₦airaland Forum

What obviously is a welcomed and applauded move for Geely and a largely perceived brand dilution for most Volvo faithfuls is the inevitable joint development of Geely and Volvo cars. It’s no news that in 2008 Geely, Chinese auto-maker acquired the Volvo cars division during its near brink of collapse, but not up until now, Geely vehicles didn’t share any platform(s) with their acquired company, Volvo cars.

Geely CEO, Gui Sheng Yue recently revealed some new details about their upcoming model which will be jointly-developed with the Swedish Volvo, speaking to reporters in Shanghai, Sheng Yue confirmed the car to be currently under development and that it is scheduled to be launched in 2015; however no specifics were given.

The car was confirmed to ride on a new modular architecture aimed at delivering "considerable cost savings in terms of development, testing and sourcing."Geely Chairman Li Shuf has assured that the sharing of knowledge and technology has to be done without jeopardizing brand integrity and individual product development; stating that ‘they believe a stand-alone, yet joint R& Centre with a focused approach is the best way to achieve this’.
http://autobaseafrica.com/first-jointly-developed-volvo-geely-model-set-for-2015/

fastlane84: So on point.... That is whta the white man calls preventive maintenance

Most motorist need a complete re-orientation about maintenance practices!

If not for the popularity of the above idiom, the topic best suited for this article happens to be ‘Top 12 Kobowise-Naira-foolish car practices’; but either way, what this article is about is simply stating a few odd practices most motorist indulge in with the intention of making huge savings. However in reality, these practices lead to relatively higher spending at the end of the day. In this list are the causes and consequent effects of some-may be- regular practices we may just be guilty of as motorist and how such translates to higher spending.

Brake pad wear leading to rotor (popularly known as brake disc) damage: if your brake pads in active use goes below a quarter of an inch, you stand the risk of damaging your rotor, especially when metal-metal contact is made owing to the action of your foot pedal. Some Nigerians even keep using their brake pads until it falls off -no jokes here.

Engine oil overuse leading to poor cooling and high engine wear: many motorist fail to recognize the primary role of oil cooling in engines and how it is hampered when used up oil keeps being circulated around the engine with most of its properties and viscosity lost. Wear rate is higher when you continually use used-up oil and the result is more metal debris in your oil and poor engine conditions.

CV (constant velocity)-joints’ boot rupture: if you change your cv-joints boots just on time, you may salvage the entire joint and even your drive shafts. But most just keep driving like it’s no man’s business with leaky and oily boots.

Poor wheel alignment/balancing leading to uneven tyre wear and damage: your reluctance to perform a process that just may require as little as #2500 would end up causing damages that will require #40,000 or more to fix. It’s just plain and simple maths, as more than one wheel is affected by poor wheel alignment/balancing conditions.

Shock absorber damage leading to more steering work: well this condition may not materialize immediately but whenever your shock absorbers are down; your steering suffers and you stand the risk of changing or repairing steering components anytime soon.

Managing wrongly inflated tyres and spending more on fuel: well this practice just had to get on the list; according to experts, 20% more fuel is expended by cars to compensate for poor tyres (inflation) conditions.

Coolant/water underuse leading to engine overheating and damage: overheating causes irreversible damage like warping of engine blocks and cylinder heads, also irregular expansions in some engine areas eventually leads to the need for total engine replacement. In most cases the simple cause of this can be the use of plain tap water alone and fiddling with radiators.

Driving with your ‘check engine’ light on: at this point your vehicle has ‘limped-in’ and your fuelling budget inevitably goes up by as much as 15%. If you happen to be a regular daily driving motorist, this may translate to as much as #8000 extra monthly for a condition that can be fixed with #5000(for diagnostics) + #10,000 oxygen sensor(just saying).

Not documenting repairs and spending more on fake parts: [/b]without proper vehicle maintenance documentation, it becomes almost impossible to track certain trends and discover fake parts from some vendors.

