British company showcases an example of what is possible with the Jimny platform.
Suzuki must be aware that its Jimny would be even more popular and successful if there was a bakkie version.
Indications are that a five-door Jimny is being prototyped, and hopes remain of a loadbox version in future. But what if you can’t wait or deal with the uncertainly, and desire to have a single-cab Jimny now?
Well, your answer is to be found in the English countryside. More specifically, in Shropshire. This is where SuzukiJimnyPickUp’s David Johnson plies his trade, building single-cab conversions of the current and previous generation Jimny.
It might be strange to find that the world’s best single-cab Jimnys are built in England, where bakkies are generally unpopular. Johnson’s business is mainly targeted at farmers, who value the Jimmy’s small size and low-range 4×4 traction, in muddy conditions.
With its ladder-frame chassis and separate body, converting the Jimny into a single-cab bakkie is much easier than would be the case with a comparable unibody compact SUV or crossover. Johnson uses an aluminium and steel loadbox, which can be upgraded with a variety of canopy options or carrying rails.
There is no arguing that a single-cab Jimny looks terrific, its compact proportions and appearance being enhanced – instead of diminished – with the bodywork being cut in half. Johnson adds cargo intrusion protection to the single cab's rear window, with the choice of either a grid or thicker bars. Mindful of the ventilation issues that single-cabs can suffer, on those cold winter farm mornings, the rear window also features a defogging function.
Although the Jimny’s factory 1.5-litre petrol engine is left unmodified, customers have a choice of enhanced off-roading components as part of their single-cab conversion. Ride height can be incrementally raised, from 25- to 75 mm, allowing for much larger tyres.
Perhaps the most striking specification that SuzukiJimnyPickUp’s offer, is a mini-tractor version. It rides on the highest 75 mm lift-kit and rolls huge volume compact-tractor tyres. You can even add dual-wheel capability at the rear, with special wheels and hubs, to turn your Jimny single-cab into a true Suzuki tractor of sorts.
Pricing
Pricing for these Jimmy single cab conversions vary between an estimated R160 000 and R180 000.
Although its Chinese Gigafactory is running, with social distancing protocols in place, Tesla is experiencing frustration at its American headquarters.
The world’s most successful electric vehicle brand is not pleased with Californian authorities. Company CEO, Elon Musk, launched into a tirade of Tweets against local lawmakers, who are preventing Tesla’s Fremont production facility from reopening, amidst easing US lockdown regulations.
Production bottlenecks are an issue for Tesla, which has historically experienced difficulty in delivering vehicles to customers on time. Demand for Tesla vehicles have surged in the last few months, enabling the world’s most technologically advanced car-maker to post a Q1 profit in 2020, something very few rivals could match.
Most American assembly assets will be reviving vehicle production at various stages this month. Alameda County, where Tesla’s factory is, has stipulated a restart date for heavy industrial activity of 1 June. Musk is not happy.
A recent Tweet illustrated his displeasure. "Frankly, this is the final straw. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately."
Tesla has been rapidly expanding and many US States are offering it handsome incentives, realising that any Tesla office or production facility would mean quality local jobs. California remains the most attractive place to live and work for highly skilled engineers and researchers, which could make Musk’s threat of moving Tesla’s headquarters and R&D functions to Nevada or Texas, slightly complicated. Especially if his most valuable staff are unwilling to relocate.
With its American production having ceased for six weeks, and product demand remaining high, Tesla has no additional capacity to make up the shortfall. Every day its Fremont factory is not running, the lag becomes worse.
Expanding its product range will further pressurise Tesla’s production assets. The keenly anticipated Cybertruck is expected to enter production by 2021, but the longer Tesla’s Californian factory idles, the further the launch date of its bakkie could be delayed.
Musk’s strongest argument against the particularly strict Californian law, preventing workers from resuming 100% production capacity, is that Tesla has experience in dealing with a Covid-19 work environment.
The company’s Shanghai Gigafactory resumed production April and Musk’s argument has been that lessons learned from Tesla’s Chinese workers, could easily be applied to Californian production and social distancing.
In today's ultra-competitive and cutthroat car sales environment, which brands have the best salespeople? We consulted Cars.co.za's annual Ownership Satisfaction Survey – conducted in partnership with Lightstone Consumer – to find out.
