets as well. Held every second year, on alternate years to theJohannesburg International Motor Show, South African Automotive Week takes place in Port Elizabeth from October 7-10 this year. Hosted by NAACAM and the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAM-SA), the South African Automotive Week (SAAW) is the only dedicated trade show for the automotive components indus-try. The importance of the auto industry to the local economies of Durban, East London and Nelson Mandela Bay (PortElizabeth) was highlighted in the latest Absa property revue, which found that the three auto hubs had suffered the biggestdecline in property values. At a local level, SAAW is expected to inject over R35-million into the Nelson Mandela Bayeconomy. SAAW director Andrew Binning says local industry – from car hire companies and accommodation establish-ments to printers would benefit significantly from the spend on infrastructural costs for the Initiative and from over 3 000 trade delegates expected to converge on Port Elizabeth. “Add to these revenues the value of deals negotiated at theevent – surveyed at the inaugural Week in 2007 to be conservatively at R30-million,” says Binning.

An important theme of the Week is the economic cri-

sis and opportunities created by government for the

industry to sustain itself and refocus on its vision of

producing 1 million vehicles by 2020. “South

African Automotive Week will provide the platform

and networking opportunities for the auto industry to fully

exploit the opportunities which exist for component manufactur-

ers, distributors and exporters.” According to Binning, 20 per cent

of exhibitors at the 2007 event concluded deals above R100 000,

while the top nine per cent completed agreements above R500

000. Nearly 70 per cent of exhibitors said they had had a “very

positive” or “overwhelmingly positive” interaction with visiting

buyers. This year’s event will host delegations from the United

Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Italy, India and

China. SAAW sponsors include the Eastern Cape Provincial

Departments of Transport and Economic Development, the

Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, Coega and MERSETA.

For more information or opportunities please contact

Alastair Stead at Inkanyezi Event Organisers at 086 1101 475,

email [email protected] or visit www.saaw.co.za

South Africa in danger of“losing” auto componentsindustry“If we do not join hands and make the auto components indus-

try work, we will lose it,” is the warning given by South African

Automotive Week (SAAW) chair Alfred da Costa.

His warning comes as the National Association of Automobile

Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) says in its report for

the second quarter of 2009 that “as a result of low industry vol-

umes and ongoing financial stress experienced by suppliers, avail-

ability and security of supply is increasingly at risk in certain

instances. The ever present need for global cost competitiveness

and vehicle manufacturers’ cost reduction targets continue to

pressurise suppliers. The strengthening of the Rand also causes

domestic components to become less competitive.” Among the

steps being taken by the industry is an Original Equipment

Manufacturer (OEM) supplier forum, which will be hosted in

Port Elizabeth on October 8 as part of SAAW, which runs from

October 7 to October 10. Da Costa, who has interests in compo-

nent manufacturing, says one of the biggest challenges facing the

local components industry is that it is largely unknown outside of

South Africa. “Through my travels overseas, I have become very

concerned about the level of what we can call naivety about the

South African components industry. The industry overseas simply

does not know what we have in this country. SAAW includes a

components trade expo, and a “Navigating the storm: A roadmap

to vision 2020” conference organised by the Automotive Industry

Development Centre (AIDC). Delegations from a number of for-

eign countries have already confirmed attendance at SAAW,

according to Da Costa, who says the expo is an opportunity to

show the world “how sophisticated and competitive our auto

components industry is”. SAAW has the backing of the National

Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers

of South Africa (NAACAM), as well as the AIDC and NAAMSA.

For more information go to www.saaw.co.za

HAS THE TIME COME FORGOVERNMENT TO SUP-PORT THE AUTOMOTIVEINDUSTRY IN THE CREDITCRUNCH?The need for government support to the automotive industry is

set to come more sharply into focus in the context of record lows

in average production capacity utilisation levels, severe job losses

and depressed retail sales, says Barlow Manilal, CEO of the

AIDC. NAAMSA's latest quarterly review released in August

2009 points to the extent of the crisis in the automotive sector.

AIDC Automotive Industry Conference 2009

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 9

Vehicle manufacturers are reeling from a huge drop in

domestic and export demand for new vehicles. Executive

Director Nico Vermeulen described the current situation

as "unprecedented in the history of the SA automotive

industry."

During the first half of the year, almost 4,500 car manu-

facturing jobs were shed. Adding to the woes of the indus-

try, retail sales slumped 6.7 % year on year in June, accord-

ing to Statistics SA. The data is being used as an argument

for further interest rate cuts this year.

"Government will need to assess the situation carefully,

given the sizable influence of automotive manufacturing

on the economy," says Barlow. "The provocative question

of whether the SA automotive industry deserves a bailout

will be a focused panel discussion at our Automotive

Industry Conference," he says. The Automotive Industry

Conference 2009 takes place on 7 and 8 October 2009 at

SA Automotive Week. Panel members include Firoz

Cachalia (MEC for Economic Development), Mcebisi

Jonas (MEC: Department of Economic Affairs &

Tourism), Dr Matthews Phosa (ANC Treasurer) and Irvin

Jim (NUMSA National Secretary). The panel discussion

will be facilitated by eTV news anchor Jeremy Maggs.

The theme of the conference is "NAVIGATING THE

STORM: A ROADMAP TO VISION 2020". The first

day of the conference takes the form of a plenary session

with plenty of opportunity for discussion and debate. The

second day sees delegates focus on specific areas of interest:

Supply Chain Development, Supplier Development and

Skills Development & Training.

The Automotive Industry Conference 2009 is being host-

ed at SA Automotive Week in Port Elizabeth. "This offers

great additional value to delegates," says Lance Schultz,

AIDC Manager and Conference Manager. SAAW includes

the only NAACAM endorsed International Trade Show in

South Africa. The Trade Show is focused on Component

Manufacturing, is for trade only and attracts buyers and

suppliers from throughout South Africa and around the

globe. Site tours to the Coega IDZ, an OEM and Fifa

2010 Soccer World Cup Stadium are among key network-

ing opportunities, which also include golf and the famous

Gala Networking Dinner on Port Elizabeth's blue flag

beach attended by the who's who of the automotive sector.

Over 500 companies have registered on SAAW's business

matchmaking system.

To register for the Automotive Industry Conference or

view the full programme, visit www.aidc.co.za.

McCARTHY OPENS NEW SUZUKI DEALERSHIP IN BLOEMFONTEINMcCarthy Limited has announced the opening of a new McCarthy Suzuki dealership in Bloemfontein. The Group already hasfive Suzuki dealerships in Parow, East London, Pretoria Central, Strand and Umhlanga. “The Suzuki brand is renowned for itsexciting and dynamic automotive products. As Suzuki Auto South Africa’s leading dealership partner, we believe the brand has alot to offer motoring customers,” said Brand Pretorius, CEO of McCarthy Limited. “Looking at the brand’s performance overthe past year, we have great confidence in the future of the Suzuki brand in South Africa.” According to Kazuyuki Yamashita, man-aging director of Suzuki Auto South Africa, “the central South African region is particularly important to the company strategi-

cally, both from a vehicle sales point of view, as well as to support for our existing customers in the area. McCarthy’s has been one of the top perform-ing dealer groups since the launch of Suzuki Auto South Africa in 2008, and we are delighted that they will be handling the new Bloemfontein dealer-ship,” said Yamashita.

In President Jacob Zuma’s announcement of interventions to rescue vulnerable sec-tors and consumer groups in the current recession, put forward in the first week ofAugust, the hard pressed motor, clothing and textile sectors, all received a mention.

A u t o T o p i c a l

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 9

The slim references that were

made tended to suggest a lean-

ing towards supply side support.

Such support usually takes the

form of tariff reductions or cash-flow infu-

sions in order to tide over companies in sec-

tors where contractionary trading condi-

tions are deemed to be temporarily rather

than permanently constrained. Sadly, this

ducks the question of whether it is better to

stimulate the supply or the demand side for

the output of such sectors. Even if that is

decided, is it feasible to stimulate either or

both sides of the economic equation? The

problem with stimulating the supply side

of any sector, is that the only reason that

such support could be necessary has to be

that there is significantly reduced demand

for its output. In such a case, tax payers

money is being used to prop up productive

activity that is not confronted with an

equivalent level of demand. Alternatively,

it allows the recipient companies to survive

without producing at levels that would

normally ensure their ongoing survival.

Either the government pays the producers

to build up output inventories, or to sit

around doing less and less for the same

amount of revenue. This is the General

Motors and Chrysler bail-out approach.

The problem with replicating this

approach on even a microscopic level for

the South African motor sector is that there

is much less obscene fat to be chopped out

of the local supply chain. The vehicle

assemblers and imports have indicated that

they are in survival mode and are only like-

ly to topple if their international owners hit

the wall – and not even then, according to

GM South Africa. Therefore, the most

probable targets of supply side intervention

have to be the local component manufac-

turers, whose dominant business interests

have moved distinctly off shore since the

MIDP forced a change of focus away from

import displacement towards export pro-

motion after 1995. Very clearly, support-

ing these suppliers at home in South Africa

will not increase demand for their output

in foreign countries, and the transfer from

the local government to those producers

can only last a limited time period, which

may well be shorter than the time required

to restore previous levels of demand in

heavily hit foreign economies.

Some economies, including those which

have simultaneously granted supply side

support for their motor sectors, have also

stimulated the demand side for vehicles.

Germany took the lead, providing tax

rebates for scrapped vehicles 9 years or

older. It was an enormous success. The

British market also recovered sharply on

the back of a similar plan. In the USA the

cash-for-clunkers programme went a long

way to producing the first year-on-year

positive growth in vehicle sales for 19

months, recorded as 2% growth in July

2009. A significantly differently structured

demand side program in China, focused on

rural demand for commercial vehicles, saw

annual sales growth leap to 48% in June

2009. The very success of these programs

has led to concerns about what happens

when they are terminated. The South

African Rescue Package appears to favour

the supply side approach, rather than stim-

ulating demand. The most probable ration-

ale, apart from the local vehicle suppliers

having said that their future survival does

not depend on government hand-outs, is

that the cost to a government already

saddled with a deficit budget and a growing

reality that lower than expected revenues

will expand the fiscal deficit beyond

planned levels, is a fairly decisive stopping

point. Also, there is a big difference in

using taxpayer’s money in countries with

comparatively wealthy social networks to

subsidise aspirant vehicle buyers.

Try explaining why the South African gov-

ernment is subsidising car purchases to a

village of poverty stricken individuals in

Limpopo or Transkei, and see which way

they vote in 2014. Vehicle sales volumes are

also notoriously price in-elastic, but very

sensitive to economic growth in South

Africa. No sizeable impression is likely to

be made on the number of units demand-

ed in the local market without a stimulus

subsidy in the order of 20% of purchase

prices, representing R27bn in last years

sales revenue terms. That is R27bn that

government simply does not have available

to spend.

The response so far by the South African

Government to calls for support from the

motor sector appears entirely understand-

able, even though it does not solve the

problem of a lack of demand, both at home

and abroad. When it is made public, we

can expect it to help cash-flows rather than

sink wealth into component exporters or

anybody else within the sector.

by Tony Twine

How to Nail Jelly tothe Ceiling

30

w e i g h t y i s s u e s

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 9

THE MARRIAGE OF MAN AND VOLKSWAGEN TRUCKS

It was notable that, despite some nomi-

nal overlap between the heavier

Brazilian products and models in

MAN’s own truck line-up, there is more

than enough differentiation in market posi-

tioning, particularly when comparing VW’s

more basic models and MAN’s state-of-the-

art TGL, TGM, TGX and TGS series, to

suggest that the sum of the two ranges

would open up significant additional

opportunities across world geographic

regions with differing requirements in

respect of vehicle complexity. This situation

will apply equally in South Africa, where

MAN has historically been placed among

the industry “heavyweights”, whereas the

recently-arrived VW truck and bus models

have slotted in among the “volume” market

participants.

Details of the local integration modus

operandi recently announced by MAN

CEO Thomas Hemmerich include consol-

idation of all vehicle assembly at MAN’s

Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal facility, the con-

version of qualifying VW truck dealers into

dual-brand outlets, and the absorption of

VW product and warranty liability by

MAN. One of the conditions of the

takeover was that the Volkswagen products

would retain their original branding, thus

ensuring continuity of VW’s truck market

presence. It should be noted that the VW

Crafter van range, which participates in the

Medium Commercial Vehicle market seg-

ment (3 501-8 500 kg Gross Vehicle Mass),

is to remain within the Volkswagen light

vehicle distribution network, and is not

affected by this merger. It will be interesting

to see if MAN explores the possibilities of

extending the Volkswagen range sold in

South Africa downwards. Currently, the

Constellation truck line-up covers the

GVM spectrum from 13 to 24 tons, but

the presence, in the Volksbus passenger

range, of a 9 ton GVM chassis, hints at the

availability of lighter models. In fact, the

range of vehicles produced at Resende, in

Brazil, also includes smaller trucks with

payloads ranging down to three tons, plus

related bus models, and it may be desirable

for the local planners to look at some addi-

tional VW-sourced product in order to pro-

vide more complete coverage of the truck

and bus markets above 3,5 tons GVM.

While it could be said that the local market

performance of the VW Constellation

range has been slightly disappointing since

its initial introduction in 2007, much of

this can be ascribed to the total lack of his-

toric truck-market experience and credibil-

ity on the part of the manufacturer and its

dealers. Future prospects for the range,

under MAN stewardship, could be consid-

erably brighter, and have the potential to

“stir up” the HCV segments, between 8

501 and 16 500 kg GVM, in particular.

The price positioning of these models is

more than competitive with the Japanese

marques that currently dominate this mass

spectrum, and product perceptions are

bound to improve as more MAN influence

is bought to bear on their technical make-

up. Likewise, the creditable stand-alone

local success achieved, thus far, by the

Volksbus passenger models, should be con-

siderably enhanced by association with

MAN’s market-leading bus operation. It

can be expected that VW chassis will soon

be offered with off-the-peg variants of the

Lion’s Explorer body superstructures built

at MAN’s Olifantsfontein plant, which

have been well accepted by the local operat-

ing community. While the MAN buses will

undoubtedly continue to satisfy the needs

of larger, more sophisticated operators, the

VW products promise to exploit opportu-

nities among smaller operators, particularly

in the rural areas, where more basic “emerg-

ing market” specifications are favoured.

Looking ahead, the combination of MAN

and VW products, supplemented by ship-

ments from the MAN Force Trucks joint

venture in India, and, possibly, the recent-

ly-announced MAN-Sinotruk collabora-

tion in China, are placing this group in a

very strong position to bid for local and

international market leadership. While the

recent power struggle between Porsche and

Volkswagen for control of their combined

operations in Germany has diverted atten-

tion from more fundamental issues, it

should be remembered that Scania is also

part of this family, and that some future

structure that draws all these elements

together could find itself as a dominant

power in the global hierarchy of truck and

bus manufacturers.

by Frank Beeton

32

One of the most interesting events currently unfolding in the South African truck-ing scene is the impending merger between MAN Truck and Bus South Africa, and theheavier commercial vehicle business of Volkswagen South Africa. This follows the€1,175 billion acquisition by MAN’s German principals of Volkswagen’s Braziliantruck and bus-building operation, Volkswagen Caminhöes e Ônibus, during the firstquarter of 2009. The immediate ramifications of this takeover included instantBrazilian market leadership for the expanded MAN operation, and the appearance ofMAN powerplants in some VW test units, where MWM International and Cummins dieselengines had been used previously. From a longer term perspective, the merger raisedprospects for a considerable enhancement of the MAN/VW global footprint in bothgeographic and product coverage terms, making it highly significant for its potentialfuture impact on the pecking order within the global truck community.

