RUMOUR HAS IT...
RED LIGHT WRANGLER
Driving through a red traffic light is not a trivial matter. It is definitely not something to laugh about. People are killed that way. But recently we were informed of an incident in Los Angeles when a development driver for Jeep that did just that.
The driver was testing the next generation of the famous Wrangler when he spotted the spy photographer at the side of an intersection. In his haste to get away, the driver went straight though a red traffic light. He barely got to the other side of the intersection before a local sheriff’s department car was attracting everyone’s attention to the Wrangler test model.
Busted and parked on the side of the road, the photographer had plenty of time to get a close look and take as many pictures as they liked. Word is that the driver escaped with a warning, presumably because the sheriff knew he was going to be in enough trouble when the information got out.
TESLA TO SKIP TESTING
As we reported a few weeks ago, the Tesla Model 3 is in the final stages of development. Company CEO Elon Musk is promising that it will be the first Tesla to come to SA although we still have no official confirmation of this from anyone else at Tesla.
We are all familiar with the fact that the company does things a little differently, but Musk has alarmed many in the industry by announcing that the Model 3 will undergo hardly any quality testing. He has also announced that the production line will go live, with no quality testing, in spite of production problems that led to issues with the Model X SUV.
Car makers spend millions of dollars testing vehicles in various places and conditions around the world. It is essential to ensure any vehicle is the best it can be at the time of being released to the public. Recall campaigns in SA and globally have highlighted the need for stringent quality checks, but it seems that Musk thinks the customers can be the quality checkers.
These customers will be spending $35,000 on their Model 3, with the only testing being so-called beta models that will have been driven for a while by Tesla staff. We can see how this could all go badly wrong, but of course we hope that it doesn’t.
MASSIVE PRESENCE FOR NEW ROLLER
In recent months we have seen a number of spy pics of camouflaged versions of RollsRoyce Motors Cars’ first SUV, the Cullinan, all around the world, including one driving through Centurion in Gauteng.
Of course, it comes as no surprise that the full production model’s unveiling is rather imminent, but there is one aspect of the car that the pictures have up to now failed to convey and that is the sheer size of the Cullinan.
Motor News recently travelled to BMW’s Group Research and Innovation Centre in Germany where, among other things, the company’s future models are developed. We happened upon a camouflaged Cullinan and were left surprised by the sheer size of the thing — it really is a towering SUV with presence that guarantees you won’t miss it in traffic.
Still on the BMW brand, we also saw what can only be described as the X3M with its
FOCUSED RUN-OUT
Ford is busy testing the Ranger for the US market. At this stage it is unclear if it will just take the same model we have in SA or whether it will need to be bigger and brasher for those who like it even more truck-like Stateside.
The US Ranger is set to be revealed later this year and go on sale there in 2019. Back in SA, the Blue Oval has announced some upgrades to its Focus models. The Focus is one of the world’s bestselling cars and is due to be replaced with a new generation late in 2018. That model is expected to be revealed at the Detroit Auto Show in January 2018.
In the meantime, the company has introduced a body kit and sunroof for the Trend Styling Pack (R19,984). More interesting though is the enhancement to the Driver Safety Assistance Pack (R17,089). This pack now includes the integrated Sync 3 infotainment system with satellite navigation. The new Sync 3 is faster and more comprehensive than the previous version and now also includes connectivity for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The package also includes map updates for five years.