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| Alwyn Viljoen in the BMW he likes most. |
Transport editor of the Wheels supplement in Afica's oldest ongoing daily, Alwyn Viljoen looks back at our first year and warns of more fun to
come.
THIS is the 52nd edition of Wheels,
making us one year old in newspaper speak.
To celebrate arriving at this milestone, Wheels
have brokered a hefty R2 000 discount on an advanced driver training
course for our readers — and one of you can win a free entry.
Note, all you young petrolheads, this is NOT that Drifting 101
course you have all been begging for. Instead, Wheels
will teach drivers in their own cars how to predict and stay out of
trouble in day-to-day traffic, pending monthly demand.
(But stand by for news on
that drifting course too.)
In a province bisected by the busiest highway in South Africa,
inculcating safer driving habits is the least we can do.
‘Not the usual statistics and s**t’
Many readers tell us
this supplement is reading like a car magazine, only about R40 cheaper and not a
month out of date.
Veteran member of the
Natal Jaguar and Daimler club, Mike Smith summarised it best when he said he
could not believe the supplement was only a year old. “It feels like I have been
reading it for ever — because there is finally something interesting to read and
not the usual boring statistics and s**t about new cars,” he said.
Over the past year,
these interesting topics ranged from interviews with SA’s other winner at the
Dakar, to the Malawian, Ackeem Ngwenya, who re-invented the wheel to make
portage by wheelbarrow easier in Africa.
The future buzzes electric
As an early adopter of
electric propulsion, the pages in Wheels
also reflect my belief that hybrids offer the most cost-effective
transport as fuel prices keep climbing to next year’s plato of R15 a litre. (You
read this horror news here first.)
Putting my money where my mouth is, I am working with Denks Motors
to build a small hybrid car to race at the Kalahari Speed Week. The aim is to
show driving enthusiasts we don’t HAVE to bend over that oil barrel to be
shafted by every passing oil sheik and his Uncle Sam.
Winners with Wheels
Another unique feature
of Wheels
is that you stand a chance to win the spoils from any car launches I get to
attend. Media24 policy dictate that journalists must decline or declare all
gifts and at Wheels,
I shamelessly ask for more gifts and then declare them for my readers, awarding
these as prizes to those of you who spot the answers to my questions in the
copy.
Bouquets
… and the odd brick
Of course not everyone
has been happy with Wheels.
We would not be doing our job right if this was the case.
Still, it is a
sensitive issue when a dealer threatens to sue after a frank appraisal led to
cancelled orders. But it all evens out, as our positive assessments also lead to
orders placed.
By far the most
important compliment for the impact Wheels
had in its first year was when Michael Chetty, founder of the oldest motor
racing club in KZN, nominated this supplement for a mayoral award. Chetty said
our support for drifting events and ghymkhanas has had a marked impact on
getting more car fans to spend time and money in Msunduzi.
Mixing ink on air
In the next year, deo
volente, we will work closely with Capital 104 FM, Msunduzi’s new
community radio, to also share on air the latest trends on everything that has
wheels, plus our correspondents’ honest appraisals of new and used cars that
you’ve come to expect and trust on these pages.
Thank you for your
patronage!
ON September 27, Wheels
aims to host an advanced drivers’ course to teach people how to predict and stay
out of trouble in day-to-day traffic in their own cars.
To celebrate our first year’s existence, this full day, certified
course will cost only R900.
Yep, R900, which is up to R3k less than normal. The course will be
presented in Zulu and English by accredited and very experienced instructors at
the historic Hesketh race track in Pietermaritzburg. Only 30 people can
participate in this first course, and one of them will enter free. For a chance
to win this free training, just e-mail what advanced driver’s course will not be
teaching.
This competition will repeat until September 22,
when the winner will be drawn and announced. Only one entry per
reader!
