Kia showed off a bunch of cheesy tuner concepts, which came and went without any hype, at the Geneva Auto Show a few weeks ago. Those were a hint to the production-ready Kia Soul, which will debut at the Paris Auto Show later this year.
These are the latest additions to the New Car Buyer Guide. As usual, prices are a bit iffy, especially since they differ from city to city, and keep changing daily. Everything else should be in order, and more updates will follow later. Available information on some cars are limited, so do not hound me for any mistakes that might crop up, but do let me know so I can correct them. If the updates are not visible in your Internet Explorer browser, then press and hold CTRL, and CLICK on Refresh in the browser. And if you can’t figure out that instruction,
Lexus unveiled their 2008 LX570 luxury 4WD in Dubai yesterday. The vehicle is largely based on a Toyota Land Cruiser, but includes a unique front end, a detuned 362 hp 5.7-litre V8, special trim and a totally different interior design. Interesting features include front, rear and right-side parking cameras, as well as active cruise control, variable suspension and a pricetag of Dhs 325,000.
Meanwhile, at a recent press conference in Dubai for the Gulf Air-sponsored Bahrain F1, it was mentioned that flights are getting full for the April 4-5-6 racing days, and it is advisable to book right now.
Debuting at the 2008 Geneva Auto Show, the 2009 Infiniti FX has been redesigned, with a new pair of engines to choose from.
Back in January 28th, we were invited to try out the 2008 Honda Accord Coupe at the Dubai Autodrome, although we had to keep this quiet until the March 1 local release date of the car. We got 3 laps each with a 271 hp 3.5-litre V6 and a 190 hp 2.4-litre 4-cylinder model, both automatics since that’s the only way they’ll be sold in the GCC region. The awesome photography for our drive was provided by Honda themselves.
So Diego, my PR guy, picked up this 2008 Honda Accord Coupe. Currently, the only American-built 2008 Coupes running around Dubai are these test cars, as the actual car goes on sale in March. He brought the car over to me, complaining about how painfully slow it is compared to the Altima V6.
Ford has pretty much confirmed that they’ve sold their Land Rover and Jaguar divisions as a package deal to Indian carmaker Tata. It is expected that US$ 2 billion will change hands, and the official announcement will be made at the beginning of March during the 2008 Geneva Auto Show.
To be shown at the 2008 Geneva Auto Show, and probably reserved only for the hatchback-loving European market, Mitsubishi is going to show a “concept” hatchack version of the new Lancer. Seen here are leaked early images.
I’ve hardly driven our Nissan Altima 3.5 SE tester at this point, but right now it isn’t what I’d call “class-leading,” considering how noisy the tractor-like V6 engine sounds. Combine that with a CVT tranny, and the whole setup just feels a bit “off” in a car with sporting pretensions.
The production-ready Toyota iQ will be shown for the first time at the 2008 Geneva Auto Show soon. Based on an earlier concept, details are still sketchy about this European-market car.