For most of us in New Zealand, the car is a symbol of independence to fulfil the lifestyle of our choice. Back pain can cause this form of freedom to drive a few of us mad.
European Motor Distributors and RVE produce the VW Edition R Amarok
Creating a unique vehicle to attract the attention of potential new car purchases is always a challenge in this crowded double cab ute market. European Motor Distributors (EMD) who distribute VW throughout New Zealand worked together in RVE Vehicle Enhancement to create an the EDITION R.
RVE creates Covid-19 interior driver shield
AUTOMOTIVE PPE
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
With our front line heroes working in health, law and order, supermarkets and associated supply chains, they are well catered to for PPE, so our thoughts have turned to the ‘rest of us’.
As countries move through the various levels of lockdown we worry what essential contact needs to be had, with others outside our bubbles.
When restrictions are lifted, what will be deemed essential travel? Will we be able to just go for a drive, or what are the restrictions on our freedom of movement?
Let’s face it; life will not be the same. Humans globally have had enough time in lockdowns to form new habits. These habits will no doubt long outlast the COVID-19 vaccine that is so urgently being created.
In areas faced with outbreaks like SARS in the past, we see these trends already ingrained. Countries such as Singapore, China and Malaysia have protocols established in the public spaces and transport industry that other places have not considered. I personally have travelled in these places and focused on some of the ‘surfaces’ used in public places. Having a particular interest in the transport industry and vehicle interiors, we note that any shared surfaces are of a sealed, non-porous, non-soakable type.
CAN COVID-19 LIVE IN OUR CAR SEATS?
This leads to the question, Is COVID-19 able to live on soft cloth surfaces of any shared seating? As the answer is most likely yes, RVE turned its attention to protecting our staff and loved ones from the current greatest threats - “Each Other”.
Driver and passengers need to be separated to meet social distancing. Most importantly, if more than one occupant are travelling together outside of the immediate family, we have to be kept apart. This creates a problem for the shift worker or trades person not being able carry staff etc and may not have budget for a 2nd vehicle. What is the solution to create an RVE Automotive Driver Shield?
Using our heritage, skills and passion for the automotive interior, wheels started turning. Since 1968 RVE has been producing stunning leather and vinyl interiors, screens and covers, plus the good old Auto Trimming service.
RVE VISORS AND GOGGLES
A barrier screen is an answer to PPE’s ‘visor’ or ‘goggles’. A clear PVC screen creates an impenetrable barrier for aerosol droplets, one of the main sources of transmission of Coronavirus. Easily cleaned and removable, RVE’s knowledge of vehicle safety systems comes to light. Others have made basic side to side screens using metal poles hooked into plastic trim panels. While this looks simple, a very big fundamental has been overlooked; Side Curtain Airbags.
SIDE CURTAIN AIRBAGS
The side curtain airbag is in all new cars and a large proportion of older vehicles on our roads. This is designed to deploy from the edge of the roof lining, down between the seat and windows. Any metal bars in its way are turned into interior missiles with devastating results. RVE’s innovative headrest mounting system has removed these dangers.
RVE SEAT GLOVES
RVE Driver Shields are effective for single use vehicles too, as the rest of the vehicle interior can be cleaned less often. On the other hand, vehicles with drivers swapping between shifts and shared use vehicles need regular cleaning. Here the seating hard surfaces come into favour.
Vinyl is a sealed surface that can be regularly cleaned with detergents and soaps. It withstands usual sanitizing processes, making it ideal for seat covering. There are high quality cloths and fabrics available but regular cleaning leaves them wet, while vinyl can be cleaned and dried between shifts.
Seat covers can be customized as a slip over cover set, similar to Overalls or the PPE Glove, and as complete replacement cover sets for a permanent and non-commercial look for high passenger vehicles such as Taxis, Shuttles, Buses and Ferries etc.
RVE is the only recognized facility in New Zealand to sew these seams, all covers are compliant with seat airbag legislation, backed up by years of independent testing and high speed filming.
RVE offers hope to an industry struggling with the concept of losing our independence for the foreseeable future.
Whether for Leather
By Ian Ferguson
A popular upgrade accessory is the tailored fitting of leather seating to automotive interiors.
It’s not just any leather for this rough and tumble role, where temperatures can exceed 80 degrees centigrade and ultraviolet rays are magnified by the vehicles glass area.
Add to this the wear and tear experienced in a day’s work sliding in and out, dropping tools and equipment on seats or the wet and muck of bad weather days.
Where fabric struggles to clean up after the hard days, leather can be wiped down and even rejuvenated. Automotive quality leather is fit for purpose. As a raw material leather is not a cheap one.
