automotive business review june 2009

56 Braking the Sound Barrier

60 Life Goes On

68 Springs has Sprung

14 MISA Magic

27 Dropping a Stitch

32 Shock Treatment

ABR JUNE 1 2009:Layout 1 5/27/09 4:31 PM Page 2

ABR JUNE 1 2009:Layout 1 5/27/09 4:31 PM

T h e P h o e n i x

J u n e 2 0 0 94

Every now and then something weird and wonderful occurs which attracts my attention.Not weird in the strange and bizarre sense, but weird in the majestic and mythical sense.Just such a moment occurred in March 2009 at the Automechanika exhibition at NASREC.

ABR’s website is growing from strength to strength. This month’s issue; as well as previous issues; is available in itsentirety at www.abrbuzz.co.za, and this webpage is updated daily with the latest news and views. Read all about it

in South Africa’s most respected and most influential automotive aftermarket publication.

It was the sight of a trade unionexhibiting at a citadel of trade andcapitalism that intrigued me, andeven more intriguing was their artful

use of marketing and communication, tosuch an extent that they were judged as thetop stand out of 421 displays, and theirefforts were lauded as “outstanding inevery aspect in which an exhibition standis evaluated”. I was humbled in the realisa-tion that my perception of trade unionismwas not entirely correct and the recogni-tion that when anyone applies lateralthinking weird and wonderful things canhappen. This was the catalyst to have acloser look at MISA (Motor Industry StaffAssociation), and as I unpeeled this tanta-lising onion layer by layer, tears came tomy eyes, not from the pungency of theonion, but rather from a feeling of aweand wonder, and admiration for a trueDon Quixote effort by a great team of outof the box thinkers. Don’t get me wrong.Don Quixote has gone down in the annalsof literature as an impractical idealist, butany true scholar of the works of Spanishauthor Miguel de Cervantes will under-stand that with Don Quixote, deCervantes was really taking a serious andphilosophical look at the world of ordi-

nary people and casting a sharp eye onaccepted beliefs, reality, honesty, and chau-vinism. The true intent of the story lies inthe full title of the book “El IngeniosoHidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha”.Ingenioso means inventiveness, and this isthe essence of Don Quixote’s quest. Hewas tilting at windmills, but with inven-tiveness. This is also the essence of whatDana de Villiers and his team are doing.They are people who do not accept thestatus quo, and who refuse to be pigeon-holed. People who strive to fulfil theirmandate, not in an aimless and conven-tional way, but in a highly effective andimaginative way. They confront the reali-ties and they change perceptions. This isthe quintessential rationale behind the

byline “the intelligent alternative”, and thelinchpin for the aspiration of effective andresponsible trade unionism. It is based onthis understanding that ABR has allowedits much sought after cover to honour theinspiring team at MISA, and to give spaceto Dana de Villiers to answer two probingquestions, which can be found on page 14.

Talking about tilting at windmills, we alsointroduce in the June 2009 issue of ABR anew and exciting contributor, Theo Calitzof T-R-M (Total Relationship Manage-ment). Theo is going to focus on how toenhance personalised customer care andcustomer satisfaction, and this series ofarticles will complement and augment theTrilogy Customer C.A.R.E. Programmeintroduced in our April 2009 issue. Tohave two dedicated articles each month oncustomer care shows how seriously ABRtakes this subject, and judging by theshocking levels of service in this country,our readers may think that we are reallytilting at windmills, but we are made ofstrong stock, and we shall persevere inattempting to change the service culture inthis country, and particularly in the motorindustry. Go to page 28 to read Theo’spearls of wisdom.

Trilogy Publishing has been com-missioned by the RMI to pro-duce a prestigious edition of thehistory of the RMI, and a history

of the companies that contributed to thedevelopment of the South African auto-motive industry, in all its forms, over thepast 101 years. Scheduled for publicationin November 2009, the RMI 101 servesthe primary purpose of celebrating thecentenary of the Retail Motor IndustryOrganisation, whilst also informing theautomotive community of the role theorganisation plays today. The RMI 101issue has another exciting purpose – toprovide a forum for the who’s who of theautomotive industry to tell their stories,

and to contribute to this rich tapestry ofour pioneering history. The editorial copyshall be written by highly qualified andesteemed journalists assigned the task byTrilogy Publishing, with the welcome par-ticipation of the companies involved. Thecompilation of RMI 101 shall commencein August 2009, and is scheduled for com-pletion in October 2009, and distributionis planned for November 2009, as it willserve as a wonderful year end gift. We shallonly be allowing 101 companies, basicallyfirst come first served, so we recommendthat you indicate as soon as possiblewhether you wish to be involved in thisventure. Trilogy Publishing and the RMIwill truly appreciate an enthusiastic

response from the industry in compilingan accurate and magnificent acknowledge-ment of the pioneers of the automotiveindustry in our country and somethingworthwhile to serve as a memorablememento of our wonderful history.

Please contact Stanton PorterMarketing at 012 654 2745; orGraham Erasmus at 083 709 8184 [email protected] for moredetails on how you can participate atincredibly low rates. Don’t delay; thisopportunity only comes once every101 years!

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

Tilting at Windmills

Boardroom Edition of RMI 101


C o n t e n t s

1010 2222 4646

4 The Phoenix Tilting at Windmills

8 What’s the Buzz

10 Wilde Things The Dumbing Down of the World

12 Industry Icons Focus on Forsdicks

14 Cover Story MISA Magic

16 Tony’s Take The Zuma Cabinet of 2009

20 The Chery Story Chery Shines at Shanghai Motor Show

22 Frankly Speaking Dropping a Stitch?

24 Health Care Managing Your Health

26 Vehicle Evaluation Jiminy Cricket!

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

32 Managing the Risks Shock Treatment

34 Weighty Issues For Toyota Trucks, Read Hino

36 Auto Topical Automotive GDP Contribution Recovers

38 Personal Profile Q & A with Jacques Brent

42 Tyre Safety Tyres’ Contribution to Safety in Motoring

44 Diamond Dialogues Inferior Parts – the Consequences

46 Safety, Bling and Flying High

6

Publishing EditorGraham Erasmus

083 709 8184

Commercial Vehicle EditorAlwyn Viljoen

082 458 9332

Intelli-Driving EditorEugene Herbert

082 941 3785

CorrespondentsBeeton, Frank

Borlz, Baron Claude

Burford, Adrian

Gamble, Austin

Keeg, Howard

McCleery, Roger

Stadler, Johann

Twine, Tony

Wilde, Fingal

Published by:Trilogy Publishing

Advertising Sales:Stanton Porter MarketingTel. 012 654 2745


C o n t e n t s

7

4747 6969 7777

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.

Editorial Office:81 Alma Road

Wendywood

Tel 27 11 656 2198

Fax 27 11 802 3979

e-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.abrbuzz.co.za

Subscriptions and DataManagement:Trilogy Trading & Promotion

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Printing:

Business Print Centre, Pretoria

48 Transport History Stonehenge – Eat your Heart Out

50 Burford on Brands Pontiac About to Join its Ancestors

51 e-CAR Golden Nugget

53 AutoZone Update Get Turbocharged

54 Capricorn Insights Taking the High Road

56 Topclass Topics “Braking” the Sound Barrier

58 Euroquip News Valeo for Life

60 Industry Update Life Goes On

62 Robert Bosch Bosch Service National Convention 2009

66 Industry Update Champions of Industry

68 Partinform Springs has Sprung

72 AIDC Quiz 20 Questions

74 AIDC Conference Navigating the Storm

75 Fast Wheels No passing F1 is Back

76 Industry Update An Ideal Becoming a Reality

77 The Last Writes


W h a t ’ s t h e B u z z ?

J u n e 2 0 0 98

JAGUAR IMPLEMENTS TWO PROGRAMMES TOSAVE THE PLANET

Jaguar – a company that has long been famous for producing beautiful, fast

cars – is about to make its mark in another area: that of saving the planet.

With effect from April 2009 the company has introduced two industry-lead-

ing carbon dioxide (CO2) offset programmes. According to Andrew Daniel,

Managing Director of Jaguar South Africa, the first of these is a programme

to offset the CO2 emitted during the assembly of all vehicles produced at the

company’s two manufacturing plants in the United Kingdom. “We will focus

on three actions: switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy, promoting

renewable technology and improving energy efficiency within communities

and industry alike,” he reveals. Simultaneously, the company is introducing a

voluntary programme for Jaguar owners wishing to offset the CO2 emissions

of their vehicles (both new and pre-owned). Owners who elect to participate

in this programme should visit http://www.jpmorganclimatecare.com/jaguar.

An easy-to-use calculator works out the carbon emissions after the owner has

provided basic information such as the specific Jaguar he or she drives, the

fuel and engine type, transmission and mileage he or she wishes to offset. The

website also provides information about the projects that their contributions

will support. “Funding will go towards real environmental technologies that

can be introduced in different places or communities to reduce CO2 emis-

sions – such as wind turbines or solar power,” explains Daniel. In addition to

the reassurance that they are doing their part to save the planet, participating

owners will receive a certificate from carbon offsetting expert, ClimateCare,

which is administering the programme on Jaguar’s behalf. The programme

will support the offset of around 70 000 tons of CO2 in 2009.

LAMBORGHINI SELECTS ALCOA TOSUPPLY LIGHTWEIGHT WHEELS FORMURCIÉLAGO LP 670-4 SUPERVELOCEAlcoa Wheel Products has been selected by Automobili Lamborghini to supply light-

weight wheels for its Murciélago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce (SV). The forged alloy wheels

reduce unsprung weight and contribute to the SV’s 100kg mass reduction over the stan-

dard Murciélago. “The new Murciélago SV is the product of a substantial cross-car

weight reduction programme and forged wheels are vital to this,” explains David Yates,

marketing manager for Alcoa Europe. "The engineering behind Alcoa’s wheels enables a

20 percent weight saving over a comparable cast aluminium wheel, benefiting handling

and ride.” The exclusive five twin-spoke design results in a superior metal structure that

improves strength and durability, offering the opportunity to create very strong and

lightweight wheels. The structure also allows for more material to be milled out to achieve finer detailing while retaining strength. At the front the 18”x

8.5” wheels weigh just 8.9kg each, while the 18”x13” rears each weigh 12.3kg. Lowering the unsprung mass at each corner results in more responsive

steering, braking and suspension input all while optimising performance and efficiency for drivers of the SuperVeloce.

NEW WAR ON MALARIA

A new front in the war against malaria is being waged by insect repellent manufacturer Tabard. To coincide

with the World Malaria Day on April 25, Tabard launched a brand new website dedicated to malaria

awareness – www.malariafocus.com. An integral part of this website will be Tabard’s new school project

initiative, and a special project pack containing vital information about combating malaria will be freely

available to schools and teachers who register via Tabard’s new website. Applications can also be made

in writing, either by e-mail or fax. The project materials will be available to schools throughout Africa

and are most suitable for learners between 14 to 18 years of age. Malaria claims nearly 1 million lives

annually in Africa. This staggering death toll is increasing largely as a result of environmental degrada-

tion and change, yet malaria is preventable and treatable. Controlling the disease is an essential key to

breaking the cycle of poverty in Africa. Tabard advocates a full circle approach to malaria prevention; in

other words taking all possible precautions. This includes anti-malarial medication, use of mosquito nets,

water treatment, residual insecticide spraying and use of insect repellents. Tabard cautions people travelling

into a malaria area against using minimal protection or relying on unregistered “natural” remedies.

Ken Ken 7 x 7How to Play: Like Sudoku, even though difficulty may vary

from puzzle to puzzle, the rules for playing KenKen are fairly simple:

For a 7x7 puzzle, fill in with the numbers 1-7.• 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 thetop corner of the cage using the mathematical operation indicated.

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

• A number can be repeated within a cage as long as it is not in thesame row or column. Answer on page 27


J u n e 2 0 0 910

quickpic

W i l d e T h i n g s

The Dumbing Down of the WorldFreedom Day, 27th April 2009 marked 15 years of full blowndemocracy in South Africa. Co-incidentally, it is in Time maga-zine’s 27th April 2009 issue in which Carla Power reviews PaulCollier's new book; Wars, Guns and Votes: Democracy inDangerous Places.

Oxford economist Paul Collier

argues that in rich countries,

democracy makes life more

peaceful and prosperous,

whereas in poor countries, it makes life

more dangerous. He points out that elec-

tions, unsupported by robust institutions,

are simply political fetishes. Collins con-

tinues with a close to the bone analysis for

South Africans, by showing that in rich

democracies elections allow citizens to

hold their politicians accountable. Spine

chillingly, Collier shows how in poorly

educated places, riven by ethnic and tribal

rivalries, the easiest way to win is not good

governance, but bad. He continues, "in a

world that rewards the rituals of democra-

cy - not just with loaded votes, but with fat

aid checks from abroad, thuggery and vote

rigging pay”. Uncanny, isn't it, coming just

after our elections on 22nd April, and our

unique form of thuggery and vote rigging.

Our form of thuggery is the flimsy drop-

ping of charges by an insipid, feckless and

intimidated NPA, and our form of vote

rigging is the ballot given to uneducated,

and quite frankly, thick people. A rather

harsh analysis, you may say, but consider

this - apart from the jobs for pals and the

patronage that the ruling party can dole

out, why vote for a government that has

done so little for the vast majority of the

population?

I am afraid that our election results show

just how thick our citizens are, because the

government can only go so far with

patronage, and this cannot account for

even 10% of their votes. The rest can only

be ascribed to the fact that our electorate is

as thick as seven planks, and their behav-

iour can be likened to that of a sheep men-

tality. No one can argue that when they

put that cross against the smiling face of

someone who has rather dubious creden-

tials, that their cognitive processes were

working at full tilt, and that they were

thinking clearly. It is a great fallacy to

believe that the electorate is not stupid,

and that they know what they are doing, as

most political commentators claim. This is

pure unadulterated hogwash, and danger-

ous semantics. It is political correctness

taken to the extreme end of lucidity, and

for those of us in the cerebral minority, it

simply doesn’t wash. I could go on and on

with so many examples, so I will close the

chapter on our political immaturity with

just one question to those mothers and

fathers who voted for the shower fiend,

and just one question to those women who

voted for the self same AIDS guru. The

questions, respectively, would be “Would

you feel comfortable in allowing your

daughter to stay overnight at his house, un

chaperoned (or even chaperoned!)?” and

“Would you feel comfortable in staying

overnight at his house?” If the answer is

yes, then you’re either a pimp or a prosti-

tute. And yet, two thirds of our electorate

did exactly that, so I rest my case.

Now I am going to go a little further, and

to say that it is not just the developing

world that suffers from the malady of thick

skulls. Whereas the developed world may

have honed their democratic credentials

over the centuries, the signs are there that

these societies are also in serious decline

when it comes to intellectual matters. I am

not convinced that literary and speaking

skills are not directly related to overall IQ

levels, because these are what sets us apart

from the animal world, and keeps us a gen-

eration away from retrograding into our

previous savage state. But just look at the

letters written from the front in the

American Civil War, and the letters writ-

ten from the trenches in the First World

War; and contrast them with today’s letters

and e-mails written by the American and

British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and

you will see a marked decline in literacy

levels. You need more evidence? Take Sky

News, for example. It is a useful news sta-

tion in that you can get the latest news

every 15 minutes, but to get this news you

usually have to first suffer the mortifying

experience of hearing about the latest com-

ings and goings of the footballing fraterni-

ty. Anyone with two brain cells to rub

together is simply not interested whether

cretin A is moving from Arsenal to Chelsea

for some ridiculous sum, or whether cretin

B is upset because a referee did not give a

penalty in some insignificant game where

grown men chase a round ball in front of

thousands of fellow cretins. My apologies

for calling them cretins, but how can any-

one who has a sliver of self respect be inter-

ested in Neanderthals who have problems

in stringing a couple of sentences together,

but do seem to have the cranium for head-

ing a soccer ball? And the newspapers in

the UK are also full of this absolute rub-

bish. Why can’t we provide enough room

to celebrate the intellectual pursuits of

humanity, and consign the athletic to a far

less substantial space? I know that this is a

forlorn hope, because the world is well on

its way to even more dumbing down.

by Fingal Wilde

Which of these craniums is more suited to heading a soccer ball?



Hyundai Automotive South Africa recentlyannounced the appointment of Seam Sports cc toroll out promotional and community upliftmentprojects in the run-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup.Seam Sports will be responsible for rolling out itsHyundai Fast Furious Futbol concept at venuesacross the country. Seam Sports will also arrangeand manage Football Clinics in underprivilegedareas through their “Sports 4 Poverty” initiative onbehalf of Hyundai. The Fast Furious Futbol conceptis based on “Four versus Four” Football gamesplayed within a fully-enclosed, portable and inflat-able arena. The basics of Foot balling Technique –Triangular Play – are put to the test in the high-paced games with speed of movement and position-al play being of importance. The introduction of a“Flying Keeper” within the Fast Furious Futbol con-cept is sure to add to the speed, fun and excitementof the 6-minute long, non-stop, one-way games;with “shooting on goal” from varying parts of theArena now becoming an integral and testing part ofthe game.

HYUNDAI SOUTH AFRICA LAUNCHES HYUNDAI FAST FURIOUS FUTBOL AND “SPORTS 4 POVERTY” INITIATIVES

THE CASTROL EDGE EXTREME AUTO SHOW- IT’S ALL ABOUT POWER, PERFORMANCEAND PASSION - COCA-COLA DOME, NORTH-GATE 13 – 16 JUNE 2009.Bernie Fineman, the star presenter of the 'Chop Shop: London Garage'series on Discovery Channel UK and Kevin Perkins aka Michael Niaker,

will host this year’s action packed event. It’s all about the meanest, loud-est, fastest and most desirable customised and modified cars, exotics,classic cars and custom bikes, along with the top automotive tuners, fit-ment centres, sound systems, wheels and tyres, suspension modifica-tions, accessories – and a whole lot more, including the Mangawani Spaand Kids corner. For more information, visitwww.extremeautoshow.co.za or www.chromecard.co.za


Geared for CustomerSatisfactionThe recent dramatic change in the new

vehicle sales market has created a new

dynamic. Car sales across the globe have

declined by anything from 20% to 40%,

and in some cases even worse than this.

