Let’s talk about the Great Run, the Trailblazer and Shell’s unique fuel

After a long hiatus, the motoring scene has started showing signs of activity again. Here is the news:

1. Saturday 31 May, 2014 and Saturday 14 June, 2014: The Great Run 5

While the other three news bytes are from the month of June, the Great Run 5 happened at the end of May.

But the same formula was at play: Massive turnout (some 80-odd cars), massive horsepower (someone showed up in a 750hp R35 Nissan GTR massaged by Litchfield, while another arrived in a Mercedes Benz C63 AMG), massive enjoyment (Mai Mahiu-Narok for those afraid of corners and Bomet-Litein for those in Lancer Evolutions), and massive charity to top it all.

This all went down in the little hamlet of Mogogosiek, at the AIC Baby Home. For the first time ever, someone started an impromptu fundraiser and the whole affair turned into an afternoon of generous giving.

Someone might have given away his gas money, I do not know, but it was all for the best. Something else to note: Massive fortitude. While most of us do The Great Run in cars of variable vintage and variable levels of horsepower, we had a hero who came with a 250cc motorcycle and went the distance through tarmac, dust, rain, traffic, roadblocks, hunger, fatigue, more rain, sunlight, darkness, awe, amazement, doubt, speculation and, much to his relief, home.

At last. It was beyond belief. Given that motorcycles do not have variable valve timing, high compression ratios or forced induction, he had at best 20hp and two wheels with which to cover more than 600km. Compare this to the Litchfield GTR....

This time we had guests. There was heavy police presence at the home — parking was a bit of an issue — so to ensure the security of the cars and ease traffic flow into and out of the home (80 cars are not a joke, I assure you), the boys in blue showed up to help.

The local MP also put in an appearance, adding colour to what was already a spectacular event. A government official came (at 7 am!) to flag us off from Herisquare, an establishment somewhere along the Northern Bypass just near Ruaka.

This venue served as a staging area and launch point for the Great Run 5, and it is with utmost gratitude that I say they allowed us to host our prize-giving ceremony on the premises two Saturdays later at no charge. Now that is what charity is all about.

There is another Great Run coming, our second 4X4 installation. If the first 4X4 event was anything to go by, the next one should be a whopper.

2. Tuesday 24 June, 2014: General Motors’ Chevrolet Trailblazer Launch

Speaking of 4X4s, the General continues his relentless assault on the East African market, and this time he is throwing a new SUV at us.

The launch was somewhere in Nairobi’s Upper Hill area, with the usual set-up: A cold evening, bad traffic, a huge tent filled with CEOs, diplomats, matatu owners/operators/activists, comely lasses, hungry journalists, finger food, and whisky by the litre bottle.

These had nothing to do with the actual vehicle being launched which, incidentally, is called the Trailblazer.

This was my first impression: “Why, in the name of advanced timing, do they give us funny-looking Chevys?” is what I asked myself once upon a time when I had the Utility pick-up that earned me an earful from some middle-level manager after I described it as having a “funny” face (which it does).

Well, though the genes did not entirely skip the Utility’s SUV stable-mate, the Trailblazer shows signs of similarity with the Utility but it just manages to pull the look off... quite passably in fact.

Handsome little brute, this one, though there is the feeling that they are not exactly breaking new ground design-wise. The headlamp outline has been simplified and purified.

We watch Hollywood movies with Chevys in them, so we want our Chevys to look like the ones in the movies. I had hopes when the Captiva came around — now that one looked promising.

If only the Trailblazer (what a name! Sounds macho, like a Chuck Norris movie or something) was more of a Captiva, photocopied at 130 per cent.

I like the rear of the Trailblazer too; it looks very modern and refreshing, but just a little bit generic. I am not sure I like the greenhouse design, especially around the C pillar.

The car looks really good in the brochures, admittedly. It also maybe looks good in the metal — trust the whisky and tent lighting to make short work of my eyesight.
Even with failing eyesight, I still spotted some issues with build quality. Pop the bonnet open and look at the flanks towards the bonnet’s trailing edge, right at the confluence of fender, bonnet cover, and engine bay.

There are some holes there, with sharp metal edges. Some major components are exposed too, like the shiny alternator and the shiny (are they brass, copper, or tin?) diesel pipes going where the DPF usually is.

There is also a shiny intercooler the size of an ice cube tray lurking somewhere behind one of the many grilles. The turbo (I guess it is shiny too) is also hidden somewhere.

It all looks a little bit agricultural; rough-and-ready is actually the right term here, but then again, which GM product does not? The good thing with these GM products is that they are as robust as they look and will most likely last forever. Reliability is a strong point.

Power comes from a 2.8 litre turbocharged diesel engine good for around 192hp, which is not too bad. Torque is 500Nm, channelled via a... hold on a minute!

Power is 192hp for both transmission types, but the automatic car gets 500Nm and the manual one has, what, 440 only? Why? I love torque and I love manual transmissions, so I cannot have my cake and short-shift it too?

