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.
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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

Rihanna is a hit machine churning out more number one songs in the charts than any other artist. Sometimes I feel that the world’s manufacturers churn out motor vehicles sticking to a formula and are too scared to rock the chassis.
Rihanna’s secret is that she and her producers know how to reinvent her vocal and, of course, physical attributes on a regular basis.
Recent proof was her rendition of Four Five Seconds along with 72-year-old Paul McCartney wearing no make-up.  Rihanna that is – I think Paul had been touched up a tad.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-3826" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/shutterstock_164567624-1024x683-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" />
I am inspired by two brands that have taken that leap from mahogany road, overstuffed seats and polished hubcaps to leading the way in design and performance without sacrificing their iconic image.
Not that long ago, when I was rather disappointed that a certain manufacturer didn’t seem to be embracing the modern era, I was curtly reprimanded. “Our customers don’t like to lose the identity of previous models.”
Really? Is that emanating from solid market research or a bunch of dinosaur designers not willing to stray from the well beaten path of history?
But there are some brave creative souls who are proving that even dramatic design changes do not have to harm brand identity in any way – and are being rewarded at the dealerships.
A decade or so ago, Jaguar and Mercedes Benz were the flagships of the successful executive – a bold presence, but overly solid, conservative, regal and the antipathy of a performance car.
There had been the major sporting exceptions of course, the stunning E-Type Jag, the revolutionary Merc 300SL Gullwing in the fifties… but they did little to change the ‘senior citizens only’ image of the badge.
Fast forward to March this year. A standard Jaguar F-Type R V8 (limiter off) smashes the South African land speed record on the Upington Airport runway. The timekeepers settle for a split of 294.68km/h although the supercar reaches over 300 on one of the runs. And the 13-year-old boast of the Porsche 911 GT2 is a distant echo because nothing on earth has the auditory snarl and crackle of the top of the range F-Type.
While Rihanna sings about Four Five Seconds, the F-Type blurs to 120km/h in just four seconds and with the Dynamic Mode switch flipped back it is a ride that stirs the adrenal glands like very few mechanical steeds can.
I did say standard – but there is very little about this Jag that is standard as it has transmogrified, along with sister company Land Rover, from British aristocracy to adopted Indian parents Tata Motors.
It is, in my (and my wife’s!) not always humble opinion, one of the best looking sports cars on international shopping lists and has managed to pull off that most difficult of design challenges – jaw dropping looks that retain all the elements of class and style.
And the muscular and raunchy front end is matched by a menacing rear with four trumpeting chrome-embellished exhausts that show that this car means business. But unlike the Alfa 4-C which is never happy poodling along suburban lanes, the F-Type doesn’t show withdrawal symptoms when idling to the corner shop for a pint of milk.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-3827" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/2015-mercedes-amg-c63-s-interior-1024x680-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" />
And while mahogany has long given way to carbon fiber and burnished metal, the interior is neither flashy nor contrived. A symphony of red and black leather delicately stitched throughout, an electronically adjustable flat bottomed steering wheel that seems built for your sweaty palms and controls that don’t need an MBA course to understand. The infotainment touch screen is relatively basic but superbly user friendly.
It is no wonder that the F-Type, which made its grand entrance as a convertible, has helped to keep Jaguar sales stable despite the economic downturn and collapse of car sales
in Europe.
In South Africa, you can step in to a F-Type Coupe for less than $80,000 but the beast, the supercharged 5.0 liter V8, is going to set you back around $130,000.
It’s not just Jaguar who has been pushing the boundaries in the 21st century. Mercedes Benz has disposed of stuffy design and average performance, to the extent that AMG, once the rebels who souped up the basic Benz, have been fully incorporated into the brand since 2005.
The latest AMG offering is set to accelerate pulse rates on the highways and racetracks of Africa. It is the metamorphosis of the 2015 World Car of the Year into a BlitzBenz which must be about the best performance per dollar that you can get.
While the C63 AMG it is far too classy to be called a wolf in sheep’s clothing, it is a four-second sprinter that will compete with most of the supercars selling at multiples of the price. And the S variant is even a shade quicker!
Despite the overwhelming accolades, some found the look of the new C-class to be more mini-executive than sporting, but it lends itself gloriously to the traditionally aggressive AMG styling. And at a smidgeon over $80,000 it is a package that is going to be very hard to beat.
One of the most surprising developments in the second generation of Merc’s most popular AMG is under the bonnet. The truth is that the ‘63’ is a bit of a misnomer.
The 6.2-liter engine has disappeared and in a Houdini-like maneuver been replaced by a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8.
If, like me, you are something of a technophobe, the simple end result is improved performance, torque and fuel efficiency. These fellows seem to have mastered the technique of downsizing far better than a lot of European governments!
Mercedes Benz South Africa were brave enough to let the local writers put the C63 AMG through its paces at Zwartkops Raceway where they have shown enough confidence in the track to build a world class driver training academy run by the ebullient and skillful Clint Weston and his team.
With racing techniques being analyzed on two in-car cameras by Adrian Burford and his bewildering computer system, and laps being timed to the split second, it was white knuckle time for the scribes.
But the latest performance Merc showed that it is as comfortable and forgiving around the track as it is on a meander through the Cradle of Humankind.
<div id="attachment_3825" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3825" class="size-medium wp-image-3825" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Mercedes-4-IgnitionLIVE1-1024x672-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" />Mercedes-Benz C 450 AMG 4MATIC, (BR 205), 2015</div>
So… am I leaving you with a V8 problem? Jaguar F-Type R or C63 AMG?
Not at all. If you are married with kids, or even own a miniature Yorkie that has to get to the park, it’s the Merc. If it’s just you and your partner, and you don’t need to pack for long holidays or both play golf, it’s the Jag.
Either way I’m jealous.