What has not changed is the fundamental

fact that the motoring population and

demographics have stayed the same, and

this puts the onus on vehicle dealers to up

the ante on customer service levels, from

the sales floor through to the after sales

departments. With the sales of new vehi-

cles currently below the natural replace-

ment cycle, we are moving to an older car

parc, and the demand for service back up

that ensures that cars do not deteriorate

and lose value is high and will continue to

grow. Forsdicks Sandton is ideally placed

to meet these needs, having first class facil-

ities, professional sales and service staff,

and very importantly, a BMW Approved

Repair Centre, for peace of mind collision

repair if you have the misfortune to have

an accident in your prized BMW. An

added bonus for non BMW owners is that

Forsdicks is also approved for the majority

of vehicle marques.

Housed in a modern and well-equipped

building in a safe, corporate environment

with around the clock security, Forsdicks

Approved Repair Centre has a highly

skilled and committed team to offer its

customers the best possible service. The

spacious repair centre accommodates more

than 54 vehicles in a 2 300m² workshop

built on a stand of 7 000 m², thus allow-

ing for parking and storage for an addi-

tional 90 vehicles. In short, a world class

facility which stands up well to the most

stringent requirements and audits.

More on Forsdicks in the next issue of

ABR.

A series of articles on Forsdicks Sandton

Forsdicks is a member of the McCarthy Group, South Africa’s leading motor retailer. Brand Pretorius, Chief Executive Officer ofMcCarthy Limited, regards the Forsdick Group as an important element in the McCarthy mix, “The Forsdicks Group with its proud his-tory spanning more than 50 years, is a valuable member of theMcCarthy Group. Our BMW approved collision repair shops repre-sent a particular centre of excellence because of their single-minded focus on quality, service and customer satisfaction. I saluteour highly specialised and professional teams for their significantcontribution to the ongoing success of our group”.

I n d u s t r y I c o n s

J u n e 2 0 0 912

Focus on Forsdicks

Trevor Turner, Manager of ForsdicksSandton Approved Repair Centre, ensures

that each vehicle is delivered to the customerin perfect condition


C o v e r S t o r y

J u n e 2 0 0 914

MISA MagicABR puts two important

questions to Dana de Villiers

of MISA

Why would a trade union likeMISA participate in anInternational Exhibition suchas Automeckanika?The Motor Industry Staff Association (MISA) organises exclu-sively in the retail motor and aftermarket, and because of thatwe have a very specific target market. It will be of no use toMISA to exhibit at the Johannesburg International Motor Showas the focus there is on the consumer and MISA will spendmore time explaining why the general public cannot join asmembers than actually promoting our brand and philosophy.

At the Inaugural Automechanika show held during March 2009

at NASREC that was exactly what MISA achieved. We had the

opportunity of speaking to close on 3000 employers in the retail

motor aftermarket. During these interactions we had the oppor-

tunity to share our organisational philosophy, brand, benefits and

services with those employers. Some people might say that a trade

union should not speak to the employers but rather organise the

employees. It is after all the employees who must consider joining

the trade union or not. That is so, however the primary relation-

ship is between the employer and the employee and then the

employees join the trade union.

The trade union needs to obtain access to the workplace in terms

of the requirements of the Labour Relations Act to organise the

employees and convince them to join the trade union. In order to

obtain access to the workplace the employer must consent to the

arrangement and a time which is convenient and holds no danger

in for the safety of the employees. From a trade union perspective,

and we have found this in reality, employers are more amenable to

interaction if they understand the trade union and have had expe-

rience with the trade union.

The Automechanika Exhibition was the ideal vehicle for MISA to

reach as many employers in the retail aftermarket as possible.

Automechanika is a business to business trade show. The reason is

very simple, that is where MISA has the greatest potential for

membership growth. The alternative was to contact those employ-

ers individually in an attempt to engage them. The general per-

ception of trade unions in South Africa is negative for a variety of

reasons based on perceptions and actual experiences. Those per-

ceptions can only be changed by the trade unions themselves

through taking responsibility for their actions, managing the

organisation as a business, professional conduct, integrity and

respect for others without compromising the interests of their

members.

Within the retail aftermarket MISA will certainly endeavour to

address those negative perceptions through our actions, benefits

and service delivery; at least in as far as it pertains to MISA and

its members.

What is the MISA philosophyand view on the role of tradeunions and employers?There are radically different views on the role, importance and

need for trade unions in the workplace specifically and the econ-

omy in general. These views range from total worker control of all

aspects to getting rid of trade unions and then the economy will

show a positive growth. The reality is that none of these two

extremes work in the long run. Communism did not work as we

know through history and the capitalist system without regulation

and driven by exuberant greed caused the biggest world econom-

ic crisis since the great depression in the 1930’s.


C o v e r S t o r y

J u n e 2 0 0 9

The MISA philosophy and approach is informed by a couple of

issues, mainly the objectives as set out in our Constitution as

approved by the Registrar of Labour Relations. The first objective

for MISA is “to regulate relations between members and their

employers and to protect and further the interests of members in

relation to their employers”.

The focus is on regulating relations between the employer and the

MISA members and protecting the interest of the members. This

links in with the key principle as set out in Schedule 8 – Code of

Good Practice: Dismissal of the Labour Relations Act.The key

principle in the Code is “employers and employees should treat

one another with mutual respect. A premium is placed on both

employment justice and the efficient operation of business. While

employees should be protected against arbitrary action, employers

are entitled to satisfactory conduct and work performance from

their employees”.

MISA therefore has a responsibility towards their members in

achieving their goal of contributing to the relationship between

the MISA members and the employer through our professional

conduct, education of our members, not creating conflict between

the MISA members and the employer whilst at the same time pro-

tecting and advancing the interests of the members.

Membership of MISA does not give

any member the right not to adhere to

reasonable instructions by the employ-

er, unsatisfactory work performance

and ill discipline with the knowledge

that MISA will step in as the trade

union and protect the member. MISA

members making them guilty of dis-

honest conduct, fraud or theft will not

be represented. MISA will not utilise

the general membership money to

represent and protect such members.

The process we have implemented in assessing the merits of a case

on behalf of a member is extremely thorough and comprehensive.

MISA does not create expectations with members and then we

cannot deliver.

When MISA is of the opinion that a member has been unfairly

treated by the employer we will pursue that case until we gain

what we believe should be forthcoming to the member. The most

recent example is where an employer refused to listen to MISA in

2002 regarding retrenchment benefits owing to 16 MISA mem-

bers. The employer and his representative thought that they could

drag the issue out and refer it to every court allowed for in the

Labour Relations Act and that the employees would run out of

money for legal representation.

MISA represented those members and carried all the legal costs

and we were awarded Labour Court and Labour Appeal Court rul-

ings in our favour. The capital amount of R3, 837, 806-00 plus

interest is payable to the members. This full amount is paid to the

respective members and MISA does not withhold any of the

money to offset legal costs nor did we charge the members any

additional money to pay for the legal costs.

That is the extent to which MISA goes to protect

the interest of our members if the employer is not

interested in finding solutions. The daily interac-

tion with and on behalf of employees

keep our dedicated and professional

team of officials busy. It is impor-

tant to understand that the

actions of the employers

towards our members and

MISA will inform our

reaction.

15


T o n y ’ s t a k e

J u n e 2 0 0 916

The announcement of Jacob Zuma’s cabinet appoint-

ments saw a swathe of new cabinet appointees at both

ministerial and deputy ministerial levels. The emer-

gence of this new set of executive government leaders

brings with it a group of new incumbents who have a significant

amount of individual and collective experience, a privilege not as

easily available to previous selectors within the governing alliance

leadership and its policy advisors. The

Star noted that “just over half the names

on the new national executive are new,

while only 12 out of the 62 ministers and

deputy ministers from the previous cabi-

net are staying put. Only three former

cabinet appointees – Sports Minister

Makhenkesi Stofile, Tourism Minister,

Marthinus van Schalkwyk and Labour

Minister, Membathisi Mdlandlana – were

retained in their previous positions.

Cynics have pointed out the appointment

to Ministerial and Deputy Ministerial

positions of SA Communist Party and

COSATU leaders like Blade Nzimande,

Jeremy Cronin, Noluthando Mayende-

Sibiya and Ebrahim Patel. More fairly, it

will be remembered that these are not the

first cabinet members to be appointed

from those particular parts of the ANC

alliance, and the Mandela and both

Mbeki cabinets had similarly aligned

members, some of whom have survived

into the Zuma cabinet. At the same time,

it would be naïve to deny the reward motivation for players who

supported Jacob Zuma in his ascent to the Presidency, but this is a

reality of real politick, which occurs in every organisation or enter-

prise, including political parties, business corporations, clubs and

super-national governing organisations. The business community

in South Africa will doubtlessly approve of the elevation of Pravin

Gordhan to the position of Minister of Finance from the predom-

inantly executive position at the head of revenue services, which he

has held since 1999. His appointment inspires confidence because

of his track record of predictability and unrelenting forcefulness in

moving from virtual chaos to highly systematic solutions.

Consumers and business alike will welcome the fact that Trevor

Manuel remains in cabinet, presumably at an even more elevated

position than before. The work of the new National Planning

Commission is yet to be detailed, as are its responsibilities and lev-

els of authority, but it is unlikely that Manuel would have left

Finance for any position of less influence and tangible power, the

world and its employment opportunities currently being his oys-

ter. The new department of Economic Development appears to be

a spin-off from National Treasury within the Department of

Finance, and its operational objectives are not crystal clear at this

stage. One assumes that it will need to slot

in with other major economy-driving

departments like Finance, Trade and

Industry, Energy, Transport and the new

Presidential National Planning Committee.

The deployment of Rob Davies as Minister

of Trade and Industry is probably very typ-

ical of the combination of ideology and

pragmatism, together with experience of

the massive department at both deputy

ministerial level and as chair of the parlia-

mentary portfolio committee monitoring

the department. Davies was one of the

early proponents of the phrase “develop-

mental interventionist state”, the meaning

of which is not particularly well defined in

economic literature, but which could be a

clear signal for both the financial and real

sectors of the economy to monitor the pol-

icy developments of DTI very closely.

With the Zuma leadership having promised

continuity of macro economic policy (espe-

cially fiscal and monetary rules and regula-

tions) the operating departments who have

their hands on the regulatory levers governing actions and owner-

ship in the real economy, are clearly the potential source of any ide-

ological change that the new cabinet might bring to bear. The gov-

ernment departments most closely connected to the economy

appear to be as well endowed with ministerial hands-on experience

as could be imagined in a democratic government environment

which spans a mere 15 years. The economic ideology of a mixed

economy is already firmly established, and must continue to

evolve. To paraphrase the ANC election manifesto and the words

of Jacob Zuma at the time of announcing the cabinet, the time has

come for action and delivery, rather than debating the basic prin-

ciples of what it is that should be delivered.

The Zuma cabinet of 2009– something for everyone?

When the budget was delivered in February 2009, this column looked at the probabilitiesof South African Economic Policy moving to the left of the Political spectrum in the wakeof the ANC Pholokwane Convention of December 2007 and a probable ascent to thePresidency by Jacob Zuma (Lurching Left…Flying Right), March 2009. It concludedthatMacro Economic Policy, particularly fiscal and monetary policy would remain in a for-mat agreeable to potential foreign investors, but that any leftward policy shift wouldtake place in the operational or delivery departments of Government. The announcementof the Zuma cabinet on 10th May takes this story a step further forward.

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

Continued on page 18

Jacob Zuma has put together a Ninja cabinet


J u n e 2 0 0 9

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Supercraft tools offer excellent value for money, have a lifetime warranty and are exclusive to Imperial Auto Parts. This tool range is available from reputable

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17


T o n y ’ s T a k e

J u n e 2 0 0 918

From page 16

CHERY TIGGO RANGEEXPANDS WITH NEW 1.6-LITRE& AUTO DERIVATIVES

Chery South Africa has launched a new 1.6-litre model and anautomatic derivative to its Tiggo compact urban SUV range.Already consisting of a 2-litre model that is available in twotrim levels, the Tiggo is a price leader in its class and packed fullof surprises, offering a sedan-like performance, comfort andconvenience. “Since the Tiggo range was first launched in May2008, it has proved itself as a very well-rounded and versatilevehicle,” said Brett Soso, managing director of McCarthyVehicle Imports. “These two new models are bound to appealto a number of South African motorists who are looking for anaffordable compact SUV.” The Tiggo 2.0 TXE Auto also nowhas a multifunctional steering wheel that allows the driver toconveniently adjust the radio or set cruise control without let-ting go of the steering wheel.


With US and Europe car sales

sharply down in the global

recession, China is now per-

ceived as an important market,

and even the luxury players are doing the

unthinkable by premiering at the Shanghai

Show. Porsche unveiled the Panamera, their first

foray into the sedan segment. In another world

premiere, German automaker Daimler AG

unveiled the remodelled Mercedes-Benz S65

AMG sedan. AMG sales nearly tripled in China

last year, and government incentives will give

sales of luxury cars a further boost this year.

China’s leading car maker Chery was, not sur-

prisingly, one of the stars at the show.

"Many automakers now see the Chinese market as at the forefront," said Paul Gao, chief executive of Chery Quantum Auto, a unit of Chinese

carmaker Chery Automobile. What makes Chery unique amongst the domestic manufacturers is its strategy of “going abroad”, and it was the

first Chinese auto company to export CBU, CKD, engines and car manufacturing technologies to foreign countries. In 2008, Chery exported

135 000 vehicles, the sixth consecutive year that Chery took the honours as the leading vehicle exporter in China. An amazing statistic for a com-

pany that was founded in 1997, and its first car coming off the production line on December 18, 1999! South Africa is one of Chery’s impor-

tant export markets, so ABR brings our readers a glimpse of what was on show at Shanghai. Chery has a multi-brand global strategy, with four

brands: Chery, Riich, Rely and Karry. This does cause some confusion when vehicles are displayed, but the good news for South African is that

it will be Chery for all models in this country.

J u n e 2 0 0 920

A series of articles on the rise of the Chery automobile

The Shanghai Motor Show, renamed as Auto Shanghai2009, ran from 20 to 28 April 2009, and what wasonce seen as a marginal show on the international showcircuit, is now considered as the place to be, by all andsundry. China has overtaken the US as the world’slargest car market, and with government incentivesChina is one of the few countries where the automobilemarket is still growing.

Chery Shines at ShanghaiMotor Show

The A3 1,6 and 2,0

The M1


21

Chery had two electric vehicle concepts on display at this year's Shanghai Motor Show.

The first one is called the Riich M1 EV, and it uses a 336V lithium iron phosphate

battery pack. The vehicle itself is quite small, which should allow a reasonable range

and performance from its 40kW electric motor. Chery claims that a full charge of the M1's

battery will take 4-6 hours using a 220V plug, but a fast charger is reportedly in develop-

ment that would provide an 80 percent charge in just 30 minutes.

The second EV from Chery is based on the automaker's Tiggo platform, a small SUV in the

same vein as the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V. The Tiggo 3 EV uses a 375V lithium ion

battery pack that powers a permanent magnet electric motor that's rated at 45 kW (60 horse-

power) continuously with short bursts of 90 kW (120 horsepower). Charging times from a

standard 220V outlet stand at 6-8 hours, and again, a quick charger can supposedly offer an

80 percent charge in 30 minutes.

A series of articles on the rise of the Chery automobile

The Riich G5 2,0VVT

The stunning Riich G6

The Riich X1

The H5 1,9D

J u n e 2 0 0 9


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

The most com-

mon motivation-

al forces behind

the progressing

of radical new automotive technical

thinking to production status usu-

ally include environmentally-

driven legislative require-

ments, the price of fuel,

and the unending search

for competitive advan-

tage. How-ever, it is more

common for evolution to

come in incremental steps, as

evidenced by developments

through the 20th Century.

Numerous new technolo-

gy deviations from the orig-

inal recipe developed by Karl

Benz et al late in the 1800’s emerged

in the intervening years, including

petrol-electric vehicles (incredibly, these first

“hybrids” were already in fairly widespread use

well before the First World War!), two-stroke, diesel and rotary

engines, the shift from chain drive to shaft drive, then from rear-

wheel to front-wheel and all-wheel drive, and the evolution from

body-on-frame construction to full integral monocoque struc-

tures. Some of these practices were widely adopted, while others

initially faded out, only to re-appear years later. By the turn of the

Millennium, interest had become firmly focused on liquid hydro-

gen as the next mainstream fuel source, but with final adoption

still subject to the solution of numerous distribution and storage

challenges.

Toyota launched the Prius petrol-electric hybrid driveline vehicle

domestically in Japan during 1997, and drifted it into the global

market in 2001. Initially it was seen as a novelty, or at best a sig-

nificant learning step on the road to the ultimate dream of pollu-

tion-free hydrogen propulsion. The rapid rise of world oil prices

to $US 147/bbl in mid-2008, however, brought new focus to bear

on this fuel-efficient model, and its first million-unit global sales

landmark was achieved just as oil prices hit their all-time peak.

Since then, a growing number of other vehicle builders have fol-

lowed Toyota’s lead into hybrid territory, but there is still no evi-

dence that these vehicles are being sold at prices which adequate-

ly cover their cost of construction, or provide a realistic margin of

profit to their manufacturers. The subsequent launch in the US of

Honda’s second-generation Insight hybrid at a price well below the

Prius’ initial level is likely to further delay any meaningful resolu-

tion of this question. General Motors has also paid homage at the

hybrid altar, but is now working flat out to introduce the

Chevrolet Volt, which is primarily an all-electric car with an

overnight plug-in facility for battery charging and an on-board

“range extender” petrol-fuelled engine/generator, in 2010. (The

official designation for this type of vehicle is “PHEV” – Plug-In

Hybrid Electric Vehicle). Chrysler has revealed its own array of

electric propulsion possibilities, while Mitsubishi has shown off

the “i MiEV” plug-in zero-emissions car, due for launch to major

Japanese fleet operators during July, 2009. Other manufacturers

working on electric vehicle development include Proton, Tesla,

Ford and Renault/Nissan/Dongfeng. The retail price of the

Chevy Volt has been estimated at around $US 40 000, some $US

10 000 more than the pre-Insight-launch Prius price level, but, in

the stated opinion of the US government and many commenta-

tors, this will be too high to ensure ready market acceptance.