Since 2015, Cars.co.za has conducted surveys with car owners to measure their perceptions of their respective purchasing-, after-sales- and overall ownership experiences. One output from these surveys is the prestigious Cars.co.za Consumer Awards – Powered by Wesbank, in which with 50% of the category scores are drawn from the survey results and the much-prized Brand of the Year Award is based entirely on market data, which includes this survey. Over the past 5 years, almost 30 000 car owners have completed the Cars.co.za Ownership Satisfaction survey; in excess of 10 000 of these were completed in 2019.
The survey also measures and tracks a wide range of issues of importance to South Africa car owners and much of this information is shared with manufacturers through an online dashboard, which is regularly updated. For the purposes of this analysis of the sales process; and for more representative results, we only included brands of which at least 150 owners had answered the questions pertaining to sales experience questions last year.
The purchasing experience
With an ageing product line-up, Isuzu's salespeople have to be on the top of their game to move metal.
Car owners who had recently purchased a new car were asked about their sales experience. A number of these questions relate directly to the salesperson they dealt with. These cover the salesperson’s professionalism, friendliness, (perceived) honesty, product knowledge, how well extras and add-ons such as insurance, on the road costs etc. were explained, as well as the salesperson’s overall communication.
The brand with the overall highest-rated salespeople during the 2019 survey year was Isuzu, with a score of 9.1 (out of 10). Toyota, Honda and Mazda all scored 9 out of 10, with Suzuki coming in at 8.9. It's interesting to note that the top 5 brands are all Japanese. Ford, BMW and Nissan (all with scores rounded off to 8.9) followed closely after.
Product knowledge
Digging into the sub-sets of data that make up the overall picture provides more fascinating insights; Isuzu's salespeople are once again rated tops (score of 9.2) when it comes to product knowledge (keep in mind the brand has a limited product line-up), but Toyota's second-place finish (9.1) in this section is particularly impressive given its vast and complex model range.
While the rest of the ranking closely mirrors the overall picture, it is worth noting that Mahindra makes an appearance in the Top 10 (8th, in fact) with a score of 8.9.
Isuzu's consistency
Isuzu's product line-up expanded to include the mu-X in 2018.
The Japanese marque can be justifiably proud of its dealership network. Its salespeople are not only ranked tops for product knowledge, but also for "friendliness", "explaining add-ons" and "overall communication".
Owners were also asked to consider, based on their sales experience, if they would be likely to recommend the dealership to their friends or family members. Using the Net Promoter Scoring (NPS) system, those rating 9 or 10 are considered Promoters and are highly likely to recommend the dealership while those rating 6 or lower are considered Detractors and are unlikely to recommend the dealership. The difference between Promoters and Detractors results in a Net Promoter Score.
The top five ranked brands in terms of the sales process are:
Isuzu
Mazda
Toyota
Suzuki
Ford
"Isuzu's excellent performance in the sales process is particularly impressive because it was part of the General Motors stable not so long ago – GM brands did not perform well in our survey," says Cars.co.za Consumer Experience Manager Hannes Oosthuizen.
"It is clear that the ability to focus on a single brand has been beneficial, in addition to selling a well-known product with few issues, but another contributing factor is that the company's entire existence depends very much on the dealership network's ability to move this product (D-Max) against much newer competition. This focus and determination will stand the brand in good stead once the all-new D-Max arrives in the future."
You read correctly. That is not a typo as Mercedes-Benz has launched a CLS with a 1.5-litre engine.
This model by Mercedes-Benz China has been created as an affordable CLS. Under the bonnet is a 1.5-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder motor which makes 135 kW and 280 Nm. Power goes to the rear wheels via a 9-speed automatic transmission and Mercedes-Benz claims this model accelerates to 100 kph in 8.7 seconds. It also has a top speed of 250 kph.
It wears the designation of CLS 260 and Mercedes-Benz claims a fuel economy figure of 7.2 L/100 km. As mentioned, it's a China-only model and there's no chance it will come to South Africa. Mercedes-Benz South Africa offers only 6-cylinder petrol and diesel engines on its CLS range with the CLS 53 AMG sitting at the top of the pile. The other model is the diesel-powered CLS 400d.
