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Official Mouthpiece of 20 It’s All Smoke & Mirrors 36 Slaughtering Scapegoats 40 Good is the Enemy of Great 45 Cash Rhino 71 Taking Parts to Newcastle 91 Zaugg adds the Midas touch The Phoenix Taking Charge of the Future South Africans are an innovative lot and have pioneering blood coursing through their veins. The prob- lem is that we tend to take our abilities and achievements for granted, as if it is our divine right to do things first and do things better, and that it is no big deal for us to lead the way. Our history is littered with deeds of derring-do, as our forebears cocked a snoot at obstacles that would have broken lesser nations, as they always found a way to do it, or made a plan, from our trekking days through to scaling the heights in mining, exploration, medical science, conservation, business, sport, you name it. We tend to take charge of our future with little fanfare and a minimum of fuss. ne recent example is portrayed on our front cover this bluntly, cheap rubbish masquerading as automotive parts. As our month. The AGM battery is a first in the southern new democratic nation struggles to find its feet, this is a growing hemisphere, so take that Brazil, take that Australia, problem. This problem can be partly blamed on economic neces- and take that wherever you are south of the equator, sity, but the more likely culprit is our tendency to approve bloody- Othe Springboks have done it again, and led the pack as usual. First mindedness, developed as we embraced pioneering habits, struggle National Battery, who were not coincidentally South Africa’s first credentials, and liberation over education. The short term conse- battery manufacturer, has taken the lead again in being the first quences, similar to the anarchy after the French Revolution, can be company in the southern hemisphere to manufacture AGM bat- dire, as illustrated in our AAMA Alert article on page 20 – read teries. AGM stands for Absorbed Glass Mat, which is undoubted- this to become a little bit wiser. ly the battery technology of the future, now that hybrid vehicles are becoming old hat and stop-start technology is being intro- One would think that ABR’s articles are all about boom and duced into modern vehicles. OEMs are knocking on the battery gloom. Not in the least. We offer various fare, which can be manufacturers’ doors and the aftermarket will soon be making its savoured from page 1 to page 92, all spiced with words in action. siren call. Read more on page 12. We are the must read of the month for the automotive aftermar- ket, and our webpage is rapidly becoming the fix of the day for the All good and well. But an unfortunate corollary, or by-product, of busy and inquisitive executive. ABR is the magazine for all seasons, South African’s propensity in pushing the envelope, is the darker so turn the page and get your fix! side of fascination with “alternative” product , or to put it more Whilst this issue of ABR is jam packed with information, our monthly contribution cannot do justice to the wealth of information available on a daily basis, so don’t forget to get your daily fix on our website. Make sure that you make regular visits to www.abrbuzz.co.za 2 September 2010 Contents 2020 1212 4848 4040 7878 2 The Phoenix 52 Customer C.A.R.E. 8 What’s the Buzz 54 Workshop Update 12 Cover Feature 56 Vehicle Launch 16 Personal Profile 58 Top Class Topics 18 Show TIme 62 Capricorn Insights 20 AAMA Alert 64 Burford on Brands 22 Product update 65 e-CAR 26 Auto Topical 66 The Golden Triangle 28 Frankly Speaking 68 Launch Update 30 Entrepreneurship 70 Industry Update 32 The Chery Story 71 Partinform 36 Tony’s Take 80 Vehicle Evaluation 38 Weighty Issues 81 Consumer Protection Act 40 Life Goes On 82 Workshop & Diagnostics 42 AIDC Quiz 86 Two Wheels 43 Tyre Talk 88 The Fink 45 Wilde Things 90 Fast Wheels 48 Intelli-Driving 91 Midas Sport 50 Tyre Safety 92 The Last Writes The publisher and contributors have done their best to ensure the accuracy of the articles and cannot accept responsibility for any loss or inconvenience sustained by any reader as a result of information or advice in Automotive Business Review. The information provided and opinions expressed in this publication 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 pub- lisher, except for the quotation of brief passages in reviews. Publishing Editor Horne, Gerhard E-mail: [email protected] Design and Reproduction Graham Erasmus Hogg, Gilbert Editorial Office j. Kraft Information Design cc Cell: 083 709 8184 Keeg, Howard 81 Alma Road, Wendywood Tel: 012 997 6946 McCleery, Roger Tel: 27 11 656 2198 Fax: 012 997 