Don't Crush That Bug!!!!

In its over 58 years production life, the beetle has sold more than 21 million units. Standing as the 4th all time highest selling brand, behind the Ford F series and the Golf,Corolla tops the record with 35 million units sold over 30years. (the Golf being VW's replacement for the beetle).
Due to slowing sales of the current edition which debuted in 1998, VW is throwing in an all new model Beetle for 2011.
2011 Volkswagen Betle

Historical line up of the Bug

The new beetle will feature 3 engines, 2 petrol engines and 1 diesel and yeah, it will even have a cabriolet. VW's definition for Coupe's.

Isn't that a stunning look? Cheeky, but stunning non the less.....

The 4 door Coupe Concept

A few years ago when Porsche announced it was going to make its first 4 door vehicle, it was greeted with a lot of skepticism. Today we know that the Porsche Cayenne (Porsche's 1st 4 door Vehicle) helped turn the books in Favor of the German Automaker.
Aston Martin joins the Club of Sports car companies having a luxury Sedan in their line up with the launch of the Aston Martin Rapide.

Aston Martin Rapide


The world's 1st true 4 door sports Car( sorry all you Maxima Lovers). According to Aston's top man; Ulrich Bez, it was built as a sports car with 4 doors and not a 4 door car made sporty (unlike their rivals).

with a base price of $200,000,(32 million naira) its certainly not cheap.

The Rapid based on a DB9, is powered by a v12 engine churning out 470Bhp. Though a late entrant into the 4 door coupe segment (mercedes founded this segment with the CLS and Volkswagen followed with the Passat CC, Porsche only just recently introduced the panamera), The Rapide arrives at the Party looking very, very sexy and taking the game to a whole new level!!!!


You've got to admit though, this is one stunningly good looking car!!!!!!

The power of magic

6.15am on any other Friday I’d be in the office uploading my article against Monday’s release (I hate the African time mentality), not this Friday though. Not only was I in Eti-osa Lga, I was in Ojo. I’d been admitted for a combination of Malaria and typhoid Fever.
Waking me up was the key-less starter system from the Infinity FX 45. Looking outside my window, there was also an Isuzu Axiom and a pumped up F150. hmmmmm, someone important must’ve been brought in while I was asleep.
The gentleman responsible for this crowd had been shot a few minutes earlier. He boarded a new style “1 chance” vehicle. The robbers got in as normal passengers and once on the way, they ordered everyone to empty their pockets. What’s different about this “1chance”, the driver and conductor were robbed as well. Unfortunately for Mr X (the guy who got shot), he didn’t have any money on him so he was shot in the face!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In between my falling asleep, I counted at least 50 visitors who came in to see Mr X but the one that caught my attention was a chap who came in at 6.17pm( 17mins past visiting hours). No lucozade in hand!!! And even after haven been told Mr X needed rest cuz he’s face will continue oozing blood so long as he kept talking to people.
The said visitor I shall call Mr W, then said “Ok let me just see him eye to eye”. That triggered something in the nursing staff that just brought up the big N.O.
After he left the Doc. Came into my room to apologize for waking me up (W’s persistence got a little loud). He then said there was a spiritual undertone to W’s request, hence his refusal.
That took my mind back to a popular saying while we were kids growing up “Oyinbo dey use their winsh do better thing, black man n to dey destroy”…. Less than 12 hours before that incident I saw the white wizardry put to test in starting a car remotely. Right before my eyes was a potential Black Magic trying to remotely switch off the lights in MR X!!!!!

Chasco!!!!!

3 multinational companies, 2 banks, that’s where the IT solutions company I work for has taken me in my 4 year working career. My latest assignment being with an Apex bank that upon hiring new staff’s hand them a brand new car!!!!
While chatting with the head of Risk Management @ My bank and I, He remenisnced on just how far he’d come in life in not having to deal with mechanics that traced every fault in the car to a damaged Relay!!!!( He now drive’s as 1 of His official cars a GL 550 4MATIC, a long way from the 80’s Passat he used at the time). My brother swore that his next Car must be brand new, the singular reason? So he has absolutely nothing to do with Road side Mechanics.
Such is the general disgust for Road side mechanics( I’m sure you have a tale of your own). I was therefore thrown into shock when I discover that more than 90% of my colleagues in this Apex bank( after being handed brand new cars, patronize road side mechanics). What brought about this great revelation? The dude who sits next to over to weekend Serviced his car and on His way to work Monday morning, his Nissan Sunny started to jerk violently until it could take it no more and it just died!!!! ( he abandoned the car and came to work on foot).
Total service cost at the road side mechanics, 6 grand. Cost of service at the authorized shop, 9 grand!!!!
There was nothing I said to try and educate my naïve friends. There were stuck on the Penny wise pound foolish syndrome!!!!!

