Turbo Nerdz

If there isn't a fall, how then can there be a climb back? Peugeot fell off the radar, not just in Nigeria alone but overseas, especially in Europe. Historically, we know that the French do not give up easily. We saw this during the great depression, post World War 1 (WW1) and also recently during the World Cup, when France gave Argentina a thorough battle for the trophy which they almost clinched. Thus is the same story for Peugeot, as they make their way back to the forefront of the automotive world. The first noticeable change from the rebranding of Peugeot is the new logo/badge/car emblem. The Peugeot logo dates back to 1847, which makes it the oldest car emblem in the world. The idea of the lion as a brand’s symbol was born to reflect the company’s activity and strength. The Peugeot logo has had numerous changes during it's history but the lion has remained constant.  The older logo had a "silver lion" outline with the wordmark "PEUGEOT", executed in fi...

Last week, we looked at the fall off of Peugeot and my intention for this week's blogpost was to write about the come back of Peugeot, which I did but then I got a challenge and like Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother would say, "Challenge Accepted!". On Monday being the 13th of November, I had a lecture on the topic, 'Management of Venomous Bites and Stings' and I was really engaged in the lecture because it was interesting. A course mate of mine noticed and jokingly said that I should write about snakes for this weeks blogpost because it seemed like I loved them more than cars. So I decided to write about "Paramole", which is a Yoruba word for the viper snake. The Dodge Viper When it comes to making powerful cars, Dodge is one car company that does not default. It is important to know that the current fastest accelerating combustion engine vehicle in the World, is a Dodge Challenger SRT Demon which goes from 0-60mph in 1.66 seconds. Sometimes I ...

I bet we all had that uncle or teacher/teachers husband who had a Peugeot car, specifically the Peugeot 504 pictured below. My chemistry teacher from secondary school, Mrs. Okeke was one of those, as her husband had a Peugeot 504 in mint condition. One of my uncles also had a wagon type 504 that he would use to pick me and my brother up from school when my parents were indisposed. I would hop from one row to the other as his wagon had three row sitting. I always admired the 504 because for a car produced back in the 60's to 80's, they still ran so smoothly and were seemingly unbreakable nearly 30 years post production. Peugeot 504 (1968 -1983)  Peugeot is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810 and is regarded as the oldest car company in the world. Peugeot Automobile of Nigeria also known as PAN began production in 1975 in Nigeria with inputs shipped in bits and pieces from abroad. A...

If the English dictionary needed a word to perfectly describe the phrase "stupidly dangerous but fun", it would be "Rallying". Rally Racing Rallying according to Wikipedia is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests, navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. My own definition of Rallying will go thus, "the motorsport that has produced the most number of widows and orphans, but we all love it". I agree that my definition is quite exaggerated but rally is considered one of the most dangerous motorsports because both the drivers and spectators are at risk of death in the event of an accident. Spectators almost crushed to death by a rally car Rallying as a form of road competition can be traced back to the origins of motorsport, including the world's first known motor race, the 1894 Paris–Rouen Horseless Carriage Competition which was s...

As a medical student who has rotated through the orthopaedic unit of the Bowen University Teaching Hospital (BUTH), it has come to my notice that 98% of road traffic accidents are usually motorcycle involved. It is common knowledge that motorcycles compared to motor vehicles are less safe but the rate at which people get involved in motorcycle accidents is truly alarming. So I decided to do my research. The first thing that caught my attention was that nearly all the speedometers (gauge cluster) of motorcycles in Ogbomosho are either not working or totally absent, meaning there is even no speedometer to start with. As a student who doesn’t own a car and whose major means of transportation is via motorcycles, I have ensured to look out for this anomaly and I have not been disappointed so far. Out of every 5 motorcycles I enter, four and a half of them do not have functioning speedometers. Motorcycle with a missing speedometer The above picture was taken personally by me and as you c...

Outside Nigeria and in fact Africa, passive driving has become the norm as self driving cars with a lot of driver assists have made life easy for daily drivers. On YouTube, there are countless videos of people sleeping off in their self driving vehicles and they get away with it, arriving at their destination unharmed. I dare those sleepy drivers to try the same in Nigeria, it would take only one Dangote truck to send them to their maker. It is sad but the reality is that self driving cars cannot work in Nigeria, at least for now because very active driving is needed to survive the roads of Nigeria. Tesla Driver Sleeping off on the Highway There are multiple reasons why self driving cars in Nigeria is near impossible and they include; 1. Most Nigerians Do Not Obey Traffic Rules and Regulations Just imagine yourself chilling in your self driving Tesla at a red light and then the light goes green, alerting your cars software to get the car moving again. Your car then begins to move, only...

I do not know if it is Nigerian jazz or German Voodoo, but the people of Nigeria are so in love with the Mercedes Benz. Benz cars are generally aesthetically pleasing to the eyes and luxurious, nevertheless there is always room for improvement and this comes in the shape and form of something called a Maybach. The Mercedes Benz auto-tuner Maybach is simply the epitome of luxury and exclusivity. Virgil Abloh Maybach We have previously covered Benz auto-tuners in a post called "Mercedes Benz Tuners", so you can check that out after reading this one. Just a recap, Mercedes has a few tuners and they include Brabus, AMG, Mansory, Maybach among others. Brabus and AMG focus more on performance but for Mansory and Maybach, it is all about making a Benz look even sexier and Maybach wins in that respect. Send in your post requests! The original Maybach company was founded in 1909 by Wilhelm Maybach and his son Karl Maybach. In 1960, Maybach was then acquired by Daimler-Benz, making it ...