ZA Car

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Our friend and contributor John Beale needs a new car so Thomas Falkiner, Christo van Gemert, Trevor van de Ven, Patrick Gearing and journalism student Dean Venter put their collective heads together to show what sensible options can be thought up if you crowd source.  The team, without Mr Beale who was eating sushi without us, also review the new Honda Accord 2.4 automatic and give you the low down on the motoring news from the past week.

The rebirth of the exciting Toyota. This flat four developed in conjunction with Subaru looks as if it has all the right ingredients to steal customers from the hot-hatch market. Click on the image to see a full gallery (you will be redirected away from this page).

Machbach is dead, Merc is pulling the plug. They are not the most handsome or striking cars but Trevor van de Ven still gets a bit teary eyed knowing that he will not see another all-white Landaulet again.

Patrick and Trevor love wagons. They also love Jaaaaags, so this car should put them both in a flat love-induced coma.

The new Honda Accord sports a dramatically revised front-end even if it's only the hawk-eyed that will spot the changes. Under the skin, this car is phenomenal. Take a listen to the show to find out what we think. Click on the image to view a full gallery (you will be redirected away from this page).

Episode 142 hi-fi download (18MB) 
Episode 142 lo-fi download (9MB)

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Arrr, we be hittin ya wit a whole lot ‘a aRRRRRRRRRR cars this turn ‘o tha week, most importantly mateys, arrrr the reviews of the Porsche Cayman (like the pirate islands) R by o’er favourite deckhand from ye Sunday Times, Tom Tom Falkiner an’  also the lane lubbin’ Volkswagen Scirocco R.

Christ’o Nobeard gets excited abou’ all manner ‘o Toyboaters an’ what they be doin’ in Dak to the arrrr. The team ‘o salty dogs also talk about the new Toyboater Yaaaar-is an’ the vulgar display [of pow'aar] that BMW X5M and X6M owners can display with thar new Individual package.

Already a display of bad taste, the BMW has now opened its Individual styling options pack to X5 and X6 M buyers.

Roundin’ it up Shipmate Tom Tom updates ye all on the new Mercedes Benz C63 and new E63 5.5 Bi-turbo engined wee-beastie. Just ta keep ‘em greenie meanines happy tankard Trevor, gets all excited abo’t a 1-litre engine for a Ford Focus.

No longer a hunking lump of 6.3 litres of V8 in this one anymore, it now features a 5.5l V8 Bi-Turbo. Good for 700Nm and 410Kw. Click on the image to view a full gallery.

A very masculine and handsome car this new C63 is, but is it still just a quarter mile king? Take a listen to find out. Click on the image to see a full gallery of the C63 range.

For the price of the 1.3 3-door you could get into a MINI One and still have change. What would you prefer? Click on the image to see a full gallery of the new Toyota Yaris

Thomas Falkiner reviews the Porsche Cayman R. We are secretly jealous, but when you hear his enthusiasm in the reivew we can't be jealous of him for long.

Episode 141 hi-fi download (18MB) 
Episode 141 lo-fi download (9MB)

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What a week. With the start of the Johannesburg Motor Show kicking off at the NASREC show complex on 6 October, there is a lot to get excited about. Brent Ellis, a freelance motoring journalist and photographer, is a the special guest this week and he joins Trevor van de Ven, John Beale and Patrick Gearing (who isn’t on twitter so his name isn’t underlined) for the 135th recording of South Africa’s only dedicated motoring podcast. They discuss the local launches of the Jaguar XF 2.2 Diesel, a sub-R500 000 entrant into the Jaguar model lineup that is sure to throw the [leaping] cat amongst the pigeons (do you see what we did there?) and the local launch of the Audi RS3 Sportback a sub-5 second 0-100km/h smack upside the head the bigger, quick hyper-saloons.   Finally they wrap the show up with road tests of the 2011 Mercedes Benz C250 CDI Coupe and the 2011 Suzuki Kizashi manual.

Is that the handsome Jaguar XK? No, it's the updated XF and if you thought it could not get any more handsome, it just did. Click on the picture to see a full gallery of the updated Jaguar XF.

Sit back, think about the fact that is replaces the three-door hatchback CLC and then marvel in how much better it is in every respect, from looks to performance and more. Click on the image to go to a full gallery of this handsome car.

Objects in this picture appear are much larger than they appear. What did the team think of the new Suzuki Kizashi? Listen to find out. Click on the picture to see a full gallery of this car.

Episode 135 hi-fi download 
Episode 135 lo-fi download

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In ZACS 134, John, Patrick and Christo discuss the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show - each picking their personal highlights from the many awesome vehicle on display.

Christo backs Germany and picks three not quite road-legal cars; Patrick chooses three Italians; and John tips his hat to three English arrivals. To make sure all bases are covered, our intrepid trio also selected some “pity cars” – vehicles that are noteworthy, but didn’t quite fall into their “we want one now” criteria.

The Lambo LP 570-4 Super Trofeo Stradale. Click here for a gallery.

The Landy DC100 concept - a possible Defender replacement. Click for gallery.

The Ferrari-engined Maserati Kubang is a Jeep underneath. Click for a gallery!

After all that mega-horsepower excitement, they try cool down by reviewing the Volkswagen Passat. The consensus is that it’s not a bad car. But also not one you’ll remember having driven or owned. Listen to the show for all the details.

Episode 133 hi-fi download (20MB) 
Episode 133 lo-fi download (10MB)

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A friend of ours, Jesse Adams from Star Motoring, once had an off. After seeing him at the side of the road – he collected it nicely and the car remained intact – he said, “There’s no ESP in the world that’ll save you when all four wheels are in the air”. Or something to that effect. The point is: when you’re going hell for leather in a car and airtime is achieved, your bum clenches and your heart jumps into your throat. Quite how rally drivers do it, with alarming regularity, is why we regard them as the ballsiest sportsmen in the world.

And this brings us to the theme for this Wallpaper Wednesday: maximum air. A selection of some stomach-in-throat photos where the drivers were, no doubt, relieved to reunite with mother earth, in one piece.

*All photos are property of their respective copyright holders. If you see a photo that is yours, please get in touch and we can credit you, or remove it from this posting.