NOKIA NAVIGATOR SAVES MEETING

My NOKIA 6210 Navigator is quite a special device. Yes it’s a cell phone with the ability to make calls, send and receive SMSs and MMSs, but also more. Much more. A month ago I was called out to a client who is based about 30km from Witbank, Mpumalanga. I know the road from Johannesburg to Witbank and it’s quite straight forward once you pick the correct freeway.

And getting to Witbank, one of the biggest cities in Mpumalanga is also fairly easy. But this place was far out there, it was not even close to the main freeway. Being called to an early-morning meeting in a village I have never even heard of posed the main challenge for the 6210 Navigator, and of course, for me too.

So I punched in all the information I was able to gather and waited to see if it would find the place. Lo and behold it did so within seconds. I then set out on my journey with the 6210 Navigator next to me, constantly keeping a close eye to see if it did not deviate from its original results and route. Because I am unfamiliar with the area I was forced to keep strictly to the speed limit, regardless of the fact that Jozi traffic had eaten deeply into my time. Soon the freeway opened up and I continued with no trouble.

Everything was going well until I took the recommended offramp towards my destination town. Not far from the freeway construction had begun on my very road and a gravel detour pointed me towards a different direction. Would the NOKIA recalculate and be able to use this detour? I wasn’t so sure because I didn’t know how long the detour was operating for and if the Navigator had been updated to reflect it. My fears came true and I realised there was no detour on my map.

For a few kilometres the screen showed no road at all but I went on hoping to rejoin the mapped road at some later stage, and it finally happened after 12km of driving. From then on the 6210 Navigator was back on top, showing the right way and telling me where to turn. I eventually made it to the meeting, some 45km from Witbank in an area one would not normally find in any map.

AUDI A5 SPORTBACK: NOW OFFICIAL, STARTS SELLING IN EUROPE

Audi has extended its range of A5 models by adding the A5 Sportback which is a 5-door family sports sedan/ hatch aimed at people with families but who still enjoy the look and feel of a sports car. IN4RIDE released a teaser shot of the car in June, but now you can enjoy a whole range of pics. The A5 Sportback sits 36mm lower than the A4 sedan, has short overhangs, a long wheelbase, frameless windows and loading volume that ranges between 480 litres and 980 litres.

Audi will offer the car with various engine choices, both petrol and diesel. At the bottom of the petrol range is the 2.0-litre TFSI making 132kW (180hp). Then the same engine is allowed to produce 155kW (211hp) while the range-topping 3.2-litre V6 has 195kW (265hp) in its belly.

The diesel range consists of the 2.0-litre TDI at the bottom which has 125kW (170hp) and has an estimated average fuel consumption of 5.2 litres per 100km. Higher on the ladder is the 140kW (190hp) 2.7TDI and at the top is the 3.0TDI having 176kW (240hp).

All these cars feature a KERS-type system which recovers energy when the car brakes and stores it for use at a later stage.

There may be S and even RS models coming too. An A5 Sportback would use the same 3.0-litre supercharged engine that currently makes 245kW (333hp) while an RS would go over 300kW (408hp).

Sales in Europe have started with the baseline model going from €33 650 (R381 600).

BRIDGESTONE SURVEY UNCOVERS DANGEROUS TYRE HABITS

BRIDGESTONE SAYS: The latest in a series of nationwide surveys conducted by Bridgestone South Africa to promote tyre safety and the importance of checking tyre pressures and their general condition has shown that there is still an unacceptably high level of motorists driving on tyres that are considered dangerous and needing to be replaced.

A survey in Polokwane in June has revealed that 15% of motorists in the Limpopo Province city are driving on tyres that are below the acceptable tyre pressure level of 1.8 Bar. Even more concerning was the fact that 6% of the tyres examined were found to be at pressures of less than 1.5 Bar, which is considered to be extremely dangerous.

Bridgestone’s tyre pressure surveys started in 2007 and to date have involved the inspection of nearly 3 000 vehicles and 12 000 tyres in five major metropolitan areas. The average of all the areas combined reveals that short of 80% of all the vehicles inspected were at or above the acceptable tyre pressure level of 1.8 Bar

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“We find these statistics alarming,” said Bridgestone’s general manager of group communications, Romano Daniels. “Most of our surveys have been conducted in association with Pick n Pay and have taken place in Hypermarket parking areas. They have revealed what we consider to be unacceptably high levels of negligence on the part of motorists who do not check their tyre pressures or the condition of their tyres.