RVE Special Leather interior
The processes from hides to workable material are many and difficult, to supply the best quality consistently.
The utilisation of the leather has computer programmes plotting the cutting for the least waste as offcuts lying on the floor are profit lost. Leather feels quality, the fit and finish make the final leather product look the part but also provide a long service life.
To make a bespoke one-off leather seating for any vehicle is laborious and labour-intensive exercise.
To make multiple copies builds in cost effectiveness and quality when done properly. One company that has mastered the business of volume retrospective installation of leather to many vehicle models is Auckland based RVE. Nearly 50 years after the founding by patriarch Vic Stanners, his sons Dave, Jim and Mark lead a team supplying the motor industry and dealers with ute upgrades, respected for the high quality of workmanship and customer experience. The entry was always leather but now a whole host of products are available, some from alliances around the world, building on this specialist industry.
RVE has shown how interwoven they are with the motor industry, when they were commissioned to supply Holden NZ with the concept ROX Colorado that debuted at 2019 Fieldays New Zealand’s premier agricultural event.
From this have spun off some inspired variants and opened up many new product opportunities for the RVE range and for the industry to profit from.
Driving dreams has become RVE's call sign as they navigate the aftermarket waves. Mark Stanners has been lead for design and development working with dealers and motor companies to create the innovative ideas that turn into profits.
RVE upgraded leather interior with Monza sport seating
Much of the passion for the RVE products comes from the evolution of the business but attention to detail is never in short supply. Every new model vehicle is considered, and design options are identified.
There are four options available for leather seating designs, starting with RVE Special leather from RRP $2,450 to the designer series which includes Standard Seat Shape, or the upgraded Monza sport seating, as pictured above. All the latter are price on application. RVE Special is a basic OEM specification leather in black, with perforated leather inserts brought together with grey stitching. This price conscious product is intended to give every dealer the opportunity to add leather to the options list to perhaps make a distinctive point of difference to assist selling “sticky” models or creating the dealer’s own special edition.
Smart dealers may offer leather in their suite of accessories as RVE have very realistic supply lines and timing. For attractiveness and versatility leather is the penultimate product and no longer dogged with lengthy build delays of old. These days the leather installation can happen during the pre-delivery cycle where fitting happens when the fresh licence plates go on.
Dealer tip: Here is an upgrade option that can cost $2500 to possibly $5000 on full-blown designs. Consider the margin possible and look at vehicles that could do with a lift in features or perhaps smell not so good. A window card showing the option on every vehicle may bring only a handful of orders but GP is good. Right? Build that supplier relationship so this becomes second nature and you will reap greater returns. There will be new products on offer and specials to take advantage of. Don’t discount. Value add. Every customer is good and better if they return.
Consumer tip: Leather lifts the value of your purchase. You benefit from the comfort and ease of use for the whole time you own that car. Consider optional seat heaters. These are very popular with passengers, while the driver has plenty to do at the wheel. Make sure you use the care and rejuvenation pack which should come with every quality leather installation. And ... it will assist with the selling on of the vehicle at end of life, with you.
FRX pack transforms Triton into a head-turner
By Paul Owen
Mitsubishi’s Triton has always been a worthy Ute to buy, but for me it has always lacked X-factor. More affordable pricing than most Japanese- and German- branded Utes, styling that became increasingly fussier ever since the demise of the good ol’ L200, and value-led marketing means that Triton owners struggle to make visual statements when they arrive at their destination du jour. The new FRX package available from Mitsubishi dealers aims to change all that.
For the $13,069 FRX package instantly transforms the Triton into a head-turner. I’ve driven VW Amarok Aventuras, Mercedes-Benz X-classes, Jeep Wrangler Brutes, Dodge Rams, and dressed-up Ford Rangers that failed to attract as much attention and interest as this Triton FRX. This Ute upgrade has the potential to turn more male heads than a couple of naked supermodels playing out a women’s tennis final. So definitely don’t dress your Triton up this way if you’re shy and wish to remain beneath the radar.
Upgraded Leather interior with RVE Monza Sport Seating
You’ll find the key to the increased visual impact of the FRX in the wheel/tyre package, which consists of 20” EVR Intrepid alloy wheels dressed in humungous 285/50 Black Bear All Terrain II tyres. These black hoops n’ shoes set the theme of an upgrade that turns most of a Triton’s shiny chrome into black chrome, adds a gloss black front over-bumper and finishes off the exterior with some tasty graphics, and matt black finishes applied to the grille and side-steps. Some red highlights are added as well, with bonnet stripes, front tow-hooks, and the rear bumper inset all featuring the colour. Options added to this particular FRX are the load tray bedrug, and the lockable powered lid that covers it (complete with key-operated remote).
