The General organised a little two-day trip for journalists to the Le Meridien Al Aqah, with some scuba diving, private rooms and Chevy Tahoes thrown in for good measure. I was a bit perplexed as to why they were promoting the unchanged-for-2010 Tahoe, but heck, who are we to argue.
One look at this visual stunner and the Toyota-obsessed crowd out here, for some reason, go ga-ga over this fluidic sculpture thinking it’s a Lexus. Park this elegant piece of machinery next to an Avalon or Lexus ES, and the next moment will be a moment of realisation for the public with the truth finally striking their heads with one question – “Does Toyota even know how to design cars?” But every moment spent in the new 2011 Hyundai Sonata is “almost” awesome. Yes, still almost! It is definitely not the overall best mid-sizer out there. But that said,
The Renault Logan isn’t a car that people like me look forward to driving. Even at my poorest point in life, making Dhs 3000 a month while in college, my first car was an old Mercedes-Benz. With leather. And cruise control. And ABS. And a hood ornament. However, most people don’t think like me. For some unknown cosmic reason, they have to have a brand new car, even if it means taking a loan and risking jail if they can’t pay. And so, the local Nissan/Renault dealer thinks they have a hit on their hands, especially since they are targeting peeps making at least Dhs 3000.
Officially introduced in the UAE at a launch party in Abu Dhabi, Porsche held a media driving event for the all-new Porsche Panamera GT sedan. The road trip comprised of a drive from Dubai to Fujairah and back in cars shared with other journalists, and a free lunch somewhere in between.
The all-new Kia Soul was launched in the UAE today, at an event held in Dubai. The Soul, a compact hatchback that is bordering on becoming a small crossover SUV, will initially be available only in 1.6-litre form, with the 2.0-litre version being held back to gauge demand.
Before anyone gets too excited, this is not a full-blown comparison test. Getting the Nissan GT-R for a test drive was a good excuse as any to assemble a few other sports cars and a photographer. We’ve had our 2000 BMW M Roadster for more than a year, the 2009 Nissan GT-R tester was with us for only a few days, and our friend’s 2009 Ferrari F430 Spider was still being broken in so we couldn’t push it. But we did get a feel for three different approaches to speed.
The 2010 Ford Mustang GT made its official UAE debut at an event on July 16th in the Dubai Autodrome, even while the car is already on sale. Looking very familiar, it has been overshadowed by the 2010 Chevy Camaro, so much so that Ford Middle East recruited the Emirates Mustang Club to drum up support for the launch event. Being among so many Mustang fanboys is enough to passively intimidate anyone into saying only positive things about the pony car.
The all-new Chevrolet Malibu has been on sale in the U.S. for a while now. The midsize sedan had finally become an equal competitor to its Japanese rivals in the States, but the GCC line-up was making do with a lopsided range consisting of the Korean Epica and the Australian Lumina, neither of which has a 4-cylinder engine that could compare with those in the Camry, the Accord and the Altima. So General Motors decided to bring the Malibu here again, after a gap of nearly a decade.
It was one of those rare times when I actually looked forward to those long usually-boring press driving events. General Motors Middle East imported ten new 2010 Chevrolet Camaro models to Dubai for the UAE and GCC press launch, and we were among the second bunch of people to drive them, after the “big” magazine people had their fill the day before, but as I saw later, the cars still generated lots of interest on the roads.
The 2009 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport was launched in Dubai at a quick media event where its off-road abilities were showcased. First shown at Moscow Auto Show last year, this new midsize model is really the replacement for the aging Nativa, and is based on the L200 pickup.
