The new version of the Chevrolet Impala, one of the icons of the 60’s and 70’s, made its New York Auto Show debut earlier this month. Ridiculously dubbed as a 2014 model, it is all set to replace its crude predecessor which made its appearance back in 2006.
Google has built a completely-autonomous Toyota Prius that apparently can drive itself around town without the need for a driver. The routes are pre-programmed, and the car has completed over 300,000 km of testing. Using cameras and a scanning laser to do the driving, you just tell it your destination and it plots a route for you, taking into consideration speed limits and traffic patterns. Once they even used Steve, a man who is 95% blind, as part of that testing. However, the car is too expensive to put into production at this point.
We got a call the other day from BMW, offering us an X3 for a test-drive. While we weren’t particularly looking forward to checking out a compact crossover, we agreed to take a look anyway. It is a BMW after all.
You probably are already aware of the humble Hilux pickup truck offered by Toyota. It is pretty much everywhere in the Gulf, and is trusted by working-class businesses who are just interested to go about their daily routine without much hassles. But as the news goes, Toyota seems to have wrapped up an Antarctic expedition, over a span of four months, after traversing over 70,000 km.
Mercedes-Benz has released details on the 2013 Mercedes-Benz G-Class, and the changes remain expectedly limited. The models on offer in the GCC include the G 500 and the new G 63 AMG and G 65 AMG models.
When we were hanging out at the 2012 Nissan Micra’s GCC launch in the UAE, we heard that almost every British expat has had seat-time in its predecessors dating back to the 1980s, sort of like how everyone here has some experience with the Toyota Yaris. It is interesting then, that Nissan chose to finally launch the fourth generation in the Middle East to do battle with, what else, the Toyota Yaris.
BMW Group Middle East has reported its best first quarter ever with a sales increase of 6% in the first three months of 2012 compared to the same period in 2011.
The 12th Harley Owners Group MENA rally, hosted in Qatar this year, ran through 22nd to 24th of March, 2012. The event had hundreds of H.O.G members coming from all over the Middle East and other locations to flaunt their motorcycles.
The Nurburgring racetrack in Germany may be overhyped, but anyone can actually pay the minimal entry fee and drive on that track, apparently with any kind of car. Someone thought it was a good idea to take their old Honda CR-V to drive on the legendary piece of tarmac. But he does more than just cruise casually.
The Volkswagen Passat CC V6 long-termer is no more with us, having gone back to VW Middle East. Unlike any of our previous borrowed long-term cars, this one will actually be missed. It was easily among the best all-round midsize sedans we’ve ever driven, if not the best.