Lexus launched an expensive plan to enter F1 way back in 1983. Not quite Formula One, but a project code named Flagship One which was to take the Japanese car manufacturer into a new realm of luxury to compete with the elite German marques.
It started with a simple challenge from Founder Eiji Toyoda – build the world’s best car. It culminated in the launch of the acclaimed LS 400 after a feverish five years.
The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection took $1 billion, 450 prototypes, 60 designers and 400 engineers. And the expertise of a special “Team One” unit from leading agency Saatchi &amp; Saatchi to pioneer the marketing.
The legend goes that the F1 designers rented a home in Laguna Beach to get a glimpse of the well-heeled American consumer and their motoring minds.
The project wasn’t aimed at the home market – rather the United States. And the core reason was a trade agreement between the Japanese government and US trade officials to restrict the export of less expensive models.
In an automobile version of the Space Race, Honda got into the American arena with the Acura and Nissan reached for the skies with the Infiniti.
Some reports claimed the LS 400 had better handling and performance and shockwaves rocked the Mercedes Benz and BMW camps with Cadillacs and Lincolns being traded in and German luxury vehicle sales dropping by almost 30%.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/life/2017/08/04/golden-road-ahead/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Golden Road Ahead</a>
By 1999 Lexus had recorded the millionth vehicle sold in the US and in 2005 there was an organizational separation from Toyota, with dedicated designers and engineers working exclusively for the brand.
Despite the fact that the Lexus offering was comparable to the German leaders and left the showroom floors with some fancy features included in the price, it wasn&#8217;t a package to get the adrenaline pumping.
The sporting badges of Merc AMG and the BMW M division had been wheel-spinning to capture the drivers who want more than a quiet and leisurely jaunt to the shopping center and certainly relish the looks and audio levels to get noticed en route.
The Japanese reply, fresh off the drawing board of the F-Sport Division, came in the form of the IS F, launched in 2007 and the much vaunted LFA – custom built to the last detail. It was only in production for two years and the allotted 500 specialized models found relatively happy homes.
“The LFA is an icon now and possibly always will be – we don&#8217;t need to replace it to keep that status. It is a car we can reference for another 25 years if we choose. Its status is assured,&#8221; said European boss, Alain Uyttenhoven.
“It is possible that we will one day create another supercar, but in my view a super high-end machine is not what we need right now.”
Enter highway left the Lexus LC 500. The concept car drew gasps five years ago and Lexus have been one of the few automakers brave enough to take a dream design to the production line.
Maybe not a supercar – the definitions vary – but not light on the wallet at a retail price of $130,000.
“Not only has Lexus delivered a design with high visual impact, it has also developed ground-breaking engineering and technology for the LC 500. This isn&#8217;t simply a car that looks good – the LC 500 has been engineered in every dimension to deliver a very special driving experience,” says Calvyn Hamman, Sales and Marketing Senior Vice president of Lexus South Africa.
And with such a long title, he should know! While sportscar designs can be hotly debated, this one is hard to ignore. It almost seems to perch on the tarmac like a squat sprinter waiting for the buzzer.
The meshed grille, like a more macho version of the Mercedes diamond front end, reaches out to you with its contoured mould. It is flanked by recessed and diminutive triple LED headlights that blend into the bodywork in a Star Wars fashion.
The “Experience Amazing” theme flows to the rear with L-shaped taillights that have an acclaimed “afterburner” effect courtesy of 80 concentric LEDs per lamp.
<div id="attachment_33715" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33715" class=" wp-image-33715" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Lexus-LC500-_7-e1506690463360-300x215.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="358" />Lexus LC 500 (Photo by www.lexus.co.za)</div>
Open the door and the interior is dashing with crisp metallic lines, the controls easily at hand and the seats firm and supportive.
But don&#8217;t plan on taking any six-footers in the back seats – like most GT cars this is really the home of Yorkies on their way to the parlor.
When it comes to infotainment systems, the cry of the decade seems to be for systems to delight a 16-year-old but take a bit of head scratching for the Stoneage.com generation.
So you may have got used to the touchscreen or the round click wheels – or even voice recognition – to command your high-tech steed.
Now we have the track-pad – very much like the device on your laptop. I’m sure it can control anything from heating the seats to ordering a hot take-away. And given weeks of practice it may feel like an extension of your left hand.
But it is finicky, to say the least, and by carelessly resting your elbow near the ultra-sensitive pad you may find the climate control battling the Arctic or iTunes blasting out from your cellphone. Fortunately there are the old fashioned knobs and switches for some of the basic requirements at the wheel!
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The daring overall creation is wrapped around a normally aspirated 5.0-liter V8 which propels the LC to 100km/h in a swift 4.7 seconds with the most pleasantly guttural sound yet to be emitted by a Lexus. Yet not quite in the league of a Porsche 911 or Jaguar F-Type R and it only really sings at the higher revs.
What is absolutely phenomenal is the 10-speed box which is so smooth that it’s a challenge not to paddle up and down through the gears to feel the silky transitions or get an additional growl from the exhausts.
It is a hefty beast but delivers an engaging drive that sometimes sees you straying over the speed limit. And you have no excuses – the heads up display will give you ample warning.
There have also been many profit warnings in the motor trade in recent years. Lexus doesn’t disclose too much publicly about their financial operations but insiders say the division contributes a healthy share to Toyota’s bottom line.
The Group recently raised its full-year profit forecast by 16%, citing expectations of a weaker Yen. So now they say a profit of $16.8 million is on the cards – slightly down from last year.
“Our organization has been working to evolve with the changing consumer tastes in luxury,” says Tokuo Fukuichi, President of Lexus International.
“The new LC embodies a shift in forward-thinking culture, and is a glimpse into the products and experiences you can expect from Lexus in the coming years.”
South Africans will only get a fleeting taste right now. There are just a handful of LC 500s heading this way and the hybrid LS 500h is restricted to selected overseas markets.
Will the new flagship herald the next chapter in the Lexus tome and feed down the line to all the upcoming models? It has been an encouraging new beginning. &#8211; Written by Derek Watts