Insurance Policies on the riseUK Companies renewing their motor insurance policies in Q3 could faceincreases in premiums with 91% of underwriters predicting a rise, accordingto Aon’s Market Pulse, a quarterly index that tracks the UK underwriters’ pre-mium predictions for property, liability and motor fleet insurance. RonGordon, senior executive at Aon South Africa, says these results will be very

similar for the South African market place. “This is in stark contrast to the predictions for Q2in which every underwriter stated there would be no change in rates for this type of cover. As theeconomic downturn has worsened globally, companies have cut back on their motor fleets,spending less on insurance and therefore pushing up rates in order for insurers to remain prof-itable,” he says. Aon’s Market Pulse also shows that 40% of underwriters believe rates will risefor casualty/liability insurance, while 35% believe the same for property insurance. The dramat-ic change in forecasts for motor insurance is symptomatic of a ‘hardening’ market, when insur-ers look to drive up premiums. These rises are set to continue for at least the rest of 2009 in orderto return this market to profitability and prevent even more significant increases in 2010.

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 9

An

swers

From

p 22

m a n a g i n g t h e R i s k s

34

The South African oil

industry has being mak-

ing the news lately, and

most of the comment is

about the refineries’

inability to provide (deliv-

er to the pumps) the highest quality fuel

(in accordance with the 2006 World Wide

Fuel Charter protocol), and the accusation

that they are behind the times and are sim-

ply not prepared to invest in much needed

upgrades. The pros and cons are many and

sometimes confusing, but whatever the

facts, it is simply not true that with fuel

matters South Africans are always behind

the curve. There are many pioneers in this

country, and three of them are Malcolm

Walker, Roger Gemmell and Hector

Saltzwedel, who are worthy of the title of

“Innoventors”. Innovention is a new word

coined by ABR to describe a mixture of

ingenuity, innovation and inventiveness,

and the diesel fuel filtration system devel-

oped by Ultra Fine Depth Filtration (Pty)

Ltd. definitely fits the bill. Walker,

Gemmell and Saltzwedel are the brains

behind the system.

UDF (Into the Future with Cleaner Fuel)

filtration systems are manufactured by

U.D.F. (Pty) Ltd, a privately owned South

African company specialising in diesel fuel

filtration systems, and these systems can be

fitted to all types of diesel powered equip-

ment and are installed as either retro-fits or

by original equipment manufacturers and

suppliers before delivery. The concept

behind UDF filters is that no diesel fuel,

anywhere in the world, is clean enough for

engines, particularly the modern genera-

tion of diesel engines, and the belief from

the three pioneers that “adequate” filtra-

tion is just not good enough in modern

diesel engines. UDF explains that conven-

tional filters are like kitchen sieves in that

they catch everything above a certain parti-

cle size, but that they let everything below

a certain particle size through. The end

result is that too many large particles cause

the primary filter to block or unplug, thus

nullifying the filter’s efficiency.

Take this a little further, and when huge

numbers of very small particles are not

caught, they cause wear and stiction/

seizure. Enormous numbers of very small

articles of less than four microns pass

straight through conventional area filters

and jam between the injector needle and

barrel stopping smooth opening and clos-

ing, and also cause injector spray holes to

wear open.

We shall revisit the technical aspects of

these deficiencies in upcoming articles in

ABR, but for the purposes of this article

Séan Jackson decided to fit a UDF filter on

his Toyota Fortuner 3,0 litre D4D, to test

the efficacy in a real life scenario. Before

fitment, Séan was achieving a fuel con-

sumption of 8,0l/100km, and after fitment

this improved to 6,7l/100km. What Séan

also noticed was that the engine was con-

siderably quieter after fitment, which he

ascribes to the cleaner fuel being delivered

to the engine through the injectors. Sean

explains that the UDF filter is the third

line of defence against dirty fuel.

Traditionally, the fuel goes through a water

separator and a fuel filter, but now it also

has to run the UDF gamut, and this is

where the magic happens. UDF filters have

a cellulose fibre and synthetic medium that

has been extensively developed since 1996,

and with this final polishing the fuel that is

delivered is as clean as can be.

Next month we shall look at the technical

aspects.

Séan Jackson

It’s been said a million times before that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. This cliché takes on a new reso-nance when describing the truck industry. Times may be tough, but trucks are tougher, and truckers are the toughest.This industry is literally the wheels of the economy, so thank goodness that when the going gets tough, the toughest getgoing. A critical element in this dynamic is the ability to keep costs down, and to ensure that operating costs are keptunder tight control. The first port of call in this endeavour is to protect against theft and misuse. The first port of call inthis endeavour is to protect against theft and misuse. A close second is thinking smart and keeping costs down. ABR hascommissioned Séan Jackson of TRUCKTEK to give our readers a series of tips on Managing the Risks.

Keeping it Clean

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 9

h e a l t h c a r e

An update on Moto Health Care

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 936

Ido believe, however, that it is impor-

tant to convey the message that every

effort is being made by MHC

through its various structures to

address all issues of concern. To this end a

task group has been established to proac-

tively spearhead this effort. Members of

this group are drawn from Trustees and

senior management of MHC and MMSA,

and the group’s proposed nomenclature is

the “Technical/Process Management

Committee”. While its terms of reference

are still in the process of being finalized,

these will broadly encompass the identifi-

cation of challenges, problem areas, con-

straints, and complaints as reported by

individual members, groups, or stakehold-

ers, and then to develop and implement

corrective action. This may include system

or process changes, the identification of

the persons responsible for the implemen-

tation of such changes, and the setting of

deadlines for the corrective measures to be

implemented.

One area that appears to continue to

plague MHC is the question of correct

billing. I believe that a deeper insight into

the processes surrounding the billing of

contributions due will assist in alleviating

to some degree the unhappiness this issue

causes.

While the ideal scenario would be to col-

lect contributions in advance as most other

medical aid schemes do, MHC collects

contributions one month in arrears. So,

for example, July contributions are payable

by the 3rd of August. However, in order to

generate the billing statements in good

time, this exercise takes place around the

middle of the month so that statements

reach employers and individual members

before the month end to enable payment

to be effected by due date. Thus, to use

my example, billing statements for July

contributions are automatically generated

around the 15th of July to reach their

recipients before the end of July, for pay-

ment by the 3rd of August. I have to stress

that MHC is regulated by the Medical

Schemes Act which precludes it from

granting any form of credit. It is, there-

fore, essential that payment of contribu-

tions must be made when due. Any delay

in payment for whatever reason could prej-

udice any member whose contribution is

not received when due.

It follows, therefore, that notification of

changes to membership data, e.g. new

members, changes in beneficiaries, resigna-

tions, and so on, received near to or after

the middle of a month will not be reflect-

ed on the billing statement for that month.

In such a case, MHC would depend on the

employer to reflect any changes in a recon-

ciliation of the amount billed to the

amount paid. I would urge any individual

member or employers to make use of the

interactive website created by MMSA to

enable them to effect their own changes to

their membership data. Details of this

facility and how to make use of it can be

obtained from MMSA.

There are some important points to bear

in mind with regard to membership.

Members are members for an entire

month. Thus members join from the

beginning of a month, and it is suggested

that staff joining a firm in the first two

weeks of a month and requiring medical

aid membership, should join MHC as

from the beginning of that month.

Conversely, any staff joining in the last two

weeks of a month should join as from the

beginning of the following month.

Children born on or before the 15th of a

month need to be registered from the

beginning of that month, while those born

after the 15th need to be registered at the

beginning of the following month.

Members leaving the fund for whatever

reason during a month will remain a mem-

ber until the end of the month in which

they leave, and contributions will be

payable for the whole month.

Importantly, members intending to resign

from MHC must give 30 days notice of

their intention to do so.

A challenge for the administrators is the

proper identification and matching of pay-

ments received, particularly via EFT’s.

A circular was fairly recently sent to all in

which it was explained how to correctly

reference any payment made. I would

appeal to any one making payments to

MHC to make every effort to comply with

the circular. If, for some reason, anyone

has not received the circular, please contact

MMSA for one to be sent.

In last month’s edition of ABR I touched on certain challenges still facing MotoHealth Care since its administration was entrusted to Momentum Medical SchemesAdministrators at the beginning of this year, and indicated ways in which members andemployers could assist in meeting those challenges.

Barry Canning, Chairman Board ofTrustees - MOTO Health Care

This issue, we carry on with the next five costly common mistakes fleet operators make.Having already covered five in the last issue we need to make it clear that while theten mistakes are the most common, we are not necessarily giving them in any order ofimportance or priority.

by Marcus Haw

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 938

Tyresand TheirContribution to Safety in Motoring

6. Tyre and rim fitment and trainingWheel rims can have a very direct effect on tyre life. Equally, the

way tyres are fitted to rims can have a very direct effect on tyre life.

There are so many mistakes made in rim choice, rim maintenance

and tyre to rim fitment that we will never be able to cover them all.

What we will do, is cover the reasons for the effects that rims have

on tyres. We will also look at the principles behind these effects.

One of the biggest concerns affecting tyre wear is the way the tyre

beads seat on the rim flange. If the seat is imperfect, the tyre will

wear irregularly. Very few transporters pay wheel rims the attention

they deserve. Very little training is given to fitters other than them

learning from the other fitters, who are fitting incorrectly anyway.

Rim maintenance is totally ignored, or very poorly carried out.

Lately a new problem has emerged in cheap imported rims. While

their flanges are of the correct specifications for our tyres, their lev-

els of manufacturing standards vary too much.

Mixing of rims in a fleet is a bad move, but one that all fleet oper-

ators indulge in. Rims have different dish offsets, different

strengths and carrying capacities, even different flex rates. Mixing

rims, especially in dual fitment positions, not only affects the tyre

life, but can be dangerous. This is the fundamental principle to

bear in mind. The differences in flex rates and strengths in rims

means they react differently in all dynamics and cannot work

together. One will therefore be under more stress than another.

Dish offsets will affect flex rates to some extent and the results can

be the same.

Pay attention to the rims in your fleet. Keep them clean, ensure the

flanges are not damaged and are clean. Match them carefully and

correctly and standardise on the type, size, dish and offset. Get

information and use your knowledge when buying and maintain-

ing your rims. Train or get your fitting staff properly trained. You

will increase your safety and reduce your costs by correct rim use.

7. Workshop habitsHere is a problem which sometimes seems to be on the decline.

This is because so many vehicles are sold with maintenance con-

tracts these days. This (usually) ensures professional workshop

attention and obviously some recourse when things go a bit pear

shaped.

However there are still enough operators running their own work-

shops, and making a complete hash of it, to warrant this section.

Workshop control touches the entire operation. If the workshop is

poorly run, and the vehicles condition suffers, the whole company

loses. Tyres are not only affected quicker and harder, but are in fact

an excellent indicator of the workshops levels of service. Too many

workshops run on a “manage by crisis” system. And especially

when times are hard, as they currently are, too many workshops

cut costs in the wrong places. Strangely, when times are hard the

first thing to go is preventative maintenance. The best way to con-

trol cost in a fleet is to maintain your vehicles in a way that keeps

them running reliably and consistently. This is only achieved

through pedantic preventative maintenance. Surely this is logical.

And tyre costs, being as high as they are, can be dramatically

reduced by the way the workshop is looking after the vehicles.

Wheel alignment should be regularly checked and corrected.

Alignment

Mismatched rims

39S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 9

www.bridgestone.co.za

The same with wheel bearings, suspension and steering bushes,

shock absorbers and brakes. They all have a direct influence on tyre

life and wear types.

8. Loading attendant habitsThe way vehicles are loaded can make or break tyres. High loads

result in load sway. Load distribution affects stability, which affects

safety and tyre life. It also affects the loads individual axles, and

therefore what individual tyres are carrying.

Correct loading is paramount to good tyre life. So important, but

so ignored. Study your operation and thoroughly plan your loads

to be the most efficient logistically, and the most effective for vehi-

cle and tyre longevity.

9. Scheduling habitsWithout exception, fleet operators consider keeping the fleet mov-

ing as their only function of importance. Of course this is true

since without the fleet moving, they would not have jobs. But the

way they go about keeping the fleet moving at all costs boggles the

mind. Cost effective fleet movement should be their priority, not

keeping it moving at any cost. But the sad and unbelievable truth

is they will keep their trucks running even in a dangerous and un-

roadworthy condition. Tyres are neglected along with all other

components, and deteriorate to the point where safety is thrown

out the window, and costs escalate unrealistically.

Scheduling should be considered and planned, with all mainte-

nance, as a major priority. Services, minor and major, oil changes

between services, and tyre checks should take priority above that of

simply arriving at the next job on time. Reliable vehicles are cheap-

er to run. Well maintained trucks get the best out of tyres and

therefore reduce tyre costs to acceptable levels. Make sure the oper-

ations guys are informed regarding the importance of scheduling

correctly, including maintenance and tyre checks.

10. Driver habitsWho’s the most important person in a trucking fleet? The owner?

The manager? The controller? No, none of the above - none other

than the driver. Why then are drivers last on the list of staff con-

sideration in all fleets? They get pushed to limits of endurance that

no one can maintain, their remuneration is usually far below the

responsibility they carry, and their training is the most neglected of

all. Everyone gets computer training, human resources are con-

stantly finding some seminar or other to send everyone to, but

driver training has all but gone forever. Drivers are in control of all

the goods the fleets carry around the country each day. More than

anyone else they are responsible for the running costs of the fleets,

the condition of the vehicles and of course the way the tyres get

treated. They are directly responsible for hundreds of thousands of

rands each day. Why does no-one recognise their importance?

Train your drivers. Get them to understand the workings of the

vehicles they drive. Understanding brings gentleness through con-

sideration. Get them to understand the dangers and how to avoid

them. Teach them about vehicle dynamics, road safety and how

tyres are their only contact with the road surface, and therefore

their only real means of control. Train them to conserve your vehi-

cles and take care of their tyres, and reward them on a performance

based approach. Reward them for road safety awareness and prac-

tices. Reward them on cost saving practices and driving habits.

The habits of your drivers are manageable concerns in your fleet,

and should be one of your main priorities. In so many cases we

witness drivers getting blamed for tyre abuse, when in fact there is

no abuse at all. Damage is done through ignorance and a lack of

understanding. This is due to a lack of training, and is the direct

responsibility of the fleet controller.

In this regard, the whole industry needs to wake up in a big way.

This is the final issue in which we concentrate on this particular

market segment. We trust it will assist the fleet controllers in look-

ing at their tyres in a new and informed way and we hope that they

benefit financially from their new insight. More than anything, we

trust they approach their tyres with more understanding and in a

more safety minded way.

Next month we start another look at the tyres on fleet cars, the new

technologies, and new problems and fixes in these hard times.

Rim maintenance close-up

Worn suspension

R o a d S a f e t y

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 940

Road Safety and Driver Safety –an Oxymoron?There is never a good time to lose your money or to have an accident.

Both have a bad effect.

Road safety is an often mentioned concept and discussed

at length around the braai: “don’t use that road, it isn’t

safe” or “use the highway, it’s safer” Roads are generally

static and it is the user or driver that makes them unsafe

or not. Other articles have highlighted the fact that safety is a fac-

tor of speed only. Speed might kill but negligence does kill. It is

the mindset and body reactions of the driver that can produce safe

or unsafe roads. From a psychological perspective it is obvious

that the person’s interpretation or perception of the road environ-

ment plays a major role in driving. A rested, relaxed, and

unstressed driver would more than likely make a better judgment

call than a tired, stressed, hungry driver. Similarly, sober or drunk

drivers, fatigued or fresh or even time constrained or no-rush driv-

ers make different judgment calls. In the 1960’s these phenomena

received a lot of attention from Road Safety Authorities. This led

to the development of a host of driver testing programs aimed at

the mind-set of the driver.

Traffic Psychology joined the ranks of emerging interest fields and

became an important research vehicle to identify personal

strengths and weaknesses. These factors became an essential part

of the understanding of traffic behaviour – not necessarily to reg-

ulate it but to develop meaningful structures. One of the largest

contributors to this field was the Austrian Road Safety Council

who commissioned the development of computer based testing.

