The Nation Newspaper

Category: Motoring

  • Nigeria is not ripe for speed limiters

    Nigeria is not ripe for speed limiters

    The Vehicle Inspection Officers(VIOs) of all the states and FCT should also complement the efforts of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) by embarking on thorough and regular vehicle inspection to ensure they are road worthy, particularly the vehicle tyres, brakes and lights before issuing  road worthiness certificate(within their yard and not on the roads as it is today).

    All said and done, the use of the weapon of environmental analysis and diagnosis is very vital for result – oriented policy formulation and implementation. I strongly advice that the FRSC, Standards Organisation of Nigeria and the Automotive Council of Nigeria (The main parties in the speed limiter project) should call an emergency meeting of all the stakeholders including the Association of driving schools in Nigeria (Umbrella body of driving schools in Nigeria) to brainstorm on the key issues surrounding the implementation of the speed limiters to ensure it doesn’t die prematurely as other policies previously launched (overloading of commercial vehicles, use of safety helmets by motorcyclists, drunk driving, etc).

    In view of the low level of preparedness, inadequate number of speed limiters and maintenance Technicians, low level of public enlightenment coupled with the high cost, I hereby plead that the enforcement date be shifted from June 1 to a later date when the above – mentioned factors would have been reasonably addressed even though we know the commercial vehicle passengers will ultimately pay the price through increased transport fares.

    In addition, it should be noted that tools to circumvent the speed limiters are widely available and easy to install because it operates through electronic sensors and the engine computer which can be easily manipulated. In developed countries, electricity meters are not usually manipulated but you all know the situation in Nigeria of today where even prepaid meters are been manipulated.

    It is possible for manufacturers of commercial vehicles and Trucks to be compelled to install pre – set and unalterable road speed limit right from the factory as a condition for the sale of their vehicles in Nigeria to avoid the need to be compelling buyers to install.

    Adequate and appropriate driver education is much more vital than speed limiter and must, therefore, be emphasised. Driving schools must not compromise the standards of their training. The public and private sector organisations must also release their drivers to go to driving schools for result – oriented theory and practical re – training and capacity building programmes. Speed Limit signs should be installed in the appropriate places on the highways and rural roads with the right monitoring mechanism put in place for the apprehension and prosecution of speed violators even for speeding up to 40km/h where the speed limit sign says drivers should not speed more than 30km/h.

     

    Call for further brainstorming

     

    While I suggest that the June 1 implementation date should be pushed forward, I want the FRSC and her partners in the speed limiter project should in addition to the above – mentioned, take note of the above-mentioned facts for further brainstorming to ensure a more result – oriented implementation of the speed limiting policy in Nigeria.

    I am not an Apostle of doom but the unpleasant and devastating results of the over-rushed new driver licence and the ongoing graduated driver licensing system which have been worrisomely compromised is one of the very fresh examples to further affirm my claims in this article.

     

  • Mercedes-Benz S-Class still holds sway

    Mercedes-Benz S-Class still holds sway

    The Mercedes-Benz S-Class model continues its innovations in comfort, safety, assistance systems and high-value appeal. With its harmoniously-matched materials and colour schemes, the exclusive-looking interior presents itself as one beautifully-moulded whole, writes TAJUDEEN ADEBANJO

    The modern design of the S-Class has always been an expression of luxury and automotive grandeur of its respective era and the S 500 also continues this tradition.

    Since the arrival of the Mercedes-Benz S-500 via the authorised distributor in Nigeria – Weststar Associates Ltd in 2013, much has been said about it but it cannot be talked about or admired enough. Customers can, no doubt, appreciate its exterior design, which is a union of stylish poise with sporty elegance.

    The highly-charged feature line, three dimensional radiator grille, and the innovative head and tail lamps with the cutting edge LED technology are all characteristics of the high tech nature of the S-Class and help to underline its position as one of the world’s leading Saloons visually as well.The vehicle is perfect for both relaxing and work.