There have been reports suggesting that Mitsubishi will price the

i MiEV somewhere around $US 25 000, which would put it in a

completely different space. Unfortunately, the same argument

about product price cross-subsidisation being applied to hybrids

will probably also rear its head in the PHEV arena, and we may

not become aware of their true cost levels for some time.

The question remains whether these developments will help to

save some of the more troubled members of the global motor

manufacturing community, or just hasten their demise? There is a

body of opinion that says most consumers are likely to become

more conservative in the prevailing economic climate, and will

tend to buy well-proven products with a sound reputation. This

will not make it easy to sell radical new technology at an expected

price premium. The preoccupation with fuel cost has abated

recently, and is only likely to re-emerge once global demand for oil

recovers. Even hybrid vehicles may well be restricted to “fringe”

status in global markets while their pricing remains substantially

above that of conventional models.

by Frank Beeton

Dropping a Stitch?Conventional wisdom suggests that, when companies are faced with deteriorating marketsand extremely challenging financial conditions, the best way to ensure corporate sur-vival would be to cut costs to the greatest extent possible without compromising the corebusiness, maximise the take of available sales volumes (with the aid of incentives, ifaffordable), “stick to the knitting”, and wait for the (hopefully) inevitable upturn. It mayseem strange, then, that in the present scenario where new car sales volumes in theworld’s largest market (the United States) have retreated to levels last seen in 1992,many vehicle manufacturers are rushing ahead with new product technologies that willconsume billions of dollars in development and engineering, while there appears to be noconsensus that these will result in any incremental sales!

J u n e 2 0 0 922


h e a l t h c a r e

Managing Your Health MOTO Health Care

J u n e 2 0 0 924

If there are any of you who are seri-

ously considering adopting such a

course of action, I would strongly

advise you against it. The fact that

we are experiencing tough times does not

reduce or remove altogether the chances of

an event happening that would cause you

to regret having cancelled your medical aid

or insurance. You could well find yourself

in deeper financial difficulty having to pay

out of your own pocket for expensive med-

ical treatments. This added burden can

lead to you developing stress-related ail-

ments, which are very costly to treat. It is

far wiser to adjust your lifestyle, maintain

your medical scheme membership, remain

healthy, and enjoy peace of mind that you

are covered for unexpected high cost

events.

Here are some tips to assist you to reduce

your medical expenses and so reduce pres-

sure on your household budget.

• Do not cancel your medical scheme

membership when your budget is

stretched. If the need to reduce this

expense is unavoidable, rather consider

buying down to a cheaper option

when the next opportunity presents

itself for you to be permitted to do so.

However, do weigh up very carefully

your likely medical needs with the

benefits provided in any lower cost

option.

• Do not skip paying your medical aid

contributions. You may end up not

being covered should anything happen

to you or your dependants.

• Make sure you understand fully what

you are covered for in terms of your

benefit option. Failure to do so can

lead to added financial difficulty when

you are required to settle medical bills

that are not covered by your benefit

option.

• Before your service provider (doctor,

dentist, etc.) treats you remember to

ask him/her whether he/she charges

private or scheme rates. Depending on

your option, the scheme may not settle

the full bill received from the service

provider.

• Negotiate a better rate if your service

provider intends charging more than

what the scheme is able to pay in terms

of its rules.

• Do not sign blank forms when asked

to do so by your healthcare provider.

You could be charged for services that

are not covered by your benefit option,

in which case you may be liable to pay

the bill out of your own pocket.

• Use pharmacies that charge SEP 26/26

(single exit price), you may have to pay

levies or administration fees if your

pharmacist does not apply the rate

approved by the department of health.

You do have the right to refuse medica-

tion if you are not happy with the

price, it may be more difficult to do

this once you have paid, so ask you

pharmacist what they charge before

you pay.

• Do not buy your medication on

account, this may attract additional

costs that you are not aware of.

I do believe that most of you understand

the model on which medical aid schemes

are based. Simply put, schemes offer

ranges of benefits in return for contribu-

tions, which make up the pool of money

used to pay the benefits claimed.

However, the correlation between contri-

butions and benefits are determined in

many ways and under certain constraints.

Our actuarial consultants play a pivotal

role in determining the mix of benefits and

the contributions, which have to satisfy the

Council for Medical Schemes. A signifi-

cant influencing factor in this process is

the historical claims versus contributions

experience. Thus a positive experience

makes it easier for the scheme to settle on

a more benign benefit design and com-

mensurate contribution. For this reason I

appeal to all of you to regard MHC as a

precious asset and consequently to use the

benefits of MHC in a responsible way,

which will then hopefully translate into

that positive experience.

We are reminded almost on a daily basis by the media that there exists a global reces-sion and that our country has not escaped the fall out from this. Nowhere is thismore evident than in the retail motor industry that has seen a dramatic downturn. It is therefore not surprising that many of you engaged in this industry are feelingthe pinch, with your household budgets coming under severe pressure. In the circum-stances it is understandable that those of you who find yourselves in this difficultsituation will be tempted to cut expenses by targeting those that are misguidedlyregarded as grudge purchases. Insurance premiums and medical aid contributionsseem to fall in this category.

Barry Canning, Chairman Board ofTrustees - MOTO Health Care


Jiminy Cricket!

In 1968, Suzuki introduced to the world the concept of rugged and lightweight 4 x 4’s that couldgo anywhere and do anything. The world has been having heaps of fun with them ever since. Theseintroductory words do not come from me, but from Suzuki’s Jimny brochure, and who am I to dis-agree, because during the week that I test drove this vehicle, that is exactly what I did do, I had

heaps of fun! The fun aside, is it a good car? By Jiminy Cricket, it is!

Ihad requested the Jimny for a vehicle

evaluation as I had experienced this

vehicle in all its 4 x 4 glory during the

launch in September 2008 at

Assegaay Bosch in the southern Cape, and

it had passed the all terrain challenge with

flying colours, but I had yet to test this

vehicle in city conditions, and I also want-

ed to see how it behaved on the open road.

Once again, I was pleasantly surprised by

this tough little baby, as it navigated

Gauteng’s highways and byways with

aplomb. And for once in my life, I did not

have to fear those potholes that are every-

where, and are not been repaired even

though we all pay our rates and taxes, and

obviously the fuel levy is not being used

wisely. However, help is at hand in the

form of the Jimny, because when it comes

to badly maintained roads, the Jimny skrik

for niks.

Let’s recall what I said after the launch of

the Jimny and Grand Vitara in September

2008, “Suzuki proclaim in their press

release that the icon is back, and after driv-

ing this perky, pesky (in the non-literal

sense of not giving up), lovable rascal, I

would not argue. A direct descendant of

the SJ410 and Samurai 4x4s, the Jimny

‘retains the astonishing all-terrain capabili-

ty and nimble reactions of the original’.

During our test drive over a demanding 4

x 4 route, I mused that the Jimny should

be called the Dassie in South Africa, and

my driving colleague readily agreed. It lit-

erally jumps from rock to rock, with dassie

like aplomb. The 1,3 litre engine delivers

good torque at low revs, and with its push-

button selection of rear-wheel drive, high

range four-wheel drive, or low-range four-

wheel drive, this car is a pleasure to drive,

irrespective of the challenge. Words cannot

describe the all-round ability of this hyrax

hybrid, so I leave it to our readers to find

out for themselves. I give the last words to

Kazuyuki Yamashita, Managing Director

of Suzuki Auto SA, ‘The Suzuki Jimny has

played a pivotal part in the history of the

Suzuki brand. In South Africa, the SJ-

series SUVs, and the Samurai, established

a loyal following for Suzuki which endures

to this day, and it is therefore only fitting

that we introduce the latest, and vastly

improved, iteration of those vehicles to

this market.’ The Jimny 1.3 Manual retails

at R149 900 and will be available from

September 2008 through Suzuki Auto SA’s

national network of 19 dealers. In summa-

ry, I believe that whilst the Grand Vitara is

a superb vehicle, it is in a busy SUV seg-

ment, and may not achieve the sales it

deserves. Conversely, I believe that the

Jimny is going to surprise Suzuki’s sales

planners. It is going to create a segment of

its own amongst the young, and young at

heart, and it will also find favour in the

rural communities and those who want to

get to inaccessible areas.”

Prophetic words, and whilst the Jimny

price has now gone beyond the R170 000

mark, it remains an attractive price, con-

sidering the package that you are getting.

So attractive in fact, that I am seriously

considering getting one, as it does the job

in the city and off the beaten track, seam-

lessly and cost effectively.

by Howard Keeg

V e h i c l e E v a l u a t i o n

J u n e 2 0 0 926


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

J u n e 2 0 0 928

Customer RelationshipManagement

– what on earth…Customer Relationship Management or CRM has been around for awhile now. The first time I heard about it was in 1994 where I wasexposed to some of Peppers and Roger’s works. Here I learned aboutconcepts like Customers for Life, One-to-one marketing andRelationship Marketing. We learned that retention can be many times(I heard different figures over the years but the most prevailingseems 8) more profitable than acquisition. It was interesting stuffand it made a lot of sense but where does it leave us today? Howhave we progressed and what does it mean now?

Theo Calitz has beenworking in or involvedthe motor industry for

the last 16 years. Amechanical Engineer byprofession, he is passion-ate about customer care

and his company, T-R-Mspecialises in

automotive CRM for theautomotive industry and

has been doing it for 9 years.

The story of Ray Kroc of MacDonald’s fame is still a rel-

evant example of the thought process behind CRM. He

had a figure on his cap which was a high number (like

$100 000). This invariably resulted in questions as of

the meaning thereof upon which he would reply that this is the

value of a customer. Incredulously the employees would retort that

they do not see how a company selling $1 burgers could earn that

kind of money from a customer.

As the story goes Mr. Croc would explain the value of a customer

as someone who could 1) buy up – i.e. buy bigger or more,

2) come again and again 3) bring friends and/or family along and

4) recommend the Big Mac to his/ her circle of influence and do

this over a lifetime. Now you start to understand where the $100

000 comes from. It does illustrate the good and bad of CRM

though. On the one hand it is great that companies want our busi-

ness and make an effort to know more about us but needing to

submit our information when dealing with a company and then

receiving endless ‘spam’ does seem to present more of a downside

than up.

CRM has become part of our daily lives. I now receive mail (print-

ed and electronic) which is personalised. This is designed to make

me feel special; it was sent just to me after all, because I am impor-

tant. It is almost like the good old days when you could walk into

the corner café and the person behind the counter knew you and

knew what you were likely to buy. This is however technology at

work and it still is mass mailing which have the benefits of cost and

efficiency (like a hypermarket). Today we even receive brochures

that are customised; your name appear in the right places, the cell

phone model that you own and its logical successor appear in the

right places. Amazing! The problem is that with the first introduc-

tion the innovation is great, everybody is wowed. When everybody

else does it however, this becomes the minimum standard and now

everyone has to get it right. If you mix up the titles or make

spelling mistakes with the name, chances are good that you now

have created a disgruntled customer!

It is clear that companies are applying CRM more often these chal-

lenging days with a struggling economy as it is a cheaper form of

marketing. I see CRM in action daily with the number of SMS’s I

get. It can be useful but mostly it is irritating, especially those

SMS’s from companies that I only have dealt with once, maybe in

a remote cities. This clearly is not very useful.

There is so much more to CRM. It is great if a company has one

view of me, that every time I need to fill in a form or sign it, my

details are pre filled in. All I have to do is check accuracy. If, when

I book into a hotel, they know my preferences and my favorite

room or, when I take my car to the car wash, they know my

favourite fragrance. The good news is, all this is possible but we are

still only at the tip of the iceberg, incredible things can, and will

still happen in the field of CRM!

www.t-r-m.co.za

T 0861 TRM TRM

F 086 686 8382


RENAULT INTRODUCES THE KANGOOBE BOP Z.E. ELECTRIC VEHICLEDEMONSTRATOR

Kangoo be bop Z.E. is derived from the production Kangoo be bopand is instantly recognisable by its Energy Blue body colour, while theRenault logos on the grille and wheels are picked out in satin-finishblue-hued chrome. Inside, the satin-finish chrome and metallic acidicgreen trim ensure a unique ambience which is further expressed by thespecific grey velour upholstery and embroidered 'printed circuit'motifs.

Wh a t ’ s t h e Buz z?

J u n e 2 0 0 9

Ken Ken Answers from page 8

Audi of South Africa is proud of itsassociation with the most decoratedSAMA winner: Lira Lerato

“Lira”, has popularly become known as one ofSouth Africa’s most treasured singers. Sheexudes soulfulness and femininity whichcomes through in her Afro-Soul music. Shewas nominated for 6 South AfricanMusic Awards for 2009, and won 4 ofthose 6 at the SAMA’s, which washeld at Sun City on the 2nd of May.Lira has been an Audi Ambassadorsince April 2008, and is current-ly driving an S3 Sportback.


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

J u n e 2 0 0 930

Trilogy Customer C.A.R.E. Programme – sponsored by Federal-Mogul

MODULE ONE - THE CUSTOMER C.A.R.E. ENIGMA

Idoubt if there are any of the 46 mil-

lion citizens of this country, who can

honestly say that they have not had

poor service in South Africa. In actu-

al fact, the majority of us are experiencing

very poor service every day of our lives.

Why is this? I can personally vouch for

many such experiences, not only of ineffi-

cient service, but unfriendly service, and in

many cases, downright rude and arrogant-

ly aggressive service. If you are the typical

South African consumer, you hardly even

notice such bad service anymore, because

you have been desensitised, or in other

words, you have been beaten into submis-

sion. I am not in such a fortunate position

(is it fortunate?), as my stock in trade is

customer c.a.r.e., and therefore I am very

conscious of the service levels that I am

receiving. So, I challenge you - for the next

week, analyse your service experiences,

every minute of the day. I can guarantee

that after one week, you shall join me as a

raving Customer C.A.R.E. Crusader.

Once again, I ask, why is this? Why do we

experience inefficient and unfriendly serv-

ice whenever we visit the supermarket, the

post office, the bank, any government

department, the motor repair workshop, or

whatever place you care to mention? Oh

yes, I agree, there are wonderful exceptions,

but why should pleasant customer service

be the exception, rather than the rule?

I ask, once again, why is this? I do have an

answer, which is a complex and lengthy

dissertation, but let us try to distil it into

one sentence. I hear you say that it is a cul-

tural thing, which is unquestionably so. I

have been around the world, and I’ve expe-

rienced efficient but dour service in

Germany, efficient and friendly service in

England, efficient and unfriendly service in

France, efficient and inscrutable service in

Korea, inefficient but riotously happy and

friendly service in Italy, efficient but

unscrupulous service in Hong Kong, effi-

cient and full teeth friendly service in

Zimbabwe, quaint but friendly service in

New Zealand, efficient and air-condi-

tioned service in Singapore, etc., etc.These

cosmopolitan experiences can all be

ascribed to culture, but in South Africa we

have managed something unique in cus-

tomer service. We manage to be both inef-

ficient and unfriendly at the same time.

This takes some doing, and even if it is a

cultural thing, I have one message to those

surly, slow, unco-operative and unproduc-

tive staff behind the counters, telephones,

whatever - we’re not going to take it! We

are the ones paying your salary, so we

deserve better treatment.

Back to the distillation process - what is

CUSTOMER C.A.R.E. ? Even though it is

complex, it is also very simple. In one

sentence, CUSTOMER C.A.R.E. is the

intellectual and emotional understanding

that C.A.R.E. means CUSTOMERS ARE

REALLY EVERYTHING. Once this is

truly understood, everything falls into

place, and the battle is won. Over the next

few modules, we shall explore this concept

in more depth, focusing on your own

feelings.

DISCUSSION POINTS1. Why do you, as a typical South African consumer, accept bad service?2. Describe a recent bad experience of customer service, in all its gory detail.3. How does South Africa achieve its unique position of giving both unfriendly and inefficient service - give your frank

opinion on the reasons.4. It’s all very well to say that we’re not going to take it - discuss the problems that you have with this approach.5. What is the intellectual understanding of CUSTOMERS ARE REALLY EVERYTHING?6. What is the emotional understanding of CUSTOMERS ARE REALLY EVERYTHING?7. The solution to the problem is to start with yourself - what does this mean?

THE NEXT MODULE, WE SHALL START AT THE ROOT CAUSEOF BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE - MANAGEMENT !


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

J u n e 2 0 0 932

Shock TreatmentLast month, Séan Jackson expounded on the benefits of fitting world class shocks,both in safety and performance, and the concomitant savings in tyres, fuel efficien-cy, driver fatigue, downtime costs, etc. Séan now looks at the technical aspects ofsuperior shocks, which translates into lower cost per kilometre.

by Séan Jackson

It’s been said a million times before that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. This cliché takeson a new resonance when describing the truck industry. Times may be tough, but trucks are tougher, andtruckers are the toughest. This industry is literally the wheels of the economy, so thank goodness that whenthe going gets tough, the toughest get going. A critical element in this dynamic is the ability to keep costsdown, and to ensure that operating costs are kept under tight control. The first port of call in this endeav-our is to protect against theft and misuse. The first port of call in this endeavour is to protect against theftand misuse. A close second is thinking smart and keeping costs down. ABR has commissioned SéanJackson of TRUCKTEK to give our readers a series of tips on Managing the Risks.

In both the damping, and the rebound damping, KONI can be likened to the story of Goldilocks and the three bears. Goldilocks was

looking for beds, chairs and porridge that were just right. KONI shocks, whatever the application, give damping and rebound damping

that is spot on. So, if Goldilocks happened to be a truck driver, she would find that the truck fitted with KONI shock absorbers would

be “just right”.

Take a look at the next six diagrams, which highlight the effects of damping.

