This Week In The News

NEWS IN SHORT

• The Department of Home Affairs says that the old green ID books in South Africa are on their way out, and it will declare them invalid “very soon”.
  
  
• Liquidators of the Mirror Trading International pyramid scheme have issued summonses to hundreds of South Africans who withdrew funds from the scam while it was still active.
  The summons demands that members return all the bitcoin they withdrew from the scheme or pay back the cryptocurrency’s current rand value.
  
  
• The new Foton Tunland G7 has landed in South Africa with buyers having a choice between six specifications spanning one single (SC) and five double cabs (DC).
  Pricing for the new bakkie starts at R278,173 (excl. VAT) for the two-door model while the cheapest four-door comes in at R399,990 (incl. VAT).
  
  
• Toyota has officially launched the new Hilux Raider in South Africa with fresh looks and updated equipment. The facelifted mid-ranger is available in Xtra Cab and Double Cab body styles, with prices starting at R563,200 and R612,100, respectively.

• The Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA), which is responsible for the management of the country’s Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) system, has incurred a “substantial debt” to the South African Post Office after failing to cover the costs of fine payment-demand notices sent to motorists, The Sunday Times reports.

• The implementation of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) system has yet again been delayed. It was first tabled over 26 years ago in 1998 and is still bogged down by administrative and legal issues to this day.
  The City of Cape Town have openly stated they will fight tooth and nail to avoid executing the system in their jurisdiction as it will force them to funnel large portions of revenue to the RTIA while being solely responsible for flipping the bill to implement Aarto.

• The Nissan Qashqai’s time in South Africa has come to an end after more than 17 years on the market.

• Max Verstappen on Thursday confirmed he will stay with Red Bull next year, dealing a significant blow to Mercedes' hopes of recruiting him to replace Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton.

• Compiling a list of the world’s top selling vehicles is no easy task, but the studious data gatherers at JATO Dynamics have managed to collate the figures and estimations for 151 markets around the globe.
  And the winner, which you might have seen coming if you’ve been following electric vehicle (EV) news of late, is none other than the Tesla Model Y.

• A roadworthy certificate only shows that a pre-owned vehicle meets all the requirements of the law in its current form, but not if it was previously involved in a serious accident and repaired.
  According to the South African Motor Body Repairers’ Association (Sambra), a roadworthy test identifies visual defects with electrical items, bodywork components, steering, suspension, and seatbelts, and includes an overview of the undercarriage.

 

New VW Golf R 8.5 revealed – The most powerful Golf ever

As a reminder, the current R models are equipped with a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, which produces an already substantial 235kW and 400Nm.

The update has added a small but appreciable 10kW and 20Nm to the package, giving it a total of 245kW and 420Nm.

That’s enough to shave o.2 seconds off its 0-100km/h time, as the hot hatch now makes the sprint in 4.6 seconds when using launch control for the best possible start.

All of this thrust is transmitted to the tarmac via a seven-speed, dual-clutch automatic gearbox and the 4Motion all-wheel-drive system.

The top speed is capped at 250km/h, though customers can raise the limit to 270km/h with the optional R-Performance package.

As a point of reference, the current Golf R retails for R957,800 in South Africa, so expect a window sticker of around R1 million when the 8.5 makes its way here.

 

What drives South Africans to road rage?

Psychologist Lloyd Bemelman describes road rage as a clear lose-lose situation, where keeping your emotions under control for just 10 seconds could prevent much anguish down the line.

“Road rules that people are expected to follow, seem not to apply to some drivers, so that upsets people, irritates them and results in anger, which takes over the brain and results in road rage,” Bemelman says.

In a society such as South Africa, where most citizens have become desensitized to violence, it’s not surprising that aggressive behavior is becoming more common on the road.

There are many different factors such as financial stress, load shedding and turmoil in politics, that contribute to the stress of those behind the steering wheel.

Arrive Alive has devised a 10-point plan to prevent road rage, which includes ignoring the temptation to retaliate.

Eugene Herbert, CEO of the MasterDrive driving academy, said intense emotions can be just as dangerous as intoxication, fatigue and distracted driving. He encourages motorists to manage their expectations out on the road and simply be as nice as possible.

Dear members,

We are thrilled to announce that Kevin Pengelly has joined The Blue Chip Dealer Group as a new Director.
Kevin joined the Police is in 1982 and then joined Reg Pengelly and John Fermor at Tokai Toyota in 1989. Thereafter he started Pengelly Autos in 2003.

They have 9 staff members, 5 of whom have the surname Pengelly. Bit of nepotism And the Pitbull Chairmen, Silo, comes to the office daily.

We are confident that Kevin will play a pivotal role in help driving the Blue Chip Dealer Group forward, bringing fresh perspectives and innovative strategies to enhance our operations and customer satisfaction.
Please join us in welcoming Kevin to the Blue Chip family. Together, let us extend our full support and cooperation as he embarks on this exciting journey with us.