#citigolf

[freshautoinc]

PTA VS JHB

Location📍@zwartkops.raceway

Vehicle owned by:

Photos by: @ethanhendricks___ @lendl_325

#vr6 #gti #tsi #tfsi #vw #audi #vagcars #volkswagen #golf #polo #mini #golfr #sline #citigolf #minicooper #stance #static #bagged #low #southafrica

[irvinenewshq]

Inland Excessive Competition says goodbye to Crimson Star on a excessive

The Inland Excessive Competition’s spectacle lit up the Crimson Star Raceway close to Delmas on Saturday, with six competitors disciplines in motion. Heading up proceedings have been two races for Automobile Care Clinic 111 Sports activities and Saloon vehicles. Veteran George Economides took his extremely fast Wealth Avenue Volkswagen CitiGolf Turbo to the opening race win from Phillip Meyer (Pple Porsche 924) and Kobus Brits (Pragma Volkswagen Polo). Economides led race two however suffered a puncture, leaving Meyer to win, adopted by Dalton and Piet Potgieter (Nathans Motorsport Volkswagen Polo). ALSO READ: Inland Excessive Competition making ready for ultimate Crimson Star go to Lenard Archer (ACD Welkom Hyundai Getz) drove brilliantly to win the primary Automobile Care Clinic SuperHatch race forward of Karel Stols (Pta Noord Toyota Etios) and Andre de Lange (Roofsure Volkswagen Golf GTI). Race two honours went to Stols with Andre Dannhauser (Professional Rubber Racing Opel Corsa} ending second and De Lange third. Defending champion, Rory Atkinson (BHIT Polo), gained the opening Pabar VW Problem warmth, beating off Stiaan Kriel (Design Hut Polo) and Wayne Masters (Efficiency Masters Polo). Atkinson made it a double in race two, with Kriel and Masters doing the identical in second and third. Karel Stols (Pta Noord Toyota Etios) gained the second Automobile Care Clinic SuperHatch race. Image: Paul Bedford. In Class B, girl racer Elna Croeser (ATE Brakes Polo) took race one forward of Hannes Scheepers (Dainfern Dental Polo) and Anthony Pretorius (Quick Developments Polo). The primary two reversed their outcomes for race two with third place falling to Ross Butt (Eezi Components Polo). The primary On Monitor Clubmans race went to Pieter Zeelie (Zeelie Auditors Speadz), main dwelling Kobus Brits (Pragma Volkswagen Polo) and Phillip Meyer (Pple Group Porsche 924). Warmth two additionally once more belonged to Zeelie, this time adopted by Meyer and Dirk Lawrence (JDM Tuning Honda Ballade). Zeelie managed the day’s quickest lap time of 1 minute 59.428 in race three, whereas profitable forward of Meyer and Brits. Saturday’s second race for Automobile Care Clinic 111 Sports activities and Saloon vehicles on the Crimson Star Raceway went to Phillip Meyer (Pple Porsche 924). Image: Paul Bedford. Jeffrey Kruger (Design Hut Birkin) gained each the Lotus Problem races from Thomas Falkiner (Adaptive Sources Taylon) with Rudi Barnard (Barneys Birkin) ending third in race one and Andre Human (Adlem Auto Birkin) in race two. The subsequent spherical of the 2022 Regional Inland Excessive Competition will happen on the Zwartkops Raceway close to Pretoria on Saturday, 12 November. Originally published at Irvine News HQ

[vagcafe]

New week. Be sure to add some @tabasco_1r 🔥 #vw #volkswagen #mk1 #citigolf #loweredlifestyle #lowered #vaglife #vagcafe https://www.instagram.com/p/CGOqOkjhWVk/?igshid=ic44so3zafmu

[helplessrocket]

TIL about the CitiGolf, a variant of the Mk1 VW Golf sold and manufactured in South Africa for 25yrs (84' - 09')

Pictured is a Chico edition sold in the 90s.

[bixentef]

#truckoftheday #volkswagencaddy #caddypickup #mk1 #vintage #crosscaddy #1989 #BIXENTEF #2021 #TOURISME #caraddict Lancée en 1980, le Volkswagen Caddy I est un Pick-up basé sur la plate-forme A1 issue du Groupe Volkswagen. Il incarne une version utilitaire de la voiture familiale #Volkswagen Golf . Le marché des Pick-up étant en pleine expansion aux États-Unis, Volkswagen décidait, en 1979, de lancer la production du Volkswagen Caddy dans l'usine d'assemblage de #Westmoreland , dans l'État américain de #Pennsylvanie . Produit jusqu'en 1992, le Caddy fut vendu en #Amérique du Nord sous le nom de Volkswagen #Rabbit Pickup avec deux niveaux de finition : #Sportruck et LX. Il avait pour principaux concurrents les #Subaru #Brat et Ford #Courier . En 1982, Le Caddy arrive sur le marché européen. Il est assemblé dans l'usine TAS de #Sarajevo en #Bosnie-Herzégovine jusqu'en 1992. Le Caddy fut également produit sur le marché sud-africain sous le nom de Volkswagen #Pickup, où une partie de la chaîne d'assemblage fut importée de l'usine de #Westmoreland aux #États-Unis. Comme pour la Volkswagen #CitiGolf , véhicule à bas coût exclusivement vendu en #Afrique du Sud dérivé de la Volkswagen Golf I, la production du Caddy est arrêtée en 2009 @wikipedia (à Anduze) https://www.instagram.com/p/CV-6H-AIh6i/?utm_medium=tumblr

[sublimecarperume]

What's your flavour?