This was part of a wider initiative to improve driver skills and by

implication, driver safety.

PSYCHOMOTOR SKILLSThese have been recognised for a long time. By definition these

skills include the mind and body. In more medical terminology it

is the level of arousal and the central nervous system’s reaction to

that arousal (message). This begs the question – did the brakes fail

or did the driver fail to operate them (wrongly or at all).

WHAT IS PSYCHOMOTORTESTING?Psychomotor testing is a means of measuring the individual’s

information processing and combines it with some sort of reac-

tion. When an individual is tested it is an evaluation of competen-

cies which are well developed and those which are problematic, It

is unfortunately true that many of the current commercial drivers

are way below the required levels for safe, competent driving. This

does not mean that they are not employable, but rather that they

should be deployed to positions in which they would function

well. Alternatively, those in employ should be earmarked for fur-

ther training. Larry Vertue of Spar Supermarkets in the Western

Cape achieved very good results doing just this. Drivers were test-

ed using the Dover Test. This test measures the driver for hand-

eye-foot coordination, visual organisation, reactions (correct and

incorrect), distance estimation, and co-ordination.

The results were reported as A= good, B= average and C= prob-

lematic. A subsequent follow-up indicated that the A and B can-

didates were safer, more reliable, and generally better employees.

They also had other positive personality qualities characteristics

which could be measured. These personality traits are often the

make or break of an organisation in terms of time, deliveries, safe-

ty and reliability. A driver of an ordinary car is as vulnerable as the

driver of a company vehicle who is repping. All driving is a mix-

ture between skill, aptitude, and attitude. These are all measura-

ble and can be quantified and dealt with. Business transport is the

backbone of our economy and can only benefit from a bit of psy-

chological or psychomotor insight.

Dover systems is a Randburg based company which sellsthe equipment for in-house use (e.g. Trucksurance) or as aservice provider to the Logistics, Transport, Mining,Manufacturing and similar industries.

by Dr Nick Christodoulou - Dover Systems

Harley-Davidson Motor Company (MEA) and AMG Conversions are tickled pink as they announce theirinvolvement and sponsorship of the 2009 Clicks Journey of Hope Breast Cancer Ride 2009 to promote awareness of breast cancer to urbanand rural women across South Africa. As part of its commitment to supporting the fight against breast cancer, Harley-Davidson and AMGConversions have pledged their support by offering vehicles that will be used on Clicks Journey of Hope. 15 breast cancer survivors from allwalks of life will roar off from Cape Town via the West Coast on Harley-Davidson Motorcycles & vehicles from AMG Conversions as theypursue the West Coast on an eight day journey that will cover 2400km. They arrive in Johannesburg on the 24th October after leaving CapeTown on the 17th October. Well known celebrities like Janie Du Plessis and Lilian Dube; both breast cancer survivors are once again on theride – Janie on the Harley and Lillian in the AMG. For more detailed information – please visit our website www.journeyofhope.co.za

TWO TOP MOTORING BRANDS ARE‘tickled pink’ to join forces with the 2009Clicks ‘Journey of Hope’…. the same path,a different road…

www.t-r-m.co.za

T 0861 TRM TRM

F 086 686 8382

C u s t o m e r C . A . R . E .

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 944

CRM – new technologytrends

As discussed before, CRM is about managing relationships and recognising theimportance and power of relationships in order for our businesses to thrive andeven survive. Since CRM has become such an accepted norm, it does feature moreand more with the latest technology trends.

Theo Calitz has been working inor involved in the motor industry

for the last 16 years. AMechanical Engineer by profes-sion, he is passionate about cus-

tomer care and his company, T-R-M specialises in automotive

CRM for the automotive industryand has been doing it for nine

years

Igot myself a brand new GPS unit last week and my, how

this technology has developed! I had a built in unit in my

car a few years ago and it was great because I could give

it instructions by pressing a button on the steering wheel

and say things like “filling station at current location” and

it would bring up a list of filling stations in my vicinity

in order of distance from me. Fabulous! But my new GPS unit

(which is not a built in unit but stand alone) takes it to a new

level. It now recognises the fact that I am part of a community

that can add immeasurable value to each other and in the process

give access to other to do business with me. By creating a commu-

nity of users we can share useful information like road closures

and other things I encounter that would be useful to everyone

else. But it gets even better; I can know when friends and

customers are in the vicinity and use the knowledge to meet up

with them. Obviously, the system and process must be smart

enough not to infringe on privacy and become a nuisance –

something we all experience with modern CRM in the form of

SMS, e-mail and telephone calls. Let’s call it uninvited approach-

es. However, used smartly and appropriately, we are entering a

whole new dimension of offering relevant and appropriate

interaction with our customers.

I always like to think of CRM as in terms of the way I would

approach my friends or would like them to approach me or even

the dating process. If I want to go into a relationship, how would

I approach a potential successful date and how would I like to be

approached? The same principle applies, it is about managing

relationships, which we know people appreciate and enjoy.

So how do we use the latest technology like a GPS unit to further

our CRM programme? GPS allows us to combine position with

other information. We call it spatial data, this being a particular-

ly dynamic version thereof. An example could be that the cus-

tomer loads in their preferences on a device like his or her GPS

unit. This allows the device to provide you with useful informa-

tion at the location where you are at or better still, remind you of

shops you prefer, filling stations with lower diesel price and even

when you have friends in your area. The next step would be that

the technology can actually learn from your behavior, e.g. do you

like to stop at certain shops, do you search for certain restaurants

regularly? If there is a pattern, it can be tracked and applied. We

are creatures of habit after all, and recognising this fact means that

we can, once again enhance the customer experience.

Soon I will not go anywhere without my trusty GPS device. It

knows where I am, how to get to where I want to be in the most

efficient manner, tell me about shops and things that would be of

interest to me on the way, make sure I arrive on time, know about

friends in the area, tell me about the weather, warn me about traf-

fic and speed cameras – even read me stories from audiobooks.

Soon I will be able to go nowhere without my GPS – just like my

cell phone!

Isn’t this amazing? This was science fiction a few years ago! Now

the trick is, how do I use this latest trend to improve the relation-

ships with my customers?

C u s t o m e r C . A . R . E . P r o g r a m m e

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 946

– sponsored by Federal-Mogul

Module Four - COMMITMENT RE-VISITED

COMMITMENT TOYOURSELF

• How many times have youimproved yourself, at your ownexpense, and in your own time?

What I am really asking, is do you realisethat you have been allocated 3 scoreyears and ten for your time on earth?Take off the first 20 years, which is reallyyour apprenticeship, and that leaves youwith just 50 years. What are you doingwith this time - watching TV, or playingvideo games, or watching life go by? Youcannot waste this time, it is too precious.Like water being the lifeblood of thisplanet, time is the lifeblood of your being.DON’T WASTE IT. IMPROVE YOUR-SELF, every day, every hour, everyminute, every second of your preciouslife. And don’t wait for your company tosend you on a course, in their time, andat their expense. This is in many casesunfocussed and unproductive. Choosewhat you want to do, and do it, in yourown time, and at your own expense - nowyou are really investing in YOU - be yourown unit trust; that keeps growing andgrowing, with amazing dividends. And nostock exchange crashes.

• Have you looked after your bodythrough diet, exercise and modera-tion in other activities?

The same philosophy applies here. Youwere only given one body, and there are

no spare parts available, or more accu-rately, easily obtainable. So maintain thisbody, and don’t abuse it. Look after it, toenable you to fully enjoy your stay on thisearth. This will give you the ability andthe desire to thank God that you arealive, every day of your life, and toappreciate nature and the wonderfulmachine that has been given to you - yourbody.

• How many times have you compli-mented yourself, and how manytimes have you added value to otherpeople’s lives?

Once again, the same philosophy applies,like a golden thread. Enriching yourintellectual mind, and strengthening yourphysical body, are important factors inyour being able to enjoy life, but there isone vital ingredient necessary to com-plete your life experience. This ingredientcan be called psychological balance. You cannot enjoy life if you can onlylaugh, and not cry, or can only expressjoy, and not experience sorrow. We needto understand the good and the bad, toexperience things emotionally, but tem-pered with an over-riding psychologicalcontrol. We have to accept that we are notmachines, and that being human we haveto compliment ourselves frequently, toobtain psychological and emotional bal-ance. We need to exercise self discipline,but balanced with frequent bouts of selfgratification. A good indicator of thisbalance is the ability to add value toother people’s lives. A simple example is

how we react to an act of discourtesy onthe highway. Do we display sign lan-guage, or do we give way graciously? Bygiving way graciously, we are not onlyadding value to the other person’s life, weare also complimenting ourselves. If thisexample is difficult for you to swallow,then you need to re-examine where youare coming from.

The bottom line is that you can

IMPROVE yourself.

COMMITMENT TOYOUR COMPANY

• How many times have you gonebeyond your job description, toenhance your company?I have debated this question many timeswith many people, and the tragedy is thatthe majority of them somehow see this asa victory for the company. “Why dosomething that you are not being paidfor?” is the general theme. Whilst this isan indictment of the culture of the compa-ny, it is also an indictment of the person,because we get back to the principle ofmaking the most of life - you get out oflife what you put into life. And logically,if you have chosen to work for that com-pany ( it is your choice, by the way ), thenyour commitment to yourself demandsthat you commit to your company ofchoice.Continued on p48

In module three, we answered some questions which should have highlighted our com-mitment to ourselves, our companies and our customers. Let us re-visit theseanswers, and try to expand on the philosophy behind those questions. I know thatsome of us cannot even remember our last birthday, so we are only looking at ourbehaviour over the past 3 months:

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 948

C u s t o m e r C . A . R . E P r o g r a m m eContinued from p46

• How many times have you RUNDOWN your company, or its man-agement, or your fellow employees.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it! Don’t worry,this is a perfectly normal human trait,which is the ability to find fault witheveryone, bar yourself. Maybe youshould worry, because you are indulgingin something the psychologists call pro-jection. You are actually blaming your-self, because you are seeing your ownfaults in everyone around you. The solu-tion? Start working positively with every-one, and the results will be sensational,because you may not change the personyou are working with, but you will sure asnuts improve yourself, which is really theaim of the game. And voila, you will becommitted to your company.

• How many negative things did youdo, merely to protect your own turf?We all know that the territorial impera-tive is a powerful force with all mam-mals, but the problem is that when youprotect your own turf in a company envi-ronment, you damage the company. So,rather look for positive ways you canenhance your company, and hence your-self.

COMMITMENT TOYOUR CUSTOMER

• Who gets the prime parking posi-tions at your company - managementor customers?Have you noticed that whenever parkingis at a premium, management alwayshogs the best spots. They are making amajor sub-conscious statement to boththeir employees and their customers - IAM MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOU!This is a disturbing state of affairs, andyet it is totally prevalent in this country,with absolutely no exceptions in my expe-rience. Have they forgotten that C.A.R.E.

means CUSTOMERS ARE REALLYEVERYTHING.

• When staff training is done, is itdone at the employees’ expense, or thecustomers’ expense?This is another quite weird situation thatseems to be common practice. At manypost offices, clothing stores, and com-mercial banks, they open late on certaindays of the week for, guess what? - cus-tomer care training! Inconveniencing thecustomer is one thing, but to brazenlystate that they are opening late for thebenefit of the customer, is in the MontyPython league. I know that South Africais renowned for its high quality marijua-na, but should management be allowed tosmoke it on the job?

• Are commission structures based onsales or service?In the mad, lemming-like rush for everincreasing sales volumes, most compa-nies design their commission structuresaround the altar of TURNOVER. Thisdoes achieve the desired results in theshort term, but at a terrible price - thepractically non-existent thing calledservice, particularly after-sales service.The long term negatives are incalculable,and as the long suffering South Africanconsumer becomes more aware, could befatal. The insurance industry has been aclassic case study for decades, and in thecontemporary milieu, the cell phoneindustry is fast becoming another classic.There are many other examples of this,but space constraints force me to holstermy pen.

WHERE DO WE GOFROM HERE?

The situation is very bad, and in many

cases terminal, but the true tragedy is that

most people in management positions are

very aware of the shortcoming in their

organisation, but do very little about it,

and even worse, some argue that it is not

terribly important in the big scheme of

things. But there are some people out there

who are concerned about the situation,

and they do understand intellectually and

emotionally that C.A.R.E. means CUS-

TOMERS ARE REALLY EVERY-

THING, and they do have the vision to

know that the striving for superb customer

care eventually reaps substantial returns.

These are the people I want to speak to.

From the next module, we shall be address-

ing these visionaries.

DISCUSSIONPOINTS

1. Compile a list of things that you can do,

cost effectively, to invest in yourself.

2. Explain, in your own words, how you

can add value to your life, by not react-

ing to bad driving on the highway.

There is one exception - you must use

the word “affirmation” in your answer.

3. Give three reasons why you should not

commit to your company. Analyse these

reasons.

4. There is a logical explanation why staff

training is done during working hours -

discuss the philosophy behind this

explanation.

5. I have mentioned the insurance and cell

phone industries as classic examples of

Jekyll and Hyde customer service behav-

iour. In your experience, which other

industries deserve a mention.

I n t e l l i - D r i v i n g

49

Defensive Driving Key #1. Pay Attention andFocus on the Task of Driving

Yes, this one seems the most obvious! But how often have you

been on your cell phone while driving? Or fiddled with a hand-

bag, papers, a map, or kept digging for something in your pock-

ets? Splitting your attention from the process of driving immedi-

ately puts your driving on auto pilot. You are no longer conscious-

ly involved in operating your two ton box of metal - you find you

can't remember what you saw, or that you changed lanes a km

back. Most importantly, your response rate is reduced and

impaired. You cannot react quickly to new stimuli because your

conscious brain is not involved in the active reception of such

information. So how can you increase your ability to pay active

attention while driving? Never use your cell phone illegally - in

some Companies, it is policy that drivers are not allowed to use a

mobile phone at all. Try not to daydream, and if someone else is

in the car with you, do not look at them while talking - keep your

eyes and attention on the road. Averting your eyes, for even two

seconds, while talking to a passenger, could put both your lives in

serious danger. Also form good driving habits. For instance, if

you're making a trip to a new destination, get familiar with your

map or directions before getting into your car. Make sure that you

can recall most of them from memory so that you are not forced

to finger through, or constantly look at your papers while driving.

In addition, pace yourself - if you're hungry, stop and eat at the

restaurant. Don't drive through and eat while driving. If you're

tired, pull over and rest. Don't gamble your life and another's just

because you're in a hurry or you believe you won't fall asleep.

Driving is hypnotic - eventually you will fall asleep if you are not

well rested. If a your company does not have a Policy governing

the use of mobile phones you may request a sample copy from

us by mailing your contact details to [email protected].

Defensive Driving Key #2. Maintain YourDistance

this is particularly difficult for those of us driving on the highways

around the main centres. We're practically raised on tailgating!

But nevertheless, following too closely behind another vehicle

accounts for a significant number of vehicle accidents. Plus, in the

event of a rear-end collision, the fault automatically falls on the

rear vehicle - even if the driver honestly believes the front vehicle

stopped too suddenly. If you maintain the proper distance, it's

almost impossible to hit the vehicle in front of you - because

you've allowed yourself enough reaction time to stop.

So what is the proper following distance? A good rule of thumb is

the "three to four second" rule. You want to always remain a four

-second count behind the vehicle in front of you. However, the

faster your speeds are, the more space you must allow. At freeway

speeds, maintain a good 4 to 5 second leeway.

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 9

Defensive Driving Tips

Africa. I also “forced” Paddy to become my

mentor and he has been for over 10 years now.

