Max Auto Updates - 09/10/2009

Jhb testing stations closed

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Johannesburg's licensing and testing stations were closed on Thursday and only a few traffic officers on the streets in a protest by union members at the metro police department.

The department was left with a small number of workers due to SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) members being unhappy with the return of metro police chief Chris Ngcobo, spokeswoman Inspector Edna Mamonyane said.

"Service has been affected in our licensing and testing stations, the call centre, the accidents office and there's a shortage of traffic personnel due to the interruption."

The few metro police officers that came to work were sent to serious accidents, hence their low visibility throughout the city.

"I don't know what to call this, because we have not received any notice for a strike. Yesterday [Wednesday] workers obtained permission to have a meeting between 10am and 12 noon, but they did not return to work afterwards."

Samwu chairperson Ishmael Mangole said he was not aware of a strike.

Address by city manager

"All I know is that members are waiting to be addressed by the city manager [Mavela Dlamini] or a representative from his office.

We wrote the city manager a letter voicing our dissatisfaction with the outcome of the investigation [into Ngcobo's conduct].

Ngcobo was recently cleared of misconduct charges and re-instated following a probe by the City of Johannesburg.

This raised Samwu's ire and it went on strike last year, calling for his dismissal.

The metro police boss was accused of failing to perform his duties, failing to act decisively on allegations about three suspended employees and promoting corruption by giving some employees allowances.

Ngcobo stepped down and the investigation followed.

"What we are saying is that we distance ourselves from the outcome of the investigation," Mangole said.

Ngcobo returned to work on Monday.

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N1 lanes to be closed

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Some lanes on the N1 highway at the Atterbury Road Interchange will be closed on Sunday to place the inner beams on one of the new bridges being built, the SA National Roads Agency said on Thursday. Spokeswoman Priya Pillay said the lanes would be closed from 6am until 3pm. "This is another major step in the development of the interchange. The placing of the beams will require the closure of the fast lanes on both the north and south-bound carriageways of the N1 under the Atterbury Road bridges." Pillay said the lane closures would affect motorists using the N1, as well as the north-bound onramp loop towards Polokwane.

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AVUS Tunes Audi TT-RS for 338kW



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Avus Performance has unveiled a new tuning package for the Audi TT-RS.

Dubbed the "new Ur-Quattro," the car features a modified ECU, a revised turbocharger, and a high performance exhaust system with racing catalysts. While this doesn't sound like much, the changes enable the 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine to produce 338kW and more than 639 Nm of torque. In terms of performance, the car accelerates from 0-100km/h in 3.8 seconds and the top speed is a breathtaking 312 km/h.

For comparison, the standard TT-RS "only" has 250kW and 450 Nm of torque. It runs from 0-100km/h in 4.6 seconds, before topping out at an electronically limited 250km/h.

Avus also equipped the car with an adjustable coilover suspension, a matt black vinyl wrap, and gloss black 20-inch Sportec Mono wheels outfitted with 255/30/20 Hankook S1 Evo tires.