A Concept Car That Captivates

In a decade or two – maybe three – we will look back at how we used to bullet towards each other in tin cans at a combined speed of two hundred kilometers per hour and more.
We can bemoan crime around Africa and the world, but the most dangerous thing we do (apart from cave diving) is quietly press the start button of our car.
Globally around 1.3 million people die in road accidents every year and well over 20 million are disabled.
And while the glorious new future of autonomous driving awaits, for now manufacturers make their vehicles as safe as they can and (at a price) install a range of amazing collision avoidance features that seems to grow by the month.
Volvo have set the bar incredibly high with their vision that by 2020 nobody should be seriously injured or killed in one of their new cars.
But it’s the Mercedes Benz E-Class saloon that makes the top three in the world of safety as rated by the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) after a series of test crashes.
What impressed the testers was the PRE-SAFE system which magically detects if an accident is imminent by the way the car is being driven. It automatically tightens the seatbelts, closes the windows and sunroof and even adjusts the seats to the optimum position.
Now PRE-SAFE even links with the new Mercedes “me connect” evolution. The new brand with the guiding principle of “the best for me” means you can interact with your car, the dealership, Mercedes Assistance… maybe even Mars in the five areas of mobility, connectivity, service, financing and inspiration.
There have already been cases where the emergency call system has been triggered automatically by PRE-SAFE after an accident and assistance dispatched within seconds.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/life/2017/07/03/porsche-panamera-kicking-ass-new-boot/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Porsche Panamera: Kicking Ass With A New Boot</a>
On a less dramatic level: You leave your car with your husband (now that’s a PC thought) and while sitting at your board meeting in London you can see on your smartphone that the left back tyre is under inflated and the fuel is low. And, because he is so absentminded, you lock the car with a flick of the screen and tell him its Uber from now on!
By now you may be thinking that the E-class is a nanny sedan. Well let’s dispel that idea in far less than 140 characters. Mercedes-AMG E63 S 4MATIC+.
The most powerful E-class of all time, with the new and versatile 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 under that sculpted bonnet, will take you to 100km/h in just 3.4 seconds. And then show its softer, efficient personality by deactivating cylinders when you haven’t got right foot frenzy.
It just lapped up Kyalami with a terribly nervous instructor in the passenger seat and I haven’t had as much fun on a track since the Audi R8 V10. That clever 4MATIC+ fellow seems to counter most driving sins.
According to the specs, this brand new all-wheel drive system is fully variable for the first time, instead of favoring the rear axles when dishing out power. Which means, if I’ve got it right, that the electronics are working overtime to make sure that you are getting the best traction, on every wheel, on every road surface.
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So, if you want performance with a touch of class, and also need to get two kids to school, you may have to part with $142,000 and order this beast. But it is not all that easy. Because flattering its xenon headlights in the wings is one of the most mouth-gaping Mercs on the market.
The Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupé gives new meaning to style. It had distinguished parentage with the E-Class winning the 2017 World Luxury Car Award.
Upfront is trademark Merc with the Diamond grille that Mark Fetherston and his design team boldly fronted the new CLA with in 2013. Even back then some scribes found it a tad brash, but it has certainly lasted the pace!
So you will probably only appreciate the exquisite lines of the coupé when you draw alongside and get mesmerized by the smooth flowing lines all the way to the cloned C-Class tail.
The frameless windows are accentuated by a polished aluminium strip that runs the perimeter of this very lean profile and also highlights the elongated doors which allow (fairly) easy access to the rear seats.
It is longer and slightly wider than the saloon with a decent amount of legroom for a long stretch of misery like myself.
If there is any bad news, it’s the fact that there is no four-liter AMG version. Your top choice is the E 400 4MATIC with a three-liter V6 turbo with respectable acceleration of 5.3 seconds and a smaller dent in your bank account – $78,000.
And if impressing at the lights really isn’t your game, the Merc E-200 Coupe comes in at $57,000 with the E 220d and E300 lining up in the power ranks.
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Looking at the balance sheet, Daimler AG announced that net profit doubled in the first three months of the year, rising from $1.6 billion in the last quarter of 2016 to $3.2 billion. Revenue rose 11% to $44 billion.
