Asian Car News

Our PR person, simple-minded Diego, is not much of a car guy. But he brought my attention to a car he became interested in during the Dubai Motorshow, lost among all the supercars that few can afford. It was the Chinese-built BYD F3, which looks insulting similar to the Toyota Corolla at front, and the Honda City at the rear. The interior is completely lifted from the last-generation Corolla, with upgrades such as (fake?) wood and (fake?) leather. All for Dhs 29,900.

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Infiniti revealed three new models for the GCC market. Making their debut only a day before the Dubai Motor Show, the new cars are the G37 Coupe, the EX35 compact crossover and the M35 midsize luxury sedan.

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The 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser was launched in the UAE today. Engine choices include a 4.7-litre V8, a 4.0-litre V6 and a 4.5-litre turbodiesel V8. The 5.7-litre V8 found in the US-spec model will not be offered in the GCC.

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The current front-wheel-drive Hyundai Coupe tries hard to look like a Ferrari, but gets outrun by most hot hatches. This 2009 coupe, aims to change that. It will probably feature a new name, but the big news is the new rear-wheel-drive chassis, the option of a turbo-4 or a bigger V6, and looks that kill.

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I bring you the first leaked photos of the 2009 Nissan Murano, which will most probably debut at the Los Angelese Auto show later this year.

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I was invited to share and pilot a 2008 Honda Accord with another journo on a press drive from Dubai to Fujeirah and back. Considering we didn’t have enough time with the cars other than straightforward driving, I’ll save a full review for when I get one in front of my building. What I can talk about are my first impressions of the 2008 Honda Accord, in both 2.4 and 3.5 trims.

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We went to the UAE launch of the 2008 Honda Accord yesterday, as well as the launch of the 2008 Toyota Corolla today. Yep, these long-awaited cars have finally hit Arabian shores.

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Marwa, the new Toyota/Honda PR lady, has been doing a great job keeping us in the loop for test drives of their latest cars. No one else actually calls us first to fix us up with their most recent models. Thanks to her, we were probably the first ones to publicly post the review for the GCC-spec FJ Cruiser. We are a bit late with the Legend, considering others have reviewed it a month ago, but the timing is still good. The return of the Legend has been a long time coming.

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This is great news. For the first time ever, Mazda has contacted us for a press conference. It seems Mazda has finally taken the initiative and is launching the MX-5 roadster, also known as Miata in USA, in the GCC on October 22. The MX-5 is the best sports car in its class. Available abroad as a ragtop convertible or a folding-hardtop convertible, it remains to be seen what engines and body-styles are offered in this region.

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Seen here is the first ever unmasked photo of the 2008 Nissan Skyline GT-R. American Motor Trend magazine prematurely put the car on their cover too. We don’t have the magazine, but they revealed a handful of performance specs.

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