Is it Bourbon Spice, Velvet wood, Royal ice, Cool mist or Glacier, try one of them out and see what best suits you.

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#sublimecarperfume #newcarscent #carperfume #fragrance #carfreshener #carcologne #carcare #instafresh #motorsports #capetown #citigolf #gusheshe #velociti #aroma #autodetailing #carwash #scented #refreshing #stance #slammed #smellgood #interiorcardetailing #deodorizer #distributor #wholesale #johannesburg #mzansi #bbs #luxuryperfume

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A post shared by CAR PERFUME / AIR FRESHENER🇿🇦 (@sublimecarperfume)

[dougscars]

Finally got home to my mail and my CitiGolf 3.6 shirt! (at Richmond, Virginia)

[christinaengela]

There are really a lot of different reasons why people want to save money – and face it, in these difficult times, who doesn’t? I certainly count myself in that group! Service time is another of those dreaded annual expenses that make car owners cringe – even if you drive an old banger that’s paid for instead of a brand new car that’s owned by the bank and costs more than a house-payment to service at the agents!

In this article I talk about saving some money in perhaps one of the easiest ways you probably never thought about!

Spark plugs! Every internal (or infernal, depending on your experiences) combustion engined car has them – and every time you service your car, either by yourself (if like me you want to save money) or if you take it to the neighborhood garage-slash-workshop, they swap out these items for nice shiny new ones! Naturally, they don’t do this for free – spark plugs cost money, and their cost forms part of your service bill – and adds up over time.

Why do they do this instead of just cleaning them? Have you ever wondered? Well, because they’re “finished” they’ll say, smiling – when they’re really fine and perhaps just a little sooty, and at worst the electrodes are coated with carbon. Underneath all that, they’re still as good as new – but cleaning them takes time and effort on their part – and as we all know, “time is money”. Truth is, they’re only “finished” if their electrodes are burned away or excessively worn, if the ceramic housing is cracked or broken, or the circuit itself is broken (“dead plug”) or the thread is stripped so it doesn’t seal against the cylinder head port.

Modern engines have electronic ignition and engine management systems which, among other things, protect and lengthen the lifetimes of these normally throwaway items, so there’s really no reason why you shouldn’t be able to just give them a clean and keep using them, is there?

Think about it: Your typical spark plug for a Citigolf, Beetle or Mazda 323 or similar costs around between R65 – R80 each, but let’s work on the lighter side for the purposes of this demonstration and stick to R65 each. Since most cars have 4-cylinder engines, they need 4 of these items – and that alone costs you say, R260.00 of your service bill. That’s not too much, is it? You might wonder what you could do with R260 bucks, especially at the very end of a dry month. The answer is, still quite a bit, isn’t it?

If you insist on it, your workshop will return the old plugs to you when you collect your car… in a plastic shopping bag – and there are various reasons you might do this: from seeing proof that they did change your plugs, to keeping the old ones for spares, or to use in arts and crafts etc. I know some people who did that in the past to see how honest their garages were – in fact, many old-school garages used to insist on doing this anyway as a matter of principle. My elderly aunts and uncles were oftimes the proud recipents of a plastic bag containing dirty spark plugs, old oil/air/fuel filters and even brake shoes when they collected their cars from the local garage!

So… you hold a dirty spark plug and turn it over and over in your hands, wondering what’s wrong with it, and why it had to be replaced? Why can’t it just be cleaned and used some more? Why not indeed?

I’m sure there are many convinving reasons a car manufacturer or service agent could come up with why a seemingly good sparkplug that still works fine needs to be replaced every time you take your car for a service… just as they shamelessly justify service plans for new cars at the agents that often cost more than a running second-hand car just for a service – but I honestly can’t think of any. It’s a car – not a space shuttle!

That aside, yes, they are dirty – and if the dirt builds up enough, it will interfere with the sparking ability of the plugs and impairs their function – which allows them to collect more carbon and build-up, making them dirtier, which means you end up using slightly more fuel, making the engine less efficient. If it gets bad enough, the engine begins to misfire, and speaking as someone who’s had to drive a car home on two cylinders due to fouled up spark plugs caused by worn piston rings, I know what it’s like!