TRUCKTEC distributes KONI

shock absorbers, and for good

reason – KONI shock absorbers

are “simply the best”. KONI

have been designing and developing shock

absorbers since 1857, when they intro-

duced shock absorber innovations for

horse driven carriages. Today, KONI is part

of the world renowned ITT Group, whose

motto is “Engineered for Life”. KONI has

a full range of shock absorbers for passen-

ger vehicle, bus, truck, trailer and military

applications, all designed specifically for

the task at hand, but it is in the area of

technical superiority that KONI really

stands out. Firstly, let us take a look at the

primary role of a shock absorber, which is

to minimise wheel movement and thus

keep the contact of the tyre on the road, to

allow for grip. The following three dia-

grams show the role of the shock absorber,

allied to the role of the springs.

All good and well, but there are complica-

tions such as damping, and taking it a little

further, rebound damping. This is where

KONI shocks come into their own.


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

J u n e 2 0 0 9

For Toyota Trucks, NowRead Hino

In South Africa, a similar, but not

identical, process has been followed.

At the Johannesburg International

Motor Show late last October, the

truck division of Toyota SA Motors began

the process of morphing into Hino South

Africa. However, at that time, the Toyota

Dyna MCV line-up still clung steadfastly

its identity, and there was a strong feeling

that the internal corporate political climate

was not yet ready for the full switchover.

Sure enough, the process moved forward

during April, 2009, when most of the

Dyna range gave way to Hino 300 Series-

badged equivalents, although it was note-

worthy that the “baby” of the Dyna family,

the one-and-a-half ton payload 4-093, was

still to carry Toyota branding into the

future.

It is entirely appropriate that this rebrand-

ing exercise has been approached with a

degree of caution. The Toyota Dyna has

been an incredibly successful model range

in South Africa, having chalked up more

than 80 000 unit sales since its introduc-

tion to this market in 1965. While the

Hino brand has been locally present since

1972, it started off initially as a supplemen-

tal product line-up to the volume-selling

Toyota branded trucks, notably the Dyna

and DA Series of bonneted 7-tonners. For

many years, locally-sold Hino products car-

ried additional “Toyota” badging to clearly

indicate their corporate connection to the

best-selling vehicle family. However, the

clever timing of the local migration of

much of the Dyna family to the Hino

brand should not cause any disruption,

because the basic product stays unchanged,

and all the properties that have led to its

past success will be carried over. The wider

adaptation of the Hino identity for Toyota’s

South African commercial vehicle opera-

tion is clearly intended to shift perceptions

of the group’s commitment levels to the

truck business, despite its

considerable history of success in this area.

It is no secret that the truck market

demands a radically different business

approach to that employed in the light

vehicle sector. This is particularly evident in

the need for clear communication channels

between vehicle users, and the manufactur-

er’s top management, in all its activities.

The appointment of a comprehensive net-

work of dealers and sales outlets does not,

in itself, guarantee success, and the inter-

face with the purchasers of these working

vehicles requires a high deal of co-ordina-

tion. Every broad-based vehicle franchise

that has tried to succeed in the truck arena

has made this same voyage of discovery,

and those that have not established suffi-

cient credibility with the operating com-

munity have been left licking extremely

painful and costly wounds.

Hino has a clear mission to improve itslocal performance in the Extra Heavy mar-ket segment. Since the discontinuation oflocal Atlantis Diesel Engine fitmentthrough the 1990’s, the performance ofHino product in the local market for multi-axled trucks has trailed behind that of arch-rival Nissan Diesel. During the first quarterof 2009, Hino sales in this segment wereslightly more than a third of equivalentNissan Diesel volumes, which were, by far,the highest for any Japanese-sourcedXHCV product range. Operators buyingvehicles in the XHCV class are mostlyengaged in long-distance linehaul opera-tions, with a significant secondary elementinvolved in construction-related activities.This is clearly a huge opportunity forHino, and an important avenue by whichthe present 7% market share gap to overalltruck market leader Mercedes-Benz can benarrowed.

In global terms, Hino Motors Limited is an

extremely important and successful manu-

facturer of light, medium and heavy trucks

and buses. The fact that is 50,1% owned by

Toyota does it no harm at all. The develop-

ments in Australia and South Africa are

part of a global plan to position Hino as a

truly global brand by 2015. Other elements

include the opening of new plants in

Arkansas (USA), Mexico and Colombia,

and joint ventures in India and Russia.

Hino’s annual global sales currently

amount to just more than 100 000 units.

by Frank Beeton

34


Regular readers of this column will be familiar with this scribe’s oft-repeated contention that happenings in the Australian truck market should be of more than passing interest to the South African transport community. As far back as 2001, theToyota group, in a revision of its Australian strategy, launched the Hino Dutro mediumcommercial into that market. This turned out to be a badge-engineered sibling to thethen-current version of the Toyota Dyna light truck. At that time, it was not generallyknown that this highly successful light truck series was, in fact, manufactured by HinoMotors, although it had been marketed widely as a Toyota-badged product.Subsequently, the Toyota-badged version was phased out in Australia, and Hino emergedas the group’s exclusive truck brand “down under” for everything larger than a Hiluxpickup. The Dutro name was also deleted in favour of “Hino 300 Series” in 2007, bringing the nomenclature into line with the heavier Hino 500 Series cruiserweights(formerly known as Rangers) and 700 Series extra-heavies (previously called Profias).


A u t o T o p i c a l

J u n e 2 0 0 936

Given the pressure that the integrated South African Automotive sector was under in termsof sales during 2008, the calculation of the sector contribution to the country’s GrossDomestic Product (GDP) initially came as a surprise to the research team at Econometrix.In April each year, they sift through various data sources, including trading revenue sta-tistics from STATS SA, Reserve Bank data and international trade data assembled byNormal Lamprecht, Executive Manager at NAAMSA. The objective is to estimate the propor-tional contribution of the Automotive Sector, split between manufacturers and assemblers,importers and the motor retail trade, to the total GDP of the country.

The result of the analysis for 2008

showed that, after reaching a

peak contribution share of frac-

tionally over 7,4% of GDP in

the record new vehicle sales year of 2006,

the automotive sector share of total value

added in the economy dropped to 6.8%

during 2007. Based on two results during

2008 that have been mentioned in the

automotive business press over recent

months, but which are sometimes difficult

to translate directly into a picture of any

gain or loss of GDP share, the contribution

of the vertically integrated automotive sec-

tor spring back to 7.3% of the country’s

GDP during 2008.

The bigger of these two events turned out

to be the massive increase in export rev-

enue earned by the industry, made up

mainly of vehicle exports, which increased

in value by 82% or R22.6 billion com-

pared to 2007’s levels. This had the effect

of reducing the sector’s international trade

deficit from R35.6 billion in 2007 to

R14.7 billion in 2008. This was the single

largest contribution to the recovery of

GDP share.

The second important contribution came

from after market sales, where STATS SA

data reveals a doubling of the growth rate

of the retail sales value of accessories from

18.3% during 2007 (already a hugely

impressive rate), to 36.6% during 2008.

The annual Econometrix study splits the

value added contribution of the sector into

2 major areas, namely vehicle and compo-

nents supplier’s share, and the share of the

retail motor sector. The latter includes

value added by means of new vehicle retail

activity, used vehicle margins, parts and

workshop sales, and the rapidly growing

value of accessory sales. The latter includes

all kinds of electronic equipment, from car

sound systems that can melt Ellispark, to

the full splendor of gadgets with which to

pimp ones ride, geographic positioning

systems and ultra sophisticated tracking

devices. Because the relatively modest

decline in new vehicle domestic unit sales

of -5.2% had contributed to eroding the

sector’s share of GDP so markedly during

2007, observers would have been forgiven

for anticipating an even worse contraction

in GDP share during 2008, simply on the

back of a -20.2% decline in NAAMSA

unit sales that year. But the rapid growth

of export volumes and values and relatively

tame value growth for both imported vehi-

cles and components for domestic vehicle

assembly, meant that the severe negative

effect of the sectors international trade bal-

ance was reduced to such an extent that its

GDP share rose back to almost record lev-

els during a rather depressed domestic

vehicle demand year.

Predicting an outcome for 2009 is at least

as hazardous as was trying to forecast 2008,

even after the year had closed! While orig-

inal equipment sales levels were heavily

down during the first four months of

2009, and vehicle exports were also taking

a pounding from the global recession, slack

domestic demand probably implies that

sector imports will probably reduce during

the year. At this very early stage, with little

more than the very up to date NAAMSA

new vehicle sales statistics to go by, it

appears that the sector will do well to hang

onto the GDP share which it attained last

year. We should not forget, however, that

the overall value of Gross Domestic

Product in the country has probably also

moved backwards so far in 2009, further

complicating the art of prediction.

by Tony Twine

Automotive GDPContribution Recoversin 2008


J u n e 2 0 0 938

Q. HOW DID IT ALL START FORYOU? I was born in PE. My grandfather,

Dennis, was a Ford Sub-dealer in Peddie

in the Eastern Cape after a spell with the

GM Franchise. My Dad, Jeff, worked for

Ford in PE and Silverton for 37 years, so I

have lived with Ford culture all my life.

Q. I SUPPOSE YOU WANTED TOJOIN FORD? Not really. When I was

at school at Westering in PE and Glen

High, Pretoria, I wanted to be a pilot, but

that came to nothing. My parents con-

vinced me I needed a degree or two so off

I went to university.

Q. SO WHAT DID YOU DO? After

school I went to the University of Pretoria

and took my B.Comm. majoring in

Accounting.

Q. WHERE DID YOU WANT TOWORK? Armed with a Post Graduate

Diploma in Education with the emphasis

on Accounting and Economics, I wanted

to be a teacher, but after a short time at

Germiston High School I decided that

would not be for me.

Q. WHAT FOLLOWED AFTERTHAT? One year’s Military Service in

Intelligence and then three years working

in the Finance Department of Unilever in

Boksburg, concentrating on finance and

the management development program.

Q. YOU HAD TO GET TO FORDSOMETIME. In 1995 I joined Ford in

the Finance Department as a Revenue

Accountant.

Q. THINGS REALLY STARTED TOHAPPEN AT THE TURN OF THECENTURY? At 30 I got an offer to join

Astoria Bakery as the General Manager

where I stayed for two years.

Q. THEN BACK INTO THEMOTOR INDUSTRY? Back I came to

Ford Motor Company to integrate Land

Rover, which had been bought by Ford

away from BMW, and to get it to fit

seamlessly into Ford. The idea was to

retain the Land Rover culture, which is

different from most other manufacturers.

After completing that job I was appointed

as Finance Director of Land Rover, which

lasted a year.

Q. BIG THINGS WERE HAPPEN-ING AT FORD? We formed Land

Rover, Jaguar and Volvo into one compa-

ny called The Premier Automotive Group

(PAG) and I was the Financial Director of

that until Deesch Papke left Volvo in

2003 to go to Russia and I took his place

as the MD of Volvo for the next two

years.

Q. ALL THESE BRANDS DIDWELL IN THE MARKET PLACE?Volvo took the Car of the Year with the

S40 in 2004, which pleased me a lot.

Q. THINGS KEPT CHANGING?I came back to Ford as National Sales

Manager, and despite it being a tricky

period in our history, Ford sales went up.

Q. MAZDA PART OF THE PIC-TURE? For one year I took over as

General Manager of Mazda when sales

went up there as well, with the Mazda 2

taking the 2008 Car of the Year title.

Q. CURRENTLY? I was appointed

Vice President of Marketing and Sales for

Ford and Mazda with service being added

a year later. Pleasing was that we nearly

won the Car of the Year, according to

what we hear, with the Ford Fiesta, just

one year after the Mazda 2 took the title.

Q. WHO MADE A BIG IMPRES-SION IN YOUR LIFE?A. My father and brother, Donavan, who

worked for and are still working for Ford,

and Martha Woolard, who taught me a

lot about Ford and its systems.

Q. MARRIED? To Tracy, with three

daughters, Tamryn, Nicola and Alexia,

who are all at Woodhill College in

Pretoria. They are all very supportive of

what I do, especially with the hours that

I spend away from home.

Q. WOULD YOU GO AND WORKOVERSEAS IF ASKED? Yes, for

experience, but I would ultimately like to

work in South Africa in the motor

industry.

Q. SPORTS? Mainly motor sports. I’m

also a recreational golfer with a huge

handicap which I am not going to dis-

close here.

Q. READING? Mainly non-fiction titles

and particularly biographies about South

Africa and South Africans.

Q. WHAT CAR DO YOU DRIVE?A Mazda CX7 for its functionality.

Q. IF MONEY WAS NO PROB-LEM? A Ford Mustang or a GT40,

which I have never driven, although an

offer has been made by Colin Lazarus.

A Focus RS would be great as well.

Q & A INTERVIEW WITH JACQUES BRENT

South Africa has produced top motormen in many spheres.They have achieved great things overseas and under unique-ly tough conditions in our market, they have achieved greatthings here in South Africa. Such a person is 39-year-oldJacque Brent, Vice President of Marketing, Sales andService at Ford and Mazda. He has enjoyed a string of successes and a meteoric rise to the top.

It is an old saying that “Once a Ford man,always a Ford man.”

P e r s o n a l p r o f i l e

by Roger McCleery


Some fleet owners/managers may be feeling a bit left out after the last two articlesknowing they have vehicles with different capacities and yet many of the same tyreproblems. These would be the fleets with trucks of more than 4ton capacity, but notmore than 10tons. These guys have as many different applications as all the vehicleswe have been discussing. They also have as many tyre problems, some exactly the sameand some isolated to these vehicles only. There are in fact some advantages withthese over the smaller vehicles, the best one being that due to the tyre sizes used,better mileages can be expected. But before we get into the details, let’s look at theoperations in general.

What kinds of operations use the vehicles in

this category? Many, and varied kinds; furni-

ture transporters, long distance parcel carri-

ers, explosives, supermarkets, meat, vegeta-

bles, refrigeration, farmers and farm suppli-

ers, some tippers, milk, bread, animal-feeds, automotive parts,

trans-African tourist carriers, construction companies and many

more. What types and configurations do these vehicles come in?

Again the answer is many and varied; various load bodies, high,

low, flat-deck, dropside, tow/

recovery, refrigerated, skeletal

(not common), some tankers

(very commonly as watercarts in

construction), municipal garbage

collection, and even including

bus bodies for tourist carriers.

By far, the majority are single

drive-axle with dual rear wheel

fitment. There are a few special

purpose vehicles with dual drive-

axles, or my pet hate, two rear

axles but one being a tag-axle.

Then there are many where the

steer axle is a drive axle as well. In

most cases, such as those vehicles

used by Eskom and other electri-

cal pylon erectors, as well as some

in the construction sector, the

rear drive axle has dual wheel fit-

ment. The 4X4 configurations used by tour operators in trips up

Africa, use single wheel fitment all round with extra large tyres

which have some flotation capability and have deep off-road tread

patterns. So as you can see, these vehicles are as versatile if not

more so, than those discussed previously, and are therefore very

much in demand.

The routes used by this segment of vehicle obviously include every

kind one would imagine, and many we would never imagine.

Even those trips which would be considered as only ever on tar

roads, are often on roads in such poor condition that they are

harder on tyres than the off-road ones. Those used in construc-

tion, and the electrical power supply companies, are very often not

on roads at all. And once the ‘roads’ are built, they are constantly

on sand, rock and mud. Those used on long haul have to put up

with higher speeds, higher loads, and although the main roads are

good, those at the beginning

and end of each trip may not be

so good. The short distance

ones suffer from stop start driv-

ing, left turns, right turns, up

hill and down hill. The tyres

suffer in all these operations,

and that’s without taking the

vehicle body needs of the vari-

ous operations into account.

High bodies are the hardest on

tyres due to the lateral sway

they induce. This loads and

unloads the tyres constantly on

any of the routes mentioned

and in all the operations. The

tour operators are distinct in

this respect from the others and

we’ll get to them later. The flat

decks and drop-sides should be

the easiest, but aren’t because

they don’t limit the weight in any way, and nor do the operators.

These vehicles are usually the most abused. They also don’t limit

the load type, so very often they are loaded as high as those with

high load bodies. Although we say high load bodies are the hard-

est on tyres, they are hardest when, or if, all the configurations are

loaded within the correct parameters. Otherwise the flatbeds and

drop-sides can be harder on tyres.

by Marcus Haw

J u n e 2 0 0 942

Tyresand TheirContribution to Safety in Motoring

Typical in town curb scuffing


43J u n e 2 0 0 9

www.bridgestone.co.za

Any and every load will do even at the same time

These are also used in more varied operations, where those with

closed bodies are more specialised and therefore their load types are

more constant.

So now there is a basic idea of the general operations of the vehi-

cle segment and some of the difficulties. But how does this all

affect the tyres?

As already mentioned, the one advantage these vehicles have over

the previously discussed segment is that the tyres can be expected

to last longer.

The reason for this is purely that the tyres are bigger, their rolling

circumference is greater meaning that to travel the same distance

their job is comparatively easier. This naturally means that running

costs are also generally lower. While this is a good thing for every-

one concerned, the potential improvements are harder to achieve.

But they are possible, and very achievable. Let’s look at the tyres

involved.

This vehicle segment uses a variety of different tyre sizes, usually

ranging from 10.00-20s up to 12R22.5s. The latter is somewhat of

an overkill although what some operators load on these vehicles

still manages to stress the tyres. However, it is the total operation

package that makes the segment so ‘tyre-harsh’ - the routes, the

loads, the speeds and the specifics of each individual operation.

These are the challenges the controllers must face from day to day

if they want to improve their tyre and general running costs. And

as mentioned in the previous issue, improving your tyre costs is a

never ending challenge although maintaining low costs is the

biggest and hardest challenge.

The tyres in use are the first

place to start. Generally it

is good practice to run

radial tyres. So if you are

running 10.00-20 or

11.00-20 tyres you should seriously

consider changing. However, there are some excep-

tions as these cross-ply tyres are a lot cheaper than radial tyres. So

if your operation is so harsh that your tyres are getting damaged

before they reach their potential life, buy the cheapest and stay

with the cross-plies.

This advice would normally apply to scrap metal dealers, some

municipal garbage removals, and sometimes also in the construc-

tion industry.

There are some operations where buying the best only means

scrapping better tyres. But before this decision is taken, one

needs to be absolutely sure that you cannot improve the condi-

tions that your tyres work in.