Diesel Power

Sunday 3PM. The Bossman a.k.a CEO of L.A.Y Records, Big Jig, The Sheff, G. O Gbo and Doctor Kuff were all in attendance at Wola's Introduction.
The bossman and I had hurried back home, leaving Jigga a.k.a Big Jig way behind. We took the 3rd Mainland and did an average of 140Km/H effortlessly in Bumble Bee (his Skoda Fabia). Jigga caught up with us in VI a while later (he took a detour that was cramped up with traffic). He'd done an average of 160Km/H to stand any chance of catching up with us.
And so it began, once we got home, Jigga cries out that in speeding that much he’d burnt all his fuel. I said as I always have to him that for such a “Green” driver that he was who worries about performance and economy; I advised that he had to get a diesel(I’ll skip of the technical blabla that ensued) but he’s punch line was Any diesel he’d drive had to match the petrol equivalent in performance. If I couldn’t come up with many diesels that could; I could come up with 1. BMw’s 335d.
It has enough Hp and low-end torque from the twin turbo 6 cylinder to provide the kind of oomph he longed for while returning with a decent fuel economy. The diesel engine in the 335d is a thing of beauty.
I have said before now, that the reason Nigerians don’t like a Diesel car is simply because the Americans don’t like them!!!! (Hold on to your socks and don’t write me off, and follow my line of thought here)
1. Do Nigerians like diesel Cars? No
2. Do Nigerians Like Minivans ? Yes
3. Do Nigerians like Estates? No
4. Do Nigerians LOVE 4x4’s? Yes (they can Kill for them)
5. Will a Nigerian buy a Hybrid? Most likely, but you probably won’t see them much on our roads yet, they’re still a few years off!!!!!

Throw the same set of Questions to an American and you have a replica response
Except for the Hybrids (they love them). You could say its pure coincidence because its
Common sense and I’ll tell you all Nigerians are Terrorists!!! Why would you love
Minivans and hate estates? Only the Americans could do that?
Our taste for Cars is completely Americanized. Which is not such a bad thing, but as
With every good cheat in an exam, you’d know that you’ll copy only what is necessary.
(we do not need to Copy the Americans all the way!!!)
Modern diesels are great, The BMW 335d is a supremely wonderful car which perfectly
Suits our way of life (traffic). But its annoys and completely disgusts me that you can’t
Find any on our roads because we’ve decided to go the way of the Yankees!!!!!!
The clip below is just a piece of what not just the 335d can do but what its Big Broda the
X5 With a Diesel engine is capable of.

Lexus 2010 HS 250h

The HS 250h is basically an Avensis with an Electric motor fitted onboard. It does have some cool toys though!!!
Wonder if it'll break even with the stiff competition in the Hybrid market that are also fun to drive out there coming from Ford fusion Hybrid, Altima and Toyota Camry's Hybrid?

Wheeling out in 2010

More roads completion in Lagos in 2010, that’s good news for our Cars. This being a year before election year, that means most other Governors the nation over will try and emulate Fashola (more good news). Our president should be back in the Country and get on with the business of ‘Serving Us’, (making better roads: Benin- Ore, making it possible for every young Nigerian to buy a new Car; even if it’s with the aid of a bank loan. And ensuring our roads are motor able and that we have alternate means of transport!!!!!!!!! , Why must we all get on the road just to get from point A-B? We need alternatives in this Country!!!! ) Lagos has a vast coastal line, people should for instance be able to go from Epe- Ikorodu and Epe- badagry without setting foot on Land!!!!!!!!!!!. Trains once worked in this country, there’s no reason why it can’t work again? As a matter of purpose that’s where de-regulation should start from, and not with petroleum!!!!!!!

The business with de-regualtion of the downstream sector of petroleum industry should be sorted in 2010 (we’ll probably buy a liter of petrol for over a 100 naira, jigga your prediction came through after 10 years) and hopefully we’ll never have to queue for Fuel ever again (Amen).

Miraculously we qualified for 2010 World Cup in S/A. The World Cup should bring about a rise in economic activities on the continent which hopefully should trickle to Nigeria (Somehow?) If all our would-be investors don’t think we’re all terrorists!!!!!!!! And that should somehow mean more money in your pocket to buy your dream car or take care of the crappy one you’re driving!!!!!!!!!!

From the Engine bay (watch tower of my blog) here’s wishing a safe and pleasant Motoring in 2010.

