The new BMW 650i Spotted

Spotted in Lilongwe yesterday is the 2008 BMW 650i. I am not really a great BMW fan, partly because of the shape or lack there of. And the idrive system is just confusing. Most BMWs handle well but BMW has to learn how to use all its power efficiently. A Porsche or Aston Martin will perform better than any equivalent BMW. But all in all, its a great ride and quite a stunner.

Cars That Remind Me of The Past

Car obsession starts when a child is a few months old, perhaps a year for others, for most guys or even some girls, their first toy was a car, a car is every boy’s obsession and that can not be denied. If you have a son who is 2 years old, chances are that you have put posters of super cars in his room. The interest doesn’t go away as a child grows, in fact it increases. When a child becomes an adolescent, the one thing he wants to do is to drive a car. When I was young I had a motorised toy car which I totalled in 2 days because I was riding on top it. Every time I got another toy car, it would only last 2days because I always wanted to see what’s inside.

In the 80s and 90s, Malawi was just developing and with Kamuzu reign people didn’t get to buy nice and expensive cars, for fear of being investigated I guess, but there were cars that were loved by everyone and when you see one today, it takes you all the down memory lane. Everyone has his own list but I will give you my line up.

The Datsun 120Y

Most of us grew up knowing this car with the name Taxi, I guess most taxis (cabs) were 120Ys, we also knew it as Datsun (Pronounced datsun rather than dat-san). Its was great in 2 doors and the signature round headlights and the coupe shaped back. It was really a great car, very reliable, simple engine and no electronics means any roadside mechanic would work on it. This car was called Nissan Sunny B210 in Japan but exported as a Datsun 120Y. It was very popular with buys in north America and as we can all witness in Malawi. This car developed to be the Nissan Sunny we know today.

Mazda 323

Mazda 323 is a small but reliable car. It was popular with people who went to South Africa to work. We can still see a few on the road. It was originally called the Mazda Familia and it was I n production from 1976. It was also known as the Mazda GLC (Great Little Car) in USA then Protégé in North America. Later Familias appeared with a succession of names around the world, including 1000, 1200, and 1300, 800, 808, and 818, Mizer, GLC, 323 and Protegé. The Familia was replaced by the new BK model known as Axela/Mazda3 for 2004. The Axela/Mazda3 comes in both 4-door sedan and 5-door hatchback varieties, with a 2.0 litre engine on the 3i sedan and a 2.3 litre engine on the 3s sedan and the hatchback. It shares a platform with the current generation Volvo S40 and the second generation Ford Focus

Ford Cortina

The Ford Cortina was a midsized sedan sold by Ford Britain. Its was very polpular in Britain. In Malawi it was loved because of its luxury and reliability. I remember my Grandmother used to have one, when I see one, it reminds me of all the great times I had as a young car enthusiast. I remember my uncle used to tell us that it could drive itself, he would, while driving, he would raise his knee abit and hold the steering with it, then removed his hands, because we couldn’t see that his knee is holding the steering, we were convinced it was driving itself! The Cortina was replaced in 1982 by the Ford Sierra. In other markets, particularly Asia and Australasia, it was replaced by the Mazda 626-based Ford Telstar, though Ford New Zealand did import British-made CKD kits of the Ford Sierra estate for local assembly from 1984.

Mini

The mini was loved by all children as Mr Bean’s car. I remember my dad once borrowed one to take us to the village. Our village is about 11kms off Blantyre Thyolo road. The road is dirt and really bad. The mini did not go beyond 3KMs! We walked the whole way to the village and back to the car! The Mini is the most popular British-made car ever, it was superseded by the New MINI, which was launched in April 2001. The original is considered an icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout (that allowed 80% of the area of the car's floorpan to be used for passengers and luggage) influenced a generation of car-makers.

Other cars worth mentioning are the Land Rover, Ford Pickup (Body by Mandala) which was proudly assembled in Malawi by Mandala motors, Nissan Patrol, Toyota stout pickup, Morris Marina the list goes on and on.

Chinese Cars for Malawi?

Malawi just ditched Taiwan for China. And the main reason for that is the aid package that the Chinese have promised. Since I don’t care about how much aid we get, I will look at other interesting things. What about the possibility of Malawi roads being flooded with cheap, unsafe and unreliable cars from China. We all know that everything that china exports end up being recalled or sent to the third world countries, but what about cars? We have seen the Ssangyong which I don’t have much to say about because there is nothing really to say about it except the fact that it is written that its powered by Mercedes Benz, I don’t know how far true that is. Of course the Ssangyong is made in Korea but its 51% owned by china. And then there is the Dadi Auto pick up which you can’t even look at twice, makes me wonder why we can’t make our own Malawian car.

But is that really what china has to offer on the road? I set out to look for the best cars in China today. We might be lucky to have some of these cars here soon. I know Malawi is a Toyota country but isn’t anything better in china?

There are several car manufacturing companies in China and the race is about making cheap affordable cars. The major companies include Chery, Geely, Great Wall Motor, Nanjing, Hafei, Zhongxing and Brilliance China. In a series of posts I will be looking at cars from some of these companies and more. We set off with the giants Chery and Great Wall Motor (GMW).

