The Star: June 04, 2020

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26 The Star Thursday June 4 2020 CONTENT MARKETING Each week we profile a local Christchurch business to give them a plug and see how they’re going as the country eases into recovery. This week we spoke to Amanda Vale of Vynco – a privately owned distributor, manufacturer, and designer of electrical components Sound of thunder from Merc V8 SUV ADAPTABLE: The sales team at Vynco (from left to right) – senior sales support co-ordinator Laura Hetherington and sales support co-ordinators Lucy Hamilton, Briana Tompkins and Ryan Cleaver. On the up Tell us about your business, Amanda. Vynco is a 100 per cent New Zealand-owned component business with a diverse portfolio of locally manufactured and imported products, including switch gear, lighting, conduit systems, and circuit protection. We have approximately 100 employees working from facilities in Christchurch, Wellington, and Auckland servicing electrical wholesalers and other providers in New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. The recent lockdown has been tough on everyone, what was the toughest aspect for your business and its people? [Vynco shut its doors and sent staff home when the country went into Level 4 lockdown – Ed.] Aside from the acute economic implications, which I’m sure most New Zealand businesses are experiencing, we found communicating from afar challenging. Overall, I think we adapted well to new ways of working, though it’s good to be back working together in an office environment. Now that lockdown has been relaxed, are you expecting to operate differently? During lockdown we discovered a new world of online meeting forums. Though by no means a complete substitute for face-to-face communication, we’ll continue to use the technology to reduce staff travel and support the company’s sustainability initiatives. Supported by What role does technology play in your business as you adjust to the so-called new normal? We’re good at using technology to work more efficiently. On this front, CCL helped us to automate certain processes. Mobile devices ensured most employees were working successfully from their homes in the 48-hour period before lockdown. After experimenting with different online meeting platforms, we settled on Microsoft Teams. Do you have a sense of what the future looks like for your business? We’re positive about the future and fortunate that the products we supply are essential to keeping households, businesses, and services running. Continuing product development is critical to driving new momentum. Finally, what lessons have you learned from this chapter in our history? The Canterbury earthquakes forced us to prepare our business for possible disasters, so we were well prepared for this crisis. Certainly, it has reinforced the importance of risk management planning. Phone: 03 379 9283 Email: sales@vynco.co.nz www.vynco.co.nz THERE’S LITTLE doubt that the way we view automobiles is changing with a global demand for fuel efficiency and fewer emissions. Most manufacturers are looking at ways to address those issues, and that’s showing with an everincreasing number of hybrids and electric vehicles reaching our market. I’m not rebelling against the electric revolution, but the reality is I’ll find it hard to give up my desire for internal combustion engines, and the bigger and more powerful they are, the better. I know Mercedes-Benz has introduced an electric vehicle down under that I’ll be evaluating soon, and it’s only a matter of time before they arrive en masse. What I don’t know is where that leaves its big cars, and the big engines, but in the interim I can be very grateful that I’ve sampled some of the best engines to come out of Germany, as well as some of the most powerful. My latest foray into the highperformance driveline was in the AMG GLC 63S sport utility vehicle, a large wagon that also comes in coupe-like form, both sharing the 4-litre, twinturbocharged V8. It’s a monster in terms of power outputs – 375kW and 700Nm – the latter available all of the way from 1750rpm to 4500rpm and, if you take into account peak power is on tap all of the way to 6250rpm, it’s no wonder I’m hooked. The GLC is a super-quick, high top-speed wagon, and you’d expect nothing less from the performance arm of Mercedes-Benz. AMG claims a 3.8sec standstill to 100km/h acceleration time along with a governed 250km/h top end. These figures are fantastic, making the GLC one of the quickest cars I’ve driven, and it does so in a way that you know you are travelling fast; even in standard mode the engine is quite audible, it bellows out of the exhaust and if you want extra sound a console-mounted pushbutton will increase the decibels. The 63S fairly thunders under acceleration. This engine is utilised in a wide range of Mercedes-Benz product, and in some cases it drives through to the rear wheels only, delivering a true sports car feel, but the GLC has drive to all four wheels and that adds an element of reassurance. As a driver, you know that delivering that power to the ground is going to be channelled in a fashion that won’t catch you out with oversteer. If you also take into account the huge 21in wheels with massive tyres (265/40 and 295/35) then grip levels are high. Even so, on my high-country evaluation drive there were a couple of instances when I felt traction control complaining, such as powering out of a corner. Drive is channelled through a nine-speed automatic transmission, and there are MERCEDES-BENZ GLC AMG 63S: Speed and acceleration which is uncharacteristic for a sport utility vehicle. • Price – Mercedes-Benz AMG GLC 63S, $184,400 • Dimensions – Length, 4744mm; width, 2090mm; height, 1577mm • Configuration – V8, four-wheel-drive, 3982cc, 385kW, 700Nm, ninespeed automatic • Performance – 0-100km/h, 3.8sec • Fuel usage – 12.2l/100km varying drive modes that the driver can select or individualise to suit his/her driving style. Even in standard mode the engine management protocols are structured so that the driver can enjoy the V8 experience at all times; it rumbles and burbles away, tantalising with its response and urgency. Not that it is a handful in lowspeed situations, the 63S has perfect inner-city manners, the combination of brawn and beauty is an engineering masterpiece. The GLC is a true SUV, it has a cavernous rear load area, and for five adults there is comfort in abundance. It is also built in the traditional Mercedes-Benz style that is high in luxury and specification, sharing the look and feel with a layout that is systematic across most of the Mercedes-Benz range. Column space doesn’t allow comprehensive detailing of the features and fitment. However, it’s fair to say the GLC wants for little and the interior is state-of-the-art with all of the electronic goodies you’d want in a car that sits towards $200k. Yes, if you add in a lot of the options from Mercedes- Benz’s extensive catalogue of extras, the base price tag of $184,400 could be well stretched. However, for my money the pleasure to be had from the fabulous bi-turbo engine would be well worth the outlay. And don’t go believing that it is going to overly create havoc with the environment, as, for all of its brute force, the GLC 63S has respectable fuel usage figures. AMG claims a 12.2-litre per 100km combined cycle average, which sits well with the trip computer’s 12.8l/100km figure during my time in the car. I know for certain the drive in the GLC 63S won’t be my last in a V8, but I do know such opportunities will become fewer and further between. For those who feel like me, now is the time to buy before they face extinction. FUNCTIONAL: A cavernous load area lies under the tailgate of the GLC 63S.
Thursday June 4 2020 The Star 27 WHY CHoose WE ARE CURRENTLY OFFERING $2000 MINIMUM TRADE IN *ON SELECTED VEHICLES! TERMS & CONDITIONS APPLY for Your next VeHICLe? VALUE REPUTATION SELECTION TRUSTED PLUS REGISTRATION 2010 ToyoTa iQ $10,999 Amazing car with NCAP 5 Star Safety Rating, innovative features that make it safe, economical, extremely manoeuvrable, peppy and environmentally friendly, 1.3 litre engine with automatic trans, white with body kit and 16" alloys, very low kms, push button start, ABS, T/C and 11 airbags. Perfect around town vehicle! PLUS REGISTRATION 2014 ToyoTa Ractis s $12,999 The Ractis is a stylish, zippy, good handling and spacious 5 door hatch, 1.5 litre engine, tiptronic trans with paddleshift option, 5 star fuel efficiency, blue with body kit, driving lights and 17" alloys, travelled very low kms, cruise control, push button start, reverse camera, ABS, T/C and airbags, inspection won't disappoint! 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The Star: June 04, 2020

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