My old beetle for example, is an old car – it will be 58 years old next year. Naturally there is a bit of wear on the engine – and being a 1200cc engine, it’s also extremely picky about which spark plugs it uses. Any plug I put into it beside the original factory-specified make and model spark plug only lasts me about three weeks before the engine begins to splutter, becomes underpowered and eventually, won’t even start! In 2015, when I got the car and before I realized the problem was the incorrect spark plugs, I bought at least four sets of new aftermarket spark plugs (which were listed as useable on that model car, but burned at the wrong temperature) and changed them out every three weeks! Anyway, at the end of 2015, I wound up holding a bagful or soot and oil-covered plugs, counting the cost, and pondering whether I could clean these things to reuse them rather than just buy another set?

It’s worth mentioning that just because a spark plug fits into the holes in your car engine, it doesn’t mean it’s designed to work on your engine! Spark plugs may even look alike, but are rated at different operating temperatures – too hot OR too cold, and they cause problems! Well, I was gob-smacked! No wonder those plugs were so badly fouled! In 2015 I’d changed the plugs so frequently that I began to wonder if the engine was on its way out and would need a rebuild… The correct plugs solved that problem. Anyone who’s had to change plug on a bug engine will know my pain!

Thing is, nobody seems to tell you you can clean your spark plugs – and in most cases, I find, they can be cleaned back to almost new condition. To my mind, this is all part of the consumerist throw-away-society mindset. It’s easier to just buy a new one and throw the old one away – yes, it’s easier – but expensive and wasteful.

When I eventually figured out the problem with the beetle and sourced the extremely elusive Bosch original specified items, I bought two sets – put one in the car, and kept the other in the toolbox in the trunk for emergencies. The correct plugs last a lot longer between cleans than the incorrect ones, lemme tell ya! It might interest you that I haven’t had to buy new plugs since 2016 – for the bug, or for my citi golf. Let’s do a quick sum here to work out what that means.

Two cars in my case adds up to eight plugs – that’s R520 (at R65 each) if I’d serviced both cars in one year – and if I’d repeated that for the last four years, it would’ve cost me around R2080 just for new plugs – which probably didn’t even need to be replaced! What a waste! Instead though, over the last four years, that’s roughly how much I saved! This is working on the conservative side, because I can bet you dollars to donuts the price has gone up a bit every year since 2016, meaning it would be more than that now!

The goal in my view, is to have two sets of good plugs – one installed in the car, and one clean and ready in the garage at home (or in your toolbox in the boot). When the time comes – old cars will let you know when they begin to miss or splutter or become underpowered, or you can just do it once a year come service-time – you swap out the plugs and then clean the dirty ones at your leisure and put them aside for when needed again.

Let me tell you how I reached my conclusions – there are a few ways to clean spark plugs. In the course of my research, I tried two methods.

The first method I followed was to burn them clean – that’s right – with a gas torch, and then wire-brushing them until they’re free of any build-up. The conventional wisdom about this method (according to various YouTube video fundis) says you should apply the flame until all the build-up glows red and then turns gray and begins to fall off on its own, and then you can brush off the rest – a sort of fine flaky gray ash, using a hand-held wire brush. The end result – about ten or fifteen minutes, and maybe one or two light burns later – is a shiny, smooth, fairly clean plug. Courage, you still have another three to do. *Sighs*

Yes it does work, but I found this method slow, messy and labor-intensive. Basically, if you’re not doing the actual cleaning all the time you’re cleaning them, they remain dirty. Thus, the task requires your full attention for the duration of the job. There’s also a distinct risk of injury – you’re working with a very hot flame that can cause grievous injury after all – so it takes concentration and focus to avoid accidentally sustaining burns – and face it, it can happen! There had to be an easier, safer way – and there is! Chemistry! And a little common sense!

I advise against the gas torch cleaning method, especially if you’re not confident in using fire tools like gas torches! Besides, I look better with eyebrows, and I’m sure you – like me – have better things to spend that much of your time on!

I had much better results with chemistry – it was less trouble, less time and attention-consuming, and it’s easy-peasy. You need four small shot-glasses for this task – or one per plug – with just enough space inside it to hold the electrode end of the plug and a bit of fluid at the bottom.

Without even touching the plugs with a wire-brush yet, I poured a little brown vinegar into the glasses – just enough to cover the threads. Then I added a small amount of bicarbonate of soda powder – just about a pinch – to the fluid before inserted the plug into the vinegar at the bottom of the shot glass. I left the plugs in a quiet undisturbed spot overnight for the chemical reaction to do its thing. The next day when I got home from work, all it took was a little light wirebrushing to completely remove the grime and a little drying with an old rag! I was surprised at how clean they turned out!

This is simplicity itself – all you need to do is pop them into the glasses with the fluid mix, leave them overnight, and the next day give them a quick brushing and lubrication! Remember, you’ve already fitted the clean plugs to your car as you took out the dirty ones, so you didn’t need to wait for them to dry before using your car!

You’ll see in the pictures below how nice they look! Spray them lightly with Q20 to safeguard against rust while they wait for their next shift, and you’re good to go!

Remember to check your plugs between changes for the correct electrode gap (consult your car-care manual for instructions), and for excessive wear – cleaning them can’t fix physical damage!