Remember, whatever improvement you can make will improve

your running costs, so make it. Even if it still works out that buy-

ing the cheaper option is the best way, you still need to get the

most out of them. Remember to be realistic in your thinking and

your expectations. All tyres and all tyre brands can be damaged.

In the next issue we will look at as many operational problems

and tyre remedies as we can, and we’ll get into some cost saving

as well.


In this issue, Giel closes the discussionwith a look at the ramifications of fittinginferior parts, and the true cost in both

human and economic terms. We do not haveto labour the point around the life threaten-ing dangers to which you are exposing your-self and your family when you fit poor qual-ity brakes, windscreens, lights, tyres, safetybelts, etc. These parts could cause a seriousaccident, or not protect you when you’reinvolved in such an accident, but have youconsidered the human safety factor when youfit other “innocuous” products such as radia-tors, clutches, suspension parts, and the like.When you suffer a mechanical breakdownand your car is at a standstill, it can be irritat-ing and you will incur financial costs, butwhat if you break down in an isolated spot?If help does not arrive in a hurry, the odds arepretty short that sooner rather than latersome one will relieve you of your possessionsand maybe your life. Human safety is thus nolonger only hostage to vehicle accidents; it isalso vulnerable when you fit less “safety criti-cal” parts.

Apart from the safety factor, the economiccosts also have significant consequences.Whether the product is counterfeit or inferi-or or both, deceived customers do not receivevalue for money, and the perception is rein-forced that the automotive aftermarket issometimes prone to rather dubious practices.Far fetched stories thus become fodder forthe media, and the whole industry is tarredwith the same brush. However, there is aneven bigger cost to the country, because thevast majority of automotive product,whether good or bad, that is sold in thiscountry comes from across the seas. It istherefore not an exaggeration to describeinferior parts as a threat to our country’seconomy, and that the government shouldtreat the obligation to eradicate this practiceas a national priority. The proposedConsumer Protection Bill is a major step in

the right direction, as it holds everyone in thesupply chain jointly and severally responsibleand liable for harm and/or loss. This willmake the purveyors of inferior product sit upand take notice, but some are just irre-deemable.

Over and above government interventions,what can the trade do to stop this scourge?Giel’s advice is 1) to only buy from reputablesuppliers and/or at least purchase knowntrade names, 2) to be very suspicious of“white” box product; 3) to insist on a warran-ty; and 4) to be aware of the dangers whenoffered a very low price - if the price is toogood to be true, it is most probably too goodto be true. If distributors, wholesalers, andthe other resellers and fitters down the linefollow this advice, it will make it very diffi-cult for the unscrupulous importers and sup-pliers to ply their trade, but it will not eradi-cate the problem. Eradication will require amassive effort from everyone throughout theindustry, but especially the members of theRMI who control a huge proportion of theaftermarket. A collective, committed andconstant effort will over time become animpenetrable trade barrier. However, the enduser is key, and all the consumer has to do isto exercise some common sense. Giel onceagain uses a quote to reinforce this aspect.John Ruskin, a 19th century English authorand social reformer hits the nail on the head,“It is unwise to pay too much, but it’s worseto pay too little. When you pay too much, allyou lose is a little money, that is all. Whenyou pay too little, you sometimes lose every-thing because the thing you bought was inca-pable of doing the thing it was bought to do.The common law of business balance pro-hibits paying a little and getting a lot – itcan’t be done. If you deal with the lowest bid-der it is well to add something for the riskyou run, and if you do that you will haveenough to pay for something better.” Amen.The good news for the end consumer is thatthere are companies such as GrandmarkInternational, who are proud to be part ofthe solution, supplying quality product atreasonable prices, and who are committed tobringing respect to the industry.

Giel Steyn

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

EditorialPartnership

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 distributor 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.

Inferior Parts – the ConsequencesIn the two previous issues of ABR, Giel Steyn of Grandmark explained the differencesbetween the terms quality, original, genuine, pirate part and counterfeit; all theseterms being measured against a quotation that Giel uses as his personal yardstick, “I think it is an immutable law in business that words are words, explanations areexplanations, promises are promises – but only performance is reality”.

J u n e 2 0 0 944

A drag link fitted to an Isuzu KB280; tenkilometres later, as the driver entered hisdriveway, the vehicle stopped when the

front wheels had a mind of their own, andwent awol, just from a little bump. What

the owner thought he was buying was a onepiece forged unit – but what he got was aremanufactured unit welded together andsold as new, and with a welding penetra-

tion of less than 15% of the joint. Imagineif he was doing 120km with his family inthe car and he hit a pothole. The irony ofthe situation is that suspension parts are

not even considered as safety critical.

Picture

courtesy of

the RMI


S a f e t y , B l i n g a n d F l y i n g H i g h

J u n e 2 0 0 9

Safety and Bling With the current global economic crash, vehicle sales are taking a pounding. It is gen-erally believed that this will continue for some time yet, and that replacement cyclesare going to lengthen quite drastically. It is expected that while people will keeptheir means of transport for longer periods, they will off-set their “boredom” byprettying the vehicles up. Wheels and tyres are always top of any wish list, and salesof these high profile items seldom slow down, even in tough times. In fact, if the abovethinking proves correct, future sales may indeed improve.

By Marcus Haw - [email protected]

This brings me to one of my main concerns, which

involves a growing trend. It is currently high fashion to

put extremely large diameter wheel rims, usually

chrome and very ‘bling’, fitted with ultra-low profile

tyres on MPVs, SUVs, and bakkies. The safety of your vehicle

should never be compromised by the need to beautify it.

Low profile tyres are far superior to conventional profile tyres

when it comes to ultimate grip and handling. This is the reason

that high speed sports and super cars are fitted with them. The lat-

est executive saloons and even the newest budget hatches are going

lower and lower in their tyre profiles in the interests of response,

grip and handling. They enhance safety on cars through improved

handling and braking performance. However, this very factor is

why fitting them to SUVs, 4X4s and the others can present a dan-

ger that few realise exists.

Cars and especially sports cars have a low centre of gravity (COG).

They can accept extremely high lateral G-forces without reaching

the point of rolling. SUVs, 4X4s, MPVs and double cabs have a

high COG, and their roll moment is reached far earlier than cars.

The phenomenal grip provided by ultra low profile tyres can work

against one in an emergency in a high COG vehicle.

It is sometimes an advantage for a vehicle to be able to slide. While

it is sliding, it won’t roll. When the grip is too high, and no slip-

page takes place at the bottom, and lateral forces cause the top to

carry on going until the inevitable roll over.

With recently inspected tyres on three vehicles involved in

rollovers, one fatal, they all occurred when the drivers swerved to

avoid different emergencies. All three responded to the swerve and

rolled on the recovery from too much grip at the point when the

lateral forces swopped sides.

Suzuki Slick 360 Wows the Crowds at Rand Airport

They descended by their

thousands on the Rand

Airport on Sunday

17th May 2009, to see

an enthralling air show. Whilst the

cars were gridlocked and earth-

bound outside the airport and the

frustrated drivers were gobbling

with the turkeys, the young guns

in their magnificent flying

machines were soaring with the

eagles. Despite the wind, the air

jockeys enthralled the crowd, and

Johnnie Smith, crop sprayer extra-

ordinaire and part time aerobat,

did not disappoint in his Suzuki

Slick 360, doing an exciting rou-

tine of aerial flips, flaps, pirouettes

and his own version of the Jackson

moonwalk.

46


S a f e t y , B l i n g a n d F l y i n g H i g h

J u n e 2 0 0 9

X-Customs MotorcyclesIs it engineering? Is it Art? You Decide!X-Customs was created in South Africa for the exclusive motorcy-

cle enthusiast, Art Collector and Investor. They build and manu-

facture unique designs and complete Custom motorcycles, utilis-

ing the most technically advanced engineering in Computer

Numeric Control (CNC) manufacturing; CNC bending and the

latest Tig Welding – all done in-house! Rian Janse van Rensburg

founded the company in South Africa in 2003 after many years

working for a Custom Motorcycle Operation in the USA. Here he

perfected his trade and brought his knowledge of select engineer-

ing and the art of bike building back to South Africa. Rian has a

passion for creating beautiful timeless classics and is a perfection-

ist to the core. Mark Groenewald; the owner of RT Group; the

company that incorporates Rolling Thunder Classic Cars,

Danmar Autobody, Hillbank, AMG Conversions and Autohaus

Danmar invested in X-Customs in 2007, enabling this exclusive

Company to take shape in the form of a very large and very well

equipped Workshop and Showroom.

To have your dream motorcycle built is easy with X-Customs. All

you need is a picture in your head or on paper of what your dream

bike resembles. X-Customs works with you to create a blue-print

and conceptualise the final design. The overall look, theme and

design of your Motorcycle will be determined by your choice of

Frame - Tank – Motor – Wheels – Brakes – Suspension - Art

work. The choice of motor is yours and X-Customs brings in any

type of motor ranging from a Harley-Davidson Motor® to an S&

S Motor. The choice of the X-Customs experts is most certainly

performance motor by ‘Patrick Racing.’ www.patrickracing.com.

Almost every part of the X-Customs Motorcycle is built from

‘seamless certified tubing’. Various components are designed by

Jacques Gates; X-Customs highly trained Machinist; using the 3D

CAD system. X-Customs Frames are completely Tig welded and

allowed to fully cool in the Jig for 100% accuracy. All parts

are ‘brought to life’ in-house at the X-

Customs Engineering Workshop.

The beauty of having your own

bike built is that you can visit the

X-Customs Workshop at anytime

to view and understand the build-

ing process – this ensures that your

dream becomes your reality. The cost of building your own

Motorcycle starts at around R320 000, and can be built within 3

months. The cost is ultimately determined by your choice of

accessories and components. You are free to visit their workshop

and showroom at Autohaus Danmar, Cnr Modderfontein &

Hereford Road, Longmeadow Business Park, Modderfontein,

Johannesburg or do it virtually at www.x-customs.co.za

47


The Captiva LTZ is a 3,2l V6 AWD that takes one off

the beaten path with little fuss and in sublime comfort.

Its on road and off road capabilities are awesome to

behold and make it the ideal car for the adventurer

who wants to travel in style. A somewhat thirsty beast, but what

do you expect when you have 189kW of power and 297 Nm of

torque on tap? Our attempt to be the first vehicle on an 8 000

year old road came to naught because of the difficult terrain and

the fact that no 4x4 tracks have yet been established, but we’ll be

back once we have the benefit of local knowledge and some fur-

ther surveying to be undertaken by the Graham Hancock

wannabes from Mpumalanga. I hope to be taking the Captiva

again, because thus is a superb vehicle, and somewhat underrated,

and when I get the chance to actually get close enough to these

ancient roads, I can then give the vehicle a thorough evaluation.

Alwyn Viljoen, spokesperson for the Highlands Meander, says

that the tall elephant grasses in the Highveld hide a vast complex

of ancient megaliths, geometric structures, terraces and walled

roads which could very well be SA’s real lost city. Viljoen says local

amateur archeologists have already mapped a complex that

stretches over an area that is bigger than Johannesburg and which

– according to local Sangomas – dates back much further than the

Stonehenge’s 2 000 to 3 000 BC.

“The mysteries around the origin and age of the Highveld ruins

can inspire a slew of Indiana Jones or Lara Croft sequels,” says

Viljoen, who recently invited the archeology departments of the

Wits and Arizona universities to install new dating techniques at

various sites of the complex that stretches from Ermelo in the

south to Steelpoort in the north. “We hope that by the end of

2010 the new dating techniques will add an empiric age to our

mysterious complex, and are confident that this date will at least

list the Highveld’s lost city amongst the oldest in southern Africa,

and at best, qualify it as Africa’s oldest”. Meanwhile, the

Highveld’s complex of ruins are still officially described as “cattle

kraals” in tourism brochures because, as Viljoen explains, the

more visible remains looks like – and have in the past 800 years

often been used – as kraals by various tribes. “Challengers to the

cattle-kraal theory however point out that the stone circles have

no entrances and they question why the cattle herders construct-

ed many kilometres of walled roads against steep hills.

T r a n s p o r t h i s t o r y

J u n e 2 0 0 948

Stonehenge – eatyour heart out

Ancient road gives hope to auto industryHidden in the tall grasses of the Highveld escarpment are sections of ancient roadthat serve to encourage the auto industry that even after entire economies have col-lapsed and been forgotten, transport will go on. To find inspiration for the futureof the auto industry, ABR’s Austin Gamble took the GM’s V6 Captiva in search of whatamateur archeologists have dubbed “Africa’s oldest road”.

Is this an ancient road? The secrets of the ancient travelers will eventually be revealed.

By Austin Gamble

Close to Waterval Boven is an easily identifiable stretch ofancient road, but not yet accessible


T r a n s p o r t h i s t o r y

49

Viljoen says that despite the vast size of the complex, most of the

remains of the thousands of stone circle ruins are only ankle-high

and often hidden even in short grass, which is why no-one has

bothered to “connect the dots” until now. “The disastrous fire that

swept through the Highveld escarpment a few years ago had the

one benefit that it exposed the sheer number of these faint stone

circles to pilots and farmers. We currently know of more than 20

000 stone circle structures, and encourage hikers to report the

location of any new ruins that they often literally stumbled over.”

Viljoen says the sections of ancient roads in the escarpment con-

ceal “a very humbling and encouraging lesson for business: no

matter how the economy and technology changes – the business

of transport will go on.” All it takes is to survive is to anticipate

and then meet customers’ changing needs, as General Motors did

when it bought Daewoo for a song to add some American mar-

keting muscle to Korean affordability, or when its engineers built

the Volt electrical car, long before Nissan’s recent plans to shortly

sell as many electric cars as fuel-burning models.

Who built the Stone Ruins?Currently three schools of thought each present a different

hypothesis about the origin of the ruins, ranging from African

tribes to gods to the Dravidian trading caste from India.

African Tribes?The officially accepted and very conservative theory, lead by

archeological Professor Pieter Delius, is that the older ruins date

back to AD 1200, built and subsequently occupied by African

tribes, ranging from the small baKoni and the mighty maTabele,

to the current baPedi and siSwati.

Aliens?On the other extreme, esoteric author of “Slave Species of the

Gods” and renegade scientist Michael Tellinger has interviewed

sangomas and healers who venerate the megalithic structures near

Kaapsehoop, dubbed “Adam’s Calendar”. Tellinger lectures to

eager audiences that the Adams Calendar megalith would have

been in sync with the sun some 75,000 years ago, although his

psychic sources, which include Credo Mutwa, claim the megalith

has been in use for more than 250,000 years.

Dravidian Indians?The middle theory, lead by anthropologist Dr Cyril Hromnik,

presents an Indo-African connection, with members of India’s

Dravidian trading caste supposed to have built the terraced stone

towns near their open cast mines and horizontal shafts. Dr

Hromnik’s theory is that the Indians sailed from the Gomti River

to explore and later colonise the area now known as Komatipoort,

expanding their trading route through settlement from Carolina

to Steelpoort to Lydenburg. His hypothesis rests on the quaintly

romantic anthropological fact that most Indian castes required

gold dowries to get married, and is supported by notes from 14th-

century Dutch and Portuguese seafarers, who met with Indians

from the Gomti River who was actively mining around

Komatipoort. Dr Hromnik also used the so-called Moon Sickle,

an astrologically-aligned structure near Steelpoort, as well as more

tenuous linguistic links, to build a postulate that the Indians

colonisers intermarried with the Kung Bushmen to create the

Hottentot race, which descendants later intermarried with newly

African tribes to create the Venda tribe.

More on this legend in the making in future issues of ABR.

J u n e 2 0 0 9

The Captiva handles uneven terrain with aplomb


Who would’ve thought it

would come to this, the

brand named after a war-

like Ottawa Indian chief-

tain who rose against the British sent to the

car cemetery after more than eight

decades? Of course, it acts as a poignant

reminder that nothing is impossible in the

modern motor industry and Chrysler’s

Plymouth is also gone,

another brand which made

its name in the muscle car

era. Despite its muscle car

reputation, Pontiac started

its life as a genteel and

affordable sub-brand of GM

subsidiary Oakland, and

was so successful that it

became a separate entity in

its own right almost imme-

diately. It then proceeded to

speed up the demise of its

parent, which was gone by

1932.

All early Pontiacs had

straight six powerplants and

two doors, and in 1926

were keenly priced at a little over 800

Dollars. These cars were Chevy-based in

terms of bodywork and also dipped into

other areas of the GM parts basket. They

were made of thicker steel than Chevrolets

so their refinement was superior, though

performance suffered as a result, giving rise

to the slightly sedate reputation.

Interestingly, the very first cars manufac-

tured at the General Motors South African

plant in Port Elizabeth were Pontiacs and

the car was highly popular here for a num-

ber of years. Straight eights followed the

sixes into the 1930s and Pontiac continued

to use Chevrolet bodies, setting a trend for

much of the brand’s existence. For exam-

ple, the 1967 Firebird was based on the

Camaro but had tauter handling and

Pontiac’s own engine.

In keeping with its Indian roots, earlier

Pontiac models were named Super Chief,

Star Chief, and the Chieftain, but despite

the evocative names there wasn’t the per-

formance to back it up. That may explain

why Pontiac had a somewhat fuzzy image

by the middle 1950s, being neither fish

nor fowl in the eyes of the American pub-

lic. This market research was the catalyst to

creating a sporty new image, partly

achieved thanks to a new V8 and success in

NASCAR racing.

That started in the latter part of the 50s

and ultimately culminated in the GTO.

While Firebird is probably the best-known

Pontiac model, aficionados go all starry-

eyed when the GTO name is mentioned.

A take on Ferrari’s Gran Turismo

Omologato – a nomenclature which is

steeped in motor sport – the ‘Goat’ as it is

affectionately known grew out of the

Tempest, a fairly mundane American com-

pact of the early 1960s designed with a

only a four-cylinder powerplant in mind.

It was the division’s general manager, John

Z De Lorean (who went on to Chevrolet

and then made his eponymous sports car

in Ireland in the early 1980s before going

bust amidst accusations of drug dealings),

who came up with the name.

The original, 1964 GTO had a 6,2-litre

V8 with up to 260 kW and it is this car

which is widely regarded as the one which

changed the brand’s image. In the late

1960s Pontiac was GM’s most successful

division in terms of image and also the

most profitable per car. There was simply

no question what Pontiac stood for: per-

formance, speed and sex appeal.