Paddy made a great impression on my life and

wanted me to join him. At one stage he even

had me an offer of employment from WesBank

but I wasn’t keen to leave Zimbabwe at that

stage. This wasn’t to happen for a few years

because I started studying for my Masters

Business Leadership Degree at Unisa and was

offered a job also as MD of a Milling Company

in Harare with over 400 employees and 20

branches across the country. I did that for a cou-

ple of years until the bottom really fell out of

Zimbabwe. Then I joined Crown Agents

Southern Africa with a branch in Johannesburg.

All the time I kept in touch with Paddy, who

still wanted me to work for Sewells. In 2003 I

moved to Johannesburg to join Sewells as a con-

sultant where one of the things I did was devel-

op a leadership programme for Ford Motor

Company under the Ford Academy umbrella

under Kyle Dickie. My last role at Sewells was as

the partner in charge of the Nissan account.

Paddy then introduced me to Ronnie Watson

and Brian Riley, the top men at WesBank. Due

to the good association Sewells had with

WesBank I joined WesBank as their Research

and Development Manager. After a year or two

of this I was appointed General Manager of

Marketing, where I have been for the last four

years to get the most exposure for WesBank and

where we have formed great partnerships.

Q: Other interests?

A: My week days usually start at 3.45 a.m.

when I spend time doing my own thing until

6.00 a.m. Sleep? I can do with four hours a day

after years and years of studying, culminating in

receiving my doctorate degree. Then WesBank

has my time from 6.30 in the morning till 6.30

at night. I allow myself time at weekends to go

hiking along with members of the Joburg

Hiking Club. I have a pilot’s licence and fly a

Cessna and am also a Second Dan Taekwondo

which is a Korean Martial Art. I am a certified

Master Practitioner in Neuro Linguistic

Programming and Neuro Semantics, the models

of how humans achieve personal success and the

use and mastery of language. I am a part-time

member of the faculty of Haggai Institute of

Leadership based in Hawaii.

I absolutely love reading and studying success

and excellence in human behaviour. I have writ-

ten a couple of books. “Black Book of

Leadership” was published in Germany. I got

my Doctorate from Unisa in Business

Leadership in May 2005. My thesis for this

degree was the Lived Experience of the Strategic

Leader, what a CEO should do and

Exploration.

I love motivational speaking and leadership

development and every opportunity that I get I

talk and sharing with leaders, young and old,

about the principles of personal and leadership

success. I love working and inspiring leaders

because that way I believe I can influence a

greater number of people during my own life

time. My life changed dramatically when I

immersed myself in understanding and master-

ing the principles of success and leadership

development. I want as manyt people as I can

reach to be exposed to these same principles.

Q & A INTERVIEW WITH DR. GEORGE NYABADZAContinued from p12

by Eugene Herbert

Further tips next month

R o b e r t B o s c h

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 950

Invented for LifeThe Bosch slogan invented for life was created to denote many things, primarily centringon the inventiveness, ingenuity and longevity of Bosch products. Its creators may havenot have been aware of the uncanny precision this slogan assumes when considering thatmore vital aspect of human existence, life itself. Irrespective of the motive, this descrip-tion is indeed apt, and an accurate example of reality following science and art.

In the previous two issues of ABR, we discussed the pio-

neering role of Bosch in the development of antilock

braking systems, which are now old hat, but wouldn’t

James Dean have loved to have had ABS in his Porsche

Spyder in September 1955, as this would most probably

have allowed him to avoid the accident that took his life.

Many a company would have rested on their laurels after invent-

ing ABS, but Bosch was far from satisfied, as they realised that

whilst ABS was a revolutionary step forward in better and safer

braking, there was also a need for further assistance to the driver.

This was the driver, excuse the pun, for Bosch’s next revolution-

ary, and evolutionary step, of ESP®. Worldwide accident studies

prove that skidding and the often resulting lateral impact is one of

the main causes of severe and fatal road accidents. The Electronic

Stability Programme ESP® counteracts skidding: it stabilises your

vehicle and reduces the risk of skidding. ESP® makes a significant

contribution towards road safety. International studies by well-

known automobile manufacturers and safety authorities that have

assessed its effectiveness confirm the great life-saving potential of

ESP®. The world's first ESP® was introduced in 1995 by Bosch,

and this “invented for life” product, in more ways than one, made

an immediate impact on road accident statistics. This was recog-

nised by the highest accolade for Bosch in December 2007, when

the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) awarded the

company the internationally acclaimed “FIA World Prize for

Road Safety, the Environment and Mobility”. With this award,

presented by FIA President Max Mosly to the CEO of Robert

Bosch GmbH, Franz Fehrenbach at the FIA Gala in Monaco, the

FIA expressed its recognition of the great contribution Robert

Bosch had made to the worldwide road safety through the

development and consistent marketing of the ESP®

safety system. Mosly put it as such “Bosch has

played a pivotal role in the development

and promotion of the most effec-

tive car safety system since

the invention of the safety belt!” Fehrenbach accepted the award

graciously and modestly, replying that “this prize is a distinction

for all our associates: for the engineers who developed the system,

for the associates in our plants and who have been producing this

system to the highest quality standards for many years now, and

not least for the marketing experts who have never tired of com-

municating the benefits of this system.”

In 2007, a socio-economic study by the University of Cologne

showed that 4 000 traffic deaths and 100 000 injuries could be

prevented in Europe alone if ESP® was installed in all vehicles,

whilst the U.S. road traffic agency NHTSA estimates that 10 000

traffic deaths on American roads could be prevented with ESP®.

Just imagine how many lives ESP® has already saved worldwide,

and how many more lives will be saved when ESP® becomes

mandatory as standard equipment for all vehicles in the not too

distant future? Truly a product that earns the title “Invented for

Life”. Next month ABR shall look at the technical aspects behind

ESP®.

1. Hydraulic modulator with attached control unit2. Wheel-speed sensor3. Steering-angle sensor4. Yaw-rate and lateral acceleration sensor5. Communication with engine management

51

The Golden TriangleCarlo du Plessis of Cencar Centurion is an avid Bosch fan, which makes him theperfect role model for aspiring Bosch Service entrepreneurs, and a shoe in as atechnical guide and demonstrator for this series of articles on the versatility ofthe Bosch FSA series of vehicle system analysers.

A certificate of confidence, certifying Carlodu Plessis as a Bosch Systems Technician

Carlo with his beloved FSA

Cencar is shorthand for Centurion Cars, the business that Carlo du Plessis start-

ed in 1995, a while before he became a Bosch Service outlet. Carlo always

dreamed of owning his own business, and he wasted no time in setting up

Cencar after completing his diesel technician apprenticeship at Iscor’s iron ore

mine at Sishen, Northern Cape from 1992 to 1994. Carlo had already devel-

oped his taste for repairing motor cars when he was a school kid, spending most of his spare

time at his Father’s Trek filling station and workshop in The Reeds. Cencar initially served

its purpose, but Carlo realised that for him to stand out from the rest and to stay abreast of

the accelerating trends in automotive technology, he would need to always have the latest

workshop and diagnostic equipment, and to have access to cutting edge technical knowledge

and training. And Carlo wanted to be associated with a big brand name. A chance meeting

in 2000 on the golf course (not a VW Golf course, but that place where Tiger Woods does

rather well) with Ewald Faulstich, Director Automotive Aftermarket Division, Robert Bosch

South Africa, changed Carlo’s life forever, as he had found what he was looking for. Ewald

Faulstich told Carlo that Bosch was the answer to his prayers, and that Bosch was the path

to success, and the only way to get where he wanted to go. Prophetic words indeed, but

things did not fall into place straight away. Carlo’s workshop at that stage did not meet the

Bosch requirements, so Carlo, being a single minded individual, put a five year plan into

action, and in 2005 Cencar, after meticulous preparation, assumed

the Bosch Service mantle. Now, four years later, Carlo says that it was

“the best thing that I could have done. I will stick with Bosch for life.”

Quite an appropriate statement, considering that Bosch is “invented

for life”. Carlo says that the investment to meet the requirements has

paid off handsomely, with turnover increasing every year, and with his

up to date equipment, he is servicing the latest models of all the

vehicle brands, and that customers with abnormal problems now seek

him out, knowing that he has the wherewithal to solve these

problems. Carlo credits what he refers to as “the golden triangle” for

his fast growing fame as a solver of vehicle problems. With 14 work-

shops in the immediate vicinity, Cencar has to stay on its toes, and

the golden triangle keeps Cencar on top. It is the golden triangle of

the KTS Compact Control Unit Diagnostic Tester which isolates the

problem via trouble codes, the ESI[tronic] service information sys-

tem which gives step by step instructions to

allow for troubleshooting, and the FSA engine

analysing system which rigorously follows pro-

cedures and does the necessary testing right

through the car, and pinpointing the correc-

tive procedures. Add to this the necessary

knowledge and training, as Carlo modestly

points out, and there is nothing that will

stump the well equipped Bosch technician.

This three in one solution avoids costly trial

and error, and avoids the expensive swopping

of components, from a Maybach to a Mini.

In the next issue of ABR, Carlo will begin with

a series of real life examples of how this gold-

en triangle helps him.

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 9

A series of articles on the versatile FSA 720/740/754 series

The FSA even has its uses on very old cars

R o b e r t B o s c h

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 952

Picture 1: M10x1, 4 way connecter,single flare (concave)

Picture 4: M10x1, T-Piece, singleflare (concave)

Picture 5: Female brake pipe joiner:M10x1 & 3/8x24

Picture 7: Pipe mounting clamp:6mm,8mm,10mm,12mm,18mm

Picture 8: Female brake pipe joiner:M12x1 double flare (convex)

Picture 6: Male brake pipe joiner:M10x1 & 3/8x24

Picture 2: M12x1, T-Piece, doubleflare (convex)

Picture 3: M10x1, T-Piece, doubleflare (convex)

Quick Brake manufacture a fullrange of brake pipejoiners, T-pieces,mounting clampsand adaptors in their range of brakepipe fittings.

Chris Swale of Chris Swale Motors, 55 Alexander Road, Westmead, Pinetown,describes his membership of e-CAR as “Pennies from Heaven”. And he says that thesepennies have been falling ever since he signed up as the very first e-CAR member inMay 2004.

Pennies fromHeaven

To join the fastest growing workshop network in South Africa and to add a new dimension to your business, contact Wilfried Langenbach at 0860 003 227 (0860 00 ECAR)

Chris Swale is always prepared

to take a chance, but he says

that hitching his star to the

e-CAR workshop concept,

even as the first member, was more like

a calculated risk. The taking of calculat-

ed risks is what Chris is always prepared

to do, as ever since he left school, his

dream was to start his own business, and

his first plunge into the entrepreneurial

unknown was in 1984 when he can-

celled all his insurance policies and put

the funds into Chris Swale Motors, and

this nerve-racking move soon bore fruit.

He took a few more calculated risks

since then, but he describes the e-CAR

decision as the best of the lot. A man of

few words, he puts it succinctly, “the e-

CAR investment has brought far more

returns than if I had put the money into

the bank!”

Chris’ mechanical engineering back-

ground sets him slightly apart from the

average e-CAR member, who tradition-

ally comes from an auto electrical envi-

ronment. Chris gravitated to automo-

tive repairs through his love for MG

motor cars, and with his penchant for a

hands on approach it wasn’t too long

before he earned the nickname in the

Pinetown area as the “Spanner

Mechanic”. Thus Chris Swale Motors is

now part of Pinetown folklore, but

Chris realised some five years ago that

with his sons not intending to follow in

their father’s footsteps, that he had

to convert the image of his business to

a more identifiable establishment.

His propensity of calculating the risks

made him see the sense of e-CAR mem-

bership, and to put his hand up to be

the pioneer of this well thought out

concept. Today’s motorist is not looking

for a spanner mechanic, they are look-

ing for certainty, continuity, and tech-

nological assurance. The e-CAR image

provides this in spades – an image of top

class automotive repairs carried out by

highly qualified technicians, who use

the latest diagnostic equipment, and

provide a national warranty with the

requisite back-up. This image, Chris

assures us, is not just because of e-CAR’s

national and regional advertising, it is

based on the strong foundation of

Bosch diagnostic equipment and tech-

nical training, combined with the provi-

sion of quality branded parts at compet-

itive prices from Diesel-Electric.

Combine this with the proud

record of innovation and respon-

sibility that e-CAR has built up

in the short space of five years,

and no wonder that Chris

speaks so highly of the fastest

growing workshop network in

South Africa.

Nothing scares ChrisSwale – he is the offi-cial Lada repairer inPinetown

Chris Swale with one of his beloved MG’s. ChrisSwale Motors is the only commercial repairer of

MG motor cars left in KwaZulu Natal. His fasci-nation with MG cars leads him to quip that if you

drew blood from him it would be MG positive.

Two certificates take pride of place on the walls ofChris Swale Motors – one certifying e-CAR mem-

bership (and the first in South Africa), and the otherproudly signifying that Chris Swale Motors was the

AA Business of the Year in KwaZulu Natal

53S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 9

e - c a r

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 954

AutoZoneʼs Call Centre, which was a first of its kind in the aftermarket parts industry when it waslaunched when AutoZone bought its Siemens Hymax Call Centre for Denver in the late nineties, hasagain been elevated to yet another first in the motor trade with its 24-7 Call Centre!

The Call Centre was previously available to AutoZone Customers between Monday and Friday dur-ing the week and 8-5 during the day... Now our customers can have access to our brand and assis-tance all 7 days of the week, 24 hours a day, making AutoZone by far the most accessible brand inthe industry.

The AutoZone Call Centre offers our customers and teams a wealth of services and advantages,some of which are listed below!

• Call Centre Primary Functionality

- Customer Service- Efficient information gathering in a short period by conducting various campaigns- Sales from this centralised environment- Efficient real-time communication channels- Communication in a multimedia environment- Provide a framework, which will lead to the ongoing retention and growth of customers.

• Additional Great Services offered to the AutoZone Family Members:

- Database development and maintenance thereof- Opposition Pricing and Shop-outs- Tailored campaigns to suit exact specifications- Outbound calls to customers assessing satisfaction levels regarding:

• Pricing• Stock Availability• Team attitude in the stores• Deliveries

- Marketing, Market Research and Event Co-ordination:

• SMS• Telephone• Fax• Direct Mailing to specified customer bases

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 956

A Blue Chip Investment When Gary and Kathleen Marais, owners of Blue Chip Lubricants, looked to expandtheir fast growing business which manufactures, markets and distributes a wide vari-ety of high quality lubricants for the mining, automotive, engineering and industrialmarkets, they looked to what is without doubt the most successful business formatof our times - franchising.

Franchising was the last option on

Gary and Kathleen’s minds, until

a chance meeting with franchis-

ing guru Eric Parker, one of the

founders of the successful Nando’s brand

and the country’s leading expert on fran-

chising gave them the idea to go the fran-

chise route. Says Gary, “Our initial reac-

tion was typical of most people – that

franchising was really only suited to some

sectors such as fast food but we were sur-

prised to learn that franchising can be

adapted to suit any business sector. Our

concern was in being able to offer our

expanded client base the same product

and level of service that our current clients

enjoy.” Eric Parker of franchise consult-

ants Franchising Plus, convinced the

Marais’ that by replicating the franchise

business format through owner-operator

franchisees throughout the country, Blue

Chip Lubricants had the potential to

become a leader in its industry sector.

“The franchise model is quite simple and

fool-proof” says Parker. “By having a pre-

mium product, providing exceptional

service and exceeding customer expecta-

tions through a strict mechanism of dupli-

cation and with the commitment of

owner-operator franchisees, any business

can thrive and grow and become a recog-

nised brand.”

