It is never a dull moment on social media. Kenyans are always exchanging ideas and debating over various emerging topics and trends.
It was no different on Saturday, January 4 when Kenyans got to debate over a Probox vehicle converted into a limousine.
The image depicted a Probox that was painted black in a garage-like set-up and extended to look like a limo.
A Kenyan by the user name of Dennis Maina commended the mechanics that worked on the vehicle.
“To make it an official limousine he should have removed the door at the centre. Good job though to the engineer, always be positive and don’t mind other people's compliments,” he stated.
Another user by the name of Benson Kimotho opined,
“So many questions here... Eg. With the increased weight, what have they done for the braking system, we don't want a scenario of using the ‘kadudu’ braking system in a Range Rover. What about the long chassis?” he wondered.
However, Kenyans.co.ke spoke to one of the mechanics Erick Mwangi who worked on the vehicle as to why they decided on the design.
“We chose to modify this car to that design after an accident which dismantled the car completely and led to the half part(which is on the centre) to be on its own,”
On how they came up with the idea, Erick revealed that they got into an arrangement with an old man who owned a Probox but pitched the extension idea to him.
“There is an old man who had this initial Probox which we extended and only uses the vehicle for carrying nappier grasses for his cow. We gave him the idea of extension and because he operates far away from the tarmac we told him there are no dangers on this because we had a master plan on how to reinforce the chassis,” he explained.
Erick further stated that the vehicle was roadworthy and that the owner accepted the plan they had.
“We convinced him that with a reinforced chassis, the vehicle would seize to bend on the centre and more so he couldn't encounter any difficulties by any NTSA or any traffic officers,” he added.
He added that the vehicle's capacity and its manual system enabled the process to materialize.
“He accepted our idea and we prolonged to extend it because the advantage of this car is a manual car (front wheel drive) 1500cc so we saw it had the ability to move even on sharp or sloppy hills without encountering any difficulties,” he opined.
Cost of modification
According to Erick, the total cost of the modification was Ksh100,000.
“We spent around Ksh 50000 because, for one, Toyota Probox has the cheapest spare parts. Inclusive of painting and labour the amount total was around Ksh 100,000.
Car Expert Miller speaking to Kenyans.co.ke stated that such inventions should not be condemned and mocked as they depict a creative sector that has been ignored for quite a while.
“As a country, this is the way to go. Big manufacturers like Mahindra began with making tractors but are now competing with the expensive SUVs in the market,” he observed.
On if the vehicles can be certified as roadworthy, Erick stated that a professional structural engineer should be involved in the process to approve and certify the modifications.
Miller further implored the government to leverage the expertise and talents that are being explored, a venture he stated would in the long run revolutionise the motor sector.
"The only way for us to grow is by encouraging such ventures to continue so as to empower engineering graduates who are mostly unemployed. They should be guided and exposed to these kinds of innovations," he explained.
This would not be the first time such an invention is talked about. Recently a group of young innovators and mechanics designed a Probox vehicle into a classic beauty dubbed 'Black Bondo' a vehicle that is showcased in motorsport competitions.
Equally, President William Ruto during his campaigns used a locally assembled hammer-like vehicle to solicit votes, a truck that got spoken and debated about for quite a while.
