I wasn’t planning to ask for the 2009 Honda City, but when Honda ME called me up and suddenly offered it to me this weekend, I agreed as usual. The previous Honda City was a cartoon-mobile that was embarrassing to be seen in, but this new one looked interesting from the day that spy shots started appearing last year, enough for me to dedicate posts to it.
Tata always intended to sell a “proper” version of the tub-on-wheels Nano in European countries. The fact that the upgraded version actually looks nice is always a good sign that it might do well.
It would seem the Lexus has launched their girly new SUV in Dubai, the 2010 RX350, and did not even tell us. While us being kept in the dark for various products is only getting worse, I heard elsewhere that they plan to target this one towards women, so any men out there who thought about buying an RX — you’ve been warned.
The GCC market gets the 7-seater Mazda CX-9, but the rest of the world also gets a shorter and sportier 5-seater CX-7 model. And that CX-7 has already reached the point where it needed a facelift to stay fresh, so the 2010 model gets a smiley new face to go with a new engine choice.
The Geneva Auto Show is one of Europe’s major motor shows, if not the world. This year, even with the recession, there are an obscene number of supercar launches, although a few others have concentrated on greener cars as well. The 2009 show also plays host to some important new launches, such as the Mazda 3 MPS, the Chevrolet Spark, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe and the Opel Ampera.
The 2010 Toyota Camry will be out in the GCC by summer. The Camry models that come here are built in Australia, and now, that factory will add a hybrid model to their line-up. To celebrate the hybrid version of the Camry, Toyota Australia created this one-off concept for the 2009 Melbourne Auto Show, called the HC-CV.
The 2010 Hyundai Equus supersized luxury sedan has been previewed in Korea, with early photos revealed on the web. Hyundai also says that plans are underway to see if the Equus will be sold in international markets.
When Lexus first came out, it was nothing more than a cheaper copy of a Mercedes-Benz when it came to looks. Still, Lexus is now known as the dullest luxury brand in the market, and a substandard attempt at taking on the Europeans. And now, a new generation of Infiniti models, while still building their brand, have already managed to surpass ever-desperate German stylists in terms of looks. It is hard to believe that the uncreative Japanese have beaten the Germans at their own game. And the Infiniti FX50 is the crowning glory of that achievement.
The 2009 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport was launched in Dubai at a quick media event where its off-road abilities were showcased. First shown at Moscow Auto Show last year, this new midsize model is really the replacement for the aging Nativa, and is based on the L200 pickup.
Created solely for the United States market back when big SUVs were popular there, the American-built Toyota Sequoia received a redesign in 2008. Based on the American Toyota Tundra pickup truck, the brutishly big Sequoia makes the Land Cruiser look like a RAV-4, and intended to compete with the Chevy Suburban and the Nissan Armada. And then the U.S. economy went to hell, so Toyota decided to send those hard-to-sell trucks in the GCC instead, where things are a bit better. And therefore the 2009 Toyota Sequoia was launched yesterday in Dubai.