Look east for long warranties

Once the Japs had proved their worth, consumers were offered products sourced from (primarily) South Korea and Malaysia in the shape of unusual brands such as Kia, Hyundai, Daewoo, Ssang-Yong and Proton.
Value for money was the name of the game but in the early days, there was definitely a need to balance potential life span against outlay.  
While some may still have reservations, more recent products emanating from South Korea in particular have put the breeze up traditional mainstream manufacturers, especially when it comes to city and light/medium cars.
As I reported recently, a number of “Chevs” are not Chevs at all — their genes came from Seoul in the shape of re-badged Daewoos — but it’s been Hyundai that’s caught my eye more recently as two of its products have received consistent acclaim from Europe’s most respected motoring titles.
These models are the Golf-sized i30 which I reported on last year, albeit it briefly, and the newer i10 which is essentially a city car with a length of just 3,6 metres and a girth of 1,6 metres.
To add to the confusion surrounding the country of origin of some of these Oriental vehicles, the i10 is actually manufactured in India as are an increasing number of brands these days.  What drew my attention to this model was a display of all manner of Hyundais in the local shopping mall. 
The reportedly mediocre but pleasant looking Getz was completely overshadowed in my book by the much more modern i10 which was festooned in stickers drawing attention to the extraordinary 5 year or 150 000 kms guarantee as well as the fact that the white example on show featured a 1,2 litre engine. 
The story is that the first examples of the breed, which arrived on SA shores in the second half of last year, were fitted with 49kW 1,1 litre motors.  It stands to reason that the power-sapping Reef altitude will have made these motors suffer from asthmatic symptoms, so enter the 1,2 with a more muscular 60kW and some safety equipment that was missing from the original which remains on sale.
The cars on display were bathed in bright neon-sourced light which tends to reveal flaws in paintwork, so it’s pleasing to report that the i10 passed my critical scrutiny with high marks. While the almost obligatory orange peel was in evidence, but not to a disconcerting degree, gloss was good and the panel gaps were excellent, being uniform and tight.
Given that this is a city car, you wouldn’t expect Bakkies Botha to be a potential purchaser, but for Mums on the school run, the interior space looked reasonable enough as did the quality of the plastics and the fabric seat coverings.
Unfortunately, I’m not in a position to pass opinion on the driving characteristics of this Indo-Korean creation, but I’ve read enough to know that the i10 is generally rated better than the equivalent offerings from European makers.  Add in that terrific warranty and a highly competitive price tag given all the equipment that comes as standard, and you’ve got a very attractive proposition on your hands.  I’m just not so sure about the depth of back-up in RSA but if sales reflect the quality of the offering, more and more dealerships are bound to spring up and hopefully, they’ll have the resources to keep customers happy.
Brawn and brains
The ongoing success of Brawn GP and Jenson Button in F1 is rather refreshing as is the performance of the youngest-ever GP winner, Sebastian Vettel, who has quietly displaced the curiously highly rated but poor performing Mark Webber as the real force in Red Bull racing.
One thing about Brawn GP bugs me though and that’s the reporting of the fickle “look for a Brit hero” UK-based press. From the tone of their reporting, you’d think Ross Brawn was the sole contributor to the success of his eponymously-named team. 
His tactical ability is not in doubt as proved by his extraordinarily successful partnership with Michael Schumacher in which I would rate the latter’s contribution at around 80 percent, but right now, you’d think Brawn was the only reason for the team’s resurrection. 
What’s conveniently forgotten is that Brawn was a major part of last year’s Honda team which performed appallingly badly. 
It appears the big Brit played no part in these failures or so the UK hacks would have you believe.  So bad was the Honda team that they gave up on the 2008 season almost before the red lights had gone out in the first GP and concentrated on designing a new contender to meet the major changes in the pipeline for 2009.  
This gave the team a major step up while most of their opponents were concentrating on developing existing machinery.
The fact that Honda then pulled the plug on F1 and effectively financed Ross Brawn to take over was actually a god send as it meant the team could source its powertrains elsewhere. 
They went to Mercedes-Benz and no-one can dispute that the Stuttgart hardware has been leagues ahead of what the team was saddled with last year. The ultra-reliable and powerful Merc engines, in combination with a first class aero package which benefited from the aforementioned early development, have provided Brawn GP with a well-rounded package that greatly simplifies decision making from the pit wall.
So, without wishing to detract from Ross Brawn’s undoubted and proven talents in directing a racing team, there are other forces behind the resurgence, not least of which is Jenson Button himself.  He’s driven beautifully so far and has made his more experienced Brazilian team mate look rather ordinary. Now tell me where Ross Brawn would be if Rubens Barrichello carried the flag for Brawn GP?
Mountains of money
Porsche’s sensational takeover of VW last year may just be in jeopardy as word has it that the Wolfsburg-based giant is plotting a reverse takeover of its new majority owner.  
I have to admit that the financial implications of the original takeover left me scratching my head as it’s a mighty complex subject but now it seems the wheel is starting to turn full circle.
I’m certainly no budding accountant, but from what I’ve learned, Porsche had to borrow heavily to buy VW. Now we all know that loans have to be repaid  (well, that’s how most of us see it) and with the recession snapping even at Porsche’s heels, income has seen a significant downturn.
The mind-boggling figures look like this. Porsches’ current debt reportedly stands at USD11,73 billion, the bulk of which is related to the purchase of 50,8 percent in VW. 
Now Porsche is expecting to earn USD365 million in divis from VW and with its own anticipated profits for the year, states it can service the interest portion of the debt. The company’s massive reserves and profits are to a large extent paper based in the form of the shareholding in VW and pundits say it’s not that easy to convert such holdings to cash should the need arise.
This is especially pertinent as industry observers reckon that Porsche’s profitability could be seriously eroded by the ongoing recession. Further,  their liquid resources will also be stretched by the fact that Porsche continues to invest massively in research and development. 
Should Porsche find itself unable to service its loans, insiders predict that its much-lauded CEO, Wendelin Wiedeking, who apparently masterminded the VW takeover, could find himself booted out by the Porsche and Piech families who retain a considerable shareholding but who do not involve themselves with day-to day management. 
Ironically, Ferdinand Piech, who remains the primary string-puller at VW and who is married into the Porsche family, is the very person who clashed swords with Wiedeking when Porsche sprung its surprise VW takeover plans on an unbelieving world.  It is said he would love to put the boot into Wiedeking’s posterior but don’t under estimate the man.  He’s not Europe’s best paid car exec for nothing.
On a related matter, it is now reported that Fiat has expressed an interest in buying a majority stake in ailing Opel.
This has put the planned Fiat/Chrysler partnership in jeopardy just as it’s put German unions into a frenzy. Word has it that Fiat is already seriously in debt but that its long term plans are all based around achieving economies of scale that would come with “owning” multiple businesses endowed with a potential output of 6,5 million vehicles a year.
The German wing of GM, which has applied to Bonn for a rescue package, is concerned that Fiat would close factories in Germany as there is a considerable product overlap and that it would only increase the financial drain on Opel because of its own rocky foundations.
The unions also quote the failed marriage of Fiat and GM in 2000, a marriage which ended up on the rocks within five years and which cost GM an estimated USD2 billion to cancel a buy out agreement. I repeat that I’m not an accountant so I’d be grateful if someone could explain where loss-making Fiat would find the funds to buy a majority stake in Opel? 
As things stand,  Frau Merkel appears very unwilling to burden taxpayers with a  government rescue package for a company which ironically has recently produced its best product in ages, the Opel Insignia.