Franchising still has a long way to go in

South Africa, with franchising being rep-

resented in only 17 business sectors com-

pared to close to 100 in other countries, as

in the USA for example. Blue Chip

Lubricants is breaking new ground in

being the first in its industry sector to

expand via the franchise route. This is

exactly what South Africa needs – dynam-

ic and forward thinking entrepreneurs

who are able to ‘think big’ - by offering a

myriad of ‘small business opportunities’ to

other entrepreneurs. It’s really a win-win

situation - the customer gets a premium

product with consistent service, opportu-

nities abound for budding entrepreneurs

and the economy is boosted by skills

transfer and more importantly job cre-

ation. Growing from humble beginnings,

Blue Chip Lubricants established them-

selves in 1983 and have become experts in

lubrication and cutting fluid technology

manufacturing, marketing and distribut-

ing specialised, high performance and

general lubricants nationally and to neigh-

bouring countries. As one of the founder

members of ILBA (Independent

Lubricant Blenders Association) they have

played a crucial role in making sure that

they adhere to a high standard in blend-

ing, packaging, promoting and marketing

whilst meeting the applicable industry

standards, test specifications and operat-

ing procedures as prescribed by ILBA,

SAE, API, SANS and other standard set-

ting organisations recognised in the indus-

try. They also play their part in promot-

ing and encouraging the environmentally

responsible collection and recycling of

used oil and related waste towards the

preservation of the environment as mem-

bers of the Rose Foundation (Recycled Oil

Saves the Environment).Blue Chip

Lubricants’ goal and their expansion plans

include gaining national market share

through franchising their brand and tap-

ping into the largely untapped agricultur-

al and retail markets in addition to their

existing mining, industrial, engineering

and automotive markets. Taking the lead-

ership position through franchising and

building a strong brand will open up

opportunities to create alliances and syn-

ergies with both competitors and majors,

convert independents and partner with

retailers to create a ‘store within a store’

concept that would tap into the retail

market and build both market share and

their brand.

More on Blue Chips Lubrication in future

issues of ABR.

Presenters at the Launch on the 31st July 2009, with the owners of Blue ChipLubricants: left to right; Alex Hime; Chairperson, ILBA; Kathleen Marais; Ranjith

Ramkissoon, Manager Sales & Technical Support, Umongo Petroleum Additives; GaryMarais; Eric Parker, Franchising Plus.

From the Old to the New

To find out moreabout Blue Chip

Lubricants franchis-ing opportunities,

contact ChrissieFroneman, Franchise

Manager [email protected]

or 011 462 1829 or082 319 1955

L u b r i c a t i o n U p d a t e

Alas, our supposition, and hope,

is not true. In actual fact, Terry

O’Donoghue says that if it was

not for Toyota’s and the indus-

try’s introduction of service and mainte-

nance plans on new vehicles, and more

significantly, the extended warranty plans

offered on older vehicles, many South

Africans would most probably be letting

their cars go to the dogs. Times are tough,

and whilst consumers are aware of the

need to maintain their vehicles, they are

also trying to eke out every drop from

their well earned Rands, and vehicle main-

tenance is unfortunately not one of the

priorities. This begs the question; if

motorists are not upping their mainte-

nance budgets, why the stellar P&A sales

at Toyota SA, from just over R1 billion in

2006 to an expected R3 billion in 2009?

To explain this, Terry uses a metaphor that

goes well with our introduction, and may

bring back memories for those of us who

donned khaki uniforms in the 1970’s and

1980’s. He puts it thus; “If it rains heavily

in Angola, when you get the floods

depends on whether you’re at Katima

Mulilo or Victoria Falls” What he is saying

is that the mighty Zambezi of cars on the

road was fed by the record breaking years

of 2005, 2006, 2007, and the profile of

parts usage at Toyota Service Centres indi-

cates that the peak period tends to be

three to four years after the vehicle sale,

i.e. we are now in the peak period. The

surging waters have reached Katima

Mulilo and next year it will hit Victoria

Falls, and by 2010 the Kariba Dam wall

will take the hit. And the sales of Toyotas

were particularly high from 2005 to 2007,

averaging 150 000 units per annum, com-

pared to a 70 000 units average for the

first few years of the new millennium.

Thus the raging waters will continue for

quite a while, and the fishermen waiting

downstream comprise that part of the

automotive aftermarket that looks after

vehicles out of their maintenance plans.

Based on this scenario, Terry

O’Donoghue sees his challenge in main-

taining the high performance levels of this

year in 18 to 24 months time, when the

Toyota car parc moves to a slightly older

profile. Not that the car parc will dimin-

ish, it will actually grow. It is already

touching one million vehicles, and it will

definitely be beyond this seven figure

threshold by 2011 – it will just have a

slightly greyer beard. Terry is a statistician

in “murg en been” (he can even recite

Toyota’s new vehicle sales for 1981 down

to the final digit!), so it is no surprise to

hear that he has been tracking the behav-

iour of Toyota motorists and their service

patterns over the years, and that he can

confirm that based on their 2009 service

intervals they are driving on average 15%

less than previous years. Since so many

cars are now on service and maintenance

plans, he attributes this reduced driving to

the tough times and the higher fuel prices.

To counteract this, Toyota SA is extending

its service plans, and putting emphasis on

getting people to sign up upfront.

Unfortunately, the exchange rate deterio-

ration over the past year has kyboshed

Toyota’s ability to absorb some of these

costs in their selling prices, so Toyota is

now offering monthly payment plans for

extended warranties, which is a Godsend

for conservative motorists with three year

old cars, but still with the albatross of two

years financing to surmount. These moves

are bearing fruit, with more and more

Toyotas being cared for by the guys that

built them, and Toyota has also imple-

mented other measures to improve sales

and to keep the Toyota car parc in better

condition. More on this in the next issue

of ABR.

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 958

Floods Hit Katima MuliloIn the August 2009 issue of ABR, in our Life Goes On series of articles, we mentionedToyota SA’s stellar P&A sales, and we promised to revisit the question of whetherSouth Africans are starting to look after their vehicles during these tough times. Toget a definitive answer, ABR visited the source of the P&A river of knowledge, TerryO’Donoghue, Vice President Customer Service Division. With 28 years under his beltat Toyota SA, Terry has seen it all and his views are indeed pertinent.

Terry O’Donoghue, Vice PresidentCustomer Service Division, Toyota

South AfricaThis 2005 Yaris is well looked after by the Toyota guys

P & A N e w s

59

Castrol launches new formulation

GTX Anti-SludgeAugust 4th saw an impressive launch at the Sandton Convention Centre, whenCastrol unveiled its new formulation GTX Anti-Sludge.

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 9

The launch consisted of an historicaloverview presented by “Boet ‘nSwaer”, with some assistance from

the nephew of “Mogae Kung Fu”, from avery well reconstructed set of theirHoringboom Oasis, and done in theirinimitable style. Each decade was celebrat-ed by a musical interlude from that era,and this was a great introduction to the lat-est “Can of the Best”. The original GTXwas introduced in the UK in 1968 as asuccessor to New Formula Castrol, in aperiod when new lubricants had to keeppace with massive advances in engine andtransmission technologies, primarily driv-en by the need for improved fuel economyand emission concerns. GTX arrived inSouth Africa in 1972 and was an overnightsuccess and to this day it remains SouthAfrica’s top selling engine oil, as well asmany other countries. Over the years, theGTX brand has evolved with continuousimprovements to the formulation and theintroduction of packaging innovations,and it is estimated that more than 12 bil-lion litres of Castrol GTX have been soldworldwide since its introduction, and thatglobally sales are now in excess of 400 mil-lion litres annually. The three big marketsare the USA, Canada and South Africa,with Mexico, Brazil, Australia, India,Germany, China, the UK and SaudiArabia also being no slouches in theturnover stakes. The slogans have alsoevolved, with “Can of the Best” havingmoved aside for the current internationalslogan “It’s more than just oil – it’s liquidengineering”. The latest formulation is tes-timony to this slogan, with BP Lubricants

Africa’s technology manager, Rob Bowen,enthusing, “The formulation of the latestCastrol GTX Anti-Sludge engine lubricat-ing oil is the most important technologicaldevelopment of this popular brand in thelast 15 years. Importantly it providesadded value to the consumer that will bewelcomed in these tough economic times.The oil’s specification has been improvedto lift it from the API SG level on thelubricant grading system of the AmericanPetroleum Institute (API) to the higherperformance API SL level.

In addition, the Castrol development teamat BP Lubricants’ Centre of Excellence atPangbourne, in England, have produced alubricant that exceeds the API SL industrystandard requirements by 25% and this iswhere we get the additional anti-sludgebenefit.” Sludge is a thick, dark substancethat can build up in sumps and oil gal-leries, leading to high rates of wear,increased fuel consumption, reduced oilpressure and, in extreme cases, engineseizure. Independent research into enginefailure has ascribed a high percentage ofthese incidents to high levels of sludge inthe lubrication system. Once sludge buildsup in an engine it is difficult, if not impos-sible, to remove without dismantling andcleaning it thoroughly. Bowen adds, “Theageing vehicle parc, together with the vary-ing fuel quality found in South Africa andthe rest of Africa and the stop-start drivingand lengthy periods of idling prevalenttoday in many cities in South Africa, dueto road construction and heavy traffic flowpatterns are the ideal ‘breeding ground’ for

the formation of sludge. It not only short-ens engine life, but also increases fuel andoil consumption. Similar driving and hightemperature weather conditions prevail inmany other mega-cities in the world, suchas those found in Brazil, the United Statesand Asia, so Castrol is introducing GTXAnti-Sludge to these markets as well asthose in Africa, where dust and harsh roadconditions exacerbate the sludge build upsituation.” BP Lubricants Africa’s retailoffer development manager, CharletteRoetz, equates the fight against sludge for-mation in engine lubricating oil to the bat-tle against the formation of cholesterol inthe arteries and veins of human beings,“We are using the taglines ‘Sludge isengine cholesterol’ and ‘Boost yourengine’s immune system’ in our promo-tional leaflets and advertising to underlinethis similarity. Our sign-off line is‘Superior sludge protection with CastrolGTX’”. Supplies of the latest Castrol GTXare already available in automotive partsoutlets and many supermarkets. They areeasily identified with the words “Fightsludge, the engine cholesterol” at the topof the label on the container. The labelalso highlights Castrol’s six-year commit-ment to world soccer as a sponsor of theFIFA World Cup in 2010 and 2014; aninvolvement that the company says isproving very beneficial in its ongoingbrand building strategy and as a way ofreaching new markets.

2009 marks the 24th consecutive year ofsupport for the John Force in the Funny

Car category of the NRA in the US,making it one of the longest running

sponsorships in global motor sport. Thisdrag racing sponsorship is also one of thebiggest GTX promotions in the world.

L u b r i c a t i o n U p d a t e

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 960

I n s i g h t s

To join Capricorn Society Limited call Rob Mildenhall on083 654 2094 or e-mail him at

[email protected] or visit their website onwww.capricorn.com.au

Cooperatives – it’s time has comeThe official definition of a cooperative is “An autonomous association of persons unit-ed voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspira-tions through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.”Cooperatives have tended to fly under the radar, but things are changing, and theinternational significance of cooperatives is underlined by the fact that the UnitedNations has designated the 4th July as the International Day of Cooperatives.

Simply put, a cooperative is a group

of people working towards a com-

mon goal, and it is easy to identify a

cooperative, through its characteristics. A

cooperative is based on democracy – every

member participates in making decisions

that control the business, and everyone

has one vote. A cooperative is generally

not run for a profit, but must be financial-

ly viable. All members benefit from any

surpluses, and the essence of a cooperative

is its “moral incentive”. The sound funda-

mentals underpinning cooperatives is

borne out by the fact that worldwide 800

million people are members of coopera-

tives, and that over 100 million people are

employed by these cooperatives. Many

successful cooperatives grew from humble

beginnings, and one such shining example

is Capricorn Society Limited, which was

founded in 1975 in Western Australia to

assist automotive repair and service busi-

nesses. Now, more than 30 years on, it is

an Australian corporation trading interna-

tionally. Still operating under the 7

International Principles of Co-operation,

Capricorn has grown to over 12,000 auto-

motive businesses as members ... paint &

panel shops, mechanical workshops, auto

electrical, auto transmission workshops,

mobile mechanical services, tyre and sus-

pension stores and more, that purchase

the equivalent of around 5.3 billion Rand

in parts and services every year from more

than 1,300 preferred suppliers in

Australia, New Zealand and the Republic

of South Africa. Capricorn Society

Limited is a member of the International

Cooperative Alliance (ICA), which was

founded in 1895, and has 233 member

organisations from 87 countries. The next

ICA General Assembly takes place in

Geneva, Switzerland from the 16th to the

20th November, 2009, and the theme for

this assembly shall be “Global Crisis –

Cooperative Opportunity”, and more

details on this assembly may be obtained

at ww.ica.coop/al-ica/.

To gain further perspective on the global

phenomenon of cooperatives, ABR gives

our readers the message from Ban Ki-

moon, Secretary-General of the United

Nations, issued on 4th July 2009 to com-

memorate the International Day of

Cooperatives.

I n d u s t r y U p d a t e

Staying AliveDr Frank Lewis of Bruma, Johannesburg, has a PhD in Political Philosophy, whichmust make him a fascinating dinner companion. Born and bred in South Africa, he hasalso studied and worked in the United States, and thus he has first hand experienceand some firm opinions on both American and South African politics. For the purposeof this article, it is not Dr. Lewis’ political observations that interested ABR, butrather what sits under the bonnet of his 1990 BMW 318i – an Exide battery thatcould one day take pride of place in First National Battery’s museum located at itsfactory in Benoni, Gauteng.

Frank Lewis’ depth of study around political phi-

losophy has been broad, and the branch of phi-

losophy that has particularly intrigued him is

that of Epistemology. Initially, ABR thought that

epistemology was the study of heavy drinking,

but it actually concerns the nature and scope of

knowledge – what knowledge is, how knowledge is acquired,

what do we know, how do we know what we know, and why

do we know what we know. All very esoteric for the layman,

but something that keeps Frank awake at night as he ponders

the pis in epistemology. It reminds ABR of the dyslexic agnos-

tic insomniac who stayed awake all night wondering if there

was a dog. But back to the enlightening and electrifying sub-

ject of batteries. Knowledge of batteries is not high on Frank’s

priority list, but what he does know is that in 1997 he pur-

chased an Exide battery from a Battery Centre in Fordsburg,

and that this self same battery is still going strong in his 1990

BMW 318i, a vehicle that is now used primarily by his wife.

His epistemological background does not help him know why

the battery is still going strong, because the general consensus

amongst battery experts is that if a battery gives you anything

more than five to six years, you should be very happy, as you’ve

beaten the average by a healthy margin. What Frank didn’t

know, but now knows, is that the longevity record for a car

battery in South Africa is currently held by a six volt Beetle

battery that did its manufacturer proud by lasting for some

17 years. The manufacturer in question is, yes, you’ve guessed

it, First National Battery. Louis Laubscher, Managing Director

of First National Battery (FNB), the company that manufac-

tures Exide batteries in its East London plant, says that FNB

has a distinctive record, having begun its life in the

self same East London in 1931 under the guiding wing of

Mr. J F Jackson, and that FNB is now the leading manufactur-

er and distributor of lead acid batteries for use in automotive

and industrial applications in South Africa. Louis has prom-

ised Dr. Lewis that whenever his beloved and dutiful battery

eventually gives up the ghost that a new Exide battery will be

waiting for him, gratis. But Louis hopes that this will take at

least another five years, so that this battery can find a welcom-

ing resting place at FNB’s museum in Benoni. Louis Laubscher

shares his name with King Louis XIV, the Sun King, who is

widely credited as keeping the French monarchy alive during

the tumultuous late seventeenth and early eighteenth cen-

turies, which is entirely appropriate and epistemologically fas-

cinating, as he has feverishly cranked up his hopes that the bat-

tery keeps on going and “staying alive”.

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 9

This Exide battery has been happily doing its thing under the bonnet of aBMW 318i for 12 years, and is going for the South African record.

