Volkswagen has unveiled the Cross Coupe concept at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, supposedly showcasing VW’s future design direction. It might also be gauging interest in a “four-door coupe-crossover” for all we know.
When we saw the 2012 Ford Focus in person for the first time at the Dubai Motor Show, we were quite impressed by the attractive-than-most design and the better-than-most quality. In our book, it had already won the battle with the Hyundai Elantra and the Honda Civic just sitting there on the show floor. Then we took it for a brief spin at a public “Ford Factor” event, which didn’t tell us much, other than it can match the smaller Ford Figo on a tight autocross track. But then we met one of Ford’s PR bosses, Sue, at that event,
The Volkswagen Passat is all set to receive a new sibling dubbed the Alltrack. The VW Passat Alltrack, based on the Passat Estate wagon which is popular in European nations, will debut at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show, of all places.
A list of the 12 most profitable vehicles since 1990 includes the most obvious candidates, namely premium German cars that are more expensive than they should be, and big American trucks that double as commercial vehicles, aside from some midsize sedans and aging sports cars.
The all-new 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet will be joining the 911 Coupé for next year. First models of the Carrera and Carrera S convertible can be expected as early as March 2012 worldwide.
While our VW Passat CC long-termer has gone in for some bodywork after a hit-and-run incident, we picked up a 2012 Volkswagen Touareg to test-drive in the meantime. And it’s not just any Touareg, but the new 4.2-litre V8 version that debuted a few months ago, and that too in pricey “Exclusive” trim.
Seemingly not hitting sales targets as a straight-up Mini competitor, Audi has now launched a traditional 5-door version of their 3-door A1 supermini hatchback, dubbing it the Audi A1 Sportback.
Volkswagen Middle East showed off three new models at the 2011 Dubai Motor Show, destined for showrooms in the UAE and other GCC countries. The first one is the facelifted 2012 VW Tiguan, which has already been on sale for the past month. The second is the VW Scirocco R joining the VW Golf R, finally making its local debut after two years since its European intro. And the third is the VW Amarok, the Argentinian-built pickup that seemingly targets both the poseur-class and the working-class crowds.
Peugeot has finally launched the 508 sedan in the GCC, debuting it at the 2011 Dubai Motor Show. Available for more than a year in Europe, the 508 is intended to be a replacement for both the 407 and the 607.
If you keep track of automotive news, you’ll know that the facelifted new “2013” Volkswagen CC has just been unveiled. It gets a straight new corporate face and some LED-specific enhancements. And from what we can see, our “older” CC arguably looks better. Of course, it will take a while before the redone model reaches UAE shores, so we’ll reserve judgement for now. Right now, we had to deal with our car becoming the victim of a hit-and-run accident.