There’s more to the pack when you open the door to the cabin of the Triton and encounter the new Monza sports front seats with their armour-themed inserts. These and the rear bench come upholstered in OEM-spec leather. Climb aboard via the generous side sills (complete with ridged holes that allow you scrape the mud off your boots first) and settle in – you’ll quickly find that these are some of the most, comfy front pews ever fitted to a light commercial vehicle. They felt as if tailored specifically to the curve of my spine, and the extra lateral support of the larger side bolsters improved driver comfort when cornering.
Speaking of corners, unlike many vehicles where the off-road performance envelope has been expanded, the Triton FRX isn’t afraid of them. The bigger wheels and the stiff sidewalls of the tyres keep body roll in check and add an endearing directness to the steering of the Mitsubishi. Grip doesn’t feel to have been compromised by the more aggressive tread design of the Black Bear AT II tyres either. Although there’s plenty of mud-clearing space between the various shoulder lugs and interlocking mid-tread lugs that come into contact with the road, the generous width of the tyres ensures there are still four stable foundations to secure the handling of the Triton.
The FRX pack is available for all Triton models, but the sample vehicle was strictly rear-drive only. Yet the challenges of driving a rear-drive Ute up a saturated grass-surfaced slope were quickly overcome by the claw-like grip of the Black Bears. Their performance encouraged plenty of speculation about what a 4wd Triton FRX could achieve off-road. Could it possibly climb to places where other Utes fear to tread?
I once drove a similarly-shod Mitsubishi L200 in a three-day South Island 4wd rally that encountered heavy rain on the West Coast. The tyres lived up to their mud-slinging reputation, and the L200 never once got stuck, but they were a liability when driving back on the road. They howled noisily everywhere, and the wet road grip was reduced to the point of becoming dangerous. The tyres fitted to the FRX are just as adept at chucking mud, yet they display few of the historic dynamic limitations during everyday driving on the road.
The ride of the Mitsubishi is a little firmer at speeds below 40kmh, and the Black Bears begin to growl a bit when riding over a hot-mix bitumen surface at speeds above 100kmh, but these are minor prices to pay for taking Triton to the top of the sector for visual appeal, and giving a rear-drive Ute a huge lift in traction off-road.
So, is the FRX package good value?
You get visual impact that more than rivals of the market including the $84,990 Ford Raptor, after having spent just $51,990 on a Triton GLX and the $13,069 required for the fitted FRX pack.
Leaves enough change for a boat or caravan to tow on the back.
For more information click here.
New Soft Tonneau by RVE for most Utility models
RVE Soft Tonneau
Features:
• Quality aluminium track with heavy-duty vinyl cover
• Only be opens when tailgate is down for best security
• Weather proof channel system keeps tray dry
• Removable ribs inside cover ensure vinyl is taut
• Compatible with ROC sports bars
• No drilling or riveting required for fitting
Fits all popular utility models including:
Ford Ranger, Holden Colorado, Isuzu D-Max, Mazda BT-50,
Mitsubishi Triton, Nissan Navara, Toyota Hilux and VW Amarok
Colorado ROX claims CRC Speedshow honours
Holden’s new super-truck concept, the Colorado ROX, was awarded the ‘Best Outdoor Site’ trophy at the annual CRC Speedshow in Auckland over the weekend.
Holden Colorado ROX
“We were thrilled with the crowd’s response to the Colorado ROX and winning the award was the cherry on top of a very successful weekend,” Holden NZ national marketing manager Marc Warr says.
“I lost count of how many selfies were snapped and how many people clambered in and out of the impressively high cabin.”
Standout features of the ROX, which received special praise from showgoers, were the massive 35-inch tyres, body-hugging sports seats throughout the vehicle, the imposing six-inch body and suspension lift, rear deck cargo system and 500mm tray extender.
The appearance of Colorado ROX at Speedshow followed Holden’s official announcement that it will be bringing the new 2020 model year Corvette into New Zealand.
Marc Warr
“News of the new Corvette has captured the attention of performance car enthusiasts the world over, none more so than here in New Zealand,” Warr says.
“We’ll be in a position to release further details in due course, but at the moment all we can confirm is that it will be available as a factory-produced right hand drive and will produce 369 kW from the 6.2-litre V8 engine.
“Our dealers have reported strong and immediate interest and there was plenty of positive comment at the show itself over the weekend – we simply can’t wait to get the first new Corvette into New Zealand.”
Click here for more information on the Colorado ROX.
POSTED IN AUTOTALK.CO.NZ JULY 23 2019