Dr. Frank Lewis is happy to discover that the Smart Test battery tester stillgives his 12 year old Exide battery the thumbs up for performance.

63

In the August 2009 issue of ABR, we discussed the massive role that the independ-ent aftermarket plays in keeping cars on the road, and more importantly, the role itplays in keeping those cars on the road in a roadworthy condition. This function isparticularly significant for vehicles getting on in years, as the majority of SouthAfrica’s car parc consists of vehicles in the five years and older bracket, and thesevehicles are no longer under warranty and/or manufacturers’ maintenance plans. Theyounger cars (those under five years of age) are almost exclusively the preserve offranchise dealerships.

As mentioned in our previous arti-

cles, franchise dealerships are con-

trolled through franchise agree-

ments by the OEMs, but legally they fall

under the terms and conditions of the

Motor Industry Bargaining Council legis-

lation. They thus have a schizophrenic

existence, in more ways than one. They are

required through their franchise agree-

ments to observe infrastructural require-

ments, and to uphold stringent standards

in many areas, which is not unique to the

motor industry. Franchise agreements are

by their very nature restrictive and stifling,

and additional costs have to be borne,

mainly to meet the laudable goal of

upholding standards. This is imperative

when the good name of a manufacturer’s

brand is at stake, but it does tend to clip a

dealership’s wings, and must cause frustra-

tion for a dealer who would love to do

more for the consumer, and even more

frustration when the consumer is driving

an older car and cannot afford the higher

prices of proprietary branded parts. The

irony of this situation is that dealers do

make use of suppliers out of the “approval”

net, such as sub-contract work on tyres,

exhausts, tow bars, windscreens, etc., but

are not allowed to purchase non-approved

parts. They would love to be aftermarket

heroes to all and sundry, but are simply not

able to fulfil this role, because of their fran-

chise commitments. In Europe and other

parts of the developed world, this situation

does not pertain to such an extent, because

anti-competitive practises are more con-

strained due to strong legislation and the

enforcement thereof. The unfortunate

consequence in South Africa is that the

consumer who wishes to maintain his

vehicle at the dealership of his choice, pays

a high price to keep his/her vehicle on the

road, and this may be a contributing rea-

son for such a high percentage of unroad-

worthy vehicles on our roads. This is an

unintended consequence from the under-

standable desire to protect one’s turf.

When the Consumer Protection Bill

comes into effect, the situation may

change somewhat, but it still too early to

say to what extent this will happen.

To fill this vacuum, the independent after-

market has stepped into the breech, with

quality parts, warranty support, technical

back-up, and vitally, value for money. This

is even happening with cars that are still in

their maintenance plan periods, because

with the proliferation of models and the

vast range of parts required to be stocked,

many times a vehicle under warranty is off

the road for weeks (and even months) on

end. The customer in frustration, and dare

we say it, even the franchise dealer, is

forced to seek alternatives. These alterna-

tives are nine times out of ten perfectly

acceptable replacement parts, and as good

as the original, but do not fit the bill under

the fine print stipulations. Once again,

hats off to the companies such as

Grandmark International, who are playing

the critical role of keeping our economy

moving – and meeting the four important

criteria of technology, quality, safety, and

value for money. A diamond dialogue,

indeed.

Giel Steyn

D i a m o n d D i a l o g u e s

EditorialPartnership

The Heroes of the AutomotiveAftermarket # 2

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 964

In this series of articles ABR discusses with Giel Steyn of Grandmark International the four significant factors that should be taken into

account when purchasing automotive parts - Technology, Quality, Safety and Value for Money. These four characteristics are inter-related, and

each cannot stand on their own, and together they become a motorist's best friend. Similarly, diamonds are also judged on four characteristics,

known as the “four c's” - carat, clarity, colour and cut; and of course, diamonds are a girl's best friend. Grandmark International, as a dis-

tributor of automotive parts, is keenly aware of the need to source only the best in Technology, Quality, Safety and Value for Money, and

therefore it is appropriate that this series of articles is titled Diamond Dialogues.

Q & A

Roger McCleery asks the questionsSee how many of these 20 Questions you can answer.

by Roger McCleery

Answers on page 82

1. Who presents the TV Motoring Programme “Ignition” on DSTV 265?

2. In which year was the South African Motoring magazine “Car” first published?

3. Name two South African made sports cars that used the Ford Prefect 1172 side valve engine.

4. Who invented the rev counter and odometer?

5. Who first broke the sound barrier on land for the first time and in what year?

6. What other motor car company did Rolls Royce acquire in the 30’s?

7. What country hosted the first car Grand Prix?

8. Who is the Sales and Marketing Director of Mercedes Benz in South Africa?

9. Which Rhodesian (Zimbabwean) won six South African Formula 1 titles?

10. Who lost his leg driving in the ‘Le Mans’ film with Steve McQueen?

11. Which British motor man was England’s equivalent of Henry Ford and Ferdinand Porsche making “cars for the people”?

12. What was the first Aston Martin called?

13. Eight top managers including Formula 1 fundi, Carlo Chiti, all left Ferrari at the same time - November 1961. Why?

14. What led to the 70 kmh speed limit being imposed on the roads in the UK?

15. What car was famous on the cover of Harry Potter books and in the movies?

16. Name three companies that made up American Motors.

17. Which famous former GM Director was caught brokering a $24m cocaine deal?

18. What famous hill in KZN was used for a motor sport hill climb?

19. What Toyota model took over from the Camry in 2006?

20. Why was the 22 km Nurburgring built in 1925?

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 966

W i l d e T h i n g s

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 968

Let ThemRide Bicycles

My gut feel, later to be

confirmed by obser-

vation, was kindled

early on, when I

realised that I was

living in an imper-

fect democracy, with only the minority

allowed the vote. It was during my high

school years, when I was press ganged into

forming a guard of honour for Sir de

Villiers Graaff, that I starting to develop a

distaste for all things political, and when

full blown democracy finally arrived in

1994, I had gone beyond the point of no

return, and whilst I did participate in the

process, it was not with the enthusiasm

that I thought it would generate.

I have thought long and hard as to why this

was so, and I have come to the conclusion

that subconsciously I had already decided

that you get good and bad on both sides

and that the bad tend to gravitate to high-

er office, primarily because of what and

who they are. And the worse they are, the

more they seem to love the trappings of

power, with bodyguards, official motor

vehicles, and grand parties, parades, blue

light brigades and ceremonial balderdash

the order of the day, and what should be a

glaring beacon of warning to the hoi polloi.

Take Adolf Hitler, for example. I used to

watch news reels of him strutting his stuff,

and his vitriolic and animated tirades at

huge rallies should have switched off all but

the most base of people, but it didn’t. They

followed him in droves and look where it

got them. A gentler and weirder version is

the monarchy in Britain. The first time I

visited the UK in June 1988, I had the mis-

fortune to have a host who was a royal nut,

in both senses. He forced me to stand in a

light drizzle for three hours, just so that we

could watch the Queen and her sidekicks

go past in all their ceremonial glory, in

gilded horse drawn carriages and waving

haughtily at the silly peasants who got

drenched in the process. Since it was the

Queen’s official birthday, we were “treated”

to the whole line of interbred sponges,

from the Queen Mother, to the Queen and

Prince Philip, Princess Anne, Prince

Charles, Princess Diana, and the whole

gamut of trough feeders, and not one of

them ever having done a decent day’s work.

A special cheer went up for Princess Diana,

and little did the cheering throngs know

what drama was still to unfold in the royal

bedroom. I’ve also realised that if Princess

Diana had stuck to horse drawn transport,

she would be alive today. But no, she had

to go for that big black powerful beast –

not Dodi; the Mercedes which took her

into the Alma tunnel one night and never

emerged from the other side, thanks to a

well sozzled chauffeur. Getting back to the

point, on that miserable day in London, I

apparently offended my host by showing

more interest in the prodigious amount of

horse droppings than the goofy teethed

parade.

Do not for once imagine that this is a

European disease. We at the southern point

of Africa behave similarly, I’m afraid. I

recall the official opening of the

Constitutional Court, and the level of adu-

lation showered onto ex President Mbeki

(remember him?). I also recall a BMW

function when Africa’s and the world’s

favourite son Nelson Mandela signed some

special edition BMW’s, and I saw a woman

journalist from Germany being manhan-

dled by some thugs masquerading as body-

guards, just because she got too close to the

Messiah. My gallantry took over, and I

came within a whisker of being arrested for

merely defending a maiden’s honour. I also

recall sitting in the business class lounge at

the PE airport (named after H.F. Verwoerd

at the time, a nasty little habit that the new

regime has borrowed with gusto) in the

1980’s and wondering why Jeremy Cronin

was sitting there sipping his first class

whisky and reading a bourgeoisie newspa-

per, whilst the peasants thought he was

slumming it in economy class and reading

the Communist Manifesto. I think that the

least ostentatious politician southern Africa

has ever had was Ian Smith. Yes, I know

that he presided over a “fascist and racist”

government, but I have also realised that he

was a product of his time and a victim of

circumstance, and he followed what he

naively thought was his destiny. But I have

been told that he drove a small car and that

when he walked down the streets of

Salisbury or Bulawayo, that he did not

need or did not want bodyguards. That

delightful fellow Mugabe should try this –

I don’t think he’ll get one hundred yards in

one piece.

It would be nice if our politicians could fol-

low Ian Smith’s example, and to serve the

people rather than themselves, but alas, it

appears that when the latest lot was sworn

in, their first thought was not the people,

but what big black BMW or Mercedes-

Benz they could buy, and what sound sys-

tem upgrade was available. I have a serious

problem with this, and so should the elec-

torate. I know that my article will not

change the situation, but at least I have got

it off my chest. And now you can under-

stand why I respect Borat and Brüno far

more than our politicians.

by Fingal Wilde

The Yin and the Yangof Chevrolet

Chevrolet probably has one of the most interesting histories and in 99 years it hasgone from being a quintessentially American brand (albeit named after a Swiss ofFrench descent) to being a largely Korean-based company making affordable cars forGeneral Motors’s world market.

How did it happen? We’re

about to tell you, but the

bottom line is that

Chevrolet’s future – and in a

way that of the new General Motors – was

unknowingly secured thanks to them tak-

ing a majority share in Daewoo Motors

from the giant Korean conglomerate at

the beginning of this decade in the wake

of the late 1990s financial meltdown

which saw Daewoo collapse under huge

debt. In less than 10 years it has all come

full circle and GM’s 50.9 percent stake in

GM Daewoo looks likely to be a key fac-

tor in the future of the holding company.

Race driver Louis-Joseph Chevrolet and

early motor industry entrepreneur Billy

Durant were co-founders of the Chevrolet

Motor Car Company in 1911. Durant

had founded GM via Buick and

Oldsmobile three years earlier but was

forced out of the company. Undettered,

he set up Chevrolet and their 490 - intro-

duced in the middle of 1915 as an alterna-

tive to Ford’s Model T - put Chevrolet on

the map and eventually led Durant back

to the GM fold. It became part of GM in

1917 and was soon the corporation’s best-

selling brand.

In the early 1960s, Chevrolet broke some

kind of production record almost on a

weekly basis and talking of records, while

Chevrolet wasn’t first with a V8 engine,

they arguably perfected it. The small-

block Chevy bent eight was introduced in

1955 and continued to evolve into the last

decade of the century. It is deservedly con-

sidered to be one of the greatest power-

plants of all time and more than 65-mil-

lion have been built in 10 displacements.

Chevrolet was first seen on SA’s roads in

1919 and in those early years there was a

good chance that every sixth car coming

the other way would be wearing a bowtie

(and every third one would be a GM

product). Because Chevrolet was

American and therefore left-hand-drive, it

came to pass in the 1960s that most of the

cars so branded in South Africa were

sourced from either Europe or Australia.

The larger cars – Kommando and

Constantia – were Auzzie Holdens in dis-

guise while the Firenza was based on the

Vauxhall Viva.

The ultimate Firenza was the home-grown

Can-Am, powered by a 5,7-litre Chevrolet

V8 and born almost exclusively out of a

need to build a production-based race car.

And of course those with long memories

will remember the Nomad - not to be

confused with the Bel Air station wagon

of the same name - which makes a strong

case for itself as SA’s first ever SUV. And

then there was the Ranger, a brand which

was neither fish nor fowl but briefly

cashed in on our patriotism by being sold

as ‘South Africa’s own car’.

The 1970s was the era of "braaivleis,

rugby, sunny skies and Chevrolet", which

was a local twist of an American advertis-

ing jingle. It helped to make the Chevrolet

2500/3800/4100 range a best-seller in an

era where car marketing targeted white

males almost exclusively. A mix of Opel

Rekord and locally-made Chevrolet

engines, the range was significant in that it

sounded the death-knell of the latter

brand and the rise of the former. By 1982

Chevrolet was no longer officially avail-

able and Commodores and Senators

became Opels briefly before disappearing

completely, and you couldn’t buy a car

with a bowtie here until 2002, when the

Lumina was launched.

This was ultimately the result of the

GM/Daewoo connection which goes back

to 1972, when The General started assem-

bling vehicles in South Korea as part of a

joint venture with Shinjin Motor, a rela-

tionship which has ultimately evolved into

GM Daewoo – from where the majority

of our Chevrolets are now sourced. Today

South Africans still buy Chevrolet Sparks

which can trace their lineage directly to

the Daewoo Matiz while the likes of Aveo

and Optra are very much the product of

Eastern rather than Western thinking.

It would seem the new Chevrolet is bed-

ding itself down quite well in the psyche

of 21st century South Africans though.

While other brands in the local GM stable

are clearly downsizing (there’s not much

left of Opel, truth be told) the thrust is

very clearly behind Chevvy’s mix of

affordability, reliability, and space.

The acid test will come in the form of the

Cruze, which is currently being launched

into the highly-competitive C-segment,

with the Corolla buyer firmly in its sights.

Spiritually at any rate, it could represent

the start of a new era of "braaivleis, rugby,

sunny skies and Chevrolet".

by Adrian Burford

B u r f o r d o n B r a n d s

69S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 9

C o r p o r a t e C o n s c i e n c e

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 970

Patrick Latouche, General Manager

Sparepro, the driving force and

guiding light behind Sparepro’s cor-

porate conscience ventures, used the func-

tion to recommit the company to assisting

the surrounding community, and defined

the previous year’s efforts as “seeds on the

ground” which, despite some setbacks, are

now bearing fruit. Speaking from the

heart, he appealed to the 12 Sparepro

sophomores to use this opportunity to

change their lives for the better, but to

never forget where they came from, as one

day they will also have the opportunity to

help others, and in so doing, to make the

world a better place. He also told the

sophomores that whilst Sparepro can take

them to the water, it was up to them to

drink. The term sophomore was chosen

because this is Sparepro’s second year of

helping young women. Jennifer van Wyk,

HR/Client Liaison Sparepro, echoed

Patrick’s sentiments, saying that whilst last

year’s endeavours were not 100% success-

ful, there were successes, and that

Sparepro was not giving up on their com-

munity and will continue to help. She

appealed to the young women to ask

themselves five life questions:

1. Where do I come from?2. Who am I?3. Why am I here?4. What is my potential?5. Where am I going?She also passed on some advice from Vani

Chetty, Director of Sparepro and the

women’s mentor, to focus on the three C’s:

Concentration, Consistency, and

Cooperation. Pastor Gloria, the guest

speaker, spoke of the choices one has in

life, and the very important choice of not

letting life’s circumstances affect your

future. She pointed out that to be happy is

hard work, and that nothing of value

comes easily. She also reminded everyone

that to struggle develops character, and

that the important thing is to respect

yourself, respect others, and to always

remember that you reap what you sow.

She ended by encouraging the young

women to make a difference – if one helps

two, and those two help another two, and

so on, the world will be a great place. It

was with this inspiring advice that twelve

young women went on their ways, to

school, jobs, life skills training, and on the

path to making a difference.

