ON THE ROAD: JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE SRT-8

Thunder! Thor!

That’s it. Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8, the daddy of all Jeeps. The thing that grabs your attention is that front lip spoiler, the one that almost touches ground as you drive along. It features prominently as an accessory, very butch indeed, and it sets the tone for the rest of this SUV’s styling. Aggressive and punchy as it is, our lip is probably the single main factor that keeps this Jeep on the tar, and not anywhere near off-road tracks.

A jeep that can’t go off-road?

A first as far as I know. Off-road requires a high approach angle, which is attained by a tightly-angled front bumper, for when you approach a sudden steep and need to go up it. Bad approach angle, bad off-road car. Also, those thin wide 20-inch wheels are strictly tarmac-made, although these can be replaced for bundu bashing. Regardless, the SRT-8 still features Jeep’s Quadra-Drive four-wheel-drive system for absolute grip. I must say, it’s not the quickest-reacting 4x4 system out there; plant the accelerator to the floor and for a second get some wheel spin, and then you get going.

That’s because of power though isn’t it?

Yes, partly. The Grand Cherokee SRT-8 holds a 6.1-litre V8 engine of natural aspiration, mated to a 5-speed automatic gearbox. No turbos or superchargers. It produces 313kW, which is slightly more than a 4.0-litre BMW M3 and a 4.2-litre Audi RS4, but this car weighs a few hundred more kilos than these two. To this effect its 0 – 100km/h sprint time is said by Chrysler to be under 5 seconds, but in reality it is not. It is in fact, 6.7 seconds in Gauteng, which is very quick for an SUV, but still doesn’t warrant Jeep’s tagline “fastest SUV”. You don’t tackle the great outdoors with so much power and not expect to cause major environmental damage. Even on the road, that power comes at a price, and that price is 19 litres per 100km in petrol usage, giving just over 400km from one full tank. Thirsty bugger this is.

Thunder! Thor!

Oh yes, that sound. Deep, throaty, burble, thunder on the rocks. No other SUV on Mzansi roads sounds this brilliant; you hear it approaching a few hundred metres away and just smile. I worked at an office park where one of the tenants owned one, and each day he’d rev it hard as he went past security at the gates. You knew he was in then. It’s those two big pipes at the back, shiny steel centerfolds neatly tucked at the bottom half of the rear bumper. Wide side skirts make it look funkier.

And the interior?

Still Jeep plastic. Not exactly high-grade, but I guess it is a Jeep, and so it needs to be hard and functional, durable even, but doesn’t need to look like a softie, like those German SUVs’ interiors. Steering is a little light, thin-rimmed. I really like MyGIG, which is the Chrysler Group’s touch-screen infotainment system with a 20GB hard-drive for storing files like MP3s, pictures and video, all of which can be downloaded into MyGIG via USB memory stick or CD.

What’s the final verdict then?

Possibly the best value-for-money high performance SUV on the market. It may not have the type of power found in a Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG (378kW, R1 012 000) or a Porsche Cayenne Turbo S (368kW, R1 695 000) but at R600 000 it severely undercuts the two Germans by enough to buy more than one other car each.

BMW G450X

BMW G450X

BMW G450X Wallpaper

BMW G450X Picture

USAIN GETS A BOLT OF M3 POWER

World and Olympic 100m and 200m sprint champion Usain Bolt’s dream as a boy was to be world and Olympic champion. In August this year he became the fastest man ever, breaking both world and Olympic records. He ran 0 – 100m in 9.69 seconds and 0 – 200m in 19.3 seconds. That’s a staggering 9.7 metres per second! Recently another dream of “Lightening” Bolt’s came true; the childhood dream of owning a BMW M3.

Bolt’s main sponsor Puma has made sure of this by including an M3 in his Christmas sock so that he doesn’t have to buy one himself.

So the R700,000+ car is off to Kingston, Jamaica and Bolt has already had advanced driving lessons on how to handle an M3. The M3 uses a 4.0-litre V8 engine to produce 309kW and 400Nm of torque. It is said to sprint from 0 – 100km/h in just 4.8 seconds and reach a limited top speed of 250km/h.

BMW F800 ST

BMW F800 ST

BMW F800 ST Wallpaper

BMW F800 ST Picture

MERC DEVELOPS CARS THAT TALK TO EACH OTHER

The Mercedes-Benz stand at the 15th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) highlighted vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication systems, technologies for monitoring vehicle surroundings, and systems for measuring driver stress. Mercedes-Benz also used the occasion of the ITS to unveil myCOMAND — the completely Internet-based in-vehicle infotainment system of the future.