The reason? CEO Dieter Zetsche gave full credit to the strong sales of the E-Class and its advanced driver-assistance and safety features. Just a shame that, as with most marques, advanced safety has to come in at a price.
The Mercedes-AMG E 63 S 4MATIC+ and the E 400 4MATIC Coupé are destined to keep the cash register ticking.
And it is something of a birthday gift. It’s the 50th anniversary of AMG performance and the quirkily named “Stroke Eight Coupé” was launched in 1968.
A couple of golden anniversaries indeed. &#8211; Written by Derek Watts

The Golden Road Ahead

It’s been some time since cars have been viewed strictly as a mode of transport; most consumers buy into a brand, rather than simply deciding which vehicle they need to shuttle them around on a daily basis.
Many prestigious manufacturers have branched out into creating clothing, luggage and other such items for brand-loyal customers, and some manufacturers have even extended their design expertise into unrelated fields. The aim here is less to do with pure profit but rather as a means to showcase their creativity and problem-solving techniques.
BMW Group is one of the few car companies in the world that has its own design studio that focuses on non-car related products. In 1995, BMW Group acquired Designworks USA and began looking at how the two facets could complement one another.
Creative solutions are also a hallmark of Porsche’s philosophy. Back in 1972, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche founded Porsche Design, with the aim of applying his company’s Bauhaus-inspired thinking to other impactful projects.
Michael Griffin, owner of the sole Porsche Design shop on the African continent, says one of his main aims is to educate the South African consumer that Porsche Design isn’t simply a case of putting logos on shirts or sunglasses. The success of the product range conceived by the luxury sports car manufacturer can be seen in the phenomenal sales achieved by the Siemens Breakfast Series. More than 1.3 million kettles were sold worldwide, which far exceeded the expected 100,000 units. Not only were the items aesthetically pleasing and exclusive, they also functioned well.
Probably the greatest, most inspirational and complex creations ever undertaken by an automotive manufacturer is Ferrari World on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, the largest of its kind, covering an unprecedented 200,000m2. It was officially opened on November 4, 2010, and can fit seven football fields head-to-toe. If placed upright, it would be the tallest man-made structure, at 300 floors. The theme park also houses the fastest rollercoaster ride, Formula Rossa and allows adrenaline junkies the chance to experience the same G-forces as they would in a Formula One car.
Not to be outdone in the architectural realm, Porsche is looking at creating its own Design Tower, a $560 million structure that will be built in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida in the States. It will be the world’s first condominium complex with elevators that’ll take residents up to their units while they sit in their cars.
Ferrari has famously commissioned several vehicle designs from the world-renowned Pininfarina. Founded in 1930 by builder Battista “Pinin” Farina, the company has branched out into producing sporting goods, furniture, equipment, machinery, consumer products and even tried their hand at packaging.
BMW has become involved in remarkable creations such as the Intermarine 55 Yacht. This luxury vessel draws on the inspiration and insight carried over from the group’s knowledge of cars; it features stainless steel air intakes and a rear wing spoiler.
Partnering up with the United States Olympic Committee, BMW North America produced a two-man bobsled that raced in the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT) World Cup in Austria on January 19. The Bavarian car manufacturer paired lightweight materials with optimized aerodynamics.
Other genres that BMW Group Designworks USA has forayed into run the gamut of consumer electronics, environments and medical.
In addition to making writing instruments, luggage, smoking items, sunglasses and watches, Porsche Design has helped manufacture products such as bottle packaging, dentist chairs and fetal sonar scanners.
The company originally came up with the first black chronograph watch in 1972, which sold 50,000 times more timepieces than Rolex. Six years later, their exclusive sunglasses range went on to shift an unprecedented six million units worldwide, not to mention the range favored by Yoko Ono that was produced in 1979.
While the sale of cars is ultimately the biggest money-spinner for these companies, non-automotive revenues generate an increasingly impressive profit. In 2012 for example, Porsche’s worldwide car sales topped out at €3.02 billion ($3.9 billion). By comparison, sales stemming from Porsche Design hit the €100 million ($130 million) mark, that’s a jump from €79.8 million ($103.7 million) in 2011.