“While we were pleased to see that a high percentage of Polokwane motorists (85%) had tyres that were in good condition, the ‘extremely dangerous’ categorisation accounted for 6%, the highest we have encountered so far in all our surveys. There were several instances of completely bald tyres, including a car taxi advertising the 2010 football World Cup that had four tyres with no tread at all.”

“Clearly more education is needed to improve awareness of the important role that tyres play in improving vehicle handling and driver control. Under-inflated and damaged tyres are a major contributory factor to the high number of crashes on our roads,” Daniels added.

Earlier surveys have been conducted in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Cape Town and Durban. The information gathered is being used to establish a Bridgestone Tyre Index and the ongoing surveys will allow a year-on-year comparison to gauge whether the national tyre inflation condition is improving or not.

Bridgestone South Africa is a subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo and the world’s largest manufacturer of tyres and other rubber products. Bridgestone South Africa is an active participant in the global FIA/Bridgestone ‘Think Before You Drive’ and ‘Make Cars Green’ campaigns.

13 AWARDS FOR BMW MUSEUM

BMW SAYS: The BMW Museum, reopened in 2008, sets benchmarks with its innovative and fascinating exhibition design, just as it did when it first opened in 1973. Since its reopening, the BMW Museum has raked in 13 internationally prestigious prizes.

Playing a pivotal role in these awards is the Kinetic Sculpture in the entrance area of the Museum. It represents the form-finding process in the car manufacturing ösector. 714 computer-controlled metal balls suspended from fine steel strings display a range of shapes through their movements before the actual BMW design materialises. Besides this sculpture, the outstanding design concept of the Museum’s so-called “Mediatecture” is attracting further prizes.

The façades of the “Houses” in the new low-rise building are made up of LED surfaces which showcase the exhibits. The sections of the façades surrounding the central plaza in the Museum are made up of more than 700m2 of LED panels, comprising a total of 1.765 million light-emitting diodes that allow the surfaces to be actively illuminated and choreographed. But it isn’t only the national and international media who are lauding the BMW Museum: its day-to-day visitors are just as impressed. Since the 2008 reopening, more than 400 000 visitors have come here to learn about the history of BMW. That ranks the BMW Museum second in Munich’s museum landscape after the Deutsches Museum.

RENAULT SA INVESTS IN LONG-TERM SAFETY

Renault South Africa has pledged its support for ‘A Decade of Action for Road Safety 2010 - 2020: Make Roads Safe Campaign’.

Renault, as global leader in road safety, is the first motor manufacturer in South Africa that has signed up en masse in support of this initiative.

By achieving the global target set for 2010, up to 5 million lives may be saved and 50 million serious accidents prevented.

At a mass signing which took place at the end of June, over 50 staff members from Renault South Africa were signatories to the pledge documents. Renault has been pioneering on-road safety since 1954. Every year, Renault invests hundreds of millions in safety research and development.

“Road safety is a fundamental of the Renault brand and its approach - based on effective safety - involves four specific areas: prevention, correction, protection and the raising of awareness,” explains Xavier Gobille, Managing Director of Renault South Africa. “As a result of this multi-prong approach, Renault has the safest range of vehicles on the road and is the only motor manufacturer to have earned the top 5-star EuroNCAP safety rating 11 times.”

The Road Safety Foundation was established to partner with the private and public sectors in an effort to reduce accidents resulting in injuries and fatalities on South Africa’s roads. “The mindset of the South African road user must be changed and this will take long-term, focused and sustainable activity. Road safety education and awareness programmes aimed at our youth, their teachers and parents are a priority. In order to achieve this, we are implementing specific and measurable education and awareness programmes such as this campaign”, explained Philip Hull, a director of foundation.

SUPERMODEL ELLE GOES TOPLESS WITH FIAT 500

Fiat launched the Fiat 500C which is a soft-top cabriolet version of the small Italian car in the UK two weeks ago. The base price is £11,300 (R151 000) and it comes in several engines and plenty of customisation options.

As new as it is it has now gained a new fan in former supermodel Elle MacPherson who simply gushed when she was given a loan unit. Elle, who lives in Notting Hill, UK, already owns a 500 hatchback.

“I love the Fiat 500C, it has that sexy, cool, Italian thing going on!” said Elle. “I like the way the car drives - it is perfect for cities with its small turning circle and the easy way it manoeuvres through London.”

While she may just have enough space in the car for herself and her two sons, 46 year-old Elle will nevertheless have good fun driving the puny 3.55 metre-long 500 around town.