While news in the U.S. is that new throttle-assembly parts are making its way to dealers there, the Toyota dealer in the UAE has made an official announcement regarding the recall, regarding affected GCC-spec models.
The 2010 Honda CR-V is now on sale in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and throughout the UAE. The CR-V has been facelifted for 2010, but there are no changes under the bonnet.
It seems to be ‘factory recall’ season, at least of which is simply fall-out from the Toyota floor-mat fiasco that has spun out of control. Alongside further worldwide recalls by Toyota, Peugeot is doing a precautionary recall for their Toyota-rebadged models. Meanwhile, Hyundai and Honda are having recalls of their own, both related to safety issues.
If you haven’t heard, Toyota now holds the record for the largest single recall ever. Involving nothing more than replacing overlong accelerator pedals that are prone to get stuck when a floor-mat slips under it, the recall was extended to an additional 2.3 million vehicles in the United States, up from the 3.8 million that were already recalled. Word is now that the recall will extend to 2 million cars in Europe, while Toyota offices around the world are in talks with various countries to make the recall global.
If you thought that the attractive Mazda 6 had escaped the curse of the Joker, then think again, as the 2011 Mazda 6 has debuted in Japan with a smiley frontal facelift.
One of our readers reports that the 2010 Lexus GX460 is now on sale at showrooms in Dubai, and likely in Abu Dhabi and elsewhere too. In fact, the model is so fresh that the floor salespeople are confused about what it is and giving hilarious answers to customer queries, such as how it is bigger than the 2010 Toyota Prado.
The 2010 Kia Sorento was officially launched in the UAE at a dinner event in Dubai, although we hear it is on sale here already as well as in Oman and other GCC countries.
The Mini started life in 1959 as a British car for the masses. Built by the company later known as Austin-Rover, the little car was so cheap that Ford dissassembled one and tried to replicate it, but couldn’t do it cost-effectively and gave up. That Mr. Bean original was in production right up till 2000, when BMW bought out the firm and redesigned the Mini as an expensive niche model. But by 2001, there were already a slew of modern affordable cars to take its place, not least of which is the Honda Jazz. Both the Mini and the Jazz are now in their second generation.
Toyota went crazy over modded cars at the recent Tokyo Auto Salon in Japan. Alongside the FT-86 tuned by Gazoo under a new “G-Sports” badge, Toyota also showcased three other G-Sports cars.
The European Registry is sort of a copyright database for product designs, including all-new cars. The Registry therefore has photos of never-before-seen models, and some of these occasionally leak into the public domain. Like the 2011 Kia Sportage, for instance.