As part of our re-acquaintance with the Mercedes-Benz brand, we were invited to the UAE leg of the 2011 AMG Performance Tour, held at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. The deal was that we get to stay overnight at the fancy Yas Hotel, but before that, we were subjected to a brutal assault of the senses by a variety of Mercedes-Benz AMG models.
Transparency is a word that is uttered with caution in this region. The lack of information on many aspects of the automotive industry is obvious. Some aspects will change soon, however. We’ve had the pleasure of talking to Satish Singh, an automotive-industry veteran who started Tetrahedron Consulting to build up information on the GCC car market, one step at a time.
The new generation of Hino 300 Series light-duty truck has been launched in the UAE. Apparently it took 12 years of continuous development to roll out this version, and it can now be had with an automatic transmission.
Competition in the sub-compact segment is heating up, with entries such as the Hyundai Accent, the Honda Jazz and the Ford Fiesta pushing the boundaries of what is possible with small cars. And soon after we drove the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic for the first time, we were invited to the UAE launch of the all-new 2012 Toyota Yaris. Thus far, the Yaris has remained the segment leader, but we were eager to find out if it could maintain that lead.
The 2012 BMW 3-Series sedan has been unveiled, complete with a quirky new face integrating traditional BMW design cues. It might look like a facelift of the current model, but the compact rear-wheel-drive sedan has actually grown in size.
In a surprise move, Chevrolet will introduce the all-new 2013 TrailBlazer midsize SUV at the 2011 Dubai Motor Show this November. Built on a new global body-on-frame midsize platform, the TrailBlazer will “combine the hauling and towing capability of an SUV with the ride comfort and efficiency of a crossover.” In reality, it is based on the Chevrolet Colorado pickup and will likely be built in Thailand and Brazil for sale in countries outside North America.
Let’s get it out of the way that, as much as Chevrolet would love to target a car like the Aveo at someone like me, I chose long ago to never own anything in this category of cars. And yet, I found myself at the GCC launch event for the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic anyway, lured in by the promise of a free overnight stay at the Atlantis hotel in Dubai.
Riding the green wave, Volkswagen Middle East participated in the second stop on the Western leg of the Asia Pacific Natural Gas Vehicle Associates (ANGVA) Green Highways 2011 event held in Dubai recently that is dedicated to raising awareness among local industries of the importance of making natural gas and energy efficient cars available.
Honda chose to debut the near-production 2012 Honda CR-V concept at the 2011 Orange County International Auto Show in the United States.
There was a recent announcement from the UAE Ministry of Interior regarding installing children’s car seats, which supposedly makes it mandatory that children should use baby-seats in a car. While the details of that are still a bit vague, it will likely become an offence to carry kids on your lap for use as human airbags. Babies “R” Us, a division of, Toys “R” Us, sent us some guidelines for parents to help them find the right car seat for their child.