Nicol Louw has been appointed technical editor of CAR magazine following the recent retirement of the long-serving and highly-respected Jake Venter. Venter (77) held the position for 16 years and will continue to contribute to the magazine.
Nicol joins CAR from South African electric-vehicle start-up Optimal Energy where he was the Senior Vehicle Integration Engineer, responsible for working on South Africa’s first electric vehicle programme, the Joule. Nicol previously gained vast engineering experience through diagnostic calibration of commercial vehicles at Ford in the United Kingdom, receiving an Engineering Excellence award along the way.
He has also spent time at Integral Powertrain where he worked on an engine development programme, as well as spending four years at CAE, a research and development company where he was involved in a variety of engine testing and analysis projects.
Nicol completed his M.Sc in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Stellenbosch in 2004, receiving the Jac van der Merwe award for technical innovation (only awarded to one engineering student per annum) and obtained his UK Chartered Engineering Status in 2009.
“The Technical Editor fulfils a vital role at CAR and this is a very important appointment,” says Editor Hannes Oosthuizen. “Jake has left very big shoes to fill, but I’m very excited to have Nicol on board – he comes with the right experience and has been extremely highly rated by his previous employers.
“His appointment will undoubtedly reinforce our position as a motoring magazine with a strong technical ‘backbone’. Plus, he’s a real car nut!”