When it comes to buying a set of wheels, most Kenyans’ decisions are steeped in ignorance. PHOTO| FILE| NATION MEDIA GROUP
Mr JM,
Last
year I suggested that you take time to educate us on the different car
classes, their functions and capabilities, the target class of
motorists the manufacturers have in mind when putting the cars into
production, among other things.
I
am just trying to make your Wednesday job easy, unless of course
you don’t want to do so, and render yourself jobless. Kenyan car
buyers are peculiar, and ignorant, mostly because they buy using
windfall earnings or through credit financing, and no prior thought is
given to impulse purchase. The Orient must muse when they visit and see
some of the contraptions they assemble and find ready buyers here in
Kenya.
Lastly, I beg to
differ and say that the SUV segment, especially the crossover, is the
fastest growing and most competitive, and that the bulky American
pickup is not even close.
Donald.
Mr Donald (Trump?),
I
read your suggestion and wondered what I have been doing for the past
eight years in this national newspaper if not exactly what you are
suggesting. Car Clinic and my car reviews are centred around analysing
what makes a motor vehicle tick, its pros and cons and who it is meant
for and whether it is a worthy investment in light of that fact.
Do
you, like some manufacturers, only see the trolls and assume this is a
comedy column where the cold-hearted come to seek their weekly dose of
snark and snide commentary?. I’m not sure you are in a position to
render me jobless, but let me not explore that path lest I put my foot
in my mouth when I discover that perhaps I am responding to a very
influential person in print media.
I
do have a column at my disposal, and I do educate the public on what
cars are for, among other things. Whether or not I do this effectively
is not for me to judge, but eight years in the business and a readership
in the hundreds of thousands imply that I may be doing something right
(but do I say!)
You are right, a
large part of our car-buying decisions are steeped in ignorance, but
that is why I am here: to try and change all that. And I will keep
trying until we all see sense, hopefully. It’s okay to differ, and I see
where you are coming from. I also see where you are going, and that is
to the dunce corner because I will once again clarify: the crossover
class is the fastest growing vehicle segment.
The
American pickup is the fastest selling vehicle segment. Learn the
difference and read up on the Ford F Series and GM’s Chevrolet pickups.
You cannot have a fastest growing segment that has simultaneously
reached saturation point; that is what we cunning linguists call ‘an
oxymoron’.
(Note 1: while the Ford
F Series is not number 1 outright, its position at number two, and the
presence of the Chevrolet Silverado at number 9 and RAM pickup at number
14 is telling. These vehicles have a narrower market reach compared to
the Toyota Corolla and Volkswagen Golf, which placed at first and third
respectively in that for starters the Yank Tanks are strictly USDM
vehicles that have no RHD versions while the compact cars have unmatched
global reach and are sold even in the most obscure of markets.
It
is impressive that the American pickups attain such numbers from such a
limited market, and by extrapolation, their own popularity as
determined by Hollywood, global fora and aftermarket RHD
conversions/grey market exportation from the United States implies that
they may have a ready market elsewhere if only their manufacturers
stopped aping their odd-haired president and acting like the United
States of Americaland was synonymous with the planet Earth.
It
is not by magic that the Ford F150 was and still is the fastest selling
vehicle on earth - selling an average of 3000 vehicles a day, in the US
alone.
Keep in mind that this
list has Chinese upstarts like Haval and Wuling Hongguang who enjoy a
home population five times that of the United States, but still cannot
catch up with the American truck sales)
(Note
2: the list may vary according to who you ask and where you look. An
alternative list focusing on Q1 of 2017 alone has the Silverado at No.
16, the RAM at No. 15 and the Ford F Series at number one)
***
Why does my car lose power going uphill?
Hi JM. First of all I would like to commend you for your column. It’s so educative, and I have learnt a lot so far.
I
have this Toyota 100 which has power issues especially when driving up a
hill. It all started one day after servicing, the mechanic didn’t screw
back the radiator cap. Unknowingly I drove for some distance before
realising the engine was extremely heated up. Upon checking, I realised
the mistake and had the vehicle towed back to the garage, where I
noticed traces of oil in the radiator.
My
mechanic assured me that cleaning the radiator would suffice which he
did, but now I’m losing power on hills I used to do with the 4th gear I
have to do with 1st and 2nd. Furthermore, I can’t even park the car on a
slope because it wouldn’t start without being pushed. What could be the
problem, and how do I go about it? Thank you. Ibrahim Mokaya
I take it last week’s lesson did not rub off on you, huh? Toyota 100? Which 100? Anyway...
You,
my friend, have blown a head gasket. That explains the power loss and
traces of oil in the radiator, and is usually a direct result of
overheating (in some cases, a failed gasket leads to overheating, so it
is a chicken-and-egg kind of thing).
You
are losing compression, hence the lack of torque and/or loss of power -
same thing, really. So, first thing is to stop driving that car. You
may have caused a little more damage with your first gear insistence in
the face of knowledge that all is not well under the bonnet, and one of
the attendant nightmares of driving around with a failed gasket is you
will warp very hard and expensive stuff; stuff like cylinder heads which
usually need skimming (on a good day) or the engine block, which
usually needs replacement.