If you’re lucky, you might never need to buy spark plugs again – think of all the money you could save! 🙂

That’s all for this time, have a D.I.Y. day!

Pictures included – enjoy!

Cheers!

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If you’d like to send Christina Engela a question about anything on this site, or her life as a writer or transactivist, please send an email to christinaengela@gmail.com or use the Contact form on her author website.

Show your appreciation for Christina’s work!

Easy DIY Moneysaver – Clean & Reuse Your Spark Plugs There are really a lot of different reasons why people want to save money - and face it, in these difficult times, who doesn't?

[clarafetherston]

Idea Generation for Digital Products

Idea Three:  Business advertisement designs

Overview:

My final idea for digital products that I could create and sell would be advertisement designs for businesses – such as postcards, business cards, brochures etc. 

I had a bit of experience with creating postcards designs for Citigolf Belfast, and enjoyed the process – so if I were to create more in the future, I would probably rather design these for a business specifically than create generic templates.

These are some examples of what I created:

Pros:

I have a bit of experience with this already

Printed advertisements are still quite important for businesses, especially those needing a bit of exposure

Cons: 

They’re not so complicated that businesses can’t design these themselves,

Pricing could be competitive and I might have to charge less than competitors

I’d design these using Adobe XD and then build them using InDesign – I could use stock images, or request images from the business itself – or even take my own if necessary and applicable.

My service would probably be targeted at smaller businesses, and likely local ones for ease. It would be a case of figuring out an hourly rate for creating these – however there are lots of free, simple templates available online so these could take away from me if businesses didn’t want to pay lots.

[stoffelstories]

Candlelight

The prompt: Write a story with some kind of European element in it. The title is Candlelight. It must be dramatic. Wildcard: The story must contain a sloth somewhere in it.

Chapter 1

Ciaran wondered at the giant grandfather clock as he passed it. The enormous long hand of the clock seemed to take several minutes to swing the last increment to the top of the hour. When it did, instead of bells chiming Ciaran heard the sweet melodic riff from the introduction to Mr Brightside. That’s odd, he thought. And then he looked around at the landscape. He was on an open road in the middle of the bushveld with no landmark except the absurd grandfather clock anywhere in sight all the way to the horizon. He heard a strange rhythmic rumble in the distance. To the south there was a thunderstorm moving ominously in his direction. The rolls of thunder came at an astoundingly quick and regular tempo. Dark clouds strangled the light of the sun as he stood, confused by the unnatural sound of the thunder. Lightning began to flash, but still the only sounds were the same distant, too-quick rolls of thunder and the grandfather clock chiming out Mr Brightside. Coming out of my cage and I’ve been doing just fine… Gotta gotta be down because I want it all… Suddenly, a crash shattered the landscape into a million pieces, the sky fell in on itself as he fell upwards into its jagged implosion through shards of black and then sudden marvelous light as his eyes shot open and he sat bolt upright in his bed. He swooned under the oppressive jetlag of his sudden cross-dimensional journey. As his eyes adjusted to the morning light gushing through his window and his understanding adjusted to this new reality, he noticed a shattered glass on the floor by his bedside table. And then he saw his iPhone lying face-down among the glass shards.

“Marmite!” he half-yelled, half-croaked through the morning phlegm stuck in his throat.

Marmite poked his head around the bedroom door frame with a guilty meow.

“This was you wasn’t it? You little terrorist!” 

Marmite hopped on the bed purring at a hundred cute little rumbles of thunder per minute.

“Oh no, don’t you dare try cutesie your way out of this. You are in big trouble. My phone screen is probably smashed to smithereens!” he vented at the adorable four-legged vandal now soliciting a good scratch by rubbing his head against Ciaran’s toes. Suddenly he froze, a chilling thought penetrating the fog of his morning drowsiness and domestic problems. What time is it?

Ciaran shot out of bed sending Marmite flying with a mighty meow-scream and grabbed his phone off the floor, stepping on bits of broken glass as he did. He immediately jumped back onto his bed in a rush of pain and expletives. Brushing off a few shards of glass shallowly embedded into the sole of his foot and muttering curses under his breath, he checked his phone. The screen had fractured into a hundred pieces. Well, that’s just wonderful. As painful as the cellular carnage was to look at, the time on the display was worse. 7:41. He was late for work. 

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

A taxi driver hooted at Ciaran as he sped past. He chuckled to himself at the irony. It’s funny how quickly things can change. Since the Lockdown had ended, The New Authority had made a lot of changes in the name of progress and efficiency. The first inefficiency to be targeted was the one they dubbed The Electricon Problem. To deal with the struggling national power system inherited from Before, the new board of directors immediately cut electricity to all non-essential and wasteful burdens on the power supply. Interestingly enough, this measure included traffic lights being disabled and replaced by pointsmen in impeccable uniforms at the necessary major intersections. Many of the Pointers (a government-sanctioned term created for the sake of syllabic efficiency and progress in gender equality) were actually members of the old Electricon board of directors. The New National Prosecuting Authority had swiftly found the old Electricon board guilty on many counts of mismanagement, corruption, and fraud. Apparently the evidence had already been collected but just needed to be filed correctly in an efficient manner to present a more precise and well-constructed case. However, none of the guilty parties were sent to prison. In fact, The NA ruled that prisons were soon to be phased out completely on the grounds of wasteful expenditure but didn’t disclose what would happen to the inmates. Instead, the white collar criminals were all placed under strict surveillance and re-employed as Pointers for their “rehabilitation into honest society.” The official media statement released by The NA claimed that they “wanted to prevent such terrible influences from corrupting the inmates and prison guards.” 

