Droomers Weekly! (edition 145)

Droomers - "The People who care"

EDITION 145(2012/07/02)

“THE PEOPLE WHO CARE…”

WELCOME

Welcome to the weekly edition of Droomers Weekly your leading news and information source on Nissan, Droomers Nissan and the motor industry in general. Our objectives are to be informational, educational and relevant. We will also appreciate comments, complaints and suggestions and you can e-mail us at info@droomersnissan.co.za.

IMPORTANT VEHICLE INSURANCE POINTERS?

Gone are the days that we should take a chance not to insure our vehicles, because there is simply too much vehicles on the road increasing the risk of accident damage. When insuring your vehicle you should take the following into consideration as it is an expensive exercise:

Get at least three insurance quotes from reputable insurers.
Ensure your vehicle is insured for the correct value.
Expensive extras on your vehicle should be insured separately, as only market value as per Mead & McGrouther will be paid out if vehicle is written off. These values do not take expensive extras into account.
Mead & McGrouther states two values for a vehicle, the Trade in value and the Resale Value. Ensure your vehicle is insured for the Resale value.
You should once a year contact your insurance broker to ensure that the correct value for your vehicle is insured, because if under insured only the insured value will pay out and if over insured only the market value will pay out.
Do not assume that this will be done automatically by the insurance broker.
The moral of the story is to check that your insurance is up to date once a year.

GOOD START TO POWER MID-TERM PLAN

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn reflected on a solid start to the Power 88 mid-term plan last week, outlining progress at the company’s annual shareholder meeting.

Ghosn and other executives pinpointed strong sales and profits, despite the triple challenge of recovery from Japan’s earthquake and tsunami, flooding in Thailand and the strong Yen.

“In 2011, our focus was naturally on Japan and leading the recovery efforts in Tohoku following the earthquake and tsunami.” said Ghosn

“Thanks to the generosity of our employees, suppliers and partners, we were able to make a meaningful effort to the lives of those affected by the tragic events of last year.”

For Nissan stockholders, 200 of whom attended a special event with company executives at the Oppama factory, the annual meeting was an opportunity to put questions to decision makers.

Ghosn said Nissan was on track to meet goals of respective 8% market share and operating profit by fiscal 2016, even as the supercharged Yen hurts Japanese exporters.

“We have a vision for the future which is very clear. We have a vision for the product, we have a vision for the technology, we have a vision for the company,” Ghosn said.

“Nobody can say today that Nissan does not have a vision or that Nissan does not have a strategy.”
With 10 new models being launched this year and ambitious plans for the soon-to-be returned Datsun brand in 2014, Ghosn said shareholders can expect more acceleration in the year ahead.

NISSAN NATIONAL HALF MARATHON, WELLINGTON

This popular race will again be co-sponsored by Nissan SA and Droomers Nissan will showcase vehicles and man a watering point. Our friendly sales staff will be available to answer all your Nissan questions. Details of the event are as follows:

Date: 25/26 August 2012
Venue: Diemersfontein wine & country estate, Wellington, WP S 33 39 33.7 | E 19 00 15.8
Terrain: Fynbos | Rocky | Vineyard's
Elevation: 341m | Ascent: 2900m (ultra) 1850m (75km)
Participants: 1800+
Features: Single tracks | Dams | Old Cape-Epic Routes
Registration: Fri 24/08 14:00-21:00 & Sat 25/08 06h30 - 16h00 & Sun 26/08 06h30 - 08h30

This event takes place on farm roads and jeep tracks heading away from Diemersfontein, through the vineyards and farms of Wellington, crossing the Bainskloof Pass road and heading towards Groenberg Mountain. The well-balanced, fast route is jam-packed with beautiful views, fynbos, historic farmsteads, stream crossings and vineyard settings, passing many of the local award-winning cellars. Expect fast flowing single track, technically within reach of everyone.

The Wellington Tourism & Wine Route of the Western Cape in South Africa is today a major tourist attraction. Nestling at the foot of the Groenberg, the historic town of Wellington lies in a picturesque valley on the banks of the Kromme River with the majestic Hawequa Mountains standing guard on its eastern border. Wellington, in the heart of the Boland and rich in cultural, religious and educational history, is an unsurpassed area to enjoy the winelands and scenery of the Western Cape in South Africa

The beauty of the area is best viewed either by foot, horse, bicycle or by car to take in the scenery of nature, fynbos, wine, olives and the historical buildings to name but a few. The pass up to Bain's Kloof winds through pine tree plantations, to the summit where on a clear day you can see a vast area, consisting of the Swartland to the left, home of the extensive wheat fields, the Cape Flats and Cape Town to the right, and the sun glimmering on the sea.

