After I almost wrote off my Kadett slipping on a wet road I vowed to never purchase cheap tires for my vehicles. I went out and bought a set of Michelin Energy’s. They did have very decent road holding and was relatively quite. I got 55 000 km out of my front set, so I can’t complain, I’ll recommend them to any one, but mine are tired now.

So I managed to pop in to a Tiger wheel and tyre this afternoon for replacements. Unfortunately they didn’t have another set. This was the only time I could have new wheels fitted for the next month, so I asked the salesman what else he can recommend. He suggested Continental ContiEcoContact CP’s. They where less expensive than the Michelins, but more importantly they had two in stock, so I agreed.

I took my new wheels for a test drive through De Waal drive. I’m very used to my Michelin, so it took a very corners to adjust. Man, do these Conties Grip! With my Corsa 1.7 DTi utillity I can usually do most of the corners at 110-120km/h. With these ones at one stage I was doing 135 left foot braking through a corner, but the best was still to come. I managed to do Hospital bend at 130 and it felt like there was still plenty to go. Well done guys at Continental. I’ve always thought of your products as the average road tire, fitted to every damn City Golf (See my post on bad drivers) ever produced. Clearly I was wrong…

Things are just not made the same way as they used to be. I just witnessed a guy, driving a 1970’s Austin Apache, swerve for a cyclist and end up driving OVER a traffic light. Now most of us that’s witnessed an accident before will recall glass shards, pieces of plastic and body panels all over the place. No, not this time. The guy just restarted the engine, hooked reverse and backed off the traffic light and pavement he just mounted. He pulled over on the side of the road and all damage to his car was a slight indent on the chrome bumper and a bruised ego. The score was clear, Chrome bumper 1, traffic light 0. If that was one of the latest BMW with crumple zones and airbags, the car would have been a write off. And before you ask, the only injury to the guy was a sore shoulder where the safety belt got him.

It is sad that today’s society has got this “consumer” mindset. I recall the General electric fridge we have on the farm. It is as old as my dad and STILL operational. My fridge I bought two years ago is already starting to show signs of rust.

You know, the world can keep their cheap, mass produced rubbish, just give me my 1965 Landy. In 30years time I’ll still be driving it, using bio-fuel I make in my back yard while the average person are paying through their neck for rip off priced fuel from the fuel companies to power their “fly by wire” super, yahoo go faster cars. Yes, I also do love technology, but then go for some real, old school, German engineered stuff. Not the cheap Asian imports that is currently flooding our markets.

Enough ranting for the day. Go old School!!!