Ciaran turned into Bucket street and immediately threw his battered little CitiGolf into second gear to overtake the pedestrian-paced Nissan Almera puttering along in front of him. It’s always a bloody Almera. I hope the NA bans them because of lack of progress. They’re always stopping traffic from ever getting any-bloody-where! He sped past, swerved back into his lane to narrowly miss yet another infuriated taxi driver, and slammed on the brakes to avoid crashing into the car in front of him waiting its turn at the intersection. Dammit! I should’ve taken Westoak street! But he always took Bucket - probably out of habit more than anything else. He glanced at the clock on his dashboard. 7:53. If these guys give me a break I might just make it! He looked up at one of the Pointers directing traffic in dramatic mechanical actions. I miss the Outsurance-sponsored dancing pointsman from Before. The NA just takes the fun out of things. He offered a smile at the Pointer but it was not reciprocated. He hadn’t expected it would be though -- there was too much at stake. They had to prove their efficiency and workrate if they wanted a hope of success and prosperity under The New Authority. That hope could only be realized through a series of promotions in The New System. Nowadays, everything is a test. The Committee knows everything. Don’t slack off. Don’t miss your targets. And God help you if you’re late. He glanced at the time again. 7:54. Come one, hurry up Mr Grumpy Face.  Bossman might actually kill me this time. Or worse…  As Ciaran waited for the stern-faced pointsman to wave him on, he looked over to the corner pharmacy and remembered how different it looked Before. Usually at this time of the morning most of the homeless that had slept in a neat row under the awning in front of the pharmacy would have packed their belongings and begun their day. Some would still be lingering on the pavement in various stages of consciousness. No one ever seemed bothered by them though. I never asked them where they would go. They must have had some kind of routine. Now I’ll never know. They’re all gone. An angry whistle woke Ciaran from his daydream. ‘Mr Grumpy Face’ was furiously gesticulating at him to hurry up and move on. The intensity in his facial expression disconcerted Ciaran. He hastily shoved his car into gear and continued his race to work.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

8:13. It’s not that bad. Only 13 minutes. Maybe Bossman had a breakfast meeting and won’t be there to see me arrive late. But Bossman was waiting for Ciaran in the parking lot. 

“YOU’RE LATE AGAIN, CIARAN!” he thundered.

Ciaran raised a feeble hand in apology and attempted to drive past the furious Bossman to his parking spot. 

“STOP!” he roared. So Ciaran stopped and braced himself for the torrent of abuse that would surely soon be pouring through his open window. 

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“Man, that was crazy, bro!” laughed Xabiso as Ciaran poured himself a cup of coffee in the break room. 

“You know what he looked like? Have you seen those waving tube men things they put in front of car dealerships?” blurted Shelby, the intern. Everyone except Ciaran laughed.

“Down and UP! You’ve never been on time for anything, Mr Murphy!” Xabiso affected a kind of Afrikaans accent that sounded oddly Swedish as he waved his arms haphazardly up and down trying to mimic the rise and fall of a tube man. This time even Ciaran, who had still been recovering from the wrath of Bossman up until that moment, couldn’t resist a chuckle at Xabiso’s antics. His mirth faded quickly, however, as he looked at Xabiso and Shelby with a worried question in his eyes, “You don’t think he’ll report me, do you?” 

“No, I’m sure he won’t, bro. Don’t worry about it. Everyone was late today. You just got shat on because you were the latest,” offered Shelby.

“Things have been crazy under The NA though, man. All these new rules and their talk about efficiency and progress. And the war on Sloth. They’re saying it’s a crime now. That they’re not going to tolerate offenders. Bossman has been accusing me of laziness for years.”

“They haven’t passed that law yet. And he’s not that kind of guy, you know that. You just…” Xabiso’s voice trailed off as he noticed two police officers talking to Geraldine at reception. She looked over at them and pointed towards Ciaran. 

[welovenissan]

Will the NP200 ever achieve the much-loved status of “the 1400”?

Looking at the number of sales the 1-ton pick-up market keeps racking up month-after-month, as it has been doing for many years, one has to ask the question why there aren’t more smaller pick-ups on the market.