German aftermarket stylers get to work on Chinese crossover.
Chinese brand GWM has commissioned celebrated German aftermarket vehicle specialist, Brabus, to help its new luxury SUV brand gain some credence.
WEY is a sub-brand of GWM and its VV7 GT is the Chinese company’s attempt at a fastback crossover, which is a notable 200 mm shorter than its VV7 SUV sibling.
Built on the same platform as Haval’s H6, which South Africans are familiar with, the VV7 GT has now gained some additional image appeal, thanks to Brabus.
Although the German tuner is best known for its outrageous Mercedes-Benzes, it has applied slightly more subtle tuning to this Chinese joint-venture project.
For the WEY VV7 GT, industrial designers from Brabus have added a few strategically placed exterior styling upgrades.
Wider fenders help to house Brabus-edition 21-inch alloy wheels and give the VV7 GT a more purposeful stance. A remoulded bumper design replaces the factory items at both ends of the Brabus VV7 GT, and around the rear, there is a diffuser – which integrates large diameter exhaust ends.
Inside the WEY VV7 GT, Brabus has not applied its signature leatherwork or defined contrast stitching, leaving the Chinese crossover with its standard trim and finish.
Powering the Brabus VV7 GT is a 2-litre turbocharged petrol engine, boosting 169 kW and 387 Nm, driving either the front- or all four wheels, depending on specification.
Spy photos of disguised pre-production BMW M3s have been around for a couple of years, but this is the first time that we've been able to see (and hear!) the full M-car version of the G20-generation of the 3 Series driven in anger. We expect the production version to be unveiled before the end of the year.
Picture credit: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien. Video published on YouTube by Auto Addiction.
We are getting tantalisingly close to the full reveal of the G80-generation M3; BMW's M Division boss Markus Flasch has previously said the new G20 3 Series-based M3 would only go into production in late 2020, with cars arriving at dealers in early 2021 (but he did say that before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, we hasten to add). Our spy photographers have spotted the eagerly anticipated Bavarian sports sedan being testing at the Nurburgring (again) and late last year, the newcomer's rear was revealed by a spy photo that appeared on an enthusiast website.
BMW cannot really afford to delay the introduction of the M3 for much longer as the evocative (and recently updated) Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio stole much of the outgoing car's thunder (let alone the headlining GTA version) and the current 3 Series has been on the market for a good while. Our spy photographers suggest that the newcomer will adopt the oversized vertical (beaver-toothed, to be unkind) grille we saw on the BMW 4 Concept (revealed at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show). The controversial styling cue is widely expected to feature on the next 4 Series and, therefore M4, but the nature of the camouflage of this disguised pre-production car might just be a classic case of misdirection to keep nosey enthusiasts – let alone motoring writers – guessing.
We expect that the S58 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged 6-cylinder of the BMW X3 M and X4 M will be utilised in the next M3. That motor delivers 375 kW and 600 Nm in its Competition spec, but bear in mind that the M Division may want to keep a bit in reserve for hotter versions of the G80. The general consensus about the car featured in the Auto Addiction video is that it is fitted with larger-bore exhaust ends and consequently, sounds fruitier than the standard car will. It's possibly courtesy of an M Performance upgrade, but it might also be a Competition-spec M3 in the video…
The quartet of exhaust ends leaves no doubt that this is an unbadged G80-generation M3. Pic credit: Auto Evolve.
All that remains to be seen (apart from the shape of the new M3's double-kidney grille), is whether the car will feature the xDrive all-wheel-drive system (like the BMW M5) in conjunction with an 8-speed automatic (non-dual clutch) transmission. Given the standard sports sedan's executive-express model positioning and lofty expected power and torque outputs, it stands to reason that the initial version of the new M3 will effectively be "a much wilder M340i xDrive" (in a manner of speaking). However, it's been widely reported that a manual-gearbox version of the car will also be produced. Performance purists and a bunch of M traditionalists are hoping that rear-wheel-drive will be offered too, but perhaps only as a temporary switchable mode in the car's M drive-mode settings.
Auto Addiction also recently published a video of the upcoming G82-generation M4 being put through its paces. Watch it here.
Following the recent appearance of a spy photo of the Hyundai “Santa Cruz” double-cab, which will be introduced in the US next year, a Korean YouTube channel has published this render based on the stylistic details revealed in that image.