[b]Not getting your license and vehicle documents and spending more on bribes and tickets: well you might evade this by leaving home early and heading back from work late, but for how long? Unscrupulous/non-bribe collecting LASTMA, VIO, FRSC officials and police men are on the hunt for your type! Last time I checked, in Lagos for instance before even retrieving your impounded vehicle, it will be required for you show a proof of your tax-payment (tax returns) records for 3years and pay as much as #15,000 without the daily demurrage fee.

Not spending on proper driving schools and wrecking your car/spending most of your time in panel-beating(car body) shops: [/b]time is money! Not using your time productively amounts to losses. And guess what you hand-in to Oga-panel whenever you pay him an unpleasant visit? Money!

[b]Not servicing your automatic transmission when due and spending lots of money when your car breaks down on: LASTMA(for Lagosians)+New gearbox + towing fee(God saves you that you are so far from any mechanic workshop)+labour cost +cost of finding good labour. At this point you don’t need any more cash breakdown!

With this sketchy analysis of a few driving practices, the real question here is; are you really saving?

http://autobaseafrica.com/top-12-pennywise-pound-foolish-car-practices/

Mobius Motors- a small Kenyan company has started production its Mobius Two, which is a boxy two-door vehicle designed specifically for the rough roads of rural Africa. This 4WD (four-wheeled drive) vehicle comes powered with a Toyota-sourced 4-cylinder petrol engine and rides on a five-speed manual transmission.
The unique selling point of the Mobius Two is the fact that it rides on a dependable tubular steel frame which can easily be welded if broken. As for the interior, this two-door vehicle can accommodate between six to eight adults when translated to a pickup with parallel-placed foldable seats at the rear. No specifics are available at the moment but this vehicle is said to come handy with a 1,100-pound payload (499kg).

The vehicle is clearly D-I-Y(do-it-yourself) friendly and is claimed to be built in Kenya with about 35% of its parts sourced locally. Mobius founder Joel Jackson (a British computer engineer), hopes to sell about 500 examples of the Mobius Two before the year ends with a base price of roughly $6,000.

for more pictures visit: http://autobaseafrica.com/kenyan-company-to-produce-cheap-off-roader/

The first thing that comes to mind on seeing this GTR1 supercar crafted by American company,Galpin Auto Sports will be its glaring semblance with the well known retro-styled Ford GT which was built by Ford in (late) 2003 to go on sale in 2004;only a total of 4,038 of these cars were made.

Well today we have a more robust version of the Ford GT most reckon with and surprisingly, not made by the Chinese; as it features a top notch make-up which comes with well machined aluminum instrument cluster, Scottish leather seats upholstery, premium McIntosh sound system and a whopping 1,024 horsepower engine (739 lb-ft. Torque).

To further justify the $1million-plus price tag, buyers have the option of either an aluminum or carbon fiber body, as well as the colour of the headliner and stitching on the seats. Other noteworthy features include; LED-infused headlights, a carbon fiber front lip spoiler and 20-inch aluminum wheels with Pirelli P Zero Rosso tires.

Its twin-turbo 5.4-liter V8 engine is claimed to be capable of accelerating from 0-60 mph in approximately 3seconds with top speed in excess of 225 mph (362 km/h). For such speeds comes equipped a Brembo aircraft-inspired carbon-carbon brake rotors gripped by six-piston callipers.
These hand-built cars will be highly limited with just 24 cars slated to be built by Galpin Auto Sports.

Follow this link for more photos: http://autobaseafrica.com/is-this-car-worth-1million/

If you lived in Lagos, Nigeria around the early/mid 90’s, you should know the original ‘Danfo’ bus with its popular rear-engine like the Beetles car. Well, if you happen to be a fan of this popular vehicle like myself, it will intrigue you to know that these vehicles are still actively in production under the aegis of Volkswagen of Brazil. Unfortunately, they just announced that they will discontinue the production of this iconic vehicle.