I am MeSaturday 8th August 2009 was an auspiciousday for the women of South Hills, asSparepro consolidated its Outreach Pro-gramme, utilising National Women’s Day as thefulcrum to make a difference in people’s lives.The 2008 function focused on “Change fromWithin”, and the 2009 function took it onestep further with the theme “I am Me”

the Dinokaneng Singers

this gift had an uplifting sentiment

Pastor Gloria

Rajan Govinden of Brago Logistics. BragoLogistics is one of the companies that will betaking on a sophomore for on the job training

Dinokaneng was established to help HIV pos-itive sufferers, and knocked on many doors forhelp. The door that opened was Sparepro.Sparepro assisted Dinokaneng with access tothe Department of Welfare, and providedoffices and equipment. Jackie of Dinokanengacknowledged this help with a certificate pre-sented to Patrick Latouche, General Manager,and Vani Chetty, Director.

the 12 sophomores and the Sparepro Outreach Committee

H o g g ’ s W a s h - by Gilbert Hogg

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 972

South Africa’s PrimeExports

If Andrew Strauss was a mincing cricketer from Australia, he would be called a WaltzingMatilda, but he is ours. Born in South Africa, so we are laying claim to him. He may beplaying for England, in fact leading them, but I still consider him as on loan to one ofthe less talented cricketing nations. We’ve doing this for years, you know. John Vorsterstarted the rot, by letting Basil d’Oliviera slip through our fingers.

This was the start of the exo-dus, and most left because ofthat most unwanted of inter-ference by those without thetalent or ability to actually

play cricket at a high level – politicians andadministrators. Just look at the unedifyingbehaviour of the CSA top brass becausethe Gauteng guys wanted a peek at a con-tract (which sounds like a reasonablerequest to me). This will create a furtherexodus, just mark my words. But back toour prime exports, mainly to England. Welent Kepler Wessels to Australia, but themajority of our exports have gone toEngland. The list is long, and withoutmuch thought many come to mind; TonyGreig, Ian Greig, Alan Lamb, Chris Smith,Kevin Pietersen, and of course, our cap-tain, our captain Andrew Strauss. Now it isJonathon Trott’s turn. We do trot themout. The one thing these fellows with tof-fees in their mouths can do, is talk. It isthus, as a celebration of cricket and ourprime exports, that I give you a speech sentto me on the internet. The speech is byone Stephen Fry, at a benefit dinner forAndrew Strauss on the 16th July 2009.Here it is, in all its glory, totally unedited.I think that any cricket lover will enjoythis.

“Thank you ladies and gentlemen, thankyou very much indeed. It is an honour tostand before so many cricketing heroes fromEngland and from Australia and at this,my favourite time of year. The time whenthat magical summer sound comes to ourears and gladdens our old hearts, the wel-come sound of leather on Graham Swann.I have been asked to say a few words - wellmore than a few. "You've twenty minutesto fill," I was firmly told by the organisers.20 minutes. Not sure how I'll use all thattime up. Perhaps in about ten minutes orso Andrew Strauss would be kind enoughto send on a physio, that should kill a bit oftime.

Now, many of you will be wondering bywhat right I presume to stand and speak infront of this assembly of all that is high andfine and grand and noble and talented inthe world of cricket, and to speak too inthis very temple of all that is historic,majestic and ever so slightly preposterousand silly in that world? I certainly can't layclaim to any great cricketing achievements.I can't bat, I can't field, I bowl off thewrong foot. That sounds like a euphemismfor something else, doesn't it? "They say hebowls off the wrong foot, know what Imean? He enters stage left. Let me put itthis way, he poles from the Cambridge endof the punt." Actually as a matter of fact,although it is true in every sense that I havealways bowled off the wrong foot. I havedecided, since Sunday, to go into the het-erosexual breeding business. My first threesons will be called Collingwood Fry,Anderson Fry and Monty Fry. That's iftheir mother can ever get them out, ofcourse. But back to the original questionyou so intelligently, if rhetorically, asked. IfI can't play, what can I do? I can umpire,I suppose, after a fashion. A fashion thatwent out years ago around the time of thosetwo peerless umpires, perhaps some of youare old enough to remember them, JackCrapp and Arthur Fagg. I remember them.I remember them every morning, as a mat-ter of fact: Crapp and Fagg. Though now,sadly, the law says we can no longer do it inpublic places. And I believe that may evenapply to smoking too. Anyway. We were onthe subject of why I'm speaking to you. Idon't play. I'm not even a cricketing com-mentator, journalist or writer. I supposethe only right I have to be amongst you, thecricketing élite, might derive from mybeing said to represent, here in the LongRoom, all those who have spent their livesloving the game at a safe distance from thesquare. It is love for the game that bringsme here. In the forty-five years that I havefollowed cricket, I have seen it threatenedfrom all sides by the horrors of modern life.

The game has been an old-fashioned blush-ing maiden laid siege by coarse and vulgarsuitors. A courtship pattern of defence,acceptance, capitulation and finallyabsorption has followed. When I startedwatching, A. R. Lewis played for and cap-tained England as an amateur. The gamecould never recover surely, from beingforced, against the will of many of thosewho ran this place, being forced to becomesolely a professional sport? I am just oldenough to remember too the BasilD'Oliveira affair in all its unsavoury nas-tiness: the filth of racism and internation-al politics was beginning to stain the purewhite of the flannels. The one-day-gameappeared, shyly at first. The balance of batand ball, essential for cricket to make anysense as a sporting spectacle, became threat-ened, everyone agreed, by the covering ofwickets which would privilege batsman,and then that necessary equipoise wasthreatened the other way by the arrival ofextreme pace and the pitiless bouncer. Thelook and style of cricketers was apparentlyforever compromised by helmets and elasticwaisted trouserings hideous to behold.Cane and canvas pads were replaced bywipe clean nylon fastened by Velcro. KerryPacker arrived and sowed his own blend ofdiscord. The continuing rise and mutationof one day cricket caused panic fromWindermere to Woking as white balls andcoloured pyjamas threatened the sanity ofTelegraph readers everywhere. Rogue SouthAfrican tours caused alarm and frenzy.Pitch invasions marked an end of the dayswhen schoolboys could lie on their tummiesby the boundary-rope filling in a greenscoring book, until they got bored whichthey inevitably did, all except the speccyswatty ones who were laughed at and arenow running the world. The rest of us weretoo busy asking the man in the PublicAnnouncement tent to put out a messagefor our lost friends Ivor Harden, HughJanus, Seymour Cox and Mike Hunt. Oneturbulent decade began with John Snow

H o g g ’ s W a s h

73

getting barracked and bombarded withtinnies and ended with batsmen gettingbounced and sledged. Cameras and micro-phones got closer and closer to the action tooverhear the insults and demystify thebowling actions. The art of spin had disap-peared, for ever, some believed. Cricketers’wives wrote books about the overseas tours.Reverse swing seemed to arrive out ofnowhere: "Not only does he bowl off thewrong foot. They say he swings it the otherway." Ball tampering became a matter ofdinner party chat from Keswick toCanterbury. Clever 3-D images werepainted on the grass round about the longstop area advertising power generationcompanies no one had ever heard of.Advertising was not only to be seen on thegrass, but on the clothes, Vodafone andCastlemaine were stitched bigger andbrighter on the shirts than the three lionsand the wallabies and that mysterious sil-ver feather that Kiwis seem so unaccount-ably fond of. The county game was rentasunder into leagues and divisions that noone really understands; the politics andgovernance of cricket, with its contractsand coaches, its bloated fixture lists andauctions of broadcasting rights causedhand-wringing too, though many wouldrather it were neck-wringing. Meanwhile,drugs, drinking binges, embarrassing textmessages and other scandals continued toerupt like acne on a teenager. South Africareturned to the fold as other countriesentered the club of test playing nations.Kenya, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. Two ofthose speccy boys who used to score at thesidelines got their revenge; their nameswere Mr Lewis and Mr Duckworth.

To the dictionary of acronyms and initialswere added ODI, T-20 and IPL.

Power plays and baseball style pinch-hitterswere swept in.

The old lady of cricket was getting a rightduffing up.

Yet, amazingly, none of these changes, pro-fessionalism, the covered wickets, helmets,day-night games, confirmed the dire prog-nostications of those who believed each onemight hammer a stump into cricket's frag-ile heart. For this same period of my crick-et watching life saw some of the greatestmatches in the game's history. The 1981and 2005 Ashes series, the Tied Test; a newaggression and boldness of stroke play thatno one could disapprove of. Scoring rateswent up and great batsmen emerged: Lara,Tendulkar and Ponting amongst manyothers. And miraculously, to keep the game

balanced, Warne and Murali showed thatfar from being dead, spin bowling wassupremely alive; even providing a new ballin the form of the doozra. Huge crowdsand rising popularity in fresh territoriesconfirmed cricket's health. Levels of fitnessand standards of fielding rocketed. And allthe while, the game's greatest expression,the 5 Day Test Match, led the way, provid-ing the greatest entertainment, the mostexcitement and the deepest commitmentfrom the players. All those mournful pre-dictions had come to nothing. The greatestof games had triumphed again.

But now, now, in the age of the internet,just as the great, great players of the pastten years have one by one started to playtheir farewell matches and leave the fieldfor ever, hideous new forces have been atwork. The newly emerged South Africabecame mired in scandal, intrigue andmisery as the new disease of spread-bettinglived up to its name and spread, spread likecholera through a slum. Grotesque emailsfrom professional umpires hit the head-lines; allegations of systematic cheating andmatch-fixing have become commonplace, adismal and lamentably organised ShopWindow for international cricket, its 2007World Cup seemed to lay the game low: anincomprehensible and dreadful tragedy inthe death of Bob Woolmer its ghastly andunforgettable legacy. As if that weren'tenough we were more recently treated to theembarrassing spectacle of cricket's governorscosying up to a Texan fraudster with a hel-icopter and a bigger mouth than wallet.

A new kind of bitterness has entered somequarters of the game as ex-players becomecommentators, columnists and journalistsand begin to turn on their erstwhile team-mates, dispraising the current players,pouring scorn on their technique and dep-recating their tactical nous. We have videoof course and can see that these punditsknow what they were talking about: histor-ical archive reveals that Boycott, Botham,Gower, Atherton, Willis, and Hussein werenever out playing a false shot, never shuf-fled across, never missed a captaincy trick,never dropped a catch, never posted a field-er in the wrong place and never bowled offline or off length in the entire course oftheir careers.

The benefits and the drawbacks of broad-cast technology bewilder us. Hotspots andHawkeye, referrals and replays, umpireshave never been more pressured andexposed and greater more seismically struc-tural questions have never been askedabout the meaning and spirit of the game.

The rewards are greater, the stakes arehigher, the price of failure more public andhumiliating.

So a hundred years on from cricket'sGolden Age of C. B. Fry here is anotherFry, searching for a way to toast a gamethat appears to have become, well, toast.

We could choose to believe that and retreatinto memories of an apparently innocentand gilded past. We could wash our handsof it all, or we could choose to continue tobelieve in the game. Not necessarily in itsadministrators, nor even its players, thoughmost of them in all divisions of the gameare proud and gifted. We could choose tohave faith in cricket. I for one do trulybelieve that the game itself, as first playedby shepherds in the south of England, thegame that spread to every corner of theworld, the supreme bat and ball competi-tion, the greatest game ever devised, willcontinue to provide unimagined pleasures,that true drama will once more come cen-tre stage, booting into the wings the tragedyand farce we have witnessed over the pastdecade in particular. There will be newscandals of course: that you can dependupon.

Undreamt of debacles, imbroglios, furores,brouhahas, crimes, rows, walk-outs andembarrassments are waiting around thecorner, quietly slipping the horseshoe intothe boxing-glove and preparing to give thegoddess Cricketina a sock in the jaw. Butnew geniuses, new historic last ball climax-es, new unimaginable heights of athletic,tactical and aesthetic pleasure await us too.It is up to the players to believe in the gameand the cricketing administrators to believein the players.

But most of all it is up to us to keep thefaith and be unashamed, be proud of ourlove of cricket. Here, in the very place thatis so often called cricket's Mecca , cathedraland temple, is the place for us all to pledgethat faith.

I do so happily as I raise a glass in toast, onbehalf of cricket lovers everywhere toAndrew Strauss in his Benefit Year and hiswonderful Team, to Ricky Ponting and hisfine tourists and to cricket itself.

For, to misappropriate Benjamin Franklin,Cricket is proof that God loves us andwants us to be happy. So then: raise yourglasses, to Strauss , England , Australiaand cricket.” Editor’s note: He could haveadded South Africa.

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 9

L I F E G O E S O N

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 974

a Reality CheckLife goes on, and so do these articles. At the Ford media breakfast onTuesday, 4th August, 2009, it was Tony Twine, Senior Economist andDirector of Econometrix, in his review of the South Africa automotiveindustry and its prospects, who gave us a reality check.

Ironically, or hopefully more accurate-

ly, a harbinger of better things to

come, I heard on the radio half an

hour before the breakfast that Ford

America’s July 2009 unit sales were 0,2%

up on July 2008 – the first monthly year

on year uptick for 19 months. Who cares

whether the “cash for clunkers” pro-

gramme had a big influence, it was still

good news, and I’m taking it as such. And

so should everyone, just to give us the

boost and momentum to take this further,

both in word and deed. Now for Tony

Twine’s reality check, which explains why

we are where we’re at, and why we still

have a way to go before we can burst into

song. Tony began his presentation by say-

ing that many economists are like magi-

cians, in that they deal in illusion. They do

not change reality, they simply conceal it.

This is why the current recession came so

suddenly on us; not because it just hap-

pened, but because it was a long time com-

ing, and we were merely not ready for it,

because reality had been concealed by the

vast majority of economic illusionists. The

current financial crisis has long, deep

roots, which we should have taken note of.

The Asian Tiger collapse eleven years ago,

the Y2K smoke and mirrors act at the turn

of the millennium, the consequences of

9/11 all should have been factored into our

crystal balls. It was how we reacted to these

crises that really did us in. Governments

promoted easy credit, asset price rises kept

the inflation impact out of CPI and PPI

measurements, and the bankers did their

Houdini act (temporarily, before reality

kicked in) by bundling high risk clients

with the better stuff. The illusion contin-

ued, through 2005, 2006, 2007, until in

2008 the house of cards came crashing

down. This precipitated the liquidity crisis,

as the banks, based on their discredited

behaviour, reacted predictably and threw

the baby out with the bath water. They saw

risk everywhere and promptly stopped

lending. This closing of the taps with an

oversized wrench saw the credit driven

markets come to a grinding halt, and pre-

cipitated a recession in the G7 countries,

and the consequences continued, as the

dominoes began to fall. The declining

demand for commodities meant negative

growth in developing countries, and unlike

other recessions, which at least had some

semblance of cyclical order, everyone fell

into the hole at once.

The good news is that the medicine has

been taken, and whilst the patient is still

groggy and largely comatose, 2010 should

see it coming out of the coma and to rise

unsteadily to its feet. From a global per-

spective, China and India appear to have

shrugged off the big hits, and even little

old South Africa has held its own in con-

struction, finance and services, with min-

ing and manufacture taking the strain. The

unfortunate side effect is that these two

key areas are major employers of unskilled

labour, which has meant rising unemploy-

ment. But things are looking up, with the

big bogey man being the household bank

debt: disposable income ratio still at an all

time high. We had similar scenarios on

1985 and 1998, but this time the amorti-

zation burden is acute. Thus Tony Twine

says that lowering interest rates is not the

solution, and that we basically have to

accept that any improvement will be grad-

ual. But improvement is around the cor-

ner, with Tony seeing the second quarter of

2009 as the bottoming out of the cycle,

and he predicts that the third quarter of

2009 will be the start of a slow and grad-

ual recovery. Not a V shaped recovery,

more like a U shaped recovery, but still a

recovery, albeit with a few false starts and a

bumpy ride with bad shock absorbers.

