COMPETITION WINNERS Details online at http://www.popularmechanics.co.za
ASSERTIVENESS IS A QUALITY that shoppers could
use more of. If you’re not satisfied, say so and say
why. Demand what you paid for. For that matter, if
you are satisfied, say so, too. Don’t be apologetic; be
honest.
Something like this:
“I know it’s been two years, but we’re returning this
product and we’d like our money back. The main thing is,
it’s just too big. When we buy an M, particularly for this
kind of money, we don’t expect a 5XXL.
“And – we know it was agreed upfront – but we’ve
thought about it and, actually, we think we overpaid.
“So please take your trains back. And, before you ask,
no, a credit won’t suffice. We’d like a cash refund.”
I can attest to the fact that this technique works, at
least when returning a too-big shirt. Locomotives,
though... hmm.
Two years after we joined in the chorus of praise
singers hailing a South African revolution in rail travel,
the train has not left the station. As we know by now,
the thing was more or less a con and a sham. Having
said that, I’m not sure though that I share the touching
belief, implicit in the High Court judgment rendering
the rail deal null and void, that we can simply march
in and demand our money back. Besides, there’s money
that has been smartly diverted away from the main
line, likely never to be seen again. Perhaps it puffed
majestically away from Platform 9¾?
Still on the subject of getting from A to Hogwarts,
though it wasn’t entirely planned, there’s a mobility
thread running through this month’s Popular Mech-
anics. From monster airliners on the fringes of outer
space to the ideal city car, from smart farming imple-
ments to an app that beats check-in queues, from
grizzled riders contesting the vets motocross worlds
to artworks that celebrate our rides, the act of getting
from A to B definitely rocks our world. Or gives us an
ache in the clutch-pedal leg, as the case may be.
The most significant story of the lot, from a conti-
nental point of view, must be the outrageous drone-
as-cargo-plane concept that’s being pushed by the
Kenyans. Almost casually dropped into a presentation,
it certainly woke up the crowd from the pre-lunch torpor
at the recent Drone Con, the meeting place for the
professional UAV industry. Along with other fascinat-
ing nuggets from this Gauteng conference, Lindsey
Schutters's report provides insight into how Africa is
set for a breakthrough in this Cinderella industry. Wecan’t wait to find out more.
In the meantime, a heads-up to next month’s
Popular Mechanics, when we take a look into the
future – in a manner of speaking – with a wide-rang-
ing report on the technology that will energise the
2020 Tokyo Olympics. Coincidentally, as this issue
of Popular Mechanics was being put to bed, we got
the news that in October we would be journeying to
the Japanese capital for its biennial motor show. What’s
particularly interesting for us is that our focus for the
show will be next-generation mobility solutions, which
we’re expecting to see plenty of. Of course, like good
petrolheads, we’ll spend our free time drooling over
some of the great current-generation machinery
that’s bound to be on display, too.[email protected]SHOW ME THE MONEY
AUGUST 2017 _ http://www.popularmechanics.co.za 1
FROM THE EDITOR