Maybe I am griping for nothing; I have not driven the car yet (some other people have, though, but they drove the automatic). It could be pleasantly surprising.

And anyway, 440Nm is not exactly the pulling power of an overage goat, is it now? Both transmissions are six-speed, and you can opt for 4X2 or 4X4 (selectable, via a rotary knob somewhere in the centre console, south of the gear lever and west of the handbrake).

There is a big difference between class and “swag”, just like there is a big difference between simple and bland. Range Rover and Rolls Royce do simple, tasteful interiors.

GM tried it here but did not quite get there. Fewer buttons in the 2014 Range Rover did not mean we all try and go for fewer buttons.
Those buttons have been replaced with two things: A touchscreen-operated “infotainment” system with a big font and a giant round knob below it that is used to regulate the HVAC system parameters.

The screen has three-and-a-half buttons: Two for adjusting the sound volume, one for returning to the home screen, and a power button that is not actually a button. It is part of the plastic surround with the power symbol painted on it.
The interior is roomy and seats seven, but rear headroom might be a pinch for some bean-poles. The overhead vents are not particularly well done.

The instrument cowl layout is derived from that of a muscle car (thumbs up!) and this car will cost you around Sh5.1 million. That, to me, is way too pricey, especially when I compare the Trailblazer with the more refined Captiva.

This vehicle is aimed at the likes of the Ford Everest, Toyota Fortuner, Mitsubishi Nativa/Pajero Sport, and Nissan Pathfinder, some of which are cheaper and also offer a variety of engines.

The Trailblazer is sold here with the one diesel unit. This sounds harsh, I know, but give me the Pathfinder any day.

3. Wednesday 25 June, 2014: Shell Fuel Saver

...And into a hypothetical room full of reading materials. Head to the automotive section. Look for the aisle marked “Fuels and Fuel Economy”.

Somewhere in there is a thin demarcation between “Fact” and “Fiction”, but not everybody can see that boundary. Many have fallen on the left, wherein lie topics like “Snake Oil, Magic Pellets, and the 500mpg Open Patent Carburettor”.

That is fiction. On the right (Fact) might be “Drafting”, “Aerodynamics and Weight Loss” alongside “Shell FuelSave”, and right in front of “Shell V Power”, a section not understood by many, hence their preference for the left, in which can also be spotted the title, “Freewheeling: Gain 60 per cent Improvement in Fuel Economy”, another fallacy.

Enough with the analogy. Vivo Energy, aka “Kenya Shell”, has launched yet another fuel type with the purpose of improving the fuel economies of our respective cars.

Sounds strange: Here, kid, have a candy that never melts, however long you suck it. Yea, but that kid will never come back now, will he? That is not for me to judge, and I will be coming back to this in a minute.

Shell FuelSave Unleaded and Shell FuelSave Diesel are replacing Unleaded Extra and Diesel Extra. So these two fuels are being renamed, in other words, or something.

What these liquids do, unlike snake oil, is “improve fuel efficiency from the very first tank” by scientific means rather than through hexes and spells. The FuelSave (is this a trade mark?)

Diesel is designed to light up quicker and burn more completely, as well as declogging the injectors. The FuelSave Unleaded apparently also acts as a lubricant, especially around the upper piston ring where sometimes oil does not always reach (Vivo’s words, paraphrased, not mine), besides cleaning the valves and disallowing deposition.

This sounds a bit like V Power with a petroleum jelly added, if you get my drift. There is no mention of octane ratings, though. This is what they are saying in a nut-Shell (pun intended): The fuel they have makes your engine run like new, for starters.

This, however, is not a substitute for the normal service and maintenance schedules: Change your oil when the time comes. Also, the fuel burns more completely, therefore, yields more energy per combustion cycle.

What happens is that there are fewer energy losses ­— less frictional losses due to the jelly-like qualities, fewer deposits due to the cleansing properties, therefore less heat loss, and also a higher energy yield — therefore less fuel is wasted as energy so you go farther on a tank.

Maximum efficiency, in other words. Coming soon is a real world test comparing mpg figures for normal unleaded petrol and those of Shell FuelSave. I might even make a film while at it (nobody steal my idea!)
They say this fuel does not cost extra. Hmmm. How much was it, to begin with? If I had interests in an oil company, I would advocate the use of four-barrel carburettors, V12 engines, and steel chasses.

I would want to see more people in the fuel forecourts as often as possible. “Going farther on a tank” would be a running joke about the Second World War at every general meeting, not a mission statement. I wonder what would happen if I mixed V Power with FuelSave...

4. Jaguar Land Rover

And to conclude, here is news that few will actually care about. The upcoming Land Rover Discovery has a new factory built specifically for its assembly somewhere in the UK, creating 250 jobs in a land where they have few worries about unemployment rates, inflation, and export tariffs. Goodbye and see you next week.