Beasts  With Class And Style

Every designer has a list of celebrities they’re dying to dress. The star-studded names on Tanzanian fashion designer Mustafa Hassanali’s list included: Princess Diana, Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, Oprah Winfrey and Naomi Campbell, who he worked with in 2009 for her Fashion for Relief campaign.
Working with Campbell was one of the highlights of Hassanali’s career, one that began more than 15 years ago.
“She’s awesome; she has the most amazing skin. When you do fittings, you normally leave it to your staff, but for that one I had to be there.”
Campbell is infamous for her tantrums, punching cameras, hitting housekeepers and throwing cellphones at her assistants. So, before she arrived, Hassanali made sure he was prepared.
“I was planning how I was going to catch the phone if she threw it at me. I decided that, if she did, I was going to keep it and I wouldn’t sue her,” he says.
Luckily the British supermodel was on her best behavior.
As a young boy, Hassanali would rather stay indoors and make clothes for his paper dolls than play outside in the mud with the other children. As he got older, his skills with the needle and thread improved and he began making prayer mats with matching handbags for his family.
Hassanali was the only boy in a conservative Indian household. Although he had a great passion for fashion and design, society did not perceive it as a proper career. He was expected to become a doctor, get married and carry on the Indian family traditions.
Everything seemed to be going according to plan. Hassanali was studying medicine at the University of Dar es Salaam and to make extra money he made clothes for his peers.
His breakthrough came in 1999 when the 19-year-old made a dress for Hoyce Temu, one of the finalists for the Miss Tanzania pageant. Temu was crowned in Hassanali’s design and suddenly everyone wanted to work with him.
Then tragedy struck.
“My parents died, one after the other,” he says.
Hassanali began designing more frequently and used the money to continue his medical studies. At the end of his studies, he chose fashion over medicine.
In 2002, he had the chance to show his work at Kenya Fashion Week. But his lack of formal training in fashion made him feel like a fish out of water.
“It was like taking a person from a village and placing them in the middle of New York’s Times Square. They’re from a village with no cars, no light, no electricity, no running water and they go crazy.”
Since then, Hassanali pledged to learn everything he could about the industry, from telling a story with his designs to constructing his own stages. Over the years, he has worked hard to keep the essence of his designs the same. He works with a lot of traditional Tanzanian fabrics with kitenge colors.
“I do a lot of structure, silhouette gowns and a lot of flowy gowns. There has to be bling and most of my gowns have trains,” he says.
In 2007, Hassanali created Swahili Fashion Week as a platform for younger designers from Swahili-speaking countries to launch their careers. He wanted to give them opportunities he never had.
“It took me so long to build the brand. No money, no resources, nobody to guide me. So you basically fight your own battles. Your family does not support you and the people in the community do not support you. You could say my marriage broke because of it,” says Hassanali.
In his entire career, he has never won a single award and often finds it hard to see how quickly the young designers receive so much recognition and praise these days.
“[For the younger designers] if you can put your resources together, showcase a collection and if you’re good, then suddenly everyone will start noticing you. But the older designers really struggled… They might be big names today but the journey took so long.”
During difficult times, Hassanali stays grounded in his seven life philosophies: passion, patience, persistence, productivity, professionalism, principles and prayer.
Being a well-known African designer who has showcased in 27 cities and 18 countries, he still feels he has much to learn. One of his biggest dreams is to work with internationally renowned designer, Elie Saab.
“I wish I could have him dress me, that would be a dream come true. I hope I will have the chance to just work with him or even sweep floors for him for a month or two, just to know what’s happening and how they work in the global world.”
Before he expands into the global market, he wants to make sure he has fully catered to the Tanzanian market.
“East Africa has about 150 million people. If you get 0.001 percent of it in East Africa you still have 15,000 clientele. Their needs have not been satisfied. The thought of going outside the country doesn’t make sense, first you have to satisfy the needs of the country.”
In the next few years, Hassanali hopes to open a few stores and launch a shoe collection.
“Nothing less than six inches,” he says.
Having spent six years at medical school to receive a degree he never used, Hassanali’s advice to the youth is simple: Find what you love to do, make a career out of it and the money will follow.

