TURNING THE CLOCK BACK (OR STOPPING IT!) -March 21, 2005

Monday, March 21st 2005
1:44 PM
As the developed world is moving more and more into a state of highly sophisticated automotive technology - The truck manufacturers in North America, Europe & Asia have all but forgotten about the developing countries that are just reaching for the first rung of the technology ladder. With this in mind I ask a simple question – Do the markets of Central Africa require this type of sophistication? What does your driver do when the on board computer decides to shut the engine down for whatever reason? In a nutshell this could mean a thousand kilometre breakdown just to change or isolate a sensor. Even jump starting an E.C.M. equipped truck could blow the diodes in the computer – rendering the vehicle lifeless on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. One progressive (?) company that has addressed this problem is VW in South Africa. Recently a leading Canadian motoring editor visited South Africa and discovered that VWSA still produced the first generation VW Golf that revolutionised the motoring world over 20 years ago. The vehicle even has a carburettor. In North America – carburettors have gone the way of the dinosaur and only used on ‘hot rods.’ This alternative but simple vehicle is completely realistically priced and serves as an entry level car for the masses. In conclusion we want to take a page out of VW’s book and make our Mammoth Euro-American more compatible to our export markets and remove some of the unnecessary sophistication – a retrograde step – I don’t think so. Keep on trucking & drop us your comments.

Geoff Gogle
C.E.O.