Diemersfontein is known for its beauty, informal elegance, and grace - an idyllic country destination only 45 minutes' drive from Cape Town and is situated near the Cape's famous Wine Routes. We warmly invite you to share with us the tranquil spirit of Diemersfontein - whether you are conferencing here, marrying here, staying for a few days of leisure (or even permanently) - or taking some of it home in a bottle!

We will also have a 5km kiddies ride in the venue so bring along your kids to the event, they will have a ball!

For more information, please visit www.advendurance.co.za

PARTS PRICING

In the Kinsey parts basket selection, the average retail prices of the Infiniti range will be 20% lower than the main benchmark models.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

The deteriorating European markets have led US auto industry executives to worry about possible contagion spreading across the Atlantic, but June new-car sales in America are expected to hit a five year peak for that month. Auto sales, which offer an early snapshot of consumer demand, have been one of the bright spots in the US economy for several months, until May results came in short of expectations and raised concerns about the sector’s recovery. Analysts and industry officials, however, said there are just too many old cars that needs to be replaced, which will drive consumers into dealers’ showrooms. The average age of cars on the road is an all-time-high 11 years.
Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Nissan, told shareholders he was paid a salary and bonus of 987 million Yen ($12.5 million) for the past fiscal year, a package that makes him Japan’s highest-paid executive. Ghosn has led Nissan since 2001 and steered the automaker through a turbulent 2011 that saw it bounce back faster than its domestic rivals Toyota and Honda from disruptions caused by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Nissan North America, struggling to keep pace with demand in Mexico and setting ambitious sales targets for the next-generation Sentra, is to build the 2013 Sentra at a second North American site, in Canton, Mississippi. The compact car will be redesigned for the 2013 model year and Nissan hopes it will be a more serious rival to the segment leaders, Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic. Nissan has been shifting its car and light truck line-up around plants to accommodate sales growth in Mexico, the United States and Brazil.

CAPE TOWN CELLPHONE LAW

A new bylaw came into effect in Cape Town on Monday 2 July 2012 where motorists in the city caught talking on cellphones without a hands-free kit or headset or texting on their cellphones, will be fined R500.00 and have their phones confiscated for 24 hours.

This is part of the provincial road safety campaign to cut road deaths in half by 2014. Safety and security mayoral committee member JP Smith said that Cape Town was the only city where the road death toll was decreasing steadily, from 1739 deaths in 2008 to 1321 in 2011.

Officers from the undercover ‘Ghost Squad’ and other officers deployed on major commuter routes will enforce the new City law.

Officers’ vehicles will carry special boxes, in which confiscated phones will be placed once they have been logged and sealed in protective pouches. You will be allowed to keep your SIM card, memory card and pouch. Camera and video evidence would be used whenever possible to back up officers’ observations. The confiscated phones will be stored in the Gallows Hill Traffic Department’s safe in Green Point. You will be issued a serial number which you must produce together with your identity book to claim your phone back after 24 hours. No fee is required to reclaim the confiscated phone. The traffic department is situated in Gallows Hill road, there phone number is 0214068700 and there office hours as follows:

Monday to Friday 08:00 – 15:30
Friday 08:00 – 10:00

SA JOULE PRODUCER FIRM WILL CLOSE

Optimal Energy that produced South Africa’s Joule electric car will close down completely after it failed to secure an international partner for production of the Joule and the plan then scrapped in favour of an electric bus, known as the “E-bus”. Optimal Energy could not secure any funding for the “E-bus” The development of the Joule has cost R300 million until the decision to can the project. The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) partnered with Optimal Energy.

LEAF SETS REVERSE RECORD

Nissan’s electric Leaf entered the record books by setting the fastest time over a 1.6km (1 mile) sprint in reverse.

Terry Grant a professional stunt driver raced the Leaf backwards up the famous Goodwood hillclimb course at the June 2012 Festival of Speed, covering the distance in 1m 37.02s at an average speed of 88km/h. He smashed his time by shaving an incredible 26 seconds of his attempt. This was done on 29 June 2012. The hill not only climbs, but is also full of twists, turns and obstacles.

Terry Grant commented: “I had a great car at my disposal – with direct drive from the electric motor to its wheels, the Nissan Leaf can, in theory, go as fast backwards as it can forwards. There were times I wasn’t sure I was coming or going. However, thanks to the Leaf’s low centre of gravity, the batteries are an integral part of the car’s floor, the car is extremely stable, no matter which direction it’s travelling. The only complaint I have is slight neck ache from constantly looking over my shoulder.”