The Designer Who  Dreams of Sweeping Floors

The new M-Class fulfills the needs of those looking for a premium and spacious vehicle, which is just as capable and comfortable off-road. Today, the popularity of premium SUVs is possibly because Mercedes Benz introduced the first generation of the luxury SUV. Back then, they understood the need for such a car and now the new one continues that line of thinking.
The new ML350 Blue EFFICIENCY 4MATIC is bigger with a wider track, longer length and lower roof. The result is an M-Class that is more lithe and athletic than the outgoing version. This 225kW Petrol V6 has immense shove especially low down in the rev-range. Considering that this is the base version of the petrol-engine derivatives, it’s got a lot of punch and is 15% more fuel efficient, burning 8.8l/100km on the combined cycle.
Mercedes Benz has gone a long way to ensure comfort. The suspension is at home on all road surfaces; you never get the sense that it is struggling. The luxurious cabin is simple and functional yet elegant. There is more legroom in the front and rear of the cabin and with the rear seats and backrests folded down, the loading space is a cavernous 2,000 cubic decimeters. Once you have packed the load compartment, the ML features a one-touch Easy Pack tailgate button that closes the boot for you.
The driving experience is a combination of sedan-like comfort with the raised view that an SUV provides. Mercedes Benz is positioning the new M-Class as an all-rounder that is in control of all driving situations. In addition to the strong but powerful engine, the SUV also features a seven speed transmission; start-off assist for when you’re on an incline; electric steering; Active Blind Spot Assist; Lane Keeping Assist; a driver drowsiness detection system as well as active braking systems and safety features.
One of the key differences of this new generation M-Class is that the 4MATIC or 4-wheel drive version is standard across all the cars—this is where the ML350 BlueEFFICIENCY 4MATIC really makes a case for itself. It conquers rough terrain with such ease that this key quality could be easily overlooked. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that this is a cushy soft-roader without any off-road skills. The 4MATIC is a permanent all-wheel drive system but by pressing a few buttons on the center console you can raise the suspension; engage off-road mode; engage the Downhill Speed Regulation and be on your way over some rough terrain. The car also has a towing capacity of 3.5 tons and features a trailer assist system.
I put the ML350 through some tough off-road obstacles and a stunned audience of Land Rover Defender and Toyota Land Cruiser owners watched in weary silence. The only remaining sign of the conquered obstacles was a little bit of mud on its alloy wheels and undercarriage. The 4MATIC system only distributes power to the wheels that are in contact with the ground and it primes the engine and transmission for the required terrain. I was very impressed as I coasted over several steep, muddy and rocky inclines and through deep pools of sludge. The only work I had to do was softly guide the ML350 with deft touches of the power-assisted leather steering wheel.
The Mercedes Benz M-Class makes a good case as a family, luxury, utility and off-road vehicle. It’s the whole package, with class-leading dynamics. Oh, and it carries a large three-pointed star on its grille.

Tag: Mercedes Benz

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The Golden Road Ahead

Beasts With Class And Style

The Designer Who Dreams of Sweeping Floors

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