Earlier this week, we reported that even though the spy image was not of a completed, road-ready example of Hyundai's upcoming Alabama-built double-cab, the single side profile of the pre-assembled body revealed several cues carried over from the Santa Cruz concept (circa 2015) as well as elements of "parametric dynamics”, which are integral to the Korean manufacturer's new Sensuous Sportiness design language.
After a number of speculative renderings and spy photos, this is the first look at the bakkie in the metal. Image credit: Motor1.com.
You may remember that Atchacars – the YouTube channel of a Korean automotive artist – recently produced renderings of the boldly styled next-generation Hyundai Creta. Now they have produced this eye-catching render of the upcoming “Santa Cruz” 4-door leisure double cab based on the image that originally appeared on Motor1.com…
As expected, the render shows a bakkie with a truncated load bed and rearward-sloping C-pillars. Atchacars has integrated the upward-sloping rear window sill, which creates a kind of Hofmeister kink (again, with apologies to BMW) and accented the side glass area by blacking out the B-pillars and adding chrome-look window trim, which extends to a louvred/stepped backing plate, as well as an oh-so-subtle roof spoiler.
Atchacars imagines that the finished product will look quite sophisticated, replete with chunky alloys and chrome-look finishes.
What's more, the artist has incorporated the distinctive contours near the top of the front door – they reference "parametric dynamics" (radiating lines that converge at a central point) – as well as a pinched beltline. To round off the imagined profile of the “Santa Cruz”, the artist has added black cladding around the wheel arches, chunky 5-spoke dual-tone alloys and textured running boards, as well as dark-grey rear bumper garnishes.
In addition to our own earlier render (by Cars.co.za’s own Duwyne Aspeling), we have also seen spy photographs of a prototype testing in the snow. While most of the body is hidden from sight, there are some noteworthy learnings about the bakkie’s front and rear ends that can be gleaned from the spy images. Perhaps the most obvious feature is indeed the large, bold cascading grille that will likely be flanked by slim LED headlights.
Picture credit: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien. We've watermarked the image at our supplier's request.
It's commonly known that Hyundai plans to commence production of its new double-cab at its US plant, which also produces the Santa Fe, Sonata, and Elantra, next year. Most reports suggest that the Korean manufacturer is committed to bringing the concept’s Santa Cruz name to market and the newcomer will be a unibody vehicle (unlike local body-on-chassis 4-door bakkies) and exclusive to the North American market.
Car And Driver believes the finished product will share its underpinnings with the Santa Fe 7-seater SUV in our market: "Hyundai's plan for the Santa Cruz is as an affordable… choice for drivers who haul bulky, but not necessarily heavy items – think mountain bikes, kayaks, and camping gear rather than gravel, boats, and cinder blocks."
Our much earlier render of the upcoming Hyundai bakkie by Cars.co.za's Duwyne Aspeling.
Given its Santa Fe underpinnings the "Santa Cruz" is likely to feature the family SUV's engines in North America, which includes a 137 kW/241 Nm naturally-aspirated 2.4-litre petrol engine and a turbocharged, 175 kW/352 Nm 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, both fitted in conjunction with an 8-speed automatic transmission.
So while the light-duty bakkie may not be of great consequence to South Africa (at this stage, but Hyundai might decide to build RHD versions at its Ulsan plant in Korea later), why should we be intrigued by what the production version “Santa Cruz” could look like?
It's not often that a concept vehicle (let alone a 5-year-old one) looks this production-ready.
Well, it has been reported (by Australian title Which Carand other sites)that Hyundai is simultaneously developing a 1-tonne bakkie based on a ladder-frame chassis (in partnership with its sister-brand, Kia) for Australia and other markets, which will likely include South Africa – which is, as we know, a major market for bakkies.
Hyundai South Africa has never hidden the fact that it would be keen to introduce a leisure double-cab – if one was available to us and a viable proposition; if little else, this "Santa Cruz" is likely to set the tone for the look of future Hyundai chassis-cab bakkies…
Calvin Fisher takes a closer look at an online car community in bloom in a time of self-isolation under national lockdown.