By the mid-1970s the V8 performance

cars which had been the USA’s stock in

trade for the last dozen years were all but

dead and like the rest Pontiacs

were becoming smaller and less

sporty.

In 1980 the first front-drive

versions went on sale. By the

beginning of 1988, with the

exception of the Fiero and the

Firebird, all Pontiacs were

front-wheel-drive yet this phi-

losophy seemed to work and it

was the third-placed domestic

brand in the States that year.

Arguably one of the finest

Pontiacs from that era was the

Fiero, a neat-looking and agile-

handling mid-engined two-

seater, which was unfortunately

undermined by a wheezy

engine and a lack of development. It never

ultimately achieved its true potential

despite the eventual introduction of a V6

model. Nevertheless, Pontiac peaked in

1984, when it sold almost 850 000 vehi-

cles, making it GM’s third largest division.

But since then it has been mostly downhill

with little in the way of signature models

to keep the faithful happy and nothing

cutting edge to meet the needs of younger

buyers. So it seems Pontiac is destined to

join a host of other names in that great big

graveyard of great cars.

Let’s hope that the

enthusiasts and collec-

tors keep it alive forev-

er, so that when we tell

our grandchildren

about a car call a Goat,

they may have some

idea of what we’re talk-

ing about.

50

Pontiac About to Join its Ancestors

The swinging 60s suited Pontiac to a tee, but clearly the first decade ofthe 21st century has not. By the end of 2010 it looks very likely thatit will be no more, disappearing as part of General Motors’ s plans tosurvive by shedding a number of brands – including Pontiac.

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

by Adrian Burford

J u n e 2 0 0 9


Technocar Auto Services is situated on the corner of Albert and Nugget Streets, City

& Suburban, Johannesburg; an area that can be accurately described as downtown

Johannesburg but, according to the Folgore trio, Daniel, Nunzio and Ugo, this is

where the action is, pointing out that Johannesburg central is still by far thebiggest

catchment area of businesses in South Africa. Thus Technocar’s location is ideal and conven-

ient for many business and private clients. So ideal and convenient that despite having spacious premises, Technocar Auto Services is

expanding and building an annex on the parking lot next door. In addition, the word recession does not even enter their minds, as they

are as busy as ever and their loyal clientele plus new clients keep

streaming in. With Daniel’s engineering background, combined with

Ugo’s Lamborghini, Rolls Royce and Porsche formative training, and

Nunzio’s Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Fiat, Lancia and Maserati automotive

pedigree, it is no wonder that they have built up a loyal clientele,

with the ability to repair anything from the basic Citi Golf to a

Mercedes-Benz Actros.

51

Golden NuggetWhen Antonio Folgore immigrated to South Africa in 1965,little did he know that one day three of his sons would berunning a very successful automotive workshop in centralJohannesburg. It takes guts and an entrepreneurial spir-it to emigrate, and Antonio obviously passed on these pio-neering genes to his sons.

J u n e 2 0 0 9

A car ready to leave the wash bay, and another satisfied client Daniel, Ugo and Nunzio Folgore fly the e-CAR flag in downtownJohannesburg


Cover picture creates interest

ABR’s April 2009 cover pic created quite a bit of interest, with manyasking what exactly it was. This was taken at Shatterprufe’s Garankuwaplant, and we give you the description from the horse’s mouth; “This

picture is taken from above the robotic off loading at the BL1Windscreen bending furnace. The glass being off loaded is the innerglass with the black printed border. The stainless flutes, one of whichis clearly visible, is positioned to swallow the separator spacer which iscollected by the robot at the same time as the glass with a different setof suckers and is released before the glass is loaded onto the conveyor.The robot loads the outer, which is generally not printed, on the sameconveyor which is to the left of the screen where it gets layer of inter-leaving powder from the powder dispenser (visible on the photo)while it passes underneath the dispenser. The conveyor moves fromleft to right and the printed glass is picked up by some suckers in thenext operation while the outer glass indexes to a point where the twoalign and the inner is placed on top of the outer glass before it is per-fectly aligned and placed on the rim of the bending mould duringtheir rotation through the furnace. The dispensing powder unit is thereason the area looks covered in a fine layer of white powder as theshape and size of each glass determines the amount of powder that cango to waste in this process. This operation is done behind a glass panelwhich contains the contamination to just the area around the dis-penser.” There you have it, as clear as glass to robotic and glass engi-neers.

J u n e 2 0 0 952

From page 49

Upstairs is used for the major repairs

From a Citi Golf, to the AA fleet, to an Actros, evenalternative fuel businesses,

many companies and privateclients rely on Technocar

Auto Services

Whilst the loyal clientele need no further invita-

tion, the new clients are attracted by the e-CAR sig-

nage, and this was the primary reason why

Technocar became one of the first e-CAR members

in April 2005. The Folgore’s were looking for a

strong national brand, as they realised that the

industry had a perception problem, and that the

new breed of car owners are looking for peace of

mind and an assurance that they are going to get

value for money and consistency. Would they go

for an e-CAR workshop, or the unknown work-

shop with unidentified signage? As Ugo puts it, “It’s

like Steers vs. the corner café”. e-CAR was thus a

no-brainer, as together with the national identity,

Technocar also gets branded product and competi-

tive prices from the Diesel-Electric organisation, a

nationwide warranty back-up, diagnostic equip-

ment, advice and world class training from Robert

Bosch, and various networking and marketing

opportunities.

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)



U p d a t e

53J u n e 2 0 0 9

AutoZone has “upped the boost” and taken themselves to the next level with theintroduction of a comprehensive range of new products in their distribution arsenaland then charged their reputation even further by hanging warranty tags on them

By Johann Stadler

AutoZone is the preferred distributor for Garrett® and

Holset Turbochargers in this country and it stands to

reason that South Africa’s number one parts and acces-

sories retailer be chosen as the preferred distributor as

AutoZone offers, amongst other things, the widest range of after-

market parts and accessories, world class service and a ‘12 month

hassle free warranty’.

In today’s developing and technologically superior vehicle manu-

facturing industry, world’s leading vehicle manufacturers have an

obligation to provide a quality product that is durable and

reliable, meets emissions standards, offers acceptable fuel

consumption and problem/failure free mechanical/engine life for

at least 100 000km. These manufacturers turn to two of the

world’s leading turbocharger manufacturers in order to achieve

this – Garrett® and Holset, and now these leading brands are

available from AutoZone.

AutoZone’s national buyer for turbochargers, Raymond Read

says, “As the country’s number one distributor of top quality parts

and accessories, it makes perfect sense for AutoZone to be

expanding their range and products to cater for the industry’s

demands with the best brands available in turbochargers. We

believe that this will add yet another facet to the overall offering

that AutoZone makes to the market and furthers the goal for

AutoZone to supply the right part, at the right price, everytime.”

The turbocharger industry is a rapidly growing and expanding

market. Many vehicles manufactured today are powered by

turbocharged engines. The benefit of turbocharging an engine is

simply increased engine power output. A turbocharged engine

produces more power output than a normally aspirated engine

significantly larger in size, offering the vehicle a lighter and more

efficient power plant. Secondly, turbocharged engines offer

improved fuel consumption, due to denser air/fuel charge enter-

ing the engine and also, a turbocharged engine is ‘ozone friendly’

due to the very low emissions produced by the engine.

Considering that the turbocharger runs on waste exhaust energy,

this is astounding.

Garrett® is the largest and most widely used turbocharger on the

market today and caters for almost every vehicle application.

These units are manufactured in over ten countries around the

globe, and have a total sales figure of nine million units sold in

2008 on an international scale. Holset Turbochargers specialise in

the heavy duty and industrial sector.

Not only does AutoZone’s national footprint make these top

brands available throughout South Africa, AutoZone have

engaged the services of TurboDirect S.A, an internationally

accredited technical partner, to further enhance the offer. The

ability to offer repairs and an overall after sales backup is key to

the success of any turbocharged application. Customers who have

repair, rebuild, refurbishment or even component balancing

requirements are welcome to contact AutoZone as together with

TurboDirect, their back-up service guarantees a speedy, smooth,

turnkey and ‘turbo-ed’ turnaround. The service includes, pre and

post sales support, application enquires, failure analysis & report-

ing, maintenance requirements, repairs or refurbishments, com-

ponent balancing and failure preventative solutions.

All queries must be directed to AutoZone’s call centre on0861 122 111, these will then be directed further dependingon the nature of the query.

Get Turbocharged at AutoZone


J u n e 2 0 0 954

Taking the High RoadIn the March 2009 issue of ABR, we published an open letterto Capricorn Society Limited Suppliers. Trent Bartlett, chiefexecutive office of Capricorn Society Limited, made Capricorn’suncompromising stance quite clear that its suppliers would beable to manage their cash flows with the confidence thatcomes from the knowledge that the Society guarantees itsMembers’ debt. A true vindication of Capricorn’s reputationas “an organisation that you can rely on”. AutomotiveBusiness Review, in the wake of an overwhelmingly positiveresponse to this letter, chatted with Rob Mildenhall, SouthAfrica’s Business Development Manager, on the dynamicsaround the situation.

ABR: Capricorn Society is basically guar-

anteeing payment on all purchases made by

Capricorn’s members. This must mean an

incredibly strong balance sheet?

RM: That is correct, but it also showsconfidence in the commercial abilities ofthe majority of Capricorn’s members.The choice to become a Capricorn mem-ber is already an indication of the com-mercial skills of these companies.

ABR: South African companies have a rep-

utation for being perennially slow payers.

What will change this mindset?

RM: Unfortunately, many small business-es bear the brunt of larger companies andinstitutions not playing the game. Someof these organisations don’t pay for threemonths, and then they still expect thesmall business to carry on providing aservice with the promise of payment afurther 60 days down the line. This trans-lates into a small business carrying amuch larger business for 150 days andmore. At today’s interest rates, this is wellover 5% of the invoice value. It is anappalling and unfair situation and I

appeal to the guilty parties to take stockof the damage that they are doing and todo the right thing.

ABR: Going back to Trent Bartlett’s open

letter, this is truly a shining example of

Capricorn Society’s ethical approach, and

taking the high road. Hopefully other

organisations will emulate this.

RM: Yes. The onus lies on everyone tostay on the moral high ground, and tomanage their cash flows and to pay theiraccounts timeously. If everyone stayedtrue to this ideal and put their shouldersto the wheel, the whole supply chain ben-efits. However, if too many companiesdefault, it spells trouble as it can create adomino effect.

ABR: With the technology and skills chal-

lenges facing the modern day workshop, it

is most unfortunate that the guys in the

frontline are now expected to face one

more challenge.

RM: Yes. It is the survival of the fittest,and the ability to adapt is now a charac-teristic that is sorely needed. Effectiveprocurement now becomes of criticalimportance, and a collective arrange-ment is no longer a matter of choice, butan absolute necessity. Businesses have tolook for cost efficiencies, and simply can-not afford to be at the bottom of the feed-ing chain.

ABR: Could you elaborate?

RM: Take databases for example. To sur-vive, a company needs to exploit manydatabases: customer information, suppli-er information, technical information.This is available from Capricorn, and wecan also assist with proprietary technicalinformation as with our Autodataalliance, and facilitate access to the lat-est diagnostic hardware and software forour members.

ABR: Is this just not another cost burden?

RM: All the more reason to manage yourcash flow effectively. Collecting debtsand paying suppliers on time must nowbecome a business imperative. By sodoing a company builds up a reputationof integrity, which stands it in good steadin tough times.

ABR: The figures quoted for 30 day collec-

tion rates are 65% for South Africa, and an

average of 98% for countries such as the

USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand.

This is a stunning indictment of our busi-

ness ethics!

RM: Unfortunately true. South Africaneeds to raise the bar on this one. OurInternational reputation is at stake.

I n s i g h t s

To join Capricorn Society Limited call Rob Mildenhallon 083 654 2094 or e-mail him at

[email protected] or visit their websiteon www.capricorn.com.au


T o p c l a s s T o p i c s

J u n e 2 0 0 956

“Braking” the SoundBarrierWhat is green, synthetic and tacky? No, it is not Kermit the Frog. Noris it an AWB leader’s underpants. It is actually something far moreredeeming and useful. It is the Permatex® Ultra Disc Brake CaliperLube, available from Top Class Automotive.

Anyone who has suffered the

assault on the ears that squeal-

ing brakes can inflict will find

the Permatex® Ultra Disc Brake

Caliper Lube a godsend, as the prevention

of brake squeal alone is worth using the

product, but this lubricant has many other

qualities and benefits. It is an environ-

mentally friendly, non-melting, pure syn-

thetic lubricant, formulated to lubricate

under the most adverse brake conditions,

thus ensuring that critical caliper pins,

sleeves, bushings and pistons remain

lubricated throughout the brake pad’s life.

With its water and corrosion resistant

capabilities, this lubricant is excellent on

rolling and sliding surfaces operating in

wet or dry conditions from -40ºF to

+400ºF (-45ºC to +230ºC), and is com-

patible with internal and external brake

rubber and plastic hardware, including

ethylene-propylene rubber.

Features/Benefits• Prevents disc brake squealing

• Prevents long bolt and sleeve seiz-ing and galling

• Outperforms ordinary calipergrease and traditional disc brakeanti-squeal methods

• Withstands temperatures from -45ºC to +230ºC

• Waterproof, protects against cor-rosion, will not attack most rub-bers

• Non-silicone, non-petroleum basedformula

• Pure, synthetic lubricant

• Environmentally safe

Applications forUltra Disc BrakeCaliper Lube:Long and short bolts, sleeves, bushings,

outboard pad backing plates, inboard pad

backing plates, disc brake calipers, caliper

pins and pistons. Available in accordion

squeeze bottle, brush-top bottle, and blis-

ter card packets.


J u n e 2 0 0 958

Valeo for life In our everyday life, people are confronted withthe reality of constant threats, but whether wewant to or not, we just have to overcome them orface the consequences. But how would it influenceour daily routines if it were possible to eliminate alarge a part of those daily threats?

Research shows that the majority of people spend almost a third of their lives in a car,

whether that is behind the wheel or as an occupant. The responsibility is a massive

burden on the driver’s shoulder and one needs to be on your guard at all times, which

causing unnecessary stress, constraints and fatigue. Euroquip offers a range of various import-

ed Valeo assistance systems, design to make regular driving tasks safer and more comfortable.

Beep & Park/KeeperParking in small spaces will reduce

rear visibility, it’s uncomfortable

and difficult. The Beep and Park/

Keeper is a front and/or rear park-

ing assistance system with an anti

bump alert to protect your vehicle

against the all too often clumsy

parking manoeuvres of other

motorists.

Beep & Park/VisionAre you worried about hitting

obstacles or pedestrians that you

cannot see? Beep & Park/Vision is

a rear parking detection system

with sensors, coupled with a rear

view camera to provide drivers

with audible and visual informa-

tion when reversing.

Park/VisionIs the visibility when reversing

poor because the rear window is

narrow and the back of your vehi-

cle raised? Park/Vision is a parking

assistance system comprising of a

rear camera that projects images of

the area behind the vehicle onto a

colour screen in the cabin.

Light/On & OffIf you don’t always notice visibility

changes when driving, Valeo came

up with a bright idea. Light/on &

off is an automatic lighting system

that switches on the headlights as

soon as the light becomes poor and

switches them off again when suf-

ficient light is restored.

Speed/Vision

Changes in the speed limit means

that you have to keep an eye on

the speedometer, which could

cause loss of control or reacting

too late if there is an obstacle in

the road. Speed/Visio displays the

vehicle’s speed directly on the

windscreen in the driver’s line of

sight and sends out an alert when the vehicle exceeds the pro-

grammed speed.

GuideoIf you often make long journeys

and are worried about falling

asleep at the wheel, why not take

your very own co-pilot with?

Guideo is a camera module that

permanently scans the road and

supervises all four driving assis-

tance functions. For more information, please contact +27 (0) 12 661 6467 • Fax: +27 (0) 86 614 1378 Email: [email protected] • Cell 082 870 7809


euroquip

18 Months Warranty


First up to the plate was Hal Feder, President and CEO

of Ford South Africa, at the Ford media breakfast on

Tuesday 5 May 2009. The April vehicle sales had just

been announced, and in the midst of the doom and

gloom of one of the worst months in recent history, Hal stood up

and started listing the global and regional positives from Ford’s

perspective; annual savings of US$500 million in the States

through concessions by the UAW; debt obligations of US$10,1

billion restructured; customer satisfaction levels up; the Focus RS

the fastest ever production model; the Fiesta taking first place in

March in Europe; the Fusion Hybrid voted most fuel efficient

midsize sedan in America; the Mustang’s 45th birthday; the

EcoBoost engine in production in Cleveland, etc, etc. All posi-

tive and all good news for the future, but Hal really did his

Houdini act when he disclosed that Ford globally ONLY had a

loss of US$2 billion in the first quarter of 2009. This is good

news? Yes, because it is a distinct improvement on the loss of

US$3,6 billion in the last quarter of 2008. It’s all about trends,

you see. And the real magic is in the cash flow. Ford’s cash flow

actually increased in the first quarter of 2009, as they dipped into

funds previously arranged by the prescient Alan Mulally, Ford’s

CEO. With a war chest of US$21,3 billion, and the resizing pain

mostly over, Ford is in relatively good space and is ready to roll

with the punches. “We are waiting for the volume to come back”,

said Feder. And with South African car sales looking to go below

350 000 units in 2009, the sooner the better! But, as Jacques

Brent, Vice President of Marketing & Sales pointed out at the

breakfast, Ford is gaining market share locally during this down-

turn with fresh and attractive Fords and Mazdas, so domestically

the blow has been softened.