    The interior design of the Saloon fulfils this trailblazing role with its clear architecture which establishes a new vision of a superior, classic yet advanced Saloon. With its harmoniously-matched materials and colour schemes, the exclusive-looking interior presents itself as one beautifully-moulded whole.

    The clear craftsmanship and the noble looking finish captivate the eye. One of the first features to catch the eye is the wood trim running all round the interior, in conjunction with the modernistic design; it conveys a feeling of expanse and peace. High-quality controls made from aluminum, together with metallised switch surfaces in pearl-effect finishes, are a clear outward sign of Mercedes-Benz quality. The interior is informed by a uniquely flowing, sensuously elegant style. Horizontal elements and lines create a setting characterised by visual breadth and calm solidity.

    Living up to its reputation of possessing “Efficient Technology”, the S 500 gives an output of 10KW at 4.4 litres per 100 kilometer, thereby almost halving fuel consumption.

    The new S 500 sets benchmarks in the futuristic areas of infotainment and multimedia, too.

    First-class sound and entertainment systems and navigation features with a high-resolution display will provide you with an emotional experience and unbridled driving pleasure, all the while keeping your destination in sight.

    With 13 high performance speakers and 9 DSP amplifiers with a total power output of 590 watts, the system calibrated to the S-Class ensures first-class Burmester “feel-good sound”.

    The model was voted best car in the luxury category; these were the results from the latest reader survey by the specialist automotive publication “auto, motor und sport”. The readers were asked to name the best car of the year, in which the Mercedes-Benz is continuing to earn its place as the reader’s favourite. This acknowledgement consolidates the reputation of the S-Class as a technological trendsetter and the epitome of luxurious travel.

    The S 500 is the first vehicle worldwide to feature suspension technology that is even able to react in advance to road unevenness. It therefore offers an unprecedented level of ride comfort. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class model has real innovations in the area of comfort, safety, assistance systems and high-value appeal.

    For the Nigerian market, according to Mr Mirko Plath, the Managing Director of Weststar, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class has led the high-end luxury market with more than 75 per cent of the market share in Nigeria and the model will continue to defend this title.

     

  • CFAO to assemble Yamaha motorcycles

    CFAO to assemble Yamaha motorcycles

    The CFAO Motors is to establish an assembly plant for Yamaha brand of motorcycles in Nigeria.

    The auto giant has signed an agreement with Yamaha Motor Company Limited on the motorcycle manufacture and distribution in Nigeria.

    A statement by the CFAO Motors said the joint venture, which would be owned 50-50 by both firms would ensure both companies benefited from the right to manufacture and distribute Yamaha motorcycles in Nigeria.

    The new company would be named CFAO Yamaha Motor Nigeria Limited.

    According to the statement, the new company was scheduled to begin operation this year, adding that the factory was targing a production and sales target of 70,000 motorcycles by 2018.

    “The premises, which include an assembly plant, will be based in a CFAO multi-activity site in Lagos, and the company has a target of over 70,000 motorcycle sales within three years of the startup,” the statement said.

    Yamaha, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of motorcycles with a presence in about 200 countries, is expected to contribute its manufacturing and marketing expertise to the venture.

    With a strong and longstanding presence of over 112 years in Nigeria as well as an extensive network in 20 cities and towns in the country, the CFAO said it had in-depth knowledge of the local market, distribution networks and customer needs.

    The CFAO, which with operations in over 37 countries, said it was already imports and distributes Yamaha products in 16 other countries in Africa.

  • Made-in-Nigeria Kia Rio gets unbeatable offers

    Made-in-Nigeria Kia Rio gets unbeatable offers

    With an unwavering commitment to bring to the fore an affordable made-in-Nigeria vehicle, Kia Motors Nigeria has featured highly competitive special offers on the most sought after B-Segment sedan in Nigeria with both the Big Deal of N1.98m on Kia Rio manual transmission and Mega Deal of N2.97m on the automatic transmission powered Kia Rio. The people’s car as it’s dubbed at the unveiling of the made-in-Nigeria Kia vehicles by the former Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory, Mrs Olajumoke Akinjide, is built with remarkable features that exceeds customer expectations and has over the years remained the preferred option for teeming customers.

