HOLDING an on-line meeting with Trevor Hill, the head of Audi South Africa, and his right-hand product and communications team members is not an occupation us journos normally partake in, but that Corona virus has been responsible all sorts of unusual occurrences for some three months now. (more…)

THE moon has waxed and waned many times over since I compiled a far-from-complimentary 1300-word article on the original “Morris Mini” of 1959. I won’t go into specific detail here, but I did not share the gushing views of the patriotic British press who, in the 60s, were…

AS a dyed-in-the-wool car fanatic, I have never been too enthusiastic about the on-going if sluggish introduction of all-electric passenger cars. To me, engine sound and exhaust note are inherent elements of enjoyable motoring as it’s been known for around 135 years. (more…)

I HARDLY need waste ink in drifting off into a resume of how the automotive world has gone SUV-centric as the trend is now old hat, but it does seem a tad unusual that a company such as Honda with its sporting history should have encompassed the genre…

Merc GLA 200 and AMG 35 Unlike in the good old days when Mercedes-Benz took moons to develop a new model to standards few others could aspire to, more recent Mercs have come out of the development phase at comparatively break neck speed, and the haste has sometimes…

IT ALMOST goes without saying that Zimbabwe manages to create unique market situations when it comes to what is or isn’t available in terms of automotive brands. (more…)

HONDA'S intentions are so hard to read as far as the Southern African market is concerned. To the casual observer, the company has been keeping its head below the parapet compared with the halcyon days of the Ballade when local assembly and a union with Mercedes-Benz created so…

RECENT events around the globe have had a catastrophic effect on the motor industry (and most other things too) and we haven’t been spared on the southern tip of Africa, especially with a three-week lockdown now in force. (more…)

  BUYING patterns in southern Africa telegraph that there’s a loyal clientele for pick-ups (hereafter referred to as bakkies) and that loyalty is also brand-orientated to a remarkable degree such that market share by badge has remained incredibly consistent, year by year. (more…)

LONG-term readers of Top Gear may recall that back in the dim but not so distant past, I had a Suzuki Swift Sport in my personal wheeled armoury, having selected it as appropriate transport for my wife who had a preference for smaller vehicles. (more…)