How to
go about it: Head to another garage where the mechanics are not insanely
fastidious about the cleanliness of the radiator and actually do
diagnoses beyond areas they have already ruined - find another less
dodgy mech. Ask him to take your engine apart and give you the bad news.
The
bad news is you will need to replace the gasket and skim the heads and
probably grind the block a little to bring the mating surfaces back to
mirror flatness.
The really bad news is your engine is gone by now and you may need a new one.
***
Well, the Noah is infinitely more practical
Hallo
Baraza. I’m planning to get a Toyota Noah 2004 but a majority of my
friends are telling me it’s not a nice car. Currently, I have a Nissan
Wingroad 2006. Could you tell me the pros and cons of this vehicle ?
Regards Oliver
Hi Oliver,
Your
friends need to come out and say what about the Noah is not nice,
besides the fact that it has now become a bit too ubiquitous, and it is
used inappropriately by those who simply like the blocky looks and large
size.
The Nissan Wingroad’s pros are fairly obvious: it is a wagon and it is cheaper than water. That just about sums it up.
The
cons? The year 2006 was not a good year for a large number of Nissan
models. The monstrous GTR was only a year away from production, so the
focus of most resources was on that vehicle seeing how it is Nissan’s
flagship; and this meant lesser fare like the white rice Wingroad did
not quite get enough hugs as children, and it shows. The car is not
exactly pretty - what’s up with the roof hump over the first row of
seats that tapers off towards the ground past the B pillar before
straightening out at the C pillar? It’s hideous. The AD version is even
worse with its grey bumpers and mirrors. There is also no escaping the
fact that this Wingroad model is just a Nissan Note with a bigger boot.
This may explain why it is almost free at the market place. The interior
is bland and monochromatic with scratchy plastics, but this is
forgivable if you are not really paying for a car as much as just asking
for it for a token fee.
The Noah
is not as cheap. Why? Need you ask? Let’s start with the logo: Toyota;
or in Kenyan slang, “licence to charge whatever damn amount you feel
like for it at the forecourt”. One Noah could net you three Wingroads;
but then one Noah probably has the capacity of three Wingroads... or
two, to be fair. The Noah looks better - a bit classier; but keep in
mind you cannot really cross-shop the two as they are in different
classes. It all comes down to preference.
Pros: The Noah is infinitely more practical, looks better and, well, is a Toyota.
It
has also become quite popular so you will never want for maintenance.
Cons : The vehicle is popular, so you look like one of a million other
Kenyans either ferrying stationery or going on a road trip. The
popularity means that it may be a matter of time before this vehicle
becomes a TWOCcing* statistic.
Install
a veritable security system just in case, but this may not prevent
sundry parts like mirrors making a disappearing act at the hands of the
desperate indolents.
(Reminder: TWOC - Taking Without Owner’s Consent)
***
Note, Colt, Fit: Which one will suit my wife?
Hi JM,
I
know congratulation messages come your way every other day. This is
because of the good work that you always do. I join the rest in giving
you a thumbs-up.
I am
planning to buy a car for my wife. It will generally be used to deliver
clothes to clients (like two medium boxes or so) within Nairobi. She
covers over 100kms every day save for Sundays.
The car may be used once in a while for upcountry journeys (you understand our earth roads in the villages).
I
am looking at reliability, durability and ability to withstand our
driving climate over time given a Nissan Note, a Mitsubishi Colt and a
Honda Fit, all of 1300cc.
Kindly advise. Mbuvi Charles
Hi Charles,
Now
here we have ourselves a good ol’ quandary: relatively high mileage
versus practicality. The two cars will cater for the two different
requirements in their own way. For the sake of giving Mitsubishi a
fighting chance, we will disregard the regular Colt and instead toss the
Colt Plus to the lions, because the regular Colt will not win this.
Question
1: what size is a “medium” box? The wireless mouse for my laptop came
in a box but so did the giant refrigerator occupying 60 per cent of my
neighbour’s kitchen floor space. Of the two, which is closer to your
definition of “medium”?
Question
2: If you want to drive on earth roads in the village, perhaps you
should consider other cars like, I don’t know, crossovers? Or lease one
at least.
What’s the point of
using inapplicable tools for tasks that may defeat them only for you to
come back a month later with a letter: “Dear Baraza, I went to the
village in a low slung hatchback and now there is a massive oil leak
from underneath the car, it won’t steer properly and the suspension
clanks like someone is kicking a tin can down a cobbled street...”?
That
being said: the Honda Fit will eat the (tarmacked) miles with better
finesse, while the Colt Plus will carry more “medium” boxes. Make your
decision.
That’s my version of things. On to yours:
Reliability: Honda
Durability: see “reliability” above
Ability to withstand “our driving climate”: you really are not good with synonyms, are you?
The
Nissan Note? It just isn’t in the picture. Before our Teana-loving
correspondent warms up his internet connection again, let us be clear. I
have not said a Note is bad.
I haven’t said it’s good either. But in the company of the Colt Plus, it cannot match the carrying capacity.
When we turn to the Fit, the Note won’t match its highway aplomb of driving dynamics, or even its dependability.
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