    Kia’s offers are to reassure the customers that their interest is always edged at the core values of the company.

    The Rio is an extremely well-built car with innovative engineering, is fun to drive, and its interior is comforting. Emanating flair from every angle, the Rio’s low, wide stance and short overhangs give it a strong, youthful identity all of its own.

    Kia’s designers have engineered a car with features that are cutting-edge yet at the same time effortlessly simple to use. A highly visible supervision cluster incorporates an on-board trip computer, while the steering wheel itself is tilt and telescopically adjustable so that you can find your perfect driving position.

    The ultimate expression of confidence in the Kia Rio body style is sure to impress with its dynamic stance and low-slung profile.

  • Toyota breaks ground on centre expansion

    Toyota breaks ground on centre expansion

    A groundbreaking to expand the Toyota Technical Centre near Ann Arbor is further evidence that Michigan is one of two North American pillars for the Japanese automaker in North America.

    Toyota is investing $126 million to add two more buildings to its complex in York Township. One will be a prototype facility for vehicle development; the second is a supplier centre.

    The powertrain development facility on the Ann Arbor Township campus is also being expanded as the automaker develops more of the engines and automatic transmissions here for vehicles that are designed and manufactured in North America.

    The construction is to be completed in late 2016.

    More than 300 jobs are relocating to Michigan, including employees from Erlanger, Ky, who worked in purchasing and supplier engineering as well as some vehicle and powertrain development staff from Calif. Consolidating people from all functions in one campus will make quick decision-making easier.

    The expansion is part of Toyota’s unification of its North American operations with much of the research and development centred in Michigan and the move of the corporate headquarters to Plano, Texas, from Torrance, Calif. Toyota will no longer have a third hub in Kentucky.

    The Toyota Technical Centre opened in 2008 on land acquired from the state of Michigan. There are about 1,200 employees now.

    Toyota has 14 plants in North America, including 10 in the U.S., and employs nearly 40,000 of which 37,000 are n the U.S.

  • Audi outsells BMW, Mercedes

    Audi outsells BMW, Mercedes

    Audi has consecutively sustained the lead in luxury car sales, edging out BMW AG’s namesake brand and fast growing Mercedes Benz in April and May respectively, the German car maker affirmed.

    Audi reported that the first five months of 2015 increased 11.7 per cent from last year to 73,353 vehicles while in May 2015 sales rose 11.0 per cent to 18, 428 vehicles, total that stands as the second-best month since the brand was launched in the United States market 45 years ago.

    The brand has similarly achieved significant sales growth in Nigeria with more than 400 units sold since the beginning of the year, Anurag Shah, Audi Centre Head of Sales and Marketing said.

    Shah attributed the growing popularity of the brand to ingenuity and some intriguing Audi models that were recently launched.

    Meanwhile the best Audi sale ever in the U.S. market was in December 2014 with 19,238 cars and SUVs.

    One of the key drivers of Audi sales gains in the US was the significant increase in demand for the A3 and S3 models that form the base of the Audi product lineup.

    Audi said May 2015 was best month on record for the A3 and S3 sedan models with 3,035 cars sold, as well as for the A3 Cabriolet with 458 cars sold. Combined, the 3,493 A3 and S3 sales trailed only the 4,280 sales of the popular Audi Q5 and SQ5 crossovers in the Audi results.

    “A year after launching the new A3 models, we are seeing payoff from our bold decision to re-imagine a key component of the Audi lineup and take advantage of a luxury car segment poised to take off,” said Scott Keogh, President, Audi of America.

    He said: “The record sales for the A3 and S3 sedans, along with the A3 Cabriolet, show this was a risk well worth taking. And we aren’t done yet with the all-new A3 Sportback e-tron coming this fall as the first plug-in Audi.”

