Baraza JM Dear Mr Baraza, Thanks for your articles. My relatively new Toyota Fielder (1800cc) stalled in town the other day. I tried to restart it in vain, despite the fact that the car had enough fuel and the battery was well charged. After hustling to get it off the road and to a nearby petrol station … Read more
While last week’s article may have been a bit controversial, it did not provoke a post-bag of outrage as sizeable as I may have desired, but there were responses. Suspects were fronted, and disagreement reared its ugly (pun intended) head more than once. Of note was the concord over the Toyota Will’s lack of visual … Read more
There is no beauty that hath not some strangeness about its proportions,” so quoteth one Francis Bacon. Another wag added: “Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder,” and that went on to be modified in various ways, with “beholder” being swapped for “beer-holder” and, for automotive interiors, “cup-holder”. Anyway, Mr Bacon had his own … Read more
If there is one thing any columnist tries to avoid, it is repeating oneself. Unfortunately, I will have to do just that this week. I had talked about overdrive earlier, but reader feedback suggests I left a lot of unsatisfied curiosities out there, so we will have to put aside the happy-go-lucky merry-making of test … Read more
Last week I may have waxed lyrical about my sad but enjoyable adventures behind the wheel of a pint-sized open-wheel racer, and this got me thinking: I have never discussed motorsport on these two pages. In Kenya, car-based sporting events are few and far between, and our once-strong rallying culture is slowly dying out. Let … Read more
Up until I landed in the RSA, I had borne some prejudices about go-karts. They are mostly driven by nine-year-olds, rarely crack 60 km/h, have no gears, and lack power assistance: no power steering, no brake boosters, no power windows (in fact, no windows at all), they use tiny tracks for their races, and their … Read more
Anybody who has watched Top Gear, the popular British motoring show, must know of Jeremy Clarkson, a belligerent but charming chap known for screaming “Poweeeeer!” when driving something expensive very fast on a runway. So, how do the makers of the power machines he spins squeeze more power out of their engines? The easiest (and … Read more
Last year I advised you on how to buy a second-hand car. The article covered all used vehicles, be they reconditioned or otherwise. When the economy was liberalised back in 1992, it opened the floodgates for reconditioned ex-Japan, ex-UK, ex-Singapore, and ex-Dubai cars to make their way into new hands for a lot less money … Read more
Investment! Investment! Investment! Our parents drummed the importance of this monster into our heads so much that we almost ran out of brain. I, for one, was weaned on the line: “A fool and his money are soon parted (or audited)”. Well, the more aspirational among us sometimes dream of playing the fool and parting … Read more
We are told repeatedly that speed kills, but speed does not kill. Hard acceleration might, and so will losing that speed instantaneously, but speed itself will not. Those who disagree, please account for the existence of supersonic aircraft and the 430 km/h Bugatti Veyron Super Sport. Couple that wrongful notion with the fact that Kenya … Read more