Their reason being the recent mandatory law by the Brazilian government for all vehicles to come standard with ABS (anti-lock brake system) and airbags, therefore making it difficult to continue building these legendary buses. But not to worry, as the exit of this iconic bus will be grand; with the roll out of a special edition called Last Edition (last 600 examples) to celebrate the Kombi's long and successful production run.

According to leftlanenews.com, all examples will be painted in a two-tone light blue and white paint job and ride on 14-inch steel wheels mounted on Goodyear whitewall tires with ”56 Years - Kombi Last Edition" stickers on the hatch and on the quarter panels. Also inside the bus will be a small dashboard with a single-gauge instrument cluster. As for the seats, coming with the bus will be a two-tone blue and white upholstery that matches the paint job. All last Editions will feature state-of-the-art audio system with an auxiliary jack and a USB port.

This 1.4-liter water-cooled, 4-cylinder engine (80hp and 91 lb-ft. of torque) bus will go for a whopping $36,000 with dual capability of running on either ethanol or gasoline; riding with a 4-speed manual transmission.
For more images visit: http://autobaseafrica.com/original-danfo-production-comes-to-an-end/

Just when there are strong indications that the next Rolls-Royce Phantom re-design in 2016 will be based on the BMW 7-Series architecture, Cosharis motors, West-Africa’s largest distributor of BMW cars recently added the premium Rolls Royce (motor cars) to their many brands like Ford, Landrover Jaguar, etc.
Coscharis motors confirmed this business alliance in the earlier signing of an agreement between Coscharis Group and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars of Germany. According to news reports, the senior management team of the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars represented by its Managing Director, Mr. Geoff Briscoe, and the Regional Dealer Development Manager, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited, Middle East, Africa and Latin America, Mr. Mohamed Fawzi, alongside members of the Coscharis team attended the event. Also, Cosmos Maduka, the Coscharis boss, said that the choice of Rolls-Royce was borne out of the company’s continued stance of identifying with world class brands and keeping to its vision of building timeless institution.

As history is made, what should we expect from this union? We have heard of exorbitant spending attitudes exhibited by a few popular Nigerians who own these cars like the Esama of the Benin Kingdom, Duncan Mighty and just of recent, comedian I-go-dye; but does this indicate that this may just be the right business move? I guess time will tell, however the Group Managing Director, Coscharis Group, Mr. Josiah Samuel, expressed optimism and promised its potential customers full after-sales service for the brand.

Rolls-Royce Motor Company Limited (originally British but vehicles built by BMW) doesn't need any introduction as we all know the premium class and craftsmanship embodied in every product by this brand which is only natural owing to their high price tags.
http://autobaseafrica.com/rolls-royce-cars-lands-in-coscharis-motors/

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Mercedes Benz redefines the compact crossver SUV with the all-new GLA-Class which can be described as the baby sister of the GLK-Class in the Mercedes-Benz's lineup. In the warm-up for its official release at the Frankfurt Motor Show (next month), pictures and specifications were released.

With the standard front-wheel-drive, the GLA clearly takes a cue from the earlier released CLA; however, Mercedes-Benz will also offer a new version of its 4Matic electronic all-wheel-drive as an option. What may be a distinguishing factor for this crossover would be the inclusion of an off road mode (capability) and its claimed ability to conquer paved roads with optimum stability.

Another styling cue drafted from the CLA is in the GLA’s interior which is very appealing to the eye with very expensive looks and as described on leftlanenews.com,‘purely Benz’.

GLAs for the U.S. market will be powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder petrol engine rated at 208 hp and 258 lb-ft. of torque, capable of sprinting from stop to 60 mph in just 6.4 seconds. This baby GLS comes with a seven-speed dual clutch automatic transmission to optimize every fragment of the engine power.
Fuel economy estimates and exact release dates have not been announced; however there are speculations that this new crossover will be available in the U.S by late 2014 or early 2015.
for more pictures visit: http://autobaseafrica.com/2015-mercedes-benz-gla-class/

theSpark: Watch out for the money vans and their police escorts. These guys drive like horsemen from hell.

