Al Futtaim Motors, the exclusive distributor of Toyota in the UAE have once again confirmed their position as the leading innovators in the automotive sector by being the UAE’s first auto brand to introduce a unique ownership package named ‘Fuel & Go’.
Oil prices are soaring and so is the greed of the local oil companies due to which fuel costs are rising. The massive impact from the recession has hit hard on the brains of the crowd; in fact so hard that their vision of the future is now so short term. As a result, this has led to many people playing “safe” by not falling prey to huge debts and its aftermath. They make more sensible choices and judge their financial stands way better. The recent increase in the number of econo-sedans and crossover jokes is a proof to this.
Volkswagen took the wraps off their latest generation Beetle, affectionately known as the Bug, at the 2011 Shanghai Motor Show a few weeks ago. First introduced during the Mesozoic era, Beetle is one of the very few nameplates which has survived a long timeframe and still manages to be a favourite of many.
The Chevrolet Camaro has finally lost its top for the 2011 model year, as expected for years. We got our hands on an automatic 2011 Camaro SS soft-top, in pristine white.
So it’s been over two months and about 7500 km with the car. The experience has been a very good one indeed, so far. The car provides a smooth commute as always and has been functioning very well. There hasn’t been any niggles except for some slight squeaks from the gearbox area as mentioned in the previous updates, which has now been fixed.
Al Majid Motors, the Kia dealer in the UAE, officially launched the all-new 2012 Kia Picanto at their showroom in Dubai, although the car has been quietly on sale for a month now.
The Red Bull Car Park Drift event was held last weekend in Abu Dhabi. Meant to be the UAE Qualifier for the Middle East-wide Red Bull Car Park Drift 2011, there were as many as 25 contestants trying their luck, with Red Bull’s own sponsored driver putting on an occasional show that evening.
The previous Dodge Durango was a dud on such a massive scale that it remained on showroom floors right up till 2010, even while production ended in 2008. That fullsize 4×4 is now dead, but its replacement, a stretched midsizer, might very well be among the best in its class.
Our long-time readers might know that our VW coverage bordered on farcical since 2006. However, things change over time, and we were pleasantly surprised to receive an invite to the GCC launch of the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta in Dubai. The new Jetta is the car VW expects to crack the compact segment with in the GCC.
The Maserati Trofeo one-make racing championship was launched this week for the GCC region, at an event in Dubai. The series is backed by the Maserati factory in Modena, Italy and will feature up to 16 mechanically-identical Maserati GranTurismo MC Trofeo race cars battling it out over 12 races across the Middle East.