It was almost precisely 10 years ago that I picked up my first copy of a proper car magazine in July 2000 so I thought it would be an opportune time to go back and see just how dramatically things have changed since then.
All the observations I’ve made here are based on the July 2000 issue of CAR Magazine and I’ll start with a rather hilarious comparison. There was a glossy, double page spread of the then hugely popular Toyota Corolla RXi; the ad itself encouraged one to pay special attention to the gear lever which had 6 forward gears.
The very popular Corolla RXi had a 20-valve screamer fitted up front
An entire advert raving madly about the merits of a 6-speed manual gearbox… Sure, back then it was a first on a Corolla but today, the very same brand produces a little 1.3 litre Corolla with a 6-speed gearbox as well. Also, while back in 2000 “everything keeps going right”, today Toyota claims to “lead the way.” Times have changed and Toyota’s performance models have been disappointing of late, with neither the presence nor the power to challenge the GTIs and Type Rs of the world.
Looking at vehicle sales from May 2000, the Corolla and Conquest from Toyota indeed lead the way. The BMW 3 Series still outsold the Mercedes-Benz C-Class handily, an achievement it hasn’t been able to repeat regularly for many years.
The VW Polo, currently the top-selling car in the country and a continual top 3 seller, didn’t even feature in the top 10 back then. The hideous, gravelly-sounding but incredibly enduring Mazda Sting (essentially the old 323) and the Ford Tracer (essentially the Laser) also sold hugely.
The cheapest car that you could purchase in South Africa at the time was the Fiat Uno 1100 at a cost of R40 970.
Looks solid enough here, but it wasn't
The cheapest current vehicle on sale is the Chery QQ 0.8 TE at R69 900.
The same that applied to the Uno applies to the Chery QQ right now; rather buy second-hand and accept the fact that your car isn’t brand new. That way, you’ll also avoid blowing across the newly revamped Hospital Bend when the south easter decides to drop by for a visit.
Back then, Honda still produced both the Civic and Ballade models, both of which were laden with extreme bodily modifications almost before they could be driven off the showroom floor. The classic V-TEC was an invitation for a serious dice.
Today, only the Civic nameplate lives on in a far superior machine but one which is already too extreme in its standard design for owners to really hassle with much modification.
The final Honda shape to carry the Ballade name (above) and an example of the bodily abuse most of these cars were subjected to (right)
Porsche had a minuscule range of vehicles at the time. No Cayman, no Cayenne, no Panamera and fewer 911s all means that the variety of Porsche’s available now has more than doubled in terms of individual models.
In-car navigation systems made their entrance into the local market and today, such a system can be specified in a large number of cars, many from the lower classes. If that’s not enough, you can have an aftermarket system fitted to your vehicle at minimal cost in the blink of an eye.
Airbags were still an option on a vast number of vehicles while today, any car without dual front airbags for the driver and passenger as well as ABS braking is considered unsafe and with a dismal level of safety equipment!
A startling comparison is that Volvo is preparing an “injury-proof” car for release in 2020. It will be fitted with an electronic bumper that obtains vital information for hundreds of metres around the car.
Volvo's safety technology being developed for 2020
Using this information, the car will predict an accident and take measures to avoid one regardless of whether the driver lets go of the wheel and elects to twiddle his thumbs or not.
The future is going to be scary in its ingenuity and we had better buckle up for one hell of a ride.
Then again, the car will probably do that for us.