Do anything to keep away from the governors', president's convoy. They are worse than the money vans.

You are so correct.

Do you drive in Nigeria? Here is a quick download of the various kinds of drivers to keep off whilst driving. You probably also have your fair share of experiences with these type of drivers or you might actually be one yourself but nonetheless, here is the list below.

The Danfo drivers: Without a doubt, by far the most erratic set of motorists you will find on the road. The ratio of vehicles to motorable roads in densely populated states like Lagos may be highly disproportionate; but don’t ever make the mistake of driving without adequate space (standard safety distance)between your car and these popular commercial mini-buses. These bus drivers seem to have a different kind of blood flowing through them and are dare-devils even in the face of the law or law enforcers. An example that comes to mind is along Ikorodu road, especially along the Ketu axis where these buses conveniently drive on pavements on a daily basis (especially late in the evening) like it’s no man’s business. As for the BRT lanes; these specially segregated lanes are more like testing lanes for checking their vehicles’ quick engine response to sudden acceleration.

Unannounced Learners: Every driver in Nigeria almost as a matter of necessity passes through this phase-well if you didn't quite learn on the road without the big ‘L’, thumbs up to you! The real question here is how does one really identify an unannounced learner? The first sign is the driver’s closeness to the steering; whilst jerking acceleration during traffic jams could pass as a second sign. Other signs are overly tolerant drivers and cars with too many dents on several portions of the car.

Swaying Jumbos: These drivers find it really difficult to maintain a steady drive on a straight path. It might not necessarily reflect driver inexperience because in most cases, it may be due to bad suspension systems and/or poorly aligned vehicles.

Pedal thirsty freaks: These drivers over-speed even on very tight streets and risk the lives of others in the process. The major underlying drive for such high risk behaviour is impatience; which in most cases is masked by secondary reasons like being in a hurry, enjoying driving fast and experiencing boredom. If you love your life, simply stay clear and don’t be one. Another group of drivers that naturally fall under this league of drivers are the drivers of empty full-sized trucks.

Determined Law breakers: Just of recent I witnessed a full-sized MAN truck almost falling on the road in the process of evading arrest by the Nigerian police that kept pursuing with their Toyota hilux van. These individuals will do anything possible to evade the police, FRSC or any other law enforcement personnel. Your natural instincts at this point ought to be telling you to keep off but then, you just might want to watch the whole drama unfold forgetting you need to be alive to even tell the story.

Lastly, it’s very important to note that there are dozens of disgruntled individuals manning most vehicles you find on the road. Most people have lost lives because someone had a bad day; so be very careful, sensitive and focused while driving.
http://autobaseafrica.com/5-kinds-nigerian-drivers-to-keep-off/

mojounited: It is still at developmental phase, I think a rail link project would be too immature at this stage... Albeit it's a good idea that requires early planning, I don't foresee Ibaka port experiencing too much activities as there's Onne Port in Port Harcourt, hence there'll be lesser traffic and vehicular activities on the proposed road. Meanwhile, the revamped or proposed standard gauge rail tracks for the eastern part of the country will be extended further, either from Aba - Uyo or Port Harcourt - Uyo, which would make it easy to construct rail link to the port. Source below:

And have you been to Onne?That port is highly monopolised that is why people prefer Lagos inspite of the distance.

You know that sensation when you feel you would have done it better than he/she did? Or maybe you feel grossly dissatisfied even when everyone else feels you are getting it right? That’s your ‘smart’ gene at work! Everybody might be driving and getting from one point to the other; but how does one optimize the consumption of fuel, control overall cash spending on cars and still achieve extended vehicle life? The simple trick is by driving smart; to achieve this, here are a few nuggets worth considering:

Hold some spare cash: In the U.S or U.K you get speeding tickets, but over here in Nigeria you either pay on the spot or gear up for higher payments plus demurrage when you find yourself on the wrong side of the law. You should never underestimate how far you can go bargaining with your temper in check. However, if you are lucky to get a ticket, take it in good fate and let it serve as a deterrent.