With some 10,000 international participants, the ITS World Congress is the world’s biggest exhibition of state-of-the-art information and communication technologies for automotive applications.

Improved Safety Through Vehicle-To-Vehicle Communication

Mercedes-Benz are supporting the Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) initiative, which tests concepts for vehicle-to-vehicle communication as well as communication between vehicles and transmission/ receiving stations along a route.

The technical basis for VII is provided by dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) technology, which enables vehicles to communicate with each other and their surrounding environment. Information obtained via DSRC can make drivers more attentive and enable dangerous situations to be recognised, and, in the ideal case, avoided.

Preventing the Unintentional Running of Red Lights

If a vehicle equipped with the new system approaches a VII-enabled traffic light and the system’s camera-based traffic light recognition unit registers that the light is red, the vehicle receives a DSRC signal containing information on the current state of the light. If the driver continues on toward the red light, he or she is warned by a beep and a symbol on the dashboard display, which give the driver enough time to brake the vehicle before it runs the light. Should the driver fail to react, the next acoustic and visual warning stage is engaged, which still allows the driver enough time to avoid running the light, although harder braking will now be required. If the driver still doesn’t respond, the vehicle itself initiates an autonomous emergency braking manoeuvre, whereby the driver can still overrule the system at any time.

Improved Safety Due to Relaxed Drivers

“Mindlab” is a method developed by Mercedes researchers that uses brainwave measurements to evaluate driver stress, whereby the scientists are also working to determine the best way to issue warnings in such stress situations. Here, electrodes attached to the heads of test subjects provide the scientists with an image of the processes occurring in the individuals’ brains. These images depict the characteristic patterns of brainwaves, which allow experts to determine, for example, how attentive a person is, or how much stress and/or fatigue he or she is currently suffering.

Improved Safety Through Predictive Technologies

Ensuring that assistance systems can effectively support drivers requires precise and reliable analyses of traffic situations. The “6D-Vision” system from Mercedes-Benz uses two cameras that view their surroundings in the same manner that a human being’s two eyes do. This stereo arrangement enables 3D depiction of the vehicle’s surroundings in real time. The system uses this information to identify every object around the vehicle and assess the risk it might pose for a potential collision. The Mercedes researchers are particularly hopeful that the system can be used in the future to significantly reduce accidents involving pedestrians, and also lessen the severity of those accidents that occur nevertheless.

Improved Comfort Through Internet-Based Infotainment System

MyCOMAND is a brand-new infotainment system developed by Mercedes-Benz. As a completely Internet-based application, it offers a preview of the vehicle telematics systems of the future. MyCOMAND uses the Web to continually update all data and information, which it makes available through a single interface. Users can thus access individual services at any time — and in accordance with their current position and situation — via an attractive and intuitive operating system.

Harley Davidson FLSTN Softail

Harley Davidson FLSTN Softail

Harley Davidson FLSTN Softail Wallpaper

Harley Davidson FLSTN Softail Picture

Harley Davidson VRSCDX Night Rod

Harley Davidson VRSCDX Night Rod

Harley Davidson VRSCDX Night Rod Wallpaper

Harley Davidson VRSCDX Night Rod Picture

ALFA MI.TO IS A 5-STAR MINI CAR

The Alfa Romeo MiTo has been awarded a prestigious five-star Euro NCAP rating, setting it at the top of its segment in the field of safety. The ‘sportiest ever compact car' notched up a score of 36 out of 37 in the Euro NCAP adult ratings and a judgement of “Good” (the only car in its segment to obtain 3.35 points of out a maximum of 4) in the new tests that Euro NCAP has introduced to assess the ability of the front seats to prevent whiplash”.

The Alfa Romeo MiTo was designed and built to obtain the maximum score in passive and active safety tests. Examples include sophisticated electronic devices for control of vehicle dynamic behaviour (from braking to traction): Vehicle Dynamic Control (not disengageable) that manages important functions such as the Hill Holder, traction control, assisted panic braking, MSR to prevent the wheels locking during over-run, ‘active electronic steering’ DST (Dynamic Steering Torque) and Q2 Electronic that simulates the presence of a self-locking differential electronically.

In the field of preventive safety, the Alfa Romeo MiTo also offers headlights with a daytime function (known as Daytime Running Lights) that automatically turns on the side lights when the engine is turned on – to meet a specific standard that will enter into force in 2012 – and LED tail-lights that offer greater brightness than conventional bulbs, for greater safety.

MiTo is a MINI competitor and will make its Mzansi debut in May 2009.