One of these bumps will actually be creat-

ed by the motor manufacturers themselves.

Whilst vehicle sales in the first half of 2009

were adversely affected by the scrooge like

behaviour of the banks, the second half

will not see demand met primarily because

of the reduction of inventories. Thus,

whilst the Econometrix model forecasts

NAAMSA unit sales at 380 000 units, the

actual figure will be more like 350 000

units. A sort of self-fulfilling prophecy!

Lets’ put all this behind us, as we feverish-

ly await 2010, 2011 and beyond. The

good times are just around the corner, and

who knows what surprises are in store. As

Tony Twine says, 2010 will make a mock-

ery of all forecasts – we haven’t been there

before.

by Austin Gamble

What’s the Buzz?

MISA LAUNCHESWOMEN’S FORUMThe Motor Industry Staff Association (MISA), a registered trade unionorganising in the retail motor sector, has launched a Women’s’ Forumto advance the interests of the female members in the retail motor sector. The Forum was launched at a breakfast session on 4 August2009 in partnership with Glenrand MIB and FEDUSA. RudaLandman was the keynote speaker and entertained and informed thedelegates with her presentation and the key message that within thework environment everyone basically only needs to be treated withrespect. The Women’s Forum will not be a trade union within a tradeunion and neither will it be an activist grouping at the cost of the otherMISA members.

The focus of the Forum is aligned with the MISA objectives as set outin the Constitution, as approved by the Registrar of Labour Relations.The Women’s Forum will focus on empowerment of women throughtraining, development and information sharing regarding preventativehealthcare, financial planning, raising awareness for a better understanding of gender equality, obtaining a balance between workand family life and aspects in the bargaining council main agreementimpacting on female members. As a trade union, MISA will obviouslytake the needs of their female members into account when preparingfor the industry wide collective bargaining process scheduled to com-mence early in 2010 and in future negotiations.

The ultimate goal of the Women’s Forum, through planned initiativesand programmes, is to ensure that women in the retail motor sector areempowered to be assertive, developed and trained to take charge of pro-motion opportunities and also understand that they are responsible andin control of their own destiny within a more just and decent society.

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 9

78

This issue of ABR is a little bit wordy, sowe have decided to give our readers amontage of the Bosch Golf Day, held atthe Centurion Country Club on Friday,7th August 2009. The proceeds of the daywent to charity, so all the fun was for agood cause. A picture tells a thousandwords, so here are many thousands ofwords, in vibrant technicolour:

All Work and No Play…………

I n d u s t r y U p d a t e

79

Gabriel Wings Takes to the Skies

The Gabriel Wings Aerobatic

Team are once again in har-

ness, and as part of the

incentives offered by

Control Instruments Automotive,

their distributors are now hosting

their own Gabriel Wings Displays for

their valued customers. It was Parts

Incorporated Africa’s turn on 14th

August 2009, and on 21st August

2009 Imperial Auto Parts played host.

Rand Airport was the scene of the

exploits, as the guests toasted the

action dished out by Team Leader

Scully Levin, and his intrepid band of

fellow travellers with their flying

machines, comprising Arnie

Meneghelli, Stu Lithgow and Ells

Levin. The champagne and orange

juice flowed, followed by a hearty

breakfast, and culminated in a lucky

draw whereby an elite handful got the

chance to experience aerobatics up

close and personal, with a private and

“hands-on” one on one demonstra-

tion of aerial ballet, at the feet as it

were of aerial masters. Cold but glori-

ous weather greeted the guests on the

14th and 21st of August, which

allowed for an enthralling spectacle,

and for a few brief moments time

stood still, as the skies were cleared by

the control tower, and the experience

of a lifetime took centre stage.

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 9

Imperial’s lucky guests were Rajen Nundlal of theequally appropriate name of 727 Motor Spares; Gerald

Bezuidenhout of Replacement Parts; and Willie vanRensburg of Supa Motor Spares. Here they are briefed

by Brian Emmenis of Capital Sounds, and the Voice ofSouth Africa’s Air Shows

Grant Fraser from CI Autostands in front of the

award winning photo-graphs that he took himself

Pilot Arnie Meneghelli helps Johan Visser of De GraafUnder-Car with his harness, as Christopher G.Middelwick looks on anxiously

Gerhard Braun, NationalSales Executive, MidasGroup, rallies his troops

Pieter van Deventer, Sales & Marketing Executive,Imperial Auto Parts, spoke of when he earned hisGabriel Wings

Arnold Muller of the appropriately named Aero CityTyres; Chad Tucker from Supa Quick Greenstone; pilot

Stu Lithgow; and Paul Schadler of Hi-Q Wynberg,before the flight

Gabriel have added a stunning black liveried PittsSpecial to their flying troupe

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 980

The Timken team was dominant

in 2008, but 2009 was proving

a challenge, with the other

teams having upped their game

from the previous season, and just turning

up for the race was no longer an option.

Team Timken were no longer the kings of

the hill, so they decided to really go for it

at Zwartkops, and prepared and practiced

extremely hard for four days in the week

before the event. Hennie Groenewald told

ABR that the team was very happy with

the preparation, and knew that they were

going to be competitive, but that the proof

of the pudding would be on race day.

Qualifying confirmed Hennie’s gut feel,

with Team Timken taking pole position

and third spot on the grid with some blis-

tering times around the tight track, and

Hennie cracking the one minute barrier

with a lap time of 59.918 seconds, and

Richard Pinard just being pipped to the

post for second position by Marc Auby, the

championship leader. The weather was

perfect for some great racing, and that is

what the crowd got. The team was hoping

for a one two in the first race, but unfortu-

nately Richard was taken out by Jaco

Correira who was attempting “an ambi-

tious overtaking manoeuvre” through the

hairpin, which forced Richard to retire

from the race. But Hennie kept the

Timken flag flying with a close to flawless

run from start to finish, apart from some

hairy moments caused by oil on the track

at the self same hairpin, and having to slow

down when the safety car was deployed.

With only half the job done, the team was

determined to do even better in the second

race, and having banked tyres during the

season, they had the benefit of new tyres

and thus came out smoking. This was con-

firmed by the Timken cars doing the two

fastest laps (1.02.024 for Hennie and

1.02.037 for Richard), and if not for a yel-

low flag on the first corner, and Richard

being gently nudged off the track on lap

seven, it could have been a one two. When

Richard was pushed off on lap seven and

had to drop back to sixth place, he had to

gather his composure and utilise the

remaining eight laps to make up, which he

did superbly, pushing Deon Auby all the

way on the final two laps, coming in a

credible third. This time, Hennie had to

win the hard way, starting seventh on the

grid (the inversion rule being cut from 5%

to 2,5% because of the tight track) and

working his way through the field to sec-

ond spot and then chasing leader Franco di

Matteo for a good few laps before Lady

Luck intervened with di Matteo suffering a

broken side shaft. With the championship

position extremely tenuous, Hennie said

that all his passing manoeuvres had to be

“careful and cautious”, as the Zwartkops

track is tight and does not take prisoners,

especially when it comes to cowboy

driving.

At the end of the day, it was not totally

mission achieved, but two wins for Hennie

and third for Richard in the second race is

nothing to be sneezed at. The guys are now

looking forward to Phakisa on the 5th

September, and are hoping to take the

Zwartkops momentum with them, and

though Hennie realises that it is almost an

impossible task to win the championship,

he is not going to die wondering. Both

Hennie and Richard agree that once again

preparation will be the key, and they assure

ABR that they will not be found wanting

in that department. Richard Pinard, in his

role as team spokesman, congratulated the

support staff on a job well done, and

thanked Timken for their generous

support to the team, and their tremendous

commitment to motorsport in South

Africa.

F r o m t h e C o c k p i t

The omens were there during practice, andconfirmed during qualifying. Practice makesperfect, and this maxim was once againproved at the Sasol Race Day 2009 at theZwartkops Racing Circuit on Saturday, 15thAugust 2009, when during Round Six of theWesBank Super Series V8 Championship,Team Timken came out tops.

Richard Pinard displaying his never say die approach

Hennie Groenewald and Richard Pinardhappy after a one three in the second race

Hennie Groenewald turns it on with his smooth driving style

Team TimkenBack to Form

F a s t W h e e l s

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 982

Who could have ever forecast the unpredictability we have seen inFormula 1 this year? At the start of the season it was going to be arepeat of the McLaren versus Ferrari slugging match. That is what weall said. How wrong we were.

Along came some new boys in the form of the Brawn GP

Team and thanks to the masses of their Formula 1 experi-

ence they cleaned up. Red Bull did the same with the

German, Sebastian Vettel, the new young face of Formula 1, start-

ing to win as well after a few races. Then his team-mate Mark

Weber from Australia after 8 years of trying, won at the

Nurburgring despite a drive-through penalty imposed by the stew-

ards. Comes another no-passing circuit in Hungary, and guess

what? McLaren and Ferrari with Lewis Hamilton and Kimi

Raikkonen, get stuck into each other and finish 1 / 2 with Weber

and the German, Nico Rosberg, in tow. A little bit late maybe for

Hamilton to defend the title he won in 2008 but evidence that

some teams have started to catch up. Some teams meaning

McLaren and Ferrari, Toyota who started the year well faded, and

have now started to score points again. Renault is getting better

thanks to the brilliance of Alonso. Force India even showed signs

of getting their act together. Toro Rosso haven’t shone anything

like their sister team Red Bull pair in their Adrian Newey designed

cars. Williams are always fast. Surprising is that after setting up

good times in practice, they haven’t won a race yet. BMW after a

good start as well in Aus have - even with their two super quick

drivers - fallen apart for some unknown reason.

That is what has been happening on the track. What about off it?

Renault have been penalised to miss Valencia after they lost a wheel

at the Hungaro Ring. They have appealed this decision. BMW is

departing the scene at the end of the year citing the current state

of the motor industry and lack of profits their reason for pulling

out. They will however still be involved in touring cars and super-

bike world championship competition. Massa after his horrific

accident and miraculous recovery, wants back in the driving seat of

his Ferrari but looks unlikely to return until much later or maybe

only at the beginning of 2010. In the meantime Ferrari, who pay

seven times World Champion, Michael Schumacher to act as a

consultant to the team, have asked him to drive their car for the

next three meetings – if his neck muscles can take the G-Forces of

a Formula 1 car. He hurt his neck in a superbike race accident.

Yes, he can practice in a 2007 Ferrari with GT2 slick tyres (differ-

ent for Formula 1) said the teams, who voted this decision. The

main reason is that it could put some life back into the racing and

bring fading TV audiences up to acceptable numbers and swell the

gates. ‘No’ – says Frank Williams - who couldn’t give a toss about

the extra entertainment value Schumacher will bring to the sport.

‘It is unfair.’ Red Bull and Toro Rosso have also said ‘No practic-

ing in the current vehicle with the latest slicks’. Schumacher hasn’t

raced on slicks for years. In the meantime the greatest driver in

history is shedding weight and training to be race fit if his current

fitness is not enough. He is now racing karts. Who cares if

Schumacher finishes in front or down the pack? Just his very pres-

ence with his red helmet poking out of the cockpit of this red car

will be enough to bring the fans back just to see him drive.

Bernie Ecclestone’s Concord Agreement through to 2012 has been

signed after a few years of bartering. This means peace has started

to reign in Formula 1, thank goodness, amongst the teams, Fota

and the FIA. Max Mosley leaving his presidency of the FIA in

October, has also helped this decision as a “Revised Expenses

Capping” programme has been proposed. Driver-wise, rumour

says it looks like Kimi Raikkonen will depart the F1 scene for

world championship rallying. He was 16th in the rally in Finland

when he rolled his S2000 Fiat Abarth rally car. Makes sense. I

remember when the Fiat Group’s policy used to be Fiats for

Rallying, Alfa Romeo for saloon car racing and Ferrari for Formula

1. Maserati also now race their GT cars in a series.

The BMW driving duo of Heidfeld and Kubica would be great in

saloon car racing but the talk is that they will also try their hand at

rallying. Kubica is easier to accommodate for this decision as he

owns a powerful Mitsubishi EVO rally car. Vettel, they say, would-

n’t mind rallying as well in a Works Citroën at top level. The final

point this month is - please FIA – lock up all the Formula 1 Race

Stewards in a dark room without a TV set when a Formula 1 GP

is on the go. This will stop them handing out penalties which can’t

be reversed during the Grand Prix. They have spoilt so many

events over the years.

by Roger McCleery

UNPREDICTABLE FORMULA 1 IN 2009

1. Marius Roberts.

2. 1957.

3. The GSM Dart and Protea.

4. Curtis Veeder.

5. Stan Barrett in 1979 at 739.6 mph or 1182 kmh in a Rocket Car.

Did only one run, which didn’t count as a world record.

6. Bentley.

7. France.

8. Kostas Tsiknas.

9. John Love of Bulawayo.

10. David Piper.

11. Herbert Austin.

12. Martin Aston.

13. Ferrari’s wife used to walk around the factory abusing the managers.

14. A hundred car pile up which killed 3 people and injured 120.

15. Ford Anglia 105E.

16. Nash, Hudson and Kelvinator.

17. John de Lorean.

18. Polly Shorts in 1966.

19. Toyota Avensis.

20. To provide employment for the impoverished people in the Eiffel

Mountain region of Germany.

Answers From page 66

83S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 9

MY READERS HAVE DELIVERED

T h e L a s t W r i t e s by Baron Claude Borlz

Kids Are QuickTEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North

America . MARIA: Here it is. TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered

America ? CLASS: Maria.

TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multi-

plication on the floor?

JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables.

TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell'crocodile?'

GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L' TEACHER: No, that's wrong

GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but youasked me how I spell it.

(I Love this kid)

TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for

water?

DONALD: H I J K L M N O.

TEACHER: What are you talking about?

DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.

TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we havetoday that we didn't have ten years ago.

WINNIE: Me!

TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty?

GLEN: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.

TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with ' I. '

MILLIE: I is..

TEACHER: No, Millie........ Always say, 'I am.'

MILLIE: All right... 'I am the ninth letter of the

alphabet.'

TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped downhis father's cherry tree, but also admitted it. Now, Louie,do you know why his father didn't punish him? LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand.

TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers

before eating?

SIMON: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook.

TEACHER: Clyde , your composition on 'My Dog' is exactly

the same as your brother's. Did you copy his?

CLYDE: No, sir. It's the same dog.

TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person whokeeps on talking when people are no longerinterested?

HAROLD: A teacher

Hoe legendes beginIn Engeland - Once upon a time...

In Amerika - Long, long ago...

In Suid Afrika - Onthou jy daai aand toe ons so gesuip was..

KoosKoos en Mike sit in die kroeg. Dit is alombekend dat Koos diebeste bedeeld is op die dorp.

Mike: Koos, ek hoor jy het die grootste meneer op die dorp.

Koos: Mike, jy moet nie alles glo wat jou vrou jou vertel nie.

Die dokter ondersoek Koos se toekomstige vrou. Toehy klaar is, roep hy Koos eenkant.

Dokter: Kyk, dit is 'n lelike ding waaroor ons ongelukkig nou

moet praat.

Koos: Ek weet dokter, maar sy het baie geld.

Vraag: Hoekom neem Kubaanse atlete nie

aan roei-items deel nie?Antwoord: Alle Kubane wat kan roei woonreeds in Amerika.

MansGee 'n man 'n vis, en hy het iets om te eet vir die dag. Leer 'nman om vis te vang, en hy sit heeldag in 'n boot en suip.

MansWat noem jy 'n vrou wat 24 uur per dag weet waar haar man is?

'n Weduwee.

How to save on toilet paper

automotive business review september 2009

Documents