After Hal Feder’s home run, next up to the plate was Steven

Koch, GM President of African Operations & GMSA Managing

Director, when GMSA hosted a media briefing session at their

Woodmead offices on Friday 8 May 2009. Steve opted for a FDR

type “fireside chat”, sitting on a high stool, and regaling the

assembled journalists with a homily about his history with GM,

and the regional dynamics involving the interdependence but

also the independence of GM’s global operations. Thus, what

happens in Europe does not necessarily directly affect the South

African operations, and so forth. In America, GM has introduced

a new wage structure under agreement with the UAW, and even

though Chapter 11 is an option, GM is definitely in it for the

long haul, and with 17 of the 18 vehicles currently under devel-

opment scheduled to deliver fuel economy of under 7l/100km,

they are moving in the right direction. Domestically, South

Africa gets its product from GM’s Global Design Centres, and as

GMSA is debt free and not reliant on the USA, Steve says that

GMSA will not just survive, but thrive. As Koch said, “We’re in

a good position to ride this thing out”.

At the GMSA presentation, we were also treated to a very inter-

esting analysis and statistical overview of the habits of the South

African motorist, by Brian Olson, GMSA General Manager –

Marketing, and a sign of the times was the introduction of

GMSA’S new programme called “GM Total Confidence”.

The GM Total Confidence program includes three components:

• vehicle warranty extension to 5 years / 120 000 km

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

J u n e 2 0 0 960

Life Goes On During the early part of May 2009, I attended two interesting andindeed illuminating functions, with the highlight of each event being apresentation by the chief executive, each in a different space, but bothin arguably the most difficult jobs at the moment in the South Africanautomotive industry. Upon reflection, it is during these tough times when

the men are sorted out from the boys, and you begin to realise why these gentlemenwere appointed in the first place. The qualities of men like Hal Feder and Steven Kochare not readily apparent in the good times, but when the chips are down, theirMichigan DNA kicks in, as investors and customers alike need to be desensitised andreassured. Spin doctoring and soothing balm need to be applied in equal measure.These guys are good. So good, in fact, that even a cynical old codger like me left thepresentations with a lighter step and a song in my heart. Not a classic like “BohemianRhapsody”; more like “Baa baa black sheep”, but still a song.

By Austin Gamble

Hal Feder, President and CEOof Ford South Africa

Steven Koch, GM President ofAfrican Operations & GMSA

Managing Director



61J u n e 2 0 0 9

• vehicle payment protection (insurance that covers up to nine

months of the consumers’ vehicle finance payments if they

are retrenched) for vehicles purchased between May 4, 2009

and July 31, 2009

• extension of a new, industry-leading roadside assistance pro-

gram to 5 years / 120 000 km

All Chevrolet, Opel, Isuzu LCVs, Hummer, and Cadillac vehi-

cles are included in the plan, which was introduced by Malcolm

Gauld, GMSA Vice President of Vehicle Sales & Marketing.

There you have it, there is a Ford in your Future, and as the lat-

est GMSA advertising campaign says, “There’s never been a bet-

ter time to buy a car”, and I doubt that it will ever be called a

Chevroletti.

GMSA has also started aChevrolet Brand campaignreminiscent of the Braaivleis,Rugby, Sunny Skies andChevrolet campaign of theseventies, with a modernplatform of wherewillchevro-lettakeyou.com

The Chevrolet Cruze will be coming to our shores shortly

The Ford Fiesta was pipped at the post for South Africa’s 2008 Car of the Year


The underlying theme of the

conThe underlying theme of

the conference, as espoused by

Ewald Faulstich, Director

Automotive Aftermarket Division, Robert

Bosch (Pty) Limited, was that the battle

for the hearts and minds, and most impor-

tantly, the pockets of the South African

motorist seeking reliable and honest after

sales service, has begun with earnest

endeavour. Facing each other will be too

big armies, nm. OES (OEM aftermarket

activities) and IAM (independent after-

market activities), and behind the IAM

lines will be skirmishes between franchised

workshops, such as Bosch Service, e-CAR,

ACD, Motolek, Autopro, etc., and the

independents. The two key driving forces

behind the moves by the OEMs to make a

foray onto the playing turf of the inde-

pendent aftermarket are the aging and

growing car parc, and the simple arith-

metic around the revenues and profits at

OEM dealership level.

Despite the slow down in new vehicle sales

over the past two years, the car parc is

growing, and naturally it’s getting older.

The car parc at the end of 2008 was bigger

than the car parc at the end of 2007, and

the car parc at the end of 2009 is expected

to be 2,5% larger than that at the end of

2008, simply because of the uncomplicat-

ed fact that whilst people are not replacing

their cars at the rate they used to, they are

keeping their cars for longer. The South

African car parc, broken down into age, is

as follows:

• 1 – 3 years 22%

• 4 – 7 years 22%

• 8 – 12 years 21%

• 13 – 20 years 28%

• 21 – 25 years 7%

The rich vein to be mined lies in the 4 to

12 year age bracket, some 43% of the car

parc. The majority of these cars are out of

warranty and maintenance periods, whilst

they are still new enough for the owners to

be motivated to keep these cars in relative-

ly pristine condition, and to seek first-rate

and honest service. When the times were

good, the OEM dealerships were quite

happy to focus on new car sales, whilst

looking after their “captive” market of

vehicles under warranty and maintenance

schemes, and they made little or no effort

to entice customers with older cars. But

the times they are a changing. Secondly,

the simple arithmetic and the dynamics

around revenue and profits at departmen-

tal level has come to the notice of the hold-

ers of the purse strings. South African sta-

tistics are not readily available, but these

2006 stats extracted from the McKinsey

CARE study in Germany on the contribu-

tion by department at OEM dealerships

make for compelling reading:

Revenue Profit

Vehicle Sales 45,1% 14,4%

Aftermarket Sales 22,5% 54,4%

Used Vehicle Sales 19,1% 0,8%

Insurance, etc 11,3% 27,2%

Miscellaneous 2,0% 3,2%

South Africa will not be much different,

and it does not take a rocket scientist to see

where the profits are to be made, and in

these times, the less glamorous side of serv-

ice and parts sales can mean the difference

between life and death for a vehicle dealer-

ship. Therefore the expected thrust into

traditional aftermarket areas, and the

resultant blurring of the sales channels.

This trend has already started in Europe,

and South Africa will not be far behind.

The OEMs have extended their warranty

and maintenance periods, they are putting

an emphasis on used car sales (to create

potential workshop customers), and con-

sider to introduce their own workshop

concepts for the independent aftermarket

to focus on this “middle aged” vehicle parc

The solution from the Bosch perspective is

to provide bumper to bumper service, and

to provide this service with panache and

competence. Quite a number of independ-

ent aftermarket workshop concepts have

come and gone these past few years, not

because the time is not ripe for franchised

workshops in the independent aftermar-

ket, but because they have not stuck to the

basics whilst also adding something spe-

cial. The Bosch Service concept is a holis-

tic concept, offering a powerful Brand, a

distinctive and eye-catching Corporate

Design, a wide range of a technical servic-

es and marketing support portfolio and a

Code of Practise, outlining appropriate

workshop practices and procedures, ensur-

ing a highest possible level of customer sat-

isfaction. But it is in the Bosch Service

“Genetic Code” Concept, where Bosch’s

DNA or fingerprint plays a massive role,

providing uniqueness, exclusivity, and an

excellent utilisation of synergies. Bosch

defines this as Bosch Service brand per-

formance. When Bosch talks about brand

performance, it is wise to sit up and take

notice. Bosch has lasted for 123 years, and

is the world’s biggest automotive supplier,

so as Ewald says’ “Bosch must be doing

something right!”. A company that spends

7,8% of their turnover or R 190 million

per working day on research and develop-

ment intends to stick around for another

123 years. And even more astonishing is

the Automotive Division of Bosch, which

allocates 12% of their turnover to R&D.

No wonder that they’re number one.

Coming back to “brand performance”,

which is a result of three specific areas of

brand excellence and brand performance

and closely linked to the 14 specific areas

of the Genetic Code:

• Corporate Design and Visual

Standards

• Corporate Competence, i.e. providing

highest possible technical competence,

products and services at competitive

prices with minimum waiting times

for customers or just doing the job

properly, each and every day

• Corporate “Behaviour”, i.e. outstand-

ing customer relationships and cus-

tomer care management striving to

keep existing customers and to attract

potential new customers.

R o b e r t B o s c h

J u n e 2 0 0 962

Bosch Service National Convention 2009In a vibrant and upbeat atmosphere, Robert Bosch held their Bosch Service NationalConvention 2009 at the Birchwood Conference Centre, Boksburg on 23rd May 2009,and some stimulating and enlightening presentations kept the delegates enthralled.



63

The aim is the recognition of excellence and the linking of this

excellence to the Bosch Service brand and the imprinting of this

in the customer’s mind. Get this right, and service starts taking

priority over price, and it can be done.

Co-incidence or not, the message from Motivational Speaker GavinSharples at the Gala Dinner was that relationships at home and at

work are both based on the same principles. Build Your Product andBrand. Get Involved when they need you. It is all about

Relationship Marketing!

Dave Stalker, Technical Services Manager at Robert Bosch, with Jeff Osborne, CEO of the RMI

Ewald Faulstich, Director Automotive Aftermarket Division, RobertBosch kept the delegates enthralled with a wide-ranging presentation

J u n e 2 0 0 9

Grant Palliser, Marketing Manager; and Lilian Hansen, SeniorProduct Manager; gave insightful presentations at the conference

Dereck Knight, Senior Product Manager, with Christoph Wagnerfrom Robert Bosch Germany


South Africans are not just good at rugbyRobert Bosch Germany has appointed independent auditors to conductQuality Audits at Bosch Service outlets all over the world. The 2008 resultsshow South Africa in a particularly good light. The South African outletsaudited achieved an average rating of 91,3%, second only to Germanywhich achieved 91,7%. Considering that the average achieved in NorthAmerica was 79,4% and Asia/Pacific was 70,5%, the enormity of thisachievement can be put into perspective. And in the mystery shopperrating, which focused more on customer care issues, South Africa

once again came second to Germany. We’re a great nation!

J u n e 2 0 0 964


Gala Dinner

“Bosch Car Service “of the Year 2008 –

TPS Auto Electrical,Witbank

“Bosch Car Service /Diesel Centre” of theYear 2008 – Diesel

Works,Pietermaritzburg

“Bosch Diesel Service”of the Year 2008 -

Mafika Engineering,Johannesburg

“Top Performer” ofthe Year 2008 -

Diesel Works,Pietermaritzburg

2008 Award Winners:



J u n e 2 0 0 966

Champions of the IndustryAfter a successful stint as Sales Director for Specialised Markets, Chris Hillier hastaken on a new challenge at Federal-Mogul Aftermarket Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd.,as Sales & Marketing Director, effective 1 May 2009. ABR took the opportunity totalk to Chris about his move.

Over the past seven years Chris has been very busy

breaking bread with African customers. Initially it

was the establishment of a beachhead for Federal-

Mogul’s brands north of the Limpopo, but now it is

a significant footprint in 38 African countries. Having achieved

huge growth over the past couple of years in these markets, Chris

moves onto a new challenge, taking the full sales function under

his wing, and adding the marketing portfolio, all part of a strate-

gic realignment at Federal-Mogul. This consolidation means that

the sales strategies are now under one roof, both domestic and

export, with marketing added to the mix. The marketing portfo-

lio was previously handled by Malcolm Perrie, Managing

Director, and this reorganisation frees Malcolm up to focus on

strategic issues and stakeholder relations. However, Chris foresees

an extremely close working relationship when it comes to market-

ing matters, as he plans to lean heavily on Malcolm’s expertise and

knowledge as the duo tackles key operational concerns, to provide

a platform for exciting initiatives.

Chris brings two decades of Federal-Mogul nous to the job, hav-

ing had two stints at the company in its various guises, and being

an interested observer and participant in its mergers and acquisi-

tions, including Asseng Automotive, T&N, and now under its

current form as Federal-Mogul Aftermarket. Federal-Mogul is a

global giant, and Chris sees his key role in the next few months

and years in the alignment of sales and marketing objectives with

Federal-Mogul’s strengths. Lean manufacturing, technical know-

how, great brands, customer confidence are all attributes that can

provide leverage. Chris says, “I want to align our customer mes-

sage and our customer approach on a national level. This will

require a moving away from a regional focus to a key account

focus, to allow us to be consistent in our approach to the cus-

tomer, and critically, our message to the customer”. To achieve

this, Chris intends to synchronise the internal and external sales

staff with these goals, to present “One Face, One Message”, and a

strong emphasis on improved service levels. Federal-Mogul’s great

strength is its global brand philosophy. Any part sold anywhere in

the world has to have Federal-Mogul’s global approval, which

translates into a cast iron assurance to the customer that they are

getting only the very best. Add to this Chris’ desire to provide

great service levels, and you have a potent formula which has to

lead to success.

The irony in all this is that because of Federal-Mogul’s success

with its global brand approach, the counterfeiters have been busy.

The strength of the brands has attracted the attention of the copy-

cats and the fraudsters, who attempt to pass off inferior product

as the real thing. Chris is passionate about fighting this scourge,

as he has seen its detrimental affects in Africa, and does not want

this to take hold in South Africa (Ed’s comment “It unfortunate-

ly already has!”). Federal-Mogul is part of the fight against coun-

terfeiting, and is implementing anti-counterfeiting technologies

in both product and packaging, to make it difficult for those who

put money before conscience. To put counterfeiting in perspec-

tive, Chris quotes some alarming statistics; “Six to nine percent of

world trade is in counterfeit product. Interpol estimates that some

US$600 billion per annum is in counterfeit goods, and the auto-

motive aftermarket is one of the major victims”. He adds, “It is

more profitable and less risky than the drug trade, mainly because

the penalties are less severe. Stronger action is necessary. Federal-

Mogul will always be part of this fight “.

ABR will bring you more about anti-counterfeiting initiatives

from Chris Hillier in future issues.

Chris Hillier, newly appointed Sales & Marketing Director, Federal-Mogul Aftermarket, stands in the engine room of Federal-Mogul’saftermarket operations in City West, Johannesburg


J u n e 2 0 0 968

Springs has SprungIt may have been a chilly May evening, but for the attendees of the PartinformAutomotive Trade Show held at the Springs Civic Centre, it was a hot August nightand springs had sprung. The depressing economic news was put aside as the partici-pants indulged in the usual Partinform fare of education, information, technicalknow-how, brand awareness, and valuable networking with the trade. AutomotiveBusiness Review, South Africa’s most influential automotive aftermarket publication;was naturally there to take in the action.

Some influential big hitters seen at the RMI stand

The Partinform brand ambassadors readyto roll, revved up by the Ferrari 360Challenge Car, which is used in the

Ferrari Track Experience

Robert Bosch used the opportunityto remind the market that theBosch brand is not just about

kitchen appliances, power tools,electrical and electronic product,

and diagnostic equipment. RobertBosch is also about braking, andBosch offers an extensive range ofbrake pads, both imported and

locally assembled, using aGerman developed formulation

compound. A little known fact isthat Robert Bosch is the biggest

brake system manufacturer in theworld, having made significantinroads into the Japanese brandsat OEM level, offering the fullpackage of calipers, pads, hoses,

and electronics. Locally, the Boschrange of brake pads is fully sup-

ported by the Robert Bosch organ-isation, offering a 35 000 km no

quibble warranty. Here,Christopher Roberts, senior prod-

uct manager, AutomotiveAftermarket Division, proudly

displays the Bosch pads.


69

The vibe at the stands was first-rate

J u n e 2 0 0 9

Ian Fleming would be inspired to write a James Bond novel “The Man withthe Golden Caliper” if he stopped at the Ate stand, and saw this four pot

caliper. The full inspiring story behind this product will be unveiled exclusivelyby ABR in the July 2009 issue. Bracket this in your diary and watch this space.

Federal-Mogul used theopportunity to show their

well known “Fix it with Fredand Manny” series.

GUD metal free filters are ecological & environmentally friendly. These filtersare used in a housing which is attached to the engine and does not need to bereplaced. These products have no metal content and new media technology isused to cater for the extended service intervals of the modern cars. More on

this in forthcoming issues of ABR.


J u n e 2 0 0 970

Colin Murphy, chairman of Partinform, and master of cere-monies Duane Rockwell, kept the event moving crisply andencouraged the crowd to enjoy the event

Springs hasSprung!

Attending the event were the guys from Emergency Spares, Daveyton. L to r:Thushan Pillay, Colin Naidoo, Randir Maharaj, Daylin Poonsamy.


1. Which vehicle is used in the Forza Ferrari Driving Experience?

2. Who was the winner of the Forza Driving Experience at the Springs Partinform?

3. Who was the Master of Ceremonies for the evening?

Name and Surname: __________________________________________________________________________________

Company: ___________________________________________________________________________________________

Position: ____________________________________________________________________________________________

Postal Address:_______________________________________________________________________________________

Contact Tel. no’s:_____________________________________________________________________________________

e-mail address:________________________________________________________________________________________

71J u n e 2 0 0 9

And if you are a reader of ABR, not only are you highly intelligent, you also have a chance to win a Forza Racing Track Experience. Four

lucky winners will be drawn out of the hat at the South African Automotive Conference to be held in early October 2009, and will be

advised via e-mail or telephone by the middle of October 2009, and the winners shall also be announced in the November 2009 issue

of ABR. Don’t delay. The entries from the previous editions of ABR are already streaming in, so get out your thinking cap and answer

these three questions:

The Winners

Send your answers to fax 086 6579 289 or e-mail [email protected] with the following details:

The runners-up, who nevertheless walked away with some stunning prizes, were Sharma Moonsamy, Amelia Steyn, and Nicolaas Nel

And that’s not all. Winners of the luckydraw prizes (an i-Pod and a GarminGPS sponsored by Willard and Sabatbatteries) were Koos Koekemoer and

Daylin Poonsamy

Stefanus Nel of MiningIndustrial Repair Centre wasthe big winner of the evening,and he will be attending theForza Racing Ferrari TrackExperience on Friday 19thNovember 2009, together withthe other lucky winners. Youtoo can win this stunning prize;all you need to do is attend oneof the forthcoming shows.