It happened on Facebook
There I was, scrolling through my newsfeed, when I saw something at once alien – but familiar. An array of attainable 4-wheeled road machines gathered in a parking lot – warmed up and stickered, from Mk1 Golfs to GTIs of various vintage, plus a collection of Honda Civics. Soon, older BMWs and AMG sedans rolled in, a few Japanese rear-wheel-drive coupes and roadsters (the likes of S2000s, Mazda RX7s and Nissan S13s) joined them. Nothing you wouldn't see at a local car meet, but the Forza logo in the bottom corner of the screen couldn't evade my suspension of disbelief any longer.
It was a live stream, I clicked on it and my TV speakers were immediately filled with car banter. At first, the chatter was general then quite specific. Races were being organized, drags and drifting, and several had a convoy planned just for kicks, and would soon head out and explore the twisting asphalt of, well, Britain. See, This is Forza Horizon 4, set in the UK. But don’t let that put you off.
Without being able to congregate in the real world, petrolheads are turning to online meetups.
Cars.co.za contributor and #CarsAwards judge Ernest Page is among this lot. Besides being a YouTuber, he has experience commentating at the weekly Robot Racing drag events at Killarney Raceway, so I wasn't surprised to find him doing the same here, just virtually. He has taken temporary steps substituting his usual Wednesday stream of real races with virtual ones. Emphasis on temporary. And this is still small-scale. “Top-flight drivers, F1 boys, big companies and sponsors, they're all looking closely at this new virtual way of doing races," he says.
It’s true, Formula One and NASCAR have been rapid adopters of the new reality. Other forms of sport have followed, but it hasn’t been without drama. Just look at what happened this weekend during a virtual IndyCar race when Indy driver Simon Pagenaud took out F1’s Lando Norris just as he was looking to take the win. It was deliberate, it was ugly, and now it has real-world ramifications… complete with death threats. Clearly it’s not just a videogame, because racing makes it real. And while the lockdown won’t be permanent, there’s no telling what the world of motorsport will look like when things go back to something resembling normality.
There was even drama in the Sim Racing world as Simon Pagenaud deliberately wiped out Lando Norris.
Money is being poured into this, and I predict a split between track and TV-based racing going forward. Professional drivers seem to have made the leap quite easily thanks to years of simulator training. But technology is a great equaliser and they’ll soon encounter 14-year old wunderkinder primed to put them in their place. Whether it’s in Gran Turismo, iRacing, Asetto Corsa, or whatever comes next, the world is their oyster, the factors have played into their hands courtesy of Covid-19.
But if you think the pros are just rolling up with regular controllers and keyboards you'd be sorely mistaken. Pundits are getting high-tech with their rigs, with integrated racing seats and wraparound screens, for example. If you've seen mods in pro drifting then it's probably happening here too with 900-degree angle steering wheels and oversized stick shifts. Just like in the real world, racing gets very expensive, very quickly. And whether races are being streamed on Twitch, Mixer, Facebook or YouTube, it doesn’t really matter. The public is starving for competitive racing and sport in general.
Local race ace Kelvin van der Linde's setup is something to lust after. He regularly competes online and appears to be just as fast there as in the real world.
It's not just about racing
I alluded to it earlier with my Forza example. The denizens of this virtual world are happy just to cruise around – a basic activity, now a privilege as a worldwide lockdown has confined us to our homes. It’s easy to see why, as real-world photographers and tuners also get in on the action. I myself, a car photographer and videographer, have lost hours – nay, days – to the photography mode in Forza. Then there’s the game’s extensive tuning and styling modes, both of which are time-eating monsters.
On that note, meet Rouen Abrahamse. We met over a decade ago during the drift remote-control car phase. He was already cutting and shutting, spraying and decaling-up custom Tamiya and Yokomo chassis and shells for himself and his crew. Fast forward to now, and he is producing slick liveries for several online racers. "It's therapeutic hey. And it tickles my love of Japanese cars, just like the RC cars did," says Rouen. "I doubt it will have a permanent effect on motorsport however as many disciplines have postponed their events for later in the year or as I saw in Japan, they are hosting pro Drift events without spectators. Sponsors-wise and financially, it will adversely affect drivers and teams. On the flip side, we are seeing a lot more e-sports leagues and events pop-up featuring the world's top pro drivers competing in official virtual races. James Deane drifts on Assetto Corsa on PC and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc emerges as a regular on the virtual podium."