Brands In The Fast Lane

South African roads are a seething mass of too many vehicles on an already strained infrastructure. There is a means by which to alleviate some of the pressure, but it’s seen as too risky and the process of getting a license is felt to be difficult. Motorcycles haven’t really been considered a viable option locally, yet in other congestion-filled countries, they’re viewed as pragmatic and fuel-efficient.
Traveling by motorcycle is very risky—there’s no denying this. However, due to the relatively small percentage of motorcycle commuters, the general level of awareness is greatly diminished. Of course, little mention has to be made of the speed at which some motorcyclists travel—the disparity between themselves and cars greatly diminishing reaction time.
While there are clearly issues with adopting two-wheeled transport en masse, theoretically this is a viable solution, reflected by the Gauteng transport authority’s recent statement. They have given the undertaking to AMiD (Association of Motorcycle Importers and Distributors) national director, Réhann Coetzee, that they will consider redrafting the legislature required for obtaining a driver’s license in order to ease the transition. This, of course, is good news for the flagging motorcycle industry which has been suffering the effects of the global economic downturn.
<div id="attachment_1300" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1300" class="size-medium wp-image-1300" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Benelli-Trek-1130cc-300x242.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="242" />Benelli Treck (1130cc)</div>
In 2011, some 34,214 motorcycles (excluding quads and off-road bikes) were sold, in contrast with the 54,720 in 2008. The pressure exerted by a very expensive Yen has also had its effect on sales, despite the Rand, Pound Sterling and Dollar being corrected to previous levels. Similarly, boats have been seen as luxury items and the playthings of the rich and have suffered the same decline. What is often overlooked, is that this industry creates some 3,500 jobs for local artisans and plays a significant role in South Africa’s economy. According to Vanessa Davidson, CEO of MIASA (The Marine Industry Association of South Africa), “South Africa builds boats to international standards and thanks to local ingenuity and the tenacity of our manufacturers, we are able to supply excellent boats to the local market and to export boats at competitive prices all around the world.”
There’s clearly much value and interest in both motorcycles and boats, and as such the first co-hosted event between AMiD Motorcycle and Quad Lifestyle Show, and the Johannesburg Boat Show and Outdoor Lifestyle Shows took place this August at the NASREC expo centre.
Around 30,000 people attended the event which was superbly hosted by SA Show Services. South Africa’s Olympic gold medal-winning rowing team was present to meet their fans and sign autographs, and lifetime achievement awards were handed out by the Gauteng Boating Retailers Association to industry icons Leon Prinsloo of Raven Boats, Derrick Levy of Marine and Boating, Don Jarred of Angler Boats, Ronnie Arenson (who established Water World in Gauteng) and Peter Lindenberg (multiple South African waterskiing and Formula One powerboat champion).
The exhibition also welcomed back iconic Italian motorcycle brands Benelli, absent for 25 years, and Moto Guzzi, absent for five years. The Benelli Motorcycle Company is more than a century old and has a proud racing heritage. Now part of the Chinese Qianjiang Group, the company still operates from its original site in Pesaro, Italy and is being distributed by Puzey Motor Corporation SA. Moto Guzzi won more than 3,000 races in their illustrious career, and famously pioneered the use of wind tunnel testing for motorbikes. Along with Aprilia and MV Agusta, these brands fairly complete the list of remarkable Italian machinery now available to local enthusiasts.
Not to be outdone by the flair of the two-wheeled exhibitions, but keeping with the Italian-made theme, the Johannesburg Boat Show had as their star attraction, a R5,8 million ($704,000) yacht on display. The Atlantis 38 Open-Class Power Yacht as its officially known, measures in at 11,62 meters and has been called “the upgrade to end all upgrades”. Able to carry 12 passengers with ease, the Atlantis is still so nimble that it requires no additional skills to pilot.
Another formidable vessel on display was the nine-meter long houseboat christened Sensation Living. The boat is completely self-contained and solar powered. The hull is made of glass fiber and the entire vessel acts like a giant cooler box, such are the levels of insulation it offers. The boat offers accommodation for six people and entertainment capabilities for 12. With only a normal skippers license needed, Sensation Living is aimed at serious water lovers who only intend to set foot on land on rare occasions—and with a price tag of R1.2 million ($145,800), we wouldn’t want to leave this vessel either.
If bikes or boats weren’t your passion, the expo also housed the Outdoor Lifestyle Show. Inside the hall were a range of diverse offerings—from scuba gear to barbecue equipment to model cars. There was something for everyone, and an expo such as this provides a valuable entry point for those wishing to get involved in activities by creating awareness and providing expert advice on hand.
Outdoor activities have always been an important aspect of South African life, given that we live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world, with a wonderful climate to boot.