Once a thriving segment with a few competing offerings, the half-ton bakkie segment had the Ford Bantam (based on the front-drive Ford Escort hatch) and re-badged Mazda Rustler, Volkswagen Golf pick-up (which was based on Golf 1, and later renamed Caddy pick-up)… and way before them, the Datsun 1200 bakkie was born.  This little bakkie became the Nissan 1400, and through a few upgrades like a higher roof and new face, stayed true to its origins.  The Bantam was built for quite a few years, but then ended, while the VW Caddy kind of had to retire after the long-standing CitiGolf (Golf 1) was stopped.  Interestingly, the oldest of the group also endured the longest, as 1400 outlived all the abovementioned half-tonners.  Only the Opel Corsa Utility, as the new entrant, made some inroads – this became Chevrolet Utility.  Fiat tried this for a while with its Strada, but quit.

When it came time for Nissan to close the 1400 production line, it commemorated it with a Heritage edition model, bowing out this little winner in style.  The last of the rear-wheel-drive half-ton bakkies had to go.  Nissan SA decided it was time to let it go… but why did it?  Just looking at the high demand for the 1400 even now, and seeing how many are still running around daily, there would no doubt still be buyers today.

The big question was: what will they replace it with?  Nissan had formed an alliance with Renault, who in turn has ties to Dacia.  The Dacia bakkie seemed a good source to continue Nissan’s long-standing small bakkie sales strength, so the NP200 was decided on.  However, this is not a true Nissan – just look at the front-end and interiors of the Dacia/Renault Logan sedan (which was thankfully stopped for the local market) and you’ll see the similarity between Logan and “Nissan” NP200.

Nissan SA introduced the Nissan NP200 for sale in September 2009, overlapping with the last of the 1400s produced.  A sad day for South Africa – not so much the discontinuation of the 1400, but the NP200 marketed as a continuation of the loved little heritage bakkie.

It was very bold of Nissan to, in 2011, extend the warranty of all-new NP200 bakkies to 6 years or 150 000km.  This means a buyer of a new NP200 would have a long time and far distance to go before the warranty expires. 

Nissan SA boasts a comprehensive range of LCVs (Light Commercial Vehicles) in its commercial portfolio – the NP200 is at the bottom, and also sells the NP300 Hardbody, Navara (up for replacement by the NP300 Navara) and the Patrol pick-up, which had received a look similar to the Patrol SUV.

Strange that there are only 2 remnants of the half-ton bakkie – this Nissan NP200 from Group 1 Nissan, and the Chevrolet Utility, both selling 1200+ per month.  Ford is expanding its commercial range but is happy to sell only Ranger and panel vans.  Toyota actually had a small 1200 bakkie many years ago, but no replacement was made.  Today only Volkswagen has a chance of re-entering this market when seeing the Saveiro from Brazil.

Article source: https://www.autotrader.co.za/cars/reviews/nissan/np-200/will-the-np200-ever-achieve-the-much-loved-status-of-the-1400/2487

[fannys-reise]

Elfter Blogeintrag RSA

Mittwoch, Donnerstag & Freitag: Wieder im Kindergarten ging der Alltag los, aber ich hatte und habe jetzt nach dem Zwischenseminar eine andere Sicht auf die Dinge, was mir vieles erleichtert. Am Freitag Morgen fuhren der Großteil meiner WG zu ihrem Zwischenseminar und somit hatten wir ein ruhiges Wochenende vor uns. Dafür besuchte uns ein Freiwilliger aus Hermanus vom Seminar und schaute sich am Freitag unseren Arbeits-Alltag an. Außerdem überraschte mich die Erzieherin aus meinem Kindergarten mit einer Chorstunde am Nachmittag, als plötzlich viele Schüler aus unterschiedlichen Klassen in den Kindergarten strömten und zu singen begannen.

Samstag: Morgens fuhren wir trotz Wochenende zur Schule. Dort fand ein „Meeting“mit den Eltern statt (Elternabend). Nachdem wir zu Beginn vorgestellt wurden, folgten zwei Stunden auf Stühlen sitzend vor der versammelten Mannschaft von Eltern. Zudem verstanden wir fast nichts von dem, was den Eltern mitgeteilt wurde, da größtenteils Xhosa gesprochen wurde.

Den restlichen Tag verbrachte ich entspannt Zuhause und versuchte gegen Abend mir den „African Salad“ (auf Xhosa „Umpogoqo“, bestehend aus sehr lang gekochtem und pulvrig werdenden Maisbrei und Sauermilch) zuzubereiten, scheiterte aber wieder einmal an meiner Geduld.

Sonntag: Nach einem ausgiebigen und dem Sonntag entsprechenden Frühstück fuhr ich nach Strand, um zu surfen. Bis auf die Tatsache, dass ich mein Handtuch vergaß und im Wasser, wegen eines Kinder-Surf-Wettbewerbs von einem Mann unfreundlich in einen anderen Strandabschnitt verwiesen wurde, hatte ich viel Spaß. Später stießen zu mir noch weitere Anfänger.

Montag: An diesem ersten Wochentag fuhr ich nach der Arbeit, welcher vor allem aus dem Fotografieren des Kindergarten-Alltags bestanden hatte, das erste Mal allein zum Center, da keiner der Anwesenden WG-Mitglieder zur Xhosa Stunde gehen wollte. Das gab mir die Möglichkeit im Center noch Klavier zu üben, worüber ich mich sehr freute.