Competition Corner

The balance of the 2009 schedule is as follows:Bloemfontein Wednesday 17th June 2009Durban

Tuesday 21st July 2009Klerksdorp Tuesday 8th September 2009Port Elizabeth Tuesday 13th October 2009White River Tuesday 10th November 2009


J u n e 2 0 0 972

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

by Roger McCleery

Answers on page 75

1. Why are manhole covers welded down on a Formula 1 Grand Prix street circuit?

2. Who was the second man to walk on the moon?

3. When did the last man walk on the moon?

4. How long on average does it take to change all four wheels on a Formula 1 GP car?

5. How many years was the Model T Ford in production?

6. At top speed how many times does the wheel of a Grand Prix car rotate per second?

7. What is the first name of the founder of the Honda Motor Company?

8. Who owns the Zwartkops Raceway in Pretoria?

9. What bakkie has replaced the Nissan 1400?

10. Name the best selling bakkie in South Africa for 26 years.

11. When did the Corsa Lite cease production in South Africa?

12. Name the motoring programme on Summit TV?

13. Who lies second in the Formula 1 GP Championship after five rounds?

14. What car does he drive?

15. Which make of car sold bigger numbers on 2008 – Opel or Chev?

16. Who lost more money in the first quarter of 2009 – GM or Toyota?

17. The Honda Accord station wagon is called a what?

18. What is the cheapest new car in South Africa?

19. What is the most expensive car that is quoted? (not P.O.A.)

20. Who owns Lamborghini?


AIDC Automotive Industry Conference 2009

J u n e 2 0 0 974

Navigating the stormrequires firm action

Both domestic sales and automotive exports have been hardhit by the global credit crunch resulting in low sales figuresand mounting job losses. To navigate the storm requires firmaction. This must be focused on putting the automotive indus-try on a sound long-term footing. The AIDC’s Automotive

Industry Conference 2009 has been designed to help stakeholders focus on collec-tive actions and to achieve improved synergy in overcoming the many challenges weface, says Barlow Manilal, CEO of the Automotive Industry Development Centre.

Only by achieving the vision of producing a millioncars a year will the South African auto industry beable to create and sustain more jobs, says NationalAssociation of Automobile and Allied Manufacturers

(Naacam) executive director Roger Pitot. This was one of themain reasons that Naacam was supporting the second SouthAfrican Automotive Week (SAAW), an industry show-case andthink-tank that is being held in Port Elizabeth in October thisyear. SAAW is the only industry event supported by bothNaacam and the National Association of AutomobileManufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa), together with theAutomotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC). Accordingto Pitot, it would not be possible to meet an industry target of70 per cent local content without much higher production vol-umes. Hitting the million vehicle a year mark would increaseemployment levels in the auto industry by “50 to 60 per cent”,according to Pitot. SAAW chairperson Alfred da Costa, who hasinterests in component manufacturing, says SAAW 2009 will be

a mix of a four-day industry expo, a “Navigating the Storm: Aroadmap to Vision 2020” conference and networking opportu-nities. International interest from manufacturers in China, India,Taiwan and Holland showed that the African market was seen asbeing a potential growth area by the world’s auto industry, hesaid. He urged local component manufacturers to turn this totheir advantage by entering into licence agreements with foreignsuppliers wanting to enter the African and local South Africanmarkets. Over the next two years, the component industrywould be characterised by mergers, take-overs and a consolida-tion of suppliers by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).The pressure was therefore intense for suppliers to beef upthrough partnerships. – the potential of which existed throughSAAW. The local companies already have the skills, facilities andinfrastructure in place, and would benefit from technology.“Original equipment manufacturers demand that local suppliershave international licensing agreements in place. Therefore, hav-ing international links in place is not a choice but a necessity.”

The new Cabinet will bring fresh ideas and newlyappointed Trade and Industry Minister Rob Daviesplans to give new impetus to the government’s much-talked-about industrial policy, which will become the

central pillar of economic policy. Says Barlow: “The AIDC islooking forward to playing a constructive role in enhancing thescale of industrial policy with regard to the automotive industrythrough its work in the fields of skills development and training,supplier development and supply chain development. We wel-come the Minister’s emphasis on developing local industrialcapacity. Since our establishment, we have worked towards mak-ing the automotive industry globally more competitive in waysthat will meaningfully create and sustain decent work.” Manilalsays that the challenges faced by the automotive industry are com-plex and require a shared vision on how to move forward. “Thiswill better enable the various stakeholders to take the actions theyare mandated to perform in the spirit of contributing towards acollective solution.”

The AIDC’s Automotive Industry Conference 2009 has as itstheme “NAVIGATING THE STORM: A ROADMAP TOVISION 2020.” It will be hosted at the SA Automotive Week inPort Elizabeth on 7-8 October 2009. Key automotive industryleader, Dr Brand Pretorius, has confirmed his participation.Additional value is on offer to delegates at the AutomotiveIndustry Conference 2009 as part of South African AutomotiveWeek, which includes the only Naacam endorsed International

Trade Show in South Africa. The Trade Show is focused onComponent Manufacturing, is for trade only and attracts buyersand suppliers from throughout South Africa and around theglobe. Site tours to the Coega IDZ, an OEM and FIFA 2010Soccer World Cup Stadium are among key networking opportu-nities which also include golf and the famous Gala NetworkingDinner on Port Elizabeth’s blue flag beach attended by the who’swho of the automotive sector. "The AIDC Automotive IndustryConference will address an industry in crisis. Industry role playersare seeing this as a platform to ensure that the industry isequipped with the credible information, resources, direction andsentiment that will allow automotive businesses to make the rightstrategic decisions for their businesses," says Lance Schultz,Project Manager at the AIDC.

Diarise the dates now! Conference fees for the two day conferenceare R4,069.00 excluding VAT per delegate. The early bird confer-ence fee presents a saving of over 15% if registration is completedby 31 July 2009. Early bird fees are R3,176.00 excluding VAT.There are also a limited number of lucrative sponsorship packagesavailable, allowing companies to market and establish vital busi-ness networks. For further information, please contact LanceSchultz at [email protected] or call him on 041 393 2104 orvisit www.aidc.co.za. For more information about opportunitiesat SA Automotive Week please contact Alastair Stead [email protected] or call him on 041 363 0310 or visitwww.saaw.co.za.


75J u n e 2 0 0 9

With four wins in the five races that started the Formula 1 GP sea-son this year, Jensen Button has proved one thing. Give the right carwith the right team to any one of the twenty drivers in Formula 1 andprobably lots more in some of the other single seater formulae, andthey will win a GP.

F a s t W h e e l s

Jensen Button was written off over the

last few years as a “over the hill has-

been” with only one GP win in his

entire career. So was Rubens

Barricello for that matter. Truth is that the

cars they were driving were not up to

scratch in the handling or engine perform-

ance departments. The trouble with

Formula GP racing is that if you as a driv-

er aren’t in a top well-financed team,

Formula 1 will make a fool of you. Every

one of the competitors in Formula 1 today

has got there as a champion of one sort or

another. Either World Karting (and that

is a super competitive sport), National

Championships, GP2, Formula 3000

American Championships, Formula Ford

– or whatever. They certainly wouldn’t be

driving million-rand racing cars if they

weren’t top of their game with a reputation

for success.

We have seen the skill of these drivers andthe competitiveness of their teams when itis damp or raining. That’s when the weath-er neutralises everything – drivers, cars andteams - and makes for great GPs. Most ofthe dry GPs these days are still processions.In the wet races we have seen Adrian Sutil,the young German in Force India, up therewith the front runners. Kazuki Nakajimain the Williams has done the same. Theworld beating McLarens and Ferraris andtheir drivers have looked average despitehaving the biggest budgets and worldchampions at the wheel. Bottom line?Every one of these super stars who race inFormula 1 today can win under the rightcircumstances. At the first race inMelbourne along comes the new BrawnGrand Prix Team with two non-perform-ing drivers. The team was only formedabout a month before the first race. Theypromptly cleaned up with a 1 / 2 finish.

What a start for a team with dedicated andknowledgeable men who know theirGrand Prix racing.

What is nice about GP racing this year andI don’t think we are going to see passing onthe track on the scale we even see in otherformula or in South Africa for that matter,is the new or young smiling faces that havecome to the fore. Button, 21 year oldSebastian Vettel tipped as the next MichaelSchumacher, Nico Rosberg, the SwissSebastian Buemi – are all giving it theireverything and loving being part of thescene. They enjoy their racing despite allthe politics around them. The last threeGPs in China, Bahrain, and Barcelonahave been different. China, run in mon-soon rains, saw Red Bull with Vettel andMark Weber without the advantages of theso-called illegal diffusers, used by theuncatchable “gang of three” (Brawn,Toyota and Williams) as described byRenault Chief Flavio Briatore, came home1 / 2 to take it away from the Brawn duo.Bahrain, a little bit closer to home, saw oddbits and pieces being fitted to try andimprove the performance of the cars.Bahrain in the desert saw Button, Vetteland Trulli stand on the podium with - sur-prise, surprise - World Champion LewisHamilton, fourth.

Comes Barcelona – the first European GPof ten in a row saw the cars all square withlots of aerodynamics and other goodies fitted. Results? A procession of note withall of us having to get excited about fuelingtactics and the amount of gas carried in thecar and whether it would last to the end.Martin Brundel, the commentator, wasback to saying “The stewards are sure tolook at that” when one car tried a daringpassing move. At least we won’t have any ofthat in Monaco where there is no passinganyway. Yawn yawn. So the racing up to

Round 4 in Bahrain was fairly dramaticand good to watch and had a new excitinglook with lots of new faces and new carsstarting to show.

Behind the scenes the usual political dramacontinued. Max Moseley who unfortu-nately has lost his 39 year-old son, had hiscost reduction methods being queried bythe boss of Fiat and Ferrari, who said hewill withdraw from Formula 1 Racing ifthis happens. According to reports Maxsaid – “Go. Formula 1 can survive withoutyou..” You think? I reckon if Ferrari with-draws it could start a snowball effect withRenault, Toyota and BMW leaving thescene. Boardroom members not close tothe Formula 1 racing, who finance theseteams, just need an excuse to pull out andsave huge amounts of money. See whathappened to our own Production Cars andTouring Cars in South Africa withoutmanufacturers. Sure, the racing will go onbut it won’t be quite the same.

Then the CE of Williams, was said to havequestioned the legality of Ferrari’s title win-ning cars in the days of MS. He claimedafterwards that he never said that aboutFerrari or Renault for that matter. Niceboys. Sounds like our politicians, who havebeen misquoted.

Formula 1 has the habit of keeping theintrigue and in-fighting going with hugecoverage between races. It comes generallywith someone paying big amounts ofmoney particularly when they are asked toappear in FIA Court.

Roll on Monaco. It is the pearl in thecrown with all the beautiful people inattendance and normally providing a stingin the tail as drivers and cars start to getsuper tired. (No sting in the tail, I’m afraid– editor’s comment – after the race)

by Roger McCleery

No Passing F1 is Back

1. To prevent the down

force on the cars lifting

them up

2. Buzz Aldrin

3. December 1972

4. Three seconds

5. Eighteen years

6. + Fifty times per second

7. Soichiro – means ‘First

Son’

8. Peter du Toit

9. NP200

10. Toyota Hi-Lux

11. November 2008

12. Ignition

13. Rubens Barrichello

14. Brawn

15. Chev

16. Toyota

17. Tourer

18.Chery QQ.8 TE at

R69 000

19. Porsche GT 2 at

R2.65m

20. Volkswagen

Answers From page 72


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

J u n e 2 0 0 976

As general manager of Sparepro,

Patrick is striving to create a sup-

ply chain that not only feeds off

itself, it strengthens in the

process, from A to Z, whilst encouraging

co-operation from everyone in the chain in

meeting common goals. In essence, a win-

win situation. In this idealistic scenario,

strong and synerginistic relationships are

critical. Patrick’s ideal is to create business

focused relationships with both the inward

freight companies and the outward freight

companies, thus providing an excellent

logistics base from start to finish, to enable

excellent delivery service to the ultimate

customer, i.e. the wholesalers, the spares

shops, the workshops, and the DIY enthu-

siasts. With a strong and reliable logistics

base, Sparepro can leverage off this

“cocoon of certainty” and introduce clear

policies and house rules around credit lim-

its, return for credits, and to communicate

this with confidence to the clients. This

cocoon of certainty thus allows manage-

ment to concentrate on the nuts and bolts

of the business, i.e. good product, right

price, and efficient service. Thus, no mat-

ter the size of the customer, each and every

customer can be treated with the necessary

respect, with no smoke and mirrors; with

the true intention of building relationships

to such an extent that each customer can

truly say “Sparepro is Different”.

Patrick says that the sales team plays a key

role in making this ideal become a reality.

Each salesperson becomes part of the solu-

tion, and part of the future, and he or she

delivers to such an extent that Sparepro

becomes the supplier of choice, even if the

price is not as good as the competitors’.

Patrick says that in getting to this ideal

there must be no comfort zone. The team

must never rest, and the focus has to be

improve, improve, improve. Sounds like a

tall order, but Patrick is adamant that his

ideal must become a reality, and that this is

a process of constant reinforcement and

adaptation, and that it is a journey that

never ends, as in reality the goalposts will

always move higher and higher, so you

never reach the destination. Patrick says it

is all about respecting yourself and self

improvement. “Everything is an opportu-

nity, and there is always a potential for

growth. Our foundation is that we are the

best we can be, and that we will always use

a professional approach.” Inspiring words,

and may this dream become reality.

An Ideal Becominga RealityPatrick Latouche is on a mission. Sceptics may say that it is mission impossible, butPatrick is not fazed. He has an ideal which he believes can become a reality, and hisoverriding philosophy in everything he does is to shoot for the stars.


77J u n e 2 0 0 9

SICKDAYS We will no longer accept adoctor's certificate as proof of sickness. Ifyou are able to get to the doctor, you areable to come into work.

SURGERY Operations are now banned.As long as you are an employee here, youneed all your organs. You should not con-sider having anything removed. We hired

you intact. To have something removed constitutes a breach ofemployment.

HOLIDAYS Each employee will receive 104 holidays per year.They are called Saturday and Sunday.

BEREAVEMENT LEAVE This is no excuse for missingwork. There is nothing you can do for dead friends or relatives.Every effort should be made to have non-employees to attend tothe arrangements. In rare cases where employee involvement isnecessary, the funeral should be scheduled for the late afternoon.We will be glad to allow you to work through your lunch-hourand subsequently leave one hour early, provided your share ofthe work is done.

ABSENT FOR YOUR OWN DEATH This will be acceptedas an excuse. However, we require at least two weeks notice toallow time for you to train your own replacement.

TOILET USE Entirely too much time is being spent in the toi-lets. In the future, we will follow the practice of going in alpha-betical order. For instance: All employees whose names beginwith 'A' will go from 8.00 to 8.20, employees whose namesbegin with 'B' will go from 8.20 to 8.40 and so on. If you areunable to go at your allotted time, it will be necessary to waituntil the next day when your turn comes again. In extremeemergencies employees may swap their time with a co-worker.Both workers' supervisors must approve this exchange in writ-ing. In addition, there is now a strict 3-minute time limit in thetoilets. At the end of 3 minutes, an alarm will sound, the toiletpaper will retract, and the door will open..

LUNCH BREAK Skinny people get an hour for lunch as theyneed to eat more so they can look healthy, normal size people get30 minutes for lunch to maintain their average figure.

Fat people get 5 minutes for lunch because that's all the timeneeded to drink a Slimfast and take a diet pill.

DRESS CODE It is advised that you must come to workdressed according to your salary. If we see you wearing designerclothing we will assume that you are doing well financially andtherefore do not need a pay rise.

Thank you for your loyalty to our company. We are here to pro-vide a positive employment experience. Therefore, all questions,comments, concerns, complaints, frustrations, irritations, aggra-vations, insinuations, allegations, accusations, contemplations,consternations or input should be directed elsewhere.

Have a nice day The Management.

My readers have once again not let me down

T h e L a s t W r i t e s by Baron Claude Borlz

Eish, veryappropriate

just after theelections:

While walking down the street one day a Memberof Parliament' is tragically hit by a truck (Probablya municipal one, I think!) and dies. His soul arrivesin heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.'Welcome to heaven,' says St. Peter. 'Before you set-tle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see ahigh official around these parts, you see, so we'renot sure what to do with you.' 'No problem, just letme in,' says the man. 'Well, I'd like to, but I haveorders from higher up. What we'll do is have youspend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then youcan choose where to spend eternity.' 'Really, I'vemade up my mind. I want to be in heaven,' says theMP. 'I'm sorry, but we have our rules..' And with

that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and hegoes down, down, down to hell. The doors openand he finds himself in the middle of a green golfcourse. In the distance is a clubhouse and standingin front of it are all his friends and other politicianswho had worked with him. Everyone is very happyand in evening dress. They run to greet him, shakehis hand, and reminisce about the good times theyhad while getting rich at the expense of the people.They play a friendly game of golf and then dine onlobster, caviar and champagne. Also present is thedevil, who really is a very friendly & nice guy whohas a good time dancing and telling jokes. They arehaving such a good time that before he realizes it, itis time to go. Everyone gives him a hearty farewelland waves while the elevator rises...The elevatorgoes up, up, up and the door reopens on heavenwhere St. Peter is waiting for him. 'Now it's time tovisit heaven.' So, 24 hours pass with the MP join-ing a group of contented souls moving from cloudto cloud, playing the harp and singing. They havea good time and, before he realises it, the 24 hours

have gone by and St. Peter returns. 'Well, then,you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven.Now choose your eternity.' The MP reflects for aminute, then he answers: 'Well, I would never havesaid it before, I mean heaven has been delightful,but I think I would be better off in hell.' So St.Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down,down, down to hell. Now the doors of the elevatoropen and he's in the middle of a barren land cov-ered with waste and garbage. He sees all his friends,dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting itin black bags as more trash falls from above. Thedevil comes over to him and puts his arm aroundhis shoulder. 'I don't understand,' stammers theMP. 'Yesterday I was here and there was a golfcourse and clubhouse, and we ate lobster andcaviar, drank champagne, and danced and had agreat time. Now there's just a wasteland full ofgarbage and my friends look miserable. What hap-pened?' The devil looks at him, smiles and says,'Yesterday we were campaigning.. ..Today youvoted.'

It’s a fine mess you’ve gotten usinto now that you’ve got rid of

our meal ticket...

New Employment Rules


ABR JUNE 1 2009:Layout 1 5/27/09 4:33 PM

automotive business review june 2009

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