Vas1's Car of the Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It' s been a very eventful year, Stocks tumbling car sales plummeting, still a few Car manufacturers manage to make the magic of Car building go on.
The winner of this award must meet and exceed the following criteria:
1. It must be fun to drive (what's the point in driving, if the car's no fun)
2. It must be affordable (not costing some Zillion dollars)
3. Have Decent MPG value. Yes, as much as i am a petrol head, I'm also aware of the rising Fuel prices and damage to our dear planet green house gases cause)
4. Have at least 1 previous model (I'm not interested in some one off flukes)

And the award goes to the BMW 3 Series.
The 3 series spans through 5 generations, 34years and the current line up has at least 6 engine types (316i,318i,328i,335i, 335d &M3 combine that with all wheel drive, estate, coupe and convertible body forms and you have an almost infinite combination) available, ranging from 143Hp to a mind boggling 414Hp M3 which by the way now comes in 4 doors.
At a time quality is dropping with the likes of Toyota, and rising costs are causing a lot of Manufacturers to dilute the souls of their cars just to join the mainstream, the 3 series in what ever form you have still has the power to put a smile of your face.
Its a class leading and defining car. A class which includes some stiff competition in form of: Audi A4, Cadillac CTS, Lexus ES, Acura TL, Passat CC, Lexus HS (a Pumped up Toyota Avensis), Mercedes C Class. Every Car Manufacturer in the Class seeks only one thing to Topple the "king 3".
The 50:50 weight distribution is really what sets the 3 Series apart for me; if you were to place the 3 series on a knife edge it would not tilt forward or backward. it would lay still like 'Zoro' balancing his Knife on His tongue. Small wonder round a corner it feels so planted?
And for those who would be so quick to say how about the Fuel consumption? the 316 puts out an impressive 34MPG (BMW official figures) the corrola puts out 30MPG (fueleconomy.gov)
Please bear in mind also that the 3 Series channels its power to the rear wheels (as nature designed it) while the likes of Corrola sends power through the front wheels. (mechanically you cannot attain maximum balance this way). BMW however is the only car manufacturer in the world to do this exclusively!!!!!!!!!!!
For a company which started off by making Aircraft engines (the BMW Logo represents 2 propellers turning against the blue and white skyline), the 3 series still represents that pure engineering perfection.

Ohh now i'm really pissed off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Its no news that there's scarcity in the land. i spent the whole of Saturday looking for this product which we readily produce the parent material, export it and then import just some of the finished products( Kerosene, Diesel,PMS are the main products imported at High prices... Wax and other products are some of the by products of crude which we don't bring back)law's of demand and supply infer that this doesn't make sense, No where else in the is this done!!!!
The reason for my anger, My Blog has been getting fewer hits due to the scarcity( how can anyone be interested in you telling 'em about Torque steer, when he doesn't know where the next drop of Fuel for his Car and Gen will come from)?
I don't get it, Nigeria's has basically one mode of transportation:Road, and everything on the road is fueled by Petroleum products( at least in Nigeria). So how can the Government (Old and present) keep on playing games with such an essential commodity? Fuel attendants, Station owners are all smiling to the bank due to the chaos the Government of the day is causing. It pains me dearly because i don't understand it... How can we have so much, yet suffer so much? how can we be suffering yet smiling? 5th Largest OPEC producer???? God have Mercy on us all (for the Govt. for being senseless to the plight of the people and for the rest of us being too weak and afraid or un-concerned to care).
The entire bit of the Holidays are almost completely ruined. The losses to the Economy will be incalculable. In the US, business owners look Fwd to the Xmas holidays. Here we're greeted always with Fuel Scarcity(it was the same thing last year). We now have a situation where fuel stations pray for Scarcity.
Yar-Adua, I advise you do what is necessary. Listen,look at Nigerians. We deserve better. Get your act right cuz if my blog suffers any more loss in Hits, I'm gonna come take your Job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10 Things!!!!!

Now lets see how many good reasons you can give for the "Whip" you're driving. I call my Car Slama and i came up with 10 reason why i love her easilly. How many can you come up with for yours?
1. She's German
2. She has a good power to weight ratio
3. People tend to underestimate her (being a Golf MK II) and as such i have embarrased some unsuspecting drivers
4. She's small and as such can be manoeuvred easilly
5. I feel safe driving at any time and in any part of lagos
6. She can breakdown and i aint afraid to leave her there for the night
7. She has a short wheel base and fitted to high profile tyres, becomes an SUV
8. She don't drink (she ain't a gas guzzler)
9. Hardly do i ever get stopped by the 'Popo' ( as a friend once said, they won't stop me for fear of not wanting me to obtain them)
10. Her lineage has been around for over 30 years. She has a current edition( she definatley has a scret recipe. i'm driving a well engineered car)
and yeah with the windows wound up and the doors not locked, there are only 3 people alive that can open her doors... talk about keyless entry!!!!