Four engines, three specification levels, two pronunciations and — no doubt — number-one seller in the C-class hatch sector. That’s the new Toyota Auris for you. At the launch preview in the United Kingdom a couple of months ago, we asked the Toyota UK representative handling the presentation how the name was pronounced, and he told us that it was "Owris".
Remember the Fiat Uno? The car everybody made jokes about — and then bought? Between 1990 and 2005, the little cars — then assembled by Nissan South Africa — became favourites with people who wanted a simple, reliable car that didn’t cost an arm and a leg to buy or to run.
The facelifted Hyundai Tiburon (Spanish for "shark") perfectly illustrates just how far this young Korean manufacturer has come in a short space of time. Given that it’s a sports coupé, Hyundai took the opportunity to use Wesbank Raceway to take motoring scribes through an advanced driving course using the new Tiburons.
The tiny kingdom of Lesotho is the unlikely venue for ambitious plans to create the number one destination for skiers in Africa. "This is going to be the biggest ski resort in Africa," says Ollie Esplin, manager of the Afri-Ski resort, as he tries to explain how to minimise the risks of meltdown in Lesotho’s picturesque Mahlasela Valley.
Former president FW de Klerk on Sunday defended his decision to authorise a raid in Mthatha in 1993 in which five teenagers were killed. ”Although the operation was tragically botched, Mr De Klerk himself acted in his capacity as head of government with due deliberation and care and in complete compliance with national and international law,” said a statement from his foundation.
The Gauteng provincial housing department has pledged R85-million towards the development of four hostels in the province. Provincial housing minister Nomvula Mokonyane held talks with African National Congress and Inkatha Freedom Party supporters who lived in hostels where a number of protests took place earlier this month.
In the bowels of Iran’s uranium conversion facility in Isfahan strands of black and red wire stretch from the concrete wall to giant white tanks full of a volatile uranium compound. It is by these slender cords that the international community hopes to hold Iran’s atomic ambitions in check.
Hosts Botswana upset Angola to win Sunday’s Cosafa Castle Cup Group C final with a 3-1 victory on penalties following a goalless draw after 90 minutes. Goalkeeper Modiri Marumo was the hero in the shoot-out as his saves denied Angola, who played in the 2006 World Cup finals.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was expected to walk a fine line in talks on Monday with President George Bush, keeping some distance on issues like Iraq while preserving the ”special relationship” with the United States. The Camp David meeting is the first between the new British prime minister and Bush since Brown succeeded Tony Blair last month.
Zimbabwe’s elections must be free and fair next year and economic recovery in the troubled country will only be achieved by a government viewed as legitimate by all its citizens, South Africa’s president said on Sunday. Thabo Mbeki heads the regional mediation process between Zimbabwe’s government and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.