The American-built Nissan Altima has received a minor facelift for the 2010 model year, with a mildly-changed interior and some tech enhancements to its navigation and entertainment systems. Available as a sedan and a coupe, the new Altima will first go on sale in the U.S. this October, with a possible GCC release by this winter.
The U.S. NHTSA safety agency has alerted Lexus and Toyota owners about conditions that could cause the accelerator to get stuck in the pressed position under certain conditions. The agency “strongly recommends” taking out removable floor mats on the driver’s side in certain models and not to replace them with any other mat, either from Toyota or any other brand. After numerous reported “unintended acceleration” incidents, Toyota is now conducting a major recall on 3.8 million affected cars, but only in the United States.
Highly-anticipated by the Honda community, the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show in October will mark the debut of the Honda CR-Z hybrid concept again, except this time it is a near-production version. The sporty-but-slow CR-Z, slated for Japanese production early next year, is a revival of the Honda CR-X from the 1980s. Based on the Civic of that time, with a puny engine and decent suspension, it became somewhat popular among budget-minded car enthusiasts. The new CR-Z is expected to be exclusively hybrid.
The BMW 7 Series is currently the best-selling car in the premium automotive segment in the Middle East. Buoyed by the launch of the fifth-generation of the flagship model late last year, the BMW Group recorded sales of 2,949 units of the BMW 7 Series across the Middle East from January-August 2009.
Mitsubishi’s Australian division is the one to announce the redesign of the 2010 Outlander, featuring a new nose that mimics that of the Lancer Evo for no apparent reason.
Thousands of counterfeit Mercedes-Benz spare parts worth over Dhs 8 million have been seized and destroyed after a major raid in Sharjah, UAE.
“Cars are driven by people – therefore the guiding principle behind everything we make at Volvo is and must remain safety.” Founders Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson said this in Volvo’s childhood, and it still stands. Today, following this safety heritage, Volvo Cars Middle East launches “All Those Left Behind” – an initiative across the UAE which will ultimately expand to the region, with the aim to raise awareness and reduce car related fatalities.
Holland & Holland, makers of “the world’s finest sporting guns” and Overfinch, makers of tuner Range Rovers, have joined forces to create the ultimate luxury off-roader for drunk hunters. The Holland & Holland Range Rover is “a quintessentially English take on motoring luxury,” with interior fittings to store wine bottles and hunting rifles.
The Toyota 4Runner 4×4 was launched back in 1984, based on the four-wheel-drive Toyota pickup architecture, as a smaller alternative to the Land Cruiser. And while it was last seen in the early 1990s around here, the 4Runner continued in the U.S. market, with styling harking back to the 80s original. Now, as the Middle East prepares for the launch of the blobby 2010 Prado, the Americans are celebrating the launch of the blocky 2010 4Runner. While both share similar platforms and engines, the American-built 4Runner looks far more purposeful.
We are getting reports from various readers that the all-new 2010 Nissan 370Z coupe is available in some showrooms around the UAE and other GCC countries.