Chery Automobile Co., Ltd. was founded in 1997 by five of Anhui's local state owned investment companies. In 2007, Chery achieved a historical milestone reflecting the domestic emergence of China's growing industrial strength. In that year, it sold a total of 381,000 passenger cars in global market. It has the annual production capacity to produce 650,000 completed vehicles, 400,000 engines and 300,000 transmissions. It produces ten vehicle models: Eastar, Cowin, Tiggo3, A5, V5, QQ3, QQ6, Karry, Riich2 and A1, along with each model's auxiliary engines, transmissions, and its other parts and components. These ten models range from sub compact cars to intermediate and full size passenger cars.

I was more interested and impressed with two models, the little A1 and the Eastar.

The Chery A1 is a cute small car and cheap as well. It comes in two models, the 1.1lL and the 1.3L which is a plus due to the fuel prices and they can do 6L of fuel can take you 100KM at 90km/hr! And a top speed of 156km/hr and 130km/hr in the 1.1L. Unlike the other mini cars I have seen in Malawi like the Altos or the KIA Picanto, this is better looking both inside and outside. I am just looking forward to the day our Chinese connection will reward us with a car like this.

Then there is a more luxurious Eastar, with Delphi ABS system, four Key Safety Systems SRS Airbags, a visual Reverse Radar plus low brake fluid alarm, Eastar puts your safety in its heart. You can also enjoy music or movies via a 3-Screen DVD Stereo System while an automatic thermostatic air-conditioner and 8-way adjustable power leather seats complete a cozy ambience. And if you want sunshine and fresh air, why not check this Double-Deck Sunroof.

Talking about SUVs we have a company called Great Wall Motors (GMW), it is the largest privately owned automotive manufacturer in China It is among “the Top 500 Enterprises of China in 2004″ and one of the best brands in national automobile range. GWM took its first step to become a truly global company by exporting SUVs to the competitive European market in September 2006. GWM already sells cars in about 60 (mostly developing) countries and exports account for about a third of the company’s sales.

The SUV models include the GMW Safe, Sing and Pegasus. They have Luxuries which we don’t have in most SUV and can match the X5 in that department but the problem is they have no looks. But there is one that caught my attention; it’s called the GMW Hover CUV (Compact Utility Vehicle).

It’s the most luxurious of the lot and it has good specs as well, Equipped with the Mitsubishi 4G 64 engine, CUV meets Euro-III emission standard (of course we don’t care about the emission bit). It has the most advanced ABS + EBD system, The Bosch 8.0, a five speed manual gear box, genuine leather seats, 6 CD changer, A/C, anti dizzy rear view mirror, the list is endless. It comes in 2.4L Petrol and 2.8L Diesel engines, The diesel is capable of producing torque of 225@2600rpm and output power of 70kw @ 3600rpm which is not bad at all.

Will we see some of these cars on the roads of Malawi soon?

Nissan Pathfinder in Malawi

The new Nissan Pathfinder is finally in Malawi. My question is why did it take so long? At firstglance it looks like a Navara with a canopy, then you notice the detail and the stylish rear door opening handles. I have seen it in red and white but the red looks better. I havent yet gathered the specs for it as soon I do I will post them.

Could this save us from the zero looks Ford Everest and the power deficient Sorento? Or has the Toyota Fortuner finally met its match. We will put them head to head as soon as we get the specs.

Motoring in Malawi?

Motoring in Malawi? Some people may ask, what can Malawi say about motring? Well first, this website has been created to show my love of good cars and share this love with everybody else, car lovers and haters alike. I want to share my knowledge of cars and also guide people to the right cars in Malawi.

When alot of people hear of Malawi they have a picture of a poor country, yes I know we are poor but the people here have a great appetite for rides. I will feature the best rides in Malawi as I come accross them and also the worst.

I will share experiences and encounters while driving in Malawi. There are roads which are just so wonderful to drive on, these include the Chiweta road, this road is so enchanting, hills on one side and the lake on the other, it makes me want to buy a supercar and take it there. The Lower Shire road, pictured above is also perfect, its got steep slopes and sharp bends, a real test for the perfect marriage between driver and car.

Now let me talk about the car industry in Malawi. On the roads of malawi you will generally find japanese cars, these are mostly used cars bought from Japan, Singapore and UAE. For most people the first car will always be a Japanese used car. Then there is are 4x4 pickups and SUVs. Malawians, despite being once colonised by Britain have a car appetite like that of Americans, they look for size and power am afraid beauty and speed is not high on the list. Most brand new small cars are company cars. I can bet that if i go to a shopping mall and find a 2007 Ford Focus, there is a 99.99% chance that it is a company car.

Cars in Malawi are bought and sold according to spare parts availability. Thats why you will see alot of Toyotas, but i always say, if you can bring a Jag to Malawi, how can you not be able to bring a shock absober?

Anyways, its still a country for petrol heads and petrol haters alike.