Living A Life Less Ordinary

They stretch for hundreds of kilometers. When it’s good, you feel like you are gliding over jet-black silk. But, when it’s bad, it’s like you’re juddering through dust and potholes. Driving an economy without roads is never easy. Especially when it comes to African roads, where transport costs remain among the highest in the world, according to independent analyst Andrew Maggs. The question is­: who pays for it?
The World Bank reports that only six countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have more than a fifth of their roads paved. Those with the most tar roads may surprise many: Ghana; Botswana; Mauritania; Morroco; Niger and Ethiopia, far from the economic giants of the African continent.
This is a sign that Africa is crying out for investment in roads.
“At present, Africa’s road network is falling short of its function as a means to bring about greater regional integration and boost trade. For landlocked countries in Africa, transport costs, including road transport, can reach up to 75% of the value of exports. The cost of building road networks, and thereafter their maintenance, is costly,” says Maggs.
A key to investment is the Trans-African Highways System, he says. It comprises of nine main corridors on the continent, totaling over 59,000km, linking Cape Town to Cairo.
You could argue that Rome wasn’t built in a day, but the Romans did build roads that helped build an empire; roads which, to this day, still exist. On the other hand, they didn’t have to handle heavy low-load coal trucks or 16-ton wheelers carrying groceries from Durban harbor to Johannesburg along congested roads.
This kind of heavy traffic is the reason why the South African government built a wider, faster freeway through Gauteng. Now, it wants its money back. Whether they like it or not, drivers in Johannesburg are going to have to pay for the R18 billion ($1.8 billion) road the government built, stretching more than 185km around Johannesburg and Pretoria; a road that has undoubtedly eased traffic.
This has been fought through court and on the streets. The government wants people to pay R8.5 billion ($842 million) alone for a hated tolling system. On the front line is Wayne Duvenage, former Avis car rental agency owner and leader of the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (OUTA).
“At this stage I want to set the record straight. We know we have to pay for the roads. Society ultimately pays for all upgrading and infrastructure development. The problem here is how we pay for the roads. As several companies started to engage with South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) we realized how onerous and cumbersome and how inefficient the system is,” says Duvenage.
There are 3.5 million people on the road in Johannesburg. In October 2007, all it took was an advert in six newspapers, which drew a mere 28 responses, to legitimize the road agency SANRAL’s project, the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP), he says.
No one complained when development began, before the 2010 FIFA World Cup, until the first tariff prices for e-tolls emerged, explains Duvenage. The public’s gripe is the annual R1.5 billion administrative cost, omitted by SANRAL, when the tender was gazetted. When people started adding this to the road cost of R1.9 billion ($190 million), to be paid back over 20 years, opinions started to change.
Gauteng drivers are not happy that they will pay on average R300 ($30) a month for a road for which they already pay a fuel levy and extra taxes.
Over three years, there have been numerous protests against e-tolls. Bikers have revved their anger on the highways. The South African labor union, COSATU, has blocked the traffic with slow driving, vowing to cripple the system. OUTA managed to win a court interdict banning e-tolls in April 2012. The court ruling was overturned by the South African Constitutional Court a few months later. SANRAL argued that if e-tolls were not implemented immediately the debt would be too great for the country to recover.