Love the freeway: the expressway alternative may seem quite longer and maybe more time consuming, but the truth is your engine needs an inner bump every now and then and those seemingly favourable short-cuts don’t do your engine any good. Driving on freeways with high speeds foster better engine lubrication and helps improve mileage (lower fuel consumption) comparatively especially when you use air-conditioners and higher gears.

Maintain your car the right way: cut down your overall spending by spending on the right things at the right time.

Select the right car: arm yourself with all the necessary car selection tricks before reaching out to your wallet or bank account. The first step is to identify your core needs before even deciding on your budget. With your budget in mind you can select the car you need and research further; yes research further! More than 80% of Nigerians don’t research; they will rather depend on referrals.

You don’t always need to drive: the Lagos state government for instance has been an advocate for green driving; in recent times they even made concerted efforts improve the efficiency of the BRT (bus rapid transit) scheme and also making it cheaper (as low as #20) to commute along some routes. With this even if you are not thinking ‘green’ at least you can use to green note to get around.

Love your Cabin: This is the only reason I try not to judge people when I see all manner of weird objects as decorations; besides it’s their interior and their haven. Getting your cabin conditions right means you spend more time focused on driving instead of fussing.

Love you: go beyond bearing it in mind that you need to love you and start acting like you actually do love yourself. According to FRSC, ‘about 1,936 persons were killed in road traffic accidents across the country between January and June this year’, also it’s important to point out that a large percentage of these accidents are as a result of human factors and errors.
source: http://autobaseafrica.com/7-smart-driving-tips/

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2005 Toyota Sienna
Asking price: CALL. Toyota Sienna 2005 with 4WD XLE and Limited Edition with reverse Camera and navigation and 2 electronic...
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1998 Mercedes Benz C220
Follow link for more information and pictures(other views)
Asking price: CALL; 2.2liter engine, fabric interior, automatic transmission, alloy wheels....
http://autobaseafrica.com/automobile-center-buy-sell/show-ad/41/1998-mercedes-benz-c220/cotonou/benin/saloons/
2010 Toyota Corolla
1.8l VVTI-engine, Toyota Corolla 2010 keyless entry,formica finish,automatic transmission ....
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2009 Toyota Corolla
Asking price: CALL .Toyota Corolla 2009,Automatic transmission,1.8l engine, fabric interior,neat car, ash colour....
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2012 Ford Explorer
Ford Explorer 2012, leather interior,DVD Player, alloy wheels,full functioning steering, 4.0l engine, V6 engine....
http://autobaseafrica.com/automobile-center-buy-sell/show-ad/38/2012-ford-explorer/cotonou/benin/4-wheel-drives-suvs/

It's one of the essential documents you need to have and its a proof that you legitimately purchased the vehicle from a Cotonou car dealer. You can get this document after you receive the official receipt and proof of payment. This is what most police men look out for.

We probably have heard different brave and may be slightly bogus stories about buying cars from Cotonou and also how these cars are all smuggled via Nigerian border towns. Other stories that cloud vehicle purchase from Cotonou are the assumed inevitable problems these vehicles encounter after getting to their end users. Some of these stories are true and in spite of these tall tales, some underlying reasons still make this trading option worth considering and this is why I found it interesting to put up a little list of the facts and the fiction that surround buying cars from Cotonou.

Myth #1: Cars are Cheaper in Cotonou.

When it comes to the purchase of fairly used cars, always remember that good cars come with a higher price tag and the fact that these cars (tokunbo) cars don’t have a rigid price tag. The two main factors that influence pricing of these cars are; how clean(mileage and appearance) the vehicle is and your bargaining power (which has a whole lot to do with how informed and persuasive you are). The major Cotonou advantage is the availability of a wide range of options even for the same type of car you might have in mind.