Dienstag, Mittwoch & Donnerstag: Fast jeden Tag hatten wir mehrere Stunden Stromausfall wegen eines Sparmodus, genannt „Load Shedding“. Interessanter Weise stört mich das meistens nicht sonderlich.

Am Donnerstag war ich das erste Mal beim Volleyball-„Training“, welches man eher als sozialisierende Beach-Volleyball-Session bezeichnen sollte. Nachdem wir uns aufgrund eines falschen Standortes verfahren hatten, fanden wir schließlich mit der Hilfe einer Teilnehmerin den Weg. Dort angekommen begrüßten uns sechs Studenten, von denen 50% deutsch sprachen, aber aus Namibia kamen. Wir spielten uns kurz ein und verbrachten den Rest der Zeit mit Spielen in unterschiedlichen Teamaufstellungen. In diesem Studenten Sport-Bereich, wozu das Beach-Volleyball-Feld gehörte, fühlten wir uns etwas abgehoben und mir fiel wieder der riesige Unterschied zum meinem Alltag in Khayelitsha auf.

Freitag, Samstag & Sonntag: Dieses Wochenende verbrachte ich hauptsächlich in einer Camphill-Einrichtung (eine Lebensmöglichkeit für behinderte Menschen mit Schule, Arbeits- und Wohnmöglichkeiten) in Hermanus. Eine derer, die vom Feuer betroffen gewesen waren.

Am Freitag Nachmittag wurde ich von einer Mitfreiwilligen nach Stellenbosch gefahren und startete von dort aus meine 4-stündige Reise nach Hermanus mit dem Minibus-Taxi (eines der wenigen öffentlichen Verkehrsmitteln). Mit dem ersten Minibus fuhr ich 5 Minuten und wurde dann beim Township hinter Stellenbosch zu einem anderen Minibus verwiesen. Dieser fuhr mich dann nach Bellville, was leider entgegen meiner eigentlichen Richtung lag. Jedoch wurde mir vorher versichert, dass dies der einzige Weg sei. In Bellville angekommen, empfing mich eine hektische Atmosphäre mit vielen Menschen, die durcheinander wuselten und hupenden Minibussen. In dem Gewimmel wurde Essen und Haushaltswaren verkauft. Von Chips über gegrilltes Fleisch und Obst bis hin zu Wäscheklammern war alles dabei.

Dort fand ich nach kurzem Fragen und suchen (mir wurde in Minibussen immer geholfen) fand ich den Minibus nach Hermanus und stieg ein. Selbst wenn man bereits im Bus sitzt, werden einem noch Waren von laufenden Verkäufern angeboten. Ich wies das Küchenhandtuch dankend ab.

Im Minibus war wieder erwarten nicht an Schlaf oder Musik hören zu denken. Mein Sitznachbar war sehr gesprächig und hatte ein großes Wissen über die politische Situation in unterschiedlichen Ländern. Wir unterhielten uns über Klimaerwärmung, Umweltverschmutzung und Terrorgruppen. Nach einem Stau gesellte sich noch ein zweiter Mann zu uns und beteiligte sich am Gespräch. Unsere Diskussionsrunde bestand somit aus einem Xhosa-Verteidiger, einem Afrikaans sprechenden Mann, der bei home affairs arbeitet und einer deutschen Freiwilligen. Eine spannende Mischung.

Von einem Freiwilligen aus dem Camphill wurde mir ein Taxi von Hermanus zum Camphill organisiert und so kam ich gegen halb 9 Uhr abends endlich an.

Am nächsten Tag lernte ich die anderen Freiwilligen, die ich noch nicht vom Seminar kannte, kennen. Ich wurde im Camphill herumgeführt und machte anschließend noch eine Wanderung in der verbrannten Umgebung. Alles wirkte unnatürlich und ein wenig gespenstisch. Besonders als wir den Gipfel erreichten, der von Wolken verhangen war und über dessen Grad die Wolkenfetzen wehten.

Bis abends saßen wir alle gemeinsam im Innenhof des einen Wohnhauses und ich lernte noch mehr Freiwillige des Camphills kennen. Ein Freiwilliger kochte am Abend mit dem gespendeten Essen von Supermärkten, welches das Camphill regelmäßig erhält ein sehr leckeres Essen. Während wir aßen lief klassische Musik, was mich sehr überraschte und erfreute, da ich die meisten Stücke zuordnen konnte.

Am nächsten Tag machte ich mich nach de Frühstück wieder auf den Rückweg. Diesmal musste ich einmal in Hermanus (in einem der Townships) umsteigen und saß dann über die Hälfte der Strecke auf den Stufen des Busses, zwischen der Buswand und einer Frau eingequetscht, da ich nicht länger auf den nächsten Bus warten wollte. Nach einigen Versuchen und viel Anschieben sprang der Bus an und wir fuhren los. In Bellville stieg ich wieder um und unterhielt mich auf dieser Fahrt mit einer Afrikaans sprechende Frau, welche mir ihre Lebens- und Leidensgeschichte erzählte und mir einige mütterliche Tipps gab.