Custom paintwork and liveries are a great way to show originality at a fraction of the real-life cost.
Before I go offline
By now, I've had my fill of cruising the virtual streets and so pulled into a parking lot to join another large congregation of cars. I've had the good fortune of joining most of the SentiMETAL events here in Cape Town and this immediately felt like that. A Dodge Viper took centre stage, flanked by a classic BMW 2002 and Audi ur-Quattro S2.
Fords in attendance included an RS200 rally thing, plus a Cosworth or two. A group of muscle cars soon grumbled and burbled their way into the group. Yet the most exciting car there had to be a rare (even digitally) Toyota 2000 stealing attention away from a handful of 80s era supercars. None of these were marred with stickers or after-market wheels. They're as they were originally cast. Fantastic.
Even in a video game where the sky is the limit, where virtual currency is depressingly more attainable than the real stuff, it's a pleasure to find that there are still collectors, enthusiasts who don't just go for the unobtanium, opting instead for cars that are important to them, cars that are meaningful. Yet, I'd argue that while the virtual world will never replace a lockdown-addled reality for petrolheads, it will certainly help sustain us. Videogames will save real cars and real car enthusiasts. Until we can drive freely again.
Introducing…The Cars.co.za Show! Welcome to the fourth (ever!) episode of our weekly 45 minute show. In this episode, we race the Toyota Hilux GR Sport against an ordinary Hilux, Ciro takes a Rolls Royce offroad and onto a skidpan, Ernest Page finds out if the BMW M5 will really drift, we retell the story of our very own Opel Superboss restoration and finally join three of South Africa's best surfers on a journey deep into the Eastern Cape.
We have been working towards this project for many years now – a proudly South African long format, multi-segment car show. A show which celebrates South Africa and our rich car history. We toyed with broadcasting on terrestrial television or launching on a streaming network, but with us so close to the finish line we got blindsided by the global Covid-19 crisis, which required a global lockdown.
Our talks, production and country halted. But this extraordinary moment in time also creates opportunity. With South Africa ordered to stay home, online content consumption is on the rise and content creation dwindling. As a company which takes great pride in being nimble, we simply couldn’t resist the urge to fill this content void and give South Africa, and the world, something beautiful to watch.
And so in a moment of inspiration, we decided to adapt our long-format car show concept, using some techniques that may have been unthinkable before lockdown, and get it ready in record time to release it for free to the world. With this show, we aim to entertain, inform, inspire and hopefully make our audience smile.
We have also committed to donating all revenue generated off our Cars.co.za YouTube channel for the rest of 2020 to charitable causes in support of the fight against Covid-19. For this show, all of our content was either filmed pre-lockdown or safely under lockdown conditions by our presenter himself – Ciro De Siena; it turns out a lounge and dining room can be an excellent TV studio.
New episodes will debut every Thursday at 8 pm and all episodes will remain on the channel indefinitely. From everyone at Cars.co.za, stay safe, stay home, look after yourselves, and each other.
New Lamborghini Huracan Evo Spyder Revealed
A new rear-wheel-drive Lamborghini Huracan Evo Spyder has been revealed and it looks phenomenal, as most Lambos do…
We are big fans of Lamborghini’s Huracan Evo (who isn't?) and this latest rear-wheel-drive Huracan Evo Spyder gives us one more reason to love this model. It brings the Hurcan Evo derivative count up to 4 and employs the same scintillating 5.2-litre V10 engine which offers 455 kW and 560 Nm of torque.
With a dry weight of just 1 509 kg and using a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission, this new Huracan Evo Spyder will rocket from zero to 100 kph in just 3.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 324 kph. That should do…
An electrical soft-top roof is fitted and can fold flat in just 17 seconds at speed up to 50 kph and customers can choose from a range of roof colours to match. 19-inch wheels shod with Pirelli P Zero tyres are standard but larger 20-inch wheels and carbon-ceramic brakes can be had as an option.
As far as pricing goes, the RWD Huracan Evo Spyder is priced from $229 428 which equates to well over R4.2-million at current exchange rates. As for local availability, 2021 is likely but COVID-19 will have the final say…
