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.
Another day, another Bentley. This time it is the Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed. At Dhs 950,000, it costs more than I’ll make in a decade, but apparently, it is cheaper by Dhs 200,000 in the last 6 months due to the weak British Pound.
I’ve driven three Focii in two years now, all hatchbacks, and its handling never fails to impress. This time, I got handed a Ford Focus Sport. While it did have upgrades compared to the ones I drove before, it sadly didn’t add any performance bits whatsoever.
The third-generation Renault Clio was launched in Europe ages ago, while the GCC still soldiers on with the old second-generation model which are built in Turkey. The real French-built Clio is now the recipient of a major facelift, and it will be launched at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show.
The 2009 Volvo XC60 is a new crossover SUV that the Ford-owned Swedish company thinks will raise regional Volvo sells by an unrealistic 30%. The GCC version was launched in Dubai a few days ago, and Volvo gave the press a taste of the XC60’s capabilities at the Dubai Autodrome on January 28. They certainly had an impressive line-up of events planned.
Porsche has added yet another new model to the latest generation of the 911 with the new GT3. Released alongside is the GT3 RSR racing version.
The all-new 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan, the German manufacturer’s best seller, is back with a new look as controversial as the time it gained four round headlights for the first time. The new E-class is unoriginal in almost all aspects, starting from the Lexus GS-like front end to the Mitsubishi Galant-like rear lights, with a dash of LEDs in the front bumper to get that Audi effect that is so common nowadays on modified cars here. About the only original bit is the flared rear-side fenders, paying homage to 1950s ‘Ponton’ Mercs, although it doesn’t fit in at all on a modern sedan.
Seeing Sheikh Mohammed zipping around Dubai in a Mercedes-Benz G-Class is a rolling tribute to the strength of the German manufacturer’s overengineered pre-1995 designs. The Geländewagen is the only Merc to survive the cost-cutting 1995-to-2005 era, when quality hit the crapper. Even the attempt to replace it with the characterless GL-Class flopped. It is hard to imagine that the vehicle that is a favourite with sheikh-copycats has been around since 1979.
We hear from AutoMiddleEast that the much-hyped VW Scirocco was recently launched for the GCC at a press conference in Dubai. Since we are on Volkswagen’s shit-list, we were not even invited, but we can at least gather an idea from other publications.
The most hyper version of Jaguar’s XF sports sedan is going to be revealed at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show this month. The 2010 Jaguar XFR is meaner than ever and official images have already been leaked.