Wieder Zuhause verbrachte ich den Rest meiner Zeit wider erwarten nicht mit entspannen, sondern mit einer Jogging-Runde am Strand von Strand.

Dienstag: Nachmittags erfuhren wir, dass wir am nächsten Tag im Center zu einer Präsentation zum Thema Drogen gehen sollten. Eigentlich war vorgesehen, dass keiner der Freiwilligen morgens arbeiten sollte. Meine Kindergärtnerin setzte sich jedoch für das Gegenteil ein und so stand nach einer kurzen Diskussion fest, dass wir am nächsten Tag Vormittags arbeiten müssten.

Mittwoch: Nach einem kurzen Arbeitstag bis 11 Uhr fuhren wir zum Center. Dort waren wir mit den Center-Studenten im Publikum des kreativ gestalteten Vortrages über Drogen. Ein Mann erzählte uns von seinen Erfahrungen, den Wirkungen und auch über Abhängigkeit und deren Hintergründe. Die Wirkung stellte er mit Hilfe von Masken, die Personen aus dem Publikum trugen, dar.

Seine Ansätze waren meiner Meinung nach sehr interessant und mir vorher größtenteils nicht bekannt. In dem Sinne lohnte sich die dort investierte Zeit.

Donnerstag: Die einzige Besonderheit diesen Tages war, dass wir aufgrund eines Protestes, der sich über Khayelitsha ausbreitete, früher nach Hause gehen durften. Grund für Proteste, auch in der nächsten Zeit sind die kommenden Wahlen. Es kann also in Zukunft durchaus dazu kommen, dass wir den ein oder anderen Tag aus Sicherheitsgründen nicht ins Township fahren dürfen.

Freitag: Nach einem ebenso kurzen Arbeitstag, wie es der Mittwoch gewesen war, fuhren wir nach Stellenbosch in die Waldorfschule. Dort wurden über das ganze Wochenende olympische Spiele für die Kinder unterschiedlicher Schulen veranstaltet. Nach einer Einordnung in Teams/Städte, welche mit Bändchen gekennzeichnet waren, übten die Kinder (welche natürlich Togas trugen) die verschiedenen Sportarten. Diskus- und Speerwerfen hatten die Kinder vorher noch nie gemacht, wohingegen Sprint und Ausdauerlauf zu den Klassikern im Sportunterricht gehören und den Kindern somit bestens bekannt waren.

Ich hatte mich beim Ende der Sprintbahn platziert und fungierte als Motivatorin und Korrektorin. Vor allem saß/stand ich aber in der prallen Sonne ohne Sonnenschutz. Nach einer kurzen Kekse-, Obst-, und Saftpause ging das Training weiter. Ich fuhr dann schon nach Hause, im Gegensatz zu meinen Mitfreiwilligen (auch aus einer anderen Schule), die noch bis zum Abend des nächsten Tages blieben, die Nacht dort verbrachten (aber nicht wie die Kinder draußen) und die Wettkämpfe miterlebten.

Samstag: Gegen Mittag wurde ich von einer Mitfreiwilligen in Stellenbosch abgesetzt und konnte dort das Leihauto für meine Mama und mich abholen. Doch bevor ich damit zurück fuhr, gönnte ich mir eine ausgefallene Brotzeit in einem Restaurant. Sie bestand aus gutem Brot, echter Butter, leckerem Käse und Antipasti.

Zurück in Jamestown ging es nach einer Stunde bereits schon wieder los nach Somerset West, wo ich ein Konzert besuchte, bei welchem zwei Lehrer aus meinem Gymnasium in Deutschland mitwirkten. Es war ein herzliches Wiedersehen.

Als ob ich an dem Tag nicht schon Essen gegangen wäre, fuhr ich mit meinen Mitbewohnern nach ihrem zweiten Olympia-Tag noch nach Stellenbosch zum Abendessen. Nach einigem Üben komme ich jetzt auch recht gut mit dem blechigen Leihauto klar, obwohl ich viel lieber unseren Citigolf fahren würde.

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The South African Citi Golf - A Short Film By Patina

The South African Citi Golf - A Short Film By Patina #citigolf #vwgolf #vw #volkswagen #classiccar #vintagecar #car #cars #autos

The Citi Gold is a car little known outside of its native South Africa, but in its home country its one of the most famous and prolific cars of the past 40 years.

Between 1983 and 2009 Volkswagen South Africa made 377,484 Citi Golf models in the Uitenhage factory in the Eastern Cape.

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By feedback@highgearmedia.com (John Voelcker) Frequently, cars withdrawn from one market live on in another, sometimes for years. Those vehicles may even be upgraded with newer technology in the older body. Consider that the first-generation Volkswagen Golf launched in 1974, for example, lived on in South Africa until 2009 as the VW CitiGolf. DON’T MISS: 2009 VW CitiGolf: Driving a Brand-New…