A facelifted version of the current Chevrolet Captiva will be launched at the upcoming 2010 Paris Auto Show, but General Motors has released early information on the new model that will debut as a 2011 or a 2012 model, depending on market.
Hyundai has unveiled the company’s first Full Speed Electric Vehicle (FSEV) named ‘BlueOn,’ and has become the first Korean manufacturer to release a proper electric car. Hyundai unveiled the car in the presence of Korean President Lee Myung-Bak and other ministers.
Korea’s fast-growing carmaker Kia Motors has announced just announced a growth in sales of 24.4% for August, compared to August last year. Posting growing sales numbers throughout the recession, the news is overshadowed by the fact that Kia’s Vice Chairman Jeong Sung Eun resigned to take responsibility for the recent recall of four models as the South Korean carmaker, to be replaced by new Vice Chairman Hyoung-Keun Lee. Those Koreans sure take their recalls personally.
The all-new 2012 Chevrolet Aveo is going to be publicly shown for the first time at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. So far, the hatchback version has already been shown as a nearly-ready concept, and now the version to be shown is pretty much production-spec, as seen in these early photos.
Our Chevy Cruze long-termer has been running well for its first week. As Ramadan draws to a close and the uncertainty of when Eid falls is the topic of the moment, we’ve been out and about at various showrooms, looking to purchase a midsize sedan. It was ironic that we were trolling for new cars while actually driving a brand new sedan, but the Cruze is a bit smaller than what we were looking for. It competes firmly in the compact category, although it is a bit larger than most of its direct competitors. Incidentally, Chevrolet offers as many as three larger midsize sedans to suit every taste.
The holy month of Ramadan is a time for being humble and hungry, so it pains us to see it being turned into a commercial enterprise where hotels that generally serve booze year-round try to entice customers with overpriced “ramadan tents” and car dealers start offering interest-laden products with “take loan now, get screwed later” offers. However, we don’t really mind genuine discounts in the spirit of Ramadan, and as such, the car market comes alive during this time. We just had a boost in traffic to our website thanks to people researching various models for purchase. Here is a list of the top 10 most researched vehicles on our website this Ramadan,
The hottest news of the week in the UAE is that Toyota is having a fire-sale of 2010 models for 4 days, starting today. While this may seem overly generous to some, the truth is the showrooms are making way for the arrival of 2011 models. And the first of those will be the facelifted 2011 Toyota Corolla, which is already available in Oman. Interestingly, it is quietly available in the UAE too.
The new Chevrolet Cruze sedan is selling well in many parts of Europe, South America, China and India. The car was just introduced in the United States too, and the car is already on sale in South Korea and Australia under Daewoo and Holden badges respectively, making it a true “world” car. Sales in the Middle East have yet to pick up, but we actually have one in our fleet right now to investigate further why it is so popular elsewhere. General Motors is hard at work to extend their market share however. Europeans love hatchbacks more than sedans for some reason,
The U.S. market has just received a new SX trim level for the 2011 Kia Sorento. The Sorento SX comes with a unique new front bumper, LED tail lights, 18-inch wheels, chrome trim and, most importantly, new “Dual Flow Damper” shock absorbers that make the ride more comfortable while retaining car-like handling. Interestingly, there were so many complaints about the regular Sorento’s harsh ride quality over bumps that Kia has decided to make the “DFD” shocks standard on all U.S. Sorento models for the 2011 model year.
The U.S. NHTSA safety agency has announced a recall on the 2010 Kia Soul and the 2011 Kia Sorento, apparently to replace interior lighting wiring harnesses.