In mid-June, more controversy, Kapsch TrafficCom AG, the overseas company awarded the billing tender, told Bloomberg that it would get an additional annual revenue boost of R670 million ($67 million) through South Africa’s e-tolls. The announcement inflamed opinion yet again.
“Who could believe SANRAL’s claims that e-tolling is beneficial to South Africans when the only proven financial benefit to date is to Kapsch? Kapsch’s bold trumpeting of their revenue figures has unmasked e-tolling as a government-assisted [program to create] profits for a foreign-based entity,” says Duvenage.
According to Vusi Mona, SANRAL spokesperson, money will not be going overseas. All toll fees collected will go to SANRAL, except for the service costs of e-toll, which will go to Kapsch, as specified in their tender contract, he says.
Kapsch have posted an 18% drop in stock, since the delay. SANRAL has also had its fair share of knocks, their average monthly expenditure to pay for GFIP will amount to R601 million ($60 million). Credit rating agency Moody’s has announced a two notch downgrade of SANRAL’s rating. The company says it has had to suspend its marketing activities and limit the sale of its bonds to depress borrowing costs. Another cost to the public, SANRAL says, is that future road plans have been put on hold, despite a government bail-out of R2 billion ($200 million).
Had the interim interdict remained in place, parliament may have had to appropriate more money from the national revenue fund at the expense of tax payers, even those who do not live in Gauteng, says Mona.
The final appeal is to be held at the Supreme Court, on September 25 and 26. If successful, OUTA’s last roll of the dice against e-tolls could see it scrapped, leaving SANRAL to find another way of collecting the debt.
“We just don’t want to be ripped off. I think they planned this very sketchily; they didn’t do enough research. They didn’t engage properly. Now the chickens are coming home to roost,” says Duvenage.
The campaign against e-tolls is not as strong as they would have liked. Duvenage says people have had  problems digging into their pockets to win the fight. In legal fees alone, OUTA has raised R8.4 million ($840,000) but needs another R3 million ($300,000) to tackle the government in court. They need to raise R1 million ($100,000) by July 21, which the official opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, has decided to fund. Duvenage estimates the government’s legal costs run more than R25 million ($2.5 million), enough to pay for 1.8km more road on the highway.
“We are fighting a case that government has free reign over our taxes to spend our tax money in the courts and society has to go out with a begging bowl,” he says.
In response to OUTA’s call for more private money, Mona says OUTA is wasting public money by going against past court rulings.
In the meantime, SANRAL’s e-toll system was awarded first place in the 2013 Toll Excellence Award for Technology by the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA). It did not win a prize in the other three categories: customer service; operations; and social responsibility.
As the debate continues, more and more anger is being generated by rises in fuel levies, food prices and the general cost of living in the city. For many of Johannesburg’s citizens, the roadways provide the only reasonable means of travel to and from work.
There is no doubt the N1 is the envy of Africa, the question is will anyone pay for it? It is likely that they will have no choice.

Tag: Driving

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A Concept Car That Captivates

The Golden Road Ahead

Brands In The Fast Lane

Living A Life Less Ordinary

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