6987 Editors at Large Phitidis, Pavlo Fax: 27 11 802 3979 E-mail: [email protected] Alwyn Viljoen Twine, Tony E-mail: [email protected] Paul Collings Wilde, Fingal Website: www.abrbuzz.co.za Printing Business Print Centre, Pretoria Intelli-Driving Editor Published by Subscriptions and Data Eugene Herbert Trilogy Publishing Management Trilogy Trading & Promotion Correspondents Advertising Sales P O Box 69 Official Mouthpiece of Beeton, Frank Marlene Erasmus Wendywood 2144 Borlz, Baron Claude Cell: 082 837 2668 Tel: 27 11 802 6020 Burford, Adrian E-mail: [email protected] Fax: 27 11 802 3979 Foster, Gavin Graham Hudson-Lamb E-mail: [email protected] Gamble, Austin Cell: 083 325 4146 4 Photo Credits: Quickpics • Motorpics What’s the Buzz? RENAULT SPONSORS KNYSNA HILLCLIMB enault South Africa and The Knysna Hillclimb have confirmed that Renault will be the title sponsor of the 2010 event, to be held at the Simola Estate from R22 to 24 October. In a first for a local car manufacturer, Renault will also use the Hillclimb as the launch platform for several exciting new models, due for their local debut in October. This will allow the brand to actively participate in the event throughout the weekend. “Renault has a rich heritage of participation in a broad spectrum of motorsport, as well as producing exciting performance models under the Renault Sport banner,” says Xavier Gobille, Managing Director of Renault South Africa. “In that regard, the Knysna Hillclimb is a perfect match for the Renault and Renault Sport brands, which will be among those showcased during the event. We are looking forward to a close and mutually beneficial relationship with the Hillclimb and its organisers. Involving public with the prod- uct we have to offer is key to our business.” Knysna Hillclimb organiser Ian Shrosbree says the confirmation of Renault as the title sponsor of the Knysna Hillclimb is a great boost for the event. “Renault has shown a great deal of faith in the event by taking up the title sponsorship – it highlights the foresight and sporty genetics of the company. “This ethos is a good fit for the Hillclimb which, although only into its sec- ond year, is already one of the most talked about and popular events on the motorsport calendar.” 8 September 2010 What’s the Buzz? BIG INTERNATIONAL INTEREST IN AUTOMECHANIKA SOUTH AFRICA There was a great deal of interest by international exhibitors in the Automechanika South Africa promotional booth at the recent Automechanika Middle East automotive aftermarket trade fair in Dubai. The next local event will take place at Expo Centre from March 9-12, 2011. The director of the SA event, Philip Otto, manned the display personally and says he had strong interest in his event both from countries and companies that participated in the inaugural Automechanika SA in Johannesburg, last year and those that were not there, “The feed- back from those who exhibited in Johannesburg last year was very positive and it was great that a major automotive country such as France, which did not participate last year will have a national pavilion in 2011, while Malaysia that had only two companies display their wares in 2009 will have a national pavil- ion next year”. He added that the nine South African companies that exhibited in the SA pavilion in Dubai were positive about their participation and did substantial business deals. NAAMSA COMMENT ON THE CO2 VEHICLE EMISSIONS TAX REGIME EFFECTIVE 1ST SEPTEMBER, 2010 Reacting to an announcement by National Treasury that the CO2 new vehicle tax regime, originally intended to apply to new POWERFUL BUSINESS FOCUS passenger cars, would with effect from 1st September, 2010 be extended to include light commercial vehicles – Mr David FOR AUTOMECHANIKA SA 2011 Powels, President of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) said that the deci- CONFERENCE PROGRAMME sion was alarming and would result in negative and potentially serious consequences for the South African vehicle manufactur- The Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI) has announced that a major two ing, importing and distribution sectors as well as associated day RMI Conference will be staged during the Automechanika South Africa. In industries. A further matter of great concern was the impact of announcing the RMI’s Conference agenda for Automechanika SA, Jeff Osborne, the additional taxes on buyers of new cars and new light com- CEO of the RMI, stated that there were a number of pressing issues and great mercial vehicles. The additional cost to consumers would, on opportunities in the industry which need to be focused on and that the RMI average, be of the order of about 2,5%.