    Notwithstanding, May represented strong demand for Audi luxury SUVs with a 36.7 per cent increase encompassing the Audi Q3, Q5 and Q7 models. The Q5 posted an 11.6 per cent increase from a year earlier, and the Q7 posted a 25.3 per cent increase from last May. The Audi Q3 wasn’t available in May 2014.

    Audi Certified pre-owned vehicle sales also achieved their second-highest total for any month and the best May ever with a 5.8 per cent gain on 4,405 CPO vehicles sold. Audi CPO sales year-to-date increased 8.3 per cent.

    Audi currently holds the longest running record sales streak in the premium car market according to a competitive sales report from motorintelligence.com

  • Acura recalls two models

    Acura recalls two models

    Acura has recalled two models because the automatic emergency braking systems can malfunction and put the vehicles at risk of a collision.

    The recall involves just under 48,000 MDX SUVs and RLX sedans worldwide from the 2014 and 2015 model years and shows how even sophisticated safety technology can be prone to real-world glitches.

    Acura’s “Collision Mitigation Braking System” uses radar to scan conditions in front of the vehicles. If it determines the vehicle might hit an object, it automatically applies the brakes, slowing the vehicles to reduce damage and injuries.

    In the recalled vehicles, the system can become confused and step on the brakes when it detects another vehicle accelerating in front while simultaneously driving along an iron fence or metal guardrail, according to Honda, the maker of Acura. The problem first surfaced in Japan in November of 2013 when an SUV braked for no reason and caused a rear-end collision. While Honda investigated, a second incident happened in June of last year.

    Honda later duplicated the problem, figured out the cause and told safety regulators of the recall in May. The company says it has no reports of warranty claims, incidents or injuries in the U.S. because of the problem. Dealers will update the system software at no cost to owners.

    Later versions of the system actually stop the vehicles before a crash, but those versions aren’t affected by the recall.

  • Nigeria not yet ripe for speed limiters

    •Continued from last week

    In view of the above- mentioned factors, there are situations when 50km per hour will constitute over-speeding even though the allowable speed limit may be 80km per hour. In such a situation, the speed limiter will be of no use.  It then boils down to the fact that comprehensive and custom – made Driver Education with unbiased enforcement is the best antidote to over-speeding and other related factors responsible for road traffic crashes and fatalities, with or without the speed limiters.

    Every Driver must be taught the effect of Gravity, Kinetic energy, Inertia, Banking and Centrifugal force on driving. Comprehensive Driver Education on the causes and prevention of road accidents should be emphasised and enforced far above speed limiters.

    8. Though the policy will generate employment opportunities in the areas of programming, installation and maintenance but will the implementation, enforcement and compliance be thorough and effective to make the employment opportunities profitable and sustainable?

    9. The Federal and State Governments must intensify more efforts to improve on road construction, road furnitures and maintenance nationwide.

    10. Unless the security system, particularly on the highways is significantly improved upon, the speed limiter might turn out to be a clog that turns vehicles to prey in the hands of armed robbers and other vandals who will definitely not install speed limiters in their operation vehicles.

    Starting with the transporters, it is advisable that the installation of speed limiters should be extended to other vehicles in Nigeria, including the vehicles owned by government functionaries. Security on the highways must be improved upon both in the day and in the night.

    11. Are the Officers of the Federal Road Safety Commission in all the states and Federal Capital Territory equipped with the equipment for detecting violators of the speed limit while they are far away from the vehicles? Are automatic camera system (CCTV) and automatic number plate recognition devices being installed in strategic locations, particularly the roads where over-speeding is common, to capture the violators, both in the day and night?

    More speed limit signs and safe driving Tips should be erected at regular intervals and occasionally on the road surface nationwide.

