American Car News

I always try to be impartial about brands, but I actually have a soft spot for my Jeep Grand Cherokee. So I can’t help but feel slightly excited about the all-new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee that made its debut at the 2009 New York Auto Show. Because in terms of features, it raises the bar yet again when it comes to combining affordability, offroad ability, crossover SUV looks, V8 performance, soft-touch cabin trim and some semblance of on-road handling. Do not take this as my endorsement for the dying Chrysler brand or Jeep in particular. The rest of Jeep’s range continue to be embarrassing.

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General Motors released a small softroader for the GCC market last year, called the GMC Terrain, a Korean-built model that shares its styling with the badge-engineered Opel Antara. Now America is getting its own version of the Terrain, based on the same platform, but with completely different styling. The all-new 2010 Terrain makes its world debut at the 2009 New York Auto Show, and we just found out it will come to the UAE, to replace the Korean one. However, if you don’t like its goofy styling, you will not miss much. This Canadian-built iteration of the Terrain is just one of a number of GM vehicles that is utilising this platform.

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Tesla broke into the scene with the promise of an all-electric sports car that was extremely quick and required no petrol whatsoever. They recently fulfilled that promise with the showroom-ready Tesla Roadster, which are already on their way to early buyers. Their latest plan is to offer a more practical car, but with the same ideas of sportiness and efficiency as the Roadster. That new car is the Tesla Model S, and its first prototype was publicly shown in the United States.

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The respected American Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has launched a new roof strength rating system to help consumers pick vehicles that will help protect them in rollover crashes. Twelve small SUVs were the first to be put to the test. Only 4 earn the top rating of good. The Subaru Forester and even the Jeep Patriot, among others, have the strongest rated roofs, while the Kia Sportage has the weakest among the 2008-2009 models evaluated. A report like may be enough reason for some consumers to keep shunning Korean cars. But the Honda CR-V and the Ford Escape only did slightly better.

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The Lincoln MKZ, while never a bestseller even in its home country, let alone here, has still received a makeover for the 2010 model year instead of being killed off outright. The upgrade comes in line with the redesign of its mechanical sibling, the 2010 Ford Fusion.

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So we got a brand-spanking-new 2009 Chevrolet Traverse from the General. We were told that we were at the top of the list for this one, although seeing many of these on the streets beforehand suggests otherwise. Either way, I knew it was going to be a good-looking vehicle. It really looks like a premium-branded vehicle, appearing much more classy than bulldogs like the Audi Q7 and the Mercedes-Benz GL, none of which will ever realistically touch a grain of sand. It looked good enough for my PR guy to start leaving drool-stains on the bonnet.

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The 2009 Ford Fiesta has just hit the GCC market, and to celebrate, Ford dealers in Dubai are offering 24 special-edition models, with each one sporting a unique paint-job.

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Apparently we are among the first people to test-drive the Hummer H3T in the UAE. I drove it all over Dubai on the first morning, which involved embarrassing parallel parking incidents. Anyway, I had decided to do a proper off-road test on another day, and handed over the truck to my PR guy. He promptly returned it to me the next day, with a broken alloy wheel, a sandy interior, and a number of disabled electronics. Never let amateurs go camping with your 4X4.

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Back in the late 80s and up till the late 90s, Ford offered a tasty hyper-tuned version of their best-selling sedan in America, calling it the Taurus SHO, and powering it with Yamaha-tuned “Super High Output” engines that came from Japan. It died out later, but with the proper revival of the Taurus comes the rebirth of the Taurus SHO, this time powered by an in-house 3.5-litre turbocharged EcoBoost V6.

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The current Spark is a goofy thorn on the side of Chevy’s otherwise respectable line-up. However, the all-new 2010 Chevrolet Spark, making its world premiere at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show in March, may infuse some style into this market segment, if squishy little cars are your thing.

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