Myth #2: Buying cars from Cotonou is plain risky.

Buying cars from Benin might not be as convenient as simply going to a nearby car lot, paying for your car and driving off immediately but, it is anything but risky if you go about it the right way. Simply ensure you obtain important documents like original custom papers (after paying the duty) and most importantly the carte-de-cruise (after obtaining the vehicle receipt) document.

Myth #3: Agents are frauds.

When it comes to trading across Nigeria-Benin borders, it’s best you have an agent to guide you through. You might be paying them for almost everything you most likely can do by yourself; but here are reasons why you should consider the agency path; firstly, these agents (experienced ones) understand the market trends and true valuation of vehicles at anytime of the year. Secondly, park-owners can spot a novice a mile away and can easily capitalize on that, the third reason is the language barrier. And lastly, after crossing the Nigerian border you don’t need to grease all palms and you need someone experienced on that route to deal with custom or police men along this route. Escorts generally charge #5,000 and above to deliver cars from the border to their destinations.

Myth #4: Cotonou cars are clean and never tampered with.

These men have blood flowing through their veins and also have families to feed just like desperate Nigerians over here do. Just like cars get upgraded and maybe tampered with here in Nigeria, these things happen as well in Benin. You can get odometer readings reduced, repair accident-vehicles and even replace essential vehicle parts. However, these practices are in most cases done in the open with the buyer or trader’s permission. Everything boils down to hiring the right agent for the job.

Myth #5: You can get your order in less than 24hours.

This is very unlikely because cars in Cotonou are subject to the first-come-first-serve basis, meaning you have to physically select the vehicle of your choice and make the necessary payment or deposit to secure the vehicle. So paying fully for a vehicle and processing it that quickly(less than 24hrs) probably means you didn’t take time to assess the vehicle (with a mechanic or technically grounded individual with knowledge about cars) or you just didn’t take out time to choose. After payment there is no going back so it’s best to exercise patience.
http://autobaseafrica.com/buying-cars-from-cotonou-the-mythtruth/

It means these folks can do anything they like........Nigeria isn't ripe for such a law;a country where even grown ups are forced into marriages,now it will be legal for children to marry if they 'agree'.Who are they fooling??

uthfaith: Nt road damages. It is road damage.

You are right;thanks!

[quote author=P.Stacks]I think this is one of those waste of time article.. I wished it was possible to see a useless thread and know immediately this thread is foolish and know u shouldn't waste ur time reading it..

I wish some threads could simply just say "Pls don't read me"
This must be one of such threads.
I regret why I spent time reading this rubbish. I didn't learn anything from it.
Its a complete waste of my time and this kind of thread shouldn't make front page.[/quote]I sincerely always shy away from paying mind to people like you;if you dont have any thing meaningful to contribute to a debatable issue then stay off.

heo88: Immune somebody, thank you for your insightful contribution. Although you have raised some valid considerations, what has remained rather overlooked is the inherent lack of infrastructure throughout the country, but Lagos in particular. This cannot be underestimated as it would begin to explain why there is an over-usage of the state's roads. When such problems remain unaddressed, ordinary citizens will make the most of the scant available resources. In fact there's a case to argue that Nigerians should be commended for 'getting on with things', and to coin a popular maxim "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade".

Now on a more serious note, not only does the lack of infrastructure need to be addressed (especially in lagos), but the FG's culture of not making provisions for maintenance is in need of be

You welcome, i didnt shy away from the glaring lack of infrastructure,i deliberately made sure i stated it before dropping my opinion. We Nigerians have an unforgivable attitude of abuse, if we dont change our current approach when it comes to dealing with the kind of roads we have, what's the guarantee that with better infrastructure we wont watch such new roads get bad again.