    In a nutshell, the introduction of speed limiter in Nigeria is a good step but strict enforcement, monitoring, evaluation and security supports among other strategic decisions must be effectively put in place to ensure that the new speed limit policy is not a white elephant project nor counter-productive in Nigeria. The fact that the expression of interest advert for the supply, installation, maintenance and calibration of speed limiters in Nigeria was just published in The Nation Newspaper on April 21, 2015 when the ultimatum given to commercial vehicles to install same is June 1 is another pointer to the fact that we often put the cart before the horse in policy implementation. The new driver licence scheme was in shambles because it was commenced with inadequate centres which gave room to fraud, bribery, fake licence production, inconveniences and other shortcomings. Over one year after, FRSC is just proposing to establish 71 more centres when the agency ought to have done their mapping before commencing the scheme and the accompanying problems would have been averted.

    •To be continued next week

  • Toyota ‘ll unravel Air Bag defects cause, says president

    Toyota ‘ll unravel Air Bag defects cause, says president

    Toyota President Akio Toyoda has vowed to help get to the bottom of the problems with Takata air bags, the recalls for which have ballooned to about 53 million vehicles worldwide, stressing that regaining consumer trust is its concern.

    Doubts are growing about whether Japanese supplier Takata Corporation has the financial muscle to deal with all the defects, a task that could take years. The ultimate size of its financial burden will remain unclear until the underlying cause of the problems is identified.

    Toyoda was solemn when addressing Takata’s woes. He pointed out Toyota Motor Corporation had gone through a similar public-relations disaster over massive recalls that began in 2009, and expanded to some 14 million vehicles worldwide, for problems including faulty floor mats, defective brakes and sticky gas pedals.

    “Recalls are not just about technical problems. If there is a morsel of consumer doubt, then we have to deal with it,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a reception for the Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association.

    “We must aggressively pursue recalls. Otherwise, we can’t go forward,” he said.

    The air bag inflators being recalled can kick in with too much force, blow apart a metal canister and send shards flying. The defect has caused at least six deaths and more than 100 injuries worldwide.

    Toyota has been working with the other automakers affected by the Takata defect, including Japanese rivals such as Honda Motor Co., the hardest hit, and manufacturers such as BMW AG, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V., Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. to pinpoint the root of the air bag problem.

    Toyota and nine other automakers hired Orbital ATK, an aerospace and defence technology company based in Dulles, Virgina, to conduct testing on Takata air bags.

    Takata and United States’ authorities, as well as some automakers on their own, are also carrying out tests.

    Although exposure to moisture for extended periods appears to trigger the problem, the root cause is still unknown.

    “It’s like a sickness. You have to find out what’s causing it if you hope to treat it and fix it,” Toyoda said.

  • Mazda, Mitsubish recall more Takata airbags

    Mazda, Mitsubish recall more Takata airbags

    Days after Japanese car parts maker Takata doubled the number of vehicles being recalled due to the company’s defective airbags, auto giants Mazda and Mitsubishi added more vehicles to the recall.

    Japanese auto makers Mazda and Mitsubishi announced they would recall about 624,000 more vehicles to replace air bag inflators made by Takata.

    Mazda said it was recalling about 112,000 vehicles, including the Atenza sedan, Bongo van and two models it builds for Nissan Motor Co and Mitsubishi Motors. A spokeswoman said it was stil planning for any recall overseas.

    At the same time, Mitsubishi Motors is calling back about 100,000 cars in Japan and 412,000 overseas, the company said.

    The companies’ decision comes days after Takata’s move to double the recall of potentially deadly air bags to nearly 34 million vehicles, making it the largest automotive recall in US history.

    At issue are malfunctioning inflators in Takata airbags which cause them to explode, spraying metal fragments into the passenger compartment. Regulators have so far linked six deaths worldwide to the problem.

    Experts and safety advocates say Takata’s US recall of potentially deadly air bag inflators could take years to complete, as automakers scrambled to line up replacement parts, some not from Takata.

    A Takata spokesman said the company would raise output to 1 million inflators a month by September, an increase of 100,000 parts from the previous forecast and up from the current monthly level of 500,000.

    Takata reported a net loss of $244 million (221 million euros) for the last fiscal year, but said it expects to return to profit this financial year despite the recalls.